Aster and the Black Moon
(Page 3 of 5)
August/September 1996
By Fred Schaaf
One thing that is sure is that when the sky darkens during the eclipse, a point of light just below the moon will brighten greatly. The object seeming to kindle spectacularly will be the planet Saturn. It is at "opposition" — exactly opposite the sun in the sky — on the same day that the moon is, this day of the eclipse. A telescope will show the rings of Saturn tilted enough for a good view.
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New Year at Autumn's Start
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at the sunset nearest to the new moon that is closest to the autumn equinox This is a lunar calendar (as is that of another major Western religion, Islam), and its beginning is tied to the start of autumn. We can more easily understand the spring equinox as a beginning. What's the rationale behind starting the year with early fall?
The idea of many calendars that begin with autumn equinox must be that the old year ends with harvest, reaches its midway or highest point when farmers do most of their planting. Of course, there may be other reasons—connected with various aspects of religion, history, and culture, too. But perhaps the phrase that just drew your attention most strongly was "many calendars." Which other than the Jewish appear to be keyed to the autumn equinox?
Five others quickly come to mind. One is still used, and the past importance of three of them is reflected by the fact that they still appear in many almanacs. One in this latter class is the Byzantine, which begins year 7505 on September 14, 1996. Another is the calendar based on the Diocletian era. This starts from the year 284 A.D., when Diocletian became emperor of the Roman Empire. September 11, 1996 is the start of year 1713 in the Diocletian era.
The Spartan, with its roots in ancient Greece, is a now seldom-remembered calendar beginning around autumn equinox. Greece was divided into many citystates, each extremely independent, and military Sparta was one of the most powerful. But these city-states were conquered by Alexander the Great, whose calendar also started at autumn equinox. (Quick, can you name the months of the Macedonian year? Here they are, courtesy of Guy Ottewell: Dius, Apellaeus, Audynaeus, Peritius, Dystrus, Xanthicus, Artemisius, Daesius, Panemus, Loeus, Gorpiaeus, Hyperberetaeus.)
Another autumnal calendar is still in use by Syriac Christian churches. In 312 B.C. Seleucus I got control of most of the late Alexander's empire. Year 2308 of the Grecian or Seleucidae era begins, depending on your source, on either September 14 or October 14 of 1996.
Almanac for August/September 1996
August
1 Lammas ("loaf-mass"), an old harvest festival, also known as the festival of St. Peter's Chains, of the Maccabees, or as the Gule ("mouth") of August; Lugnasad, the Gaelic "games of Lug," the sun god.
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