May 2010...
* 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. * 4/30 to 5/4:
Zoroastrian celebration. * 4/30 eve to 5/5 eve: Mid-Spring/May
Day/Walpurgis. * 5/1: Christian feast celebrating the sacred marriage of
Blessed Mary and St. Joseph. * 5/1: Mindfulness Day--Zen
Buddhist day for being mindful that everything you do, or fail to do, affects
all sentient beings. * 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 eve to 5/6 eve (5/4 peak): Eta Aquarid Meteor Showers. *
5/3: Taue Matsuri--Shinto rice-planting festival. * 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). * 5/6: 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: Dakinis’ Day--Day Tantric
Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to
manifest positive social change and environmental healing. * 5/8:
Christian feast of St. Julian of Norwich (d. 1419) - mystic who believed Deity
to be Father and Mother, everywhere in everything. * 5/8 eve:
Vigil for lost mothers; night of mourning and healing. * 5/9: 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. *
5/9: 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. * 5/10: Death day of Theodore Parker (1860),
Unitarian slavery abolitionist and social justice activist. * 5/10 to 5/12:
Rogation Days--Christian days of prayer for bountiful crops, sustainable
development, and healing of environmental abuses. * 5/12: Day the first
woman was ordained a rabbi in Conservative Judaism (1985). * 5/13 (9:04
p.m. EDT): New Moon. * 5/13 (OC 5/13): Ascension Day--Christian feast
marking Lord Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. * 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. * 5/13 to 5/16: Iroquois Corn-Planting Ceremony--in thanksgiving
for the corn seed. Iroquois believe Awenhai/Sky Woman descended from the
Sky and created Earth. * 5/14: Remembrance day for Moses de Leon
(1240-1305), Kabbalistic mystic. He compiled the Zohar, a Kabbalistic commentary
on the Torah. * 5/15: Yoruba/Santeria feast of Ochossi, Orisha of
Animals. Yorubas/Santeros celebrate with drumming, ecstatic dancing, and
possession trance. * 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). * 5/17 eve to 5/18 eve: Feast of Old Greek
Deities Aphrodite and Eros--Day to honor love and passion. *
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 eve to 5/20 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. * 5/19: 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: Devi Puja--Day
to fast from grains (and meat) and make offerings to Hindu Goddess Maha Devi.
Flowers, incense, lamps, and vegetarian food are offered; bells are rung and
drums beaten. Shaktas are devoted to Great Goddess Maha Devi in all Her
aspects. * 5/21: Mahayana Buddhist festival
celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Fo Shihchiamouni
(Buddha Shakyamuni/Siddhartha Gautama) (563-483 BCE).
* 5/21: Death day of Jane Addams (1935), social worker,
feminist, and peace advocate. * 5/22: Day to mourn Pope John Paul II’s
edict barring women from the priesthood in the Catholic Church (2004). * 5/23
(OC 5/23): 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. * 5/23: Birthday of Margaret Fuller (1810),
Transcendentalist and feminist who argued that women, as well as men, have
immortal souls. * 5/24 (OC 5/24): Day of the Holy Spirit--Christian
celebration of the Holy Spirit. * 5/25: Day Pope John Paul II
reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to ecumenism (1995). * 5/27
(7:07 p.m. EDT): Full Moon (Rose/Berry Moon). * 5/27 (Th B
5/27): Saga Dawa Duchen--Tibetan Buddhist festival celebrating the birth,
enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama (563-483
BCE). * 5/27: Birthday of Rachel Carson (1907), biologist who began the
environmental movement. * 5/29: Death day of Baha’i Prophet
Baha’u’llah (1892). Baha’u’llah believed Deity to be male, female,
and beyond gender. * 5/30: Trinity Sunday--Christian celebration of the
one universal Deity as Holy Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit Mother,
and Holy Christ Child. * 5/31: Christian feast of Our Lady,
Queen of Heaven. * 5/31: Memorial Day--Day to contemplate all the
horrors of war, mourn war’s victims, and support relief efforts for them. *
5/31 eve: Vigil for lost spouses/partners; night of mourning and healing.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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
