The Moon waxes and becomes full in Gemini at 2:30 a.m. (EST) on December 2. This Full Moon in December is most commonly known as the Cold Moon.

As the longest night of the year approaches - Yule - this Full Moon reminds us that Winter is nearing yet at the same time the Sun will begin to return.

However, this darkness is the perfect time for spiritual alchemy -- time to evaluate your life, if you hadn't done so during Samhain.


Correspondences:

• Colors: White, red, and black
• Gemstones: Obsidian, ruby, serpentine
• Trees: Pine, holly
• Gods: Minerva, Osiris, Athena, Persephone and Hades
• Herbs: Ivy, mistletoe, holly and berries, cinnamon
• Element: Fire

This Gemini-Full Moon is the first of two full moons this month. On December 31st, the Blue Moon is a Lunar Eclipse in her home sign, Cancer.

I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving! We don't normally travel for Thanksgiving. Since my mom lives next door and my grandmother lives with her, my family is always near by ;) This year Olivia is going to be with Jeff and his family so we'll be one less but it's okay - I am just glad he is such an active part of her life.

I've been spending the last week or so trying to get caught up with work and even take on some extra; I'm almost there! My goal is to bring in just as much as CJ does with his full time job.

We've all been enjoying the new kitties too. They have settled in nicely here. Gary loves Olivia and actually jumps up on her top bunk to sleep with her at night. Miss. Puss still has attitude but she can be very loving too.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone. Spend time with family and friends and cherish those moments.

Here is a better photo of 'Muff' who by now has shown that that name does not suit her. She has attitude, she is a snob - she needs to be called properly, so here is ~Miss. Puss~

Today CJ and I picked up Josh's ashes. I got a beautiful box and a very nice card from Cloud Nine Pet Services

Since CJ and I were out and about we remembered that the local Pet Smart had an adoption weekend this weekend so we went to check it out. We spent a lot of time with two local animal shelters that were at Pet Smart; Feline Finish Line and Peaceable Kingdom and well, we found 2 older kitties to give a forever home to.

Feline Finish Line had mostly kittens and I really loved two tuxedo kitties they had but CJ didn't want kittens, he wanted an older cat, which was fine but I was thinking, even though I'd love to give an old cat a home, with the 2 boys in the house, I was afraid it would do more harm than good. We agreed on adult cats and got 2 from Peaceable Kingdom.

CJ fell in love with 'Cashmere' a 2 1/2 year old female who was dropped off at the shelter in December 2008 to be spayed, the owners never came back for her and of course, never paid for the spay. She is shy and a bit skittish but I believe she will be just fine.

I noticed 'Jason' right away. Olivia had said she would really love an orange kitty so when I saw this guy I knew he was the one. He is an adult male. He is extremely lovable and sweet.

CJ renamed Cashmere "Muff" and affectionately calls her ~Puss Face~ and we agreed to rename Jason "Gary" since we all love SpongeBob and of course, Gary is the name of SpongeBob's pet snail and he meows like a cat, LOL

My favorite 'Gary' episode: Gary Takes a Bath:

CJ and I were talking about how it feels like 2009 has really sucked! Yet so many wonderful things happened in 2009 it's such a Yin/Yang - amazing.

The Good:

• We are all alive!
• The lesion on my mother in law's breast shrunk!
• We had a good Disney vacation in May
• We became Disney Vacation Club members
  
• I got a promotion with SEOWhat.com
• I got a position as a freelance writer for Demand Studios
• CJ got a promotion with T-Mobile
• CJ got his 2006 Legend Lime Mustang
• We remodeled our basement
• We booked TWO trips to Disney for 2010
  

The Bad:

• Sickness - CJ had kidney stones, then a complex cyst was found on his kidney, then docs are concerned about bladder cancer (WHAT?!)
  
• More sickness - the Witchlets and I got the flu (supposedly H1N1) and this was after we all had bronchitis, strep throat and sinus infections the month before.
• Did I mention sickness? - my grandmother got pneumonia. She has congestive heart failure so this was NOT good. It was very concerning there for a while.
• Angus had some sort of problem with his foot/leg and that still hasn't gotten any better.
• My grammy (dad's mom) was in and out of the hospital.
• Olivia had an accident and injured her neck.
• I missed open circles for Mabon and Samhain due to sickness!
• Samhain was miserable because everyone was sick!
• My kitty passed away.

All of this is just off the top of my head. *sigh*

Here is a brief summary of astrological correspondences, I find this really handy to have:

Days of The Week

• Monday - ruled by the Moon
• Tuesday - ruled by Mars
• Wednesday - ruled by Mercury
• Thursday - ruled by Jupiter
• Friday - ruled by Venus
• Saturday - ruled by Saturn
• Sunday - ruled by the Sun

Planetary Symbols & Influences

• Sun - Friendship, new enterprises, success
• Moon - Visions, dreams, magic, divination, love
• Jupiter - Strength, Will, Inspiration
• Mars - Conflicts, power, courage, victory
• Mercury - Intellect, communication, arts and science, business
• Venus - Friendship, love, marriage
• Saturn - Death, restriction, inhibitions

Lunar Influences

• New Moon - This phase marks the beginning or ritual works which are positive in nature. This also marks the beginning of growth.
• Full Moon - This phase marks the peak of power. All things are focused and concentrated.
• Waning Moon - This phase marks negative and destructive energies
• Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - The moon in these signs accents rituals of love or friendship.
• Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn - The moon in these signs accents rituals of astral dealing and spirit workings.
• Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - The moon in these signs accents rituals which involve subconscious workings and psychic attack.

Incense

• Sun - cinnamon, laurel, olibanum, heliotrope
• Moon - Lotus, sandalwood, jasmine, almond, camphor
• Mars - dragons blood, aloes, tobacco
• Mercury - cinquefoil, fennel, anise
• Venus - rose, honeysuckle, ambergris, myrtle
• Jupiter - pine, nutmeg, juniper
• Saturn - frankincense & myrrh
• Pluto - unknown as of yet.

Source: Pagan-magic.co.uk

Dante was fever free all day on Samhain and Olivia was fine so CJ took them out for a quick trick or treat run. I am so glad they got to go out. Wyatt still had a low grade fever so he stayed home with me.

November's Full Moon is known as the Mourning Moon and sometimes as the Fog Moon or the Snow Moon.

The Celtic people view Samhain as the New Year and so the Full Moon for November is looked upon as a new beginning.





Correspondences:

• Colors: Gray, blues
• Gemstones: Lapis lazuli, turquoise, topaz
• Trees: Cypress, alder, hazel
• Gods: Bastet, Isis, Kali, Hecate, Astarte
• Herbs: Thistle, betony, verbena, fennel
• Element: Water

Use this time to get rid of the bad habits and toxins keeping you down. Let them go and start anew.