.: Pagan Meanings of the Seven Days

Friday, July 9, 2010

Pagan Meanings of the Seven Days

The Seven-Day Week and the
Meanings of the Names of the Days

I think you'll be amazed by the days of the week and what their true meanings were to the world centuries ago. Here's a brief history of The Seven Day Week

Sunday -- Sun's day
Monday -- Moon's day
Tuesday -- Tiu's day
Wednesday -- Woden's day
Thursday -- Thor's day
Friday -- Freya's day
Saturday -- Saturn's day

Remember that the world was quite Pagan when names were given to each day, below is an in depth description.

Sunday -- Sun's day
Middle English sone(n)day or sun(nen)day
Old English sunnandæg "day of the sun"
Germanic sunnon-dagaz "day of the sun"
Latin dies solis "day of the sun"
Ancient Greek hemera heli(o)u, "day of the sun"

Monday -- Moon's day
Middle English monday or mone(n)day
Old English mon(an)dæg "day of the moon"
Latin dies lunae "day of the moon"
Ancient Greek hemera selenes "day of the moon"

Tuesday -- Tiu's day
Middle English tiwesday or tewesday
Old English tiwesdæg "Tiw's (Tiu's) day"
Latin dies Martis "day of Mars"
Ancient Greek hemera Areos "day of Ares"

Tiu (Twia) is the English/Germanic god of war and the sky.
He is identified with the Norse god Tyr.
Mars is the Roman god of war.
Ares is the Greek god of war.

Wednesday -- Woden's day
Middle English wodnesday, wednesday, or wednesdai
Old English wodnesdæg "Woden's day"
Latin dies Mercurii "day of Mercury"
Ancient Greek hemera Hermu "day of Hermes"

Woden is the chief Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic god. Woden is the leader of the Wild Hunt. Woden is from wod "violently insane" + -en "headship". He is identified with the Norse Odin.
Mercury is the Roman god of commerce, travel, theivery, eloquence and science. He is the messenger of the other gods.
Hermes is the Greek god of commerce, invention, cunning, and theft. He is the messenger and herald of the other gods. He serves as patron of travelers and rogues, and as the conductor of the dead to Hades.

Thursday -- Thor's day
Middle English thur(e)sday
Old English thursdæg
Old Norse thorsdagr "Thor's day"
Old English thunresdæg "thunder's day"
Latin dies Jovis "day of Jupiter"
Ancient Greek hemera Dios "day of Zeus".

Thor is the Norse god of thunder. He is represented as riding a chariot drawn by goats and wielding the hammer Miölnir. He is the defender of the Aesir, destined to kill and be killed by the Midgard Serpent.
Jupiter (Jove) is the supreme Roman god and patron of the Roman state. He is noted for creating thunder and lightning.
Zeus is Greek god of the heavens and the supreme Greek god.

Friday -- Freya's day
Middle English fridai
Old English frigedæg "Freya's day"
composed of Frige (genetive singular of Freo) + dæg "day" (most likely)
or composed of Frig "Frigg" + dæg "day" (least likely)
Germanic frije-dagaz "Freya's (or Frigg's) day"
Latin dies Veneris "Venus's day"
Ancient Greek hemera Aphrodites "day of Aphrodite"

Freo is identical with freo, meaning free. It is from the Germanic frijaz meaning "beloved, belonging to the loved ones, not in bondage, free".
Freya (Fria) is the Teutonic goddess of love, beauty, and fecundity (prolific procreation). She is identified with the Norse god Freya. She is leader of the Valkyries and one of the Vanir. She is confused in Germany with Frigg.
Frigg (Frigga) is the Teutonic goddess of clouds, the sky, and conjugal (married) love. She is identified with Frigg, the Norse goddess of love and the heavens and the wife of Odin. She is one of the Aesir. She is confused in Germany with Freya.
Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Aphrodite (Cytherea) is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

Saturday -- Saturn's day
Middle English saterday
Old English sæter(nes)dæg "Saturn's day"
Latin dies Saturni "day of Saturn"
Ancient Greek hemera Khronu "day of Cronus"

Saturn is the Roman and Italic god of agriculture and the consort of Ops. He is believed to have ruled the earth during an age of happiness and virtue.
Cronus (Kronos, Cronos) is the Greek god (Titan) who ruled the universe until dethroned by his son Zeus.

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Gypsy Omens

Animals

Cats & Dogs--If a black cat should cross your path it brings good luck. If the cat stops to look at you the luck will be greater, but if the cat spits at you it brings back luck. Dogs howling for no apparent reason brings news of death.

Spiders--spiders hold a deep fascination with gypsies and you should never kill a spider. If a spider should attach a filament of web upon you, the fates are about to make a change in your life.

Butterflies--A butterfly settling upon a young woman foretells a pregnancy; on an older woman it signifies a new baby in the family. On anyone else the butterfly foretells a time of celebration & frivolity.

Nature

The Moon--To see the new moon out of doors is very lucky. You should bow to her three times, then turn your money over three times; it will increase ninefold by the next new moon. Make a wish on the full moon, and of course you should always wish on a shooting star - but never tell your wish to another, or it loses its power and won't come true.

Gypsy Magick

The Gypsies say that the power of magick lies in four simple ingredients. The first of these is the desire/need of the practitioner. The stronger your desire for something to happen and the stronger your need for a thing, then the stronger is the power that you generate towards that goal. We can say, then, that the first ingredient (indeed the first necessity) for successful magick is will.

Along with the will for something to happen must go a certain amount of concentration, the second ingredient. It is no good doing anything, least of all magick, in a halfhearted manner. You must concentrate on what you are doing so that you can put that necessary will power into it.

There is no magick wand as described in children's fairy tales. There is no way you can wave a wand or utter a chant or spell, and FLASH! the thing is done. No; even magick takes time. Some spells can have effect within 24 hours, but most take longer. Some can take weeks, months, or even more. So the third ingredient is patience. Do the spell with the necessary will power, give it the required concentration; then be content to sit back and wait for it to have effect... and it will take effect.

The final ingredient is simply secrecy. Gypsies don't announce when they are doing magick, nor what exactly they are doing. They do it quietly, within the privacy of their vardos. So you, too, should keep secret what you are doing. By running around telling - perhaps bragging to - your friends, you are only weakening the power of what you have done.

~Raymond Buckland, Secrets of Gypsy Love Magick

Book of Shadows

SONG OF THE GODDESS

I am the Great Mother, worshiped by all creation and existent prior to their consciousness. I am the primal female force, boundless and eternal.

I am the chaste Goddess of the Moon, the Lady of all magic. The winds and moving leaves sing my name. I wear the crescent Moon upon my brow and my feet rest among the starry heavens. I am mysteries yet unsolved, a path newly set upon. I am a field untouched by the plow. Rejoince in me and know the fullness of youth.

I am the blessed Mother, the gracious Lady of the harvest. I am clothed with the deep, cool wonder of the Earth and the gold of the fields heavy with grain. By me the tides of the Earth are ruled; all things come to fruition according to my season. I am refuge and healing. I am the life-giving Mother, wondrously fertile.

Worship me as the Crone, tender of the unbroken cycle of death and rebirth. I am the wheel, the shadow of the Moon. I rule the tides of women and men and give release and renewal to weary souls. Though the darkness of death is my domain, the joy of birth is my gift.

I am the Goddess of the Moon, the Earth, the Seas. My names and strengths are manifold. I pour forth magic and power, peace and wisdom. I am the eternal Maiden, Mother of all, and Crone of darkness, and I send you blessings of limitless love.

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Friday, July 9, 2010