April 17 pagan holy day calendar

fixed holy days (same date every year)
Kemetic calendar
Zoroastrian calendar
Celtic Ogham tree calendar
Roman calendar
numerology
tarot
2010 lunar days
2010 astrological
2009 holy days
2009 lunar days
2009 astrological
2008 lunar days
2008 astrological
2007 lunar days

fixed holy days

These holy days are on the same day every year on the solar calendar.

Feast of Ra:

Feast of Followers of Ra: Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) holy day. The day is fixed in heavens and on earth as a feast. It is the month of the followers of Re (Ra). (from the Cairo Calendar)

Mounikhion Noumenia:

    Mounikhion Noumenia: Greek holy day. The first day of the Greek month of Mounikhion. According to Plutarch (Mor. 828A), the Noumenia (the first day of each Greek month) are “the holiest of days”.
    Honored all of the Gods and Goddesses with flutes, prayers, and offerings of incense, food and wine.
    According to Jon D. Mikalson (in “The Noumenia and Epimenia in Athens”, The Harvard Theological Reviews, Vol. 65, No. 2, April, 1972, page 291), “In an ordinary year there were twelve Noumeniai, and thus they form a large and important series of “holy” days. There is no indication in the sources that the religious activities on the Noumenia of one month varied from those of another month, and therefore the Noumeniai may be treated as a single homogenous group.
     “The strictmess with which the Athenians preserved the sanctity and the independent identity of the Noumenia is striking. No annual religious festival is attested to have occurred on the Noumenia or to have included it. Not one of the positvely dated meetings of Athenian legislative assemblies such as the Ekklesia, the Boule, or a tribal organization is attested to have occurred on the first day of a month.”

Cerealia:

    Festival of Cerealia: Roman holy day. The Festival of Cerealia was a seven day festival in honor of the Goddess Ceres. The exact date of the festival is uncertain, but most likely occurred from April 12 to April 19. Other possible start dates include the Ides of April (April 13) and April 7. Note that the Romans used a lunar calendar. This date is a generalized date for the modern calendar. This Roman holy day may be on a different day if calculated using the ancient Roman lunar calendar.
    In the city of Rome, Cerealia was the primary festival of Ceres. In Rome the festival was accompanied by the Ludi Ceriales, or the “Games of Cere”, which were held in the Circus Maximus.
    Ovid wrote in Fasti iv. 494 that Roman women clothed in white ran about the city with lighted torches to represent Ceres’ (Demeter’s) search for her daughter Proserpina (Persephone).
    The modern English word “cereal” comes from the name of the Roman Goddess Ceres.

calendar

This day on different world calendars.

Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) information

Season of Semut or Shemu (Harvest or Summer)
Month of Payni or Paoni (Heru [Horus])
Day 3

Zoroastrian information
(Fasli calendar)

Month of Frawardin (first month)
Day of Zam
Day 28

The day of Zam celebrates the Av. Zam, Earth. Special prayers from the Khorda Avesta are recited in honor of the day’s spiritual being.

Activity for the day from the Counsels of Adhurbadh, Son of Mahraspand: “(146) On the day of Zam (the Earth) do not take medicine.” Adarbad Mahraspandan was a famous saint, high priest, and prime minister of Shapur II (309-379 C.E.).

The fourth week (eight days) of each Zoroastrian month celebrates religious ideas.

The Fasli, or seasonal, calendar is one of three Zoroastrian calendars still in use.

Celtic (ancient Druid) information

Ogham tree calendar

Saille (S)

Willow Moon
Day 3

The Celtic calendar started out as a moon calendar, but was aligned with the solar year during antiquity. Robert Graves proposed the Celtic tree calendar described here. While widely used by Neo-Pagans, many critics dispute the authenticity. The Beth-Luis-Nion calendar (the one used here) starts with New Year on the Winter Solstice. The Beth-Luis-Faern calendar starts with New Year on Samhain.

Each Celtic tree month (or moon) is named for a Celtic Ogham letter (first line above) and a tree (second line above). All of the Celtic months also had additional folk names (folk names for this month listed below).

Polarity: Feminine
Planet: Moon
Archetype: Morgan le Fay
Symbol: serpent
Folk Names:
The Witch’s Moon
Moon of Balance

Asatru (ancient Norse) information

Month: Ostara

Roman information

a.d. XV Kal. Mai.
15 days before the Kalends of May
Month: Aprilis

The a.d. XV Kal. designation means ante diem or 15 “days before” the Kalends (first day or New Moon) of the next month. When counting days, the Romans included both the start and end day (in modern Western culture, we skip the start day). When the Romans switched to a solar calendar, they continued to use the lunar day names.

The Roman month of Aprilis is named for Aphrilis, a corruption of name of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite. The Greek Goddess Aphrodite was considered to be the same as the Roman Goddess Venus. Ovid said “I have come to the fourth month, full of honor for you; Venus, you know both the poet and the month are yours.” April was sacred to Venus, Roman Goddess of love.

The earliest Roman months were lunar. According to Roman mythology, the ten month solar calendar aligned to the vernal equinox was introduced by Romulus, the founder of Rome, around 753 BCE. In Romulus’ calendar, April (the second month) had 30 days. Numa Pompilius, the second of the seven traditional kings of Rome, added two more months, for a 12 month year. In Numa’s calendar, April had 29 days. Gaius Julius Caesar, as Pontifex Maximus (supreme bridge-builder, a religious title), reorganized the calendar on the first day of 45 BCE. In Caesar’s calendar (the Julian Calendar), April had 30 days. Caesar’s calendar was calculated by Sosigenes, an Egyptian astrologer/astronomer. In 8 BCE, Augustus Caesar fixed errors by pontiffs after Julius’ death and made other minor modifications, resulting in the modern Western calendar. The modern Gregorian Calendar, named for Roman Catholic Pope Gregory the Thirteenth, was a realignment in 1582.

numerology

Today totals 8 in modern Western numerology. See the article on eight for more information.

tarot

Today’s tarot card is Strength.

date:	Saturday	April 17, 2010
Moon:	waxing crescent	1st Quarter	enters Gemini
Mercury:	Direct until April 18
Saturn:	Retrograde until May 30
Pluto:	Retrograde until September 14

lunar information 2010

Moon:	waxing crescent	1st Quarter	enters Gemini
Next Waxing Quarter April 21	Next Full Moon April 28	Next Waning Quarter May 6	Next New Moon May 13

First Quarter in Taurus:

First Quarter: The moon is in the first (1st) quarter (waxing crescent) in Taurus.

Void of Course:

Moon Void of Course: The moon is Void of Course (V/C) starting at 12:57 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) today or 9:57 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT) yesterday (Apr 16). The Moon is void of course from the last traditional aspect in a sign to the ingress into the next sign. Moon void of course is a time of distractions and miscommunications. Things started during Moon void of course tend to sputter and fail.

Moon enters Gemini:

Moon Enters Gemini: Lunar Ingress. The Moon enters the sign Gemini at 2:08 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) today or 11:08 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT) yesterday (Apr 16).

First Quarter in Gemini:

First Quarter: The moon is in the first (1st) quarter (waxing crescent) in Gemini.

Gemini Rewarding: This day in 2010 is rewarding for those who are Sun sign Gemini because the Moon is in your Sun sign.

Sagittarius Challenging: This day in 2010 is challenging for those who are Sun sign Sagittarius because the Moon is in the sign opposite your Sun sign.

astrological information 2010

Moon Trine Saturn: The Moon is trine Saturn at 12:57 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) today or 9:57 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT) yesterday (Apr 16). Moon Void of Course (V/C). Patience leads to results. Be patient and accomplish your goals.

Moon Quincunx Pluto: The Moon is quincunx Pluto at 11:52 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) or 8:52 a.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT). Time of emtional upheaveal. Inner peace shattered.

Moon Sextile Mars: The Moon is sextile Mars at 3:48 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) or 12:48 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT). Exciting time. Emotions positvely in action. Ritual to Bes.

Venus Sextile Jupiter: Venus is sextile Jupiter at 4:43 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) or 1:43 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT). A lighthearted time. A time of friendliness; almost everyone is friendly.A good time for music and dance. Ritual to Bast and Bes.

Mercury Goes Retrograde:

Mercury Goes Retrograde: Mercury goes retrograde in the sign Taurus (12° Taurus 37') at 12:06 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) tomorrow (Apr 18) or 9:06 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT) today until May 11, 2010.

Magick Color:

Blue: The magick color for this day, based on planetary influences and the day of the week, is blue. You may want to burn a blue candle or wear some blue this day.

Magick Incense:

Rue: The magick incense for this day, based on planetary influences and the day of the week, is rue. You may want to burn rue incense this day. You may substitute a similar incense if you don’t have or don’t like rue.

See also the article on incense. An American source for high quality incense is Mountain Rose Herbs. A British source for incense is Pagan Magic.

date:	Friday	April 17, 2009
Moon:	Waning Quarter		enters Aquarius
Mercury:	Direct until May 7
Saturn:	Retrograde until May 16
Pluto:	Retrograde until September 11

holy days 2009

These holy days are on different day each year on the solar calendar.

Good Friday:

Orthodox Good Friday: Orthodox Christian holy day. Celebrated this day in 2009.

lunar information 2009

Moon:	Waning Quarter		enters Aquarius
Next New Moon April 24	Next Waxing Quarter May 1	Next Full Moon May 9	Next Waning Quarter May 17

Third Quarter in Capricorn:

Third Quarter: The moon is in the third (3rd) quarter (waning gibbous) in Capricorn.

Moon Enters Fourth Quarter:

Waning Quarter: The moon enters the fourth (4th) quarter (waning crescent) in Capricorn at 9:36 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT).