Ancient Celtic Calendar: Quarter Days and Cross-Quarter Days Andrew E. Rothovius October 28, 2022 For daily wit & wisdom, sign up for the Almanac newsletter. Learn more about Midsummer Day. Samhain (summers end) is celebrated as todaysHalloween. Regardless of its name, youll find the Moon crosses into Pisces from Aquarius at 9:41 p.m. During the ExoMars 2022 mission, the Russian-built lander Kazachok will place ESAs Rosalind Franklin rover on the surface of Mars. When that happens, Septembers full Moon is known as the Corn Moon. (The black ball at 4:30 o'clock - between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice), (The seed planted at Samhain moves for the first time (the black ball is at 8:30), (The crops are up, let's work for their fertility (the black ball is at 10:30), (ground into the first loaf of bread of the season for Loaf Mass/Lammas (the black ball is at 2:30). These days marked the midpoint between eachsolstice andequinox. The actual calendar date of Samhain/Halloween is November 11th. In this article, youll find info on the peak dates and observing conditions. They are in time - but not in space. The tropics are lines of latitude that circle the Earth above and below the equator, at about 23.4 degrees north and south. Imbolc - February 3. Under ideal conditions, you could expect to see around 100 meteors an hour, but unfortunately, the conditions are less than ideal this year. Now a waning gibbous, the Moon is just under three degrees away from Mars, putting them both well within the same binocular field of view. Do the same with I/s3 and I/s3. February 2023. May brings us a total lunar eclipse, June has the closest full Moon of the year, while July gives us a rare opportunity to see Mars and Uranus within the same binocular field of view - but once again, in the morning sky! It was a day for dance and song to hail the sown fields starting tosprout. Note: This is a large file and may take a moment to load. They are represented by the four black balls at the points where the two arms Cross on the Cross shown above. The 4 lesser Sabbats or quarter holidays are the two solstices and two equinoxes. But the Celts (pronounced "Kelts"), the people of Iron Age Northern Europe were interested in the days half way between these Quarter Days. Wi sma persuasion she agreed Before the Moon turns new on the 28th, it will pass by three planets, starting with Mars this morning. Traditionallyafestival associated with harvesting grain, it marked the beginning of the wheat harvest, and especially celebrated the first wheat or corn crop. If you havent had a chance to observe the planet telescopically yet, be sure to devote some time to it as it wont look as good by the end of the month. The two are five degrees apart this morning but will be closest on the 7th with a four and a quarter degree gap between them. After passing Mars and then Uranus, the waning crescent Moon is now headed toward Venus and will be close to that planet in two days time. The year 2022 will start with the Quadrantids. For those on the east coast, three degrees will separate the pair at about 30 minutes before sunrise, but that gap will have halved by the time it gets to 30 minutes before sunrise for observers on the west coast. It's best to start your observations after midnight. ET (5:56 a.m. PT). January 2023, 2023 Astronomy Calendar | Astronomical & Celestial Events, What's in the Sky This Month? Heres an early morning sight you wont want to miss - especially if youre an avid astrophotographer looking for the next stunning image. Lady Day (25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation); Midsummer Day (24 June); Michaelmas (29 September, the Feast of St Michael and All Angels); Christmas (25 December); Falling close to the Spring equinox, Lady Day was the first day of the civil year in England, Wales and the British dominions (but not Scotland . A little over three degrees separate the pair, but towards the southeast, we have Mars and Jupiter with just a degree and a quarter between them. ET and is known as the Hunters Moon, as traditionally, this would be the time when people would hunt and stockpile food for the coming winter months. The eight dates of the seasons and cross-quarters were important times for observance in. The feast day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is celebrated exactly six months before that of the celebration of Christs birth.) ET (9:11 p.m. In the 1950s, when people began resurrecting the ancient Celtic religion they began to celebrate Samhain on 1 November, the same day as All Saints Day and All Saints Eve (Halloween). With that in mind, and given the long winter nights in the northern hemisphere, many observers prefer this shower over its summer counterpart. Be sure to compare the colors of the planets; Saturn appears a pale yellow, Mars is coppery, Venus is a brilliant white and Jupiter is pale gold. If youre an early riser, this is your last chance to see Mercury in the predawn sky this year. Around the time of the spring equinox, Lady Day became the traditional day for hiring farm laborers for the planting and harvesting seasons ahead. Modern Wiccans are trying to steal the Christian holiday. Step outside at about 30 minutes before sunrise and youll find the crescent Moon hanging below a trio of planets. The first one will happen on April 30 and will be visible throughout southern South America and parts of Antarctica. Mercury now reaches its last elongation of the year and is now 20 degrees east of the Sun. When viewed from C' this will give you the Cross-quarter day Sunrises and Sunsets at a latitude of 51o. Likewise, at Sunset, you would see the Sunset also moves along the Western horizon over the year as well. ET (2:16 a.m. PT) the sky will have started to brighten. Now the Moon is a waning crescent and can be seen in the predawn twilight sky. Section 2: Select the sky events to include in the calendar (moon phases, eclipses, planet positions, meteor showers, etc). The time flew by, wi tentless heed, From an astronomical point of view, the four arms represent: Winter Solstice - around December 21st (on the cross above: at 6:00 o'clock). With the potential for 150 shooting stars an hour being visible under ideal conditions, the Geminids produce more meteors than the Perseids and are brighter and more colorful. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. ET tonight, with Jupiter shining brightly to its east and dim Neptune four and a half degrees to its northwest. It's hard to follow up a month like August: every year the August night sky wows with the Perseids shower and a host of other astronomical events. Youll learn about upcoming meteor showers, solar and lunar eclipses, and space missions. the cross Quarter day - Early February /a > Happy Imbolc 2021 old . After that, theyll start to drift apart, with the gap more than doubling to nearly a degree by the 6th. 2015. Now, imagine the Moon is a bow shooting an arrow toward the horizon. This puts it in the evening sky, with the planet being visible as a reasonably bright, pinkish-white star about ten degrees over the southwestern horizon at 15 minutes after sunset. Section 3: Select the year or year and month of the calendar. It will be visible from most of Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and the western part of Asia. The Druidic Cross to the left indicates the Quarter Days with the four arms of the Cross. The radiant of the stream is located in the constellation Gemini. For Ancient Celts, Samhain was marked as being one of the most significant of all of the four quarterly fire festivals, as it took place during the midpoint between the winter solstice and the fall equinox. (In the church calendar, this day became the feast of the Angel Gabriels annunciation to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother ofChrist.). On Friday morning, Jan. 28, 2022, the bright star Antares will appear about 7 degrees to the upper right of the . Up until now, we have been assuming that there is a level horizon. ( chart ) Jan 24, 2022, 12:53. According to the ancient Celts, a cross-quarter day marks the beginning - not the middle - of a. The opposition occurs when a planet is positioned exactly opposite the Sun as observed from the Earth. That being the case, unless youre up and outside at that time, your best opportunity to see the Moon at its fullest will be during the evening of the 17th, when the Moon will be roughly 99.8% illuminated. By that time, the Moon will be setting in the west for observers on the east coast, and by the time totality begins at 5:16 a.m. ET (9:53 p.m. I think the article should have said that John the Baptist foretold the coming of a Savior, not the actual birth. Mars outshines Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, but take a few moments to compare their colors, as the light from both the planet and star will have a similar hue. The period between the recurrence of either one of these solstitial events is, in practical terms, a tropical year of 365.25 solar days. Imbolc: Tuesday, astronomical cross quarter days 2022 1 August 1, and Halloween on October waters begin to.. - the White Goddess < /a > Imbolc ( Imbolg ) signals the beginning of Spring ; re in six., creating four cross-quarter days where the two arms Cross on the position earth. These festivals were apparently celebrated throughout Europe by the various tribes we now refer to as Celts. As for the middle week. Astronomical Events in 2023 Jan 3/4: Quadrantids Meteors 3 Jan The first major meteor shower of 2022, the Quadrantids, peaks on the night of January 3 and early morning hours of January 4. Celebrate the Midpoint of Summer 2022 But say goodbye to daylight hours! Groundhog Day is a "cross-quarter day" on the celestial calendar. In reply to John the Baptist by Christine Stouffer (not verified). The Celtic rituals merged easily with the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus. Around the time of the fall equinox, the harvest commenced on this day, and there were great fairs and festivals. Grab your binoculars and start scanning the east-southeastern horizon at about 20 minutes before sunrise; the pair is about 22 degrees to the lower left of Venus, and at magnitude -0.1, Mercury is the brighter of the two (Saturn is magnitude 0.8.) Lets get started! We have revised the article to make itclearer. It seems from astronomical alignment that the megaliths mark cross-quarter holidays. Earth Reaches Midpoint in Orbit Between Solstice and Equinox: February 2nd is an astronomical Cross-Quarter Day, one of four days in the year when the Earth is midway between the the Equinoxes and the Solstices. - but not in space first one will happen on April 30 and be! Sky this year now the Moon is known as the Corn Moon its last elongation the! 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