© Parallel Perspectives 2009
of
Celebrated Days
NUIT [January]
2—Advent of Isis
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
& new-born Balder (God of Light)
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 Kristian churches continued to
celebrate Jan 6 as Yeshua's birthday up into the 600's AD even tho Constantine
had changed the date.
Jan. 17 to Feb. 1—Sementivae
Old Roman festival of sowing, honoring Earth
Goddess Terra (Greek Gaia), Grain Goddess Ceres (Greek Demeter), and Seed
Goddess Proserpina (Greek Persephone)
Jan.25 to Feb30—Old Roman festival of sowing,
honoring Earth Goddess Terra (Greek Gaia), Grain Goddess Ceres (Greek Demeter),
and Seed Goddess Proserpina (Greek Persephone)
Jan
25-30 Feast of Old Egyptian creating and destroying God-Goddess
Amen-Amenet - The eternal transformer. Egyptians perceived the many Gods and
Goddesses to be aspects of the one God-Goddess Neter-Neteret.
Jan
31-Feb 2 Imbolc/St.Brigid's Day - Old Celtic/Irish feast of
Goddess Brigid; merged with the Christian feast of St. Brigid. Fires were lit
to welcome Her as She traveled about blessing fields, animals, and people.
Jan
31-Feb 3 Old European Lunar New Year - Celebration of the Triple
Goddess (Goddess of the Moon and the Seasons) being transformed from the Crone
into the Virgin; celebrated with ritual bathing of divine images.
Jan
31 - Feb 4 Mid-Winter/Candlemas - Festival marking the
transformation from death to life, the beginning of the agricultural year,
awakening of hibernating animals, and return of migrating birds and fish.
Observed with a candlelight procession to bless fields and seeds, recognition
of newborns, and contemplation of life.
Jan 31- Feb 2 Imbolc/St.Brigid's Day - Old Celtic/Irish feast of
Goddess Brigid; merged with the Christian feast of St. Brigid. Fires were lit
to welcome Her as She traveled about blessing fields, animals, and people.
Feb
1-14 Old Greek festival of God Dionysos - in which vines were
pruned and sprinkled with wine, accompanied by ritual singing and dancing.
Feb
7-8 Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis (Roman Diana) - as
creatrix, midwife of birthing creatures, protector of the young, and punisher
of child abusers.
Feb
13 - Feb 15 Lupercalia / St. Valentine's Day / Norse Family Festival
- Old Roman festival (Lupercalia - Festival of the Wolf) of God-Goddess
Faunus-Fauna, celebrating Pan, fertility, and the coming Spring; merged with he
Christian feast of St. Valentine, celebrating love of all kinds.
Feb.
14 - Feast Day, Kristian Goddesses of Love. See Litany to the Kristian
Goddesses of Love
Feb
21 - 28 Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries - Old Greek festival
celebrating the marriage of Goddess Kore and God Dionysos, following their
return from Elysium.
Feb
22 Caristia - Old Roman festival for renewing family ties
and patching up quarrels.
Feb
26 Egyptian Day of Nut - Goddess of Healing and Fertility.
Feb
28 Saxon Cake Day - cakes offered to the God and the
Goddess.
March
1 - Roman New Year
- St. David's Day
March
1-2 Mahashivaratri - Hindu fast, night vigil, and feast for
God-Goddess Shiva-Shakti (union of Will and Power), who dances to create,
destroy, and re-create the universe. Tantric Hindus believe Shiva is within all
men and Shakti within all women; they recognize gender equality and reject
caste.
March
2 - Holy Wells' Day (Norse)
March
3 - Aegir's Day (Teutonic)
March
4 - Feast of Rhiannon (Welsh)
- Egyptian Day
- Anthesteria (Greek)
- Mothering Day (English)
March
5 Navigium Isis - Old Egyptian festival honoring Goddess Isis as Lady
of the Moon and Ruler of the Sea; celebrated with the launching of a boat of
offerings.
March
6 - Mars Day
March
8-9 Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis (Roman Diana) - as
protector of wild animals and vegetation
March
8 - Birthday of Mother Earth (Chinese)
March
9 - Mother Goddess Day, Honoring all Mother Goddesses
- Feast of the 40
Martyrs (Greek)
- Celebration of
Aphrodite and Adonis (Greek)
March
10 - Hypatia's
Day (Greek)
March
11 - Hercules Day
- Great Night of Shiva,
Vigil and feast for Transcendence
March
12 - Feast of Marduk (Mesopotamian)
March
14 - Cathar Remembrance Day. On March 16 their last fortress
fell, but March 14 is a Cathar holy day and on that last March 14, 1244, they
performed a special Easter Rite (it was also Easter that year). Two days
later they were burnt alive by the Roman Catholic Church, a day also remembered
by modern gnostics called Montsegur Day (see below).
- Roman Equirria - Horse race
dedicated to Mars.
March
14-18 Holi-Hindu Festival - celebrating the courting of God
Shiva by Goddess Parvati, and the efforts on Her behalf by Kama (God of Love)
and Rati (Goddess of Passion). Hindus believe all Gods and Goddesses are
aspects of the one Great God-Goddess Maha Deva-Maha Devi, the limitless,
attributeless, immanent, and transcendent Brahman. Shaivas are devoted to God
Shiva in all His aspects.
March
15 - Ides of March (Roman)
- Rhea's Day (Greek)
- Holiday of Cybele
(Anatolian, Roman)
March
15-27 Phrygian Festival of Cybele and Attis - Goddess of
Earth/Wild Animals and God of Vegetation, Death and Rebirth
March
16 - Montsegur Day, Gnostic holy remembrance day of the
slain Cathar gnostics burned at the stake on this day in 1244 A.D.
- Dionysos' Festival
(Greek)
- Bacchus' Day (Roman)
March
17 - St. Patrick's Day - Old European festival marking
rebirth of the Green Man / Green George (God as Deciduous Vegetation); merged
with the Christian feast of St. Patrick.
- Festival of Astarte -
Celebrating the Canaanite Holy Land Goddess of Love
- Liberalia (Roman)
March
19 - Eyvind Kinnrifi (Odinist)
- Athena's Day (Greek)
- Minerva's Day (Roman)
March
20 - Ala Festival (Nigerian)
- Iduna's Day (Norse)
- Alban Eilir (Celtic,
Druid holiday)
- Spring Harvest
Festival (Egyptian)
March
20-21 Old Sumerian Festival - celebrating the return of Dumuzi
(God of Life and Death) from the Underworld to be with Inanna (Goddess of Life)
for the verdant part of the year.
March
20 or 21 Spring Equinox aka Vernal Equinox aka Ostara.
Marks the beginning of Spring. Days and nights are exactly equal, the sun
rises and sets in the exact east and west. This holiday represents the
first creation, but also the annual creation (planting so crops grow each year)
and most symbolic, the perpetual creation. Fertility symbols abound such as
eggs and rabbits. Spring or Vernal Equinox begins a forty day period
which culminates with May Day, another fertility Spring festival of ancient
origin. This forty day period is one of four such in the esoteric Church
year. The other three forty day periods are: Fall Equinox
(Sept 22 or 23) to Halloween/AllSaints Day (Oct. 31, Nov.1), 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.
March
23 - Venus' Day
- Summer Finding
(Norse)
March
24: Feast Day of Archangel Gabriel whose name means,
"The High One's Hero," or "Hero of God," or "Power of
God," or "Might of God." Note this day comes one day
before Annunciation Day when Gabriel performed his most famous
-
Britannia's Day
- Heimdall's Day (Norse)
March
25 - Annunciation Day, Christian feast commemorating
Blessed Maria's choosing to conceive Child Jesus by the power of the Holy
Spirit and to
become a catalyst
of liberation and redemption
- Hilaria's Day (Roman)
- Return of the Goddess
- Mars and Neria (Roman)
March
27 - Greek Galaxia, Adoration of Cybele
- Smell the Breeze
Day (Egyptian)
March
28 - Birthday of Kwan Yin (Chinese)
- Sacrifice at the
Tombs (Roman
March
29 - Festival of Ishtar (Babylonian)
- St. Mark's Day
- Delphinia (Greece)
- Expulsions of the Demons of Bad
Luck (Tibetan)
March
30 - Eostre's Day (Germanic)
March
31 - Luna (Roman)
MOVABLE
DAYS, SOMETIMES IN MARCH, USUALLY IN APRIL
Palm Sunday - Christian feast marking Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem to teach
love and justice for all humanity and to sacrifice Himself for the liberation
and redemption of all.
Holy
Thursday: Last Supper of Jesus - He washed the feet of His male and female
disciples, gave them bread and wine as His body and blood, and told of the
Paraclete (Our Mother, the Holy Spirit) who would come after Him.
Passover
- Jewish festival recalling their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and
celebrating freedom from oppression.
Easter
Sunday - Christian celebration of Jesus' resurrection by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
11
Days in Spring, Kristian Easter Cycle
Events
April
1 Day of Venus - Goddess of Love vanquishes Mars, God of War, with love
(Roman).
- Day of Kali - Dark Mother who liberates
(Hindu).
- Loki's Day, Norse Teutonic trickster
god
- Hathor's Day (Egyptian)
April
1-4 Iroquois Thunder Ceremony - In thanksgiving for the
rains. Iroquois believe Sky Woman descended from the Sky and Created Earth.
April
2-10 Hindu Festival honoring Maha Devi as Gauri - life,
growth, and fruition.
April
3 - the Ascension of Persephone
- Buddha's Birthday
April
4 Greek Megalesia of Cybele - Games dedicated to the Great Mother
(Greek).
April
5 Roman Day of Fortuna - Goddess of Fate (Roman).
April
7-8 Feast of Greek Goddess Artemis (Roman Diana) - who
represents the feminine in Nature and protects women throughout their lives.
April
8 - Zen Buddhist celebration of Buddha's birth (563 BCE)
April
14 - Norse Festival of Sommarsblot
April
15 - Celtic Tree Month of Willow begins
- Feast of Tellus Mater (Roman)
- Festival of Ba'ast, Feast of Bast (Egyptian cat goddess)
April
16 - St. Padarn's Day (Celtic)
- Feast of St. George (Byzantine)
April
15-17 Feast of the Seas - Honoring God-Goddess as Olokun-Yemaya
(Yoruba/Santeria) and Okeanos-Tethys (Old Greek).
April
18 - Thargelia (Greek)
-Rava Navami (Hindu)
April
22 Earth Day - Day to honor the Earth and to meditate on Deity
manifesting as Mother Earth
- Festival of
Isthar (Babylonian)
- Feast of the
Divine Couple (Japanese)
- Feast of
Elaphebolia (Greek)
- Odin's Day - Norse
festival.
April
23 - European Festival of the
Green Man, Spirit of Vegetation and Forests
-
Sigurd's Day (Germanic)
April
25 - Holy Prophet Mani's Day (he was born
on this day in the 3rd century A.D.) Manichaeans were his followers,
predecessors of modern gnostics
- Spring
Festivals - Dedicated to Herne, Pan, Horned God.
Roman
Robligalia - Corn Mothers (Ceres and Demeter) and Harvest.
Arbor
Day - Day to honor trees, to plant trees, and to meditate on
Deity manifesting as trees, such as Goddesses Helice/Willow (Greek) and
Yggdrasill/Ash (Norse).
April
30 - Walpurgisnacht (Germanic)
- Floralia Ends (Roman)
- Beltane Begins at Sundown (Celtic, Wiccan)
- Salus
- St. Sophia's Day
April
30 - May 2 Old Norse Feast.
Beltaine
- Celtic festival marking the arrival of summer in ancient times.
Movable
Holiday: Sometimes in May, sometimes in June: 50 Days
after Easter: Pentecost
& Shavuot: Annual Sacred Marriage Holiday
Movable
Holiday: 2nd Sunday in May. Mother's Day - Day to give
love and thanks to all mothers; day for mothers to celebrate motherhood and
contemplate their sacred duty to provide for the physical, intellectual,
emotional, and spiritual needs of their children.
April
30 - May 2 - Beltane - Celtic festival marking the arrival of summer
in ancient times, celebrating Blodeuwedd (Goddess of Flowers) and Llew (Oak
King, God of the Waxing Sun).
-
Old Norse Feast - Celebrating Nanna (Goddess of Flowers), true love of Baldur
(God of Light).
-
Feast of Sacred Marriage - Honoring Goddess-God as Inanna & Dumuzi , Ishtar
& Tammuz (Old Sumerian), Isis & Osiris (Egyptian), Oshun & Shango
(Yoruba/Santeria).
May
1 - May Day (European holy day)
- Babylonian Celebration of
Asherah
May
2 - Elena's Day (Welsh)
- St. Helen's Day (British)
May
4 - Celtic Festival of Cerridwen and Brigit - Corn Goddesses of
fertility, healing, and poets.
- St. Monica's Day (Irish)
- Veneration of the Thorn (Irish)
- Festival of Sheila Na Gig (Irish)
May
6 - Shepherd's Day - Day to meditate on Deity as Lord of Animals:
Dumuzi (Old Sumerian), Osiris (Egyptian), Pan (Old Greek), Shiva Pasupati
(Hindu).
- Eyvind Kelve (Norse)
May
9-12 Lemuria - Roman festival when the spirits of the dead are
thought to revisit their homes.
May
9 - Greek Feast of Artemis
May
13 - Roman Garland Day, Offering garlands to Neptune.
- Month of Hawthorn, Celtic
festival of the tree.
- Our Lady of Fatima Day (Portugal)
May
14-16 Feast of Divine Love and Compassion - Source of healing
and beneficence, honoring Goddess as Isis (Old Egyptian), Oshun
(Yoruba/Santeria), Lakshmi (Hindu).
May
14 - Isis Day in ancient Egypt
May
15 - Cold Sophie (German)
- Festival of Vesta (Roman)
- Maia and Mercury's Day
(Roman)
May
17 - Dea Dia (Roman)
May
18 - Celtic Feast of Old Greek God Pan - Who
represents the masculine in Nature and protects men throughout their lives. Men
recognized the transitions in their lives and honored male fertility.
May
19 Old Celtic Feast of Brigid - In which sacred healing
wells and springs were adorned with flowers in honor of Goddess Brigid,
daughter of Mother Goddess Danu and Father God Dagda.
May
20 - Mjollnir (Germanic, Teutonic, heathen)
May
21 - Dark/Bright Mother Goddesses Day - Kali/Parvati and
Hecate/Demeter.
- Plato's Birthday
May
22 - Ragnar Lodbrok's day (Norse Heathen)
May
23 - Semik (Russian)
May
24 - Day of the Three Maries (special to Mary Magdalene and
Grail Christianity)
- Feast Day of Hermes Trismegistus
- Celtic Festival to the Three Mothers
- Greek Celebration of the Horae
May
25 - Assassination of Edmund I (Anglo-Saxon)
- Celebration of the Tao, Mother of
the World (Chinese, Japanese)
May
26 - Festival of Diana begins (ends 31st) (ancient
Roman holiday)
- Dakinis' Day - Day Tantric
Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to
manifest positive social change and environmental healing.
May
30 - Frigg's Day, Northern Goddess, spouse of Odin (Teutonic
"heathen" European pre-Christian holiday)
- Feast of the Queen of the Underworld
Begins (Roman)
- Feast of the Queen of Heaven
(European)
May
31 - Feast of the Triple Goddess - Marking the
transformation of the Virgin into the Mother.
- Feast of Stella Maris -
Venus, (and Asherah) as Star of the Sea. Mother Mary was later given the title
Stella Maris
JUNE
Movable Holiday: sometimes in May, sometimes in June: Shavuot/Feast
of First Fruits, Pentecost, Sacred Marriage holiday
Movable
Holiday: 3rd Sunday in June. Father's Day
June
2 - Juno Regina's Day (Roman)
- Sin's Day (Norse)
- Shapatu of Ishtar (Babylonian)
- Seamen's Day (Icelandish)
- St. Elmo's Day
June
4 - Socrates' Birthday
June
5: Earth Mother Day - Call forth good harvests
June
11 - Feast of Matuta (Roman)
- Matralia (Roman)
- Fortuna's Day (Roman)
June
13: Feast of Epona - The Celtic Horse Goddess
- All Soul's Day
(Tibetan)
- Children's Day (USA)
- Athena's Day (Greek)
- Minerva's Day (Roman)
June
14 - Vidar's Day (Norse Heathen)
- Birthday of the Muses (Greek).
Music, the arts & inspiration "born"
June
16 - Night of the Teardrop (Egyptian)
June
17 - Ludi Piscatari (Roman)
- Marriage of Orpheus and Eurydike
(Greek)
June
18: Roman Day of Anna - Goddess Danu to the Celts.
Early
Christian-Pagans made sure Anna entered the Kristian story, making her Yeshua's
grandmother, Mary's mother.
June
20 - Iron Skegge's Day (Norse Heathen)
- Festival of Edfu (Egyptian)
- Kuan-Yin Day (day she became a
Bodhisattva)
June
21: Summer Solstice (Click for details)
-
Day of Cerridwen and her Cauldron (English/Welsh)
-
Day of Aine of Knockaine (Irish)
-
Day of the Green Man (Northern Europe)
-
The Great Mother (British)
-
Alban Hefin (Druidic)
-
Waa-Laa Ends (Native American)
-
Litha (Wiccan)
-
All Hera's Day (Roman)
-
Ishtar's Day (Babylonian)
-
Astarte's Day (Canaanite)
-
Aphrodite's Day (Greek)
-
Yemaya's Day (Brazilian)
-
Aine's Day (Irish)
See
also notes
here about June Solstice holidays, including the other days coming after
it.
June
23: Celtic Day of the Green Man - In honor of Herne,
Cernernos, Lugh.
June
24: TEMPLAR HOLY DAY. In the Roman calendar this day
was thought to be Summer Solstice. The Church renamed this pagan holiday
to St. John the Baptist Day. Templars revered it highly. On Jun 24, 1314
a mysterious band of knights joined Robert the Bruce of Scotland on the
battlefield making his victory at Bannockburn possible. These knights
could only have been the a troop of disbanded and now in-hiding Templars who
had fled to western Scotland. St. John's day was used by Freemasons in
1717 to found the first public (non-Scottish) Order of Freemasonry in London.
Masonic teachings are said to descend from the esoteric Christianity of
Templarism. St. John the Baptizer was beheaded because he wouldn't give
in and sacrifice his principles. This is a Templar ideal, as is the
constancy and regularity -- order out of chaos -- of the solstices and
equinoxes. So for both reasons, Christian and "pagan," we
observe this day. See also notes
here.
-
Feast of the Sun (Aztec)
-
Feast of St. John the Baptist
-
Midsummer Bride (Swedish)
-
Inti Raymi (Incan)
-
Lady Luck (European)
-
Burning of the Lamps at Sais (Egyptian)
June 25 - Parvati Praise Day - Hindu Women's Festival for Earth Mother.
June 27 - Roman Day of the Lares - Household Deities honored and tended
- Initium Aestatis (Roman)
- Arretophoria (Greek)
June
28 - Festival of the Tarasque (French)
June 29 - Shiva Day - Hindu Lord of the Dance invoked for blessings
- Runic New Year
- Petosiris' Day (Egyptian)
- St. Peter's Day
- Herb Harvesting Day (East
Anglican)
July
1 Greek Kronia - Honoring Kronos (Father Time) and Rhea (Old Mother Nature).
July
2 Roman Feast of Expectant Mothers.
July
8 Celtic Month of Holly - Honoring the Holly tree.
July
12-14 Feast of the Moon - Honoring Goddess as Selene (Old
Greek), Ixchel (Maya), and Manat (Old Arabic-Sufi).
July
13 Birth of Osiris - Egyptian God of Divine Youth, annually
resurrected by Isis.
July
17 Celtic Feast of Tailtiu - Mother Nature Goddess who
fostered Lugh.
July
19 Egyptian Opet Festival - Celebrating the marriage of Isis
and Osiris.
July
22 Mary Magdalene Feast Day - the Holy Grail.
Official Christian feast of St. Maria Magdalen, both Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox. Bake some Madeleine cakes for the Queen of Heaven using these recipes in honor of
her day.
*
July 28 Archangel Auriel (Uriel) Day. His/Her name means
"Fire or Light of God," and titles include, Regent of the Sun, Angel
of Music, Patron of Prophecy, Archangel of Salvation, Angel of the Presence.
See Uriel.org for
all about him/her and pics.
July
29 - Festival of Thor - Celebration of Norse God Thor
July
31 - Lammas, harvest festival coming 40 days
after Summer Solstice, offer 1st fruits to the Divine (See Aug. 1)
- Festival of Loki - Day
to honor Norse trickster god Loki and his consort Sigyn
July
31 thru Aug 2 - Lughnasadh - Old Celtic / Irish Feast of Goddess
Tailtiu and God Lugh (Deities of Life and Light), celebrating the grain
harvest.
Feast
of the Grain Harvest - Honoring Goddess Demeter & Kore (Old Greek), and God
as Osiris (Egyptian).
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 Hecate - 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).
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.
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), &
Manat (Arabic-Sufi).
Oct
13, Knights Templar Remembrance Day
Oct
18 English Great Horn Fair - Festival of Herne.
*
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.
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
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 Hecate, 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 Sekmet, 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.
See our unfinished Sundays of
Advent page. Here's a traditional Advent Wreath
"how-to" page.
See
our unfinished Sundays of
Advent page. Here's a traditional Advent Wreath
"how-to" page.
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
14 - Warriors' Memorial, Japanese.
Dec
17 - Yoruba / Santeria feast of Orisha Babalu Aye - Healer
of deadly diseases.
Dec
18 - Sacred to Epona.
Dec
19 - Modresnact: Norse Mothers Night Festival.
Dec
21 - Beginning of Esoteric Kristmas Cycle, the Twelve Days
of Kristmas. Please observe this cycle of holy days with fellow
Church of the Way and Mystery School members
- Celtic Alban Arthuan - Return of the Sun God. Druid Festival of Alban Arthuan
- Day of Holy Apostle Thomas (of the Gospel of Thomas). Celebrated December 21st. The
Gnostic scriptures teach that Thomas understood deeply the mysteries that Jesus
imparted to this disciples, and the Gospel of Thomas is a major Gnostic work.
It seems this was not understood or not appreciated by the orthodox church,
which excluded his gospel from the canonical New Testament. He is mentioned
many times in other Gnostic scriptures as being one who had Gnosis. The
beautiful story called both "The Hymn of the Pearl' and "The Hymn of
the Robe of Glory" is attributed to him. From:
http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/cal_mandala.htm
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 Sekmet - Sekmet, the ravaging lioness, with her burning
solar eye, is the destroyer/devourer aspect of the goddess.
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