The Wheel of the Year

May

May is named after the Roman goddess Maius, whose name means "growth". In German, May is "Mai" which is the origin of our word maiden. The month May then, refers to the goddess. May is also the old English name for the sacred tree of Beltaine, hawthorn, and it is possible that the word is also associated to the Irish Maeve. The Anglo Saxons called May thrimilce because cows could be milked 3 times a day. To the Greeks, May was the last month of the year, as they counted their New Year as starting at the summer solstice. Predating the Indo-Europeans, in ancient Sumer May Day was celebrated as the start of the New Year, and the most sacred ritual was the re-enactment of the hieros-gamos, the sacred marriage of the god and goddess, (An and Ki which together as a compound word, stood for "universe") a ritual which is still continued today in the Wiccan May Pole celebrations. The Christian Church tried to absorb May Day festivities by declaring May was "Mary's month" and dedicated it to virginity to try and stop sexual ventures devoted to fertility. The cosmic twins, Gemini rule the period from 5/22 - 6/21. Some researchers believe that at one time, they may have represented a god and goddess rather then brothers.

5/1 Ancient European May Day or Lady's Day, and modern Pagan Beltaine. (Bel fire) Both the ancients and modern Pagans celebrated this holiday by lighting bonfires on hilltops, engaging in "green wood marriages", and dancing around a May Pole at dawn which represented the celestial pole of the cosmos and the life it generates. The legendary Tuatha de Danann were said to land in Ireland on this day. In Assyria this was the fest to the goddess Luna, which included a sacred pole tree as did the Palestinian fest of the goddess Asherah. In Sumer this day was the marriage of the god and goddess An & Ki whose union created the universe. In Phoencia this was the fest to the moon goddess Tanit. In Italy, the fest of the goddess Bona Dia. Christians in the medieval age absorbed it into the festival of Philip & Jacob.
5/4 Irish fest of St. Monica, a Christianized May Pole holiday where cloth strips are hung on the sacred may, or hawthorn tree.
5/5 Mexican Cinco de Mayo.
5/7 Full Moon. The Helston (Hel Stone) Furry Dance done in England. Originally in honor of the Norse goddess Hel, a standing stone once stood at the site which has since been removed.
5/9 Roman Lemuralia Feast of the Dead to purge ghosts.
5/12 "Old May Day" in England.
5/13 Celtic tree month Hawthorn ("may"). Old English Garland Day. Christian holiday of the vision of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
5/15 Waning Moon. Feast of Ochosi.
5/19 Roman fest of the goddess Dea Dia.
5/18 Old English fest of the Horned God. Feast of the Greek god Pan.
5/21 Egyptian fest of the cosmic twins Shu and Tefnut, associated to the constellation Gemini. Early Christian holiday dedicated to Adam & Eve. Greek festival in honor of Leda, the mother of Castor & Pollux, the Gemini twins. Celtic day of Maeve.
5/22 New Moon.
5/24 Christian fest of the 3 Mary's in France. Old Celtic Triple Goddess Day.
5/29 Waxing Moon. English Oak Apple day.
5/31 Roman fest of the King and Queen of Heaven, Pluto & Persephone. English town of Wiccan's annual Love Feast, celebrated since ancient times.

June

This month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, their version of the Greek Hera, and possibly the Egyptian Hathor and German Ostara. Some researchers believe Juno may be an ancient female counterpart to Janus. In Latin, the month was called Junius which also means "clan". In Europe, June was the season for clan gatherings at the summer solstice. Cancer the Crab rules the period of 6/22 - 7/23 in the modern zodiac. Oft times depicted as a turtle in ancient cultures, the Egyptians depicted it as the sacred scarab, the beetle of immortality which rolled the sun along. In real life, the scarab is a dung beetle which likewise rolls a small dung "ball" with it's feet!

6/5 Full Moon.
6/7 Greek fest of Athena. Athena was associated with the cosmic wheel, as she was once said to have grabbed a giant serpent by the tail, and after whirling it around, swung it into the sky where it remains as the constellation Draco. Thousands of years ago, Draco did indeed contain the pole star which has since moved due to precession.
6/9 Roman Vestalia. Millstones, which represented the cosmic wheel were decorated with flowers.
6/10 Celtic tree month Oak begins.
6/13 Waning Moon. The birth of the Greek Muses.
6/20 Midsummer Eve. Bonfires lit on mountaintops all over Europe. In Scandinavia, thousands flock to watch the sunset as in ancient times, this was traditionally the day when the sun god Balder "dies", awaiting his rebirth at the winter solstice. This was later converted by the Christian Church into St. John's day. In Germany, burning wheels are still rolled down hills representing the sun's journey into winter.
6/21 Summer Solstice and New Moon. Litha to the modern Pagans. At Stonehenge, the sun enters alignment. At Turtle Rock in the USA, ancient peoples constructed a solar marker where a ray of sun will shine onto a picture of a turtle representing the constellation Cancer. The Norse Althing, clan gathering was held at midsummer. In ancient Egyptian, on the famous zodiac at Denderah, a hawk sitting on a column represents the summer solstice. Roman fest of Juno.
6/22 Brazilian Candelaria for Yemaya.
6/23 Sirius rises after 70 days, starting the Mesopotamian fest of Ishtar & Tammuz. The Aztec festival of the sun Inti Raymi, begins.
6/27 Waxing Moon.
6/28 Greek day of Hemera.
6/29 Feast of Elleggua.

July

In the modern zodiac, Leo the Lion rules the period from 7/24 - 8/23. Many researchers suspect that the great Sphinx of Egypt, which has a lion body and a human head may represent a synthesis of Virgo and Leo.

7/1 Roman fest of the goddess Carnalia, whose name means "of the body" and is the origin of the word "carnal".
7/2 Catholic fest of Our Lady's Visitation to Elizabeth. The feast day of Expectant Mothers.
7/3 Egyptian day of Sothis.
7/5 Full Moon. Native American Sun Dance.
7/8 Celtic tree month Holly begins.
7/13 Waning Moon.
7/16 Ancient Egypt's 5 extra days of the calendar when the gods were born. Birthday of the god Set.
7/17 Birthday of Isis.
7/18 Birthday of Nepthys.
7/19 Greek birthday of Athena.
7/20 New Moon.
7/21 Fest of Middle Eastern goddess Nana, associated to the constellations Virgo and Leo. Mayan New Year.
7/22 Christian St. Marys feast.
7/23 Roman Neptunalia, associated to the moon and the constellation Pisces.
7/24 Egyptian fest of Isis.
7/26 Pueblo Buffalo & Corn dances.
7/27 Waxing Moon.

August

In the modern zodiac, Virgo the Virgin rules the period from 8/24 - 9/23. In ancient times, the meaning of "virgin" did not mean the same as it does today, but meant a independent, self sufficient woman. Virgo has been associated with many goddesses in ancient cultures, and was often celebrated in conjunction with the harvest. The star Spica in the hand of Virgo represents an ear of grain, and may well be the sacred object which was revealed to the initiates at the mysteries of Eleusis.

8/1 Modern Pagan Lughnasad, the harvest festival. Christianized to Lammas which means "loaf mass". The Greek Mysteries of Life. Irish fest of Macha, the triple goddess.
8/2 Persian fest of goddess Anahita.
8/4 Full Moon.
8/5 Celtic tree month hazel begins.
8/6 Roman fest of Diana.
8/10 Christian St. Lawrence day.
8/11 Irish Puck fair.
8/12 Perseid Meteor Shower.
8/13 Greek fest of Hecate as moon goddess.
8/15 Christian Assumption of the Virgin. Roman Festival of Torches in honor of Diana.
8/18 New Moon.
8/21 In Mesopotamia the festival of Inanna, who is associated to the constellation Virgo. Virgo holds an ear of grain, and in ancient cultures was also associated to the Greek Kore, and Egyptian Isis. Christians later tried to claim the goddess constellation as Mary, and timed many Mary holidays in accordance with Virgo.
8/22 Christian day of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary.
8/23 Greek day of the goddess Moira who ruled personal fate.
8/25 Waxing Moon. Roman fest of goddess Ops. Hindu fest to Ganesha.
8/27 India fest of Krishna.
8/29 Egyptian fest to Hathor. Her statue was set to catch dawn's rays.
8/31 Apache sunrise dance.

September

In the modern zodiac, the sign of the Scales rules the period from 9/24 - 10/23. The only sign of the zodiac which is not a living thing, the scales were placed to represent the balance present at the time of the equinox. Some schloars believe that at one time, the Scales were the last sign of the zodiac, the mother goddess Virgo being the first. For this reason, it is believed in some Islamic areas that the "end of the world" will come in Libra, at the time of cosmic balancing and justice.

9/2 Full moon. Traditionally known as the "Harvest Moon". Celtic tree month Vine begins.
9/7 Feast of Yemaya.
9/8 Christian birthday of Mary. Feast of Oxun.
9/10 Waning Moon.
9/12 Greek fest of the goddess Astraea, who is associated to the constellation Virgo. As Virgo is next to Libra, the scales, Astraea also holds a set of scales and appears as the symbol of 'Justice' today.
9/17 New Moon.
9/18 Rosh Hashana begins.
9/20 Mayan birthday of Quetzcoatl, the feathered serpent.
9/21 Egyptian fest of Ma'at, the goddess of balance. Greek fest of Dike, who holds the scales of justice.
9/22 Autumnal Equinox, the sun enters Libra. Modern Pagan holiday of Mabon, a day of thanksgiving and celebration of the harvest. Greek Greater Eleusinian Mysteries. In 3700-3500bc the sunrise was aligned into the Egyptian temple of the goddess Selket. At Chichen Itza in Mexico, during sunset a shadowy serpent rises up the side of the stairway of the Mayan pyramid of Queztcoatl.
9/24 Waxing Moon.
9/27 Yom Kippur.
9/28 Native American Day.
9/29 Greek fest of Nemesis, goddess of fate and her cosmic wheel.
9/30 Celtic month Ivy begins.

October

In the modern zodiac, Scorpio rules the period of 10/24 - 11/22. Sometime astrologers mention the "dual" nature of this sign without going into detail. The truth being, that an older, ancient 13th sign of the zodiac once existed called Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder. The sun actually spends more time in Ophiuchus then Scorpio, but was dropped from the zodiac for superstitious reasons. The Serpent Holder was a mysterious character who had the ability to raise the dead and cure the sick. The Greeks identified him with Pluto, god of the underworld. Over time, this 13th sign was dropped, though the constellation of course still remains for those who are curious, or brave enough to seek him out.

10/1 Old Saxon new year, start of the winter season.
10/2 Full Moon.
10/3 Moroccan new year.
10/4 Feast of Orunia.
10/7 Bali feast of the dead.
10/9 Hebrew Yom Kippur.
10/10 Waning Moon and Draconids Meteor shower.
10/11 Greek day of Athena.
10/15 Old Norse new year.
10/16 New Moon. Lief Erickson Day.
10/18 Celtic fest of Herne.
10/21 Orionids Meteor shower.
10/23 Waxing Moon.
10/28 Celtic tree month Reed begins.
10/29 Iroquois fest of the dead.
10/31 Samhain ("summers end") to the ancient Celts and modern Pagans. This is traditionally a night when memorials are given to the dead and ancestors. Bonfires are lit, and mumping (trick or treating in the USA) was done from door to door. This holiday was the start of the winter season, and all harvesting was supposed to have been completed by this day or left in the fields. Evidence suggests that this holiday was timed according to the Pleiades. The Christian Church tried in vain to subdue and subvert this holiday, by naming the following day All Saints day. Also known as Halloween, Hallowtide, All Hallows Eve, and Hollentide. In Egypt, they acted out the goddess Isis searching for the body of the dead Osiris. In Ireland this was also the fest of the goddess Tlachtga. Bonfires were lit, and gatherings took place at the sacred center of Tara, which was constructed to represent the cosmic center with the four cardinal directions.

November

Egyptians called this month Athyr, meaning "sacred to Hathor". The Greeks said this month was sacred to Demeter, and sometimes to Diana. Sagittarius the archer rules the period from 11/23 - 12/21. Often depicted as a centaur, half man and horse, in some ancient cultures the figure was often shown as a satyr with an erect penis, a type of fertility goat creature of the forest.

11/1 Full Moon. Christianized Samhain, known as All Saints Day. Mexican Day of the Dead.
11/3 In the Egyptian rites, Isis finds Osiris and resurrects him.
11/5 Guy Fawkes Day in England and the northeastern USA. This is a remnant of ancient Samhain practices, where an effigy representing the summer season was "killed". Those celebrating Guy Fawkes day still create effigies which they symbolically kill.
11/8 Waning Moon.
11/11 Feast of Dionysis.
11/15 New Moon.
11/16 Roman Night of Hecate, goddess of the Crossroads.
11/17 Leonids Meteor shower.
11/21 The Roman fest of Diana. This archer goddess was associated to the archer constellation, Sagittarius.
11/22 Waxing Moon.
11/23 Thanksgiving, moved here by the USA to extend the American Christmas shopping season, was originally the Puritan's tamed down Halloween.
11/25 Celtic tree month Elder begins. In Sinai, the Christian fest of St. Catherine is held whose symbol was a wheel. Originally this holiday was devoted to the goddess Nemesis and her wheel of fate.
11/30 Full Moon.
Catholic Feast of St. Andrew.

December

Capricorn the Goat rules the period from 12/22 - 1/20. A mysterious figure, the goat fish was depicted far back into Mesopotamian times as dwelling in an area of the heavens called the "Sea". To the Greeks, Capricorn was the god Pan who represented the universe, and whose name we still use as a prefix meaning "all".

12/7 Waning Moon.
12/10 Hanukah the festival of Lights begins.
12/13 Geminid meteor shower.
12/14 New Moon.
12/15 The Roman fest of the god Consus and his wife Ops. His underground altar stood at the entrance to the Otherworld, and was uncovered only on his feast days. Ops was often depicted with loaves in her lap, and represented a goddess of plenty. The modern exclamation "Ops!" when something is dropped was originally intended to offer the item to Ops as a sacrifice.
12/17 feast of Shango.
12/18 Roman Saturnalia starts.
12/20 Mother Night in Germany. On this night in ancient times, it was believed that the goddess gave birth to the resurrected sun god Balder who had "died" at the summer solstice.
12/21 Winter Solstice, sun enters Capricorn. Yule to the ancient Germans and modern Pagans, the word is from the Norse "Jul" meaning "wheel", and is also associated to the modern words "jolly" and "yodel". Since ancient times, sacred trees were erected to represent the cosmic pole. Candles were set on branches to represent the stars, and treats and decorations where placed on the branches to represent the returning bounty of nature. The modern "Santa" who will arrive bearing gifts on 12/24 and flies through the sky with the aid of magic reindeer, was originally this giant god, said to fly with the aid of a magic goat in some Norse areas. This goat or deer may well represent Capricorn, from which the sun was once "reborn" at the solstice. The Greeks at this time held the fest of Amalthea, the female goat who fed Zeus. This blessed goat was associated to both the constellations Auriga (which contains Auriga, the Goat Star) and Capricorn. The cult of Mithra claimed this day was the birth of Mirtha, and around the world many such sun gods were born on this day including Horus, Osiris, Helios, Dionysus, Aeon, and Adonis.
12/22 Waxing Moon.
12/23 Start of the original Germanic 12 days of Yule.
12/24 Christian Christmas eve, birth of Jesus at midnight. Some scholars suspect that the "star" of Bethlehem may have been Sirius which is directly overhead at midnight, or perhaps the planet Venus. Jesus was born at a site previously sacred to Adonis, as Bethlehem meant "house of bread" and was sacred to the harvest god Adonis who was the lover of Venus. The Roman Saturnalia ends.
12/25 Christian Christmas. In Germany, this was the fest of Frau Holle, otherwise known as the goddess Hel. the Milky Way was said to be her sacred road. She was later Christianized into "St. Holle". Her name is the origin of the words "holly", "holy", and "holiday" (literally "holy day").
12/26 Start of 12 days of Christmas. Kwanzaa begins.
12/27 Egyptian sky goddess Nut gives birth.
12/28 Greek fest of the three Horae, (Norns) Eunomia, Dike & Eirene.
12/29 Hathor gives birth to the sun god Ra.
12/30 Full Moon.

12/31 New Year's Eve. Greek & Roman blessing of the house by Hestia/ Vesta which included carrying a candle around the house sunwise. This later becomes the English and Scottish custom of "First Foot", where a prechosen individual is the first to enter the household after the start of the new year, carrying a candle or fire wood. In Scotland this is known as Hogmanay or 'Holy Month', and in Germany as Sylvestersnacht, which means "sylvan" - woods in Latin. Originally in honor of a god of the woods (Pan/Capricorn) this was Christianized into St. Sylvesters Night. Feast of Yemeya.