October 2007...
* 9/12 eve to 10/11 eve: Ramadan. * 9/24 eve to 10/3 eve: Greater Eleusinian Mysteries. * 9/26 to 10/4: Navajo Sing. * 9/26 eve to 10/3 eve: Sukkot/Feast of Ingathering. * 10/2: Feast of the Guardian Angels; day to honor one's personal guardian and guide. * 10/2: Birthday of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi (1869), Hindu advocate for human rights and self-reliance, who practiced active non-violent resistance to injustice. * 10/3 eve to 10/4 eve: Shemini Atseret/Feast of Assembly--Jewish festival of praise and thanksgiving for life-giving rain. * 10/4: Yoruba/Santeria feast of Orunmila, Orisha of Wise Counsel and Protection. * 10/4: Christian feast of St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226), and Animal Blessing Day. * 10/4 eve to 10/5 eve: Simchat Torah/Rejoicing with the Torah--Jewish festival celebrating the Torah. * 10/4 to 10/7: Tewa Deer Dance--celebrating the cosmic duality of feminine and masculine. The Tewa recognize gender equality and honor both male and female ancestors. * 10/5: Day honoring Zen Buddhist philosopher Bodhidharma (470-543), who believed one could attain Buddhahood by realizing one's own Buddha nature. * 10/6: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that fear and hatred of others results from ignorance of interconnectedness. * 10/8 eve: Laylat al-Qadr/Night of Power--Commemorates the first revelation of the Qur'an to Muslim Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel in 610 CE. The Qur'an says: "Let there be no compulsion of religion." * 10/11 (1:01 a.m. EDT): New Moon. * 10/11: Birthday of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884), advocate for world-wide recognition of the rights of all. * 10/11: Opening of Vatican II Council, during which the Catholic Church committed to ecumenism, freedom of religion, and social justice (1962). * 10/11 eve: Old European feast of the Triple Goddess (Goddess of the Moon and the Seasons), marking the transformation of the Mother into the Crone. * 10/11 eve to 10/14 eve: Eid al-Fitr--Muslim festival celebrating the end of Ramadan. The Five Pillars of Islam are confession, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage. * 10/12 (Obs. 10/8): Columbus Day--Commemorates Europeans' colonization of America (1492); day to mourn Native American victims of conquest and oppression (past and present), make peace, and celebrate empowerment of Native Americans. * 10/12: Day the first woman was ordained a Methodist minister in the U.S. (1880). * 10/12 to 10/16: Zoroastrian celebration of Divine Spirit Ameretat, creator and protector of vegetation. * 10/12 to 10/21: Navaratri/Durga Puja--Hindu festival of Great Goddess Maha Devi as Durga, Protector of the Powerless; celebrates Her destruction of evil and restoration of cosmic order. Hindus believe all Gods and Goddesses are aspects of the limitless, attributeless, immanent, and transcendent Brahman. * 10/13: Final appearance of Our Lady of Fatima, Lady of Oracles and Miracles (Portugal 1917). * 10/14 to 10/28 (I 10/27): Old Norse Winter Nights Feast--The ancestors were remembered and offerings were made to the Deities (particularly the Norns, Freyja, and the Disir) to survive the season. * 10/15: Makahki/Hawaiian New Year. Hawaiians believe the Akua (Gods and Goddesses) were created by Papa/Mother Earth and Wakea/Father Sky, who themselves were created from the chaos of Po. * 10/16: Baha'i feast honoring the one Deity as Ilm - Knowledge. * 10/17: Shukaku Matsuri--Shinto rite offering thanks and first fruits of the rice harvest to the Kami. * 10/18 (A 11/28): Old Egyptian feast of Neteret Hathor, Goddess of Fate. * 10/18: Day the Clean Water Act was enacted (1972); day to give thanks for the water we drink. * 10/18 eve to 10/26 eve (10/22 peak): Orionid Meteor Showers. * 10/19 to 10/26: Navapad Oli‑‑Jain period of fasting, recitation of holy scripture, and meditation on the principles of right knowledge, right faith, right conduct, and right penance. Jainas honor Arihantas (conquerors of passions), Siddhas (liberated souls), Acharyas (spiritual leaders), Upadhyayas (spiritual teachers), and Sadhus (renouncers). * 10/20: Day the Granth Sahib (Adi Granth), the holy scripture of the Sikhs, was recognized as eternal guru (1708). Sikhs believe the infinite and formless Deity should be sought within one's self. * 10/21: Day military attacks on civilians were outlawed world-wide (1950). * 10/21 eve to 10/24 eve: Thesmophoria--Old Greek festival commemorating the transformation of Goddess Kore (Queen of the Living) into Persephone (Queen of the Dead), when She eloped to Elysium with Her partner, God Dionysos/Plouton, accompanied by Goddess Hekate and spirits of the dead. * 10/23: Beginning of Scorpio (the Scorpion). * 10/24: Yoruba/Santeria feast of Orisha Erinle, Healer of the Sick and Injured. Herbs are used for healing. * 10/24: Feast of Raphael, Angel of Healing. * 10/24: Day the United Nations came into being to facilitate world-wide peaceful cooperation (1945). * 10/24: Day the first woman was ordained a Presbyterian minister in the U.S. (1956). * 10/24 to 10/30: World Disarmament Week--Time for peaceful activism to help end the arms race. * 10/26 (12:52 a.m. EDT): Full Moon (Wolf/Hunting Moon). * 10/28: Day the world's nations committed to bio-diversity and eco-system conservation (1982). * 10/28 to 11/3: Isia--Old Romano-Egyptian festival recalling Set (God of Destruction) killing God Osiris; Goddess Isis mourning Him, resurrecting Him, and conceiving God Horus with Him; and Osiris becoming Lord of Amenta, realm of the dead. * 10/29: Mahayana Buddhist festival of Bodhisattva Tara/Kuan Yin/Kannon; celebrates Her attainment of Bodhisattvahood. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are aspects of Adi-Buddha - the masculine and feminine, transcendent and immanent, omniscient and omnipotent, primordial and eternal Absolute. * 10/29 eve to 11/1 eve: Apaturia‑‑Old Greek festival in which newcomers and children were welcomed into the community. * 10/31: Day to mourn the women tortured and killed as witches because of their independence, wealth, wisdom, or religion. * 10/31 eve: Halloween--Night that the dead return to visit their families; celebrated by children, dressed as spirits, going door to door for treats. * 10/31 eve to 11/2 eve: Old Sumerian fast recalling the descent of Inanna (Goddess of Life) to the Underworld. Ereshkigal (Goddess of Death and Rebirth) detained Her until She agreed to have Dumuzi (God of Life and Death) remain there each Winter. * 10/31 eve to 11/2 eve: Samhain--Old Celtic/Welsh New Year and feast of Cerridwen (Goddess of Death) and Beli (the Holly King - God of the Waning Sun). * 10/31 eve to 11/7 eve: Mid-Autumn/Day of the Dead/Hallowmas.
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Excerpted from
THE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2007
A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality
© 2006 Marija Miovski
www.WheeloftheYear.com
