286 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
286 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
(Below are brief explanations of a few of the calendar systems that make
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up the calendar pages of the Mad Farmers' Jubilee Almanack. The calendar
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pages themselves were unable to make the transition from paper to .TXT
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and thus, are not included.)
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Lunar Calendars used in the MFJA
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The Chinese Calendar: The Chinese calendar year begins on the first new
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moon after the sun enters Aquarius (Western Zodiac). The Year 4692, Year
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of the Dog, (Element Wood), 11th year in the 60 year cycle, began February
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11, 1994 c.e..
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The Chinese calendar does not use the same zodiac as the west, but the
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fixture of the solstices and equinoxes as marking points in both systems
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provides for basic calendric similarities.
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The Chinese calendar is lunar-solar. There are 12 lunar months in a year,
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with an intercalary month added every three years or so. The months are
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not named but designated as 1st month 2nd month etc.
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The solar periods are marked by the 24 Joints & Breaths which mark out
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15ø segments on the 360ø ecliptic, coinciding with the solstices and
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equinoxes as well as the zodiac of the west.
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The 24 Joints & Breaths:
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Winter Solstice: Sun enters Capricorn
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Little Cold: Sun 15ø Capricorn
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Severe Cold: Sun enters Aquarius
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Spring Begins: Sun 15ø Aquarius
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Rain Water: Sun enters Pisces
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Buzzing Insects: Sun 15ø Pisces
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Spring Equinox: Sun enters Aries
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Clear & Bright: Sun 15ø Aries
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Gardener's Rains: Sun enters Taurus
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Summer Begins: Sun 15ø Taurus
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Grain Fills: Sun enters Gemini
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Ears of Grain: Sun 15ø Gemini
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Summer Solstice: Sun enters Cancer
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Slight Heat: Sun 15ø Cancer
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Great Heat: Sun enters Leo
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Autumn Begins: Sun 15ø Leo
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Limit of Heat : Sun enters Virgo
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White Dew: Sun 15ø Virgo
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Autumn Equinox: Sun enters Libra
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Cold Dew: Sun 15ø Libra
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Hoar Frost: Sun enters Scorpio
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Winter Begins: Sun 15ø Scorpio
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Little Snow: Sun enters Sagittarius
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Heavy Snow: Sun 15ø Sagittarius
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12 Animals: The twelve animals are related to constellations on the
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chinese zodiac, They give their names & representations to the months,
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the years & the days as follows:
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Tse, the Rat: Initiating Endeavor
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Chau, the Ox: Maintaining Endeavors
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Yin, the Tiger: Aggressive Expansion
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Mau, the Rabbit: Diplomatic Expansion
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Shin, the Dragon: Alchemical Mystery
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Se, the Snake: Contemplative Mystery
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Wu, the Horse: Masculine Domestic
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Wi, the Sheep: Feminine Domestic
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Shin, the Monkey: Skillful Fulfillment
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Yu, the Rooster: Ambitious Fulfillment
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Siuh, the Dog: Group Loyalty
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Hai, the Pig: Group Prosperity
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The 5 Elements:
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Wood: creation, inspiration, imagination
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Fire: energy, excitement, destruction, vitality
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Earth: stability, practicality, root
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Metal: resources, conflict, strategy, survival
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Water: communication, travel, intelligence, change
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60 Day Cycle: The combination of the 5 elements with the 12 Zodiacal
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animals yields a 60 day cycle (also a 60 year cycle). By combining an
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element with an animal, the "texture" of the day can be imagined. This is
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the basis of Chinese astrology.
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Further: Keeping in mind the pairing of Yin/Yang, the 5 Elements and the 12
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Animals provides a key to comprehending the essentials of Chinese
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Cosmology
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* * *
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Tibet: The Tibetan calendar , like the Chinese, tells time by the moon and
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the 12 year cycles of Jupiter. Unlike the Chinese, the Tibetans adjust their
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calendar for the cycles of the moon by omitting unlucky days, usually
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repeating the preceding day number. Other times a day is repeated to
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adjust for the solar calendar. The days that are omitted or repeated are
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judged for their auspiciousness according to the year cycle and element,
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divination, and the following criteria.
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Days of the week:
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Sunday & Tuesday - Fire: (These days are rather "angry),
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Monday &Wednesday - Water: (Monday is best, Wednesday is good for
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receiving things but not for giving away.),
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Thursday - Air: (One of best days.),
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Friday and Saturday - Earth: (Saturday is like Wednesday.)
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Days of the Month: The 1st day is bad for beginning projects or journeys:
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the 2nd is bad for travel. The 4th day of the month is unlucky for sickness
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or accidents, as is the 14th and 24th. Generally, counting on one hand:
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thumb, hollow between thumb and forefinger, forefinger, ..any day that
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counts in the hollow is bad (i.e. 2nd, 8th, 14th,etc.).
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The House God's Position: The Tibetan House god is similar to the Chinese
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Kitchen God. He is anthropomorphic with a piggish head and flowing robes
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and is called the "inside-god" of the class "Earth Masters." He is placed in
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a different location around the house with every changing month.
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Month-Name-House Place: 1st & 2nd Months - called "The Gel-Thun house
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god"-He occupies the center of the house, the fire grate must be removed
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to a corner of the room and no dead body placed there. (through April
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10th); 3rd & 4th Months- called "The Door-God of the House and Yak"- He
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stands in the doorway. No bride or bridegroom may come or go nor any
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corpse. (April 11th - June 9th); 5th Month- called "ya-ngas-pa" and
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stands under the eaves. (June 10th - July 8th)
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* February 11, 1994 began the Wood-Dog (Male) year. It is the 968th year
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of the 17th cycle by the Tibetan astrological calendar and the 2121st year
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of the historical calendar.
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* * *
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Hindu Calendar: There are around 30 calendars in use in India, generally
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with twelve months of 30 days. An intercalary month is added whenever
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two new moons occur in the same solar month.
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The Hindu Months: 1) Chaitra 2) Vaisakha 3) Jaistha 4) Asadha
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5) Sravana 6) Bhadra 7) Asvina 8) Kartika 9) Agrahyana
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10) Pausa 11) Magha 12) Phalguna
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The Hindu Calendar is based on the Sidereal Zodiac as opposed to the
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Tropical Zodiac of Western Astrology, otherwise there is very little
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difference. The Hindu Solar year begins when the sun enters Aries by
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Sidereal Reckoning (around April 13th or 14th). The 12 signs are the same
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as in the west.
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Approximately every 63 days, two days are made to share one 24 hour
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period, keeping the lunar month of approximately 291/2 days, from
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slipping out of alignment with the solar days. The intercalation is not
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random, but is based on a lunar day called a Tithi, which is slightly
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shorter than a solar day. When two tithis begin during the same solar day,
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the tithis (which is what this calendar actually counts) share a solar day.
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* * *
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Islamic Calendar: The Islamic calendar is purely lunar, taking no account
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of the solar revolution. As such it's year is 354 days long, 11 and 1/4
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days shorter than the solar year. Every 2 or 3 years one day is intercalated
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to account for the error encountered when measuring the lunar cycle in
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earth days . The years contain 12 months of alternately 29 & 30 days. The
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last month has 29 days normally 30 in leap years.
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The Months: 1) Muharram 2) Safar 3) Rabi I 4) Rabi II 5) Jumada I
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6) Jumada II 7) Rajab 8) Sha'ban 9) Ramadan 10) Shawwal
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11) Dhu al-Qada 12) Dhu al-Hijjah
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The Islamic month begins on the new moon, when two "responsible
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witnesses" observe the first crescent and convince the qadi of their
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sighting, who in turn informs the mufti who announces the beginning of
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the month. The days of the month given in the almanac are tabulated dates
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and should be confirmed by actual lunar sightings. The tabulated days
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begin at sunset on the day before they appear on the calendar, ending at
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sunset on the day given.
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* * *
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The Jewish Calendar: Is a lunar solar calendar, each year contains 12
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months of either 29 or 30 days. An Intercalary month is added every few
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years.
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The month is measured from the moon's exact conjunction with the sun,
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which occurs every 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 1/2 seconds.
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The day consists of 24 hours, each hour divided into 1,080 parts, equal to
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about 3.3 seconds each. The calendar dates are tabulated dates, beginning
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at sunset the evening before the calendar date indicated & ending at
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sunset on the day given. (For practical purposes the day is considered to
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begin a 6:00pm.)
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The Months in 5754 Anno Mundi:
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Tishri (30 days) Sept. 16 1993
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Marshevan (30 days) Oct. 16
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Kislev (30 days) Nov. 15
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Tebeth (29 days) Dec. 15
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Shebat (30 days) Jan.. 13 1994
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Adar (29 days) Feb. 11
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Nissan (30 days) Mar. 13
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Iyyar (29 days) Apr. 11
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Sivan (30 days) May 11
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Tammuz (29 days) Jun. 9
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Ab (30 days) Jul. 9
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Ellul (29 days) Aug. 7
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* * *
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Other Calendars in the Almanack
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The Illuminati Calendar is based on five seasons (due to the Law of Fives.)
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The names of the seasons, their meanings & equivalent dates are as
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follows:
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Verwirrung: Season of Chaos Jan. 1 - Mar. 14
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Zweitracht: Season of Discord Mar. 15 - May 2
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Unordnung: Season of Confusion May 27 - Aug. 7
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Beamtenherrschaft: Season of Bureaucracy Aug.8-Oct.19
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Grummet: Season of Aftermath Oct. 20 - Dec. 31 *
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Each of the 5 Seasons is divided into 5 months, producing a year of 25
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months. The first 3 months of every season (known as the tricycle) each
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have 15 days. The last 2 months of each season (the bicycle) have 14 days.
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The last day of each season is called Eye Day and is celebrated in foul and
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mysterious ways.
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Everything is dated from the year 1 A.M. (Anno Mung), which is 4000 B.C.E.
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- The Year Hung Mung first perceived the Sacred Chao and achieved
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illumination.
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* * *
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Iceland: The Norse settlers in Iceland found a calendar of two seasons,
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Winter & Summer, suitable for their needs. Originally months were
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insignificant. The year counted as 52 weeks, making a year of 364 days.
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Winter was assigned 25 weeks & 5 days, Summer 26 weeks & 2 days. Every
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few years, an extra week, the :Summer Supplement" was intercalated, to
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keep the measured year seasonal. Legislation from the twelfth century
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codified the calendar & introduced the use of months: Seasons divided into
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months of 30 days, with four (5 on leap years) extra days inserted
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between the 3rd & 4th summer months. The Summer Supplement was added
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after the extra summer days in every year ending on a Monday (years
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measured by the Julian/Gregorian calendar), and on years ending on Sunday
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if followed by a leap year. The Supplement is added a day later in a leap
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year.
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* * *
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The Mayan Earth Calendar: The Mesoamerican "Mayan" Earth Calendar or
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Tzolkin has been in continuous use without missing a day for several
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thousand years. Its development has been attributed to the observational
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cycle of Venus, the human gestation period, the Sun's passage through the
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tropics & a universal vibratory harmonic.
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The 260 day cycle of the Earth calendar is created by combining 20 Day
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Names with the numbers 1 through 13 (20 X 13 = 260). The two cycles run
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concurrently, for example 1 Dog, 2 Monkey, 3 Tooth, etc. Any combination
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of a number & a Day Name occurs every 260 days.
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The Earth Calendar marks Sacred Time, Ritual Time. 260 days is said to be
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the distance in time between a dream & its manifestation, or between any
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conception and subsequent birth.
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The 20 day names equal the number of a human being's fingers and toes
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(the Quiche Mayan name for people means "Twenty Digited Beings") & the
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number 13 symbolizes unity & completion.
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Mayan Numerology: The meanings of the numbers one through thirteen are
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similar to other numerology. One important aspect of the mayan numbers
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is that the low numbers signify beginnings and are s "weak", the middle
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numbers are considered balanced & harmonious, while the higher numbers
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(10 - 13), are increasingly powerful & unstable, even "dangerous" Mayan
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numbers are written as combinations of Dots (=1) and Bars -- (=5)
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Day Names: (Yucatec Mayan & English with meaning;)
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Imix: Crocodile,source, primal energy
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Ik: Wind,breath, spirit, inspiration
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Akbal: Night, darkness, mystery
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Kan: Net, burden, abundance
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Chiccan: Snake, power, poison
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Cimi: Death, transition, question
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Manik: Deer, strength, swiftness
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Lamat: Rabbit, abundance, fruitfulness
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Muluc: Jade, illness, catharsis
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Oc: Dog, indecision, guidance
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Chuen: Monkey, luck, skill
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Eb: Tooth, destiny, penetration, road
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Ben: Reed, family, culture
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Ix: Jaguar, transformation, vision
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Men: Eagle, need, fulfillment, nobility
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Cib: Wax, the soul, release
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Caban:Thought, movement, innovation
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Etz'nab: Knifedge, conflict, sacrifice
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Cauac: Storm, destruction,cleansing
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Ahau: Hunter, travelling, arriving
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