New Crecent

New Crescent / Waxing Crescent / First Quarter

The Crescent is the Waxing is the moon growing in volume from new in the sky and the first quarter is when half of the moon is lit after this point the increasing luminosity of the moon is called Waxing Gibbous. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.
Positive activities:
Gathering information; Making plans; Laying a Foundation; Emotions; Start of change. This is a time of regeneration. Anything you do to strengthen your body, to fortify yourself, is much more effective that when the moon is waxing. The body absorbs more easily...both good and bad. Matters concerning growth, protection, healing, advancement, abundance, to increase knowledge, spirituality, and fertility. This is the time for spells dealing with new beginnings of every nature or to draw something to you, in personal life as well as in business and finance. It is also the best time to plant seeds and new plants.

New Moon

The new moon is when the first sliver of the light after the dark moon.

The new moon is for starting new ventures, new beginnings. Beauty, health, and self-improvement, Farms and Gardens, Job Hunting, Love and Romance

Dark Moon Vs. New Moon

Dark Moon vs New Moon- What's the Difference

There almost always seems to be a little confusion as to these two terms. Often, too, they seem to be used interchangeably -which only adds to the confusion.

The Dark Moon

Astronomically, this refers to the period when the Moon is not visible in the sky. This lasts between 1-3 days, depending upon your location. This is the period between the end of the Waning Moon up to and including the very start of the Waxing Moon, when the Moon is again illuminated by the Sun.

Astrologically and magickally, this refers to the period when the Moon is not illuminated in any way, it is the period between the end of the Waning Moon and the start of the Waxing Moon.

Beth

When there are two dark cycles of the moon in any given calendar month is called a Black Moon. It is believed that the second dark moon of a time of great power within the spiritual world and any magic worked during this time is especially powerful like a Blue moon.

I do not believe that this is a time for “spell casting” but a time of reflection and planning. Divination scrying and crafts such as Black Salt.

A short pause to look at the Moon

This is a reflection on my view on the moon. 

The moon is a representation of the feminine. The moon waxes and wanes in phases that symbolize the cycles of life and time. Accompanied by the stars I feel at home and part of a much greater something then just myself. The moon feels like a second home and has been backed up by science where the moon was made from the left over material of the earth when it collided with another space planetoid.

      The moon has 5 distinct types… Dark moon, New Moon, Waxing, Full Waning and New Moon, each of the types has its own properties. But there is also a blue moon and Black moon. The moon affects so many aspects of our lives. It was thought to believe the full moon use to make a person loose their minds. It has been proven that the moon affects the tides of the sea.

BOS: Burn? Bury? or Pass on?

So I was talking to a witchy sister of mine about Books of Shadows and the ever pressing should ones BOS be a secret book nobody knows, kept and guarded, or should it be able to be seen by everyone. My first comment I must make is that you should do what you feel is right for you. If your not comfortable showing it to friends, family, or strangers then don't.

One popular idea about the BOS is that it should be secret and burned/ buried with the witch when he or she passes. So discussing this with my witchy sister this came up and thinking about this and the times that is was first done, my theory is that because being exposed as a pagan or witch, whatever the term you wish to fill in, could not only damage you but your family and friends. There were so many for lack of better word problems associated with being "exposed" until very recently that it was much safer to take the book with you to the grave as it were. Still to this day even we are met with fear and animosity like the most recent article I had seen about a Arkansas town banning a pagan temple.

That being said, the idea of burning or burying knowledge is a hard one for me. How much information has been lost because of this ritualized burning of knowledge. I have one book that is extremely personal and will have special plans for. As a parent, though, I want to have my child and if I have future children have the opportunity to expand on what I have done if they choose to follow this path as well.

That being said I am not saying that I go showing my BOS to everyone I meet and who come into my home. My books are a little obvious as far as the look of them but no one seems to notice them that much. I have a few and some are more private then others, however, when I pass on I want my children to have the choice. So what I guess I am saying is that even though I see the reasoning of why it was done in the past I feel like that we are in a time that we should start hording our knowledge keeping it and expanding on it.