April Festivals, Ceremonies, and More

 April 1, April Fool’s Day; Festival of Kali (Hindu)

April 2, International Children’s Book Day

April 3, Birthday of the Buddha

April 4, Megalesia in Rome (from 204 BCE), celebrating the mother goddess, Cybele

April 5, Tomb-Sweeping Day in Taiwan, or Quin Ming Jie 

April 6, First recorded solar eclipse in history, 684 BCE 

April 7, World Health Day

April 8, Hana Matsurei, Flower Festival (Japan)

April 9, Feast of Glory for Baha’i faith

April 10, Anniversary of the first Arbor Day, 1872. Plant a tree!

April 11, Anniversary of when Haley’s Comet was closest to Earth

April 12, Roman festival of Cerealia begins, honoring the grain goddess, Ceres

April 13, International Librarian’s Day

April 14, Songkran Day, Thai New Year

April 15, Fordicia in honor of the Roman goddess Tellus

April 16, Anniversary of Gandhi’s “Prayer and Fasting Day,” 1919

April 17, Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, deposing Communism

April 18, Friendship day in Brazil

April 19, Saint Dunstan’s Day, Joan of Arc is declared a saint in 1909

April 20, Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, circa 571 BCE 

April 21, International Creativity Day

April 22, Earth Day

April 23, World Book Day 

April 24, Astronomy Day

April 25, Festival of Robigalia, for the Roman goddess Robigus who protected crops from mildew

April 26, Birthday of Leonardo de Vinci (1452), painter 

April 27, Freedom Day in South Africa

April 28, Floralia, the festival celebrating Flora, the Roman flower goddess

April 29, Greenery Day in Japan

April 30, Walpurgisnacht in Germany, May Eve

In April, many cultures honor the continuing growth seen in nature with such festivals as the Christian Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of the crucified Christ. This theme of resurrection is found in the mythology of many cultures, including Celtic mythology. In the spring, the Green Man, an avatar of the forests and fields, rises from his autumnal grave to stand tall once more. 

The Art of the Kitchen Garden

What veggies do you love? What are your favorite salad greens? The first rule is to plant what you will actually eat and feel proud to serve to guests. Take your herbal journal and list your preferred herbs, greens, fruits, and vegetables including root vegetables. Now, strike out anything you can buy really cheaply—no sense in using valuable space to for something easily available at a lower price than the cost to grow it. Another caution, check out your soil type. Carrots need deep, rich soil to grow well. If your lot is shallow and sandy soil, cross carrots off your list and look to surface crops like potatoes and beets instead.

Throwing Stones

Give your tarot cards a rest and create a one-of-a-kind divination tool, a bag of crystals you can do readings with. It is very easy to do. I have stones that I tumbled as a child and others I have picked up on travels. Even yesterday, I grabbed some garnets, agates, and tiny citrines as the Psychic Eye on Fell and Gough Streets in San Francisco to add to my bag of goodies. I have a favorite blue velvet bag, and when the need arises, I turn to crystal visions for my enlightenment. If you are like me, you cannot afford diamonds in your bag of tricks, so substitute them with clear quartz; for emeralds, switch to peridots. Garnets substitute nicely for rubies. I was happy to note that the Psychic Eye had rough-ruby and rough-emerald pieces for $3 each, so the real deal is more available all the time. It is as easy at one, two, three: 1) shake the bag well, 2) ask a question, and 3) removed the first three stones you touch and then interpret from the following guide:

• *  Agate: Business success and notoriety are near.

• *  Amethyst: Change is coming.

• *  Aventurine: New horizons and positive growth are ahead.

• *  Black Agate: Monetary gain is certain.

• *  Blue Lace Agate: There’s a need for spiritual and physical healing.

• *  Citrine: The universe offers enlightenment.

• *  Diamond: Stability is sure.

• *  Emerald: Look for lushness.

• *  Hematite: Examine new prospects.

• *  Jade: Life is everlasting.

• *  Lapis Lazuli: Harness heavenly fortune.

• *  Quartz: Receive clarity where there was none.

• *  Red Agate: Expect long life and health.

• *  Red Jasper: Notice the need for grounding.

• *  Rose Quartz: Love is in your life.

• *  Ruby: Dare for deep passion and personal power.

• *  Sapphire: Time for truth.

• *  Snowflake Obsidian: Your troubles are at an end.

• *  Snow Quartz: Make major changes.

• *  Tiger’s-Eye: The situation is not as it appears.

Mandala

Raise your chi with crystal mandalas. A mandala is sacred space through which we can connect to the greater energy of the universe for spiritual growth and health and well-being. Different designs and grids have different properties. By laying out these sacred patterns, you can focus and calm yourself and create conscious change in your mind and body. The wheel with spokes is the most common pattern, but you should experiment and create your own new form with crystals and meditate upon it.

The Charmed Life: Thriving Thursdays

We all need to give ourselves a health and happiness boost. This spell aimed at abetting menial and emotional well-being is best performed when the hardy spirit of Thor is in ascendance. On any Thursday, take a blue candle, dress it with cedar or bergamot oil, and say nine times:

Fears and woes — I take respite;
Worries and cares — you’re out of sight. 
Stronger and happier, I will grow each day; 
My soul has found its way.

If you do this for several weeks, your friends will notice as your health blooms and you simply beam with a bright, jolly and renewed sense of self and well-being.

Green Thumb Thursday Spell

On a Thursday, as the moon waxes, light green and purple candles anointed with pure lotus or sandalwood oil. Place a small ivy or fern on your altar, along with a glass of fresh water containing a pearl or piece of jade. Burn a stick of sandalwood incense in a pot of soil placed at the altar’s north quadrant and meditate on your hopes and dreams.

When the incense has burned down, place the plant in the larger container, then bow and pray:

As this living thing expands, so shall the power of this magic space grow. 
Oh, Goddess, I dedicate my magic to you. Harm to none and only good work from this holy place.
Blessed be.

Bury the jewel in the soil and use the water from the glass to water the plant. Keep your plant “familiar” with you. You will grow in health and power together. I also encourage you to continually revitalize your altar by adorning it with sacred objects—an iridescent feather, an egg-shaped pebble from the side of the road, a rosy pomegranate, or any other sacred object you find will make a perfect altar gift.