May 2009...
* 4/21 to 5/2: Ridvan. * 4/26 to 5/3: Mayan Rain Festival. * 4/28 eve to 5/3 eve: Floralia. * 4/30 eve to 5/2 eve: Beltaine--Old Celtic/Welsh feast of Blodeuwedd (Goddess of Flowers) and Llew (the Oak King - God of the waxing Sun). * 4/30 to 5/4: Zoroastrian celebration of Divine Spirit Khshathra Vairya, creator and protector of the Sky. Zoroastrians worship the one transcendent and immanent Deity Ahura Mazda, who is symbolized by a sacred fire. * 4/30 eve to 5/5 eve: Mid-Spring/May Day/Walpurgis--Celebrates sacred love and the flowering vegetation by gathering flowers and dancing around a Maypole. * 5/1: Christian feast celebrating the sacred marriage of Blessed Mary and St. Joseph. * 5/1: Birthday of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881), Catholic mystic and evolutionary who experienced the union of consciousness with all Nature. * 5/1: Day Pope John Paul II affirmed that capitalism must be tempered by social justice and restrained by human rights and environmental laws (1991). * 5/1 to 5/4: Zuni Green Corn Dance--welcoming back the Corn Maidens, who flee the land during the Winter. * 5/1 to 5/31: May originally dedicated to Old Roman Goddess Maia; later dedicated to Christian Lady Mary - Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate. * 5/2: Mahayana Buddhist festival celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Fo Shihchiamouni (Buddha Shakyamuni/Siddhartha Gautama) (563-483 BCE). * 5/2: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that everything you do, or fail to do, affects all sentient beings. * 5/2 eve to 5/3 eve: Feast of God Poseidon, Goddess Amphritrite, and all Old Greek Gods and Goddesses of the seas. * 5/2 eve to 5/6 eve (5/4 peak): Eta Aquarid Meteor Showers. * 5/3: Taue Matsuri--Shinto rice-planting festival. * 5/4: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. * 5/4: Birthday of Horace Mann (1796), advocate for universal nonsectarian education. * 5/5: Cinco de Mayo--Day celebrating Mexico's struggle for independence; day to mourn Hispanic victims of exploitation (past and present), make peace, and celebrate empowerment of Hispanic Americans. * 5/6: Shepherd's Day--Day to meditate on Deity as Lord of Animals - God as Dumuzi (Old Sumerian), Osiris (Old Egyptian), Pan (Old Greek), Veles (Old Slavic) & Shiva Pasupati (Hindu). * 5/7: National Day of Prayer--Day to pray for freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and separation of religion and government throughout the world. * 5/8: Christian feast of St. Julian of Norwich (d. 1419) - mystic who believed Deity to be Father and Mother, everywhere in everything. * 5/9 (12:01 a.m. EDT): Full Moon (Flower/Corn-Planting Moon). * 5/9: Day the world's nations committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are causing global warming (1992). Day to mourn the failure of the U.S. to reduce these emissions. * 5/9 eve: Vigil for lost mothers; night of mourning and healing. * 5/10: Mothers Day--Day to give love and thanks to all mothers; day for all mothers to celebrate motherhood and contemplate their sacred duty to provide for the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs of their children. * 5/10: Death day of Theodore Parker (1860), Unitarian slavery abolitionist and social justice activist. * 5/12: Day the first woman was ordained a rabbi in Conservative Judaism (1985). * 5/13: Day the Humanist Manifesto was published (1933). It exhorts people to affirm life, not deny it; engage life, not flee from it; and work towards the happiness of self and all. * 5/15: Yoruba/Santeria feast of Ochossi, Orisha of Animals. * 5/17: Baha'i feast honoring the one Deity as Azamat - Grandeur. Baha'is believe in the oneness of all religions. * 5/17: Day the Supreme Court concluded that ethnic-based segregation of schools violates the U.S. Constitution (1954). * 5/18: Feast of Old Greek God Pan, who represents the masculine in Nature and protects men throughout their lives. * 5/18: Day Fr. Matthew Fox nailed his own 95 Theses to the door of the church where Martin Luther nailed his theses, to spur an eco-egalitarian Christian reformation (2005). * 5/18 to 5/20: Rogation Days--Christian days of prayer for bountiful crops, sustainable development, and healing of environmental abuses. * 5/19: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. * 5/19: Old Celtic/Irish feast in which sacred healing wells and springs were adorned with flowers in honor of Goddess Brigid, daughter of Mother Goddess Danu and Father God Dagda. The Celts also threw offerings into the wells and springs. * 5/19: Day the first woman was ordained a rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism (1974). * 5/20: Day the Supreme Court recognized that discrimination against lesbians and gays violates the U.S. Constitution (1996). * 5/21: Beginning of Gemini (the Twins/Lovers/Partners). * 5/21 (OC 5/28): Ascension Day--Christian feast marking Lord Jesus' ascension into Heaven. * 5/21: Death day of Jane Addams (1935), social worker, feminist, and peace advocate. * 5/22: Day to mourn Pope John Paul IIs edict barring women from the priesthood in the Catholic Church (2004). * 5/23: Birthday of Margaret Fuller (1810), Transcendentalist and feminist who argued that women, as well as men, have immortal souls. * 5/24 (8:11 a.m. EDT): New Moon. * 5/24: Remembrance day for Moses de Leon (1240-1305), Kabbalistic mystic. He compiled the Zohar, a Kabbalistic commentary on the Torah. * 5/24 eve: Old European feast of the Triple Goddess (Goddess of the Moon and the Seasons), marking the transformation of the Virgin into the Mother. * 5/24 to 5/27: Iroquois Strawberry Ceremony--in thanksgiving for the strawberry harvest. Iroquois consider themselves kin to all of Nature. * 5/25: Memorial Day--Day to contemplate all the horrors of war, mourn war's victims, and support relief efforts for them. * 5/25: Day Pope John Paul II reaffirmed the Catholic Church's commitment to ecumenism (1995). * 5/27: Birthday of Rachel Carson (1907), biologist who began the environmental movement. * 5/27 eve to 5/28 eve: Feast of Old Greek Deities Aphrodite and Eros--Day to honor love and passion. * 5/28 eve to 5/30 eve: Shavuot/Feast of First Fruits--Jewish festival of thanksgiving for the first fruits of the grain harvest. Originally, loaves of bread were offered to Elohim. Also commemorates Moses receipt of the Ten Commandments. * 5/29: Death day of Baha'i Prophet Baha'u'llah (1892). Baha'u'llah believed Deity to be male, female, and beyond gender. * 5/31: Christian feast of Our Lady, Queen of Heaven. * 5/31 (OC 6/7): Pentecost/Whitsunday‑‑Christian feast celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the male and female disciples of Lord Jesus; honors Her as the Paraclete, Grace, Wisdom, Justice, and Providence. * 5/31 eve: Vigil for lost spouses/partners; night of mourning and healing.
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Excerpted from
THE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2009
A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality
© 2008 Marija Miovski
www.WheeloftheYear.com
