Today, the 18th day of a month added to an original calendar of 10 months, named for the season of purification, from the Latin term februum, via the purification ritual Februa that was held on the full moon in the old lunar Roman calendar... and, this is everyone's favorite month because it doesn't have to follow the rules of even trying to have 30 days, and only once in a while does it even come close.
Over the course of history, you find folks trying to add months, then to make things align with their ideas of how it should go, and you get what we currently have with very little rhyme or reason or cycle or season, but it's so ingrained we just go on accepting it and having our 'holidays' - Holy Days - move about, year to year.
When I first got into yoga, I very much appreciated the folks I discovered who were modeling the discipline of doing Surya Namaskars ritually on Solar Highdays - we developed, in that community, a series of 'mini-malas' where we would come together and do 27 Surya As on each of the Solstices and Equinoxes. In this current yoga community I'm blessed to live within, we do the 'maha-mala' and celebrate all 108 (we can discuss 108 another time) on New Years, which is the celebration of the 'accepted' agreed upon New Year, but has nothing to do with the end or beginning of any natural cycle.... hmmm.
So, forgive the hubris, but I'm developing my own calendar, based on the Wheel of he Year, the great 8 Solar High Holy Days, and the regular intervals between. My calendar has 8 even intervals (I'm still working on naming them, I love arcana so looking for some goodies) of 45 days each. But, you say, that only equals 360 days - true! In order to follow the solar cycle, and to align on the solar days, there are 6 of what we will call "intercalens"; days 'out of time'. So, these are the festival and feasting days... they align to introduce the summer interval, in the midst of two summer intervals, and at the end of the intervals. And, they make space, but don't count in time, so you get to do whatever you want during that period, so as long as first is always 'do no harm' then 'do what thou wilt' can be the whole of the law.
If you care, are interested, intrigued or whatever, I'll begin making a new page that hold the calendar and aligns it with the common calendar. I just thought I'd throw the concept out there, since today is an observance day!
Today is - Imbolcides - the 15th day (ides) of the 2nd interval (Imbolc); it is the 60th day of the Solar Year (begun 12/21/11). Imbolcides falls 15 days after Midwinters' Day and it is 45 days after the Solar Perhelion, which marks the point in the Solar year that we are the closest to Sol, Surya. So, enjoy - this is the season of purification, that is topical as we've already been exploring.
Flame me if you need to, I know it takes a lot of hubris to make your own time counting system, but what else are you going to do as a householder living in the modern world desperately trying to connect with the oldest spiritual expression that has been known to humanity -
Heliotheodactylolatry!
Give thanks and praise - check back soon!
Over the course of history, you find folks trying to add months, then to make things align with their ideas of how it should go, and you get what we currently have with very little rhyme or reason or cycle or season, but it's so ingrained we just go on accepting it and having our 'holidays' - Holy Days - move about, year to year.
When I first got into yoga, I very much appreciated the folks I discovered who were modeling the discipline of doing Surya Namaskars ritually on Solar Highdays - we developed, in that community, a series of 'mini-malas' where we would come together and do 27 Surya As on each of the Solstices and Equinoxes. In this current yoga community I'm blessed to live within, we do the 'maha-mala' and celebrate all 108 (we can discuss 108 another time) on New Years, which is the celebration of the 'accepted' agreed upon New Year, but has nothing to do with the end or beginning of any natural cycle.... hmmm.
So, forgive the hubris, but I'm developing my own calendar, based on the Wheel of he Year, the great 8 Solar High Holy Days, and the regular intervals between. My calendar has 8 even intervals (I'm still working on naming them, I love arcana so looking for some goodies) of 45 days each. But, you say, that only equals 360 days - true! In order to follow the solar cycle, and to align on the solar days, there are 6 of what we will call "intercalens"; days 'out of time'. So, these are the festival and feasting days... they align to introduce the summer interval, in the midst of two summer intervals, and at the end of the intervals. And, they make space, but don't count in time, so you get to do whatever you want during that period, so as long as first is always 'do no harm' then 'do what thou wilt' can be the whole of the law.
If you care, are interested, intrigued or whatever, I'll begin making a new page that hold the calendar and aligns it with the common calendar. I just thought I'd throw the concept out there, since today is an observance day!
Today is - Imbolcides - the 15th day (ides) of the 2nd interval (Imbolc); it is the 60th day of the Solar Year (begun 12/21/11). Imbolcides falls 15 days after Midwinters' Day and it is 45 days after the Solar Perhelion, which marks the point in the Solar year that we are the closest to Sol, Surya. So, enjoy - this is the season of purification, that is topical as we've already been exploring.
Flame me if you need to, I know it takes a lot of hubris to make your own time counting system, but what else are you going to do as a householder living in the modern world desperately trying to connect with the oldest spiritual expression that has been known to humanity -
Heliotheodactylolatry!
Give thanks and praise - check back soon!
