The Daily: 2 December 2024

The Winter Sleep Moon went dark at 1:21am yesterday, so the Midwinter Moon is new today. This is the moon of winter revelry. The season of Midwinter also has begun. The Midwinter holidays began on St Andrew's Day (or Thanksgiving Day, depending on your whim). We are now in the holidays, days replete with festivity.… Continue reading The Daily: 2 December 2024

The Daily: 30 November 2024

St Andrew's Day St Andrew by Artus Wolffurt (1581-1641) Today is St Andrew's Day. Andrew, whose name means simply "a man" (though it can also be glossed as "virile" or "manly"), was the brother of St Peter. Both were fishermen and, as such, were part of the backbone of the local economy. He is imagined… Continue reading The Daily: 30 November 2024

The Daily: 26 November 2024

It's 'splaining season. Everybody has their own pet theories of why it happened. Most are probably wrong, but some are spectacularly, garishly wrong, wrong in so many ways you have to wonder if they're right. Jon Stewart had one such on his Weekly Show. Richard Reeves, President of the American Institute for Boys and Men,… Continue reading The Daily: 26 November 2024

The Daily: 4 November 2024

Winter Sleep Moon and Early Winter A Brown Time... The Hunter's Moon went dark on All Hallow's Day, which also ushered in the new lunisolar year and the new season of Early Winter. The Winter Sleep Moon was new on the Day of the Dead. It will go dark on December 1st which is the… Continue reading The Daily: 4 November 2024

The Daily: 1 November 2024

It is the first Friday and the first day of the eleventh calendar month, named for the ninth. Today the Hunter's Moon goes dark at 8:47 am. In my calendar, the old year ended last night, and the season of early winter is ushered in tomorrow. So here is another reminder of what all this… Continue reading The Daily: 1 November 2024

The Daily: 30 October 2024

All Hallows: An Entanglement It's the most wonderful time of the year... Tomorrow is All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, a new year's eve in former days with all the sweet treats, riotous good fun, and debauchery that entails. Friday is All Saints Day, All Hallows, the ancient new year festival called Samhaine, which is usually translated… Continue reading The Daily: 30 October 2024

The Daily: 5 August 2024

The Hay Moon went dark at 7:13am yesterday, over 36 hours before moonset today. So the 10th new moon of my year, the Blueberry Moon, should be visible as a thin crescent following the sun down to the western horizon this evening. This month is the second of the harvest moons and the first that… Continue reading The Daily: 5 August 2024

The Daily: 23 April 2024

April 23rd is St George's Feast Day (though in the Church of England it is moved until Monday when the 23rd falls between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter). For the day, I've written a modernized tale of Andromeda, an old story of annual agricultural sacrifice. "St George and the Dragon" is a version… Continue reading The Daily: 23 April 2024

The Daily: 19 March 2024

The Season of Renewal This year, the Vernal Equinox happens on Tuesday, March 19th at 11:06pm. This is, I think, the most nebulous of the solar festivals. Yes, it does mark an actual solar event, but it’s not the one we typically hear about. It’s not much of an event at all. This festival is… Continue reading The Daily: 19 March 2024

The Daily: 29 February 2024

Today is Leap Day. This is the day we insert into the calendar to make up for the fact that the year is not actually 365 days. The Earth circles the sun in 365 days, Earth-rotations, plus about 6 more hours. Not exactly 6 hours though. The actual difference is 5 hours and 49 minutes.… Continue reading The Daily: 29 February 2024