Almanac - Resources - The White Goddess

Almanac

Almanac

The Almanac is a resource of significant pagan events and the birthdays of important people connected to paganism/wicca.

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Almanac for July

01/07 - 31/07 - Birthstone - Ruby

Rubies arouse the senses, stir the imagination, and are said to guarantee health, wisdom, wealth and success in love. Ruby is a variety of the gems species corundum.

To bring about a very deep and pure love affair. Sun, Mars. Heart Chakra. Compassion, leadership, heals relationship to father. Prevents schizophrenia. Adds energy to the body; attracts wealth, power and joy. The stone of freedom, charity, dignity and divine power. Increases vigor, renews vitality and cleanses the blood. The stone of courage. Helps banish grief for those in mourning.

03/07 - Dog Days

The Dog Days are traditionally known as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the ancient heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. These are the days of the year when rainfall is at its lowest levels.

'Dog Days bright and clear, indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain, for better times our hopes are in vain'

In Ancient Rome, the Dog Days extended from July 24 through August 24, or, alternatively, July 23 through August 23.

The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.

13/07 - Arthur Dee

Arthur Dee (13 July 1579 – September 1651), the eldest son of Dr John Dee, was a physician and alchemist.

He was the eldest son of John Dee, by his second wife, Jane, daughter of Bartholomew Fromond of East Cheam, Surrey, and was born at Mortlake on 13 July 1579. He accompanied his father in travels through Germany, Poland, and Bohemia. After his return to England he was placed at Westminster School, 3 May 1592, under the tuition of Grant and Camden. Anthony Wood was informed that he subsequently studied at Oxford, but he took no degree, and his college is unknown.

Settling in London with the intention of practising 'physic' (medicine) he exhibited at the door of his house a list of medicines which were said to be certain cures for many diseases. The censors of the College of Physicians summoned him to appear before them; but it is not known with what outcome. Proceeding to Manchester, Dee married Isabella, daughter of Edward Prestwych, justice of the peace.

Through the recommendation of James I he was appointed one of the physicians to the Tsar Michael I of Russia. He remained in Russia for about fourteen years, principally at Moscow. There he wrote his Fasciculus Chemicus, a collection of writings on alchemy.

Returning to England upon the death of his wife in 1637, Dee became physician to King Charles I. Upon his retirement Arthur Dee resided in Norwich, where he became a friend of Sir Thomas Browne. Arthur Dee died in October 1651, in Norwich and was buried in the church of St. George, Tombland. He had seven sons and six daughters. Dee's relationship to Browne has been little explored, but on his death it was to Browne that the bulk of Arthur Dee's alchemical manuscripts and books were bequeathed.

13/07 - John Dee

John Dee (13 July 1527–1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy.

Dee straddled the worlds of science and magic just as they were becoming distinguishable. One of the most learned men of his age, he had been invited to lecture on advanced algebra at the University of Paris while still in his early twenties. Dee was an ardent promoter of mathematics and a respected astronomer, as well as a leading expert in navigation, having trained many of those who would conduct England's voyages of discovery.

Simultaneously with these efforts, Dee immersed himself in the worlds of magic, astrology and Hermetic philosophy. He devoted much time and effort in the last thirty years or so of his life to attempting to commune with angels in order to learn the universal language of creation and bring about the pre-apocalyptic unity of mankind. A student of the Renaissance Neo-Platonism of Marsilio Ficino, Dee did not draw distinctions between his mathematical research and his investigations into Hermetic magic, angel summoning and divination. Instead he considered all of his activities to constitute different facets of the same quest: the search for a transcendent understanding of the divine forms which underlie the visible world, which Dee called "pure verities".

In his lifetime Dee amassed one of the largest libraries in England. His high status as a scholar also allowed him to play a role in Elizabethan politics. He served as an occasional adviser and tutor to Elizabeth I and nurtured relationships with her ministers Francis Walsingham and William Cecil. Dee also tutored and enjoyed patronage relationships with Sir Philip Sidney, his uncle Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, and Edward Dyer. He also enjoyed patronage from Sir Christopher Hatton.

19/07 - The Salem Witches

On 19th July 1692, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Wildes, Susannah Martin were executed for witchcraft during the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692.

31/07 - Lammas

Lammas: July 31st.  Also known as Frey Fest, Lughnasa, or Lugnasad. This is an Irish Gaelic name for the feast which commemorates the funeral games of Lugh, Celtic god of light, and son of the Sun.

View more on Lammas »