Astronomy Goals

Why yes, it IS a temple of Isis as well as a Pagan shop.

Wk 4- Jan. 26 –  Any writing for the letters A or B - I am keeping this familiar format on week 4 for those who have joined me from the Pagan Blog Project.

To write about the stars, I have to tell you another story, which is no surprise to anyone who knows me in the physical world. One day many moons ago, I was wandering around at Isis Books & Gifts in Denver, which is a must-see if you're ever out there. I had no goal in mind as I browsed the bookshelves.

Suddenly, Italian Witchcraft caught my eye. At the time, I didn't know anything about the pre-Christian folkways of my ancestors. Though my ancestresses did some witchy things, we were a Catholic family. This was something I had to see. I picked it up and practiced a bit of bibliomancy.

Opening the book, my eye fell upon a passage describing the ancient sects of the Strega. These were groups in charge of different mysteries. The first thing I saw was that they worshipped the Goddess as Tana. [cue eyebrow raise] Then I notice that the sect in charge of star mysteries was called the Tanarra.  [eyes widen] Last, I see that devotees in these sects often took names that were derivatives of the name of the Goddess.

Cimaruta charm in pentacle form. 

Um.

Like Tanaria.

A ball of insight hit me and suddenly, my craft name made sense. It came to me in a vision, you see. I'd never heard a name like Tanaria before the vision, so when it came to me, I had no idea what it meant, or what it signified.

I've always felt the pull of the stars. I'm not really into astrology, though I have studied it. But when I choose symbolism, it often includes celestial images. One of my first business cards had a north star logo, for example. When I sign my name, I tend to underline it and end that line with a star. I am fascinated with watching the heavens at night, preferably on mountain tops or out in deep wilderness.

There's something out there for me in the stars, though until recently, I had no idea what it was. Finding the significance of my name all those years ago was the beginning. Now I see the way forward.  I'm an explorer, and long have I dreamed of using ancient navigational tools like a sextant and astrolabe. Last year I constructed an astrolabe. This year, I'm going to construct a nocturlabe, which is an ancient device that tells time using the stars. This would fulfill yet another long-held dream. 

This year, I'm going to revive my astronomical knowledge. I learned constellations when I was little, but I'm sorry to say that I haven't kept in good practice. I have learned some awesome stories about the myths of the stars and I want to learn more.

This year, more night hikes. More stargazing. More awesome. Blessed be!