The Celtic Calendar

1
The Celtic Calendar
2

• The Celtic year is based on the cycles of the
  moon.
• It has 13 months that are divided into 8 segments
  of either light or dark.
• Each segment has a corresponding festival that is
  either one of the four fire festivals or an
  equinox or solstice.
• Extra days are added at the end of the year when
  needed to remain on schedule and are known as the
  time between time.
• The calendar was an important part of Celtic
  religion and life allowing them to track the
  seasons and year.

3
The Thirteen Months

• Dec. 24 - Jan. 21 I am a stag of seven
  tines Beith the Birch
• Jan. 22 - Feb. 18 I am a wide flood on a
  plain Luis the Rowan
• Feb. 19- Mar. 18 I am a wind on the deep
  waters Nuinn the Ash
• Mar. 19 - Apr. 15 I am a shining tear of the
  sun Fearn the Alder
• Apr. 16 - May 13 I am a hawk on a
  cliff Saille the Willow
• May 14 - Jun. 10 I am a fair amongst
  flowers Huath the Hawthorn
• Jun. 11 - Jul. 8 I am a god who sets the
  head afire with smoke Duir the Oak
• Jul. 9- Aug. 5 I am a battle-waging
  spear Teinn the Holly
• Aug. 6 - Sep. 2 I am a salmon in a
  pool Coll the Hazel
• Sep. 3 - Sep. 30 I am a hill of
  poetry Muinn the Vine
• Oct. 1 - Oct. 28 I am a ruthless
  boar Gort the Ivy
• Oct. 29 - Nov. 25 I am a threatening noise
  from the sea Ngetal the Reed
• Nov. 26 - Dec. 22 I am a wave of the
  sea Ruis the Elder
• Dec. 23 Who but I knows the secret of the unhewn
  dolmen?
• This calendar is based on the Ogmah or the
  Celtic tree alphabet and The Song of Amergin.

4
The Four fire festivals
5
SamhainHalloweenOct.31-Nov.1

• From the dark silence comes the
  whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of
  the seed beneath the ground.

6

• Samhain, literally meaning summers end, marks
  the beginning of Winter and the end of the
  harvest. Soon the fairies will come and freeze
  everything with their icy breath.
• Signaling the dissention into the dark part of
  the year it is one of the two gateway holidays
  in which the barrier between different worlds is
  thin and interaction and overlap is possible
  especially with fairies, the gods draw near and
  many sacrifices and gifts are given.
• This thinning also allows for magical divination.
  Popular traditions include cutting an apple in
  half width wise (so you can see the star) and
  eating it while looking at your reflection,
  supposedly so the image of your true love will
  appear over your shoulder. Another being the
  placing of a snail in hearth ashes so that they
  will reveal the first letter of your true loves
  name.
• There is the Feast of the Dead where places are
  set for the deceased. Stories of deeds long past
  are told to the younger generations passing down
  their rich oral tradition.

7
ImbolcGroundhogs DayFeb.1-2

• Imbolc prayer
• Weve made it to the mid-point
• Of the Winter dark and bleak
• From this day on the Sun
• Will climb and thaw the
• Ground and creeks.
• Bless us now, oh maiden fair
• And keep us in your loving care
• With signs of new life everywhere
• As you awaken from your sleep.
• -akasha

8
The Lactation of the Ewes

• Imbolc called Oimeagl by the Druids is derived
  from a Gaelic word that means ewes milk. It
  celebrates the return of the life-giving forces
  of spring such as the birth of lambs, thus the
  ewes milk reference, also it is taboo to cut
  plants during this time.
• It is the midwinter fire festival that hales the
  coming light seasons, the ascension from the
  dark.
• Imbolc is the holiday of purity, re-growth, and
  fertility. It is the dispensing of the old and
  replacing with the new.
• The plough is a traditional symbol of Imbolc
  because it was sometimes the first day of
  ploughing for the first planting. A plough would
  be decorated with streamers and flowers then
  whiskey poured over it and lastly accompanied
  with offering of bread and cheese for the nature
  spirits. Children running door to door would ask
  for food, trinkets, and money people who refused
  had there yards ploughed.

9
BeltaneMay DayMay 1-2
green spilt out into the meadows running into
every being filling us up with spirit tumbling the
pulsing red life of the earth in the smoke of
the firecircle i saw my demons scatter to the
skies dissolving into the midnight air there is
nothing but the sun the moon in perfect
equilibrium unreal yet grounded alone in body,
full in spirit love -Lady Lissar
10
Beltane being the counter holiday to Samhain
celebrates the beginning of the Light Season, the
sudden awakening of the earth, through planting
and fertility rights.

• On this day the god Bel or Cernunnos the horned
  god of Ireland dies and is reborn as the goddess
  son only to impregnate her assuring the never
  ending cycle of rebirth.
• Flowers are picked in the forest during the day
  and preparation is made for the unbridled passion
  of the night, social attachments are suspended
  are partners are taken, wondering off into the
  woods they return in the morning joyous and
  rumpled.
• A common tradition of this holiday is the leaping
  of lovers over the bonfire. If a couple can
  remain holding hands and makes it over the fire
  without being singed their love will last forever.

11
Lughnasadh The Lammas Feastaug. 31-Sept. 1

• O nurturing Lugh,
• Lord of the Harvest.
• Hear, O my people,
• The ploughland is heavy with the golden wheat of
  life,
• The cattle are bound, good substance fills the
  house,
• Fair women and men are in their homes,
• The boys go gladly with the girls in flowing
  dances!
• -OakWyse

12
Harvest Festival

• Here is the where the shift from growing to
  harvesting from incline to decline becomes
  evident. Here is where the warmth and joy of the
  Light season is tinged with fear of the oncoming
  dark.
• Lughnasdh is a time of personal reflection of
  events and experiences both good and bad that
  have occurred over the past year.
• This holiday is a celebration of the celtic god
  Lugh the God of Light. He led the Tuatha De
  Dannan to numerous victories. Stories of his
  adventures and achievements are deeply embedded
  in celtic myth.
• It is a day of feasting. Bread is baked in mass
  quantities and fruits and nuts are harvested.
  Corn a vital crop that is harvested at this
  time.
• Lughnasdh is a holiday of death and harvest as
  well as bounty and life.

13
The Solstices and Equinoxes
14
Yule The Winter SolsticeAlban ArthuanLight
of Arthur

• This is the longest night of the year and the
  time of greatest darkness.
• The celebration is of the return of the sun
  (representing male divinity though the Sun God)
  after the shortest day of the year.
• The Winter solstice is associated with the birth
  of the Divine King believed by some Pagans to
  be King Arthur before the Christians declared him
  Christ and changed the holiday to Christmas.
• Holly and Mistletoe sacred to the Druids are used
  for decoration and there is a designated Holly
  King (Santa Clause?) to bring joy and love.

15
OstaraSpring EquinoxAlban EilerLight of the
Earth

• The day and night are equal in length and the new
  sprouts and buds continue to mature and grow. The
  days are becoming warmer and hope and excitement
  are rejuvenated.
• This a holiday for the Spring goddess Eostre who
  is often depicted holding colorful eggs, wreathed
  in flowers and surrounded by bunnies (all symbols
  of fertility).
• This holiday was also taken by Christians as
  Easter Christs resurrection.

16
MidsummerSummer SolsticeAlban HeruinLight of
the Shore

• The longest day and the shortest night of the
  year the Summer Solstice represents the pinnacle
  of the power of Light and the final surge before
  its decline.
• Fire and water are equally important to the
  holiday. Bonfires are built with the sacred wood
  of the oak and fir trees. Their ashes will be
  taken home providing protection and good luck.
  Bathing in springs and lakes during this time
  provides purification and healing and it is mixed
  with the fires ashes. The dew of Midsummer is
  said to bestow health.
• The Holly King relinquishes his throne to the Oak
  King.

17
MabonAutumn EquinoxAlban EluedLight of Water

• Known as the Second Harvesting this holiday is
  a continuation of Lughnasadh.
• Cornucopias and wheat sheaths decorate the home
  during the large feast of thanksgiving and
  celebration.
• As day and night are once again equal it allows
  us time to look at our own scales and hopefully
  balance them.
• This is a time of great change, a short pause
  before the plunge, decisions are weighed
  carefully and then made.

18
Bibliography

• Aubin, Christina. Holiday Overview The Witches
  Voice. Sept. 21, 2001. Found May 4, 2004.
  http//www.witchvox.com.
• Celtic Religion. Found April 21, 2004.
  http//celtdigital.org/celtrel.htm.
• Culbreath A. Steven. Calendar and Astrology,
  Religious Festivals. April 24, 2004. Found
  April 21, 2004. www.celticgrounds.com
• Druids the Celtic Calendar. Found May 2, 2004.
  http//celt.net/Celtic/History/calendar.html.
• Freeman, Mara. Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine,
  Lughnasadh, Celtic Spirit. 1999. Found May 4,
  2004. http//www.celticspirit.org.

By Lauren Patz