Dumannios and Æfterra Gēola

  

Photo by Manuel Torres Garcia: https://www.pexels.com/photo/trees-covered-with-christmas-lights-at-night-10664540/

Since I started keeping track of time this way, I've been also trying to pin down how the ancient groups would have done so.  I had been assuming that the 'new moon = new month' formula, as seems to be the case for the Coligny Calendar and other Celtic sources, would be the same for other groups.  But then I came upon an Anglo-Saxon calendar listing, which quoted Bede's Reckoning of Time  as indicating the month of Wynterfylleth as beginning on the full moon ("because winter began on the first full moon of that month [of October]."  So I asked my friend Alaric Albertsson. He usually posts on his Facebook page about which Anglo-Saxon month it is... and I noticed he also goes full-moon to full-moon.

The upshot (and Alaric, PLEASE correct me if I misinterpreted) is that the Anglo-Saxons likely didn't have calendars the way we think about them now. Putting ancient conceptions of time and months onto a modern calendar is going to be... well an exercise in UPG.  So I guess if you want to do your calendar some other way, go right ahead.  I'm still going to do it this way, at least until I come to a better idea.

Dumannios is the Gaulish month name and translates into "Dark Month."  In our grove, we honor the Matronae, three goddesses about which very little is know (or can be found easily).  I personally place them in the same category as the Moirai (Fates) or Norns.  Kondratiev calls this the Moon of the Stag, from "I am a stag of seven tines" line. (It can also be translated as a bull, but Kondratiev has reasons for this translation. I highly recommend reading it).  The stag is an otherworldly spirit who can cross the boundaries between worlds easily. The stag brings hope in the wintertime (while the boar roams the earth...there's a whole boar/stag thing, which may be a post for another time).  The stag brings the message of the light growing, even if it's not noticeable.

The Almanac calls it the Wolf Moon, as it is a time when wolves are active. 

This year, there will be no month of Ærra Gēola, "before Yule," as the new moon is on my third night of Gēola devotion. Æfterra Gēola will begin on January 1, after Twelfth Night. 

Anyway, it can be a bit harder to find a theme to focus on.  Clearly "darkness" is one, supported by the winter solstice.  I can close my eyes and almost see and feel... a snowy field, darkened evergreens against a starry sky, the howl of wolves in the distance.  A lone stag walks through the snow, stopping and sniffing the air.....  Connection to the weavers as I contemplate my journey.  And, we left the energies of Bee when we moved from Samhain to Yule (see: this and this) and are now with the energies of Wheat, so contemplation can be mixed with gratitude for the harvest of the journey so far.

As the moon waxes, we can think about the light in the darkness as it starts to grow. At the full moon, we can great the Cosmic Stag, a solar disk between its antlers.  As the moon wanes, see the light heading towards the future.

Astrologically, the new moon begins on Friday December 23 in Capricorn. Both sun and moon in Capricorn.  The New Moon in Capricorn represents responsibility and actualization.  This is a sign known for ambition, patience and perseverance,  making this a great time to really begin thinking about your goals for the new year.  You can start that well before the actual date of "official" resolutions.

The first quarter rolls around on December 29 with the moon in Aries square with the Sun in Capricorn.  A moon in Aries has fiery energy, and willing to go all the way with goals, tasks, and ideas, great energy and initiative. The friction here is between setting a goal and pouring so much personal energy into it that you burn out (a common occurrence with New Year's Resolutions).

The full moon in Cancer (January 6) opposite Sun in Capricorn brings a tension of balancing the nurturing we need from others (because we really do) with our own self-sufficiency.  Do you need help with your goal? Are you too proud to ask?  Is there a risk you become too dependent on others to do what you should yourself? Only you can answer. 

Finally, on January 14 the moon's last quarter in Libra is square the Capricorn sun.  Now there is friction between our social lives and our goal, as if we over corrected from the first quarter. Are our partnerships helping us? Or are they providing ready excuses for us to avoid the work we decided we needed to do?

Setting resolutions that allow us our own agency while accepting the assistance of others, contemplating our journey thus far in the darkness of winter, with gratitude.  Have a great month!