Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

140 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

detailed explanation of the ecliptic). The

360° Zodiac has been divided into

twelve equal sections, or signs, of

30° each, and these are named for

the constellations that most

closely approximate them. That

is, the signs are not the actual

constellations of stars, but sim-

ply their equal portion of the Zo-

diac belt. These are the months of

the Zodiac. In order of the Sun’s

passage through each of them dur-

ing the course of the year, beginning with

Spring Equinox, they are: Pisces (fish) 
, Aries (ram)

, Taurus (bull) , Gemini (twins) , Cancer (crab)

, Leo (lion) , Virgo (maiden) , Libra (scales) ,

Scorpio (scorpion) , Sagittarius (archer) , Capri-

corn (sea-goat) , and Aquarius (water-bearer) ..

For the purposes of divination, astrologers since

ancient Babylon have assigned symbolic meanings to

these Signs. The accompanying table of correspon-

dences shows some of these many attributes. In as-

trology, these correspondences are held to influence

whatever planets (with their attributions) happen to

be passing through the signs at any given time. Horo-

scopes are circular diagrams that show those posi-

tions at a chosen moment, such as one’s time of birth.

The Magick Circle mandala is a perfect way to

display the calendar of the Zodiac as a clock face

against which the Sun and Moon can be seen as the

“hour” and “minute” hands. The Sun completes a cir-

cuit once a year, while the Moon goes through all the

signs in a month.

A note of interest: There are actually 13 constella-

tions along the path of the Ecliptic. The 13th, Ophiuchus

(“the Serpent-Bearer”) falls between Scorpio and Sag-

ittarius (the time I was born). But a calendar of 13

months does not divide up easily into four seasons,

and 12 was the favored number for all ancient math-

ematical systems, as it is divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. So

13 was considered an unlucky number, and Ophiuchus

was excluded from the Zodiac.

Full Moons

All the original ancient calendars were entirely

lunar, rather than solar, as is our current one. Even

today, the Jewish, Moslem, Hindu, and Chinese calen-

dars are still lunar, and they have to be readjusted

every few years to keep the months from becoming

completely out of phase with the seasons. As the word

“month” is, after all, derived from the cycles of the

Moon, some peoples have chosen to name the months

for “Moons,” rather than constellations, gods (Janus,

Februus, Mars, Maiesta, Juno), Roman Emperors

(Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar) or simply numbers

(Apero, Septembro, Octobro, Novembro, and

Decembro mean simply “2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th”).

Full Moons draw attention to themselves by

the way they dominate the sky from dusk to

dawn, so that each one has acquired at least

one special name. One enduring set of

names for the full Moons was recorded

in a 1508 English Edition of The

Shepherd’s Calenda. These names were

carried over into the Americas by the early

British colonists, where they merged with

Native American associations. Here are

some of the most popular of these names

for the full Moons of each month:

January - Old Moon, Wolf Moon, Storm Moon

February - Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Opening Buds

Moon, Chaste Moon

March - Maple Sugar Moon, Sap Moon, Worm Moon,

Crow Moon, Seed Moon

April - Grass Moon, Pink Moon, Frog Moon, Planter’s

Moon, Hare Moon

May - Milk Moon, Flower Moon, Budding Moon,

Dyad Moon

June - Rose Moon, Strawberry Moon, Mead Moon

July - Thunder Moon, Buck Moon, Blood Moon, Wort

(herb) Moon

August - Green Corn Moon, Corn Moon, Sturgeon

Moon, Barley Moon

September - Fruit Moon, Harvest Moon, Blood Moon,

Moon of Pairing Reindeer

October - Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon, Moon of

Falling Leaves, Snow Moon

November - Frost Moon, Beaver Moon, Oak Moon

December - Long Night Moon, Cold Moon, Wolf

Moon

The French Revolutionary Calendar

And finally, Grey Council member Fred Lamond

reminded me of the French Revolutionary Calendar,

which was in use in France from 1792 to 1801 and was

very Nature-based. The year started at the Fall Equi-

nox and was divided into four quarters of 91-92 days,

each in turn divided into three months of 30-31 days.

Thus the months pretty much correspond to those of

the Zodiac. The names of these months were:

Autumn vendémiaire = grape harvest month (Libra)

brumaire = misty month (Scorpio)

frimaire = frosty month (Sagittarius)

Winter nivose = snowy month (Capricorn)

pluviose = rainy month (Aquarius)

ventose = windy month (Pisces)

Spring germinal = sprouting seeds (Aries)

floréal = blossoming flowers (Taurus)

boréal = warm winds (Gemini)

Summer messidor = cereal harvest (Cancer)

thermidor = summer heat (Leo)

fructidor = ripening fruit (Virgo)

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Corrected pages 3rd printing.1.p65 45 6/10/2004, 3:00 PM