Thursday, August 18, 2005

Ante Diem XIV Kalendas September

Modern Date : August 19th

Ante Diem XIV Kalendas September
The Vinalia Rustica

This is one of the dies fasti on which legal actions are permitted.

Vinalia Rustica
This was the second or rustic Vinalia, when the priests plucked the year's first ripe grapes and asked Jupiter to protect the growing vines. Houses and gardens were dedicated to Venus. It's interesting that it falls so close to the Blessing of the Grapes, done under the auspices of Mary. Venus was invoked with this prayer, "I beseech Minerva and Venus, of whom one protects the olive yard and the other the garden." It was celebrated as a holiday for all vintners and kitchen gardeners and a time for picnicking outdoors.

It was also the dedication day of the temple of Venus Libitina, which was the headquarters for Roman undertakers and the poor people's burial ground, which also became a gathering place for undesirables.


The emperor Probus was born at Sirmium (near Belgrade) this day in 232 AD. At age 50 he was murdered near Sirmium and buried there.

Augustus died this day at Nola in Campania in 14 AD. He was 76.

This day was also the dies natalis(birthday) for the temple of Venus.

August was originally called Sextilis, or the sixth month (after March). It was renamed in honor of Augustus Caesar, the most revered of the Roman emperors.


Artemis-Diana
The full moon festival of August is one of the most ancient, continuously celebrated festivals in honor of the Goddess. It was first mentioned by the Greeks who honored Hecate and Artemis on the 15th day of Metageitnion. The goddesses were invoked and beseech for protection from summer storms, which could flatten and destroy the crops standing in the fields, ready for harvest. Garlic was left on stones as an offering to Hecate at crossroads, places where three roads meet. Hecate is usually pictured holding two torches, one pointed up and one pointed down. She mediates between the worlds.

In Rome, the Greek lunar calendar was placed on the fixed solar calendar on August 13 and called the Nemoralia, which would be the full moon if the new moon coincided with the first of the month. Not very much later, the Catholic church chose August 15th as the holiday for honoring the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The date was chosen to coincide with the thirteenth of Ab, the Jewish lunar month.


Procession of Horus to Neith
This is the 2nd day of the month of Paopi according to the Egyptian calendar. There was a Procession of Horus to Neith. Neith was a goddess of the hunt. She may have also been a war goddess. Her worship dates from pre dynastic history. In early times she was called 'mother of the gods' and 'Great Goddess'. She was considered the guardian of men and gods.

Later, Neith was seen as a protector of the dead, she is often seen standing with Nephthys at the head of coffins. Or assisting Aset (Isis), Nephthys, and Serqet to guard the Canopic jars. As 'Opener of the Ways', she was a guide in the underworld, a female Anubis. In the Eighteenth Dynasty she took on the attributes of Hathor, as a protector of women. As a creative deity she was said to be the wife of Khnum at Elephantine. She was appealed to for her wisdom as an arbitrator during the great quarrel of Heru (Horus) and Seth.

Neith assumed the role of state deity during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, when the kings of Sais repelled the invading Assyrians and reunited Egypt. This period lasted for about a century and a half and the tendency in art and religion was to try to regain the glories of the past. This was a suitable time for the worship of an ancient goddess.


Odin's Ordeal Day Three
This is the third day commemorating Odin's Ordeal on the world tree Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil ("The Terrible One's Horse"), is the giant ash tree that links and shelters all the worlds. Beneath the three roots the realms of Asgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim are located. Three wells lie at its base: the Well of Wisdom (MĂ­misbrunnr), guarded by Mimir; the Well of Fate (Urdarbrunnr), guarded by the Norns; and the Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), the source of many rivers.

Four deer run across the branches of the tree and eat the buds; they represent the four winds. There are other inhabitants of the tree, such as the squirrel Ratatosk ("swift teeth"), a notorious gossip, and Vidofnir ("tree snake"), the golden cock that perches on the topmost bough. The roots are gnawed upon by Nidhogg and other serpents. On the day of Ragnarok, the fire giant Surt will set the tree on fire.


St Sebald
An obscure saint who is the patron of Nuremberg. In one legend, he tells a peasant woman to throw icicles in the fire because there is no fuel. Thus he is invoked during cold spells. He was a Hermit, missionary, and a patron saint of Nuremberg. Most likely an Anglo-Saxon from England, he arrived on the Continent and became a hermit near Vicenza, Italy, and then participated in the missionary enterprise of the times, assisting in the work. of St. Willibald in the Reichswald. Many miracles were attributed to him, including turning icicles into firewood.

1 Comments:

Blogger Ross Nantz said...

The statue of liberty seems like a modern version of Hecate. Being "modern," she's forgotten about two torches and reads from a book, doing her best to recall where and when she's from, beckoning all the while.

5:32 PM  

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