The word ‘lunatic’ came from zealots who danced about mischievously during the full moon. If you’re feeling that putting up with some of Windows’ operating tics is driving you to lunacy in and of itself, why not pay homage to the inevitable insanity by adding a lunar almanac to your taskbar?
- Maximum PC Magazine
For thousands of years, people have observed, been fascinated by, and even worshiped the moon. Helping to keep the art of the almanack relevant during the 21st century, Infra-Azure Labs presents Lunabar, the Digital Lunar Almanack.
Lunabar puts a lunar almanack in your taskbar. It accurately shows the current phase of the moon, the times of moonrise, moon southing, and moonset, and the zodiacal constellation and sign. The phase, constellation or zodiacal sign is shown in a tooltip window when your mouse hovers over the icon, and a full lunar almanack is just a click away.
There are many graphical features, such as selectable fonts and "themes." There is a full installation and uninstallation program and a help file.
Lunabar can display many full moon name ‘traditions.’ It can display moon phases in astronomical or astrological format, appealing to a wide range of users. There also are many popup features: moonlight hours window, position in constellation/sign.
Lunabar shows sunrise and sunset, the constellation and sign of the Sun, and the current Planetary Hour.
For international users, Lunabar uses your Windows system’s settings for time zone, daylight savings time, and time display format. Also there’s full support for southern hemisphere users.
Lunabar is freeware, but donations are cheerfully accepted at the PayPal button on the right. Thanks.
Clicking on the link below will download the Lunabar EXE installer. A full uninstaller is built-in. Lunabar contains NO spyware, adware, or any other kind of junk-ware. We hate that crap as much as you do. The only time Lunabar contacts our website is when you ask it to. If you use Tools > Check for Updates NO information is sent to us. A file is simply downloaded and compared locally to see if there’s a newer version on our website.
Lunabar is compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
The current Moon Void of Course table that ships with Lunabar has been triple-checked against an independent source, and now runs until the end of 2010. There is also a version that uses the traditional planets rather than the modern planets: it’s in your Lunabar folder as "Void of Course.Trad." Rename to "Void of Course.Luna" in order to use it.
Current version: Lunabar Version 6.30 Beta 01 / Summer 2008
Download Lunabar
Current Date
21 December 2012
Lunabar: The Digital Lunar Almanack (sticky)
04 May 2009
On Duality
Solar angel
Bound to lunar spirit:
Two sides of the same coin.
Copper
Laughing
Sunny and shady sides of a hill.
One and zero:
Digital.
- 5/3/2009
18 May 2008
Ophiuchus, the 13th Sign
Sidereal astrologers, who deal with the movement of the planets across the real constellations in the sky, have a twist: there are thirteen signs in that zodiac. The extra is Ophiuchus, the serpent carrier. Rather than being a recent invention, the "problem" of Ophiuchus goes back a few centuries. An interesting article from a astrologer's point of view: here.
19 January 2008
Music for Grimoires
If you don't subscribe to the "electronics are bad during rituals" philosophy, you may have had some suitable background music on during a ritual; you may have even used suitably atmospheric electric lights (LED "candle" lighting is very appropriate for this). But non-distracting music is needed for a ritual: in my mind, it needs to be a drone without too much variation, sans vocals and with a mood suitable to the ritual. In these iPodian days, it's easy to set it to repeat until the ritual is complete.
Here's my first suggestion: Lustmord, Where the Black Stars Hang. Just because it's a ritual I don't think something that sounds like horror movie music would really work (but if that floats your boat: do it!) and this Lustmord CD is a dark yet not gloomy wash of sound from deep space. The first song is even called Sol Om On (Solomon? Music for Grimoires?). Perfect for the purpose.
If you're not familiar with Lustmord it might sound like a German black metal group, but really he (it's one guy) is a master of the dark ambient genre.
10 January 2008
Create a Magic Carpet
How To Make The Magic Carpet Proper For Interrogating The Intelligences, So As To Obtain An Answer Regarding Whatsoever Matter One May Wish To Learn
Make: a Carpet of white and new wool, and when the Moon shall be at her full, in the Sign of Capricorn and in the hour of the Sun, thou shalt go into the country away from any habitation of man, in a place free from all impurity, and shalt spread out thy Carpet so that one of its points shall be towards the east, and another towards the west, and having made a Circle without it and enclosing it, thou shalt remain within upon the point towards the east, and holding thy wand in the air for every operation, thou shalt call upon MICHAEL, towards the north upon RAPHAEL, towards the west upon GABRIEL, and towards the south upon MURIEL. After this thou shalt return unto the point of the East and devoutly invoke the Great Name AGLA, and take this point of the Carpet in thy left hand; turning then towards the North thou shalt do the same, and so continuing to the other points of the Carpet, thou shalt raise them so that they touch not the ground, and holding them up thus, and turning anew towards the East thou shalt say with great veneration the following Prayer:
AGLA, AGLA, AGLA, AGLA; O God Almighty who art the Life of the Universe and who rulest over the four divisions of its vast form by the strength and virtue of the Four Letters of Thy Holy Name Tetragrammaton, YOD, HE, VAU, HE, bless in Thy Name this covering which I hold as Thou hast blessed the Mantle of Elijah in the hands of Elisha, so that being covered by Thy Wings, nothing may be able to injure me, even as it is said: “He shall hide thee under His wings and beneath His feathers shall thou trust, His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” After this thou shalt fold it up, saying these words following: RECABUSTIRA, CABUSTIRA, BUSTIRA, TIRA RA, A; and shall keep it carefully to serve thee at need.
When thou shalt be desirous to make thine interrogations, choose the night of full or of new moon, and from midnight until daybreak. Thou shalt transport thyself unto the appointed spot if it be for the purpose of discovering a treasure; if not, any place will serve provided it be clean and pure. Having had the precaution on the preceding evening to write upon a slip of virgin parchment coloured azure-blue, with a pen made from the feather of a dove, this Character and Name; taking thy carpet, thou shalt cover thy head and body therewith, and taking the censer, with new fire therein, thou shalt place it in or upon the proper place, and cast thereon some incense. Then shalt thou prostrate thyself upon the ground, with thy face towards the earth, before the incense beginneth to fume, keeping the fire of the same beneath the carpet, holding thy wand upright, against which to rest thy chin; thou shalt hold with thy right hand the aforesaid strip of parchment against thy forehead. and thou shalt say the following words:
VEGALE, HAMICATA, UMSA, TERATA, YEH, DAH, MA, BAXASOXA, UN, HORAH, HIMSERE; O God the Vast One send unto me the Inspiration of Thy Light, make me to discover the secret thing which I ask of Thee, whatsoever such or such a thing may be, make me to search it out by the aid of Thy holy Ministers RAZIEL, TZAPHNIEL, MATMONIEL; Lo, Thou hast desired truth in the young, and in the hidden thing shalt Thou make me known wisdom. RECABUSTIRA, CABUSTIRA, BUSTIRA, TIRA, RA, A, KARKAHITA, KAHITA, HITA, TA.
And thou shalt hear distinctly the answer which thou shalt have sought.
ofSolomon
16th-17thCent.