When we first started creating a sacred calendar for Ariadne’s Tribe, we focused on figuring out which festivals - which specific days - we should add.
That makes sense, of course, since days like the solstices and equinoxes were commonly celebrated across the ancient world.
Like most things in the Tribe, building the calendar was a community effort. We got the basics down and then slowly added more dates as our research and shared gnosis suggested them.
Some of them sort of clumped together, so for instance we have a little ‘holiday season’ in the autumn, beginning with the Feast of Grapes, continuing with the Mysteries, and finishing with Autumn Equinox.
We’ve also explored the seasons of the Minoan calendar, which are unique to the Mediterranean climate.
But until last winter, it didn’t occur to us to think about sacred seasons.
It often happens, in our spiritual adventures in the Tribe, that we discover things about certain points in the sacred calendar when we’re actually at that point in the year. Our existence during that time of year connects us with it, and we’re able to discern aspects that we can’t at other times.
Last November, we realized that there’s a Minoan sacred season leading up to the Winter Solstice. We call it Therasia’s Labor.
Then, as soon as solstice was over, we discovered that the days between it and the following full moon were their own special kind of sacred season, a set of intercalary days we call the Winter Serpent Days. The full moon that follows Winter Solstice already had a special identity in our sacred calendar as the Blessing of the Waters.
Now that we’re approaching the Summer Solstice, the other side of the seesaw balance that is the cycle of the solar year, we’ve discovered that the two halves of the year reflect each other. There’s a sacred season that leads up to the Summer Solstice as well.
We call it Summer Weaving. It’s a reminder of the interconnectedness of all things, all beings.
As you might guess, there’s also a set of intercalary days that follow the Summer Solstice and a festival on the first full moon afterward. But I’ll wait until we’ve reached that point in the calendar to reveal those.
If we’re going to dance with the calendar, we need to do it in the right rhythm.
Together we are joy!
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About Laura Perry
I'm an author, artist, and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. I'm the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, a worldwide inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. My spiritual practice also includes spirit work and herbalism through the lens of lifelong animism. I write Pagan / polytheist non-fiction and fiction across several different subjects and genres. I'm currently working on an illustrated book of modern Minoan myths and a Minoan entry in the Moon Books Pantheons series. I’m also an avid gardener and living history demonstrator.