Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Beltane Defined

Observed by Pagans around the world, Beltane is a stirring spring festival celebrating the return of vegetational life through the expression of joy, passion, music and dance, the beauty of nature, flowers and greenery, cheerful colors, mating, romance, love, courtship, community, elemental nature spirits, and love of fairies. The observance of Beltane is thought by some scholars to go back as far as 1200 B.C.E, which is to say, more than 3000 years ago when the Celtic peoples of the British Isles and western Europe honored Beltane during the Iron Age.

In the twenty-first century, Beltane is a favorite seasonal celebration of Pagans following a wide range of lineages and paths. Traditionally celebrated on May 1 in the northern hemisphere, Beltane is one of the eight sacred points of the Pagan calendar. The Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters. The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar.

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to no significant astronomical factors whatsoever. The popes of early Christianity are responsible for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan Calendar Under Attack

The Pagan calendar was based on the Earth to Sun relationship, so in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore had to be virulently repudiated. Instead, the popes selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. As a result, January 1, for example, contains absolutely no magical significance. However, the Capricorn solstice 10 days before certainly does. So the popes hid the solstice deep in the last month of the year and attempted to further obscure it by naming another point in the year about 10 days later as the first day of the year. In time, the people would forget that the Capricorn Solstice constituted one of the most powerful magical portals of the annual cycle, the popes reasoned.

The Pagan Calendar Persists

Only, as fate would have it, the memory of that great astronomical truth was far more stubborn and persistent than the popes had imagined. Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience.

Beltane is a case in point, stubbornly persisting in folk memory in open defiance of the suppressions aimed its way. Traditionally celebrated on May 1 in the northern hemisphere, Beltane is normally defined as the half-way point between the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice. In Pagan tradition, the Aries Equinox is termed Ostara (obviously the linguistic origin for the word Easter), while the Cancer Solstice is termed Litha. So Beltane is normally defined as the half-way point between Ostara and Litha. However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (a legacy of the early popes, ahem), May 1 unfortunately does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Ostara and Litha.

Finding the True Solar Date for Beltane

There is a more exact way to figure the half-way point between Ostara and Litha. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice. The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space. Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between Ostara, the Aries Equinox, and Litha, the Cancer Solstice.

Astrologically considered, the Aries Equinox (or Ostara) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Aries, while the Cancer Solstice (or Litha) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Cancer. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½ signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Aries, it is evident that the half-way point between 0 Aries and 0 Cancer is 15 degrees of Taurus. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Cancer. Doing so reveals that yes, indeed it is 15 degrees of Taurus which lies precisely half-way between the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice, which is to say, half-way between Ostara and Litha.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Taurus, however, does not fall in any year on May 1. In fact, it always falls a few days later. In May of 2026, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Taurus on May 4 - 5. For the astrologically inclined, May 4 - 5, 2025 should therefore be regarded as the true date for Beltane powers to be experienced.

Preserving Tradition

Associating Beltane with 15 degrees of Taurus rather than with May 1 is thus an act of rebellion against the imposition of a papist calendrical system. It harkens into deep Pagan antiquity when a structure based on the 15 degree position in the fixed signs was estimated as the stable structure conveying a sense of cosmic order as expressed through the zodiac, which is to say, the plane of the solar system as seen through our ecliptic. Using this method of time keeping, the turning points of the year emerge as the four solar festivals of Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain.

These four points matter. Traditional European Witchcraft recognizes Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain as the foundational structure of annual cyclic time. The respective astrological positions of the Sun for these essentially solar festivals are 15 degrees Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio. These four signs have been recognized as magical powers from time immemorial and are incorporated into many of the older rituals, with Aquarius symbolized as man or bird, Taurus as bull, Leo as lion or cat, and Scorpio as eagle or serpent. For this reason, it is a worthy effort to understand the underlying structure of the Pagan yearly round, which hearkens unto the ancient traditions.

Importantly, Traditional Craft recognizes Beltane and Samhain as the most fundamental pulse of life, Beltane signifying the onset of summer and Samhain signifying the onset of winter. Given this, ritual observation of Beltane emerges as a key opportunity within the round of the year. Knowing the true date is thus crucial.

In 2026, the Sun reaches 15 degrees of Taurus on May 4 - 5. To take full advantage of the Beltane time portal, it makes sense to observe both the traditional and the astrological dates, making the period May 1 – 5 an interval during which spiritual observations in the form of rituals, community celebrations, and alignments with nature can be carried out with profit. Further, the Full Moon of the Taurus 2026 period falls on May 1, further marking this period as a high tide of magical and psychic energies. Importantly, at Beltane 2026, a high Sabbat and the monthly Esbat occur at the same time. This represents a unique opportunity to link with nature, the Fairy Kingdoms, and the realms of magical powers.

Summary

The eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of space identified by using the properties of sacred geometry. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. In other words, this structure is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding secular society. Instead, the Pagan eight point sacred calendar is based on celestial factors indicating stability, permanence, regular rhythm, and an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet. The acknowledgement of Beltane’s true astrologically derived date on May 4 - 5 affirms that truth and aligns the seeker with the stellar wisdom out of which Pagan practice has emerged.

In 2026, an extraordinary period of opportunity takes place May 1 – 5, which dates combine the energies of traditional Beltane, astrological Beltane, and the Full Moon of the Taurus period.

A Note For Aussies and Kiwis

[Please note that in the southern hemisphere, the seasons of the year are reversed to those of the northern hemisphere, such that Australia and New Zealand experience winter during northern hemisphere summer, and summer during northern hemisphere winter. As a result, the Pagan calendar runs thus in the southern hemisphere: Imbolc at 15 degrees of Leo in early August, Beltane at 15 degrees Taurus in early November, Lammas at 15 degrees of Aquarius in early February, and Samhain at 15 degrees of Taurus in early May. Pagans in the southern hemisphere are well aware of this and have long celebrated the sacred eight points of the Pagan year in ways appropriate to the seasons in their half of the earthen sphere.]

Maureen Richmond is a counseling and research astrologer, writer, and Pagan practitioner residing in rural western Arkansas. She has actively studied, taught, and counseled in astrology for more than forty years. Maureen holds a Ph.D. from Arkansas State University in Heritage Studies, a multidisciplinary field including history, historic preservation, folklore, and museum studies. Contact her at starsong1208@gmail.com.

Laurie Cabot, Neptunian Extraordinaire

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

The Witch of Salem

Almost everyone in the Pagan world has heard of the alluring and exotic Laurie Cabot. Known internationally as the Witch of Salem, Cabot famously brought Witchcraft out of the shadows of obscurity and into the limelight of favorable public notice in the very town where persons accused of being witches were once viciously tormented and put to agonizing deaths.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 – 1693 constitute a black spot on American history. Driven by hysterical Christian fear of the Devil and of the unseen spirit worlds, the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts were responsible for the persecution of at least two hundred and the brutal execution of at least twenty persons. The period demonstrated the extreme intolerance exercised by the Christian authorities toward people exhibiting any signs of divergence from established norms, including childlessness and individual clothing styles.

Into this historic milieu there stepped Cabot, an intrepid witching soul who would not be intimidated by the negative stereotype of Witchcraft which had hung in the air for nearly three hundred years. By the mid-1970s, this brave witch had so dramatically reversed the former derogatory image of Witchcraft in Salem that the Governor of Massachusetts awarded her with the state’s Patriot Award in recognition of her work for the culture of the state.

Over the following decades, Cabot would take the lead in transforming Salem into a major tourist attraction showcasing witchcraft as a fragrant, funky, and spooky décor and fashion sense, but also as a serious ancient religion teaching reverence for nature and the Pagan deities of antiquity, the focused development of personal psychic ability, and ethical constraints on the use of personal power.

The Astrology Behind the Witch

Born on March 6, 1933, in a small Kansas town, Laurie Cabot is a Pisces with the Moon in Cancer. No known birth time for Cabot is circulating in the astrological community, so the exact degree position of the Moon, the Ascendant, and the Midheaven cannot be known. However, the positions for the Sun, lunar north and south nodes, and planets can indeed by identified. In addition, the Moon did not change signs on the day of Cabot’s birth, so the sign and general position of the Moon can be estimated.

Laurie Cabot……………………….March 6, 1933

Sun………………………………….16 Pisces

Moon………………………………..mid Cancer

Lunar North Node/South Node….8 Pisces/Virgo

Mercury……………………………..4 Aries

Venus………………………………..4 Pisces

Mars…………………………………9 Virgo Retrograde

Jupiter………………………………19 Virgo Retrograde

Saturn……………………………….12 Aquarius

Uranus………………………………21 Aries

Neptune……………………………..9 Virgo Retrograde

Pluto…………………………………21 Cancer Retrograde

Virgo and Pisces

As is apparent, Cabot’s astrology contains two stellia, one in her Sun sign, which is Pisces, and one in Virgo. In Pisces, Cabot has Venus, the lunar north node, and the Sun, at 4, 8, and 16 degrees of Pisces respectively. In Virgo, Cabot has the south node, Mars, Neptune, and Jupiter at 8, 9, 9, and 19 degrees of Virgo respectively. Both stellia contain the lunar nodes, with the north node in Pisces and the south node in Virgo. The Virgo stellium contains an exact conjunction of Mars and Neptune, a focal point of the entire astrological signature. The Sun in Pisces opposes Jupiter in Virgo with an orb of only 3 degrees, making the Sun-Jupiter opposition a powerful component of Cabot’s natal astrology.

The Uranus-Pluto Square

Also outstanding is the exact square between Uranus at 21 degrees of Aries and Pluto at 21 degrees of Cancer, a configuration which happens rarely. Occurring only twice within the approximately 143-year long Uranus-Pluto cycle, the Uranus-Pluto square happens once approximately every 72 years. Cabot was thus born in a unique and highly noticeable time frame when Uranus in self-reliant Aries operated in square to Pluto in tradition-oriented Cancer. The resulting friction is part of the power driving Cabot to deploy her personal resilience and motivation to express and even re-shape the public perception of an ancient tradition.

The Aries Pioneer

The imprint of personal power and ability to self-direct is strong and evident in Cabot’s astrology. In Aries, the sign of the fearless pioneer who boldly goes where others have not dared to go, Cabot has both Mercury and Uranus. This Aries orientation is evident in her books and teachings, which exhort the would-be witch to develop abilities and strengths instead of giving in to unwanted conditions and claiming the victim status. Cabot has done this herself using the techniques of witchcraft, overcoming numerous financial and personal challenges to run several successful businesses in the Salem area.

The Cancerian Safe Space

Equally significant in Cabot’s astrology is the presence of both the Moon and Pluto in Cancer, sign of life processes, biological connections, conception, gestation, child-bearing, child-rearing, parenting, and the creation of a safe space for loved ones. Cabot has raised two daughters, brought them both safely into the Craft, and has lovingly hosted covens in her personal and business spaces. The nurturing Cancerian archetype is surely active in her life expression.

The Neptunian Note

Yet, the overwhelming message of Cabot’s astrology is to be found in the Neptunian and Piscean themes of mystery, magic, psychic sensitivity, celebration of beauty, the feminine pole of life, and the dissolving or redirecting of harmful energies through a quiet, background wisdom. Throughout her witching career, Cabot has always held aloft the beauty and nurturing power of the feminine aspect of deity, as reflected in the Goddess and female lunar deities such as Diana. Her own coven works under the aegis of yet another beloved female deity as the Black Doves of Isis.

Cabot’s astrology is dominated by signs of the feminine polarity – Cancer, Virgo, and Pisces – with only a few factors in the outgoing, masculine signs, such as Aries and Aquarius. In signs of female polarity, Cabot has nine factors; in signs of masculine polarity, only three. The classic female virtues are thus represented strongly in Cabot’s chart, a fact which has been reflected in her work for and with women’s causes and issues. Likewise, the indrawing, magnetic, and absorptive nature of the feminine signs are evident in Cabot’s own legendary psychic abilities, as well as in the emphasis in her teaching on cultivating accurate impressionability.

These are the domains of Neptune, planet of enchantment in the astrological pantheon. The planet Neptune exerts enormous influence over the astrology of Laurie Cabot. As ruler of Pisces, Neptune conditions her Sun, Venus, and lunar north node. Therefore, her sense of identity, beauty, and destiny are bound up with the attunement to the great beyond which is conferred by the mystical planet, Neptune. This is the planet associated by many traditional astrological sources with psychic sensitivity, dream experiences, the otherworld, the magical world of the fairies, enticement, seduction, trance, and the casting of magical spells.

Cabot was born with an outstanding emphasis on the planet Neptune. Conjunct both Mars and the lunar south node in early Virgo, Neptune is a major power in Cabot’s life expression. So is the sign of Virgo. Ruled by brainy Mercury, Virgo is known for its sharp mind and attraction to specific data. Cabot is known for her no-nonsense approach to magic and spell-casting, insistence on the use of common sense and personal responsibility, and for integrating up to date scientific knowledge in her witchery courses. That’s the Virgo archetype at work in her life expression.

Yet at the core of Cabot’s astrological profile for the present incarnation is the extrasensory sentience of Neptune. Cabot has revealed that such psychic sensitivity came naturally and early. In Power of the Witch, Cabot has written “Fairies were part of my childhood. I knew where they lived out in the garden and I would leave food for them, especially at the full moon.” Already well on her way to the realm of magic as a youngster, Cabot sensed the greater world of knowledge and sought it out.

The Astrology of Initiation

Cabot was but 16 years of age when she was introduced to Witchcraft, as she relates in her 1989 book titled Power of the Witch. Cabot’s innate intellectual and esoteric curiosity drove her to spend long hours in the Boston Public Library. It was in the context of library study that Cabot met three older women, whom she came to admire and emulate, and by whom she was ultimately initiated into Witchcraft.

Cabot turned 16 in March of 1949. Over the course of the following year, a number of significant astrological activations to her astrology would occur.

In June of 1949, transiting Neptune at 12 Libra made the exact trine to Cabot’s Saturn at 12 Aquarius. Air signs Libra and Aquarius are both oriented to information and social formations. Clearly, these themes blended to produce an opportunity to advance in both knowledge and association with initiated witches.

In July of 1949, the transiting lunar north node made an exact conjunction to Cabot’s Uranus at 21 Aries, activating the natural inclination of Aries to explore potential and make the most of talents and abilities. The Uranian drive to excel and to break free of limiting beliefs surely also played a role in Cabot’s entry to Witchcraft in her 16^th year.

Also in July of 1949, transiting Saturn at 4 Virgo made an exact opposition to Cabot’s natal Venus at 4 Pisces. Saturn stands for age and wisdom, Venus for females, and the opposition for face-front encounters. This transit set the stage for Cabot to meet the older witches who would initiate her and stand as mentors on her Witchcraft path.

In September of 1949, transiting Uranus at 4 Cancer made an exact trine to Cabot’s natal Venus at 4 Pisces, yet another influence bringing her into contact with opportunities to grow, advance, accelerate in the acquisition of life skills and psychic power, as well as into contact with others who could be true friends as well as mentors on the path.

In December of 1949 and January of 1950, Cabot’s commitment to Witchcraft and to the coven relationship would have turned more serious, to oaths, bonds, and lifetime intentions. During this period, transiting Saturn at 19 Virgo made an exact conjunction to Cabot’s natal Jupiter at 19 Virgo, putting emphasis on deeply held beliefs and the need to make definite determinations about life path. In that same period, transiting Jupiter made an exact conjunction to Cabot’s natal Saturn at 12 Aquarius, the sign of social groupings and team endeavors. This activation would have highlighted the central role of the coven in the work of Witchcraft.

As is apparent from these two major activations, at the end of 1949 and the beginning of 1950, Saturnian power drilled down on the young initiate witch, setting the tone for an incarnation. In one case, it was transiting Saturn conjunct a planet; in the second, it was a transiting planet conjunct her own Saturn. Focus, clarity, and definite decisions were required. The commitment was made and solidified. The following decades would prove the power of Laurie Cabot’s devotion to her Craft and her Deities.

Opening the Path for Others

Cabot’s Saturn in Aquarius, stellium in Pisces, and emphasized Neptune have given her a universal and even cosmic orientation, much like that of the famed astrologer and witch, Sybil Leek, who was also an Aquarius-Pisces mix, and one of Cabot’s stated inspirations. Both Leek and Cabot started out on their Witchcraft paths when all of western society was overwhelmingly antagonistic to the Craft. Both were inspired authors and teachers of many. Both persisted in the face of enormous odds, and both have made the way easier for those who would come later.

The extraordinary Laurie Cabot has just celebrated her ninety-third birthday. Online and elsewhere, well-wishers from around the world poured out adoration and praise for the gifted Neptunian witch who has done so much for Witchcraft. Author of six books, a beloved teacher and consultant, founder of the Cabot Tradition, and community leader who established the Project Witches’ Protection for guarding the civil rights of the magical community, Laurie Cabot has shown the world there’s wisdom to the old saw, “Where there’s a witch, there’s a way.”

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

The Role of Time on the Pagan Path

Points in time matter. That’s the unabashed contention of the Pagan path, which is intimately linked with the regular unfolding of the seasons and the yearly round based on the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. There’s nothing either arbitrary or irrelevant about such a time-centered approach to spirituality, though many voices in both metaphysics and quantum science completely discount the role of time in the evolution of personal consciousness. The Pagan path differs in this regard, identifying points in time as key moments in the spiritual journey. Earthworks such as Stonehenge and Newgrange attest to the importance of celestial timekeeping to the ancient peoples.

In Paganism, the yearly round functions a metaphor for the spiritual path. The yearly round is an apt image for the process of living, for the yearly round is based on something very real: astronomical fundamentals which literally define our place in the solar system. Knowing where we stand in the greater environment, we can also know where we stand in our individual unfoldments. It’s a pretty neat arrangement which just happens to perfectly echo the long admired Hermetic dictum, As Above, So Below.

That mystic phrase is not just mystical mumbo jumbo based on nothing real. Because of the Earth’s distance from the Sun, the shape of its orbit, and the angle at which the rotational axis of the Earth is inclined to the plane of the solar system, we have the seasons and the climate zones so well known on our planet. These basic facts of life are determined by the way our planet is situated in the solar system. From this arrangement, there results the weather zones. There’s nothing more basic than the weather, which affects one and all. As Above, So Below.

The weather is the direct effect of astronomical positioning. In the northern hemisphere, that positioning affords a more direct hit for the solar rays on the face of the Earth and longer periods of daylight in the summer. The reverse is true for the winter. In the southern hemisphere, it’s the other way around. But in both cases, what drives the seasons is this same set of astronomical fundamentals. As a result, observing points in time defined by the structure of the solar system is neither daft nor superficial. Instead, such a practice is of the essence.

Imbolc: One of Eight Key Points in Time

Traditionally observed by northern hemisphere Pagans on February 1 – 2, Imbolc is one of eight key time points equally distributed throughout the Pagan calendar year, an annual round structured on the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between. Also referred to as Candlemas and often celebrated with candles and flaming auras reminiscent of the solar orb, Imbolc commemorates the lengthening of the daylight period and hints at the earliest signs of the coming renewal of vegetation and animal life at the Spring Equinox. It is an observation of increasing solar vitality.

In traditional witchcraft, Imbolc stands out for another reason. It is at this essentially solar festival while the Sun is in group-oriented Aquarius that certain covens admit new members. Imbolc thus partakes of the social and cooperative nature of the zodiacal sign Aquarius for those involved in various witchcraft traditions.

However, the Imbolc period is observed by many traditions, although some call it by different names. For all, this moment is meaningful because it constitutes a stage in the hero’s journey, a portion of a much greater pattern binding together eight points in the annual round.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

Often referred to under the poetic term, The Wheel of the Year, the Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters. The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar. These half-way points between the solstices and equinoxes are referred to as the cross-quarter days. The four cross-quarter days and the four equinoctial-solstitial points form the eight key moments in time embodied in the Pagan eight point calendar.

The Difference Between the Wheel of the Year and the Modern Calendar

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to absolutely no significant astronomical factors. The popes of early Christianity are to blame for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan calendar of olde was based on the Earth to Sun relationship as seen in the equinoctial-solstitial frame of reference. Such a naturalistic notion did not sit well with the Church. In fact, in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore worthy only of repudiation. Papal authority selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. Still, Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, today Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience, absolutely free of charge.

Imbolc is a case in point. Traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on February 1 – 2, Imbolc is frequently defined as the half-way point between the Capricorn Solstice and the Aries Equinox. In Pagan tradition, the Capricorn Solstice is termed Yule and the Aries Equinox Ostara. In the northern hemisphere, Imbolc is often defined as the half-way point between Yule at Capricorn Solstice and Ostara at Aries Equinox.

However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (another lovely legacy of the early popes), February 1 – 2 does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Yule and Ostara.

A more exact way to figure the half-way point between Yule and Ostara exists. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Capricorn Solstice and the Aries Equinox. This method identifies the precise zodiacal position of the cross-quarter day known as Imbolc.

How to Derive the Correct Calendar Date for the Imbolc Cross-Quarter Day

The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space. Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between Yule, the Capricorn Solstice and Ostara, the Aries Equinox.

Astrologically considered, the Capricorn Solstice (or Yule) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Capricorn, while the Aries Equinox occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Aries. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½ signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Capricorn, it is evident that the half-way point between 0 degrees Capricorn and 0 degrees of Aries is 15 degrees of Aquarius. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Aries. Doing so reveals that indeed it is 15 degrees of Aquarius which lies precisely half-way between the Capricorn Solstice and the Aries Equinox, which is to say, half-way between Yule and Ostara.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Aquarius, however, does not fall in any year on February 1 or 2. In fact, the Sun at 15 degrees of Aquarius always falls on February 3 - 4. In February of 2026, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Aquarius late on February 3 in the continental U.S. and continues in that degree overnight and into February 4. For the astrologically inclined, therefore, Imbolc might be said to occur on February 3 – 4, 2026. Combining these dates with the traditional dates would yield a four-day period in which to honor and experience the Imbolc energies.

Imbolc 2026 Amplified by Mars and Pluto

The four day Imbolc period for 2026 promises a special intensity, for not only is the normal lunar power present, but also is there a potent astrological aspect present. Just a few days before the Full Moon, the planets Mars and Pluto will be conjunct at 4 degrees of Aquarius. The conjunction will be separated by only 3 degrees of zodiacal longitude by the time Imbolc and the Full Moon hit. As a result, the Full Moon of February 1 will be amplified by the Mars-Pluto conjunction, making for a near-overwhelming impact sure to be felt worldwide.

The Full Moon falls on February 1 with the Sun at 13 degrees of Aquarius and the Moon at 13 degrees of Leo. Both Mars and Pluto will be in Aquarius. The Aquarian emphasis calls in the role of interest groups and other subgroupings of humanity on which individuals base their identity.

Full Moons bring all things to a head entirely on their own, but this particular Full Moon packs a punch for yet another reason. The Full Moon axis is only 9 degrees separated from exact hard-angle aspect to Pluto, and only 6 degrees separated from exact hard angle aspect to Mars. In fact, the rapidly waxing Full Moon will oppose transiting Pluto and Mars in the last few hours leading right up to the Full Moon moment at 4:09 pm CST. It is likely that conflicts and tensions existing between major groups of human identity will be exacerbated. Aggression, violence, and warlike conditions are not unthinkable. Even so, the potent energies of Imbolc 2026 can be used productively. Initiations into craft would be one such good use.

Celebrations, rituals, and observations of Imbolc 2026 are therefore worth attending or creating during the period February 1 – 4, 2026. The rationale for doing so derives from both astrological measurements and traditional observances of the Pagan Eight Point year.

The Eternal Value of the Pagan Eight-Point Wheel of the Year

The eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of movement through space identified by using the properties of sacred geometry, including the circle and the quadrature. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. This structure of time is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding secular society. Instead, the Pagan eight point calendar is based on celestial factors recognized by ancient peoples and commemorated in celestially aligned earthworks. This structure in time embodies stability and permanence, for it unfolds in a stately, regular rhythm marking out an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet. Honoring Imbolc 2026 is part of that effort.

[Note: in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the candle-themed Imbolc in the southern hemisphere is celebrated in early August, while early February in the southern hemisphere sees the celebration of the late summer harvest festival of Lughnasadh.]

The Pagan Astrologer is the creative offering of astrologer and Pagan elder Maureen Richmond, Ph.D. A sun sign Sagittarius with Aquarius rising, Maureen is a counseling and research astrologer with half a century of experience in the field of astrology. A presenter at national astrological conferences in the 1990s, Maureen has studied widely in astrological technique and metaphysical philosophy. She holds a fully accredited doctoral degree from Arkansas State University in Heritage Studies, a multidisciplinary field examining the traditions by which humanity lives. Maureen offers astrological consultations by phone. Please contact her at starsong1208@gmail.com for further information.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Samhain: One of Eight Key Points in Time

Observed by Pagans around the world in late October and early November, Samhain is the historical basis of the modern festival of Halloween. Traditionally celebrated on November 1, Samhain is, as American Witch Laurie Cabot writes in Power of the Witch, the ancient Celtic feast of the dead. It honors Samana, the Aryan God of Death, though in recent decades Samhain has evolved into a festival celebrating the spirit world in general.

Samhain is also one of eight key time points equally distributed throughout the Pagan calendar year, an annual round structured on the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between. This unique spiritual festival began as an archaic fall seasonal observance originally honored by ancient Celtic Pagans generally thought to have lived in central and western Europe, including the British Isles, from approximately 1200 B.C.E. through the Roman occupation of what is now Britain, and beyond.

The exact date at which Celtic people appeared in and flourished in the British Isles is, according to acclaimed British historian Ronald Hutton, impossible to specify, due to complications in historic records arising from the biases of early and even more modern historians intent on establishing national and racial identity, as well as the obscuring influence of sentimental folk memories. Even so, on the basis of extensive historic research, Hutton holds that there is no doubt that the Celtic festival of Samhain was known and observed all over the British Isles during the entire Iron Age, a period generally accepted to have run from 1200 B.C.E. through 600 B.C.E.

According to Hutton, it was during this period that the late autumn festival of Samhain was widely recognized and practiced through the Celtic world. In Ireland, Hutton claims, Samhain was revered as the foremost of annual festivals and accorded a special place of respect and honor. As Hutton explains, for the Iron Age Irish of 1200 B.C.E. through 600 B.C.E., Samhain on what we now call November 1 constituted the start of a New Year, which point in time was celebrated on the secular side with tribal assemblies where agreements were forged and laws made, and on the spiritual side with the widespread acknowledgement of and even interaction with the spirit world.

Hutton claims that, for the Iron Age Irish, Samhain signaled a dramatically increased interaction between the world of the dead and of supernatural beings on one hand, and humans on the other, with dramatic enchantments, love affairs between humans and otherworldlings, the appearance of magical gifts, and extraordinary developments at seats of government all suddenly erupting on and around Samhain. It was traditionally a magical time of year, when most anything might happen. This same set of characteristics adheres to present day Pagan observance of Samhain, which includes an emphasis on making contact with the spirit world.

For the ancients, the power and mystery of Samhain were firmly tied to the November 1 date, one of four key points in the ancient Irish year, the other three of which were Imbolc on February 1, Beltane on May 1, and Lughnasadh on August 1, a Gaelic calendrical system which Hutton states was most definitely used in Ireland by the ancient Celts though the months were not named or dates numbered the same back then. The same set of annual observances is mentioned, Hutton points out, in the Middle Irish literature in the Ulster tale of Emer and Cu Chulainn.

Twentieth-century American folklorist Helen Sewell Johnson also addressed this point, commenting that because mentions of Samhain appear in medieval Irish literature composed during the period from the 1100s to the 1400s, Samhain must have originated in pre-Christian Ireland or other Celtic areas some time considerably before 1100 C.E., a point which surely agrees with Hutton’s placement of Samhain observation potentially as far back as 1200 B.C.E. As is evident, this historical timeline makes Samhain significantly older than the Christian holiday imposed upon it and the original observance from which the Christian All Saint’s Day was derived.

The timing of the Samhain observance is pivotal. Both the historian Hutton and the folklorist Johnson identified Samhain as one of four quarterly feasts of the old Irish year. Samhain was one of the four key points in the ancient Celtic Wheel of the Year, a chronometrical structure tied to increasing and decreasing sunlight, nature, plant growth, and animal husbandry. Samhain coming at the end of the northern hemisphere growing season is unique, Johnson wrote, marking both a pastoral observance in the form of a harvest festival and a deeply spiritual observance honoring the dead, the spirit world, and the land of the fairies.

Indeed, as Johnson detailed, pre-Christian Old Ireland believed that the Samhain festival taking place in the darkening time of year marked a unique moment in the annual cycle, a borderland passage during which the barrier normally separating the natural and supernatural worlds dissolved, allowing free converse between the two.

At Samhain, it was thought, the dead returned, ghosts walked the land, fairy folk and ancient Celtic ancestors known as the Tuatha de Danaan interacted daringly and dangerously with the human kingdom, and rites of divination granted uncanny glimpses of the future. At the same time, Samhain in Old Ireland functioned as a social and cultural event, punctuated with lavish harvest feasts, contests of skill, worship of and story-telling about the old gods, and even serious meetings in which legal and clan matters were discussed, settled, and formalized. This is the ancestry of modern day Pagan celebrations of Samhain, which retain many of the features from the equivalent festivities of yore.

In all likelihood, then, the custom of Samhain celebration goes back as far as 1200 B.C.E, which is to say, to an era more than 3000 years ago, when the Celtic peoples of the British Isles and western Europe honored the termination of summer and advent of final harvest during the Iron Age on the date we now call November 1. In the twenty-first century, Samhain is a seasonal celebration observed by Pagans following a wide range of lineages and paths. Also broadly understood as coincident with All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween on October 31, Samhain is traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on November 1, and is one of the eight sacred points of the Pagan calendar.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

Often referred to under the poetic term, The Wheel of the Year, the Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

Celtic peoples of the Iron Age observed Samhain as a harvest festival, but placed no corresponding emphasis on the equinoxes and solstices. The equinoxes and solstices, however, later emerged as a calendrical structure, doing so around 0 CE, when Pagan Rome arranged the cycle of the year on that basis, as explained in The History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick. Jones and Pennick make it clear that in Pagan times, indeed a calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was in use.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters. The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar. These half-way points between the solstices and equinoxes are referred to as the cross-quarter days. The four cross-quarter days and the four equinoctial-solstitial points form the eight key moments in time embodied in the Pagan eight point calendar.

The Difference Between the Wheel of the Year and the Modern Calendar

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to absolutely no significant astronomical factors. The popes of early Christianity are to blame for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan calendar was based on the Earth to Sun relationship as seen in the equinoctial-solstitial frame of reference. In in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore worthy only of repudiation. Papal authority selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. Still, Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, today Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience, absolutely free of charge.

Samhain is a case in point. Traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on November 1, Samhain is frequently defined as the half-way point between the Libra Equinox and the Capricorn Solstice. In Pagan tradition, the Libra Equinox is often termed Mabon, with the Capricorn Solstice termed Yule. So Samhain is often defined as the half-way point between Mabon and Yule. However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (another lovely legacy of the early popes), November 1 does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Mabon and Yule.

A more exact way to figure the half-way point between Mabon and Yule exists. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Libra Equinox and the Capricorn Solstice. This method identifies the precise zodiacal position of the cross-quarter day known as Samhain.

How to Derive the Correct Calendar Date for the Samhain Cross-Quarter Day

The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space. Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between Mabon, the Libra Equinox, and Yule, the Capricorn Solstice.

Astrologically considered, the Capricorn Solstice (or Yule) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Capricorn, while the Libra Equinox occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Libra. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½ signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Libra, it is evident that the half-way point between 0 degrees Libra and 0 degrees Capricorn is 15 degrees of Scorpio. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Capricorn. Doing so reveals that indeed it is 15 degrees of Scorpio which lies precisely half-way between the Libra Equinox and the Capricorn Solstice, which is to say, half-way between Mabon and Yule.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Scorpio, however, does not fall in any year on November 1. In fact, it always falls a few days later. In November of 2025, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Scorpio on November 7. For the astrologically inclined, November 7 might therefore be regarded as the true date on which Samhain occurs in 2025. From this perspective, it is the date of November 7 and not November 1 on which the powers of an authentic cross-quarter moment may be experienced.

The Eternal Value of the Pagan Eight-Point Wheel of the Year

Thinking in this way, it is evident that the eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of movement through space identified using the properties of sacred geometry. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. In other words, this structure is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding society. Instead, the Pagan eight point calendar is based on celestial factors. This structure in time embodies stability and permanence, for it unfolds in a stately, regular rhythm marking out an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet. The acknowledgement of 15 degrees of Scorpio or November 7 as the true date for Samhain is a step in that direction.

Modern Pagans sometimes worry their traditions have no basis in history. If the works of historians and scholars Hutton, Johnson, Jones, and Pennick, are to be taken into consideration, that is not the case. Clear evidence exists that the cross-quarter days were known and revered by the Iron Age Irish, while the equinoxes and solstices were employed as foundational reckoning points in time by the Roman government by or before 0 C.E.

Thus, even though the cross-quarter days were celebrated first and the equinoctial-solstitial framework enshrined apparently second, there still exist sufficient reasons to feel secure in finding the eight-point structure of the Pagan Year Wheel significant and productive of meaningful insights when appropriately observed.

[Note: in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the harvest-themed Samhain in the southern hemisphere is celebrated in early May, while early November in the southern hemisphere sees the celebration of the spring festival of Beltane.]

Concluding Thoughts

There is no doubt that November 1 is the date on which Samhain has traditionally been observed, and Pagans passionately and rightfully cherish this date. However, this is not the calendar date halfway in between Mabon and Yule, the supposed calendrical position of Samhain. Fortunately, the exact halfway point between Mabon and Yule can be pinpointed through simple astrological means, yielding an additional point in time at which Samhain observances might be held.

Although Samhain is closely akin to Halloween and is surely the template on which Halloween was invented, the meaning of true Samhain goes farther than does the popular conception of Halloween. Even so, in modern times, Samhain has been blended and fused into the western holiday of Halloween, adding a bit of pumpkin spice to the season but perhaps obscuring the age and serious power of the Samhain moment.

While Halloween cultural antics featuring dancing witches, costumed parades, and rowdy gatherings do without a doubt make for witchy good times on October 31 and November 1, the Samhain moment offers even more. Anciently, Samhain constituted a magnetic portal in time leading to the otherworld of spirits, ancestors, fairy folk, clairvoyant perception, and visionary experience. The exact moment at which such experiences may be had therefore matters. For those who seek the particular type of intensity offered by Samhain, additional ritual observances performed on or around the date of November 7, 2025 make sense.

The Pagan Astrologer is the creative offering of astrologer and Pagan seeker Maureen Richmond, Ph.D. Maureen is a counseling and research astrologer with half a century of experience in the field of astrology. A presenter at national astrological conferences in the 1990s and author of two astrologically themed novels available on Amazon, Maureen has studied widely in astrological technique and metaphysical philosophy. She holds a fully accredited doctoral degree from Arkansas State University in Heritage Studies, a multidisciplinary field examining the traditions by which humanity lives. Maureen offers astrological consultations by phone. Please contact her at starsong1208@gmail.com for further information.

The Garden of Pan

An Ancient Invocation to Pan

An Ancient Invocation to Pan…

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8 months ago · Maureen Richmond

Just for fun and refreshment, I’ve opened a new Substack for the consideration of inspiring thoughts from sources in Pagan spirituality. Check it out at The Garden of Pan, and if you like what you see there, subscribe to receive future fun posts.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Lughnasadh: One of Eight Key Points in Time

Observed by Pagans around the world, Lughnasadh is a late summer festival commemorating the first harvest of the fruits of nature. Honoring the plentiful generosity of the Earth, the observance of Lughnasadh is thought by some scholars to go back as far as 1200 B.C.E, which is to say, more than 3000 years ago when the Celtic peoples of the British Isles and western Europe honored Lughnasadh during the Iron Age.

In the twenty-first century, Lughnasadh is a seasonal celebration observed by Pagans and Witches following a wide range of lineages and paths. Also called Lammas, Lughnasadh is traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on August 1, one of the eight sacred points of the Pagan calendar. Often referred to under the poetic term, The Wheel of the Year, the Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters. The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar.

These half-way points between the solstices and equinoxes are referred to as the cross-quarter days. The four cross-quarter days and the four equinoctial-solstitial points form the eight key moments in time embodied in the Pagan eight point calendar.

The Difference Between the Wheel of the Year and the Modern Calendar

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to absolutely no significant astronomical factors. The popes of early Christianity are to blame for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan calendar was based on the Earth to Sun relationship as seen in the equinoctial-solstitial frame of reference. In in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore worthy only of repudiation. Papal authority selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. As a result, January 1, for example, contains absolutely no magical significance. However, the Capricorn solstice 10 days before certainly does. The Catholic Church via papal authority hid the innately powerful Capricorn solstice deep in the last month of the year and attempted to further obscure it by naming another point in the year about 10 days later as the allegedly auspicious first day of the year.

In time, the people would forget that the Capricorn Solstice constituted one of the most powerful magical portals of the annual cycle, the popes reasoned. Only, as fate would have it, the memory of that great astronomical truth was far more stubborn and persistent than the popes had imagined. Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience, absolutely free of charge.

Lughnasadh is a case in point. Traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on August 1, Lughnasadh is normally defined as the half-way point between the Cancer Solstice and the Libra Equinox. In Pagan tradition, the Cancer Solstice is termed Litha, while the Libra Equinox is termed Mabon. So Lughnasadh is often defined as the half-way point between Litha and Mabon.

However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (another lovely legacy of the early popes), August 1 does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Litha and Mabon. Fortunately, a more exact way to figure the half-way point between Litha and Mabon exists. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Cancer Solstice and the Libra Equinox. This method identifies the precise zodiacal position of the cross-quarter day known as Lughnasadh, or Lammas.

How to Derive the Correct Calendar Date for the Lughnasadh Cross-Quarter Day

The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space. Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between Litha, the Cancer Solstice, and Mabon, the Libra Equinox.

Astrologically considered, the Cancer Solstice (or Litha) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Cancer, while the Libra Equinox occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Libra. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½ signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Cancer, it is evident that the half-way point between 0 Cancer and 0 Libra is 15 degrees of Leo. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Libra. Doing so reveals that indeed it is 15 degrees of Leo which lies precisely half-way between the Cancer Solstice and Libra Equinox, which is to say, half-way between Litha and Mabon.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Leo, however, does not fall in any year on August 1. In fact, it always falls a few days later. In August of 2025, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Leo on August 7. For the astrologically inclined, August 7 should therefore be regarded as the true date on which Lughnasadh occurs in 2025. From this perspective, it is the date of August 7 and not August 1 on which the powers of an authentic cross-quarter moment may be experienced.

Further, associating Lughnasadh with 15 degrees of Leo rather than with August 1 carries another benefit: it’s an act of rebellion against the imposition of a papist calendrical system. It also harkens into deep Pagan antiquity when a structure based on the 15 degree position in the fixed signs was estimated as the stable structure conveying a sense of cosmic order as expressed through the zodiac, which is to say, the plane of the solar system as seen through our ecliptic.

The Eternal Value of the Pagan Eight-Point Wheel of the Year

Thinking in this way, it is evident that the eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of movement through space identified using the properties of sacred geometry. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. In other words, this structure is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding society. Instead, the Pagan eight point calendar is based on celestial factors. This structure in time embodies stability and permanence, for it unfolds in a stately, regular rhythm marking out an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet. The acknowledgement of 15 degrees Leo or August 7 as the true date for Lughnasadh 2025 is a step in that direction.

[Note: in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the harvest-themed Lughnasadh in the southern hemisphere is celebrated in early February, while early August in the southern hemisphere sees the celebration of the late winter festival of Imbolc.]

The Pagan Astrologer is the creative offering of astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D. Maureen is a practicing Pagan and counseling astrologer with half a century of experience in the field of astrology. A presenter at national astrological conferences in the 1990s, author of two astrologically themed novels and a nonfiction study of Paganism available on Amazon, Maureen has studied widely in astrological technique, Pagan history, and metaphysical philosophy. She holds a fully accredited doctoral degree from Arkansas State University in Heritage Studies, a multidisciplinary field examining the traditions by which humanity lives. Maureen offers astrological consultations tailored to the Pagan interest by phone. Please contact her at starsong1208@gmail.com for further information.

Part III

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

In this third and final segment, Shakespeare’s familiarity with the doctrine of astrological correspondences is revealed, showing the great bard to have been conversant with many features of the astrological world view.

References to Influences of the Stars, Heavens, Pagan Gods and Fate

As the previous section demonstrated, Shakespeare clearly integrated deities from Roman religion into Twelfth Night, implying that a religious belief system other than Catholic or Protestant theology was not only comprehensible but of current interest to the society of his day. Yet the invocation of pagan deities was not where Shakespeare stopped. Over the course of this comic drama, the playwright dug even deeper into pagan territory, putting into the mouths of his characters a whole panoply of pagan metaphysics, including stellar influence and the notion of fate.

Shall It Be Fate or Free Will?

Shakespeare’s use of pagan deities invites significant questions about his position on one of the important debates of his day – the question of fate versus free will, which was actively argued in the theological circles of Shakespeare’s time (Rudick). A belief in fate or the will of the gods was part of the Roman religion, though even in classical times, there was controversy about the degree to which fate or free will dominated (“Greco-Roman Beliefs”). Whether Shakespeare in Twelfth Night intended a pagan fate-centered belief system to shape characters and drive plot, to simply add spice, or to comment on theological conflict might be seen as an open question.

Shakespearean scholar Victor Cahn addresses this point in his study, The Plays of Shakespeare: A Thematic Guide. Cahn frames the issue in terms of the difference between classical tragedy and Shakespearean drama, writing “Perhaps the most important thematic difference between the tragedies of Shakespeare and those of the classical dramatists…is the freedom that individual characters possess. In Greek tragedy, the gods can ordain the outcome of events…[but] in Shakespeare’s tragedies…characters are free to determine the course of their own lives” (63).

Though Twelfth Night is generally considered a comedy and the classical pagan deities which it invokes are Roman rather than Greek, these observations remain relevant to the larger question of Shakespeare’s position on the question of fate versus free will. In this vein, Cahn offers evidence in his study that this question was one with which Shakespeare tangled in many a play, including Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and King Lear (Plays, 63-70). It is therefore in keeping that such a theme would appear in one of the more lighthearted Shakespearean entertainments as well, making Twelfth Night another vehicle for Shakespeare to examine theological positions concerning the question of fate and free will.

As a result, references to fate and the will of the gods or the heavens are peppered throughout Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The references begin when Sir Tony Belch quips about the dancing ability of his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek and its probable origin in the influence of the stars (1. 3. 123-125), saying, “I did think, by the excellent constitution of thy Leg,/ it was formed under the star of a galliard.” Two scenes later (1. 5. 297), Olivia in a moment of desperation calls out, “Fate, show thy force.” Shortly after, Sebastian remarks to Antonio (2. 1. 3-5), “My stars shine darkly over me./ The malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemper yours.”

Only a few lines later (2. 1. 17-18), it is again Sebastian who invokes the agency of fate under the guise of the heavens when he tells Antonio of his twin’s birth in the same hour as his, and goes on to opine, “If the heavens had been pleased, would we have so ended.” Though the primary implication of this line is that of celestial influence in general, it also points at the critical role played by precise birth time in the art of horoscopic astrology. Shakespeare would appear to have known that the clock time of birth figured prominently in the astrological assessment of life destiny, for he refers to “birth in the same hour” in this act.

In the same act (2. 1. 39), the notion of gods as dispensers of fate or destiny appears in dialogue when Antonio says to Sebastian as the two friends part temporarily, “The gentleness of all the gods go with you.” Four scenes later (2. 5. 135), the letter deviously written by Maria in her lady’s name entertains the same matter, musing, “In my stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness.” Only a few lines later (2. 5. 137-138), the same letter says, “Thy fates open their hands.” Then, near the end of the same act and scene (2. 5. 159), Malvolio after reading the spurious letter says simply, “I thank my stars.”

In the utterances just enumerated, the stars, fates, heavens and pagan gods are all terms used in what would seem a roughly interchangeable manner, thus rendering them more or less equivalent in meaning. They all point to a belief in some type of intangible influence determining destiny. Hence, it is possible to say that in Twelfth Night, the characters Sir Toby Belch, Olivia, Sebastian, Antonio, Maria, and Malvolio all appear to harbor at least some conviction that the course of events rests in the hands of the stars, fate, the heavens, or the gods, but not in the hands of the one God of monotheistic Catholicism and Protestantism.

The Stars and Heavens as an Agent of Fate in Antiquity

To espouse such a belief is to imitate the ways of pagan antiquity, for the notion that the stars or the heavens can act spiritually and morally on humans has its roots in ancient Greece and Rome (Cumont xi-xii). The form this belief took in classical times was an astral religion, which in time became what is now called astrology (Cumont xv-xvi). Classicist Franz Cumont judges that an astrologically-based religion in fact dominated classical antiquity (xv-xvi).

Hence, in appealing to the heavens and stars as agencies of fate and the will of the gods, characters in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night revive a very ancient belief which is rooted in the historical period so revered by the Renaissance movement in England – classical pagan antiquity. Though some might argue that to speak of the stars and heavens as agencies of divine will is nothing more than a convention of speech, it can also be countered that such conventions may well have arisen from actual notions once held commonly by humanity. Thus, when Shakespeare makes his characters speak in this way, there is meaning behind the words. Specifically, when Shakespeare’s characters speak in this way, they appear to embrace a religious theory of causation which differs from the Catholic and Protestant theologies still socially and politically dominant in the Elizabethan era.

The Doctrine of Correspondences in Elizabethan Times

Contrasting with the Catholic and Protestant theological position contending that only the one Christian God decrees destiny, the astrological doctrine popular in Shakespeare’s day seized upon other factors as decisive. One of these mechanisms was called the doctrine of correspondences, which notion had evolved over time. By the day of Shakespeare, the original astrological ideas of pagan antiquity had passed through several centuries of intervening history, including the medieval period, during which time a popular form of divinatory astrology developed from that earlier form and spread throughout Europe and England.

One of the central tenets of this developing astral philosophy was the doctrine of correspondences, originally inherited from classical pagan antiquity (Blamires 56). The doctrine of correspondence held that for every celestial influence such as a sign of the zodiac or a planet named for a Roman god, there was a corresponding part of the human body as well as plants and other natural substances which were of the same nature, with the terrestrial counterpart under the dominion of the celestial (“Medieval”).

According to literary scholar Harry Blamires, this doctrine of correspondences was in fact ascribed to by the playwright William Shakespeare (56). What Shakespeare might have believed in specific could be gleaned from a 1647 publication called Christian Astrology, written by English astrologer William Lilly, who lived during Shakespeare’s time. Lilly’s work is a vast compendium of ideas forming the astrological system representative of the period. Central amongst them is the doctrine of correspondences.

References to the doctrine of correspondences appear in at least two passages of Twelfth Night. Sir Andrew Aguecheek says to Sir Tony Belch (1. 2. 127), “Shall we set about some revels?” and Belch replies, “What shall we do else?/Were we not born/ Under Taurus?” Interestingly, Shakespeare’s application of the correspondence is correct, for in Elizabethan popular astrology, Taurus was linked with Venus, and the Venus disposition was characterized as “…loving mirth in…words and action,…rather drinking much, prone to venery, oft entangled in love matters…[and] a company keeper” (Lilly 74, 94). The perfect description of the avid partier, these phrases tell of a personality type which would just love to set about some revels, precisely as suggested by Aguecheek and confirmed by Belch.

Continuing the references to the doctrine of correspondence, Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek engage in a humorous interchange (1. 3. 128 – 132) which is based wholly on the medieval astrological concept of correspondences. It starts when Belch says, “What shall we do else?/ Were we not born under Taurus?” And Sir Andrew Aguecheek replies, “Taurus! That's sides and heart.” Then Belch tries to correct him with “No, sir; it is legs and thighs.”

In this exchange, Belch leads with mention of the astrological sign Taurus. Sir Andrew then replies with a correspondence to human body parts (suggesting sides and heart), but fumbles the association of zodiacal sign and body part in a way that must have sent astute Elizabethan audience members into fits of laughter, for Sir Andrew links Taurus with the wrong anatomical location. Taurus in medieval astrology was associated not with the sides and heart, which were the province of the sign Leo, but with the throat and neck (Lilly 95, 97).

Belch then responds with a couple of more body part correspondences (suggesting legs and thighs), but these are in error as well, for these areas of the body are associated in medieval and Elizabethan astrology not with Taurus either, but with Sagittarius (Lilly 98). Hence, Shakespeare accomplished two objectives with this exchange. On one hand, he played to the popular Elizabethan interest in astrological correspondences, while on the other, he used the moment to make Aguecheek and Belch appear even more inebriated, idiotic, and comic than before, for they fail to recall the correct correspondences. Indeed this amplification of comic content is significant and noted by Shakespearean scholar Harry Blamires, who writes that “We see Shakespeare’s comic characterization at full maturity in the persons of Sir Toby Belch [and]… Sir Andrew Aguecheek…” in Twelfth Night (52).

Part of that accomplishment rests on Shakespeare’s cleverly tangled use of astrological correspondences, a notion essentially handed down from classical pagan antiquity, and one which flies squarely in the face of the dominant Catholic and Protestant theological claims to exclusive divine causation.

Thus, through allusion to fate, the gods, the stars, and the doctrine of correspondences, it appears that Shakespeare has by design staged a presentation of profound theological matters long debated but perhaps still unresolved in his day. The fact that the playwright did so through slapstick humor in the case of Belch and Aguecheek and through melodrama in the cases of Olivia, Antonio, Sebastian, and Malvolio ably serves to veil the matter, but not to erase it entirely. The meaning endures under the cover of comedy. At the same time, it points to the overall message of the play concerning the presence in English Renaissance society of philosophical and religious viewpoints other than the dominant Catholic and Protestant paradigms.

Conclusion

Through a tour of references to classical pagan elements and related stellar concepts in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, this study has highlighted the role played by elements of classical pagan antiquity in this play and has suggested that they may be incorporated in order to represent aspects of religious diversity existing in the English public during an era otherwise governed by Catholic and Protestant sensibilities.

Further, this study has shown through the historical background of the play that Shakespeare often composed in language with hidden or veiled meanings, due to the political and religious pressures bearing upon the Elizabethan theatre. This study has applied the concept of veiled language to evaluate passages in the dialogue which relate to pagan antiquity.

Next, this study has provided an examination of the passages in dialogue which contain references to the deities of Roman pagan antiquity, and has further revealed that Shakespeare seems to have deliberately included these concepts (which are potentially disturbing to a Christian audience) in a deceptively casual and amusing manner in order to expose the existence of a perhaps unacknowledged religious diversity existing in Elizabethan England.

Centrally, this study has demonstrated that Shakespeare’s references to the antiquity-related ideas of medieval astrology were neither random nor accidental but rather informed, cogent, and clever. Shakespeare could never have quipped, joked, and verbally jousted so cleverly had he not known the details of the astrological doctrine.

Finally, this study has revealed that through the inclusion of references to stars, the heavens, the gods and fate, Shakespeare has deftly built into Twelfth Night an echo of a significant theological issue of his day, the question of fate versus free will. Importantly, Twelfth Night contains no decisive answer to the question about fate and free will, a fact which suggests that Shakespeare meant to leave the issue open for his audiences to ponder. Leaving that question open to debate represents a significant departure from the authoritarian stance taken by the conventional religionists of his day, who likely would have demanded a disclaimer in regard to the invocation of non-Christian deities and the articulation of any theories of causation other than their own.

Thus, while writing during a religiously conservative era, Shakespeare took a risk in using deities and concepts drawn from classical pagan antiquity. Mention of classical pagan deities in Twelfth Night merits attention for that reason. Study of these references may well bring to light new information on the meaning of Twelfth Night, a play which on the surface appears mainly whimsical. Yet, at a deeper level, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night contains notable content suggesting that the playwright meant to strike a note advocating for a good-humored tolerance toward astrology and paganism, even in the midst of a period which threatened both the theatre and the public with the possibility of continued sectarian violence and fundamentalist censorship from the dominant religious paradigms of the time. Pagans into eternity will be grateful.

Bibliography

Blamires, Harry. A Short History of English Literature. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1984. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cahn, Victor L. The Plays of Shakespeare: A Thematic Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare the Playwright: A Companion to the Complete Tragedies, Histories, Comedies, and Romances. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cumont, Franz. Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans. New York: Dover Publications, 1960. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

“Greco-Roman Beliefs.” Religion Facts. www.religionfacts.com. Web. 21 May 2015.

Greenblatt, Stephen, Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012. Print.

Haverfield, F., and George MacDonald. The Romanization of Roman Britain. Clarendon, 1923. Questia. 6 May 2015.

Houlding, Deborah. “An Annotated Lilly: Christian Astrology Retyped and Reset.” The Wessex Astrologer. Web. 7 May 2015. www.skyscript.co.uk/CA.html.

“Jupiter (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Kaster, Robert A. Studies on the Text of Macrobius' Saturnalia. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Kreiger, Elliot. “Malvolio and Class Ideology in Twelfth Night.” Ed. Harold Bloom William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 19 – 26. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Lilly, William. Christian Astrology. www.skyscript.co.uk. Web. 21 May 2015.

“Medieval Astrology.” British Library: Learning Bodies of Knowledge.

www.bl.uk.learning/artimages/bodies/astrology/astrologyhome.html.

Web. 12 May 2015.

“Mercury (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Nilsen, Don L. E. Humor in British Literature, from the Middle Ages to the Restoration: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015..

Rivers, Isabel. Classical and Christian Ideas in English Renaissance Poetry: A Student's Guide. New York: Routledge, 1994. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Rudick, Michael, PhD. “Free Will Debates in Sixteenth Century Europe.” Humanists of Utah. www.humanistsofutah.org. Web. 21 May 2015.

"Saturn (in Roman Religion and Mythology)." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

“Vulcan (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Whittaker, Thomas. Macrobius; Or, Philosophy, Science and Letters in the Year 400. Cambridge: Unknown, 1923. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Part II

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

The Invocation of Roman Deities in Twelfth Night

The Elizabethan Era play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare is a pagan’s playground with its abundant references to the gods of antiquity. In fact, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that the frequent invocation of Roman deities in Twelfth Night serves to draw back a curtain on a closet Shakespearean fascination with pagan thought.

But, Shakespeare’s use of pagan themes did not occur in a vacuum. When Shakespeare had begun to produce his earliest works, the English Renaissance was well under way. That literary movement was driven by an artistic appetite for classical pagan antiquity. In fact, it has been said that Renaissance intellectuals and artists so highly regarded the achievements of the pagan philosophers of Greece and Rome that they much preferred their musings to the complexities of Christian theologians (Greenblatt 534).

This enthusiastic nod toward the beliefs and customs of pagan antiquity shows up throughout Twelfth Night. However, it does so in a veiled fashion. By the genius of the bard, references to the Old Gods in Twelfth Night have been made to look utterly harmless, if not downright unremarkable. As the following study will demonstrate, the pagan antiquity of Rome echoes plentifully in the casual and sometimes amusing invocations of Roman deities bandied about merrily and flippantly by several of the characters in Twelfth Night. Jokes and witty repartee carry the show.

Appeals to Mercury and Jove

For example, Feste the clown finds occasion to invoke the Roman god Mercury once and Jove (another name for Jupiter) twice over the course of the play. First, as Feste expresses snide approval for Maria’s thoughts (1. 5. 35-36), he utters, “Now Mercury endue thee with leasing/ for thou speakest well of fools!” A few lines later (1. 5. 106-107), it is Jove which Feste invokes while again in seeming agreement with yet another female character named Olivia when he states, “Thou hast spoke for us, madonna, as if thy eldest son should be a fool;/ whose skull Jove cram with brains!” Jove is called upon again (3. 1. 43-44) when Feste implores the Roman deity to provide a beard for the all-too-boyish Cesario, who is actually a very womanly Viola parading about in men’s clothing.

In invoking Roman Mercury and Jove thus, Feste the clown plainly revives the memories of these ancient pagan deities. Who does he call but Mercury, emblem of swift communication, and Jove, supreme deity of the Roman religious pantheon. Further, the Bard has his character Feste play on astrological themes here even more revealingly, invoking the trickster side of Mercury as patron of double identities and associating Jove with the known propensity of Jupiterian influence “cram,” stuff, engorge, expand, and go to excess.

Roman Jove continues to be the target of invocation (2. 5. 93-94) when the bogus letter written by Maria is read by Malvolio, who mistakenly thinks the letter has been composed by his beloved Olivia, whom he imagines to say, “Jove knows I love. But who?” In modern parlance, that line might go “God knows I am in love, but with whom?” For the Roman, God was Jove, so Jove would indeed know! Shakespeare thus has his characters barking up the right tree.

Then the misled and love-besotted Malvolio himself calls on Jove (2. 5. 161) when after having read the spurious letter in which Olivia is portrayed as in pursuit of Malvolio’s affections, the delighted Malvolio rejoices, saying, “Jove and my stars be praised.” As though this were not enough recognition for the great Roman deity and sufficient acknowledgment of the source of his surprising good fortune, Malvolio reiterates his thanks five lines onward (2. 5. 166) with a simple “Jove, I thank thee.”

Later in the play (3. 4. 73), it is again Malvolio who, thinking his greatest hopes are soon to be realized, calls out to the same god of antiquity, thus, “…but it is Jove’s doing, Jove make me thankful.” And a few lines later (3. 4. 81), Malvolio in contemplation of what he considers his good fortune utters, “Well, Jove, not I, is the doer of this, and he is to be thanked.”

Malvolio thus speaks the name of Roman Jove five times during the course of Twelfth Night, establishing by reiteration an emphasis upon the deity which Romans held to be the source of all blessings. Malvolio’s lines suggest that he conceptualizes Jove in this same role, though the Christian assumption would be that in the context of gratitude for blessings bestowed, the monotheistic Biblical God should be used instead. However, Jove is again invoked by yet another character, Sir Toby Belch (4. 2. 11), when he incongruously says to Feste dressed as a Christian minister, “Jove bless thee, Master Parson.”

Finally, Duke Orsino alludes to a different Roman religious deity (5. 1. 46-48), when he says of Antonio, “That face of his I do remember well;/ Yet, when I saw it last, it was besmear'd/ As black as Vulcan in the smoke of war….”

Malvolio’s repeated reference to Jove, Belch’s comical and incongruous use of the same, and Orsino’s allusion to the Roman deity Vulcan all suggest that the playwright intended to draw attention to a vision of deities and their powers which represented an alternative to the Christian monotheistic paradigm and its language.

The Characters Who Invoke Pagan Deities

Mercury, Jove, and Vulcan appear in the dialogue of Twelfth Night, not as major features, but still as repeated references to pagan antiquity. The characters who make these utterances include Feste, Maria through the bogus letter, Malvolio, Sir Toby Belch, and Duke Orsino, thus spanning the social order from fool to servant to bumbling family member to minor royalty. No class of character, it seems, is immune to the impulse to call out to the powers of antiquity in this play. In fact, it seems that nearly all practice such invocation, for the playwright saw fit to continuously insert this feature into the dialogue.

Given the Elizabethan penchant for communicating in code, it is likely that the insertion of these allusions bears meaning. At the very least, it might be seen as an acknowledgement of the fact that the cults of Jupiter, Mercury, and Vulcan had been known in England since the days of the Roman occupation (Haverfield and MacDonald 68). What is more, the repeated mention of Roman deities by all classes of characters in the play suggests that Shakespeare used this technique deliberately to draw attention to the fact that the gods of pagan antiquity were alive in the social conversation of his day, and hence in the minds of the English people.

Though this notion constitutes no great surprise during an era which was artistically inspired by pagan antiquity, this revelation nonetheless suggests that there may have been more meaning to the inclusion of pagan deities in conversation than might be assumed. In fact, such utterances as made by Feste, Maria, Malvolio, Belch, and Orsino might well suggest the presence of an actual belief system based on classical paganism operating secretively alongside the Christian paradigm dominant in the Elizabethan era.

The Astrological Implications

In addition to suggesting an implication that an actual belief system might have driven social conversation including reference to the deities of pagan antiquity, references to pagan deities in Twelfth Night also serve to introduce the characteristics traditionally associated with these deity figures into consideration. The Mercury of which Feste speaks (1. 5. 35-36) is of course the Roman god of words, wit, messages and intelligence, as well as that of commerce, traders, and even thieves or scoundrels (“Mercury,” Rivers 20). Certainly an appropriate deity for the clever yet potentially devious Feste to invoke, the Roman god Mercury connotes all the things to which Feste might aspire, such as adept communication and a persuasive ability including the ability to fool others effectively. Shakespeare’s use of this Roman deity in regard to Feste suggests that the playwright may have been drawing a parallel between the character who makes the invocation and the deity which he evokes. In this sense, Feste would appeal to clever Mercury because the observant clown aspires to develop the same attributes.

However, the principle might work differently in the case of Feste’s invocation of Jove, or Jupiter (1. 5. 106-107, 3. 1. 43-44), the supreme god in Roman religion, endower of all good things and dispenser of wealth and blessings (“Jupiter,” Rivers 20). When Feste calls upon Jove, he is not referring to his own character but rather making a joke about the sublime power of the supreme Roman god to bring plentitude into manifestation, even in so small a space as a human skull or in so mundane a matter as the growth of a beard.

Who Were the Pagan Believers?

In any case, Feste’s easy reliance upon Jove and instead of the Christian God suggests that Shakespeare is using Feste as an emblem for the kind of person who would turn to Roman deities. In that Feste is cast as a fool and yet one who often sees with shocking clarity into the heart of any matter, it is with mixed credibility that the invocation of Jove is presented in the case of Feste. Still, Feste gives voice to a reliance upon a deity which is in variance with the dominant Catholic and Protestant theologies of the time, yet another representation of religious diversity in Twelfth Night.

As the play proceeds, omnipotent Roman Jove in fact receives a fair amount of attention, invoked five times by Malvolio, once (but pointedly) by Sir Toby Belch, and once by Maria in her spurious letter. Maria’s insertion (2. 5. 93-94) of the Jovian presence in her letter faked from Olivia to Malvolio would seem to suggest that Maria as a servant to the lady Olivia felt confident of the true religious sentiments of her employer, or enough so to anticipate how her aristocratic ladyship might express herself. In this situation, the playwright has used Maria as a mouthpiece for the servant class to make an observation about the beliefs and interests of the ruling class, of which Maria’s lady Olivia is a member. Through Maria, Shakespeare tells the reader and the audience that servants may have known to what and whom the hearts and minds of their aristocratic employers were truly allied. In this case, it was, surprisingly, to a god of pagan antiquity and not the monotheistic Christian God, yet another instance suggesting that Shakespeare was pointing out the existence of belief systems other than Catholic and Protestant Christianity existing in Elizabethan England.

In this regard, Malvolio’s appeal to Jove is especially intriguing, for Malvolio is typed by Maria as similar to a zealous Christian (2. 3. 129) when she says of Malvolio, “…sometimes he is a kind of puritan.” Further, Shakespeare has Maria say (2. 3. 135) of Malvolio, “The dev’l a puritan that he is…” before naming what she perceives as Malvolio’s numerous character faults (Cahn, Shakespeare 671). In this way, Shakespeare implants the notion in the mind of the reader or of the audience that Malvolio normally impresses his peers as behaving in the manner of a conservative Christian. Malvolio, then, might be taken as an emblem for the conservative religious point of view in the Elizabethan era.

Concurring with this assessment is renowned Shakespearean scholar Victor Cahn, who holds that Malvolio belongs in the class of characters created by Shakespeare for the purpose of representing the puritanical mentality, that the playwright might poke fun at that theological position (Cahn, Shakespeare 672). Cahn explains that the other characters of Twelfth Night spurn Malvolio because he disapproves of their hedonistic ways, but approbates great credit to himself for minor character accomplishments (Cahn, Shakespeare 671). Similarly, literary analyst Elliot Kreiger writes that “…through Malvolio, Shakespeare satirically portrays a Puritan…” (23), as does anthology editor Stephen Greenblatt, who confirms that Shakespeare characterizes Malvolio as a reprehensible religious fanatic (1188). These assessments of Malvolio are important because they point in the direction that Shakespeare was in fact concerned with the religious issues of his day, enough so to integrate character and dialogue into Twelfth Night in such a manner as to make evident that fact.

Given, therefore, that Malvolio functions as an emblem of the practicing puritanical Christian, it is surprising that Shakespeare has him break ranks with conventional Christian behavior and address himself instead to the apparent acknowledgement of a god of classical antiquity – Roman Jove in particular (2. 5. 161, 2. 5. 166, 3. 4. 73, 3. 4. 81).

Though some readers might regard this apparent contradiction in religious positions to be too trivial to matter, such a notable departure from the standard Christian reliance on the monotheistic version of God might well have been intended by the playwright to gain notice. When Shakespeare makes Malvolio set aside the Christian God and turn instead with what appears to be genuine reverence toward a deity of another religion, it may well be a direct statement by the playwright that a belief in the religious ways of the pagan past might have co-existed with Christianity in Elizabethan England. If so, then the invocation of Roman deities in Twelfth Night, no matter how casual, may well be significant, suggesting that an hitherto unacknowledged religious diversity existed in Elizabethan England even under the watchful gaze of the dominant Catholic and Protestant theologies.

The same could be said for the invocation of Jove by Sir Toby Belch (4. 2. 11), when Belch quips, “Jove bless thee, Master Parson.” Of course, this remark is a joke created by the incongruous use of the Roman deity to bless Malvolio dressed as a Christian parson (or minister) who if conventionally Christian would have placed no credence in the power of the Roman Jove. Thus, Belch’s attempted benediction would ring hollow to a real parson’s ears, sounding more like a taunt than a heartfelt wish for happiness and longevity.

Here again, the playwright used what appears to be a casual or simply playful remark to drive home a point about the embrace of theologies other than the Catholic or Protestant by the popular mind of his time, as represented by the bumbling Belch. When Belch so readily calls upon pagan Jove, it indicates by extension that this point of view was not uncommon in the English society of the time. In other words, Shakespeare hints by his use of Roman Jove in this context that the Christian viewpoint of his time was not as exclusively held as some may have believed.

Vulcan Beseeched

Though the references to Roman deities made by the characters Feste, Maria, Malvolio, and Belch might indicate significant observations about theological positions at variance with official Catholic and Protestant beliefs, the reference to Vulcan made by Duke Orsino (5. 1. 46-48) might be of a lighter character, though still meaningful.

In the process of commenting on the appearance of Antonio the sea captain near the end of the play, Orsino states that the last time he had encountered Antonio, the sea-captain was under duress in the fury of a sea battle, as if enveloped in the blackening smoke of flaming war. Orsino compares Antonio’s look at that time to Vulcan, Roman god of forges, underground fires and volcanoes (“Vulcan,” Rivers 20). In so doing, Orsino reveals himself as an educated Renaissance gentleman who can call upon a colorful image drawn from pagan antiquity should he wish to highlight his words. Orsino’s reference to yet another deity of the Roman religious pantheon thus adds weight to the presence of pagan antiquity in the play, once again suggesting that the playwright employed this theme deliberately to draw attention to religious diversity existing in Elizabethan England, this time under the cover of Renaissance educational ideals.

Educated speech such as Orsino used would have been strictly in keeping with the Renaissance belief that proper preparation for life ought to include study of Greek and Roman classical literature, preferably in those languages. On this point, scholar of Renaissance poetry Isabel Rivers has written, “Because Latin and Greek literature was for so long the basis of Western education, the pagan gods were known in the Renaissance” (20). This is precisely the Renaissance principle represented by Orsino.

As a duke and therefore a member of the aristocracy, Orsino represents the literary and educational emphasis on classical antiquity cultivated by the upper echelon in the Elizabethan era. That Shakespeare has Orsino illustrate his point with reference to Roman Vulcan (5. 1. 46-48) indicates that the playwright was involved with providing an accurate depiction of the oratorical styles of his day. It was his way of recreating the culture and society of his time and of drawing the Elizabethan audience into the stage action through familiar and expected modes of speaking. Notably, these expected ways of speaking include references to religious figures the presence of which would tend to question the assumption that the dominant Catholic and Protestant theologies were the only religious concepts on the mind of the public in Shakespeare’s day.

Saturn Summoned

Calling upon the deities of pagan Rome by the characters in Twelfth Night, however, takes place in more ways other than direct reference spoken in the dialogue of the play. While Mercury, Jove, and Vulcan are all named and invoked outright, there is one more Roman deity alluded to in Twelfth Night only by epithet and by theme. Feste refers to this Roman deity by epithet (2 .4. 72) when he flippantly states to Orsino, “Now the melancholy god protect thee.”

What god might this be? The answer lies in the medieval theory of the four humors. Melancholy was, of course, one of the four medieval humors. Each of the humors was associated with a number of factors, including planetary dispositions. Melancholy in Elizabethan thought was attributed to the god and planet Saturn (Greenblatt 1212, Lilly 56). Accordingly, in its worst manifestations Saturn or the god of melancholy begat an envious, covetous, stubborn, and ill-contented demeanor (Lilly 56). By invoking Saturn as the god of melancholy and projecting this deity’s supervision on Orsino, Feste of course wishes not so much joy and contentment on the duke as the opposite – in other words, all the things connected with grim and sober Saturn.

Hence, Feste scores an insult veiled in esoteric language, or at the very least, a vote of no confidence in Orsino, against whom Feste the clown seems to bear antipathy. All this Feste accomplishes with the mere mention (2. 4. 72) of the Roman deity Saturn through his epithet, the god of melancholy, thus rendering Saturn yet another Roman god represented in the play. In setting up the dialogue in this fashion, Shakespeare has used the mention of a Roman deity in yet another way to call attention to the presence of classical pagan thought in the society of his day. That a mention of the melancholy god should come so easily to Feste suggests that it came just as easily to mind for certain members of English society. Here is yet further suggestion that Shakespeare intended to highlight the living presence of pagan thought in the midst of an otherwise Christian world.

Though Feste’s clever and educated jest using the epithet for the Roman deity Saturn speaks much in itself, the imposing presence of the Saturnian figure overshadows Twelfth Night in an even more comprehensive and thematic manner.

The Christian Twelfth Night and The Roman Saturnalia

As literary scholar and anthology editor Stephen Greenblatt has written, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night takes its name from the final day of the Christian Christmas season, with the Christmas season itself built upon the much earlier Roman Saturnalia, a pagan winter ritual existing in England long before the Christianization of the nation, which honored the Roman god Saturn (Greenblatt 1187). As Greenblatt goes on to say, even in Shakespeare’s time, it was evident that the customs associated with the twelfth night or end of the Christmas season were in fact continuations of the Roman Saturnalia (1187).

That Shakespeare should name his play in this fashion therefore suggests that he meant to acknowledge not only the customs associated with the Christian Christmas season, but also to tie these customs to the much more ancient pagan Saturnalia. In thus calling attention to a more archaic pagan festival celebrated previously in Roman-occupied England, Shakespeare is again pointing to the continued presence of classical pagan beliefs in his day, even in the midst of the otherwise Catholic and Protestant society. Understanding the origin of Shakespeare’s choice of title for the play in this manner reveals yet another angle from which the playwright appears to have taken pains to incorporate themes of classical pagan antiquity into his play and, as a consequence, to challenge the assumption that English society remained uniformly and exclusively Christian in his day.

Starting on December 17, the Roman Saturnalia was a celebration honoring Saturn, god of harvests. It included an exchange of gifts, the closing of businesses and government, and the sharing of meals by slaves and masters, plus the prohibition of war (“Saturn”). Long after the fall of Rome, the Saturnalia had continued to be of interest to medieval scholars, who had kept its memory alive (Kaster 3 – 28). In particular, medieval scholars retained the study of the Roman historian Macrobius, who composed a text titled “The Saturnalia” (Whitaker 15- 56).

The text composed by Macrobius reveals that the Roman Saturnalia was held by its devotees to have been older than the foundation of Rome and to have been based on a solar religion which included reference to the signs of the zodiac mixed with metaphysical philosophy (Whitaker 27, 33). More popularly, the Saturnalia was a time in which revelry was encouraged and all manner of role reversals allowed, such as those between masters and slaves. Thus, these are the several hidden associations tied to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Taken altogether, they embody an alternative religiosity which is not part and parcel of the Catholic and Protestant theologies dominating English society in Shakespeare’s time.

From the themes of the pagan Saturnalia, Shakespeare imported an emphasis on revelry to Twelfth Night, a fact readily evident in the drunken yet entertaining repartee carried on by Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek throughout the play. The Saturnalian theme of role-reversal likewise appears in the Viola-Cesario character in which woman becomes man, and in the reversed slave and master interactions between Maria-Olivia in which the servant drives social interactions to an extent, and in the Viola-Orsino pairing in which the hireling male eventually becomes the betrothed female partner.

Though the more arcane thematic aspects of the Saturnalia are perhaps difficult to pin directly to elements of Twelfth Night, the astrological doctrine associated with the original Roman Saturnalia is clearly enshrined in the astrological references included in the play. Shakespeare seems to have intentionally drawn a line from pagan antiquity directly to the situations of the characters in his play, reflections of the real people of the Elizabethan era.

In any case, through both epithet and Saturnalian theme, the archetype of the Roman Saturn played a role in shaping both title and dialogue in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, making Saturn the fourth Roman deity significantly represented in this play.

Thus, Saturn joins Mercury, Jove, and Vulcanus as emissaries from pagan antiquity visiting the stage in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, all of them suggesting by their presence that Elizabethan society recognized and accepted astrological archetypes rooted firmly in the pagan, pre-Christian world.

To be continued….

Bibliography

Blamires, Harry. A Short History of English Literature. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1984. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cahn, Victor L. The Plays of Shakespeare: A Thematic Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare the Playwright: A Companion to the Complete Tragedies, Histories, Comedies, and Romances. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cumont, Franz. Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans. New York: Dover Publications, 1960. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

“Greco-Roman Beliefs.” Religion Facts. www.religionfacts.com. Web. 21 May 2015.

Greenblatt, Stephen, Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012. Print.

Haverfield, F., and George MacDonald. The Romanization of Roman Britain. Clarendon, 1923. Questia. 6 May 2015.

Houlding, Deborah. “An Annotated Lilly: Christian Astrology Retyped and Reset.” The Wessex Astrologer. Web. 7 May 2015. www.skyscript.co.uk/CA.html.

“Jupiter (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Kaster, Robert A. Studies on the Text of Macrobius' Saturnalia. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Kreiger, Elliot. “Malvolio and Class Ideology in Twelfth Night.” Ed. Harold Bloom William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 19 – 26. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Lilly, William. Christian Astrology. www.skyscript.co.uk. Web. 21 May 2015.

“Medieval Astrology.” British Library: Learning Bodies of Knowledge.

www.bl.uk.learning/artimages/bodies/astrology/astrologyhome.html.

Web. 12 May 2015.

“Mercury (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Nilsen, Don L. E. Humor in British Literature, from the Middle Ages to the Restoration: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015..

Rivers, Isabel. Classical and Christian Ideas in English Renaissance Poetry: A Student's Guide. New York: Routledge, 1994. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Rudick, Michael, PhD. “Free Will Debates in Sixteenth Century Europe.” Humanists of Utah. www.humanistsofutah.org. Web. 21 May 2015.

"Saturn (in Roman Religion and Mythology)." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

“Vulcan (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Whittaker, Thomas. Macrobius; Or, Philosophy, Science and Letters in the Year 400. Cambridge: Unknown, 1923. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Astrology has been alive and well since 30,000 BCE when humanity first began keeping track of the lunar cycle. Although rudimentary in form, the astrology of the distant past is directly related to the cycles-based astrology of the twenty-first century. When the famed playwright William Shakespeare lived and wrote, basic astrology was a lingua franca of the realm. Suppressed in some quarters and yet freely pursued in others, astrology thrived in the Middle Ages and into Shakespeare’s Elizabethan Era.

In his comedic play Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare liberally integrated references to astrological notions, pagan deities, and straight-up pagan beliefs, and in so doing, drew attention to the diversity of religious interests and viewpoints existing in his day, an era otherwise steeped in the repressive Catholic and Protestant theologies which brutally dominated his historical period.

In clever scene-setting and facetious bantering dialogue, the intrepid Shakespearean playwright invoked the twin domains of astrology and pagan thought in Twelfth Night, a farcical comedy loved through the intervening centuries for its wordplay and comic characterization. Yet this play is more than meets the eye. Through allusion to specific pagan deities of classical antiquity, the notion of fate, the influence of the stars, and the doctrine of correspondences, Shakespeare gestured grandly in Twelfth Night at the openly non-Christian worlds of astrology and paganism, all the while engaging in a presentation of profound religious matters by pitting the theological concepts of pagan antiquity against the expected deference to Christianity as taught by Catholicism and Protestantism.

Using clever dialogue and repeated references to concepts emanating from pagan antiquity, the playwright managed to register his observations in a humorous and sometimes whimsical manner. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, Shakespeare contrived to elude the notice of the strict and censorious Christian zealots, who turned up their noses and pulled out their whips at the sometimes crude, frequently caustic, and almost always bawdy Elizabethan theatre. The wily Shakespeare circumvented all that. As the cultured backstage scriptwriter for Elizabethan era stand-up comedy, Shakespeare contrived to score his points for deep cultural critique amidst rough guffaws and common belly laughs.

As this three part study will show, his ploy worked magnificently.

The Historical, Political, and Religious Context

Probably written in 1601, Twelfth Night emerged from Shakespeare’s pen in the same year during which he composed the tragic Hamlet (Greenblatt 1168). At this point in the career of the famed Elizabethan playwright, Shakespeare had attained virtuosity in both the comic and tragic genres (Blamires 50). Though Twelfth Night is often viewed as pure comedy (Blamires 51), it is important to note that it was written during a phase of Shakespeare’s creative life when the playwright was involved in writing other plays which explore profoundly serious themes, such as the collapse of feudalism and the birth of the modern nation-state (Greenblatt 1168).

As a result, it is probable that Twelfth Night absorbed elements of that seriousness, rendering the comic elements in Twelfth Night simply a light and airy tapestry covering a far darker background. In that darker background, other deeper and more contemplative themes were at work in the mind of the playwright as he devised this work, matters which concerned the religious and political situation of England.

At the time this play was written, Queen Elizabeth I had reigned over England for more than forty years, establishing a degree of civil order and stability entirely lacking in the half-century before, which had been filled with violent religious conflicts between Protestants wanting to follow the impetus of the Reformation and Catholics equally passionate about clinging to the authority of the Pope in Rome. Elizabeth had largely quelled the raging torrent of religious dissension through policies of moderation, but by the end of the sixteenth century, her advancing age alerted all to the possibility that civil disruption based on religious divisions could again loom on the horizon.

This was the political, religious, and social environment in which Shakespeare conceived and composed Twelfth Night, a fact perhaps reflected in Shakespeare’s nuanced presentation of issues bearing upon matters of religious belief. Thus, the deeper themes at work in the mind of the playwright may well have concerned the precarious situation of England, barely recovered from devastating religious conflict and possibly poised to experience more of the same. Extremes of religious intolerance were, therefore, a potentially imminent threat once again as Shakespeare composed Twelfth Night.

As a result, Shakespeare used the comic aspect of Twelfth Night as a shroud thrown over the examination of deeper and thornier issues – specifically, matters of religious belief and the presence in English society of popular beliefs and ways of speaking which suggested that Catholicism and Protestantism were not the only systems of religious belief to which the English populace ascribed. Thus, even though Twelfth Night is classed as a comedy and surely contains amusing antics, the religious and political environments in which Twelfth Night appeared were far from laughing matters. Instead, they were indicative of the underlying political realities and religious concerns of Shakespeare’s time.

Censorship and The Favor of the Crown

One of those political realities likely concerning Shakespeare’s mind was the distinct prospect of losing the largess of Queen Elizabeth - a situation which would entail high stakes for all, including dramatists such as William Shakespeare. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, Elizabeth had looked upon the theatre favorably, tolerating and supporting the folk festive calendar with which it was associated and officially viewing the drama as a constructive channel for the release of otherwise potentially explosive social tensions (Greenblatt 1188).

However, the religious conservatives of the Elizabethan Era viewed the theatre and all its productions with disapproval and contempt (Greenblatt 1166). Without Elizabeth as protector, the theatre stood to be a target of criticism and censorship. Shakespeare was no doubt keenly aware of this overall political and religious situation as he penned Twelfth Night, giving him reason to bring to the public mind the fact that religious diversity existed in England, yet to do so in a fashion which might avoid inflaming the anger of Christian zealots.

The situation for the playwright was even more complex. Even though Elizabeth had favored the theatre, her government officials had reserved the right to regulate dramatic content (Greenblatt 1166). This constant surveillance and censorship of theatrical content must have been for the English playwright yet another factor of consideration adding to the fear of conservative Christian reaction. Shakespeare would have inevitably realized he must walk a fine line between pleasing the audience on one hand and avoiding offense to the crown and the church on the other. Shakespeare would have been acutely aware of this conundrum, for the acting company of which he was a member performed regularly at the request of the Elizabethan court, affording Shakespeare, his fellow actors, and the contents of their plays close contact with Elizabeth and her courtiers (Greenblatt 1166).

Apparently Shakespeare was indeed able to achieve the necessary balance between protecting the interests of the crown and appealing to public sentiment, for his work has been judged to remain both subversive and civil (Greenblatt 1169). This balancing act is evident in Twelfth Night, which poses the question of alternative religious beliefs under the cover of madcap nonsense, drunken patter, and romantic melodrama, as will be shown, thus allowing the playwright to inoffensively question the simplistic assumption that only one religious point of view characterized English society.

The Elizabethan Word Game

Shakespeare’s ability to appeal to both the tastes of the governing and the tastes of the governed may lie in part in his unique ability to play the language game so treasured in his time. According to scholar of British literary humor Harry Nilsen, “…Elizabethans loved words and they loved word play. They delighted in puns, and they liked to use and interpret words in as many different senses as possible” (37). Artful jousting with words and humor was regarded in the Elizabethan Era as a highly aristocratic skill (Nilsen 36). Queen Elizabeth herself professed a marked personal love of intellectual and linguistic humor, and was known to bring clever orators to her court for honor (Nilsen 36).

Such a fact could not have been lost on Shakespeare, himself a frequenter of the Elizabethan court as an actor. Not surprisingly, Shakespeare’s plays are full of word-play and double meanings, as well as hidden and submerged meanings (Greenblatt 1169), many of which turn on an understanding of astrological correspondences.

Using oblique communication methods of this type allowed Shakespeare to address and air the interests of many factions without appearing to commit himself to one viewpoint exclusively. As will be shown, Shakespeare used this very approach in Twelfth Night, a play which contains seemingly casual allusions to figures and beliefs of pagan antiquity, the implications of which are more meaningful to the dialogue between religious points of view than their comedic setting might suggest.

To be continued….

Bibliography

Blamires, Harry. A Short History of English Literature. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1984. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cahn, Victor L. The Plays of Shakespeare: A Thematic Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare the Playwright: A Companion to the Complete Tragedies, Histories, Comedies, and Romances. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Cumont, Franz. Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans. New York: Dover Publications, 1960. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

“Greco-Roman Beliefs.” Religion Facts. www.religionfacts.com. Web. 21 May 2015.

Greenblatt, Stephen, Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012. Print.

Haverfield, F., and George MacDonald. The Romanization of Roman Britain. Clarendon, 1923. Questia. 6 May 2015.

Houlding, Deborah. “An Annotated Lilly: Christian Astrology Retyped and Reset.” The Wessex Astrologer. Web. 7 May 2015. www.skyscript.co.uk/CA.html.

“Jupiter (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Kaster, Robert A. Studies on the Text of Macrobius' Saturnalia. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Kreiger, Elliot. “Malvolio and Class Ideology in Twelfth Night.” Ed. Harold Bloom William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 19 – 26. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Lilly, William. Christian Astrology. www.skyscript.co.uk. Web. 21 May 2015.

“Medieval Astrology.” British Library: Learning Bodies of Knowledge.

www.bl.uk.learning/artimages/bodies/astrology/astrologyhome.html.

Web. 12 May 2015.

“Mercury (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Nilsen, Don L. E. Humor in British Literature, from the Middle Ages to the Restoration: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015..

Rivers, Isabel. Classical and Christian Ideas in English Renaissance Poetry: A Student's Guide. New York: Routledge, 1994. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Rudick, Michael, PhD. “Free Will Debates in Sixteenth Century Europe.” Humanists of Utah. www.humanistsofutah.org. Web. 21 May 2015.

"Saturn (in Roman Religion and Mythology)." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

“Vulcan (in Roman Religion and Mythology).” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2014. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Whittaker, Thomas. Macrobius; Or, Philosophy, Science and Letters in the Year 400. Cambridge: Unknown, 1923. Questia. Web. 6 May 2015.

Margaret Murray and the Defense of Witchery

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Born on July 13, 1863, British archaeologist and anthropologist Margaret Murray changed the world of Pagan literature and made a name for herself by leaning into the wind of academic opinion at a time when doing so was equivalent to professional suicide.

A sun sign Cancer undoubtedly sensitive not only to the value of history but also to the need for social acceptance, privacy, and seclusion, Murray was nonetheless unconstrained by her fears. With Neptune at 6 degrees of Aries indicating a strong belief in the power of individual agency, Murray held her personal truth in high esteem and acted accordingly. Thoroughly convinced of the legitimacy of her perceptions, she advanced a theory for the origin of witchery which flew in the faces of the established order. Her hidden weapon was her Mars position at 17 degrees of intrepid Leo, giving her the confidence and boldness to pounce, cat-like, on notions that evoked her deepest passions.

With Sun and Mercury in Cancer, Venus in Virgo, Jupiter and Saturn in Libra, Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Aries, Pluto in Taurus, and the Moon in Gemini, Murray was a mix of academician, cultural theorist, and intellectual rebel. Born on a day that the Moon would conjunct Uranus in Gemini, Murray was scripted from the get-go as a restless intellectual who would brook no opposition to the search for truth. A Uranian, she would upend paradigms and inaugurate a novel theory, that is for sure.

Interestingly, Murray’s chart will have its Neptune return in 2027 and 2028, suggesting that time period may see an intellectual and cultural atmosphere in keeping with that which motivated Murray. Her work may yet rise to prominence and relevance once again.

In honor of the fact that transiting Mars will return in late May 2025 to the position it held at the time of Murray’s birth, a look at her work is in order.

Murray, Margaret. The Witch Cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology. London: University College, 1921.

British archaeologist Margaret Murray stunned the academic world in the early 1920s when she published this study of content from European witch trial proceedings recorded during the 1300s to the 1600s. Taking as her primary source material the judicial records and public commentary in the French, Flemish, and English languages of the times,[1] Murray had the audacity to do what none had done before her: simply report on the content of statements elicited from persons accused of witchcraft, without judging the content from the standpoint of Christian theology. Some of the statements examined by Murray were obtained as a result of the extreme duress of heinous torture, but not all were. Murray adopted the stance that these records were at least in part legitimate and reliable, and should therefore be examined to see if common themes were indicated. Her research revealed that indeed there were. The first and most obvious dealt with the biases of the prosecuting parties.

Murray’s first salvo fired to the academic community of the time struck right at the unabashed Christian bias of western society in the early twentieth century, just as had been the case during the period she researched. Murray pointed out a simple fact, now well-recognized in religious and cultural studies: Christian theologians and interrogators during the witch trial period of European history adopted the position that any God which was not the same as their Biblical God was by definition evil.[2] Murray boldly proclaimed to academia and to the world that operating from a pre-determined belief or opinion of that nature of necessity would distort anthropological observation. As a result, she dropped the presumptions of Christianity and sought to look underneath the accusations of devil-worship to see what might have been the basis of such allegations.

There, Murray found that the figure the so-called witches were accused of “worshipping” was none other than the Horned God of pre-Christian western Europe, an embodiment of the male fertility principle in nature. This figure, Murray went on to elaborate, had been present in localized forms of Pagan religion since Paleolithic times, manifesting as such woodland characters as Herne, Cernunnos, and Hu Gadarne, all of whom were portrayed as God figures with human form, but with animal horns and goat-like legs. This fact combined with the repeated mention of the number 13 as the number of persons in a coven ( or Pagan ritual group) and the repeated mention of an annual calendar of ritual celebrations structured around the Neolithic celebration of the spring and fall mating seasons for animals led Murray to conclude that what the medieval witch craft persecutions reacted against was in fact the remnant of a pre-Christian religion which had survived primarily in the lower economic classes and country people since pre-agricultural, Neolithic times.[3] This religion, Murray gathered from the trial records, featured a joyous celebration of life, quite a contrast to the sober and punitive atmosphere of European Christianity in the late medieval period.[4] As further supportive evidence for her hypothesis, Murray cited Greek and Roman historians of the 1^st through 7^th centuries who reported that versions of Greek religion (specifically, the Eleusinian Mysteries) were practiced and celebrated in and around the British Isles in their own times. As a pre-Christian religion, Greek religion is Pagan; therefore, the practice of Greek religion or anything like it, Murray wrote, further reveals the fact that there were Pagan practices in place before Christianity became the dominant force in European civilization.

Though Murray’s contentions are powerful and compelling, her scholarship has been vigorously attacked from many angles. One invitation to such attacks is the fact that the book is somewhat confusingly arranged. Its eight chapters are titled Continuity of the Religion, The God, Admission Ceremonies, The Assemblies, The Rites, The Rites Continued, The Organization, Familiars and Transformations. This seems straight-forward enough for an accounting of a religion, but the individual chapters themselves are composed almost entirely of excerpts from the judicial records and public commentaries of the 1300s to 1600s, some in French, some in German, and some in medieval English. Commentary is sparse and does not make entirely clear what the content states; likewise, at the end of the book, there is no summary chapter which elucidates overall what the records revealed. Murray attempted to correct this in the 1931 The God of the Witches, which was a more conversational treatment of this same material. All the same, it can be said that Margaret Murray in her original 1921 treatment of the material proved herself a bold paradigm-breaker in her own way, slinging mud right in the faces of those who had assumed that one religion is of necessity superior to another.

Murray, Margaret A. The God of the Witches. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.

A reprint of the 1931 edition originally published in England by Sampson Low, Marston and Co., Ltd., this 212-page paperback book was intended as a simplified popular statement of Murray’s earlier book, The Witch Cult of Europe. It is included here as background to the formation of several branches of the worldwide Pagan movement, which arose in the first half of the twentieth century partially in response to Murray’s publications.

Murray was a British university educator trained in archaeology. Egyptology was her academic specialty, but in an era during which folklore was not yet a field of university study, Murray formed and pursued an interest in anthropology and magical folk customs as a personal passion. In the late 1920s, Murray embarked upon an independent study of primary historical documents collected during the European witch trials of the 1300s – 1600s.

From her reading of these materials and her understanding of the customs of prehistoric peoples existing on the European continent, Murray formulated a theory that the practices and beliefs for which women, children, and men were persecuted and executed over three centuries during the European witch trials were in fact remnants of a previous, pre-historic and pre-Christian religion. This perception led Murray to write in The God of the Witches that there exists “a continuity of belief and ritual which can be traced from the Paleolithic period down to modern times.”[5] Specifically, Murray asserted that Paleolithic hunter peoples, Neolithic pastoralists who lived by tending herds of cattle, and Bronze Age agriculturalists all looked accordingly to a fertility God represented as prominently horned and unabashedly masculine.[6] Murray felt that this Horned God had reigned in the minds of the common people until Christianity emerged and insisted that any non-Christian God had by definition to be the Devil.[7] The earlier Pagan religion, Murray felt, had especially appealed to the lower economic classes during the European Middle Ages.[8] It was this horned figure which the common people had revered and which was grossly misperceived by the Christian authorities.

Much of the content in The God of the Witches is verbatim quotes from original witch trial documents,[9] all of which are footnoted to manuscripts found in European libraries. Many of these records indicate that those who were persecuted and executed were accused of consorting with fairies. Murray developed a theory that fairies, depicted in Medieval art as human-sized beings, were in fact nothing other than the descendants of the Pagan peoples of prior historic times.[10] Murray perceived an equivalence between witches and fairies.[11] She says that both observed a sacred calendar based on the important quarter days of what is now called February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1 – the key holidays of the Pagan or Celtic calendar, also followed by the Druids.[12] This is part of the evidence she used to conclude that a coherent Pagan tradition which she called the Old Religion had been kept alive and passed down from Paleolithic times to the twentieth century.[13]

Although this much perhaps seems plausible and likely to cause no great alarm, Murray sprang precipitously from there to include Joan of Arc and other historical figures as practitioners of the Old Religion, a feature of which, Murray held, was ritual death of the political leader on an annual or perhaps longer cycle. In this, Murray was influenced by Sir James Frazier in his notorious study of ritual death in The Golden Bough, a mythological perspective which has stirred up much academic and literary rancor since its publication in the early twentieth century. Association with Frazier has not helped the reputation of Murray.

Murray’s scholarship is roundly dismissed in The Triumph of the Moon by contemporary British historian Ronald Hutton, who pillories Murray’s theories as sorely wanting in credibility. He says she used too scanty data,[14] interpreted Mesolithic rock paintings wrongly,[15] went too far in her conclusions,[16] and presented her opinions as fact.[17] Likewise, contemporary scholar of Paganism Magliocco calls Murray’s continuity thesis “baseless” in Witching Culture,[18] although Magliocco does admit that Murray pointed out important ideas, such as the possible existence of an ancient Pagan fertility cult, and ended up contributing to modern Pagan practice, even if all her claims were not solid.[19] Other critics have issued similar condemnations of Murray.

However, Murray’s hypotheses may well be proven worthwhile. At the very least, there is no question that Murray’s The God of the Witches had a significant impact in the formation of the modern Pagan movement. In fact, British historian Ronald Hutton has written that no matter how erroneous may have been Murray’s conclusions, her books The Witch Cult of Western Europe and The God of the Witches appear to have been the immediate precipitating factor in the rise of Pagan Witchcraft in England in the late 1940s.[20] America inherited that tradition shortly thereafter.

Not bad for a sensitive Cancerian who just happened to be powered by Neptune in Aries and Mars in Leo.

[1] Margaret Murray, The Witch Cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology (London: University College, publisher unknown, 1921), 9, 10.

[2] Ibid., 7, 8.

[3] Ibid., 10 – 11.

[4] Ibid., 14.

[5] Margaret A. Murray, The God of the Witches (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), 13.

[6] Ibid., 14.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid., 19.

[9] Ibid., 93.

[10] Ibid., 50 – 52.

[11] Ibid., 53.

[12] Ibid., 79.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Hutton, Triumph, 203.

[15] Ibid., 204 – 205.

[16] Ibid., 206.

[17] Ibid., 207.

[18] Magliocco, Witching, 47.

[19] Ibid., 48.

[20] Hutton, 208.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Beltane Defined

Observed by Pagans around the world, Beltane is a stirring spring festival celebrating the return of vegetational life through the expression of joy, passion, music and dance, the beauty of nature, flowers and greenery, cheerful colors, mating, romance, love, courtship, community, elemental nature spirits, and love of fairies. The observance of Beltane is thought by some scholars to go back as far as 1200 B.C.E, which is to say, more than 3000 years ago when the Celtic peoples of the British Isles and western Europe honored Beltane during the Iron Age.

In the twenty-first century, Beltane is a favorite seasonal celebration of Pagans following a wide range of lineages and paths. Traditionally celebrated on May 1 in the northern hemisphere, Beltane is one of the eight sacred points of the Pagan calendar. The Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters. The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar.

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to no significant astronomical factors whatsoever. The popes of early Christianity are responsible for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan Calendar Under Attack

The Pagan calendar was based on the Earth to Sun relationship, so in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore had to be virulently repudiated. Instead, the popes selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. As a result, January 1, for example, contains absolutely no magical significance. However, the Capricorn solstice 10 days before certainly does. So the popes hid the solstice deep in the last month of the year and attempted to further obscure it by naming another point in the year about 10 days later as the first day of the year. In time, the people would forget that the Capricorn Solstice constituted one of the most powerful magical portals of the annual cycle, the popes reasoned.

The Pagan Calendar Persists

Only, as fate would have it, the memory of that great astronomical truth was far more stubborn and persistent than the popes had imagined. Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience.

Beltane is a case in point, stubbornly persisting in folk memory in open defiance of the suppressions aimed its way. Traditionally celebrated on May 1 in the northern hemisphere, Beltane is normally defined as the half-way point between the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice. In Pagan tradition, the Aries Equinox is termed Ostara (obviously the linguistic origin for the word Easter), while the Cancer Solstice is termed Litha. So Beltane is normally defined as the half-way point between Ostara and Litha. However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (a legacy of the early popes, ahem), May 1 unfortunately does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Ostara and Litha.

Finding the True Solar Date for Beltane

There is a more exact way to figure the half-way point between Ostara and Litha. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice. The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space. Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between Ostara, the Aries Equinox, and Litha, the Cancer Solstice.

Astrologically considered, the Aries Equinox (or Ostara) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Aries, while the Cancer Solstice (or Litha) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Cancer. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½ signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Aries, it is evident that the half-way point between 0 Aries and 0 Cancer is 15 degrees of Taurus. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Cancer. Doing so reveals that yes, indeed it is 15 degrees of Taurus which lies precisely half-way between the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice, which is to say, half-way between Ostara and Litha.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Taurus, however, does not fall in any year on May 1. In fact, it always falls a few days later. In May of 2025, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Taurus on May 5. For the astrologically inclined, May 5, 2025 should therefore be regarded as the true date for Beltane powers to be experienced.

Preserving Tradition

Associating Beltane with 15 degrees of Taurus rather than with May 1 is thus an act of rebellion against the imposition of a papist calendrical system. It harkens into deep Pagan antiquity when a structure based on the 15 degree position in the fixed signs was estimated as the stable structure conveying a sense of cosmic order as expressed through the zodiac, which is to say, the plane of the solar system as seen through our ecliptic. Using this method of time keeping, the turning points of the year emerge as the four solar festivals of Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain.

These four points matter. Traditional European Witchcraft recognizes Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain as the foundational structure of annual cyclic time. The respective astrological positions of the Sun for these essentially solar festivals are 15 degrees Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio. These four signs have been recognized as magical powers from time immemorial and are incorporated into many of the older rituals, with Aquarius symbolized as man or bird, Taurus as bull, Leo as lion or cat, and Scorpio as eagle or serpent. For this reason, it is a worthy effort to understand the underlying structure of the Pagan yearly round, which hearkens unto the ancient traditions.

Importantly, Traditional Craft recognizes Beltane and Samhain as the most fundamental pulse of life, Beltane signifying the onset of summer and Samhain signifying the onset of winter. Given this, ritual observation of Beltane emerges as a key opportunity within the round of the year. Knowing the true date is thus crucial. In 2025, the solar date for Beltane is May 5.

Summary

The eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of space identified by using the properties of sacred geometry. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. In other words, this structure is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding secular society. Instead, the Pagan eight point sacred calendar is based on celestial factors indicating stability, permanence, regular rhythm, and an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet. The acknowledgement of Beltane’s true astrologically derived date on May 5 affirms that truth and aligns the seeker with the stellar wisdom out of which Pagan practice has emerged.

A Note For Aussies and Kiwis

[Please note that in the southern hemisphere, the seasons of the year are reversed to those of the northern hemisphere, such that Australia and New Zealand experience winter during northern hemisphere summer, and summer during northern hemisphere winter. As a result, the Pagan calendar runs thus in the southern hemisphere: Imbolc at 15 degrees of Aquarius in early August, Beltane at 15 degrees Taurus in early November, Lammas at 15 degrees of Leo in early February, and Samhain at 15 degrees of Scorpio in early May. Pagans in the southern hemisphere are well aware of this and have long celebrated the sacred eight points of the Pagan year in ways appropriate to the seasons in their half of the earthen sphere.]

Maureen Richmond is a counseling and research astrologer, writer, and Pagan practitioner residing in rural western Arkansas USA. She has actively studied, taught, and counseled in astrology for more than forty years. Maureen holds a Ph.D. from Arkansas State University in Heritage Studies, a multidisciplinary field including history, historic preservation, folklore, and museum studies. Her books can be found at Amazon and her website is The Astrology of World Events on Substack. She can be reached at starsong1208@gmail.com.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Imbolc: One of Eight Key Points in Time

Traditionally observed by northern hemisphere Pagans on February 1 – 2, Imbolc is one of eight key time points equally distributed throughout the Pagan calendar year, an annual round structured on the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between. Often celebrated with candles and flaming auras reminiscent of the solar orb, Imbolc commemorates the lengthening of the daylight period and hints at the earliest signs of the coming renewal of vegetation and animal life at the Spring Equinox. In traditional witchcraft, Imbolc stands out for another reason. It is at this essentially solar festival while the Sun is in group-oriented Aquarius that certain covens admit new members. Imbolc thus partakes of the social and cooperative nature of the zodiacal sign Aquarius. Further, Imbolc is part of a much greater pattern binding together 8 points in the zodiacal round.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

Often referred to under the poetic term, The Wheel of the Year, the Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters. The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar. These half-way points between the solstices and equinoxes are referred to as the cross-quarter days. The four cross-quarter days and the four equinoctial-solstitial points form the eight key moments in time embodied in the Pagan eight point calendar.

The Difference Between the Wheel of the Year and the Modern Calendar

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to absolutely no significant astronomical factors. The popes of early Christianity are to blame for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan calendar of olde was based on the Earth to Sun relationship as seen in the equinoctial-solstitial frame of reference. Such a naturalistic notion did not sit well with the Church. In fact, in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore worthy only of repudiation. Papal authority selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. Still, Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, today Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience, absolutely free of charge.

Imbolc is a case in point. Traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on February 1 – 2, Imbolc is frequently defined as the half-way point between the Capricorn Solstice and the Aries Equinox. In Pagan tradition, the Capricorn Solstice is termed Yule and the Aries Equinox Ostara. In the northern hemisphere, Imbolc is often defined as the half-way point between Yule at Capricorn Solstice and Ostara at Aries Equinox.

However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (another lovely legacy of the early popes), February 1 – 2 does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Yule and Ostara.

A more exact way to figure the half-way point between Yule and Ostara exists. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Capricorn Solstice and the Aries Equinox. This method identifies the precise zodiacal position of the cross-quarter day known as Imbolc.

How to Derive the Correct Calendar Date for the Imbolc Cross-Quarter Day

The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space. Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between Yule, the Capricorn Solstice and Ostara, the Aries Equinox.

Astrologically considered, the Capricorn Solstice (or Yule) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Capricorn, while the Aries Equinox (or Ostara) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Aries. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½ signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Capricorn, it is evident that the half-way point between 0 degrees Capricorn and 0 degrees of Aries is 15 degrees of Aquarius. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Aries. Doing so reveals that indeed it is 15 degrees of Aquarius which lies precisely half-way between the Capricorn Solstice and the Aries Equinox, which is to say, half-way between Yule and Ostara.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Aquarius, however, does not fall in any year on February 1 or 2. In fact, it always falls on February 3 - 4. In February of 2025, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Aquarius late on February 3 in the continental U.S. and continues in that degree overnight and into February 4. For the astrologically inclined, therefore, Imbolc may be celebrated on February 3 – 4, 2025, in good conscience. The rationale for doing so rests on the internal structure of the 8-spoked Pagan Wheel of the Year.

The Eternal Value of the Pagan Eight-Point Wheel of the Year

The eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of movement through space identified using the properties of sacred geometry. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. In other words, this structure is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding society. Instead, the Pagan eight point calendar is based on celestial factors. This structure in time embodies stability and permanence, for it unfolds in a stately, regular rhythm marking out an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet.

[Note: in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the candle-themed Imbolc in the southern hemisphere is celebrated in early August, while early February in the southern hemisphere sees the celebration of the late summer harvest festival of Lughnasadh.]

Pagan Flash Fiction by Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Even though he’d lived for more than five centuries and well did he know it, Merlin was not above anxious pacing. In the forest cottage he called home, the robed magician prowled like a caged wildcat, stroking his long white beard and muttering to himself.

“Whence that niece of mine,” he pondered as he pivoted sharply and leaned into the ten paces leading to his next about face. Hands clasped behind and bent forward in concern, Merlin mumbled to himself, “What could have happened? She knows I expect her by high noon, and yet she has failed to arrive even as Father Sol begins his journey to the western sky. Morgana, you are late and you ought to know it. Who raised you and brought you into power anyway?”

Not far away in the enchanted forest surrounding Merlin’s cottage, Morgana Le Fey wended her way through ash and thorn and thought she heard the voice of her master, the wise old Merlin himself. She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed he scolded her for tardiness in the magical art, exactly why she could not fathom. Oh yes, she knew she was due at his cottage just now, but Morgana knew not which way to turn.

Gingerly Morgana lifted her heavy skirts and picked her way carefully along a bramble-studded path. The woodland walk to Merlin’s lane had not gone as easily as she’d imagined on leaving her castle keep earlier that morn. Once upon a time, Morgana had followed the way with ease, but today, the familiar oaks and hollies looked as if they’d been uprooted and planted in strange locations. Here was the great boulder indicating Merlin’s path, but there many paces down the path was the gnarled oak which once grew beside it. And here was the bend in the stream telling her she’d gone too far and must double back, but where was the wizened holly which marked the return to the boulder? The forest landmarks appeared scrambled like so many pebbles on the sandy bed of the nearby stream.

“Ah yes, the nearby stream,” Morgana thought. A restful moment gazing into the mirror of its crystal depths would be just the thing to restore her sense of direction.

Bur as Morgana rose to make for the stream, it seemed she spotted the opening which led to Merlin’s path. Forgetting the stream in an instant, Morgana leapt toward what appeared to be the right place, but what had been a clearing one moment in the next instant became a weaving together of ivy vines right before her eyes. In the distance she thought she heard the familiar voice of the turtle dove which called along Merlin’s path, but no, it was only the wind cooing like a lost lover. Over there, she thought she saw a bright glimmer which might be the sky above Merlin’s cottage, but no, it was only a shaft of afternoon sunlight flickering through winter’s bare trees.

Morgana turned and ran a few steps deeper into the forest, only to stop and cock her head to one side, perplexed. Back again she turned, only to pass a fallen tree she thought she had seen just a moment ago, but then she couldn’t be sure. At last, Morgana bunched her skirts together and collapsed right on the worn track of the path. She had lost her way and she knew it.

“This is not of my doing,” she muttered. “I know this forest like the roebuck knows the doe. Yet, today I am a hoodwinked squirrel, dashing back and forth as though mad. Let me compose myself at the stream.”

Only a few paces off the worn path, the stream wove placidly through mossy boulders, gnarled roots gripping the earth, and dark pools of leaf-filled water. Morgana made her way to the streamside and seated herself amongst the moss and fallen leaves. Down into the waters she peered and straight away lost herself in the calming motion of the gentle waters. It was then she thought she saw the face of her mentor and master floating on the surface of the placid woodland stream. He was deep in contemplation.

Not far away and along a now-hidden path, a wizened Merlin had indeed entered contemplation. The moment was as quiet on the one end as it was on the other. Or so it was until Merlin, jerking himself alert and clapping his hand to his forehead, blurted out with a grimace and a cringe, “But of course! Only yesterday I laid a triple enchantment on the path to my cottage, that sojourners in these parts not invade my sanctum. Oh woe is me! I have disguised the entrance to my path so well that not even Morgana the famed seeress can detect it!”

With that, the bearded magician sprang up and seized a knobby wooden wand from his altar cluttered with charms, animal parts, and dripping candles. Forthwith he traced a pentagram in the air and commanded with conviction, “Caedo incantatem!” He waited for a moment as though he might expect an echo, but naught was to be heard. “There, that should do it,” he said as he brushed off his sleeves and straightened his robe.

Not far away, Morgana lifted her gaze from the crystal waters and was surprised to see the forest just as it had always been before. Indeed, there sat the rounded boulder as big as a hut, and next to it the sacred oak with its angled jutting branches. Beyond, there stretched a well-trodden path which she knew would lead only one place - to the cottage of her beloved uncle Merlin.

Losing not a moment, Morgana gathered her skirts, rose, and quickened her steps through a parting garland of winter greenery into the track which led straight to her destination.

For his part, Merlin was relieved to hear the footfalls of his treasured niece as they came echoing down the lane to his hollow. It would not be long now before his gifted student would be safely inside the charm-filled woodland retreat. Five hundred years of magical lore in the Celtic tradition awaited Morgana’s arrival.

Pagan Flash Fiction by Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Alone at the rim of the long-abandoned sacred well, Morgana Le Fey paused and drew the hood of her heavy woolen cloak over her silvering head for protection. As she leaned with both hands upon her trusted sacred staff, Morgana’s searching grey eyes peered out from the darkness beneath her hood. Down she looked into the wide and shallow depression which long ago had cradled the sacred shrine of Sulis, Celtic goddess of healing waters. Black silt and dead decaying leaves filled the cavern now. Where once there had run clear, steaming water, naught other than a jumbled heap of detritus held sway.

It had been predicted this would transpire. In fact, it was Morgana’s very own mentor Merlin who had made the utterance centuries ago. Merlin, Morgana mused, was a man of many lives, his memory going back more than one thousand winter solstices to the final days of the Roman occupation. Odd though that claim might seem to others, Morgana accepted this fact about her mysterious teacher.

According to Merlin, Morgana recalled, the invading Romans hadn’t been entirely undesirable, for they had easily embraced Sulis, even constructing an elaborate shrine for her worship.

But that was just the problem. The Romans had captured and controlled what was once flowing and free. Merlin knew this attempted thwarting of wild power would end in no good. He had predicted, therefore, that the shrine of Sulis would cease to heal.

And so it had. Not long after the Romans abandoned their posts, the well-pool filled with dried soil; rock, trees, and sand collapsed on the spring house and blocked the flow of water until naught remained but a ruin. Uncountable winter solstices came and went, a thousand or more said Merlin, as the spring of Sulis slept in oblivion, buried and forgotten. So also had the goddess religion been forced underground, trampled into exile by those who worshipped a bleeding male form immolated on an instrument of torment. Morgana and her kind found foreign this gruesome bleeding image, for in religion, they knew only the pleasure and power bequeathed by the goddess. As a result, Morgana’s people had been discredited, and worse, through the centuries.

Then had come the dream. Morgana had slept as if drugged by tansy and valerian as the days were made mild by the increasing light of March. Deep in drowsy oblivion herself, Morgana had dreamt back in time to view the sacred spring of Sulis as it had been so long before. Clearly had Morgana viewed the exact point from which the healing waters once emerged. A voice of intuitive revelation had spoken in her dream. The voice had directed Morgana to locate the well and revive the source of the spring. And now, Morgana stood within a few feet of the very spot revealed in the dream.

Dare she trust her intuition? Did she really have the witch-power reputed to be her own by right of connection with the goddess? Could she really command earth and water? Or was she simply on a foolscap journey conjured by her jester of a mentor?

Decades of living on the edges of the now-Christian world around her had driven even the wily Morgana to doubt her power. This would be the test, then. If her dream had directed her aright, she would cease her painful questions and trust her prophetic intuition. If she could call the spring back into life, she would know her witch- power true, verified and certified by the only source which mattered – the goddess in her many forms.

Calling upon the support of her sacred staff, Morgana picked her way through downed trees and boulders hidden in the many layers of dried fallen leaves, stumbling and struggling as she went. Using the staff to pry away obstacles, Morgana at length cleared a path directly to the source of the spring.

True to the dream, the source was now only a small opening in the soil – something anyone might fail to notice. Yet Morgana drew herself up to full attention and closed her eyes in secret inner supplication to the goddess under her feet. Holding her sacred staff with both hands, Morgana dove deeply into her inner world, giving all her attention to the special ways of knowledge which had been hers since birth.

It seemed that roots and tendrils shot out from the soles of Morgana’s feet, boring deep into the earth. For many quiet minutes, Morgana allowed her root-like tentacles to search out the earth beneath her feet, to meet with rock and soil, to penetrate yea to the very core of the mother. When her connection with the mother goddess felt complete, Morgana’s staff began to quiver and hum. The solitary priestess knew the moment had come.

Deftly she stepped right to the source of the spring and three times pounded forcefully with the butt of the staff. Nothing at all happened, except for the twittering of a few nearby sparrows. Again, three powerful thuds Morgana laid atop the source. Again there answered nothing but the stillness of a ruin. Once more, Morgana delivered the appointed spot of earth three emphatic strokes with all her power and authority.

Still so deep in trance was she that Morgana almost failed to hear, at first, the cavernous rumble growing under her feet. It seemed as if the greatest summer thunder ever known to the land had trapped itself far below the surface. Suddenly the earthen thunder tripled; rocks and soil spewed fitfully and then furiously from the small opening to the spring, and then lo, a steady stream of clear steamy water came gushing forth, more than strong enough to carry away all the dry soil and dead leaves trapped in the well-pool below.

As the well-pool filled and the rushing water carried the detritus of centuries down a nearby rocky stream, Morgana remained rooted to the spot where her power moment had arrived.

There was nothing in her soul which could have wanted more. She had received guidance from her goddess and followed it to a breathtaking success. No longer would Morgana question her knowledge. Indeed, she had been proven not only correct, but also in command of the elements. And the sacred waters of the Celtic goddess Sulis had been restored to their healing work.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

February 2025 functions as a gate into a future many would have found difficult to imagine only a few years ago. An extraordinary convergence of outstandingly harmonious celestial influences fast approaches, coming to bear in the years 2025 – 2028.

During those years, Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus will all move into signs compatible with each other, hailing a 3 ½ year period characterized by widespread opportunities, cooperation, greater insight, progress in human understanding, and many other benefits of importance and relevance to all.

In addition, Saturn joins the astrological action, departing the often sorrow-laden sign of Pisces in late May 2025, entering the robust, spunky sign of Aries, and heading for a conjunction with Neptune in 2025 – 2026. The coming Saturn-Neptune conjunction will re-inaugurate the 36 year Saturn-Neptune cycle, an impetus of great importance to the psychological and spiritual functioning of humanity. A certain amount of idealism is needed for humanity to thrive. Each time Saturn conjuncts Neptune, the conjunction creates a focus on the ideals driving action, those ideals in keeping with the sign in which the conjunction occurs. In 2025 and 2026, that sign is Aries.

Neptune Enters Aries

The evidence of high promise begins at the very end of March 2025, when Neptune temporarily departs the amorphous and wandering sign of Pisces and enters the cardinal fire sign Aries, signaling the impending conclusion of a 16-year collective hypnotic fascination with helplessness, passivity, weakness, and gullibility, all of which seemed to be the order of the day while Neptune was in the often disorganized and highly porous Pisces. Neptune in Pisces did bring a welcome emphasis on the need for sensitivity to the plight of the marginalized and a growing recognition of the positive role to be played by psychic perception, but it also brought a collective tendency to idolize the condition of shapelessness and dependency. In late March of 2025, this tendency shifts toward the valuing of spunky individual initiative, vigorous effort, and consequent accomplishment, all virtues of the cardinal fires sign, Aries.

Saturn Sextile Uranus

That’s just the beginning. Then in April 2025, a Saturn aspect signals the emergence of a world atmosphere conducive to success and prosperity. Still in late Pisces in April 2026, Saturn makes a sextile to Uranus in late Taurus, smoothly joining the focus on Piscean sympathy and artistic imagination with Taurean productivity and practicality. This sextile between transiting Saturn and transiting Uranus bodes well for groups and individuals, signifying a point in time during which tradition and innovation will work together to provide positive solutions. Where before there ruled inflexibility, in its place comes a willingness to consider outside alternatives.

Happily, the Saturn-Uranus sextile repeats in early August 2025 with Saturn in Aries and Uranus in Gemini, and then for a third time in late January 2026, again with Saturn in Pisces and Uranus in Taurus. This means that from April 2025 through January 2026, individuals and groups will find opportunities and possibilities where only closed doors prevailed a few years ago. Specifically, the tensions, frustrations, disagreements, and split-ups which took place with Saturn square Uranus in 2022 will dissolve.

Throughout 2025, then, many will reach an acceptable resolution of tensions originating in 2022 as persons find workable methods for earning a living, pursuing independent livelihoods, using creativity, and integrating new methods into creative and scientific processes to replace what was lost or destroyed. The dire economic consequences of the business closings and employment denials during the Saturn-Uranus square of 2022 will begin to fade into memory as new conditions of opportunity and success enter the picture. Economic, spiritual, and emotional recovery will be facilitated for nations, groups, and persons.

Uranus in Gemini

The positives ramp up even more palpably in late August 2025, when Uranus, by that time in Gemini, enters into a sextile relationship with Neptune in Aries, setting off a renaissance of literary, artistic, spiritual, and intellectual enterprise. The aspect repeats in late November 2025 with Uranus in Taurus and Neptune in Pisces, then again in mid-July 2026 with Uranus in Gemini and Neptune in Aries, and finally in mid-January 2027 with Uranus in Gemini and Neptune in Aries.

This makes the period August 2025 through January 2027 an interval of extraordinary opportunity for the reception of unique inspirations, breakthroughs into higher levels of awareness, telepathic communication, discovery and expression of scientific and literary genius, development of artistic ability, expression of musical expertise, the enjoyment of creativity, the forming of cooperative agreements, the showcasing of talents, and in general a congenial and elevating environment facilitated by an outgoing, can-do spirit. Writers and content creators will have a hey-day, as will journalists and podcasters. Independent media will thrive. A rebirth of the educational system will arise and a new joy in learning will emerge. The depressing censorship imposed during covid and valiantly fought thereafter will no longer condition the social media and big tech environment.

In fact, it is an astrological certainty that freedom of intellectual inquiry, thought, and speech will become a major priority with freedom-seeking Uranus in information-oriented Gemini from mid-2025 through early 2033. During this period, information previously withheld from the public will break out of hiding and come forth. Such matters as the JFK assassination and the history of UFO sightings held by the American government will see greater divulgence and disclosure under the influence of Uranus in Gemini. This trend is to begin in mid-July 2025.

Farther out in the future timeline, Uranus continues to generate aesthetic and intellectual benefits. From garrulous Gemini, exciting Uranus makes the trine to potent Pluto in group-oriented Aquarius, doing so five times over the years of 2026, 2027, and 2028, making this period an outstanding interval for international cooperation, intergroup understanding, advancement of learning and education, stunning progress in literary endeavors, forward movement in scientific research, greater contact with the cosmic community, and general opportunity for communication and the sharing of valuable information. All human endeavors will go more smoothly as a result, and the free flow of information will be allowed – a great contrast to the suppression of free speech which took place in 2020, 2021, and 2022 with Saturn and Pluto in strict Capricorn and then Saturn square Uranus in 2022.

Neptune Sextile Pluto

Further supporting the prospect of an encouraging scenario is the influence of Neptune working with that of Pluto. These two titans of astrological influence rarely combine powers by making a precise major aspect, but soon they will. Operating from Aries, sign of new frontiers and pioneering enterprise, Neptune will form a sextile to Pluto in broadminded Aquarius five times over the years 2026 through 2028, making this period an interval of inspired vision, idealism, fellowship and cooperation, astounding opportunities for the advancement of individual creativity, independence of thought and action, enhanced contributions of the individual to society, and success in entrepreneurial undertakings. New concepts from distant horizons are likely to enrich life here on Earth. Exploration of space and contact with distant planetary and stellar neighbors is more than likely.

Navigating February 2025

Above is the over-arching outlook for the years ahead, as revealed by the interactions of the major outer planets. With the earliest evidence of these comprehensive world trends emerging in late March 2025, the month of February 2025 functions as a gate leading away from the disappointments and defeats of the last few years to a time pocket of opportunity with the potential to not only rebuild and restore so much that was lost in the 2020 – 2022 period, but also to forge ahead into the realization of personal hopes and dreams. Using the present moment to its highest potential is therefore of the essence. Here are a few suggestions on how to navigate the February 2025 gate to the future.

Be ready to pounce February 4 – 9. A positive period of encouraging developments transpires February 4 – 9 when three major influences come into play. Jupiter stations and turns direct, Venus makes the sextile to Pluto, and retrograde Mars makes the trine to Saturn, rendering February 4 – 9 an interval of rewards, recognitions, pleasant developments, good omens, agreements, and satisfying solutions for recent problems. February 4 – 9 is thus conducive to successful negotiations, productive meetings, and the formation of cooperative arrangements. This is an excellent period for magical rites and spellwork designed to expand outreach, build relationships, and heal past indignities.

On the heels of all that constructive power comes the Full Moon period, which promises downright wild vibes. The Full Moon on February 12 at 24 degrees of Aquarius will activate a square between Mercury and Uranus in effect at that time, making the period February 9 – 12 a time of significantly heightened tension, intense psychic input, rapid developments in the outer world, and upheavals in the emotional and relational spheres. International relations are likely to be strained during this period. February 9 – 12 is therefore best navigated using patience, a long-term perspective, and conciliatory approaches. Ceremonies conducted during this period are likely to invite sudden, dramatic results.

Next up is a powerful turning point which arrives on February 23 – 25, when Mars turns stationary direct after three months of retrograde motion, while Mercury trines Mars and conjuncts Saturn. Look for decisive developments during this period, the antidote to confusions resulting from the retrograde motions of Mercury and Mars during November, December, and January. Sudden clarifications are likely to arrive. Keep ears up for vital information. Questions of long standing receive compelling replies.

Finally, the end of February 2025 offers clarity of mind, sharpened intuition, enhanced powers of learning, facility in oration, and the receipt of long-needed information when Mercury in psychic Pisces makes a sextile to genius Uranus in stable Taurus February 26 – 27. Use this period to brainstorm for innovations in both business and personal spheres.

Walking Through the Gate

The gate stands open, so use it well. February 2025 leads to significant astrological changes on the road ahead. In contrast to the doomsday scenarios ominously incanted by many sources in the news these days, the next several years as seen from the astrological perspective offer a distinct opportunity for happiness and fulfillment.

Maureen Richmond is an astrologer, writer, and Pagan practitioner residing in rural western Arkansas. She has actively studied, taught, and counseled in astrology for more than forty years. Maureen holds a Ph.D. from Arkansas State University in Heritage Studies, a multidisciplinary field including history, historic preservation, folklore, and museum studies. Her books can be found at Amazon and her website at The Astrology of World Events on Substack. She can be reached at starsong1208@gmail.com.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Samhain: One of Eight Key Points in Time

Observed by Pagans around the world in late October and early November, Samhain is the historical basis of the modern festival of Halloween. Samhain is also one of eight key time points equally distributed throughout the Pagan calendar year, an annual round structured on the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between.

Traditionally celebrated on November 1, Samhain is an archaic fall seasonal observance originally honored by ancient Celtic Pagans generally thought to have lived in central and western Europe, including the British Isles, from approximately 1200 B.C.E. through the Roman occupation of what is now Britain, and beyond.

The exact date at which Celtic people appeared in and flourished in the British Isles is, according to acclaimed British historian Ronald Hutton, impossible to specify, due to complications in historic records arising from the biases of early and even more modern historians intent on establishing national and racial identity, as well as the obscuring influence of sentimental folk memories. Even so, on the basis of extensive historic research, Hutton holds that there is no doubt that the Celtic festival of Samhain was known and observed all over the British Isles during the entire Iron Age, a period generally accepted to have run from 1200 B.C.E. through 600 B.C.E.

According to Hutton, it was during this period that the late autumn festival of Samhain was widely recognized and practiced through the Celtic world. In Ireland, Hutton claims, Samhain was revered as the foremost of annual festivals and accorded a special place of respect and honor. As Hutton explains, for the Iron Age Irish of 1200 B.C.E. through 600 B.C.E., Samhain on what we now call November 1 constituted the start of a New Year, which point in time was celebrated on the secular side with tribal assemblies where agreements were forged and laws made, and on the spiritual side with the widespread acknowledgement of and even interaction with the spirit world.

Hutton claims that, for the Iron Age Irish, Samhain signaled a dramatically increased interaction between the world of the dead and of supernatural beings on one hand, and humans on the other, with dramatic enchantments, love affairs between humans and otherworldlings, the appearance of magical gifts, and extraordinary developments at seats of government all suddenly erupting on and around Samhain. It was traditionally a magical time of year, when most anything might happen. This same set of characteristics adheres to present day Pagan observance of Samhain, which includes an emphasis on making contact with the spirit world.

For the ancients, the power and mystery of Samhain were firmly tied to the November 1 date, one of four key points in the ancient Irish year, the other three of which were Imbolc on February 1, Beltane on May 1, and Lughnasadh on August 1, a Gaelic calendrical system which Hutton states was most definitely used in Ireland by the ancient Celts though the months were not named or dates numbered the same back then. The same set of annual observances is mentioned, Hutton points out, in the Middle Irish literature in the Ulster tale of Emer and Cu Chulainn.

Twentieth-century American folklorist Helen Sewell Johnson also addressed this point, commenting that because mentions of Samhain appear in medieval Irish literature composed during the period from the 1100s to the 1400s, Samhain must have  originated in pre-Christian Ireland or other Celtic areas some time considerably before 1100 C.E., a point which surely agrees with Hutton’s placement of Samhain observation potentially as far back as 1200 B.C.E.

Also like Hutton, Johnson identified Samhain as one of four quarterly feasts of the old Irish year, presenting Samhain as one of the four key points in the ancient Celtic Wheel of the Year, a chronometrical structure tied to increasing and decreasing sunlight, nature, plant growth, and animal husbandry. Samhain coming at the end of the northern hemisphere growing season is unique, Johnson wrote, marking both a pastoral observance in the form of a harvest festival and a deeply spiritual observance honoring the dead, the spirit world, and the land of the fairies.

Indeed, as Johnson detailed, pre-Christian Old Ireland believed that the Samhain festival taking place in the darkening time of year marked a unique moment in the annual cycle, a borderland passage during which the barrier normally separating the natural and supernatural worlds dissolved, allowing free converse between the two.

At Samhain, it was thought, the dead returned, ghosts walked the land, fairy folk and ancient Celtic ancestors known as the Tuatha de Danaan interacted daringly and dangerously with the human kingdom, and rites of divination granted uncanny glimpses of the future. At the same time, Samhain in Old Ireland functioned as a social and cultural event, punctuated with lavish harvest feasts, contests of skill, worship of and story-telling about the old gods, and even serious meetings in which legal and clan matters were discussed, settled, and formalized. This is the ancestry of modern day Pagan celebrations of Samhain, which retain many of the features from the equivalent festivities of yore.

In all likelihood, then, the custom of Samhain celebration goes back as far as 1200 B.C.E, which is to say, to an era more than 3000 years ago, when the Celtic peoples of the British Isles and western Europe honored the termination of summer and advent of final harvest during the Iron Age on the date we now call November 1. In the twenty-first century, Samhain is a seasonal celebration observed by Pagans following a wide range of lineages and paths. Also broadly understood as coincident with All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween on October 31,  Samhain is traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on November 1, and is one of the eight sacred points of the Pagan calendar.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

Often referred to under the poetic term, The Wheel of the Year, the Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

Celtic peoples of the Iron Age observed Samhain as a harvest festival, but placed no corresponding emphasis on the equinoxes and solstices. The equinoxes and solstices, however, later emerged as a calendrical structure, doing so around 0 CE, when Pagan Rome arranged the cycle of the year on that basis, as explained in The History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick. Jones and Pennick make it clear that in Pagan times, indeed a calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was in use.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters. The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar. These half-way points between the solstices and equinoxes are referred to as the cross-quarter days. The four cross-quarter days and the four equinoctial-solstitial points form the eight key moments in time embodied in the Pagan eight point calendar.

The Difference Between the Wheel of the Year and the Modern Calendar

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to absolutely no significant astronomical factors. The popes of early Christianity are to blame for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan calendar was based on the Earth to Sun relationship as seen in the equinoctial-solstitial frame of reference. In in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore worthy only of repudiation. Papal authority selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. Still, Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, today Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience, absolutely free of charge.

Samhain is a case in point. Traditionally celebrated in the northern  hemisphere on November 1, Samhain is frequently defined as the half-way point between the Libra Equinox and the Capricorn Solstice. In Pagan tradition, the Libra Equinox is often termed Mabon, with the Capricorn Solstice termed Yule. So Samhain is often defined as the half-way point between Mabon and Yule. However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (another lovely legacy of the early popes), November 1 does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Mabon and Yule.

A more exact way to figure the half-way point between Mabon and Yule exists. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Libra Equinox and the Capricorn Solstice. This method identifies the precise zodiacal position of the cross-quarter day known as Samhain.

How to Derive the Correct Calendar Date for the Samhain Cross-Quarter Day

The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space. Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between  Mabon, the Libra Equinox, and Yule, the Capricorn Solstice.

Astrologically considered, the Capricorn Solstice (or Yule) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Capricorn, while the Libra Equinox occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Libra. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½  signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Libra, it is evident that the half-way point between 0  0 Libra and 0 degrees Capricorn is 15 degrees of Scorpio. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Capricorn. Doing so reveals that indeed it is 15 degrees of Scorpio  which lies precisely half-way between the Libra Equinox and the Capricorn Solstice, which is to say, half-way between Mabon and Yule.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Scorpio, however, does not fall in any year on November 1. In fact, it always falls a few days later. In November of 2024, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Scorpio on November 6. For the astrologically inclined, November 6 should therefore be regarded as the true date on which Samhain occurs in 2024. From this perspective, it is the date of November 6 and not November 1 on which the powers of an authentic cross-quarter moment may be experienced.

The Eternal Value of the Pagan Eight-Point Wheel of the Year

Thinking in this way, it is evident that the eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of movement through space identified using the properties of sacred geometry. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. In other words, this structure is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding society. Instead, the Pagan eight point calendar is based on celestial factors. This structure in time embodies stability and permanence, for it unfolds in a stately, regular rhythm marking out an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet. The acknowledgement of 15 degrees Scorpio or November 6 as the true date for Samhain is a step in that direction.

Modern Pagans sometimes worry their traditions have no basis in history. If the works of historians and scholars Hutton, Johnson, Jones, and Pennick, are to be taken into consideration, that is not the case. Clear evidence exists that the cross-quarter days were known and revered by the Iron Age Irish, while the equinoxes and solstices were employed as foundational reckoning points in time by the Roman government by or before 0 C.E.

Thus, even though the cross-quarter days were celebrated first and the equinoctial-solstitial framework enshrined apparently second, there still exist sufficient reasons to feel secure in finding the eight-point structure of the Pagan Year Wheel significant and productive of meaningful insights when appropriately observed.

[Note: in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the harvest-themed Samhain in the southern hemisphere is celebrated in early May, while early November in the southern hemisphere sees the celebration of the spring festival of Beltane.]

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Chthonic: Of or pertaining to the underworld, the underground world, the dark and hidden places of deep geology, and by extension, the hidden parts of the human psyche lying deep beneath the surface appearance.

The Years of Pluto in Capricorn in the Twenty-First Century

With Pluto back in Capricorn from early September through late November 2024, there comes a nearly three month opportunity to revisit the themes generated by the long-term transit of Pluto through Capricorn. In place since 2008 except for a few months in 2023 and again in 2024, the transit of Pluto through the sign of Capricorn has been a major influence on world trends and individual experience for the last 16 years.

The Power of Outer Planet Transits

By virtue of persistence and endurance, long-lasting sign transits of this nature count for much in the astrological causes of human experience. All long-lasting sign transits have a way of burrowing deep into the human psyche, there to implant seed ideas and abiding concerns which of necessity must find expression in outer activity. It is no exaggeration to hold that the outer planet sign transits drive much of world happenings and personal growth. And so it is with the long-lasting transit of Pluto in Capricorn.

Capricornian Symbolism

The key to understanding this particular sign transit lies in understanding  Capricornian symbolism. As a cardinal sign traditionally associated with the formal onset of winter chill in the northern hemisphere, Capricorn initiates action and draws attention away from pleasantry and comfort toward the critical foundational essentials of existence.

Whereas summer affords a constant leafy entertainment in the plant kingdom, winter drives the life essence of all nature back into the interior of the earth. As an earth sign, Capricorn signifies a focus not on reassuring leaf and intoxicating flower, but on rough bark, tough root, dirt and soil, and the layer of rock which is the foundation for life on the surface of planet Earth. As an earth sign, Capricorn therefore refers to all the substances and materials of the tangible, physical Earth itself. These substances include dirt, soil, sand, clay, stones, rocks, metals, crystals, and gems, all of which are connected with and either ruled or co-ruled by Capricorn. Further, as an earth sign, Capricorn is intimately connected with the interior processes of the Earth itself, including plate tectonics, volcanism, geomagnetism, sedimentation, mineral metamorphosis, igneous action, and all the work carried on in the mineral, geological, and terrestrial domains.

Hence, Capricorn is connected with the creation and maintenance of geological features, including mountains, rock outcroppings, caves, caverns, stalagmites and stalactites, and the like. Other places and activities connected with Capricorn are underground graves and above ground stone crypts, ancient rock art paintings on cave walls, places of mineral extraction such as mines, places of metalworking such as forges, metallurgy in general, manufacture of metal objects, heavy machinery, and all dense or heavy materials which stubbornly resist the ravages of time to persist for eons.

A Two-Fisted Impact

Yes, Capricorn on its own is quite enough to drive human attention underground, but there’s more, for the impact of Pluto figures in as well. Wherever Pluto is by sign transit, there is to be found a great intensification of the issues associated with that sign. With Pluto in Capricorn, that means the whole matrix of Capricorn-ruled places and issues is massively emphasized and made vastly more potent in human experience. From 2008 to 2024, then human experience must take account of the rock-hard realities taught by Capricorn, as focused by intractable Pluto.

Down Into the Underworld

Pluto connotes a territory very much like that of Capricorn. Based on the figure of Greek Hades, king of the underworld, the Pluto archetype refers to the chthonic dimension, the underworld located below the surface of the Earth. It was there to which the souls of the departed went in Greek myth to undergo catharsis and preparation for rebirth. This is the world of Pluto. It is also the world of Capricorn, a sign intimately connected with the interior geological workings of the planet. As is evident, with chthonic Pluto in chthonic Capricorn, human experience is inescapably drawn to a contact with the processes of the mineral kingdom deep within inner earth.

Within the inner earth are the geological formations and structures which serve as the literal foundation upon which life is based on the surface of the planet. All the minerals required by the plant kingdom are created in the molten material at the core of the planet and work their way from the core  the surface, doing so over vast stretches of time. The gradual processes taking place over long timelines is a Capricornian thing in itself, to which human attention is inevitably drawn while potent Pluto activates this sign.

Thus, with Pluto amplifying the implications of Capricorn, the sign of the earthen Mountain Goat is of prime importance during the period 2008 – 2024. Pluto with its connections to matters concealed beneath the surface of the earth figures significantly as well. In fact, the combination of Pluto and Capricorn is particularly potent because both concern the chthonic region.

That chthonic region can be understood as the inner earth, literally the lasting foundation on which all of Earth life is based. Quite naturally, then, individual human experience seeks a connection with permanent or enduring foundations while Pluto is in Capricorn drawing attention to the massive geological structures underlying the surface where human life transpires.

Ghob and the Gnomes

In the western magical tradition, this is the zone of Ghob and the gnomes, with Ghob as the regent overseeing the legions of earth elementals referred to as gnomes while they go about their work of seeing to the decay and decomposition of organic matter, creating soil, maintaining the mineral content of the geological world, forming, cohering, and moving continents, synthesizing both precious and common metals and both precious and semi-precious gems in the interior furnaces of the planet, and supplying nutrition to the roots of the plant kingdom. Capricorn is therefore inherently connected with the entire geological region upon and under the surface of the Earth.

Permanence and Endurance

An earth sign ruled by stately and unhurried Saturn, Capricorn stands for tough and enduring substances which are so long lasting as to be permanent by human standards. In addition to the sturdy materials of the geological zone, in the biological zone Capricorn rules bones, teeth, and tough hides, materials which are also expressions of Capricornian ability to withstand hard use and pass the tests of time.

The symbolism of Capricorn presents an apt image: the scruffy mountain goat with its scraggly but protective coat and rough but highly efficient hooves as it toils up an impossibly steep incline toward the snow-clad heights. The goat’s tough hide and utilitarian hooves permit the mastering of an inhospitable environment given to steep and stony inclines, life-threatening rockslides, freezing precipitation, and blasts of frigid air. An impervious coating is essential in this battle with the elements. Capricorn stands for just that: hard outer coverings toughened by the tests of time and needed for survival in a life-threatening situation.

Considering both the geological and biological connections, it is apparent that Capricorn deals with and cultivates the capacity to withstand and outlast harsh conditions, to move amongst impediments and manage heavy weights, to survive intense pressure, and to remain standing in spite of repeated earth-shattering impacts.

Adversity the Domain of the Goat

As is evident, Capricorn all on its own supplies more than enough dramatic material to explain the drastic experience many have had under the influence of this cardinal earth sign. This has been particularly the case while a major outer planet has been transiting this sign during the years 2008 – 2024. With the presence of powerful Pluto in this sign, the effect has been intensified all the more, for Pluto exponentially magnifies and intensifies the nature of whatever sign it transits.

Thus, with relentless Pluto in chthonic Capricorn from 2008 – 2024, persons have experienced some of the most challenging conditions of their current incarnations, struggling like the upward trudging Mountain Goat to encounter severe tests of character and endurance, appallingly harsh work-life conditions, egregiously unfair treatment, gross insensitivity from the government and from employers, devastating personal and financial losses, destruction of dreams and projects, and the onset of bleak hopelessness. This was particularly true when transiting Pluto in Capricorn was squared by transiting Uranus in Aries during the years 2012 – 2016, and again in 2020 when transiting Pluto in Capricorn received conjunctions from first transiting Saturn and then transiting Jupiter.

In addition, all persons born with Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in Capricorn have been profoundly affected by the passage of Pluto through Capricorn. Most recently, Saturn was in Capricorn 1959 – 1961 and 1988 – 1991. Uranus was in Capricorn 1988 – 1996, while Neptune was in Capricorn 1984 – 1998. When transiting Pluto in Capricorn made conjunctions to these planetary positions in the natal charts of individuals, all the Capricornian themes were activated in their personal lives. As a result, the transit of Pluto through Capricorn has correlated to massive challenge in the lives of individual persons the world around. Many have been pushed the brink, forced to call upon their deepest inner resources.

The Gift of the Goat

The capacity to withstand enormous adversity is precisely the gift of the churlish sign of Capricorn. Certainly, Capricorn does not bestow this spiritual gift readily. No, like the possessive goblins who ruled the inner earth in the Harry Potter novels, the earth sign of Capricorn does not yield up its bounty easily. Instead, stingy Capricorn exacts exhausting labor before the good of which it is capable is allowed to shine forth amidst the dross of defeat and desolation. Even so, enhanced strength and power are indeed the product of a Capricornian activation survived, as many can now attest.

The severe and untoward circumstances encountered under Capricorn force the individual and the collective to dig deeper within. The rites of excavation decreed by Capricorn ultimately impel the individual toward his or her deepest foundations. It might even be said that Capricornian influence poses the question: What are your foundations? This indeed was the conundrum with which many tangled while Pluto transited through Capricorn. Intense challenges served as an impetus to an unrelenting search for an inner source of power and strength.

Digging Deeper for Sturdy Foundations

As a result, the distress and disappointment inherent in the Capricorn experience of the last 16 years have driven many to search for truths or teachings grounded in rock bottom certainty or security which can stand as a fortress against the onslaught of deeply troubled world conditions. At its best, Capricorn not only knocks humanity down, but also points humanity toward that which is lasting or even permanent. Precious few things fit that description. However, some come close. Nature with its eternal cyclicity and stone foundation in the interior of the Earth would qualify, a fact which has turned many toward Earth based Pagan spiritual paths while transiting Pluto has been in Capricorn.

Within the Pagan path exist many paths or traditions, including Celtic, Druidic, Witchcraft, Norse, Greek, Roman, Gypsy, and other traditions. Perhaps one of the most Capricornian of values available in the human domain is in fact the notion of tradition. Certainly Capricorn with its emphasis on the passage of time, memory, and authority is emblematic of tradition. Deeply entwined with history, ancestry, heritage, and custom, Capricorn respects the past and draws strength from that quarter. While Pluto has transited Capricorn, many have felt this call to an authentic past and have consequently been driven to dig deeply into the well of archaic traditions.

The Results in Late 2024

Thus, with Pluto amplifying the implications of Capricorn, the sign of the earthen Mountain Goat is of prime importance during the period 2008 – 2024. Pluto with its connections to matters concealed beneath the surface of the earth figures significantly as well. In fact, the combination of Pluto and Capricorn is particularly potent because both concern the chthonic region.

That chthonic region can be understood as the inner earth, literally the lasting foundation on which all of Earth life is based. Quite naturally, then, individual human experience seeks a connection with permanent or enduring foundations while Pluto is in Capricorn drawing attention to the massive geological structures underlying the surface where human life transpires.

As a beloved Pagan chant says,

Earth and fire, wind and rain, when we are gone, they will remain.

Under the touch of Capricorn, the individual digs deeply within and understands that while the human frame is temporary, the natural realities of the planet are far more lasting. In that understanding lies the foundation for an enduring sense of meaning. With Pluto back in Capricorn during the months of September, October, and November, the astrological energies nudge us all toward that realization.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

The Sun enters the sign of Libra on September 22 at 7:44 am CDT, there to remain through October 22. During this time, there sounds a background note of partnership, cooperation, and teamwork, a noticeable contrast to the theme of detailed self-analysis which held sway while the Sun was in exacting Virgo from August 22 through September 22.

While the Sun in Libra draws persons together for shared activities of all kinds, many other influences enter the picture. It all begins with the Libra Equinox of September 22, a point in time when the forces of polarity are momentarily neutralized. This allows for a special opportunity to perceive the nature of the universe and to create an intentional alignment with the power of choice.

Symbolized by the scales or balances, Libra is a sign which deals with the process of deliberation. Under this sign are carried out the processes of weighing and balancing options, on the way to making a decision. Hence, Libra is an archetype embodying the power of choice.

The Libra Equinox as a mile-marker moment highlighting the power of choice kicks off the month on September 22. The New Moon on October 2 at 10 degrees of Libra reinforces the message, again sounding a statement about the role of choice and the power to choose. Immediately there follows an interactive period defined by aspects involving Mercury, Venus, and Mars, the human relations planets. Lots of opportunities to pick and choose are in store, for sure.

A Jupiter station on October 9 in Gemini inflates all matters of discussion, conversation, rhetoric, and verbal interaction. A powerful Pluto station is not far behind on October 11, stirring up the USA natal Pluto position and making October 9 – 11 potent in terms of world events. Think presidential elections and the like, as the two main candidates in the American race have Gemini placed prominently in their individual horoscopes. (Kamala Harris has Gemini rising; Donald Trump has Uranus, lunar north node, and Sun in Gemini.)

The planetary indications provide a mixed bag in mid-October, with the Sun in diplomatic Libra in trine to gracious Jupiter, but in square to obstreperous Mars in sometimes meddlesome Cancer. The Venus-Uranus opposition of mid-month is sure to ratchet up the temperature on all fronts. The Full Moon brings further intensity from 15 – 18 October.

Social vibes and general conditions then smooth out to some degree from mid-October through the end of the Sun in Libra period, with particularly charmed conditions holding sway October 15 – 17 under positive Venus aspects in the run-up to the Full Moon.

Here’s how it all works out:

Sept. 22……………………Libra Equinox or Mabon takes place as the Sun enters Libra at 7:44 am CDT. A special moment occurs when the relationship of the Earth to the Sun allows for right adjustment of body, emotions, mind and spirit. Portals open into greater understanding of stellar and galactic influence. Practitioners of magical works and other seekers are offered insights into the nature of polarity and other principles of existence. The moment of opportunity is subtle but present nonetheless.

Sept. 22 – 23…………….Venus at 29 degrees Libra square Pluto at 29 degrees Capricorn. Misunderstandings and troubled connections emanating from the last time Venus was conjunct Pluto in mid-February 2024 re-emerge. Human relations are complicated by matters originating in unseen dimensions. The affairs of the deceased impinge upon current relationships. Discomfort unsettles the heart. Deep inward contemplation is unavoidable.

Sept. 22…………………..Venus enters Scorpio, 9:36 pm CDT, there to stay through October 17. For the next three weeks, the power of the occult exerts a strong attraction. Emotions run deep. Strong aversions and attractions make their appearance. Nothing is altogether zen at this time. Passion, whether romantic, sexual, or creative figures in all things. Many prefer to keep their thoughts and feelings hidden. Secrets leak out all the same. A love affair with the denizens of the world beyond the veil unfolds.

Sept. 23 – 25………………A three day activation involving Mercury takes place, emphasizing communication, commerce, and travel.

Sept. 24……………………Mercury at 27 Virgo trine Uranus at 27 Taurus. Progress in educational, literary, and commercial endeavors shows up. Needed information comes into view readily. Productive conversations move the dial forward in matters of employment, health, nutrition, and money.

Sept. 24 – 25……………….Mercury at 29 degrees of Virgo opposite Neptune at 29 degrees of Pisces. Imagination and psychic perception play a powerful role, as do dreams. Communication from other realms brings a different perspective to the table. Plans and points of view are adapted accordingly. Much is in a fog. Music soothes the soul.

Sept. 25 – 26……………….Mercury at 29 degrees of Virgo trine Pluto at 29 degrees of Capricorn. Understandings fall into place in the arena of jobs, profession, and major life goals. Methods and protocols for achieving desired results come to attention and provide immediate solutions.

Sept. 26…………………….Mercury enters Libra, 3:09 am CDT, there to stay through October 12, 2024. A moment of neutrality blankets the world, signifying a shift in mental atmosphere. Examination of opposed viewpoints emerges as a main theme through October 12. Debate and contention are increased, but the rules of engagement encourage civility.

Sept. 28 – 30………………...Mars at 14 degrees of Cancer trine Saturn at 14 degrees of Pisces. Cooperation and agreement settle over human relations for a goodly moment. Many damaged connections are repaired, with understandings restored. Care and concern for the disadvantaged come to the forefront. Feelings and needs are acknowledged and respected.

Sept. 29 – Oct. 1…………….Sun and Mercury conjunct at 7 degrees of Libra. Discussions of partnerships and collaboration proliferate. The principles of fairness and equity emerge as a point of public discussion. Even so, over-reactions may distort the mental landscape.

Oct. 2………………………..New Moon, 1:49 pm CDT, at 10 degrees of Libra, a Solar Eclipse. A new lunar cycle begins, featuring initiatives which bond persons together in shared intentions.

Oct. 3 – 5…………………….Venus at 18 degrees of Scorpio trine Saturn at 14 degrees of Pisces. Serenity unfolds with minimal effort. Stability matters in affairs of the heart and emotions. Continuity counts for much. Dependability and reliability score high in the world of human relations.

Oct. 4 – 6…………………..Mercury at 17 degrees of Libra square Mars at 17 degrees of Cancer. Agitation emerges. Conversations wax spirited, if not contentious. The mind and body are restless, demanding action. Impulsivity reigns but ought to be curbed. Words are let fly.

Oct. 7 – 9…………………..Venus at 18 degrees of Scorpio trine Mars at 18 degrees of Cancer. Emotional peace again settles in. Compatibility over-rides contention. Connections thrive. Understanding falls into place. Romance blossoms. Feelings warm up.

Oct. 8 – 9…………………..Jupiter stationary retrograde, exact on Oct. 9 at 2:05 am CDT, at 21 degrees of Mercury-ruled, air sign Gemini. The expansiveness, excess, and exaggeration characteristic of Jupiter incline toward overdoing. Air currents are strong and wild. Wind is a factor in weather patterns. Ideas blow all around madly. Conversation and verbal communication take center stage. Controversy rages. The definition of terms and words takes on extreme importance.

Oct. 10 – 12……………….Pluto stationary direct, 29 Capricorn 39, exact on Oct. 11, 7:34 pm CDT. The power of will and determination figure strongly. Opportunities emerge for the exercise of choice and direction. The forces of nature are compelling, especially as expressed through geological formations and the entire mineral kingdom. Deep thought about life direction grips the mind. Ancient traditions exercise a profound allure.

Oct. 12 – 14………………...Mercury at 29 degrees of Libra square Pluto at 29 degrees of Capricorn, exact on Oct. 13 at 10:03 am CDT. The weather turns intense, dark, bleak, ominous, threatening. A pensive mood grips the collective; the atmosphere mirrors the seriousness of the moment. Social connections are strained over practicalities and hidden political influences. Communications and travel encounter complexities. Hidden agendas exist.

Oct. 13………………………Mercury enters Scorpio, 2:23 pm CDT, to stay through Nov. 2, 2024. Mental attention turns to deeply concealed and secretive matters. The solving of enigmas and puzzles becomes necessary. Gathering information on the sly is involved. Intuition is much enhanced over the next two weeks while Mercury is in shrewd and knowing Scorpio.

Oct. 13 – 14……………….Sun at 21 degrees of Libra trine Jupiter at 21 degrees of Gemini. Good fortune smiles on many. Health and well-being are aided. Comfort levels increase. The outlook is optimistic. A window of opportunity opens for all and should be used to take action on current intentions. Generosity and tolerance abound. A spirit of goodness prevails. (However, the situation is complicated by the following two adverse indications.)

Oct. 13 – 14……………….Sun at 21 degrees of Libra square Mars at 21 degrees of Cancer. Impulses to take action emerge insistently. Impatience is  factor. Unnecessary risks should be foregone. Haste and rush can be detrimental at any time, but especially at this time. Ego conflicts may arise. Playing it safe and remaining low key make better sense.

Oct. 13 – 14………………..Venus at 27 degrees of Scorpio opposite Uranus at 27 degrees of Taurus. Innovative methods take over and change the situation. Instabilities in social connections loom large. Diplomatic methods are needed. Sudden changes in affiliations, plans, and projects emerge. Flexibility is needed but in short supply. Relationships may be strained or undergo a brief interval of disruption, disagreement, or misunderstanding.

Oct. 15…………………….6:26 pm CDT, the 72-hour Full Moon period begins. Now is the time to intensify all efforts, including spellwork for increase in any area of life. Intuition is sharpened and emotions enhanced.

Oct. 15 – 16………………..Venus at 28 degrees of Scorpio trine Neptune at 28 degrees of Pisces. Healing of recent stresses and strains is possible. Compatibility and agreement come back into focus. Assistance and favor from the realm of the ancient deities enter the picture. Affairs of women are helped from unseen worlds. Spirit contacts bring important understandings. Music provides solace, healing, emotional fulfillment.

Oct. 16 – 17……………….Venus at 29 degrees of Scorpio sextile Pluto at 29 degrees of Capricorn. Financial arrangements fall into place. Payments arrive, and credit is extended to the worthy. Solutions for income and professional advancement materialize. Healing efforts bear fruit. Possibilities for depth understanding glimmer and hold promise. Research into paranormal happenings moves ahead with cooperation from the spirit realm.

Oct. 17……………………..Full Moon, 6:26 am CDT at 25 degrees of Aries. With the Sun at 25 degrees of Libra and the Moon at 25 degrees of Aries, the air and fire elements are emphasized and enhanced. Air stirs up the mind and fire ignites the passions. Intensity of thought and emotion result. A tension between social or outer self and personal or inner self emerges. Both are important. The desire to move ahead in life billows up into major proportions. The drive to make things happen bubbles over. Intentions receive attention and drive action.

Oct. 17……………………..Venus enters Sagittarius, there to stay through Nov. 11, 2024. This inaugurates nearly a month of aspiration toward greater knowledge, travel, and intellectual challenge. Philosophy and abstract thought attract attention. Projection of the mind into outer space or other dimensions holds great appeal. Imagination is activated. Distant times and places figure largely in dreams, visions, and longings.

Oct. 18……………………6:26 pm CDT, 72-hour Full Moon period ends. Conclude all special Full Moon rituals and spellworkings. Waning Moon begins. Shift to spellwork designed to eradicate, remove, or eliminate unwanted factors. The work of letting go now begins as the lighted portion of the Moon from Earth perspective begins to visibly diminish in size.

Oct. 21 – 22………………Mercury at 13 degrees of Scorpio trine Saturn at 13 degrees of Pisces. Needed information comes into hand readily. Good talks lead to workable business and financial agreements. Learning proceeds easily. Mental clarity is much enhanced. Organization helps.

Oct. 21 – 22……………….Sun at 29 degrees of Libra square Pluto at 29 degrees of Capricorn. Law and justice draw up and highlight the abuses committed under the recent 16 year passage of Pluto through the business and money sign of Capricorn. The difference between fair treatment and profit driven motive appear in stark contrast. The end of an era of corruption and dissimulation appears imminent via the courts of law.

Oct. 22…………………….Sun enters Scorpio, 5:15 pm CDT.

Looking ahead:

Oct. 23 – 25……………….Mars at 26 degrees of Cancer sextile Uranus at 26 degrees of Taurus. Solutions for domestic needs appear. Sustenance enters the picture. Jobs and housing are found for those in need. Financial and other material resources aid in establishing preservation for historic and ancestral matters. Groups come into the material provisions they need to accomplish their goals. Ideas for ongoing sustainability of national economies emerge and offer workable scenarios.

Astrologer Maureen Richmond, Ph.D.

Lughnasadh: One of Eight Key Points in Time

Observed by Pagans around the world, Lughnasadh is a late summer festival commemorating the first harvest of the fruits of nature. Honoring the plentiful generosity of the Earth, the observance of Lughnasadh is thought by some scholars to go back as far as 1200 B.C.E, which is to say, more than 3000 years ago when the Celtic peoples of the British Isles and western Europe honored Lughnasadh during the Iron Age.

In the twenty-first century, Lughnasadh is a seasonal celebration observed by Pagans and Witches following a wide range of lineages and paths. Also called Lammas, Lughnasadh is traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere on August 1, one of the eight sacred points of the Pagan calendar. Often referred to under the poetic term, The Wheel of the Year, the Pagan calendar itself is a uniquely astrological concept worthy of thoughtful attention by any and all who recognize the astrological powers behind the human experience.

The Structure of the Pagan Calendar

The fundamental building blocks of the Pagan calendar are the equinoxes and solstices. These points in the cycle of the year are determined by astronomical constants far beyond the reach of human control. Products of the cosmic forces which decreed the arrangement of the solar system, the sizes and placements of the various planetary bodies, and the varying orbital speeds, the equinoxes and solstices are authentic expressions of cosmic principles working out in our solar system.

As viewed and experienced from the particular vantage point of planet Earth, the equinoxes and solstices occur at four distinct points in the year, dividing the year into four absolutely equal quarters.

The half-way points in between the equinoxes and solstices constitute the remaining four points of the eight-point structure of the Pagan calendar. These half-way points between the solstices and equinoxes are referred to as the cross-quarter days. The four cross-quarter days and the four equinoctial-solstitial points form the eight key moments in time embodied in the Pagan eight point calendar.

The Difference Between the Wheel of the Year and the Modern Calendar

A timekeeping mechanism built entirely on established and unchanging astronomical fact, the Pagan eight point calendar makes imminently greater sense than does the civil calendar presently used throughout the world, which is tied to absolutely no significant astronomical factors. The popes of early Christianity are to blame for that. Eager to eradicate every sign of Pagan antiquity, the popes of early Christianity made it a first order of business to obliterate the observation of natural cycles, such as those of the Sun and the Moon.

The Pagan calendar was based on the Earth to Sun relationship as seen in the equinoctial-solstitial frame of reference. In in the papal view, the calendar structured on the equinoxes and solstices was purely Pagan in nature and therefore worthy only of repudiation. Papal authority selected arbitrary points in the annual cycle and established the months and numbering of the days therein on that basis. As a result, January 1, for example, contains absolutely no magical significance. However, the Capricorn solstice 10 days before certainly does. The Catholic Church via papal authority hid the innately powerful Capricorn solstice deep in the last month of the year and attempted to further obscure it by naming another point in the year about 10 days later as the allegedly auspicious first day of the year.

In time, the people would forget that the Capricorn Solstice constituted one of the most powerful magical portals of the annual cycle, the popes reasoned. Only, as fate would have it, the memory of that great astronomical truth was far more stubborn and persistent than the popes had imagined. Pagans secretly held on to their natural knowledge of the equinoxes, solstices, and half-way points in between, and the result is visible today. All over the world, Pagan practitioners know that eight points of magical power are distributed throughout the year, portals in time for all to experience, absolutely free of charge.

Lughnasadh is a case in point. Traditionally celebrated in the northern  hemisphere on August 1, Lughnasadh is normally defined as the half-way point between the Cancer Solstice and the Libra Equinox. In Pagan tradition, the Cancer Solstice is termed Litha, while the Libra Equinox is termed Mabon. So Lughnasadh is often defined as the half-way point between Litha and Mabon.

However, due to the distortions inherent in the current civil calendar system (another lovely legacy of the early popes), August 1 does not in fact fall at exactly half-way in between Litha and Mabon. However, a more exact way to figure the half-way point between Litha and Mabon exists. This calculation can be done easily and straightforwardly by simply measuring the progress of the Sun along the ecliptic, which is to say, within the zodiac of signs, and finding the midpoint between the Cancer Solstice and the Libra Equinox. This method identifies the precise zodiacal position of the cross-quarter day known as Lughnasadh, or Lammas.

How to Derive the Correct Date for the Lughnasadh Cross-Quarter Day

The zodiac of signs is composed of 360 degrees, with each sign comprising 30 degrees of space.

Using this system, it is possible to readily determine when the Sun has reached a zodiacal position precisely half-way between Litha (the Cancer Solstice), and Mabon (the Libra Equinox).

Astrologically considered, the Cancer Solstice (or Litha) occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Cancer, while the Libra Equinox occurs when the Sun is positioned at 0 degrees of Libra. In between intervene exactly 90 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Half of this distance would be 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude. Since each sign equals 30 degrees of zodiacal longitude, 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude equals 1 ½  signs. Adding that increment to 0 degrees Cancer, it is evident that the half-way point between 0 Cancer and 0 Libra is 15 degrees of Leo. This same result can be achieved by subtracting 45 degrees of zodiacal longitude from 0 degrees Libra. Doing so reveals that indeed it is 15 degrees of Leo which lies precisely half-way between the Cancer Solstice and Libra Equinox, which is to say, half-way between Litha and Mabon.

The position of the Sun at 15 degrees of Leo, however, does not fall in any year on August 1. In fact, it always falls a few days later. In August of 2024, for example, the Sun arrives at 15 degrees of Leo on August 6. For the astrologically inclined, August 6 should therefore be regarded as the true date on which Lughnasadh occurs in 2024. From this perspective, it is the date of August 6 and not August 1 on which the powers of an authentic cross-quarter moment may be experienced.

The Benefits of Celebrating Lughnasadh on August 6, 2024

Interestingly, in 2024, true Lughnasadh on August 6 falls just two days after New Moon, which occurs on August 4 at 6:13 am CDT. As a result, true Lughnasadh 2024 falls within the first few days of a lunar cycle. The first few days of any lunar cycle constitute a particularly auspicious time of the month in its own right, just right for magical operations designed to embody and advance important intentions. If ritually celebrated on August 6, Lughnasadh 2024 therefore packs a potent punch, combining the cross-quarter astronomical power of 15 degrees Leo and the natural thrust of the New Moon energy to deliver a real window of opportunity in time.

Indeed, the August 6 date for Lughnasadh and the New Moon energies early in the lunar cycle working together promise to provide highly opportune energies for the creation of powerful rituals designed to celebrate Pagan tradition and make contact with the Pagan deities of antiquity.

Here is an argument in favor of celebrating Lughnasadh 2024 on or near August 6 instead of August 1, for August 1 falls within the final days of waning or Old Moon. Old Moon is all about dissolution, letting go, and elimination. That’s the background vibe on August 1, 2024, as the lunar cycle spirals downward and energies dwindle both physically and psychologically. At that time, the lunar cycle will be dying back and winding down for rebirth on August 4. Everything decelerates and weakens in intensity during very Old Moon, the absolute dregs of the lunar cycle. For those seeking to receive active signs from their traditions and deities, Lughnasadh celebrations situated on August 6 during the lively first few days after the August New Moon are likely to garner better results.

Further, associating Lughnasadh with 15 degrees of Leo rather than with August 1 carries another benefit: it’s an act of rebellion against the imposition of a papist calendrical system. It also harkens into deep Pagan antiquity when a structure based on the 15 degree position in the fixed signs was estimated as the stable structure conveying a sense of cosmic order as expressed through the zodiac, which is to say, the plane of the solar system as seen through our ecliptic.

The Eternal Value of the Pagan Eight-Point Wheel of the Year

Thinking in this way, it is evident that the eight point Pagan calendar of the year is founded on unchanging measures of movement through space identified using the properties of sacred geometry. This approach starts with the undisputed reality of the equinoxes and solstices as the fundamental square of the heavens. From there, it incorporates the 15^th degree of the fixed signs as the half-way points, or cross-quarter points. In other words, this structure is not based upon the dates of what is currently defined as either a year or a month by the surrounding society. Instead, the Pagan eight point calendar is based on celestial factors. This structure in time embodies stability and permanence, for it unfolds in a stately, regular rhythm marking out an entirely reliable pulse of life.

To conceptualize the annual cycle or Wheel of the Year in this way is to restore the power rightfully to be credited to the Pagan calendar, which was from the beginning built on the very astronomical fundamentals which drive and sustain life on this planet. The acknowledgement of 15 degrees Leo or August 6 as the true date for Lughnasadh 2024 is a step in that direction.

[Note: in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the harvest-themed Lughnasadh in the southern hemisphere is celebrated in early February, while early August in the southern hemisphere sees the celebration of the late winter festival of Imbolc.]