The Atheopagan Calendar of Moons: an Optional Set of New Observances
In the Atheopagan Saturday Zoom Mixer conversation this week, the group came up with a fantastic idea: to correlate the 13 Atheopagan Principles with the 13 cycles of the Moon each year, and observe each Moon as a time to contemplate and celebrate that particular Principle.
This is optional, of course. You don’t have to observe them that way if it doesn’t work for you. But I was excited about the idea and I know the rest of the group was, too–it’s a way to add a celebration of lunar cycles to the Solar cycle of the Wheel of the Year in your Atheopagan practice.
Each 28-day cycle of the Moon can be thought of as a period for reflection on the appropriate Atheopagan Principle, adding theme and meaning to your observances for that Full Moon night at least, and perhaps for that whole nearly month-long period.
I propose that each such cycle begin on the night when the new Moon is visible as a thin crescent before sunset, and be celebrated at its height on the full Moon. The cycle begins in December, when the Wheel of the Year begins.
I’m excited about this idea because it’s a great example of how we are co-creating Atheopaganism together. If this idea works for you, know that you can thank a group of thoughtful and interesting people who have been joining us on Saturday mornings (Pacific Time) for a visit, chat and discussion.
Coming up tomorrow: the PLEASURE MOON, on Sept. 2!
Atheopagan Full Moons 2020-21
SKEPTIC’S MOON
REVERENCE MOON
GRATITUDE MOON
HUMBLE MOON
LAUGHTER MOON
RITUAL MOON
INCLUSIVENESS MOON
LEGACY MOON
RESPONSIBLE MOON
PLEASURE MOON
CURIOSITY MOON
INTEGRITY MOON
COMPASSION MOON
December 29, 2020
January 28, 2021
February 27, 2021
March 28, 2021
April 27, 2021
May 26, 2021
June 24, 2021
July 24, 2021
August 22, 2021
Sept. 2, 2020
Oct. 1, 2020
Oct. 31, 2020 (Blue Moon, Halloween)
Nov. 30, 2020
All dates shown are GMT. Dates may change by one day depending on time zone.
6 Comments
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Love these Moon suggestions. It would be great if you could give a short passage on each moon and its significance so that we can celebrate or plan rituals accordingly……I just googled skeptics moon and all articles were about the moon landing and denial of it by some. Had an ‘aha’ moment….this is a scientific celebration! Thanks in advance…Lynne (Queensland Australia)
Good idea! I’ll follow up sometime with more explanatory text on the Moons.
so I have a technical question as I think about putting this into practice. The moon’s cycle is actually 29.5 days (based on phases), not 28, so we only have 13 moon cycles every 2-3 years. Have you thought about what to do on the years where there is no blue moon? Omit one of the principles? Just let it continue to rotate through the principles and not worry about lining it up so that the same season is associated with the same principle each year? I realize that this is something optional and I could come up with my own solution, but if others already have ideas about how to deal with this discrepancy I’d be interested in aligning my practice with the rest of the community partaking in this fun idea!
Hi, Susan! What I am doing (and I think others are, as well) is just letting the Moons continue to rotate through the Principles, whether or not two of them are in the same month. But as you say, you can choose to do differently if it feels right to you–you could celebrate blue Moons as their own thing, independent of a Principle, for example. Thanks for your question–orienting a regular practice to Moon cycles is tricky!
Awesome, thanks!