PARALLEL PERSPECTIVES' GNOSTIC PAGAN CALENDAR

Gnostic Pagan Calendar

Of Celebrated Days

Gnostic Pagan Initiates ritually celebrate the observances on the short calendar. This can take the form of a traditional ritual, or one composed by the Initiate. The longer list indicates days of meditation & contemplation on the appropriate subject, learning more about the tradition of the entity named. These can also be days of Silence and/or Fast.

The Tradition no longer practices the designation of a Goddess to each month in public documents. Each initial designated Goddess figure is also a link to more information about her—and other pictures link as well.

Enjoy!

NOTE: This is very much a work-in-progress.

NUIT/January

1—Kwanzaa Ends (African American)

2—Advent of Isis

Nativity of Inanna (Sumerian)
7—Feast of Sekhmet
12—The Lares (household gods)

17-18--Ashera
30—Festival of the Goddess Pax (Peace)
31—Imbolc Eve (sunset)

Dec. 25 to Jan 5—Yule

Old Teutonic festival honoring Frey & Freya & newborn Balder (God of Light)

Jan. 3—Pueblo Deer Dances (Native American)

Jan. 5—Feast of Befana (Italian)

Jan 6 Original Christmas Day. In the original Church of the Way for the first 325 years of Christianity, January 6, was celebrated as Jesus / Yeshua's birthday. Then Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, even making it the official state religion of Rome. He couldn't resist moving Yeshua's birthday to his own god, Sol Invictus' birthday, Dec. 25 on the Roman calendar (which was the Winter Solstice back then, a day which in our modern calendar usually falls on Dec. 21). Many early Christian churches continued to celebrate Jan 6 as Yeshua's birthday up into the 600's AD even though Constantine had changed the date.

More in July:

3    Sothis (Egyptian)
4    Waterfall Ceremony (Native American)
7    Tanabata (Japanese)
      Consualia (Roman)
10 Panathenæa (Greek)
      Lady Godiva Day (English)
11 Theano's Day (Greek)
      Naadam Festival (Mongolian)
13 Reed Dance Day (African)
      Bon Festival (Japanese)
14 Bastille Day (French)
15 Day of Rauni (Finnish)
      Olympian New Year
16 Rosa Mundi (Palestinian)
      Birthday of Set (Egyptian)
17 Festival of Ama-Terasu-O-Mi-Kami (Japanese)
19 Wedding of Adonis and Aphrodite (Greek)
20 Binding of the Wreaths (Lithuanian)
21 Damo's Day (Greek)
25 Feast of Salacia (Roman)
26 Sleipnir (Odinist)
27 Hatshepsut's Day (Egyptian)
28 Pythias' Day (Greek)
      Domhnach Chrom Dubh (Irish)
29 Feast of Santa Marta (Mexican)
31 Day of Loki and Sigyn (Odinist)

DEMETER/August

1—Lammas / Lughnassadh

4—Feast of Artemis

12—Lights of Isis

21—Festival of Hekate Goddess of the Highway/Kali

27—Isis

29/11th—Return of Isis

Aug 1 - Lammas / Lughnassadh - Mid-Summer, First Harvest Festival of the Celtic Sun God Lugh

Aug 2 Feast of the Black Madonna - Gnostic celebration of the Dark Goddess

Aug 3 Day of the Dryads - Greek celebration of the Macedonian maiden spirits of woods and water.

Aug 3-4 Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis (Roman Diana) - Defender of rights and liberties, and punisher of rapists and oppressors.

Aug 5 Celtic Tree Month of Hazel begins.

Aug 6 Celtic Fire Festival of Tan Hill.

Aug 9 Druid Feast of the Fire Spirits

Aug 11-13 Feast of Father Sky - Honoring God as Obatala (Yoruba/Santeria), Ouranos (Greek), Svarog (Slavic), Thor (Norse), Taranis (Celtic), Dyaus (Hindu).

-Celtic Puck Fair/Fertility Festival.

Aug 12 - The Lights of Isis, Festival of the Egyptian Goddess Isis

Aug 15 - Assumption Day - Christian feast commemorating Blessed Maria rising into Heaven, being crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth, and being transformed into Our Lady, the Paraclete (the Holy Spirit) who appears everywhere.

Aug 15 was originally THE ASSUMPTION OF THE HOLY SOPHIA, The Assumption of the Holy Sophia into the Pleroma is commemorated on August 15th. This correlates in the orthodox church with the (bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a recent addition to the Roman liturgical life. The ancient Gnostic scriptures tell of Sophia, the feminine aspect of the highest God, who wanders out of heaven and gets lost in the lower regions. By singing praises to the Light, she is rescued by the Savior and he aids her return to heaven by a mystery. In our psychological perspective, we are cast out of the Fullness of Being to become differentiated egos. By the mystery figure of the Logos we are able to individuate and return to the state of Wholeness. Thus Sophia's plight is our own, and by her example we may be inspired to continue on our path. (from: http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/cal_mandala.htm )

Aug 17 - Feast Day of Saint Sophia, the saintly version of the ancient Goddess Sophia, Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Other sources list her feast day as September 30, and as Aug 15 above.

Aug 21 Greek Festival of Hekate - To protect the harvest.

Aug 24 Feast of Egyptian God Osiris - Partner and true love of Isis, and father of Horus; guide of all husbands, fathers, and judges.

Aug 25 Norse God Odin receives knowledge.

Roman Festival of Goddess Ops - Lady of the Cornucopia, Bounty of the Harvest and Sustainer of Life.

Aug 27 Feast of Egyptian Goddess Isis - Partner and true love of Osiris, and mother of Horus; guide of all wives, mothers, healers, advocates, and teachers.

Aug 28 Norse Harvest Festival.

Aug 29 -Sep 11 Return of Isis - Egyptian festival marking the return to Egypt of Goddess Isis (as the star of Sept/Sirius) and God Osiris (as the rising Nile River).

POMONA/September

8—Descent of Sophia

9/18—Greater Eleusinian Mysteries

21—Fast of Maat

22/23—Mabon/Autumn Equinox

26/5—Navaratri, Hindu Festival of the Great Goddess

Aug 29 - Sept 11: Return of Isis & Osiris (star Sirius, rising Nile

waters)

Sept 2 - Grape Vine Festival honoring Ariadne & Dionysus

Sept 8 - Birthday of Virgin Mary & DESCENT OF THE HOLY SOPHIA The Descent of the Holy Sophia falls on September 8th. In the Roman calendar this day celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and prefigures the sacred birth of Jesus. In the Gnostic tradition, part of Sophia returns to the aeons, to her true home, and part of her being symbolically returns to the lower regions or to earth. She comes to earth to be with us, her children, to be our consolation and the inspiration of our love. By this image we have the promise that we are not left alone in our darkness but have Sophia's abiding presence in our lives. (from: http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/cal_mandala.htm )

Sept 9 - 11, Feast of Mother Earth (Greek, etc)
Sept 11 Remembrance Day

Sept 9 - 18, Greater Eleusinian Mysteries (Greek)
Sep 13, Egyptian Lighting the Fire Ceremony for all departed souls
Sep 16, Greek Rites of Goddess Demeter
Sep 17, Hildegarde of Bingen Feast Day
Sep 19, Feast of Thoth, Egyptian scribe god
Sep 21, Nativity of Blessed Mary, Eastern Orthodox Church
Birthday of Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom also known as Sophia

Sep 22 or 23, Autumn Equinox, Mabon, Ishtar's Day: The Fall Equinox always begins the forty day All Hallows season, which culminates with Halloween, All Saints Day and then All Souls Day (Oct. 31, Nov. 1, Nov. 2 respectively). This forty day period is one of four such in the esoteric Church year. The other three forty day periods are: Spring Equinox (Mar 20 or 21) to May Day, Dec. 25 to Candlemas (Feb 1 or 2) and of course, Lent. Lent is the forty day period beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Sunday every year.

Sep or sometimes Oct (day varies) Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, always followed ten days later by Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is the last of the Ten Days of Awe in Hebrew lore. The first of the Ten Days of Awe is Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish New Year, when the gates of heaven are said to be flung open allowing blessings rain upon us for Ten Days, after which it goes shut again. "May your name be written in the book of life," is the greeting Jews use during the Ten Days of Awe because on Yom Kippur, the solemn Day of Atonement, the gates and the book go shut again.

Sep 26 - Oct 5 Navaratri, Hindu Festival of the Great Goddess
Huge holiday in India when Goddess destroys evil and restores cosmic order

Sep 27, Day of the Willows,
Mesopotamian Festival of Astarte/Asherah

Sep 29, Michaelmas, one of the oldest Christo-pagan holy days

Sep 30, Feast day of Saint Sophia, mother of Faith, Hope & Charity, saintly version of Goddess of Wisdom. Alternative feastdays for her are August 15 or 17, see above.

HATHOR/October

2—Daemon/Holy Guardian Angel

9/11—Feast of Divine Wisdom

Celebration of the Ankh

13—Knights Templar Remembrance

28/3—Isia

30—Fast of Thoth

31—Feast of Anubis/Samhain

October's Variable (Movable) Holidays:
Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement - End of the 10 Days of Awe, when the Gates of Heaven go closed again. A day of fasting and repenting for any mistakes made during the year. Yom Kippur is the last of the Ten Days of Awe in Hebrew lore. The first of the Ten Days of Awe is Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish New Year, when the gates of heaven are said to be flung open allowing blessings rain upon us for Ten Days when it goes shut again. "May your name be written in the book of life," is the greeting Jews use during the Ten Days of Awe because on Yom Kippur, the solemn day of atonement, the gates and the book go shut again.

-Hindu Festival of Lights, Diwali. India's Lunar New Year. Celebrated for 3 days up to and including the New Moon. Goddess Lakshmi and her husband God Vishnu are invoked for prosperity

Oct 2 - Druid Feast of the Guardian Spirits

Oct 4 - St. Francis of Assisi Day, one of the most pagan of the Christian saints, he coined terms "brother sun, sister moon", and honored the covenant between humans and the animal kingdom

Oct 9-11 Feast of Divine Wisdom - Source of all knowledge, honoring God-Goddess as Odin-Frigg (Norse); and Goddess as Sophia/Wisdom (Christian), Truth/Maat (Egyptian), Metis (Greek), Sarasvati (Hindu), (Arabic-Sufi).

Oct 13, Knights Templar Remembrance Day

Oct 18 English Great Horn Fair - Festival of Cerne.

Oct 24 Raphaelmas, Feast of Archangel Raphael, whose name means, "The High One Heals." Since 1970, the Catholic Church no longer recognizes this day for Raphael, ending more than a thousand years of tradition by opting to lump him in with Gabriel and Michael for a Feast of the Holy Archangels Day on Sept 29.

Oct 24 - Druid Feast for Spirits of Air

Oct 28 Feast of Baba and Dedo - Slavic protectors of families and elders.

Oct 28 - Nov 3 Isia - Egyptian festival recalling Set (God of Destruction) killing God Osiris; Goddess Isis mourning Him, resurrecting Him, and conceiving God Horus with Him; and Osiris becoming Lord of Amenta, land of the dead. He weighs souls against the Feather of Truth on Goddess Maat's Scale of Justice, but defers to Isis for those who fail the test.

Oct 31 Samhain / Hallowmas / Halloween - Celtic New Year and feast of Cerridwen (Goddess of Death) and Beli (the Holly King, God of the Waning Sun).

Oct 31 - Nov 2 Descent of Inanna - Sumerian fast recalling the descent of Inanna (Goddess of Life) to the Underworld. Ereshkigal (Goddess of Death and Rebirth) detained Her until She agreed to have Dumuzi (God of Life and Death) remain there each Winter.

-Fast of Hod - Norse fast marking Hod (blind God of Darkness) unintentionally killing Balder (God of Light), and devoted Nanna (Goddess of Flowers) dying of a broken heart.

HEKATE/November

1/3—Hekate

7/9—Feast of Eternal Justice/Maat & Thoth

11—Feat of Dionysos

13—Fontinalia

16—Night of Hekate

22—Festival of the Moon

24—Festival of Lights (Egyptian)

27—Day of Pavati

29—Bast (Egyptian Cat Goddess)

Oct 31 - Nov 6 Mid-Autumn / Day of the Dead / Hallowmas - Festival marking the transformation of life to death, the end of the agricultural year, departure of migrating and hibernating animals, and decay and death of vegetal and animal life. Observed by remembering departed ancestors and contemplating one's own mortality.

Nov 1 - All Saints Day - Christians around the world remember all the dead on this day

- Day of the Banshees, Reign of Celtic Cailleach, Crone Goddess.

Nov 2 - All Souls Day, Christians remember their own dead -- relatives, ancestors, beloved dead.
- White Tara Day. Day for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Goddess, White Tara, who guides the dead to Buddha Amitabha's Pure Land, where all will find salvation.

Nov 7 - 9 Feast of Divine Justice - Source of just law, honoring Goddess-God as Maat-Thoth (Egyptian); Goddess as Themis (Greek), Justice (Christian), and God as Forseti (Norse).

Nov 8 - Seven Holy Archangels Day (Orthodox Christian). The seven original Archangels to the Eastern Orthodox Church are: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and the fallen Lucifer. Lucifer lost his place to another Archangel but the various lists can't make their minds up about the name of the new archangel. Baracael, Ieadiel, Sealtiel, Peliel, and Gamael are some of the possibilities. The Book of Enoch says: The big four plus Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel, while from other apocryphal sources we get the variant names Izidkiel, Hanael, and Kepharel instead of the last three.

Nov 11 Feast of Dionysus - Greek God whom Yeshua was "connected to" as the Cosmic Gnosis. Also Veteran's Day when we remember the dead. See article.

Celtic Lunatishees - Day of the Fairie Sidhe, Old November Day.

Nov 13 Festival of Jupiter - Roman deity associated with rain and agriculture, prime protector of the state, and concerned with all aspects of life.

Roman Fontinalia - Feast of Fons, God of Springs.

Nov 14 Feast of Musicians and Bards - Druid celebration of the Celtic musical arts.

Nov 16 - Night of Hekate, Greek Goddess of the Hags or Wisewomen, (later called Witches), her name comes from Heqa-ma'at, a goddess in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead who later became Hekmah or Hokmah (also spelled Chokmah) meaning wisdom in the ancient Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). From Heqa-ma'at / Hecate / Hokmah we get the Greek word for wisewoman or holywoman, "hag". Hecate was goddess of the hags and it was a very complementary thing to be a hag of the Hagia Sophia tradition!

Nov 20 - Day of All Gnostic Saints (see http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/cal_mandala.htm for explanation)

Nov 22 - Festival of Diana - Roman Goddess of Moon, Hunt, Wilderness, Birth
- Feast of Weyland - Norse God of the Smiths.

Nov 24 - Feast of the Burning Lamps, Egyptian festival
- Celtic Tree Month of Reed ends - Tree Month of Elder begins.

Nov 27 - Day of Parvati - Hindu Mother of the Universe
- Feast of Ullr: “The Feast of Ullr was to celebrate the Hunt and to gain the personal luck needed for success. Weapons are dedicated on this day to Ullr. If your arms were blessed by the luck of the God of the Hunt, your family and tribe shared the bounty with a Blot and Feast to Ullr .”

3rd Thursday of November: Thanksgiving Day - Day to give thanks for religious freedom here in this great country, the fertile abundance of mother earth, and basic necessities of life, "thread, bread, and shed." (Clothes, food, shelter).

Nov 29 Egyptian Feast of Hathor - as Sekhmet, Lioness and Sun Goddess, the alternate of Bast, the Cat Goddess.

Last Sunday of November begins Advent, the Festival of Lights for the Coming of the Light of the World - Christian vigil for the birth of the Cosmic Christ. Advent candles are lit on each of the four Sundays before Christmas. A purple one on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Sundays, and a pink one on the 3rd Sunday. Here's a traditional Advent Wreath "how-to" page.

VESTA/December

1—Maat as Athena

3—Day of Cybele

4—Shango (Voodoo)

7/9—Maha Devi Shakti

13—Prometheus

21/25—Isis as The Great Mother

21/22— Dies Natalis Solis Invictus

Return of the Invincible Sun (Horus)

Winter Solstice

25/3—Norse Yule

26/1—Kwanzaa

28—Freya

31—Solar Festival of Sekhmet

Dec 1 - Greek / Roman Day of Pallas Athena / Minerva.
- Day for Meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Goddess Red Tara - Protector against evil and harm.

Dec 3 Roman Day of Cybele / Rhea /The Great Mother.

Dec 4 - Feast of Shango, Orisha who defends against evil.

Dec 6 - St Nicholas of Myra Day, patron saint of children & mariners, original Santa Claus, known for his love of children
- Mindfulness Day - Zen Buddhist day for mindfully seeing and acting with compassion for the poor and oppressed.

Dec 7 - Haloia of Demeter.

Dec 7 - 9 Feast of the Immanent Feminine Divine Spirit - Honoring Goddess as Maha Devi Shakti (Hindu), Holy Spirit Wisdom (Christian).

Dec 8 Rohatsu - Zen Buddhist celebration of the Buddha's enlightenment.

Dec 11 - Sacred to Arianrhod.

Dec 12 - Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Mother of God and Mother of the Oppressed.

Dec 13 - Feast of the Light-bringer - Honoring Goddess as Juno Lucina (Old Roman)

Dec 17 - Yoruba / Santeria feast of Orisha Babalu Aye - Healer of deadly diseases.

Dec 18 - Sacred to Epona.

Dec 19 - Return of the Sun God. Druid Festival of Alban Arthuan
- Day of Holy Apostle Thomas (of the Gospel of Thomas). Celebrated December 21st.

Dec 21 thru 25 - Old Egyptian festival of Isis, the Magna Mater (Mother of God and Mother of All) giving birth to God Horus.

Dec 22 - Yule, Winter Solstice

- Day of Archangel Raphael, whose name means "Healing power of El". Celebrated December 22nd. Raphael is the angel of healing and health, and is always invoked in the Sacrament of Unction. Raphael represents the principle of regeneration as related to the powers of health and also the regeneration of the Light in the realm of darkness. Thus Raphael has been celebrated in our tradition at the winter solstice, because when the darkness has reached its epitome, it engenders the renewed Light, which is then "born" on Christmas Day. From: http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/cal_mandala.htm

Dec 23 - Sacred to Hathor.

Dec 24 - Celtic Tree Month - Month of Reed ends, Tree Month of Elder begins.

Dec 25 - Christmas Day, Christian celebration of Blessed Maria giving birth to Child Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- European Feasts of Herne, Frey, Dionysus - Birth of the God, the Light of the World.

Dec 25 thru Jan 5 Norse Yule: Old Norse festival honoring Frey and Freya (Deities of Fertility) and the new-born Baldur (God of Light) with evergreens, fires, and feasting.

Dec 26 thru Jan 1 - Kwanzaa: Festival celebrating positive African traditions; emphasizes unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

Dec 28 - Sacred to Freya.

Dec 31 - Egyptian Lucky Day of Sekhmet – Sekhmet, the ravaging lioness, with her burning solar eye, is the destroyer/devourer aspect of the goddess.

Hymn to Vesta
Homeric

Come, Vesta,
To live in this beautiful home.
Come with warm feelings of friendship.
Bring your intelligence,
Your energy and your passion
To join us with your goodwill.
Burn brightly at my hearth.
Burn always in my soul.
You are welcome here.
I remember you.

Dec. 25 to Jan 5—Yule

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