Calendar: an example

What follows is my festive calendar, here shared as an example of what I wrote in the Introduction and Beginners’ Guide to modern Roman polytheism. It includes the monthly celebrations that are part of the orthopraxy, but also other dates that I mark every month. The flexibility and freedom I mentioned with regard to annual festivities, dates and the gods you can worship are also reflected on my calendar, which includes not just sacrifices to traditional Latin deities like Jupiter and Juno, but also Egyptian, Norse and Iberian gods, almost all of Them worshipped in Roman or Romanized rite. In order to have greater predictability and hence for practical reasons, I opted for the Gregorian calendar and fixed dates. And because it’s important to be rigorous, each festivity is signaled bellow with a letter that indicates its modern (M), historical (H) or semi-historical (SH) nature, the latter, for instance, in the case of old celebrations with new names or vice-versa.

 

Monthly sacrifices:
[H] 1st day: the Calends, dedicated to Janus and Juno
[H] 5th or 7th day: the Nones, dedicated to Arentio & Arentia [M]
[M] 9th: dedicated to Nabia
[H] 13th or 15th day: the Ides, dedicated to Jupiter [H], Maia [M] and Reue [M]
[M] 19th day: dedicated to Minerva
[M] 21st day: dedicated to Ingui-Freyr
[M] 24th day: dedicated to Quangeio

The Family Lares and Penates – seen in my case as ancestors and house genii, respectively – are also worshipped on the Calends, Nones and Ides. Additionally, I commemorate the first Wednesday of every month ([M]), which I dedicate to Mercury, but doesn’t show in the table above because it is a moveable date. Sacrifices performed in those days are usually semi-formal ceremonies, which is to say that they follow a simplified version of my Roman rite that keeps the covered head, opening and closing libations to Janus, Vesta and Jupiter, an additional one to the Family Lares as gods of the hearth, expiation and also an offering to Mercury.

Yearly sacrifices:
January
[H] 1st: New Year, dedicated to Janus
[M] 4th: Vialia, dedicated to Mercury and the Lares Viales
[M] 7th: Apotropalia, dedicated to Apollo
[H] 9th: Agonalia, dedicated to Janus

February
[M] 12th: Cinocefalia, dedicated to Anubis
[H] 13th-21st: Parentalia, dedicated to the Di Parentes
[H] 22nd: Caristia, dedicated to the Family Lares [H] and Portuguese Lares [M]
[M] 23rd: Laralia, dedicated to the Lares Alcobacenses 

March
[M] 15th: Pastoralia, dedicated to Reue
[H] 19th: Minervalia, dedicated to Minerva

April
[M] 1st-4th: Ludi Mercuriales, dedicated to Mercury
[SH] 9th: Nabialia, dedicated to Nabia
[M] 25th: Diantalia, dedicated to Proserpina

May
[SH] 15th: Maialia, dedicated to Maia and Mercury

June
[SH] 1st: Junonalia, dedicated to Juno
[SH] 13th: Vestalia, dedicated to Vesta
[M] 20th-22nd: Inguinalia, dedicated to Ingui-Frey

July
[M] 4th: Peregrinalia, dedicated to Mercury and the Lares Viales

August
[H] 13th: Nemoralia, dedicated to Diana
[M] 24th: Caniferalia, dedicated to Quangeio

September
[M] 5th: Arentalia, dedicated to Arentio & Arentia
[SH] 13th: Iovalia, dedicated to Jupiter

October
[M] 4th: Transitalia, dedicated to Mercury and the Lares Viales
[M] 15th: Pluvialia: dedicated to Nabia, Jupiter and Reue
[M] 25th: Proserpinalia: dedicated to Proserpina and the Di Manes

November
[M] 21st: Ulleralia, dedicated to Ullr
[M] 23rd: Silvanalia, dedicated to Silvanus

December
[H] 5th: Faunalia, dedicated to Faunus
[H] 17th-23rd: Saturnalia, dedicated to Saturn
[M] 20th-22nd: Dies Natalis Inguis, dedicated to Ingui-Frey