To Walk a Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day (7 page)

For the Welsh or Scottish Pagan, the holy tides of Beltane

and Samhain are the most important celebrations. But it is

Yule that takes precedence on the Saxon calendar. It includes

both months of Ærra Geola and Æfterra Geola, and celebra-

f 41 2

the sacral calendar

tions might take place at any time during these two months.

The most important part of Yule is Mothers’ Night, the night

of the winter solstice, when praise and offerings are given to

our female ancestors, the mothers of our mothers. Today’s

Saxon Pagans usually focus their celebrations on Mothers’

Night and the twelve nights that follow, ending on or just

after New Year’s. In my home we light one candle on Moth-

ers’ Night, two candles the following night, three the night

after that, and so on until twelve candles are burning brightly on the twelfth night of our celebrating. We will discuss Yuletide activities in more depth in the final chapter of this book.

By observing the lunar cycles and traditional Saxon holy

days, I honor not only my gods but also the ways of my

ancestors. By this I mean my spiritual ancestors. I do hap-

pen to have a good measure of English blood, with family

names like Potter, Oak and Taunton in my pedigree, but the

pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons are the spiritual ancestors of
any
Saxon Pagan regardless of his or her biological ancestry. It

is the world view of the early Anglo-Saxons and their rever-

ence for the earth that has inspired today’s Saxon Pagans and

shaped us, in part, to be who we are.

In addition to the months and seasons, a Saxon can incor-

porate the days of the week into his sacral calendar. It can be argued that the seven day week originated with the Romans,

but this construct was adopted very early in Saxon society.

The English names for the days of the week are a veritable

parade of Saxon divinity: Sunne, Mona, Tiw, Woden, Thunor

and Frige. The only exception is Saturday, which retained in

its name the reference to the Roman god Saturnus. We may

never know the reason for this, but, since Saturnus was a god

f 42 2

the sacral calendar

of sowing, I think of Saturday as a day sacred to the god Ing

and the goddess Fréo, divine siblings closely associated with

the wealth of the earth.

My Saxon sacral calendar is a part of my personal prac-

tice of Hal Sidu. It is a holistic calendar. Rather than accept a generic, “one size fits all” wheel of the year, it is a reflection of my spirituality. If you are a Pagan who follows a different

path, you will want to tweak the calendar in a different way,

but the principle remains the same.
Your
wheel of the year should be relevant to
your
spirituality.

The names of the Saxon months (three-milkings, weed-

month) show that the calendar is predominantly agrarian.

This is not unusual for traditional Pagan methods of reckon-

ing the passage of time. To learn something about the Irish

sacral calendar, I spoke with my friend Diane Dahm, an Irish

Pagan, who asserts that her own sacral calendar has a simi-

lar focus. “Keep in mind that the significance of these holi-

days had much to do with survival, and were not always the

celebrations we view them as today,” she says. “When peo-

ple were dependent on the earth and on the animals for their

source of food, acknowledging the turning of the wheel was

very much linked to where their food supply was going to be

coming from.”

Diane is aware that the traditional Irish sacral calendar is

not the same as the Neo-Pagan calendar. “Instead of the eight

Neo-Pagan holidays, the Irish people observe four major fes-

tivals throughout the year: Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and

Lughnasadh.” As an active member of her local Pagan com-

munity, Diane participates in group solstice and equinox rites, f 43 2

the sacral calendar

but her personal sacral calendar emphasizes the four holy tides that reflect her spirituality.

She also knows that the popular, modern interpretations

of those four holidays are not necessarily traditional Irish

Pagan interpretations. Diane believes that today’s Pagans

sometimes miss the deeper significance of holy tides like

Beltane and Imbolc. In her own words, “Beltane is seen by

Pagans today as being a fertility rite, but imagine the significance of the fertile earth…when your survival depends upon

it. (Beltane) isn’t as much about sex as it is about the poten-

tial for life to grow once again.” She adds that, “animals were often led between two fires to bestow blessings upon them

for the upcoming year,” a custom rarely seen in contem-

porary Beltane rites. Of Imbolc, the winter festival, Diane

says, “Imbolc is commonly associated with the lactating of

the ewes. In Irish society, wool was an important part of the

economy so it seems natural that this would be observed

in some way. On the Christian calendar, February 1st is the

Feast of St. Brigid. Presently, many Pagans honor the God-

dess Brigid in some way on this holiday, although it is unclear whether this is an ancient Pagan practice.”

The Irish sacral calendar and the Saxon calendar are sim-

ilar in their agricultural focus, but Diane makes it clear that there are also distinct differences between the two. The Winterfylleth moon in October marks the beginning of winter

for Saxon Pagans, but for the Irish Pagan this time of year,

known as Samhain, means much more. “The Irish marked

the start of the New Year with Samhain, observed on the eve

of November 1st and throughout the following day,” says

Diane, “Samhain is neither a day of this year or next. It stands f 44 2

the sacral calendar

on its own as a time between times. The Irish thought it to

be neither summer nor winter and the boundaries between

the spirit world of the sidhe and the world of men were eas-

ily crossed.”

Diane and I have different sacral calendars because we

follow different spiritual paths. We can both relate to the

Neo-Pagan calendar, but we each do so in a slightly differ-

ent way. Spiritual cultures that evolved farther away from

England will have sacral calendars that vary more from the

Neo-Pagan calendar.

Hellenismos, also known as Hellenism or Hellenic reli-

gion, is Greek Paganism. Worship is directed to the Greek

gods: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite and so on. With a spiri-

tual culture originating in southern Europe, Hellenic Pagans

have a sacral calendar that bears little resemblance to the

Neo-Pagan calendar. Irisa MacKenzie, a Hellenic Pagan liv-

ing in Ohio, says, “The Hellenic calendar was based on a

lunar cycle. As such, this affected their worship.” Here we see a similarity between the Hellenes and the Saxons. Like the

Saxons, the Hellenic people inserted a thirteenth month into

their calendar every few years so the lunar months would fall

into place with the solar year. This thirteenth month usually

(but not always) followed their month of Poseideion, which

falls in December and January. Irisa echoes Diane Dahm’s

comment about the Irish sacral calendar, saying, “The Hel-

lenic calendar does not mirror the traditional Neo-Pagan

wheel of the year. Aside from (some Hellenic festivals) being

celebrated during a similar time frame, there is little in com-

mon with the modern wheel of the year.”

f 45 2

the sacral calendar

One significant difference between the Hellenic sacral

calendar and that of the Saxons, as Irisa has pointed out to

me, is that the Hellenic month is reckoned from the dark of

the moon, which is known as the Hekate Dephinion. This

time was sacred to the goddess Hecate. The following day,

when the moon can first be seen as a slender crescent in the

evening sky, is known as the Noumenia, when offerings are

given to all of the Hellenic gods, but in particular to Selene, Apollo, Hera, Hermes and to the household’s ancestors.

The day following this is the day sacred to the Agathos

Daemon. Irisa describes this as, “The spirit that resides in

your home, most commonly viewed as a snake, the ancient

symbol of healing. Typically a libation is given to the Agath-

os Daemon honoring its place in the home.” The name

Agathos Daemon simply means “noble spirit”.

The third day after the new moon is sacred to the goddess

Athena, and the day after that to both Aphrodite and Her-

mes. Days six and seven are sacred to Artemis, then Apollo.

The eighth day after the new moon is sacred to the god Pose-

idon.

At the full moon, the goddess Selene is again honored.

Each of the Hellenic months is sacred to an Olympian

god or goddess. At the beginning of the month, at the Nou-

menia, Irisa gives a libation to that month’s honored deity.

In Athens the year began when the new moon was first seen

after the summer solstice. This signaled the month of Heka-

tombaion, which is sacred to Athena. During this month the

people of Athens celebrated the Panathenaia, a festival hon-

oring the goddess of their city that usually came near the end

f 46 2

the sacral calendar

of July. Irisa describes the Panathenaia as “a time of libations games and feasting”.

The next month is Metageitnion, the month sacred to the

god Hermes. A minor festival known as the Hera Thelchin-

ia falls on the twentieth day of the month. This is celebrated

by Hellenic Pagans today with incense, hymns and libations

to the goddess Hera.

Following this is Boedromion, a month sacred to both

Demeter and Persephone. Five days after the new moon

during this month is the Genesia, a day to honor the dead,

especially those who died in battle.

The month of Pyanopsion brings a festival called the

Thesmophoria which begins on the eleventh day of the

month. This is usually celebrated by Hellenic women as a

three day festival, although Irisa tells me that some sourc-

es describe it as originally being a five day festival. Wheth-

er three days or five, it is a women’s festival. The rites involve fasting (except for pomegranate seeds), a torch ceremony

and a feast at the end.

Maimakterion is a month where nothing much seems to

take place in the way of festivities. Historically, there was a feast during the latter part of the month called the Pompaia,

dedicated to Zeus, but little is known about it, and it is not

widely observed by contemporary Hellenes.

The sixth month is Poseideion, which, despite its name,

is sacred to Dionysus. You would think that a month called

Poseideion would be sacred to Poseidon, but those crazy

Greeks sometimes had inscrutable ideas. On the twenty sixth

day of the month is a festival called the Haloa, sacred to both Demeter and Dionysus, and celebrated with much revelry.

f 47 2

the sacral calendar

The people in Athens had a minor celebration at this time

called the “Rural Dionysus”, to distinguish it from the Great-

er Dionysus festival that takes place in the month of Elaphe-

bolion. During the Rural Dionysus a statue of the god was

symbolically carried into the city. This event was followed by

feasting and singing.

The month of Gamelion falls in January and February,

and is sacred to the goddess Hera. On the twenty sixth day of

the month a festival called the Gamelia celebrates the mar-

riage of Hera and Zeus, as well as the coming of spring and

new beginnings.

This is followed by Anthesterion, a month sacred to Aph-

rodite. It is notable for its Anthesteria, or “Festival of Flowers”, a three day celebration which does not seem to actually

have much to do with flowers. For Hellenes living in a north-

ern temperate climate this is probably a good thing, because

the Anthesteria usually comes at some time around the end

of February when there is not very much in bloom. The fes-

tival begins on the eleventh day of the month with Pithio-

gia, or “opening of jars”. New bottles of wine are opened,

and libations poured to Dionysus. The next day is Khoes, the

“day of cups”, when a lot of that wine is consumed in drink-

ing contests. Irisa describes the festivities as having “an erotic atmosphere”. The three day Anthesteria ends with Khytrai,

the “day of pots”, when pots of food are set out as offerings for the dead.

After Anthesterion comes the month of Elaphebolion,

which is sacred to Hephaestos. This is the month of the

Greater Dionysus festival. The Greater Dionysus is celebrat-

ed with theatrical, poetic and artistic competitions. Irisa says f 48 2

the sacral calendar

it is also “a time for the folk to let their inhibitions down”.

She mentions that images of phalluses were traditional-

ly carried about in processions, so the festival probably had

more of the erotic atmosphere that people had a taste of in

the month of Anthesterion during the Khoes celebration.

(Anthesterion and Elaphebolion seem to be good months to

be a Hellenic Pagan.)

The month of Mounykhion is sacred to the goddess