"Who can tell the Phases of the Moon?" - Song of Amergin

| Introduction | The Pleiades Cycle | The Coligny Tablet | Samhradh | Geimhreadh |
| Celtic Calendar 2008 | The Southern Seasons Celtic Calendar 2008 | Celtic Calendar Forum |

 

The Celtic Calendar - An Introduction

samon duman rivros anagantios ogronnos cvtios || giammon semivisonna equos elemivios aedrini cantlos

The Celtic fire feasts at Beltaine, Lughnasa, Samhain and Imbolg invoke the seasonal significances of the year. They evoke the ancient past, the gods and the myths. The great feasts developed from the sophisticated system of timekeeping across the Celtic world of Europe in the first millenium BC. Today's feast days are adapted to the Roman calendar, fitting it in the most suitable manner to recall the significance of the Celtic seasons on a foreign calendar that starts at mid-winter. As Rome conquered the Celtic world, its institutions came under her control; the Julian calendar commencing on January 1st was imposed on the Celts, supplanting the traditional calendar of feasts and days. First in Gaul, then in Britain and lastly in Ireland, the Celtic system was replaced by the calendar of Rome. But in so truly a Celtic manner, the new calendar was adapted to the Celtic traditions, meaning and life.

In 'The Celtic Calendar', Caer Australis presents the evidence for the workings of the Celtic system, drawing upon the texts of ancient historians, the conquerer of Gaul, and the bronze Gaulish Calendar tablet created by the Celts themselves. Celtic myth informs us further and the Celtic month and season names from Gaul, Wales and Ireland clarify the symbolism.

All of these sources are brought together to provide a consistent understanding of the Celtic calendar. Unlike many, we present a Beltaine beginning to the Celtic year, so the evidence has been critically referenced, and we provide a forum for discussion, which we invite you join.

The Pleiades Cycle

The Pleiades Cycle section introduces the ancient sources that describe the Celtic calendar system. The first century historians Pliny the Elder and Plutarch, together with Diodorus and Julius Caesar from the first century BC all provide key information to the workings of the Celtic calendar.

The stars of the distinctive cluster in the constellation of Taurus anciently had their heliacal rise in May and signalled the beginning of summer across Europe. This section provides an insight to their significance to the Celtic calendar system, as shown by the ancient historical sources.

The Coligny Tablet

The Coligny Tablet section introduces the Celtic calendar inscription, called the 'Coligny Calendar' or the 'Gaulish Calendar' which dates to the time of Caesar's conquest of Gaul. The tablet reveals a sophisticated calendar system comprised of months corresponding to lunations, years divided into summer and winter, five year cycles where the lunar and solar cycles are kept aligned, and a thirty year age.

The historical sources are consistent with and inform our understanding of the calendar tablet. The Gaulish names for the months at the head of the two great seasons on the tablet are found retained in Irish and Welsh seasonal and month names, and the seasons explained in later Celtic myth, showing the calendar to represent the system used across the Celtic world.

Samhradh and Geimhreadh

The Irish names for summer and winter reflect the ancient division of the Celtic calendar into these seasons, headed by the months Samon and Giammon. These two sections provide an insight into the names of the months as they progress through the year.

The section Samhradh follows the first six months, headed by Samon, comprising the Celtic summer. This series begins in what is now the month of May, celebrated today by the festival of Beltaine

The section Geimhreadh follows the latter six months, headed by Giammon, which comprise the Celtic winter. The second series begins in what is now the month of November, celebrated today by the festival of Samhain.

The names of the months of the summer and winter are examined. The corresponding months in each series bear names complementary in meaning to each other, underscoring the dualism in the Celtic system.

The Celtic Calendar Today

The Celtic Calendar 2008 presents as separate entries are details of the months of Celtic 2008. This is a calendar of correspondences with the Gregorian calendar and includes the phases of the moon. The calendar details the meanings of the names of the Celtic months by comparisons of the Gaulish to the Irish and Welsh languages, etymology and myth.section introduces the ancient sources that describe the Celtic calendar system.

To celebrate the feasts in the Southern Hemisphere, whose seasons are off-set by half a year to the Celtic homelands, we present The Southern Seasons Celtic Calendar 2008.

It is not often that Beltaine is acknowledged and presented as the start of the Celtic year. Modern neo-pagan groups generally use Samhain as the start of their Wheel of the Year. This should provide a great opportunity for discussion, and we invite you to join the Celtic Calendar Forum. To prevent spam, there is a registration step, but this is simple and swift, and keeps the venue free of distractions - please join!.

2002: Saturn Return - The Current Celtic Age

Shown above (using Cybersky) is the European sky of late June 2002, at the heliacal rising of Aldebaran.
Anciently, the heliacal rising of Aldebaran was in May, and signalled the Trinox Samoni, in Irish cét-Samhin.
This festival developed into Beltaine, set at May eve on the Gregorian calendar.

In 2002 the planet Saturn returned to the constellation Taurus and at the heliacal rising of Aldebaran and the Pleiades it rose side by side with the red star, like the two Beltaine fires. The ancient sources Pliny the Elder and Plutarch recorded that this was the astronomical event that marked the Celtic Age, and thus the Celtic Thirty Year Age of 2002 - 2031 began that May.
2007 begins the second Five year cycle of the current Age, detailed below.