A Celtic Lunar Calendar
It is well-known that the ancient Celts probably reckoned their year using the number 13 because there are at most 13 moon-cycles in a year. What is less-known is the fact that the Celts marked their days as the period between two nights, which is still echoed in the Welsh word for week, “noswyth,” which literally means “eight nights.” So it is not improbable to suggest that they also might have marked their months by the period between two dark moons.
The calendar naturally would start with the dark moon just before the Winter Solstice (December 21st). That way, the beginning of the solar year would also begin with the calendar. Each month would begin and end after that with each dark moon. The year itself would end with the dark moon just before the next Winter Solstice. And depending on the number of dark moons, there might be 12 or 13 months in a year.
There are fifteen consonants in the Ogham alphabet and it has been suggested by Robert Graves (The White Goddess) that two be “doubled-up” so that there might only be thirteen. His suggestion of doubling up Ng (equivalent to Kn) with N and St (or Z or SS) with S fit fairly well according to Irish and Welsh phonetical mutations. For the purposes of a simple lunar calendar, however, merely numbering the moons is sufficient.
The following is an example of a 2-year lunar calendar using the standard calendar from December 2009 to December 2011.
Dark Moon |
Full Moon |
Dark Moon |
Full Moon |
||
1 |
B |
Dec 16 /09 |
Dec 31 /09 |
Dec 5 /10 |
Dec 21 /10 |
2 |
L |
Jan 15 /10 |
Jan 30 /10 |
Jan 4 /11 |
Jan 19 /11 |
3 |
F |
Feb 14 /10 |
Feb 28 /10 |
Feb 3 /11 |
Feb 18 /11 |
4 |
S |
Mar 15 /10 |
Mar 30 /10 |
Mar 4 /11 |
Mar 19 /11 |
5 |
N |
Apr 14 /10 |
Apr 28 /10 |
Apr 3 /11 |
Apr 18 /11 |
6 |
H |
May 14 /10 |
May 27 /10 |
May 3 /11 |
May 17 /11 |
7 |
D |
Jun 12 /10 |
Jun 26 /10 |
Jun 1 /11 |
Jun 15 /11 |
8 |
T |
Jul 11 /10 |
Jul 26 /10 |
Jul 1 /11 |
Jul 15 /11 |
9 |
C |
Aug 10 /10 |
Aug 24 /10 |
Jul 30 /11 |
Aug 13 /11 |
10 |
Q |
Sep 8 /10 |
Sep 23 /10 |
Aug 29 /11 |
Sep 12 /11 |
11 |
M |
Oct 7 /10 |
Oct 23 /10 |
Sep 27 /11 |
Oct 12 /11 |
12 |
G |
Nov 6 /10 |
Nov 21 /10 |
Oct 26 /11 |
Nov 10 /11 |
13 |
R |
|
|
Nov 25 /11 |
Dec 10 /11 |
This type of calendar may be used for a variety of purposes. For instance, an annual Tarot reading every Winter Solstice for each full moon in the coming year. Each card’s influence extends from one dark moon to the next, waxing and waning, reaching it’s full strength with the full moon...
