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The Celtic Calendar and the Wheel of the Year - Literal Vs Spiritual Truth
By Larry Christopher Platinum Quality Author
Larry Christopher
Larry Christopher
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I have many interests and fields of research. I may not be a bona fide expert in anything, but I like to think of myself ... ...

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What kind of calendar did the ancient Celts use? Many people today believe that the Celts used a calendar made of thirteen months that was based on Ogham, or the tree alphabet. Robert Graves helped to make this view popular in his book, The White Goddess.

This idea has since solidified into the popular (among neopagans) Wheel of the Year, sometimes called the Celtic Wheel of the Year. This is a circle divided into eight parts, with a festival to mark each section. The eight festivals are:

Samhain (or Halloween) - October 31
Winter Solstice - (approx.) December 21
Imbolc - February 1
Spring Equinox (approx.) March 21
Beltane - May 1
Summer Solstice (approx.) June 21
Lughnasa - August 1
Autumn Equinox- (approx.) September 21

This Wheel of the Year calendar is extremely popular among Wiccans and neopagans and it has a simple elegance to it. However, there is a very good chance that it isn't historically accurate.

Most academic historians and archeologists believe that the Celts used something called the Coligny Calendar, a complex (at least to us today) lunar calendar of 62 months. A bronze plate depicted this calendar was found in France, so there is actual evidence that this calendar was used.

Robert Graves attempted to prove the truth of his theory about the calendar by deciphering a poem called The Song of Amergin. Each stanza of this poem allegedly is code for a month and for a tree whose name marks the name of that month. The White Goddess goes into this in great detail in a complex, somewhat convoluted (but still fascinating) discussion that spans many cultures and myths.

My point in bringing all this up is to address a certain rift that often occurs between academic scholars and the followers of popular movements like Wicca and neopaganism. At one extreme, we have the scholars who simply dismiss the other school as ignorant and perhaps naive romantics who believe things without evidence.

On the other side, there are those who argue that the scholars are simply authoritarian representatives of the patriarchy who are trying to continue their centuries-long suppression of Goddess culture. Right now I'm addressing this particular issue of the Celtic calendar, but similar arguments come up over many other issues.

I would propose another way of looking at it (not terribly original I must confess at the outset) that is unlikely to please many members of either camp. That is, we can view notions such as the Wheel of the Year as having a poetic, archetypal or symbolic truth regardless of how "authentic" they are. In fact, by insisting that every aspect of your spiritual viewpoint be true in a literal, historic sense, you are really attempting to justify yourself to the rationalistic mindset, which operates on a different frequency altogether.

This, of course, also occurs when fundamentalists of various religions attempt to say that their religious text represents a perfect historical record. The fact is, it probably does not, nor was it meant to. The same holds true for people who follow Goddess or neopagan type traditions.

So if a symbolic system such as astrology, the Tree of Life or the Celtic Wheel of the Year has meaning for you, then you can use it and enjoy it without having to justify it in a scholarly, historic or rationalistic way. Truth itself has many faces.

Discover the varied world of Celtic arts, symbols, tattoos,culture and more! Celtic Symbols

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