January 2010...
* 1/1: New
Year’s Day (Gregorian Calendar). * 12/21 to 1/9: Hopi & Zuni Soyala New
Year Festival of purification and renewal. * 12/25 to 1/5: Yule--Old
Anglo-Teutonic festival honoring God Freyr, Goddess Freyja, and
God Balder. * 12/31 to 1/4: Zoroastrian celebration of Divine
Spirit Vohu Manah, creator and protector of animals. Vohu Manah is
one of seven male and female divine emanations of Deity Ahura Mazda. *
1/1: Day to meditate for peace throughout the world. * 1/1: Day the
Emancipation Proclamation went into effect freeing Confederate slaves (1863);
day to mourn African victims of slavery and racism (past and present), make
peace, and celebrate empowerment of African Americans. * 1/1: Day the
first woman was ordained an Episcopalian priest in the U.S. (1977). * 1/1:
Day Pope John Paul II exhorted Christians to respect Nature, to preserve natural
resources, and to stop environmental destruction (1990). * 1/1 to 1/4:
Tewa Turtle Dance--celebrating life and the first Creation, when Sky Father
embraced Earth Mother and all life was conceived. * 1/1 eve to 1/4 eve
(1/3 peak): Quadrantid Meteor Showers. * 1/1 to 1/6: Shogatsu/Shinto New
Year’s Festival--The Kami (Nature Spirits) of the four directions are
honored, and prayers for happiness, good health, and prosperity are made. *
1/1 to 1/31: January dedicated to Old Roman God-Goddess Janus-Jana,
who knows both past and future. * 1/2 (7:00 p.m. EST): Earth
Perihelion--when the Earth is closest to the Sun. * 1/2: Mindfulness
Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful of the peace, joy, and beauty of the
moment. * 1/4: Day ethnic discrimination was outlawed world-wide (1969);
day to mourn all manifestations of racism. * 1/4 eve to 1/5 eve: Old
Greek festival in which offerings were made to the Wind Gods of the eight
directions. * 1/5: Avian Day--Day to honor all creatures of the air and
to meditate on Deity manifesting as birds - Goddess as Babd/Crow (Old
Celtic), Lilith/Owl (Old Sumerian-Hebrew) & Holy Spirit/Dove
(Christian); and God as Horus/Hawk (Old Egyptian) & Hilina/Thunderbird/Eagle
(Haida). * 1/5: Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, tenth Sikh guru
(1666). He believed that only those who love find Deity, and exhorted Sikhs to
show compassion for humanity. * 1/6 (OC 1/19): Epiphany--Christian feast
recalling the adoration of Child Jesus by the Magi, and the beginning of
Rabbi Jesus’ ministry of love to humanity - when He changed water into
wine at Cana. * 1/7: Koshogatsu--Shinto rite honoring Goddess Izanami,
partner of God Izanagi. They created Nature and the Kami. * 1/7:
Orthodox Christian Christmas. * 1/8: Death day of Galileo (1642),
astronomer; day to mourn the persecution of scientists by religious authorities.
* 1/12: Day genocide was outlawed world-wide (1951); day to mourn all
victims of genocide. * 1/13: Death day of George Fox (1691), founder of
the Quakers. Quakers experience Deity within and practice egalitarianism, social
activism, and peacefulness. * 1/13 to 1/25 (I 1/22): Old Norse Mid-Winter
Feast--Offerings were made to the Deities (particularly Jord, Thor,
and Freyr) for growth of crops. * 1/14: Makar
Sakranti--Beginning of Hindu pilgrimage to holy rivers to bathe and pray, to
purify themselves of their sins. Hindus' life goals are ethical living,
passionate love, prosperity, and spiritual devotion.
* 1/14 eve to 1/15 eve: Feast of
Old Greek Goddess Hekate, who guides all through transitions and crisis.
* 1/14 to 1/16 (A 2/24 to 2/26): Raising Heaven--Old Egyptian Festival
honoring the unseen Neteru Amen and Amenet. Egyptians perceived
the many Gods and Goddesses (Neteru) to be aspects of the one God-Goddess
Neter-Neteret. * 1/15 (2:11 a.m. EST): New Moon. * 1/15:
Feast of the Black Christ. * 1/15 (Obs. 1/18): Birthday of Rev.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929), Baptist preacher and non-violent advocate for
the rights of African Americans. * 1/15: First appearance of Our Lady
of Banneux, Virgin of the poor, the sick, and the suffering (Belgium 1933).
* 1/15 eve: Rosh Chodesh--Jewish women gather to worship the Shekhinah,
the feminine manifestation of Elohim, the one universal Deity; and to
pray and act for peace, social justice, and environmental healing, to bring
about Tikkun Olam (reparation of the world and reunification of the Divine). *
1/17: Yoruba/Santeria feast of Ogun, Orisha of Strength,
Endurance, and Perseverance. Yorubas/Santeros believe the Orishas are
emanations and messengers of the one Deity, Olodumare. * 1/17:
World Religions Day--Day to contemplate all religions as different paths to the
one universal Deity of many names and aspects. * 1/19: Baha’i feast
honoring the one Deity as Sultan - Sovereignty. Baha’is believe in the
oneness of Deity. * 1/20: Beginning of Aquarius (the Water Bearer). *
1/20: Sarasvati Puja--Hindu festival honoring Goddess Sarasvati, who
represents wisdom, intellect, and knowledge, as well as inspiration, arts, and
music. Hindus believe all Gods and Goddesses are aspects of the one Great
God-Goddess Maha Deva-Maha Devi. * 1/22: Day the Supreme Court
recognized women’s right to reproductive autonomy (1973). * 1/23: Day for
meditation on Tantric Buddha Deities Amitayus and White Tara, who
grant good health and long life. Buddhists study sacred texts, meditate, pray,
chant mantras, and make devotional offerings to the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas. * 1/24 to 2/1: Sementivae--Old Roman festival of
sowing, honoring Earth Goddess Terra, Grain Goddess Ceres, and
Seed Goddess Proserpina. * 1/27: Death day of John James Audubon
(1851), ornithologist and conservationist. * 1/29: Birthday of Thomas
Paine (1737), Deist who recognized the inherent rights of all men and women, and
opposed non-democratic government. Deists believe Deity to be consistent with
Nature and reason. * 1/29: Birthday of Vladimir Soloviev (1853), Orthodox
Christian mystic who bewailed humanity’s alienation from Holy Wisdom and
from Nature, Her manifestation. * 1/29 eve to 1/30 eve: Tu B’Shevat--Jewish
Festival of Trees, celebrated with tree plantings and orchard blessings. *
1/29 to 2/6: Navajo Sing--Festival in preparation for the coming
agricultural season; celebrated with prayer, chanting, dancing, and healing. *
1/30 (1:18 a.m. EST): Full Moon (Cold/Seed Moon). * 1/31: Birthday
of Fr. Thomas Merton (1915), Catholic mystic and poet, who found Deity in
stillness and silence. * 1/31 eve to 2/2 eve: Imbolc/St. Brigid’s
Day--Old Celtic/Irish feast of Goddess Brigid; merged with the Christian
feast of St. Brigid. Fires were lit to welcome Her as She traveled about
blessing fields, animals, and people. * 1/31 eve to 2/3 eve:
Mid-Winter/Groundhog’s Day/Candlemas--Festival marking the transformation from
death to life - the beginning of the agricultural year, awakening of hibernating
animals, and return of migrating birds and fish. Observed with a candlelight
procession to bless fields and seeds, recognition of newborns, and contemplation
of life.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Permission to use and distribute these excerpts is granted for non-commercial purposes, provided the following information is included:
Excerpted from
THE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2010
A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality
© 2009 Marija Miovski
www.WheeloftheYear.com
