by Magi The most common usage of a Year and a Day is in reference to handfastings. Pagan handfastings are not necessarily for life, as are Christian marriages. It's acceptable for a man and woman to 'marry' for a year and a day, before making a lifelong commitment. After the time has passed, they are free to go their separate ways should the relationship not work out. Having such time pass also gave the couple a chance to see if children would be produced. Not such an important issue these days, but in the past, it was certainly something to consider. Another area where a year and a day is a popular timeframe is for initiation into a coven. Of course, different covens will have different initiation requirements, but a year and a day of study or apprenticeship is a common one. There may also be another year and a day between degrees or levels within a coven. It's usually considered a minimum period of time, rather than a definite length. So where does a year and a day come from: It is based on a year comprised of thirteen months each of 28 days to match the full moons plus one day to balance the solar cycle. The calendar is regarded as "Celtic" or Druidical and was most famously propounded by poet Robert Graves in The White Goddess, though its historicity has been seriously questioned. Graves was no historian, but the book makes a very worthwhile read nonetheless. He related the Ogam letters to verses of The Song of Amergin. (Many historians and archaeologists prefer to work instead from the Coligny Calendar, a great bronze plate now in fragmentary form, showing 62 lunar months plus two intercalated months to match the solar cycle.) Anyway, the months in Graves' interpretation are purportedly named after the Ogam letters, the "tree alphabet" of Old Irish: Dec 24 - Jan 20 = Beith (Birch) Jan 21 - Feb 17 = Luis (Rowan) Feb 18 - Mar 17 = Nion (Ash) Mar 18 - Apr 14 = Fearn (Alder) Apr 15 - May 12 = Saille (Willow) May 13 - Jun 09 = Uath (Hawthorn) Jun 10 - Jul 07 = Duir (Oak) Jul 08 - Aug 04 = Tinne (Holly) Aug 05 - Sep 01 = Coll (Hazel) Sep 02 - Sep 29 = Muin (Vine) Sep 30 - Oct 27 = Gort (Ivy) Oct 28 - Nov 24 = Ngetal (Reed) Nov 25 - Dec 22 = Ruis (Elder) Dec 23 : the extra day
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