Waning Gibbous Moon in Virgo
A couple months ago I remarked that I felt that the Gregorian calendar is not quite right. I saw the pagan blog project on Twitter and someone had posted her magical calendar. Yes! I'm not the only one! I'm still working out the kinks but I do feel better. So at the risk of sounding like a complete nut job, here are the details of my calendar. Everything is subject to change:
Rules
- The year begins on the day of winter solstice.
- I would like to begin my day at sunrise but since this would result in uneven planetary hours, the day is averaged out to begin at 6 am all year round. I need to figure out what to do about Daylight Saving Time. (I'm ignoring DST for magical purposes.)
- The month is from new moon to new moon (29-30 days). The beginning of the year may not coincide with the beginning of the month.
- The year is divided into 52 weeks which may or may not have 7 days.
- Winter solstice, spring equinox, summer solstice, and fall equinox begin the traditional seasons and always fall on Ra's Day.
- Days have been renamed using the Egyptian pantheon (Sunday = Ra's Day).
- Months have been renamed using Dreamspell because they sound cool. I thought about the Celtic Tree months but that didn't feel right to me. I may even come up with my own months eventually.
Esbats
There are 8 moon phases. The main phases are new, 1st quarter, full, and 3rd quarter. The intermediate phases are waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, and waning crescent. In my solitary practice the intermediate phases occur at a specific point in time just like the main phases. At minimum, the main phases should be observed in some way. The ritual does not have to be elaborate. The main moon phases are called uposathas in some Buddhist paths.
Sabbats and other holidays
I celebrate all sabbats on the astronomical days, not the traditional days. As such, the dates change yearly.
Dec 20 - Mother's Night, 1st day of Yuletide
Dec 21 - Yule/Winter Solstice
Dec 25 or thereabouts - Festivus. This is one of our floating holidays. We will celebrate it when all family members are available and cook a traditional dinner.
Jan 1 - 13th day of Yuletide, Gregorian New Year
Jan 18 - Winnie-the-Pooh Day
Jan/Feb - Chinese Lunar New Year
Feb - Black History Month
Feb 4 - Imbolc/Brigid's Day, Chinese Solar New Year
Mar - Women's History Month
Mar 14 - Pi Day
Mar 15 - Ides of March
Mar 20 - Spring Equinox
April - National Poetry Month
April/May - MD Pony Meet
May 4 - Beltane
May 2nd Sunday - Mother's Day
May 25 - Towel Day / Geek Pride Day
June 1 or new moon in June - Pagan anniversary. I was dedicated and baptized in a Christian faith in 1992. I rededicated my life to the Goddess 6/1/11 on the new moon.
June 12 - Loving Day. US Supreme Court declare miscegenation illegal.
June 3rd Sunday - Father's Day
June 20 - Litha. Plans are to have a cookout.
Aug-Oct weekends - MD Renaissance Festival
Aug - Shore Leave Convention
Aug 6 - Lammas. Although my family is not Pagan, I will perform a family ritual. This sabbat marks the beginning of back-to-school season.
Aug 7 - Sopdet (Sirius) rising or Wep Ronpet. Floating day, occurs when Sopdet rises before civil twilight begins.
1st Sunday after Labor Day - Grandparent's Day
*My Magical Week*
Sep 18 - birthday
Sep 19 - anniversary
Sep 22 - Mabon
Nov 5 - Back to the Future Day
Nov 6 - Samhain
Nov something - Fri-giving. Floating holiday with a huge non-traditional dinner.
Nov 30 - Computer Security Day
Dates I'm unsure of
Picard Day
Skynet Awareness Day
Ada Lovelace Day
Bodhi Day (8th day of 12th lunar month using Chinese calendar)
That's all I can think of right now. I would like to integrate some Buddhist holidays into my calendar. I use the Gregorian calendar to sync with the world around me and to plan future events. My magical calendar is for daily / monthly meditations.
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