January Story (adapted from an Italian legend my Strega Nona used to tell) It was early in the year still cold & biting was the wind. A poor mother & her sweet daughter Ella lived in a small cottage outside the city near the great woods. One morning, Ella put on her warmest winter clothes & went with her basket to look for a morsel of food for her good mother. Ella asked everywhere for a crust of bread or a bit of carrot, but no one could spare a bite. Ella did not want to take an empty basket home, so she went into the woods to look for nuts & roots hidden under the snow. On the way she found a little mouse whose tail was caught under a stone. Ella gently freed him, & the mouse said, ‘Thank you kind child, I have been trapped here for a long time. May good fortune find you’. Then he scampered away through the frosty forest. As she wandered on, she noticed a tree whose branches were so weighed down with snow, she thought they would break. So she shook the tree until it could stand up straight again. ‘Oh my,’ said the tree, ‘that feels much better, thank you dear child, may good fortune find you.’ Ella went on through the forest, & saw a little robin shivering from the cold. She picked the robin up & wrapped her carefully in her warm woolen hat until the robin stopped shivering. ‘Thank you dear child,’ sang the robin, ‘I feel warm enough to fly now. May good fortune find you.’ The bird flapped her wings & flew toward to cloud covered sun. Ella had now walked deep into the woods where she knew a hazelnut tree grew. ‘Perhaps I will find nuts here,’ she thought to herself. So she started to dig under the snow, & sure enough her hard work payed off for she did indeed find nuts enough to fill her basket. As she was digging here & there, a kind old man with a long white beard appeared dressed all in white. He spoke to her with a voice as warm as light. ‘I am the Grandfather of the Year. My 4 sons & I have seen how thoughtful you are. My children each have a question for you.’ One brother came all dressed in light green. He smiled at Ella & asked her, ‘What is Spring like dear child?’ Ella answered, ‘Oh Spring is fresh & new & full of crocuses & daffodils & baby birds. I love Spring!’ The green brother smiled at Ella & nodded. Then a second brother came all dressed in yellow, & asked, ‘What is Summer like dear child?’ ‘Oh,’ said Ella, ‘Summer is a time to run & play in sunshine, plant a garden of flowers, & chase butterflies & fireflies. I love Summer!’ The yellow brother smiled & nodded. Then a third brother appeared dressed in orange & reds. He asked Ella, ‘What is Autumn like dear child?’ ‘Autumn,’ said Ella, ‘is full of dancing leaves like flames, apples & pumpkins, & it is harvest time. I love Autumn!’ The orange & red brother smiled & nodded. Then the Grandfather of the Year’s 4th son appeared all dressed in pale blues. ‘What is Winter like dear child,’ he asked. ‘Winter snow sparkles like the stars’, replied Ella. ‘Our cheeks get rosy as we make snowmen, & we light candles in the house, & read books. I love Winter!’ This blue brother also smiled & nodded. Then the 4 brothers & the Grandfather of the Year who stood before her, disappeared. Ella thought she had been dreaming, but when she looked in her basket of old nuts, they had turned into gold, frankincense & myrrh! When she returned home, her mother rejoiced. They shared these riches with all who asked & were never poor & hungry again! ~Grandma GoodWitch
13 January 2025 - “Speaking with the Stars” : Comet Atlas will reach perihelion – its closest point to the Sun – Today on this Full Wolf Moon - near the Red planet Mars & the Gemini’s twin stars, Castor & Pollux. Mars was closest to Earth yesterday 12 January - on my half b-day! And Mars will reach opposition on January 15-16. What’s more, Bella Luna will occult – or pass in front of – Mars.
Comet ATLAS might be the brightest comet of 2025. But it will be challenging to spot since it is so close to the Sun.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1090 – Birthday of Bernard of Clairvaux, Mystic, Theologian, Co-Founder of the Order of the Templars
1497 – Deathday of St. Veronica of Milan. Being very poor & having no formal education, she attempted, , to teach herself to read. While making this effort one night, the Virgin Mary appeared to Veronica, &taught her in the form of three mystical letters: The first signified purity of intention; the second, abhorrence of murmuring or criticism; the third, daily meditation on the Passion. By the first she learned to begin her daily duties for no human motive, but for God alone; by the second, to carry out what she had begun by attending to her own affairs, never judging her neighbor, but praying for those who did wrong; by the third she was enabled to forget her own pains & sorrows in those of her Lord, & to weep hourly, but silently, over the memory of His wrongs. Veronica became accustomed to nearly constant apparitions & religious ecstasies. She saw scenes from the life of Christ, yet these never interrupted her work. She joined an Augustinian lay order at the convent of Saint Martha in Milan at the age of 22. This community was very poor; Veronica’s job was to beg in the streets of the city for food. She received a vision of Christ in 1494, & was given a message for Pope Alexander VI, so she traveled to Rome to deliver it. After a six-month illness, Veronica died on the date she had predicted, 13 January 1497.
Tjugondag jul (“Twentieth Day Yule”), or Tjugondag Knut (“Twentieth Day Knut”), a traditional festival celebrated in Sweden & Finland on 13 January. Christmas trees are taken down on Tjugondag jul, & the candies &cookies that decorated the tree are eaten. In Sweden, the feast held during this event is called a Knut’s party (Julgransplundring, literally “Christmas tree plundering”)
1898 – Émile Zola’s J’accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair – an open letter published in the newspaper L’Aurore where Zola spoke about President of France Félix Faure & accused the government of anti-Semitism & the unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus, a French Army General Staff officer who was sentenced to lifelong penal servitude for espionage. Zola pointed out judicial errors & lack of serious evidence. The letter was printed on the front page of the newspaper & caused a stir in France & abroad. Zola was prosecuted for libel & found guilty. To avoid imprisonment, he fled to England, returning home in June 1899. As a result of the popularity of the letter, even in the English-speaking world, J’accuse! has become a common generic expression of outrage & accusation against someone powerful.
1915 – The Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L’Aquila in Italy with a maximum intensity of XI (Extreme), killing over 32,610 people. 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 1800
POD (Poem Of the Day) ~light slides thru my fingers - as i clutch the air - then the chorus begins...the empty shells of trees fill with color - the curtain of serpents parts - time stands still - then rolls backwards - & i know - it is day... ~hag .:.
All are invited to the Fellowship of Preparation Makers' annual gathering, to be held this year in Viroqua, WI - During the powerful Cross-Quarter time between Winter Solstice & Spring Equinox – I’ll open the way on that Thursday Night, after the Lunar New Year of the Green Wood Snake… Hope to see you there Xox ~hag .:.
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Monday, 13 January 2025
What is in your Basket?
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