There’s 8 months not 12

The more I study things, the more instances I find of things that started simple and became unnecessarily complex. Counter intuitively a lot of things start out simple and become complicated. The health service is a good example or an iPhone.

The calendar is a great example – the calendar we used in the past is a simpler. This is a topic I like to come back to every so often. This is the first tine I’ve started to write about this particular discovery but I’ve been casually studying it for a few years now. So here’s a bit of info to kick it off. By the end we’ll have 4 months too many in the year….but exactly the same amount of time.

Here’s an example of an old 8 month calendar.

Image Credit:
This isn’t mine and I don’t intend to use it for any commercial purposes. I don’t know who made it I found it here:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/pagan-rituals-wiccan-sabbats-esbats-books-of-pagan-practices–443886107004299096/

These old calendars are still used by many traditions these days, but that’s not the reason I like them. I like them because they are far more scientific and accurate than the actual calendar we use. The standard calendar we use today is a mongrel. A couple of thousand years ago popes and politicians, Julius and Augusts for example changed the calendar in attempts at standardisation and self indulgence. Their meddling is the reason why we all can agree the day I’m writing this is Tuesday 27th August 2024. It doesn’t really matter what we call it once we all agree on it, it’s only useful for remembering when to be at a zoom call and your wifes birthday.

8 Scientific months

The pagan festivals listed are not there because a pagan god made them, they are there because they represent the position of the sun in the sky at a particular time of the year. The very intelligent – scientific, cavemen noticed that the big glowing thing in the sky had regular patterns.

Solstices and Equinoxes (Yule, Ostara, Litha, Mabon) are aligned closely with actual solar events, usually within a few days.Cross-Quarter Days (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain) are based on symbolic dates that approximate the midpoint between solstices and equinoxes. They typically fall within a few days of the actual midpoint but are not exact solar events.

1. Yule – 21st December
2. Imbolc – 1st February
3. Ostara – 21st March
4. Beltane – 30th April/1st May
5. Litha – 21st June
6. Lughnasadh – 1st August
7. Mabon – 21st September
8. Samhain – 1st November

These dates correspond to key points in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun and include solstices (suns highest and lowest point in the sky), equinoxes (sun crosses equator), and cross-quarter days (mid point between solstice and equinox) that mark the beginning of each season. The dates we use to map to our calendar have been altered over time to suit – for example Imbolc we celebrate on the 1st of February, just because it’s the first of the month. But the actual celestial event is a midpoint between the Winter solstice and the Spring Equinox.

Here’s a table showing the different months and days and celestial events.

Old Calendar Month	New Calendar Date Start	Days Between Old Calendar Dates	Key Point in Earth’s Orbit	Correspondence	Accuracy	Days Between Celestial Events
Yule	21st December	41	Winter Solstice (December Solstice)	Aligns with the Winter Solstice, shortest day of the year	Typically occurs between December 20th and 23rd; December 21st is a common approximate date.	~45 days
Imbolc	1st February	48	Cross-Quarter Day	Midway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox	Midpoint usually falls around February 3rd or 4th; date is symbolic.	~44 days
Ostara	21st March	40	Spring Equinox (March Equinox)	Aligns with the Spring Equinox, day and night are nearly equal	Typically occurs between March 19th and 21st; March 21st is a common approximate date.	~46 days
Beltane	30th April/1st May	51	Cross-Quarter Day	Midway point between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice	Midpoint usually falls around May 5th or 6th; date is symbolic.	~46 days
Litha	21st June	41	Summer Solstice (June Solstice)	Aligns with the Summer Solstice, longest day of the year	Typically occurs between June 20th and 22nd; June 21st is a common approximate date.	~46 days
Lughnasadh	1st August	51	Cross-Quarter Day	Midway point between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox	Midpoint usually falls around August 6th or 7th; date is symbolic.	~45 days
Mabon	21st September	41	Autumn Equinox (September Equinox)	Aligns with the Autumn Equinox, day and night are nearly equal	Typically occurs between September 21st and 24th; September 21st is a common approximate date.	~46 days
Samhain	1st November	50	Cross-Quarter Day	Midway point between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice	Midpoint usually falls around November 6th or 7th; date is symbolic.	~45 days

Explanation:

• Days Between Celestial Events: These are calculated based on the more accurate dates between the solar events:
• Winter Solstice (Yule) to Imbolc midpoint: About 44 days (e.g., December 21st to February 3rd or 4th).
• Imbolc to Spring Equinox (Ostara): About 46 days (e.g., February 3rd/4th to March 20th/21st).
• Spring Equinox (Ostara) to Beltane midpoint: About 46 days (e.g., March 21st to May 5th/6th).
• Beltane to Summer Solstice (Litha): About 46 days (e.g., May 5th/6th to June 21st).
• Summer Solstice (Litha) to Lughnasadh midpoint: About 45 days (e.g., June 21st to August 6th/7th).
• Lughnasadh to Autumn Equinox (Mabon): About 46 days (e.g., August 6th/7th to September 21st).
• Autumn Equinox (Mabon) to Samhain midpoint: About 45 days (e.g., September 21st to November 6th/7th).
• Samhain to Winter Solstice (Yule): Approximately 44 days (e.g., November 6th/7th to December 21st).

The days between the celestial events reflect the Earth’s movement and the points marked by equinoxes, solstices, and midpoints, giving a more accurate representation of the actual solar calendar.

How you get to 8

There two Equinox, when the sun tilts below the equator and then comes back above it. That splits the cycle in 2 halves. Then one solstice in each half, That splits it in quarters, then a midpoint in each quarter making 8 segments.

8 segments that are predictable, and you can reference the nearest large star anytime you can’t access your google calendar. So this has been the first part of the jigsaw.

There will be more on this, there’s further simplification of the explanation to be done, but I must be responsible and keep the radical ideas to a minimum.

I prefer this calendar because it makes me more aware of the actual position of the earth in its cycle around the sun, which is a more natural way of understand relative time. It gives me a greater understanding of seasons and climate, and how the trees, birds and animals all behave. A calendar so simple every creature on the planet can use it!

That’s all for now. If you found this interesting consider sharing it. Thank you.