In my naming of the moons, Av is the Moon of Endings & Beginnings (July/August).
It is a month for when our walls are torn down, both physically and emotionally, challenging what we believe we need to thrive, and get ready to do the work of beginning again.
These spirals of time that we turn and return to are so powerful. Right now, I’m aware of a wave of endings and beginnings, across many different parts of my life and the wider world. The fear, grief, and pain are real. And yet, it is one of those moments where being willing to say, “this chapter is over” needs to be done. Sometimes we don’t get to feel like we’re deciding. We don’t choose when we’re born or die, but they both happen and usher in the unknown.
It takes strength to say, “it’s over.” It takes wisdom to know whether to rebuild RIGHT HERE or move on and rebuild elsewhere. But that is what we, as Jews, do — over and over and over. And we must use that hard earned skill as the entire planet learns to grapple with the effect of human-caused climate crisis and so many other challenges happening on the personal, communal, and planetary level.
The timing of these changes is not lost on me, in this first year of a new Shmita cycle.
Av is a month where we mourn radical, painful changes on Tisha B’Av (9th of Av) and then, possibly bitter sweetly, celebrate the grape harvest and rebirth of hope on Tu B’Av (15th Av). Av is a month where Strength and Courage are intertwined with Wisdom, and we must be brave about every ending and beginning.
In her book, Mussar Yoga, Edith Brotman says, “Courage expands possibilities in the face of seemingly limited options.” But to do this we need the courage to make choices and the wisdom to know which ones to make.
Av Resources
Av: Overview
Moon: Endings and Beginnings
Soul Trait: Ometz Lev (אמץ לב) Courage
Tribe: Simeon
Tarot: Strength
Netivah: Chachamah (חָכמָה) Wise Woman
Looking Ahead to Elul
Elul: Overview
Moon: Making Space
Soul Trait: Hineni (הנני) Presence
Tribe: Gad (גד)
Tarot: Hermit
Find source citations for correspondences and so much more.
MAKING
Have you somehow missed that I am in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to support the launch of the 2nd edition of Eit/Aht: a Netivot Wisdom Oracle?
Just in case you missed the news or just didn’t remember it was happening or ending… the campaign is a way to fund independently publishing my deck. Kickstarters are “all or nothing,” meaning that if it doesn’t reach a funding threshold — no one gets charged and I don’t get any funding.
The good news is, we reached the funding threshold in just FIVE days! It was a marked difference from the first edition, where it didn’t fund until the final hours of the final day. There is no bad news. Just more good news: there’s still time to help fund this campaign AND we’re into stretch goals!
The first stretch goal has already been unlocked, and I’ll be content adding to the companion booklet about finding your birth card with the Netivot Oracle. More stretch goals are waiting to be unlocked with your support.
This will be a limited printing of the deck, and while there will be some copies for sale after the Kickstarter, the best way to make sure you get a copy (and just support my work) is to back the Kickstarter.
Questions about the 2nd edition or the Kickstarter? Let me know!
MUSSAR
Date: Sunday 7/23/2023
Time: 3-4:30pm ET
Where: Register for Zoom Link
Cost: None, but donations gratefully accepted
The soul trait that corresponds with Av, in the Kesharim K’doshim approach to mussar, is Ometz Lev (אמץ לב) Courage.
You can find an introduction to both mussar and my approach at devotaj.com/mussar. You can also purchase a copy of my ebook: Introduction to Mussar Practice.
There is no cost to attend Soul Trait Studio, but registration is required.
Register this and every month at devotaj.com/soultraitstudio
And if you can’t attend in real time, all registrants also receive the recording the following day. And you can add your thoughts and experiences on the monthly Practice Guide (posted the day of each session).
MAGICK
How do you define magick? This is a basic starting point for being a magickal person, living a magickal life, and being a practitioner of magick - but so many people seem to skip over it.
Here’s a few definitions I pulled together for a class that Angela Raincatcher and I led on this topic a few years ago. I’m curious which, if any, resonate with you — and if you have your own.
The Sacred Arts (aka magick) are an interdisciplinary practice of creating catalysts for spiritual or material change. (Ketzirah haMa’agelet)
Sensing and weaving the subtle energies inherent in the universe (Angela Raincatcher)
In The Spiral Dance, Starhawk defines magic, in part, as “the art of sensing and shaping the subtle, unseen forces that flow throughout the world …” In Dreaming the Dark, she writes that magic is a “technology” or “applied science” “of how energy makes patterns and patterns direct energy”.
Magick is your perception, an active role you take in the creation of your own reality. (Christopher Penczak - City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism)
“Magic” is the hopelessly inadequate Standard English word for a long-established technology which permits access to the “operating codes” underlying the current physical universe. (Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult (Disinformation Guides))
The study of magic is not a science, it is not an art, and it is not a religion. Magic is a craft. When we do magic, we do not wish and we do not pray. We rely upon our will and our knowledge and our skill to make a specific change to the world." (Professor March, “The Magicians” by Lev Grossman”)
New to magick as a spiritual/metaphysical practice or as part of Jewish practice? Here’s a great interview with scholar Yuval Harari to get you started.
Do you have answers or more questions? Leave a comment and let me know.
Resources & Rituals
Just a reminder that I’m in the process of moving the Wheel of the Year resources from devotaj.com to devotaj.substack.com, which will become the unified home for all my writing.
Here’s a few of the relevant and recent additions to the Resources & Rituals on Substack that don’t fit cleanly into Making, Mussar, or Magick. Most of these are only for premium subscribers, but all have a free preview.
» » » Explore all posts about Av « « «
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Watch | Listen | Read
Key: Shows & Movies 📺 | Books 📚 | Articles 📄 | Music 🎼 | Podcast 🎙
🎙Ketzirah on The Hearth and Hedge podcast; a chat with host Amerbele about all things magick, Eit/Aht: a Netivot Wisdom Oracle, and I shared the Zoom Circle Casting available in Rituals on devotaj.substack.com
🎙Poppy King on Fat Mascara || I am a huge fan of Poppy King. She is a Gen-X icon, and her approach to beauty is pure magick. This interview with her as she doubles down on beauty as inspiration, not aspiration, and her commitment to living her values is truly inspiring.
📄 Fear Less & Presence as Intimacy by Shir Meira || Shir is a powerful spiritual teacher whose presence I’m always in awe of and enjoy being in. His newsletters are filled with soft, powerful resonances.
📄 Will We Return to Craftwork by
of || A lovely exploration of craft as work and the implications of work that matters.Chevalier (streaming on Hulu) || I am a sucker for a good costume drama and one that unearths a forgotten story and tackles racism in the years leading up to the French Revolution? Count me in. My only quibble is the story seems to have forgotten that the King was in charge, not the Queen no matter how history likes to scapegoat her…
What are you listening, reading, or watching?
Note: Links to Bookshop.org and Amazon.com contain affiliate code that allows authors to earn a small commission on purchases
Thank you for this posting. They've been several endings in July, including loss of family members and those related to my health where I've lost the ability to do some of the things that I love. With the help of community and sharing with them what's going on with me, I'm re-emerging, delving into new beginnings. Your post definitely resonated with me. I'm looking forward to Tisha B'Av to take a moment to observe what's ended and to Tu B'av to begin anew.
One more thought: This one about "magick". The word "theurgy" is defined as the art or technique of compelling or persuading a god or beneficent or supernatural power to do or refrain from doing something. I wonder how that might fit in with your definition(s) of magick.