Ritual Calendars and Occasions

1. Describe your understanding of the relationship between linear time and cyclical time. (150 words)

Linear is defined as “of, relating to, or based on sequential development” (Merriam-Webster).  Therefore, linear time would be the sequential progression of time throughout each second, minute, hour, day, month, and year.  A calendar is a physical representation of linear time, showing us the time that happened before now as well as the time that will come in the future, and none of those times will ever meet or overlap.  This linear time is regularly used in our mundane lives to make plans or remember special events throughout history. 

Cyclical time, on the other hand, would be time that goes in cycles such as the changing of the seasons, or the phases of the moon.  There seems to be no true beginning or end to cyclical time, and if you watch the progression long enough, you will eventually see it repeat.  We rely on cyclical time in many of our spiritual practices.  We celebrate the cycle of the year in our High Day rites without necessarily acknowledging a linear progression, but instead focusing on the renewed existence of the universe through the cycle.  Mircea Eliade expands upon this idea when she states: “for religious man of archaic cultures, the world is renewed annually; in other words, with each new year it recovers its original sanctity” (Eliade 75). 

While these two types of time seem very different, in our modern society it is important to acknowledge both sets of time.  I’ve often heard the joke of “Pagan Standard Time” which reinforces the idea that modern Pagans are incapable or unwilling to be on time or doing things in a timely manner.  I believe that timeliness is a form of respect.  By maintaining awareness of linear time, you respecting the hospitality of those you are meeting with, or who may be relying on you.  Therefore, while we may be getting together to celebrate Midsummer, a concept of cyclical time, if you want your guests to arrive at the same time you will want to tell them the calendar date and event time, a linear concept, and hope that they view that information as important as well.

2. Describe a cycle of stories or deities for the eight Neo-Pagan High Days as they might be celebrated in ritual. The cycle of stories must be drawn from a single hearth culture. (50 words per High Day)

One cyclical story that I feel easily represents the eight Neo-Pagan High Days is the myth told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.  This writing gives an explanation for the cycle of the seasons explaining that Demeter, the goddess of grain, had her daughter, Persephone, stolen away to the underworld.  In her sadness, the world grew cold and everything stopped growing.  It was only when Persephone was returned that life began to bloom again upon the earth.  However, Persephone had to return to the underworld each year, which is why the seasons change over and over again (Homer).  I’ve broken this myth down into eight separate parts to align with the High Days:

Midsummer – Demeter’s Joy

            I chose to start this cycle of events at Midsummer, the time when Demeter is joyful, the world is bright and warm and filled with life.  Before the descent of Persephone, the earth was a place filled with the love and growth of Demeter.  Plants flourished, the world was fertile, and there was much rejoicing in the land.  We begin this cycle at that time, a time of plenty and peace, and brilliant new beginnings.

Lughnasadh – Demeter’s Harvest

The cycle moves slowly into Lughnasadh, a time of harvest as the days begin to grow shorter.  Demeter, in her wisdom and happiness, brings blessings of harvest to the world, while her daughter still stands by her side. In the Eleusinian Mysteries Demeter gained the epithet of “Corn Mother” which acknowledges the importance of her role in the harvest.

Fall Equinox – Kore in Balance

 The Fall Equinox is a time to celebrate balance.  In this myth, we explore Kore/Persephone standing in balance between the realms and what it means for the world.  While there is still warmth and reaping to be done, we know that the cold is ahead.  While Kore stands between the worlds, the day itself also stands in balance between light and dark, though we know the night will begin to overtake the day.

Samhain – Persephone’s Descent

            The days have grown shorter and cooler, and we now know that Persephone has once again returned to the underworld.  The mysteries tell us that Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow away from her mother.  A beautiful plant caught her attention and she reached out to pick it, but the earth opened up and Hades grabbed her, put her into his chariot, and whisked her away to the underworld.  At Samhain, we remember this tale and acknowledge that it is Demeter’s loss for her daughter that brings the cold dark winter ahead.

Yule – King in the Darkness

            In many of the retellings of Persephone’s myth, Hades is perceived as the villain.  He took Kore from the meadow and carried her away to the underworld.  However, while Demeter knew nothing of this plan, Hades had the blessing of Zeus, Kore’s father.  Eventually, Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld to guide Persephone home, but Hades told Persephone that if she became his queen he would be a good husband to her and would give her the chance to rule all that lives and moves.  Hades grew to love Persephone and wanted to keep her in his realm. Persephone was still eager to leave, so Hades gave her pomegranate seeds to eat to ensure her return to his realm, even if only for part of the year.  During Yule, the darkest night of the year, it seems appropriate to acknowledge Hades since he is the cause of winter.

Imbolc – Demeter’s Request

While Demeter was searching for Persephone she took the form of an old woman.  She wandered through Greece, carrying a torch in the darkness until she came to the home of Celeus, the king of Eleusis in Attica.  He unknowingly welcomed Demeter into his home and helped re-kindle joyfulness in Demeter.  Celeus’s kindness is the first glimpse of hope we see in this tale.  Imbolc is traditionally the hope for spring and the return of light and joy to the world.  In this rite, we would celebrate Demeter’s encounter with Celeus. 

Spring Equinox – Helios’s Vision

On the first day of spring, Persephone has started her return from the underworld, yet Demeter is still mourning the loss of her daughter. In the darkness, we have reached a point of balance when the day and night are once again equal, and bright Helios stands in balance with Selene is high above.  It was Helios who witnessed Persephone’s fate.  While Persephone was stolen away to the underworld, Helios heard her screams and witnessed what happened.  It was Helios who told Demeter of her daughter’s fate, which helped lead to Persephone’s eventual return.  For the Spring Equinox, we could acknowledge Helios as the sun, but also as the one who helped lead Persephone’s return to the world.

Beltane – Persephone’s Return

            Persephone has officially returned from the underworld and Demeter, in her wisdom and joy, brings to the world blessings of harvest and plentiful produce.  When Persephone was lost, so were these gifts.  With the return of Persephone, these gifts were once again abundant and the cycle has been completed, only to repeat again. 

3. Discuss the ritual calendar of one pre-Christian Indo-European culture. Describe how at least eight High Day rituals based on this culture might be celebrated in an ADF context. (150 words for the calendar discussion; 50 words for each ritual)

There is much for us still to learn about the Hittite culture, but despite our limited knowledge about them, I am fascinated by their mythology and practices.  We do know that the Hittites were an agricultural society, and their religious practices reflect the importance of cultivation in their lives.  Most of their festivals occurred in the spring or fall and were related to the agricultural cycle (Demirel).  As someone who grew up in a small farming town in Midwestern Nebraska, I understand how tied to the land a farmer can be, and how important a successful crop is to their livelihood.  This connection draws me to want to re-create some of their practices personally.   

 Ancient cuneiform tablets from the Anatolian and near Eastern areas name a number of festivals and rituals that were celebrated in that area on a regular basis.  The word that these texts used for festivals can actually be translated to mean “cult meals” or “great feasts,” making it seem very likely that these were libation focused rituals (Demirel).   The *ghosti relationship that we work to build in our relationship ties very well to libation rites, which is yet another reason I wanted to try to bring some of their calendar into today’s practices.

There are some reasons why this calendar will not completely align with our modern calendar.  First, it is believed that they followed a lunar calendar, so their months were not always found in the same season each year.  Additionally, the Hittites only specify three seasons in their calendar year, while we obviously recognize four of them.  However, despite those differences I think that their festivals could be modified to be used in a modern High Day cycle. 

Spring Equinox - Purulli

            For the Hittite people, the Spring Equinox was celebrated as the start of the new year in the Purulli festival.  Purulli can be translated to mean “Festival of Earth” and included rites to bring life back to the earth after the cold winter months. These celebrations often included a retelling of the myth of Teshub and Illuyanka (Bachvarova).  Because the Hittites celebrated the Spring Equinox, just as we do in our High Day rites, I believe this connection is an easy one to make.

Beltane

For Beltane, I would look to the Hittite festival of Hameshanda, or the Festival of Spring.  There isn’t a lot of information about how this festival was celebrated specifically.  However, the word hameshanda is a combination of two words that translate to mean “spring” and “to grow” (Demirel).  In a modern context, Beltane is a time of fertility and growth so celebrating the growth of spring feels like an appropriate translation. 

Midsummer

            Agriculture was a vital part of Hititte society, so a majority of their festivals closely follow their growing season. One such festival was AN.TAH.SUM, the Festival of the Plant. The festival begins with a procession from Hattusua to Tahurpa and lasts nearly 40 days as the king and queen travel from temple to temple, making offerings and holding celebrations (Guterbock).  During this festival, they made offerings to the “Sun-goddess of the Earth” Arinna and held many purification rites.  Additionally, while in the city-state of Arinna the king would plant a bulb of the AN.TAH.SUM plant of which this festival took its name.  With that knowledge on hand, I would perform a midsummer rite honoring the sun goddess Arinna and include a magical working to plant seeds or bulbs of some kind.  I feel this would be a good connection between the ancient festival and our modern high day rites.

Lughnasadh

            SU.KIN.DU was the Hittite Sickle Festival performed for the goddess of the night, Sausga or Ishtar.  During this celebration, imagery of the goddess was taken to a well for purification and then it was placed in front of a huwasi stone.  Offerings were brought to the goddess and a competition of athletic games was held (Hazenbos).  This celebration reminds me of Panathenaia, a Greek festival that was regularly celebrated in what is now early August.  To celebrate SU.KIN.DU as a Lughnasadh rite I would call upon Sausga (or Ishtar) as my being of occasion, and have a set of games available to play during the working section of this rite.

Fall Equinox

The fall equinox is often celebrated as a harvest festival.  In Hittite culture, there was a festival called nuntarriyasha, or the Festival of Haste.  This festival originally lasted for forty-three days and once again had the king and queen travelling from place to place hosting celebrations.  They carried with them “kursa” bags made from sheep skin (Blasweiler).  Included in this festival were offerings to the god Zithariya, the Hattian patron god, as well as the creation of garlands made of freshly harvested fruits.  In farming communities, harvest is a time filled with much need for haste as people work to harvest their crops and prepare for the approaching winter.  To celebrate nuntarriyasha as an ADF Fall Equinox rite, I would call upon Zithariya as the deity of occasion and emphasize the time of harvest

Samhain

            The Hittites maintained a practice of ancestor veneration throughout many of their festivals, including the Nuntarriyashas festival.  During the fall equinox, we pulled the harvest celebrations from the forty-three day celebration of Nuntarriyashas festival.  However, I believe if we look to another portion of this festival, we will find inspiration for our modern Samhain practices.  During this festival, Hittites made offerings to the statues of past royalty, as well as the “House of the Grandfathers” in the temple of Lelwani (Bachvarova).  One of the offerings they made was to invoke the name of the dead in commemoration.  They also performed the “Song of Release” which expressed the proper way to maintain an ancestor cult.  I believe these practices could be easily adapted to an ADF Samhain High Day rite.

Yule

            Winter was a time of few celebrations in Hittite culture.  However, there was one celebration simply called Gimmant, or the Festival of Winter.  During this celebration they celebrated the sun-goddess Arinna (Taracha).  They poured offerings for her in addition to making offerings to Harihari, the goddess of home.  In modern Yule practices, it is common to make offerings to the sun and ask for the return of the warmth, so I feel adopting this celebration into an ADF High Day rite would be appropriate.  Additionally, in my practice Yule is a time to celebrate your family and loved ones in your home, so honoring the goddess of home seems fitting.  

Imbolc

            During winter, Hittites also held a festival called witassiya, or “festival of the year”.  It was this festival that marked the time to select the enthronement of the king (Gonzalez Garcia and Belmonte).  This festival included a celebration of the cycle of life from new beginnings and growth to death and decay, and back again (Bryce).  This was a time to seek the favor of the deities in order to gain their blessings for a successful growing season and harvest.   As the first high day in our calendar year, it seems appropriate to honor the cycle of the year and prepare for the upcoming growing season, so I feel this celebration could be meaningful as an ADF high day rite.

4. Describe a possible ritual calendar based on two different natural cycles and how you might apply this calendar to your own religious life. (200 words min)

            Lunar calendar cycles are regularly recognized in modern Pagan practices but were less utilized in ancient cultures.  However, the Greeks honored the lunar cycle and even based their calendar on it.  Each month they recognized both the new moon, Noumenia, and the last day before the new moon, Deipnon as part of their household practices (Hellenion).   The new moon marked the start of a new month in their calendar system.  Additionally, many Indo-European cultures have a deity of the moon, including both gods such as the Hittite Kaskuh and Norse Mani, and goddesses like Greek Selene and Roman Luna.  I have celebrated monthly Noumenia cycles for several years now.  These new moon celebrations are a time of purification and renewal.  They give me the opportunity to refresh myself while also honoring those deities that are important in my household.  

            Another cycle that I think is interesting to observe would be the cycle of constellations as they move across the sky.  While some stars seem to stay steady and ever-present like Polaris, the North Star, many others move across the sky along with the cycle of the seasons, like those of the zodiac.  Others can remind us of ancient myths like the battle and eternal chase of Orion and Scorpius.   You can also witness many of the planets passing through the constellations as our relative positions are aligned.  All of these items are things that I could easily incorporate into my personal practice. Polaris can be a sense of comfort and consistency, and I’ve utilized it as the “light” during my two powers meditation.  Watching the changing constellations can tell you the story of our year.  For me, it gives me a sense of connection to the universe.  I know looking at the stars that I am one tiny piece of the puzzle in the universe.  I also know that many of the stars that I see above me are the same ones that were viewed by my ancestors and the ancient people that I’ve worked to learn so much about.  Somehow, following the constellations makes me feel both very small and very connected at the same time.

5. Give an overview of a ritual response for five non-calendrical ritual occasions (min. 25 words for each)

            There are many different life events that I believe could be celebrated through ritual.  These special occasions are times that should be recognized, even if they may be situations that are not necessarily joyful. 

Birth or Adoption of a child

The introduction of a child into a family is a life changing event.  Many cultures have celebrations to introduce their community to the new child in their lives and to bless the child in some way, so creating a ritual to do these tasks can be very beneficial.

Moving into a New Home

Moving into a new home can be both a blessing and very stressful. Performing a ritual to help purify your living space and celebrate the transition into the new home can help make you feel more comfortable with the change, while also “claiming” it as your own.

First Day of School

            The first day of school is another time of life that can be both very exciting and very stressful, both for the one attending school and their loved ones.  A ritual could be useful to focus the intent of the day and provide comfort, while also celebrating the special occasion.  

Healing a Loved One Who is Ill

            When our loved ones are sick, it hurts our hearts as well.  A healing rite can send energy to them to help heal their physical bodies, while also providing spiritual comfort to them. Additionally, as the healthy person it can be comforting to feel like you’re helping in some way by doing this type of work for them.

Divorce or Separation

            When a couple is married, they make a vow to one another to maintain their relationship.  When a divorce or separation occurs, some people feel the need to perform a ritual to help dissolve that vow before they are able to move forward.  A ritual of this type can help someone feel capable of moving forward during a time that may be very difficult for them.

6. Describe how your local climate affects the ritual calendar of your hearth culture (150 words min.)

            I live in eastern Nebraska and in my part of the country the local climate can be quite different than that of my Hellenic hearth culture.  Greece is located in the Mediterranean, which has hot summers and mild winters.  Additionally, ancient Greece had easy access to the sea, causing their weather patterns and connection to it to be much different than what I live in.  In Nebraska, we are completely land-locked with no large bodies of water for thousands of miles.  This has an extreme impact on our hot, dry summers.

Over time, I’ve learned that it’s easy to connect with Greek culture during the summer and fall when our weather is warm and life is growing all around us. However, the disconnect occurs during the winter and early spring months as they would have cooler rainy seasons while we are covered in lots of snow.  In Greece, by February you can see the hints of spring beginning and begin your preparations.  In Nebraska though, February is often the coldest part of our winter and we regularly see snow as late as May, so it’s difficult to feel connected to spring when you’re covered in snow.

Works Cited

Bachvarova, Mary R. From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of Ancient Greek Epic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Blasweiler, Joost. The cult of the Kursa in the kingdom of Hattusa, the Illuyanka myth and the way to Colchis. 2014. June 2018. <https://www.academia.edu/6064994/The_cult_of_the_Kursa_in_the_kingdom_of_Hattusa_the_Illuyanka_myth_and_the_way_to_Colchis>.

Bryce, Trevor. Life and Society in the Hittite World. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Collins, Billie Jean. The Hittites and Their World. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007.

Demirel, Serkan. "An Essay on Hittite Cultic Calendar Based Upon Festivals." Athens Journal of History (2017): 21-32.

Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1987.

Gonzalez Garcia, A. Cesar and Juan Antonio Belmonte. "Thinking Hattusha: Astronomy and Landscape in the Hittite Lands." Journal for the History of Astronomy (2011).

Guterbock, Hans G. "An Outline of the Hittite AN.TAH.SUM Festival." Journal of Near Eastern Studies (April 1960): 80-89.

Hazenbos, Joost. The Organization of the Anatolian Local Cults during the Thirteenth Century B.C. Netherlands: Styx/Koninklijke Brill NV, 2003.

Hellenion. "Noumenia." 2011. Temenos: Festivals. June 2018.

Homer. Homeric Hymn to Demeter. n.d. June 2018. <http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html>.

Merriam-Webster. https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary. n.d. June 2018.

Soderman. "The Olderst Lunar Calendars." n.d. NASA: Solar System Exploration Reserch Virtual Institute. June 2018.

Taracha, Piotr. Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. n.d.