Calendar of the Sun
21 Lithemonath
Day of the Crab: Beginning of Cancer
Colors: Silver and grey
Element: Water
Altar: Set a cloth of grey and silver, and a silver crescent moon, shells, a vessel of salt water, a
cup of milk, cakes shaped like the moon on a silver tray, and the figure of a crab.
Offerings: Food, which should then be donated to the poor and hungry.
Daily Meal: Shellfish. Milk and dairy products, from any animal, especially foaming
milkshakes. Moon-shaped cookies. Soft white food such as rice, tapioca, or mashed potato.
Oatmeal. All food should be cooked, none raw save the milk.
Invocation to Cancer
Child of the changing Moon,
Dweller between earth and sea,
Dancer of the ebb and flow,
Mother whose breasts flow with life,
Loving fountain of karuna,
Whose gift is Feeling,
Bless us with the ability
To know our own hearts,
And to gather our loved ones
About our hearth
In love and safety.
By the power of kin and tribe,
You challenge us
To build each other a safe home,
And help each other to work through
The scars and heartaches of our childhoods.
May we all go forth in sanctuary.
Chant:
Luna Luna Selene Mater
(Let three who have been chosen to work for the ritual come forward. The first bears the cup of
milk, and says, "Taste nurturing, and remember you were born from a woman's womb." Each
drinks. The second bears the tray of cakes, and says, "Taste nurturing, and be full and fed."
Each eats a cake. The third bears the cup of salt water, and says, "Taste nurturing, and
remember that to love is to someday let go, and drink tears." Each drinks. The remainder is
given as libation to Cancer and the Moon.)
[Pagan Book of Hours]