SALVETE!

Hodie est Kalendae Maiae; haec dies fastus est: Feriae Maiae; Lares Praestites; Sacrum Iunonis Covellae.

Feriae Maiae.

"You ask where I think the name of May comes from?
Its origin's not totally clear to me.
As a traveler stands unsure which way to go,
Seeing the paths fan out in all directions,
So I'm not sure which to accept, since it's possible
To give different reasons: plenty itself confuses.
You who haunt the founts of Aganippian Hippocrene,
Those beloved prints of the Medusaean horse, explain!
The goddesses are in conflict. Polyhymnia begins,
While the others silently consider her speech.
`After the first Chaos, as soon as the three primary forms
Were given to the world, all things were newly re-configured:
Earth sank under its own weight, and drew down the seas,
But lightness lifted the sky to the highest regions:
And the sun and stars, not held back by their weight,
And you, you horses of the moon, sprang high.
But Earth for a long time wouldn't yield to Sky,
Nor the other lights to the Sun: honours were equal.
One of the common crowd of gods, would often dare
To sit on the throne that you, Saturn, owned,
None of the new gods took Ocean's side,
And Themis was relegated to the lowest place,
Until Honour, and proper Reverence, she 
Of the calm look, were united in a lawful bed.
From them Majesty was born, she considers them
Her parents, she who was noble from her day of birth."
[Poetry translation: A.S. Kline: Ovid – Fasti, Book V, Introduction]

Lares Praestites.

"The Kalends of May saw an altar dedicated
To the Guardian Lares, with small statues of the gods.
Curius vowed them: but time destroys many things,
And the long ages wear away the stone.
The reason for their epithet of Guardian,
Is that they keep safe watch over everything.
They support us, and protect the City walls,
And they're propitious, and bring us aid.
A dog, carved from the same stone, used to stand
At their feet: why did it stand there with the Lares?
Both guard the house: both are loyal to their master:
Crossroads are dear to the god, and to dogs."
[Poetry translation: A.S. Kline: Ovid – Fasti, Book V, May 1, Kalends]

This day, capite velato, I have invoked Iuno Covella on the 7th day by saying the traditional formula:

"Die Septimi te kalo Iuno Covella"

I offered incense and saying prayers I asked the Goddess to be favorable toward us, the entire Nova Roman community.

The festivals to be celebrated in the month of May shall be:

MAIUS:

1 F Nundina; Feriae Maiae, Lares Praestites.
2 F Dies ater.
3 C
4 C
5 C
6 C
7 F Nonae
8 F Dies ater
9 N Nundina; Religious; Lemuria.
10 C
11 N Religiosus; Lemuria.
12 C
13 N Religiosus; Lemuria.
14 C
15 NP Ides; Religiosus Feriae Iovi; Mercuralia.
16 F Dies ater
17 C Nundina.
18 C
19 C
20 C
21 NP Agonium Maianum.
22 N
23 NP Tubilustrum
24 QRCF
25 C Nundina
26 C
27 C
28 C
29 C
30 C
31 C

At the end I poured a libation of honeyed milk thanking to the Goddess for Her benevolence.

VALETE,
Sabinus

SALVETE!

Today is the birthday of L. Cornelius Sulla Felix.

Happy Birthday Sulla with health, happiness and prosperity!

VALETE,

Sabinus

T. Iulius Sabinus salutem plurimam dicet:

Hodie est ante diem VII Eidus Maesiae; haec dies nefastus est: Lemuria.

Lemuria was a feast in during which the Romans performed rites to exorcise the malevolent and fearful ghosts of the dead from their homes.

The main shrine for worshiping the family Lares is at the lararium.

"When midnight has come and brought silence for sleep and you, ye dogs and painted birds, lie still, the man who remembers the ancient rite and fears the gods arises. His two feet bear no knots, and he makes a sign by closing his thumb between his fingers, so that no thin ghost may meet him on his silent way. He washes his hands clean in the water of a spring, then turns and first takes black beans. Turning his face, he tosses them behind, and while he does so he cries, "These beans I cast away; with them I ransom me and mine." Nine times he repeats this, and does not look behind; the ghost is thought to follow him unseen and gather the beans. Once more he touches water; he clashes Temesan bronze and asks that the ghost may leave his house. When at last he has repeated nine times, "Go forth, I ghosts of my fathers!" he looks back and feels that his duty has been properly done."

[Ovid, Fasti - 5.429-444]

VALETE,

T. Iulius Sabinus

acting PM

Salve Sulla,

Happy Birthday.

Vale,

Lucia Dacia Flora

T. Iulius Sabinus salutem plurimam dicet:

Hodie est Id Mai; haec dies nefastus est: Mercuralia, Feriae Iovi.

This 15th of May, the day of Mercuralia, I performed a sacrifice to Mercurius to obtain his benevolence, praying Him to be willingly propitious with us, to take care about our jobs, businesses and investments, travel safety and bless us our families and friends.

The text of the ritual is here:

http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Ritus_Mercuri_(Nova_Roma)  

You can leave a prayer to Mercurius here:

http://users2.smartgb.com/g/g.php?a=s&i=g25-04679-74  

Instructions for a prayer to Mercurius:

1. Invoke the God Mercurius. An effective invocation is to chant His divine name three times aloud.

2. Formulate your request in your native language if you don't know Latin. Make sure that your prayer is essentially short, concise, very precise and accurate, and use synonyms and repetitions (e.g.: "I ask you, I pray you, I beseech you...", "...give me, lend me, allow me that..."; "...save me from any harm,any damage, any danger...").

3. When you finished the prayer with your request, use the following Latin formula to offer your sacrifice:

Cuius rei ergo, macte

(For the sake of this request, blessed)

hoc vino/lacte/libo libando

(by the libation of this wine/milk/cake)

esto fito volens propitius

(be benevolent and propitious)

mihi domo familiae!

(to me, to my household and to my family!)

4. Then pour the libation and put the sacrifices into the fire of the lararium, or if you can not burn them, place the items on a plate on your lararium for that day, and when you can, bury or place them under an arbor felix.

[Reference: Nova Roma wiki]

VALETE,

T. Iulius Sabinus

acting PM