determining Samhain

[Guest guest]

<My> Pagan ancestors were presumably offering incense to Ishtar the Queen

of Heaven...

 

But my resident Celticist, Alexei Kondratiev (author of "The Apple

Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual"), always taught that the Fire

festivals of the Celts were originally determined by terrestrial

phenomena. Samhain was the first frost. Imbolg was the lactation of the

ewes. Beltane was the blossoming of the hawthorn. And Lughnasad was the

first grain harvest.

 

The calendar dates assigned to the festivals (eve of the first of the

months November, February, May, and August) were set when the druids

started using the Roman calendar, which counted all dates from the first

day (calends) or fifteenth day (ides) of the month. Originally the

calends and ides occured simultaneously with the New Moons and Full

Moons. But then they switched from a Lunar to a Solar calendar reconing.

 

Equinoxes and solstices, on the other hand, are determined by celestial

phenomena. -- Stonehenge (and similar structures) were built to predict

them.

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

On Mon, 28 Oct 2002 04:42:46 -0800 (PST) Scott Hutton

<hmshutton writes:

> BTW, do you think our ancestors had a fixed date for

> Samhein? I don't. And if they did it certainly would not have

> been a date on the Roman calendar. I think they celebrated the

> holiday whenever it felt right, probably as dictated by the shaman

> or shamaness of the group...

 

> There must have been a time (pre Stone Hedge and the like, I guess)

> when the equinoxes and solstices would have been so determined too.

>

 

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[Guest guest]

I believe the calendar you're working with is more worked out (in the

mathematical sense) than mine....because you're currently more interested in

more complex stages of humans being together. That might change when you get

older...it's amazing how one's perspective shifts with the years.

Black Lotus L Rosenberg <kalipadma (AT) juno (DOT) com> wrote:

<My> Pagan ancestors were presumably offering incense to Ishtar the Queenof

Heaven... But my resident Celticist, Alexei Kondratiev (author of "The

AppleBranch: A Path to Celtic Ritual"), always taught that the Firefestivals

of the Celts were originally determined by terrestrialphenomena. Samhain was

the first frost. Imbolg was the lactation of theewes. Beltane was the

blossoming of the hawthorn. And Lughnasad was thefirst grain harvest.The

calendar dates assigned to the festivals (eve of the first of themonths

November, February, May, and August) were set when the druidsstarted using the

Roman calendar, which counted all dates from the firstday (calends) or

fifteenth day (ides) of the month. Originally thecalends and ides occured

simultaneously with the New Moons and FullMoons. But then they switched from a

Lunar to a Solar calendar reconing.Equinoxes and solstices, on the other hand,

are determined by celestialphenomena. -- Stonehenge (and similar structures)

were built to predictthem. -- Len/ KalipadmaOn Mon, 28 Oct 2002 04:42:46 -0800

(PST) Scott Hutton<hmshutton > writes:> BTW, do you think our

ancestors had a fixed date for > Samhein? I don't. And if they did it

certainly would not have > been a date on the Roman calendar. I think they

celebrated the > holiday whenever it felt right, probably as dictated by the

shaman > or shamaness of the group...> There must have been a time (pre Stone

Hedge and the like, I guess) > when the equinoxes and solstices would have been

so determined too.>

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