January
To read a poem in January
is as lovely as to go for a walk in June.
January begins our year in the Gregorian Calendar. It is thought to be named after the Roman god Janus, who is usually depicted with an older face looking backward and a younger face gazing forward. His name comes from the Latin word ianua meaning. Fitting for January, which is the threshold to the New Year. It is a cold month here in the Northern Hemisphere. An opportunity to set the tone for the year, it is when we look forward to the balance of our lives. We search for comfort and meaning. Take the time that this month provides to connect with all that really matters to you. Nurture yourself and others. Move slowly. It is the deepest part of our hibernation. Be sure to get some rest.
Birth Customs of January
January Flower
Bringing forth both blush and bloom
She brightens up the darkest room.
Carnation is both innocence
And meaning in love’s conference.
January Zodiac
The wise old sea goat Capricorn
Early in the month is born
As January fades away
Aquarius comes out to play
January Stone
By her who in this month is born
No gem save garnets shall be worn;
They will ensure her constancy,
True friendship, and fidelity.
Magic of January
Correspondences
Herbs: Nuts & Cones
Totems: Fox & Coyote
Stones: Onyx & Jet
Birthstone: Garnet
Birth Flower: Carnation
Celtic Trees: Birch & Rowan
Nature Spirits: Gnomes & Brownies
Spellwork
Balance
Begin
Protect
Comfort
Conceive
Aromatherapy
Winter’s Nap
3 drops Cedar wood
2 drops Orange
2 drops Cinnamon
Meditation
Silence is the
language of god,
all else is a poor
translation.
Rumi
Science of January
Astronomy
Name: January
Length: 31 Days
New Moon: January 6th
Full Moon: January 20th
Total Lunar Eclipse: January 21st
Full Moons
Colonial American: Winter Moon
Celtic: Quiet Moon
Chinese: Holiday Moon
Cherokee Nation: Cold Moon
Medieval English: Wolf Moon
Poetry for January
Spellbound
The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.
Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing dear can move me;
I will not, cannot go.
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That does not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
You think I am dead
“You think I am dead,”
The apple tree said,
“Because I have never a leaf to show-
Because I stoop,
And my branches droop,
And the dull gray mosses over me grow!
But I’m still alive in trunk and shoot;
The buds of next May
I fold away-
But I pity the withered grass at my root.”
“You think I am dead,”
The quick grass said,
“Because I have parted with stem and blade!
But under the ground,
I am safe and sound
With the snow’s thick blanket over me laid.
I’m all alive, and ready to shoot,
Should the spring of the year
Come dancing here-
But I pity the flower without branch or root.”
“You think I am dead,”
A soft voice said,
“Because not a branch or root I own.
I never have died, but close I hide
In a plumy seed that the wind has sown.
Patient I wait through the long winter hours;
You will see me again-
I shall laugh at you then,
Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers.”
Calendar of January
