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I am working on a lot of calendar and calculation events to fill a request made on the eGroups. Unfortunately, to fulfill this request, I have to make some assumptions about a calender and the Year.
The first and most important was "When Does the year start?" the Julian (Gregorian) calendar is the one we use day to day separately from the Pagan world. It starts on January 1st. - okay - that is a no-brainer... buit when does the PAGAN New year occur?
For Some it's Samhain - October 31st that more or less is based on a year and a day principal. (29 lunar months per Solar year, plus the day that is not a day - Samahin itself.) The problem with this usage is it's sort of arbitrary.... Why The end of October? Why not a new or Full moon after harvest, or a Solar event? What's more tat Day that is not a day makes it hard to decide if Samhain Ends the Year, or Begins it. So I decided a different way:
I'm choosing to follow what is more of my path - which is to combine the solar and lunar years as follows: Consider the Moon as representitive of the Goddess and the Sun the God. I wanted to layout the calendar so it supports a balanced honoring of the Male and Female aspects of Deity. Therefore, I want to honor the months (13 each year) with the Goddess and the beginning and end of the year with the God.
New Years Day: The Winter Solstice, Yule
the first month of the Year begins on the First Full moon after Yule.
This will mean, of course, that new years day occurs in the last month of the prior year. Unfortunately, I don't see any way to combine the two, since there isn't a situation combines a solar and lunar event each solar year. This also has the advantage of a self correcting calendar. as the lunar and solar cycles will reset the clock automatically each year.
Lunar month naming conventions I am working on a set of thirteen names that will suit the Tropical climate that we host the Phestivals. "Snow" moon, for example, is a little hard to use in Florida, it doesn't connect so well.
On the other hand the Common 8 sabbats are easily incorporated into this convention:
This is a general description of the Sabbats. The Wheel of the Year attunes us with the changing cycles of Mother Earth and our connection with the Goddess and God.
YULE: December 21 Celebrating the Rebirth of the sun. This holiday is also known as winter solstice. A fire and a Yule log are present. A piece of the old yule log is kept for the next Yule to light the new log....this is also used to protect the home during the year. People also say this starts the wheel of the year, with the idea that the years turns continuous with spokes making the seasonal holidays and occasions.
IMBOLIC: February 2 Also known as Candlemas, this marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. I also marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God during Yule. So it is tradition, after sunset, to light every lamp or candle in the house to honor the Sun's rebirth.
VERNAL EQUINOX or Spring: March 21 The first true day of spring. Days are longer and nights are shorter. Life is renewed and planting of flowers and trees is all around.
BELTANE: April 30 This holiday celebrate the merging of the Goddess and God and the young God as he moves into manhood. Her fertility is celebrated as well. time for maypoles and flowers...this is also a good time for hand fasting (wiccan marriage) ceremonies. This holiday is usually celebrated in a forest or around a lot of trees.
MIDSUMMER: June 21 Also known as summer solstice. This is a perfect time for all kinds of magick and spells. This is when the powers of nature are at their highest point. this is also the longest day of the year.
LUGHNASADH: August 1 Time for the first harvest of the year. The God begins to lose his strength as the days grow shorter. Nothing in nature remains constant and we are reminded of this on this holiday.
AUTUMN EQUINOX (or Mabon): September 21 Harvest is now completed. and the days and nights are equal once again. The God prepares to travel toward renewal and rebirth from the Goddess. Nature prepares for winter.
SAMHAIN (or Halloween): October 31 This is when we bid farewell to the God and he prepares to be reborn of the Goddess at Yule. Time to reflect on the past year and the coming of the greatest change in life---death. We remember our ancestors and loved ones on this day. This is also a prefect time to do spells to rid ones self of bad habits. This also marks the end of the wheel of the year.
I'll cover the Lunar names in a different article.
Note: I'm writing a new lunar calendar - this resulted in a lot of reseach, so I thought I'd post my thoughts and assumptions for all - feel free to comment, I'm happy to incorporate new and different ideas into the project!
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| The New Lunar Calendar | Login/Create an account | 1 Comment |
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Re: The New Lunar Calendar and Why I assumed what
(Score: 1)
by Wwyvern (Wyvern@svhorizon.com)
on Nov 25, 2003 - 05:26 PM
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Make the moon pictures the full size of each individual box and reverse the type on the moon face?? It'd look cool.Might not be easily do-able tho'
The holidays and stuff sound great and I like your method of choosing a "first day".
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Festival Quote: Would you care to rephrase that in the form of a wager? 
