Goddess Speak Sanctuary of Solace Newsletter - August 2025

Summer declines and roses have grown rare, But cottage crofts are gay with hollyhocks, And in old garden walks you breathe an air Fragrant of pinks and August-smelling stocks. —John Todhunter

Happy August my friends! The time of Lammas, monsoons (at least in the desert), end of the Dog Days of Summer, stargazing in the mountains and enjoying the last weeks of hot sunny days....

August Dates of Interest:

• American Artist Appreciation Month /Black Business Month
• August 1 Lammas/Lughnasadh
• August 3: National Watermelon Day
• August 7: Sea Serpent Day, National Lighthouse Day
• August 9: Full Sturgeon Moon @ 12:54 am
• August 9: PPDLV hosts - Kitchen Witchery Ice Cream Social @ UUCLV
• August 12: Stargazing and Moon Phases Exploration Night
• August 12: Stargazing with the S.o.S.
• August 15: Chant at the Moon Day / Sanskrit Day
• August 16: UUCLV Food Pantry
• August 16: Samhain Mask Making w/ Inner Circle Sanctuary @ UUCLV
• August 17: National Black Cat Appreciation Day
• August 19: World Honey Bee Day /World Humanitarian Day
• August 21: Poet's Day
• August 22: Black New Moon in Virgo @ 11:06 pm (third New Moon in a season with four New Moons)
• August 22: National Tooth Fairy Day
• August 23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
• August 26: National Women's Equality Day

To see all of our events and RSVP please click this button!

Musical Feature for August

Beautiful music from our Lammas ritual By Abigail Spinner McBride!

We want to congratulate Abigail on being nominated again for Best Female Musician by the International Pagan Music Awards! If you would like to help ensure Abigail retains her title, you may vote using the button below.

(Note - there is a fee of 5.00 to vote, all funds go to support the good works of promoting pagan musicians worldwide.)

Abigail has a newly released album called, 'Mind Full of Music' -and if you haven't heard it yet, you can find Abigail and the album on Spotify, Apple Music, and all streaming platforms!

~ Fairy Rings ~

How fungi form ‘fairy rings’ and inspire superstitions

Article by: Olivia Campbell (National Geographic)

Circles made of mushrooms have inspired superstitions for centuries, but what’s really behind these cryptic rings?

Stumble into a circle of mushrooms while out rambling over hill and dale, and who knows what fate may befall you. You might be cursed or eaten by a giant toad, doomed to die young, or endowed with increased fertility. Most likely, you’ll anger the fairies, who’ll render you invisible, trap you inside the ring, and either force you to dance ‘til exhaustion or drag you into their realm.

If you’re lucky enough to have a friend mount a successful rescue mission, you may find you’ve been away longer than you thought, have no memory of the experience, or crumble to dust upon emerging. But it might not be all bad: if it’s a full moon when you enter the circle, you’ll be blessed with good fortune.

These are just some of the myriad stories that emerge around mushroom-dotted “fairy rings.” But contrary to popular belief, fairy rings are not the result of fairies, witches, or other supernatural beings dancing and cavorting in circles.

They form when a fungal spore grows into a mycelium—the underground threads that form a single fungal organism—and sends out a subterranean network of tubular threads called hyphae. The hyphae that make up the mycelium grow evenly in all directions and then produce a near-perfect circle of “fruiting bodies”—mushrooms—above ground. When the central mycelium eventually dies out, the edges keep growing, and the ring gets wider every year.

Fairy rings are found mostly on grasslands, but can also be spotted in woodlands, living in symbiosis with trees.

A meeting of mycelium:

Fairy rings are formed by the union of two mycelia into a singular mycelium.

“They melt their nuclei, and then live the rest of their life with a divided nucleus,” says Maurizio Zotti, a mycologist and soil community ecologist at the University of Naples Federico II who specializes in plant-fungus interactions. “This is quite amazing because they are able to switch on and switch off a different nucleus of each cell to adapt to any environmental condition.”

He explains that fairy rings develop only if the soil they consume is homogenous. Their circular formation also improves their chances of surviving potential pathogens.

It's not well understood why fairy rings develop, but Zotti is developing a predictive model. “This summer I will take samplings in different areas where they turn up and try to understand the age of the colonies and the geomorphological and environmental conditions,” Zotti explains. “I'm trying to predict where they will form. It’s going to be really tricky.”

Because we are still coaxing fairy rings to give up their secrets, it’s no surprise that previous generations turned to the supernatural to explain their origins. Fairy rings are found across the globe, and, fascinatingly, nearly every culture also associates them with the supernatural in some way.

Fertile ground for folklore:

Stories about fairy rings date back centuries in Europe, Africa, and North America. They’re also referred to as fairy circles, witches’ rings, or sorcerer’s rings. In Japan, they’re called shiro, which means “white” and “castle,” referring to both the color of the mushrooms and the underground palace they’ve built. Dancing fairies or witches are the most common origin myth, but some cultures believe fairy rings are where the devil placed his milk churn or where a dragon laid their fiery tail.

“Since fairies are the quintessential supernatural agents in the Gaelic world, they would almost inevitably be associated with strange ‘unnatural’ or inexplicable phenomena in the landscape,” explains Barbara Hillers, associate professor of folklore at Indiana University Bloomington. “So it makes complete sense that mushroom rings would be associated with fairies as a kind of etiological explanatory device.”

While fairy ring folklore may be even older, we can date it to at least the 12th century with the Middle English term elferingewort, or elf-ring. Fairy rings themselves can live for hundreds of years, with the oldest found in Belfort, France, measuring nearly a half-mile in diameter and thought to be 700 years old.

Zotti asserts much of what we know about the formation of fairy rings originated in folklore. And some superstitions are rooted in truth.

In England, it’s believed that building houses in grasslands with fairy rings means the house will never fall down. Zotti says, indeed, houses built on this soil will have no basement moisture problems “because this kind of fungi needs good soil drainage.”

Dutch shepherds assert the butter will taste bad if they let their cows graze in pastures with fairy rings. “We discovered the reason for this is that inside fairy rings, there is a form of broadleaf plants that release chemicals that are bitter and give this taste to the milk and cheese,” Zotti notes.

Landscapes often evoke the supernatural:

According to Hillers, fairies are strongly associated with landscapes in Ireland and Scotland.

Fairies are also frequently connected with mushrooms in folklore, notes Jonny Dillon, an archivist at the Irish National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin, and not in a positive way. “Fungi have long been looked on with a culture of suspicion and skepticism, being popularly associated with the devil, púca, or fairy.”

Many cultures view mushrooms as eerily uncanny; they erupt in odd places and coalesce into weird shapes; they don’t grow and develop the same way as fruits, vegetables, or other plants. Their potential poisonousness adds to this malevolent reputation. While it’s wise for cultures to be wary of ingesting unknown fungi, mushrooms are a key part of nature. “Fungi are nature’s great recyclers, and they beautifully represent the interconnected cycles of decay, regeneration, and rebirth that underpin our world,” observes Dillon.

Fairy rings encourage biodiversity and keep soil chemistry balanced:

“The importance of fungi in regulating the biogeochemical cycle, decomposing organic matter, and restoring nutrients is absolutely crucial to the environment,” Zotti affirms. His paper, “One ring to rule them all,” discusses how fairy ring fungi work as ecosystem engineers that foster plant and microbial diversity. Zotti says it’s a fascinating area to study because you can witness so many different biological phenomena, such as competition, decomposition, and entropic relationships.

“I hope in the future, more people will concentrate on studying fairy rings because it’s the perfect phenomenon to study nature and how it works,” Zotti declares. “I think everyone who wants to study soil biology or ecology should study fairy rings. It’s so exciting to put your hand in the soil.”

"August is ripening grain in the fields blowing hot and sunny, the scent of tree-ripened peaches, of hot buttered sweet corn on the cob. Vivid dahlias fling huge tousled blossoms through gardens and joe-pye-weed dusts the meadow purple." - Jean Hersey

“Beauty in its best form is kindness, the most valuable currency in the world.” ― Rebecca McNutt

August Astrology Spotlight

August 2025 comes with a change-focused Aquarius Full Moon, and the Virgo New Moon, as Mercury retrograde is swirling. What's in store for us?

Perseid Meteor Shower 2025

Excerpt from: Date and Time

A great August astronomy highlight to keep an eye out for is the annual Perseid meteor shower. The Perseids are one of the brighter meteor showers of the year. They occur every year between July 17 and August 24 and tend to peak around August 9-13.

Made of tiny space debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseids are named after the constellation Perseus. This is because the direction, or radiant, from which the shower seems to come in the sky lies in the same direction as Perseus. The Perseids are widely sought after by astronomers and stargazers because most years at its peak, one can see 60 to 100 meteors in an hour from a dark place.

In 2025, the Perseids will peak on the night of Aug 12th! If you are in the Las Vegas area, consider joining us for our Annual Meteor Shower Watch Party! Click on the link for more information:

You don't need any special equipment or a lot of skills to view a meteor shower. Even though all you really need is a clear sky, lots of patience, and our handy Interactive Meteor Shower Sky Map with a visibility conditions meter to see a meteor shower; the following tips can help maximize your shooting star viewing experience:

• Find a secluded viewing spot, away from the city lights. Once at the venue, your eyes may take 15 to 20 minutes to get used to the dark. (Cold Creek is a perfect location!)
• Dress for the weather, and make sure you are comfortable, especially if you plan to stay out long. Bring a blanket or a comfortable chair with you—meteor watching can be a waiting game. (Temps on the mountain can drop after dark - bring a jacket!)
• Once you have found your viewing spot, lie down on the ground and look at the sky. You can use this Interactive Meteor Shower Sky Map to find the direction of the radiant; the higher the radiant is above the horizon, the more meteors you are likely to see.
• Meteor showers appear to originate from the radiant, but meteors can appear in any part of the sky.

Go out, go out I beg of you And taste the beauty of the wild. Behold the miracle of the earth with all the wonder of a child.” ~ Unknown

Full Moon in August 2025

Excerpt From: Cafe Astrology

August 9 — Full Moon in Aquarius

Our feelings blossom now. Full Moons are about connecting us with things we already know but aren’t acknowledging, such as buried feelings, or they bring secrets to light and projects to a turning point.

The Full Moon is a time of culmination and the promise of fulfillment of that which was started at the New Moon. It is an emotional time – a time of romance, fertilization, and relationships.

The Leo Sun is proud and intensely individual–not content with simply being just one of the team. The Aquarius Moon, while individualistic as well, values independence and the team, community, and group spirit. The Full Moon illuminates this conflict.

When a Full Moon occurs, we can suddenly burst forth with proclamations and outpours that seem fresh and new, simply because they are not yet rationalized. In fact, a Full Moon illuminates feelings, attitudes, and circumstances that are already in existence.

This is a time of awakening to the need for others or to answer to humanitarian impulses.

Because this lunation occurs around the same time Mars in Libra opposes Saturn and Neptune in Aries, there can be some tension now. With this configuration, a quest for more meaningfulness in our pursuits can be behind some of the stress we feel now. There could be a choice about sacrificing something for a cause or a better future. It can be hard to rise to challenges now. Our energy is stop-and-go, and we can feel depleted until we not only find inspiration but have a plan to work toward our goals.

Similarly, a course of action may be difficult to formulate or follow. It can be a time when we attach a higher meaning to our struggles or need an incentive to carry on our plans.

On our pursuit of more meaningful goals, it’s important to stay focused and determined. We should be wary of trickery and deceit that may lead us astray, and instead, stay true to our path. This steadfastness will guide us towards our desired outcomes.

This Full Moon also occurs with Venus applying to a conjunction with Jupiter, offering us much promise and hope. A desire to enjoy ourselves or grow our relationships can be motivators now. Our need for love and affection runs high.

August Full Moon: The Sturgeon Moon

Excerpt from: The Farmers Almanac

August’s Full Sturgeon Moon will peak on Saturday, August 9. Why do we call is the Sturgeon Moon? Is it full of fish? We’ll explain what makes the August Moon special and how to view this gorgeous summer sight best.

When to See the Full Moon in August 2025

August’s full Moon will crest on Saturday, August 9, reaching peak illumination at 12:54 A.M. Pacific Time. Look up on the evening of Friday, August 8, to catch a spectacular view of the full summer Moon.

August Full Moon alternative names

The Full Moon in August also marked the start of a harvesting season in the Northern Hemisphere. Native American names for the August Full Moon include Corn Moon, Ricing Moon, and Black Cherries Moon. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Grain Moon.

Among the Cree people, the August Full Moon was known as the Flying Up Moon because the young birds learn to fly around this time. Many cultures also call it the Red Moon because of the reddish shade the Moon acquires in the late summer haze.

The other alternative names for the August Full Moon include:

• Chinese: Harvest Moon
• Celtic: Dispute Moon
• Wiccan: Herbal Moon
• Cherokee: Fruit Moon
• Southern Hemisphere: Snow Moon, Storm Moon, Hunger Moon, Wolf Moon

Tonight, step outside and gaze upward. You'll see the Full Sturgeon Moon in Aquarius, waiting for you to soak up its feminine healing energy. Get ready to moon bathe, make moon water, charge your crystals, and write in your book of shadows. ~Krysta Voskowsky

August Full Moon Magic

Adapted From: The Boss Witch School

Moon Bathing:

• Go outside.
• Lay down on the earth, a blanket, and lounge chair, the bed of a truck--wherever.
• Look up at the full moon and visualize her light cleansing your entire being.
• Let her energy bring you balance. Are any psychic messages or intuitive pings coming through?
• Breathe, meditate, think, read Tarot, cast runes, or chat if you're with a friend.
• Stay in the moonlight as long as your desire. This time of year, mosquito repellant will probably be helpful.

Replenish Your Moon Water:

• Before you step outside to moon bathe, fill a clear glass jar with clean water. Rainwater or water from a natural source of moving water (like a river or ocean) is ideal, but distilled or tap water will do in a pinch. (If you're using distilled or tap water, add a pinch of sea salt or black lava salt and a small quartz crystal for cleansing.)
• Write a personalized incantation and speak it over your jar of water.
• Bring the water with you while moon bathing, or leave it on a windowsill or porch in full view of the moon. Allow the water to fully charge in the moonlight.

Charge & Cleanse your Crystals, Jewelry, and Magical Tools:

Place crystals outside or on your window sill for the night, and let them charge by the moonlight. Any jewelry you wear on a regular basis should also be cleansed by the full moon to get rid of any residual foreign energy picked up along your travels. I like to cleanse my Tarot Deck by moonlight, too.

Writing Prompts:

• Tonight's full moon in Aquarius asks for something to be acknowledged. What could it be?
• Write about your accomplishments so far in 2025. How have you evolved?
• Write about autonomy and freedom. What does that look like for you?
• What does balance feel like?
• What does authenticity mean to you? How could you be expressing yourself more authentically?
• Write about how far you've come.

August New 'Black' Moon in Virgo

August 23 — New Moon in Virgo

The New Moon occurs as the Moon aligns with the Sun in the sign of Virgo.

A time of new beginnings, this New Moon presents an excellent opportunity for us to formulate some goals regarding “all things Virgo.” We’d do well to concentrate on new ways to get our day-to-day life organized. We might think about the keywords for this particular and earthy sign — such things as analytical, intelligent, reserved, critical, helpful, conscientious — and consider ways to enhance, develop, or incorporate these traits into our personalities.

Please note that Virgo is found somewhere in every person’s chart, and these are the areas of our lives most affected now.

The New Moon in Virgo is an excellent time to commit to personal goals that express the positive energies of the sign of the Virgin. These include:

• building our powers of healthy, constructive discrimination;
• rolling up our sleeves and getting down to some serious work;
• beginning a new project that requires attention to details;
• making lists, actively ticking off completed activities, and taking pride in our “little” accomplishments;
• starting a health regime, researching nutrition and nourishment, and paying attention to our diet;
• setting up specific routines that will help us manage our lives in constructive and mindful ways;
• and handling the finer details of our day-to-day life in an organized, step-by-step fashion so that we can free our minds of clutter.

We’re ready to make something special of our work, routines, or tasks. It’s a powerful time to transform our jobs, health, self-care programs, and habits. We’re filled with innovative, inventive, and unusual ideas. There can be some roadblocks to manage, largely related to rebelliousness, responsibilities, unacknowledged ambitions, or our attention to spiritual or mental health, but we’re determined to start fresh.

We’re experiencing a period with great potential for raised consciousness as Pluto forms a sextile with Saturn-Neptune, which in turn forms a sextile with Uranus. This New Moon is in challenging aspect to this powerful configuration, which can jolt us back into the need to attend to our work and a routine.

"The line of the horizon was clear and hard against the sky,and in one particular quarter it showed black against a silvery climbing phosphorescence that grew and grew. At last, over the rim of the waiting earth the moon lifted with slow majesty till it swung clear of the horizon and rode off, free of moorings..." ~ Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

'Crafty Corner'

~ How to make air dry clay pendants ~

Article and images by: Rhubarb and Wren - UK

How to make simple but bee-utiful bee pendants from air dry clay!

Materials needed:

• air dry clay
• a circle cutter or other shape. Hexagon, anyone?
• a bee stamp or improvise with something else you like!
• cornflour
• gold paint
• varnish
• string

Method:

1. On greaseproof paper, roll out your clay to roughly 5mm – 1cm thickness

2. Use a biscuit cutter, lid or glass to cut out your pendant shape.

3. Dip your stamp in cornflour before using, to stop the clay sticking.

4. Ue your stamp to imprint your bee design onto the pendant.

5. Use a pencil, straw or similar to make a hole at the top of your pendant. This is for threading your string, so make sure it’s big enough.

6. Leave your pendant to harden for at least 24 hours in a warm, dry place, or alternatively put in the oven on the lowest possible setting to speed up drying time.

7. Once dry, paint and/or varnish. Varnish will seal the clay and therefore protect it from moisture so don’t skip this stage if you want your bee necklace to last.

8. Finally, thread some string through the hole to finish. Your bee pendant is done!

Quick Tips

• Put the clay in the fridge for a short while if it is really too sticky to work with, as this will help reduce the tackiness.
• Dip your fingertip in a little water to smooth away imperfections and fingerprints as you work.
• Turn over your pendants as they dry so as to avoid the clay cracking or not drying out fully.
• Put unused clay in an airtight box and it will keep for ages.

Craft article and pictures are from Rhubarb and Wren Co. website

~The Kitchen Witch's Cauldron~

~ Sweet Potato-Ginger Cake ~

Enchanted Essence of Autumn:

Born from the roots of time and the warmth of the earth, this Flourless Sweet Potato Ginger Cake is a culinary spell woven with intention and ancestral wisdom. At its heart lies the sweet potato—an ancient tuber revered for its nourishing properties and mystical resilience.

A Root with a Legacy:

Sweet potatoes have journeyed through centuries, first cultivated over 5,000 years ago in Central and South America. The Incas grew them in the highlands of Peru, while Polynesian navigators carried them across oceans, embedding their magic in island soil. In many cultures, sweet potatoes symbolize abundance, healing, and connection to the land. Their vibrant flesh, rich in beta-carotene and natural sweetness, was once considered a gift from the gods—sustenance for body and spirit.

The Cake’s Spellbinding Composition:

Blended with fresh ginger—an ancient root known for its fiery energy and protective qualities—this cake awakens the senses and stirs inner warmth. The absence of flour lifts the veil of heaviness, allowing the natural ingredients to shine with purity and intention. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove whisper tales of old spice routes and hearthside gatherings, wrapping the cake in a cloak of comfort and nostalgia.

A Ritual of Nourishment:

Soft, flavorful, and deeply grounding, this cake is more than a dessert—it’s a ritual. Perfect for gluten-free feasts, autumnal celebrations, or quiet moments of reflection, it invites you to savor the magic of the harvest and the wisdom of the roots.

"Every year, August lashes out in volcanic fury, rising with the din of morning traffic, its great metallic wings smashing against the ground, heating the air with ever-increasing intensity." - Henry Rollins

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

~ The monthly Book Review ~

Protection & Reversal Spells:

The Witch's Defense Manual

By: Avril le Roux

Cast out negative energies and release a realm of protection around you, your home, and your loved ones.

Cleanse, purify, and defend your energetic power with these ancient protection and reversal spells. Perfect for both new and advanced witches, this book will guide you in understanding the fundamentals of protection magic, banishing negative energy, and guarding your manifested progress.

Whether we know them or not, negative energies dampen our internal magic and suffocate our creative power.

If you feel you are swimming upstream, it is time to break off energetic strongholds! Once you cast out these harmful influences, you will surely experience a release in creativity far beyond your wildest dreams! Here is a sample of what your will receive:

• ✨ PROTECTION & REVERSAL FUNDAMENTALS - This book will not only provide you with powerful spells to elevate your power, it will also equip you with a step-by-step guide in defending dark spirits and supercharging your future with positive influence.
• ✨ POWER OF ANCIENT MAGIC - Far more than a simple collection of spells, this magic protection book harnesses the power of some of the most potent sequences and spiritual traditionsused throughout the history of the ancient folk magic tradition to protect themselves, their homes and their treasured relationships.
• ✨ BREAK GENERATIONAL CURSES- Understand the historical and cultural impact of different dark and harmful energies. Break off curses and cleanse your family of centuries of evil influence!
• ✨ SPELLS, POTIONS, & AMULETS - Your power as a witch is centered on your unique inner magic. Equip yourself with powerful spells, potions, recipes, amulets, and more that harness, beckon, and radiate positive and uplifting power.
• ✨ MAGIC CORRESPONDENCE - Unlike many spell books that provide vague descriptions, this book will deep-dive into the meaning and connection of each ingredient and practice. You will be given the tools to cleanse your energy, create protection and abundance, and maximize your magic.

About the author: Avril le Roux

✨ Welcome to the other side of the veil ✨

A world whispered of and often misunderstood, Avril le Roux invites you to explore the truths, dispel the myths, and see the full potential of modern witchcraft. Follow her journey as she brings to life years of practice.

Gifted by her mother, Avril discovered her creative power through magical traditions dating back centuries. The older she grew the more she began to experiment on her own, adding her unique nuances to this storied craft. Today, Avril strives to bring understanding to the role and uses of witchcraft, its power, and its benefits to the rest of the world.

Her books are the continuation of her personal education, practice and research. Avril strives to bring informative light to the magic surrounding us, with age-old spells and rituals designed to help you chart a spiritual path.

Spiritual, driven and creative, Avril hopes you find the magic spark within as you to begin your journey to enlightenment and awakening.

August Laughs:

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