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Sing a song of Seasons, Something bright in all. Flowers in the Summer, Fires in the Fall.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Calendar

Easter Cycle


The Easter Cycle is divided here into 4 week sections, each week starting on an important Sunday in the church calendar (with dates for 2011 ).

February

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts. It can be as early as the 3rd February. In 2011 it is the 8 Mar.

Shrovetide

Sunday before Lent(6 Mar)  Lent I (13 Mar) Lent  II (20 Mar) Lent III (27 Mar)           

Easter

Mothering Sunday (3 Apr) Passion Sunday (10 Apr) Palm Sunday(17 Apr) Easter Sunday(24 Apr)

Hocktide

Hock Sunday(1 May) Easter II (8 May) Easter III (15 May) Easter IV(21 May)

Whitsun

Rogation Sunday(29  May) Ascension Sunday(5 Jun) Whit Sunday(12 Jun) Trinity Sunday(19 Jun)

June

Corpus Christi  is the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.  It can be as late as the 24th June. In 2011 it is the  23 Jun. 

Click on Months above for Calendar Customs & Lore        See below for explanation.


Months & Days

THE CALENDAR

Star Signs

January Janus
February Purification month
March Mars
April Opening month
May Maia
June Juno
July Julius Ceasar
August Emperor Augustus
September 7th month
October 8th month
November 9th month
December 10th month

Sunday Sun
Monday Moon
Tuesday Tiw / Mars
Wednesday Woden / Mercury
Thursday Thor / Jupiter
Friday Freya / Venus
Saturday Saturn

Solar/Lunar Calendar 

More about the Natural Calendar

The Prologue

When April with his showers sweet
The drought of March pierced to the root
And bathed each vein in liquor of such power
By virtue of which is created the flower
The west wind also with his sweet breath
Bring forth in every wood and heath
The tender shoots and the young Sun
Has through the Ram his half course run

The small birds maketh melody
That sleep all night with open eye
(Compelled as nature encourages)
Then folk long to go on pilgrimages
And palmers go to seek strange strands
To distant saints in foreign lands
And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury wend
The holy, blissful martyr for to seek
Who helped when they lay ill and sick

Capricorn the Goat
Capricorn

Cancer the Crab
Cancer

Aquarius the Water Carrier
Aquarius

Leo the Lion
Leo

Pisces the Fish
Pisces

Virgo the Virgin
Virgo

Aries the Ram
Aries

Libra the Scales
Libra

Taurus the Bull
Taurus

Scorpio the Scorpion
Scorpio

Gemini the Twins
Gemini

Sagittarius the Archer
Sagittarius


Zodiac The Sun, the stars, the moon and Easter Day.
The path of the earth around the sun (or the sun through the stars from an earth point of view) is divided into 30 degree sections named after the constellations of the zodiac in which the sun used to appear at the equinoxes and  solstices at a time in the past (6,000 BC: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius & Pisces. 3,500 BC: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio & Aquarius.  1,000 BC: Aries, Cancer, Libra & Capricorn)  The sun is now in Pisces at the Spring equinox and heading slowly towards Aquarius due to the "Precession of the Equinoxes"
< In the diagram (to the left) the earth is at the Spring Equinox and the sun is in Aries (or rather the position still known as Aries!). The diagram above ^ shows the full moons in a year with an Easter in early April. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox (first point of Aries). The Lent Moon starts on the new moon close to Shrove Tuesday and is numbered (1) above. Easter full moon (2) is in the middle of Aries. Notice how the shorter lunar cycle results in the full moons becoming earlier in each following star sign.  After 12 complete moons there are still 11 days left over in the solar year so Easter the following year is earlier. Eventually the next years' full moon falls behind the spring equinox, an extra 13th moon is added and Easter jumps to a later date. Easter is calculated from a combination of the solar year, lunar cycle and 7 day week cycle. Easter dates and lunar cycles for the coming years are shown below.

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
New Moon (1) 17 Feb 7 Feb 25 Feb 14 Feb 4 Mar 21 Feb 10 Feb 1 Mar 18 Feb 8 Feb
Shrove Tue 20 Feb 5 Feb 24 Feb 16 Feb 8 Mar 21 Feb 12 Feb 4 Mar 17 Feb 9 Feb
Easter New Moon (2) 19 Mar 7 Mar 26 Mar 15 Mar 3 Apr 22 Mar 11 Mar 30 Mar 20 Mar 9 Mar
Easter Full Moon 2 Apr 21 Mar 9 Apr 30 Mar 18 Apr 6 Apr 27 Mar 15 Apr 4 Apr 23 Mar
Easter Day 8 Apr 23 Mar 12 Apr 4 Apr 24 Apr 8 Apr 31 Mar 20 Apr 5 Apr 27 Mar
New Moon (3) 17 Apr 6 Apr 25 Apr 14 Apr 3 May 21 Apr 10 Apr 29 Apr 18 Apr 7 Apr
New Moon (4) 16 May 5 May 24 May 14 May 1 Jun 20 May 10 May 28 May 18 May 6 May
New Moon (5) 15 Jun 3 Jun 22 Jun 12 Jun 1 Jul 19 Jun 8 Jun 27 Jun 16 Jun 5 Jun
New Moon (6) 14 Jul 3 Jul 22 Jul 11 Jul 30 Jul 19 Jul 8 Jul 26 Jul 16 Jul 4 Jul
New Moon (7) 12 Aug 1 Aug 20 Aug 10 Aug 29 Aug 17 Aug 6 Aug 25 Aug 14 Aug 2 Aug
New Moon (8) 11 Sep 30 Aug 18 Sep 8 Sep 27 Sep 16 Sep 5 Sep 24 Sep 13 Sep 1 Sep
New Moon (9) 11 Oct 29 Sep 18 Oct 7 Oct 26 Oct 15 Oct 5 Oct 23 Oct 13 Oct 1 Oct
New Moon (10) 9 Nov 28 Oct 16 Nov 6 Nov 25 Nov 13 Nov 3 Nov 22 Nov 11 Nov 30 Oct
New Moon (11) 9 Dec 27 Nov 16 Dec 5 Dec 24 Dec 13 Dec 3 Dec 22 Dec 11 Dec 29 Nov
New Moon (12) 8 Jan 27 Dec 15 Jan 4 Jan 23 Jan 11 Jan 1 Jan 20 Jan 10 Jan 29 Dec
Additional Moon (13) -- --- 26 Jan -- --- 3 Feb -- --- -- --- 30 Jan -- --- -- --- 28 Jan

This diagram shows the path of the earth around the sun through the standard zodiac positions. This is the tropical zodiac based on the position of the earth on the solstices and equinoxes and varies from that of the constellations themselves (siderial zodiac). Below are also the traditional Chinese divisions of the tropical year.
Capricorn  Winter_Arrives 
Little_Cold 
Aquarius  Great_Cold 
Rise_of_Spring 
Pisces  Rain_Water 
Awakening_Insects 
Aries  Division_of_Spring 
Bright_and_Clear 
Taurus  Grain_Rains 
Rise_of_Summer 
Gemini  Slightly_Filling_Grain 
Make_Haste_to_Sow_Seeds 
Cancer  Summer_Arrives 
Slight_Heat 
Leo  Great_Heat 
Rise_of_Autumn 
Virgo  Limit_of_Heat 
White_Dew 
Libra  Division_of_Autumn 
Cold_Dew 
Scorpio  Hoar_Frost_Descends 
Rise_of_Winter 
Sagittarius  Little_Snow 
Great_Snow 
Earth's Orbit

Star signs every 5 degrees for Dec 2010 - Dec 2011

. 00 05 10 15 20 25
Capricorn 21Dec (w sol) 25Dec 30Dec 5Jan 10Jan 15Jan
Aquarius 20Jan 25Jan 30Jan 4Feb 9Feb 14Feb
Pisces 19Feb 23Feb 28Feb 5Mar 10Mar 15Mar
Aries 20Mar (s equ) 26Mar 31Mar 5Apr 10Apr 15Apr
Taurus 20Apr 25Apr 30Apr 5May 11May 16May
Gemini 21May 26May 31May 6Jun 11Jun 16Jun
Cancer 21Jun (s sol) 26Jun 2Jul 7Jul 12Jul 17Jul
Leo 23Jul 28Jul 2Aug 7Aug 13Aug 18Aug
Virgo 23Aug 28Aug 2Sep 7Sep 13Sep 18Sep
Libra 23Sep (a equ) 28Sep 3Oct 8Oct 13Oct 18Oct
Scorpio 23Oct 28Oct 2Nov 7Nov 12Nov 17Nov
Sagittarius 22Nov 27Nov 2Dec 7Dec 12Dec 17Dec
Winter Solstice Dec 2011 22 Dec (w sol)