Warm greetings and a very Merry Meet Monday to all! 
Upcoming Events 
~New Moon~
We will be blessed with a new moon tomorrow Tuesday, August 18th! 
To check the exact time of the new moon for your specific location, you can visit the Moon Phase Calendar on the Old Farmer’s Almanac site.
Visit the Moon Magick: New Moon page for more information about the benefits of the new moon and ways to prepare for this special celestial occasion! 
The time of the new moon is a great time to either take a break from magick, or partake in various New Moon Rituals. You can find a list of rituals and spells specifically for drawing on energy from the new moon on Spells8
~Group Ritual~
This Thursday, August 20th we will be doing a Group Ritual where we share a time tea across borders. This meditative practice is simple, beginner-friendly, and open to all who wish to join!
There is a step-by-step guide to help you with your tea meditation. Share a cup with your coven around the world! 
I warmly invite you to join the Group Ritual- Tea Time as a Coven (Aug 20) 
~Vulcanalia Festival~
Sunday, August 23 marks the historical celebration of the Roman festival Vulcanalia, which celebrates and honors the ancient diety Vulcan- god of volcanoes, forges, and fire 
Learn Religions talks more about this fiery god and how to celebrate the festival in his honor:
Because Vulcan was associated with the destructive powers of fire, his celebration fell each year during the heat of the summer months, when everything was dry and parched, and at higher risk of burning. After all, if you were worried about your grain stores catching fire in the August heat, how better to prevent this than to throw a big festival honoring the fire god?
The Vulcanalia was celebrated with large bonfires – this gave Roman citizens some degree of control over the powers of fire. Sacrifices of small animals and fish were devoured by the flames, offerings presented in place of the burning of the city, its grain stores, and its residents. There is some documentation that during the Vulcanalia, Romans hung their cloths and fabrics out under the sun to dry, although in a time without washers and dryers, it seems logical that they would do this anyway.
[From Learn Religions: The Vulcanalia Festival]
To celebrate this festival today, it is suggested that you have a bonfire and make offerings. You also bake bread, as wheat and grains are symbolic for this holiday 
If you have an interest in Roman Deities, you can learn more about them in Roman Devotionals and Deities page on Spells8. Happy learning! 
Ongoing Challenge 
Calling all creative cooks! 
For anyone with an interest in making food with a touch of magick, this is the challenge for you!
If you would like to participate in the challenge, please post about your experience either directly in the challenge post or in a new post mentioning the challenge 
The challenge will be open until 5:00 AM (Central European Time) on Friday, August 21
Happy kitchen crafting! 
New Members 
A very merry meet to all of the new members who have joined the forums over the past week!
@MoonLeaf, @christopher2, @carleena, @nina1, @tracie, @christopher3, @meagan3, @helia, @dorothy1, @mion, @leeanna, @andrea11, @brenda8, @amber11, @lauren6, @celesta, @julia2, @phoebe1, @irma2, @jessica29, @carlie, @jia1, @zana, @casandra, @kaitlin1, @jessica30, @nicole12, @averianna, @ember-lynn, @tracie1, @shadow, @Cellophaneflowr, @destinee1, @kimberly10, @holly6, @karlie, @jerry, @jennifer28, @jennifer29, @kally, @hannah8, @barb, @elizabeth4, @natalie3, @jessica31, @mary17, @taylor8, @crystal6, @torrie, @sasha, @amanda19, @kendra1, @marky, @kira, @brittany13, @laurie2, @stefani, @lydia, @daan, @subham2, @dawn4, @krista2, @nicole15, @daphne1
For anyone who hasn’t done so already, please feel free to head on over to Introductions and create and introductory post. You can share a bit about your own journey, your favorite aspects of magick, or anything you’d like to learn! We would all love to give you a warm welcome to the forum family 
Special Shout-outs 
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A hearty thank you to @Susurrus for writing the most posts over the past week!
It is a pleasure reading your stories and hearing your insight- we are blessed to have you in the community 
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Lots of love to @christina4 for liking the most posts over the last 7 days!
You have such a warm and kind heart- thank you for sharing your generostiy with everyone 
And as always, thank you to each and every member of the Spells8 Forum Family! Every post, like, and visit to the forums is appreciated- you all make this a wonderful and inviting place for solitary witches to come together and share in our practice! 
Any exciting plans this week? 
Something good or nervewracking coming your way? Working on a craft or project? 
Feel free to share your hopes and plans for the week ahead in the comments below!
May the bountiful harvest season bring you happy thoughts and good fortune, and may you treasure the many changes happening as the wheel of the year continues to turn!
Blessed Be 
I hope you will have some more cool weather soon- it sounds like you had such a lovely beach walk! 
Sorry to hear about your restless sleep- do you think part of it could be because of the heat? I definitely have the worst quality of sleep at this time of year. Hopefully as the nights get cooler, you will find it easier to sleep at night. A good smudging and some peaceful meditation will hopefully help a lot too! Good luck and good sleep to you! 
There’s been a lot of talk about crystal grid work in the forums lately- a fascinating way to use crystals! 
Best of luck and enjoy, 
For both 
Good luck with your lessons, and I can’t wait to share a cup of tea with you on Thursday 
And welcome all the new comers!
You may want to consider some calming 
Good luck! 
I’m cheering for you! 
