#maimakterion 2023

[westofwyeast]

Praxis Diary #2- 2nd of Maimakterion, November 16th, 2023 - Agathos Daimon

Afternoon

Cleaned out libations bowl on altar

Placed scented candle (warm honey and vanilla) back on the altar in place of yesterday's honey cake offering.

[haunted-rum]

Festivals & Calendars

The equinox. The time when night and day are equal. It occurs only two times a year. Tomorrow, September 23, 2023, is when the Autumnal Equinox falls for those in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, is the Spring Equinox. For some people and cultures, this is a time of festivity.

When it comes to festivals in Hellenic Polytheism, it can be a bit overwhelming for worshipers to figure out. The Ancient Greeks had a lot of festivals throughout the years. Athens alone had about 120 days worth of festivals. Each city-state had their own festival calendars with some festivals being pan-Hellenic. That is, they were celebrated across all of Ancient Greece, such as the Olympia.

When starting to construct a festival calendar, many people will use the Attic calendar. Otherwise known as the Ancient Athenian calendar. The reason for that, is simply because that it is the calendar we happen to have the most information on. From the names of the months to information on the festivals, it is the calendar that is best if you are looking to simply translate the ancient calendar to your modern day calendar.

Modern day worshipers may find themselves stuck on what festivals they should celebrate and when. Some festivals we only have the names of, others we only know approximately when they were celebrated. Even though I have been a Hellenic Polytheist for about 8 years now, I still find myself struggling with figuring out the festival calendar. As a solitary worshiper, though not out of choice, it can be a bit difficult to celebrate certain festivals the same way the Ancient Greeks did and even a bit lonely at times. Between being solitary and also living in a different climate zone than the ancient and modern Greeks, I have to make a few adaptations to the festivals.

The few things that remain the same are the Deipnon (the last of the month) and the Noumenia (the first of the month). The second of the month is often dedicated to the Agathos Daimon (good spirit). Because the calendar is a lunisolar calendar, the first of the month falls on the new moon. For modern people, the new moon occurs when the moon is 100% dark, but for the ancients, the new moon occurs when the moon is just starting to be seen again after going dark. When I was constructing my calendar, I chose to place the Noumenia the day after the modern new moon (when it was 100% dark) which places the Deipnon on the day of the modern new moon.

However, because 12 lunar months are about 11 days shorter than a solar year, the months can start to slide back and become misaligned with the seasons. To fix this, the Ancient Athenians added in an extra month every three years. I tend to just add in an extra month after Poseideon in December. It's just called Poseideon II.

Having that beginning and end set in the calendar makes it much easier to decide when to place the festivals. At least, those we know the dates of. For example, we know that Thargelia was celebrated on the 6th and 7th of Thargelion, and we know that Thargelion occurs in May/June.

For the Ancient Athenians, the year began with the first new moon after the summer solstice. The first month of the year is called Hekatambaion. The months after that are as follows:

Metageitnion

Boedromion

Pyanepsion

Maimakterion

Poseideon

Gamelion

Anthesterion

Elaphebolion

Mounichion

Thargelion

Skirophorion

And of course, every three years there will be an extra month. Each month is about 29 or 30 days long as the moon's orbit around the Earth is 29.5 days long.

When it comes to setting up the calendar, I found this site (epistemeacademy.org) to be very helpful. I made very few, if any, tweaks to the festival dates.

In regards to the festivals, I usually place them on the same days the Ancients did with the exception of some agricultural festivals. Since I live in a different climate zone, my local harvests start just a little later in the year, though not by much. I also don't celebrate every single festival that the ancients did. That's a lot of festivals to celebrate. I generally just stick to one or two festivals a month depending on the length of the festival. Additionally, some festivals will be celebrated for the full original time frame, and others will be shortened to accommodate my own (and society's) needs. Unfortunately, I can't always celebrate for seven days straight.

Some of the festivals I personally celebrate are the Dionysia (both parts), Kronia, Thargelia, Panathenaia, and more. I'll talk more in depth about the specific festivals I celebrate as they come up as this post has already really long.

I am by no means an expert. All of this is simply based on my own experience and the research I’ve done intermittently over the course of 8 years. Please be sure to do your own research as well. The site that I linked above (epistemeacademy.org) links information about the festivals that are listed in the calendar. You can also find books and articles using Google Scholar (would highly recommend). If you believe that I may have gotten something wrong or if there is something I missed, please let me know. Definitely provide links if you have them.

[crazycatsiren]

2023 Hecate's Deipnon, Noumenia, Agathos Daimon Lunar Dates

Olympiad 700.3

December 2022 Hecate's Deipnon: 22 December at sunset Noumenia (1 of Poseideon II): 23 December at sunset Agathos Daimon: 24 December at sunset

January 2023 Hecate's Deipnon: 21 January at sunset Noumenia (1 of Gamelion): 22 January at sunset Agathos Daimon: 23 January at sunset

February Hecate's Deipnon: 20 February at sunset Noumenia (1 of Anthesterion): 21 February at sunset Agathos Daimon: 22 February at sunset

March Hecate's Deipnon: 21 March at sunset Noumenia (1 of Elaphebolion): 22 March at sunset Agathos Daimon: 23 March at sunset

April Hecate's Deipnon: 20 April at sunset Noumenia (1 of Mounichion): 21 April at sunset Agathos Daimon: 22 April at sunset

May Hecate's Deipnon: 19 May at sunset Noumenia (1 of Thargelion): 20 May at sunset Agathos Daimon: 21 May at sunset

June Hecate's Deipnon: 18 June at sunset Noumenia (1 of Skirophorion): 19 June at sunset Agathos Daimon: 20 June at sunset

July Hecate's Deipnon: 17 July at sunset Noumenia (1 of Hekatombaion): 18 July at sunset *Attic New Year Agathos Daimon: 19 July at sunset

August Hecate's Deipnon: 16 August at sunset Noumenia (1 of Metageitnion): 17 August at sunset Agathos Daimon: 18 August at sunset

September Hecate's Deipnon: 14 September at sunset Noumenia (1 of Boedromion): 15 September at sunset Agathos Daimon: 16 September at sunset

October Hecate's Deipnon: 14 October at sunset Noumenia (1 of Pyanopsion): 15 October at sunset Agathos Daimon: 16 October at sunset

November Hecate's Deipnon: 12 November at sunset Noumenia (1 of Maimakterion): 13 November at sunset Agathos Daimon: 14 November at sunset

December Hecate's Deipnon: 12 December at sunset Noumenia (1 of Poseideon): 13 December at sunset Agathos Daimon: 14 December at sunset

[westofwyeast]

Praxis Diary #1 - 1st of Maimakterion, November 15th, 2023 - Noumenia

Morning

Prepared Honey Cakes for Noumenia

Placed one honey cake on the altar as an offering today.

Asked Hermes to watch over me before heading out to drive to Portland for the first time in my stick shift (thinking of calling her Misty because she does need a name).

Afternoon

Set up my first ever Kadiskos for Zeus Ktesios. Placed on altar for permanent home at the time being. To be emptied at Hekate's Deipnon at the end of this month.

Evening

Shortened form of the Orphic hymns evening ritual from Hellenion, with the aspect of the morning ritual (honoring the gods of the specific day) thrown in.

I like the full rituals, but I'm struggling with it, because it can eat a pretty significant chunk of time reciting every hymn of the day. I think I may need to use it more as a guideline to help assist me in honoring the gods on their proper days and in rotation, but I am full of doubt about the sustainability of the full morning and evening rituals long term.

I do want to keep doing the full hymn To Hestia, or at least something close to it, as an opening though.

Prayed to Apollon Agyieus (Apollo of the Streets and Highways) and Hermes, asking for their help and kindness in regards to my travels back and forth to work this coming month. I have promised libations of oil and wine to them both for this aide.

Tucked a small portion of a honey cake into the yellow transparent apple's branches. Fed a small portion to my dog Kai, and ate the rest of that particular cake.

[westofwyeast]

Altar, 1st of Maimakterion, Year Three of the 700th Olympiad (15th of November, 2023)

Holiday: Noumenia

First time making honey cakes for offering. Will work on making this happen every Noumenia.

First time preparing a Kadiskos for Zeus Ktesios

Prints on the altar will eventually need to be hung on the wall. That will serve as a sort of ancestor shrine rather than part of the main altar. Need to get the rest of the prints I want for this display and purchase frames before beginning this process, however.

Old raku-glazed jar serving purpose well as holder of barley grain for offerings. May need to add other things to it (such as frankincense for smoke offerings in resin burner).

Speaking of the resin burner, need to purchase tongs or tweezers for aiding in lighting of charcoal discs for incense.

San Diego Zoo glass very helpful for extinguishing incense puck so the room can be left/made safe for cats. However, it's not a long term solution. Recommend purchasing more used glassware from Goodwill to replace this in the near future.

The blue cup for spilling libations into until I can properly take them outside is so nice and I love it so much and gods, I hope I don't drop it and break it. It's just stuff if that happens, but still.

Not quite sure what the tiny glasses I bought are going to do now that I have the big blue cup, other than for secondary libations when promised or offered, but its helping keep things symmetrical for the moment which is good enough.

White votive candle from the Dollar Tree working well now I have a wax taper to light it with. Definitely seems the best way to continue forward with having Hestia at the altar.