User talk:Astroceltica

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Don't misunderstand. The communism article is actually fairly more representative of libertarian communist ideology (ie. anti-totalitarian commmunism, anarchist communism, etc.) than other encyclopedias or reference works due to colloboration of the article till its current stable state (it was revamped about half a year ago). I and 172 just didn't think Mein Kampf (of which the parentheses should be removed and be replaced with as he writes in Mein Kampf) was an example of a pertinent criticism of communism. When communists defend communism, they usually don't bring up the works of Stalin (usually). When anti-communists attack communism, they usually don't bring up Mein Kampf. Elle vécut heureuse à jamais (Be eudaimonic!) 08:43, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Samhain revert

You are correct to a point. What era are you referring to? Samhain is basically Irish/Gaelic tradition and the Julian calandar is present there since 300 AD. Bealtaine is the month of May in the Irish language. I saw you did other calandar-type ref changes, really I am not into blanket reverts, but the time periods maybe or should be referred to as the traditions changed. Omnibrief 02:46, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

--->I am thinking of Celtic culture in terms of the entire region from Spain to Austria, from the time that warriors fitting Celtic descriptions begin to emerge from teh Alpine region (about 700 BCE) to the spread of Romanism and Christianity (perhaps a better time frame would be until 300 AD). There are common deities with similar names and similar practices associated with those deities. Similar religious beliefs (such as the permanence of the soul and the sacrifice of humans) and similar artwork depicting religious scenes such as of Cerunnos suggest unified cultural and religious traditions across the continent, until conquerors arrive. That means that the deities, beliefs, and practices predate the conquerors. Beltane is a fire festival, given in the month Bealtaine in Ireland but "Bel" is also the name of the Celtic god of fire in Gaul. Similarly, Ogmios is a deity associated with language in Gaul (which Caesar describes) but the Irish alphabet Ogham is named after him.

I think we can certainly agree that former Celtic lands would use their old calendar until a newer calendar came about, or until the priest cast was entirely destroyed by Roman occupation. The general time frame is agreed upon by all. I am fine with the addition of some text stating that this type of calendar applies until Roman occupation. I merely wished to point out for all four holidays that the date set would not always have been so since a different calendar system must have been used.

[edit] Samhain

Please cite a source for the change you made to Samhain. You altered the (slightly incorrect):

All months began at full moon, and the celebration of New Year took place during the "three nights of Samonios" (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]), the full moon of nearest 1st November. Likewise, the beginning of the summer season was celebrated at the full moon nearest 1st May (see Beltane).

to

All months began at full moon, and the celebration of New Year took place during the "three nights of Samonios" (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]), the full moon of nearest the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

There is no evidence that the Gaulish calendar was fixed to the solstices and equinoxes. What is your basis for this change? It looks like an attempt to backdate the 20th century neopgnan Wheel of the year into history. --Nantonos 13:41, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

>I will make a brief logical argument. Let us suppose for a moment that the ancient Celts set the date for this holiday as November 1. But the ancient Celts, i.e. Iron Age, contemporaries of Rome Celts, did not have the Julian calendar of 365 days. So that cant be it. What does an ancient people use to tell time and establish a calendar? Neolithic structures in Ireland (Newgrange) and the UK (Stonehenge) as well as every other populated continent show that ancient peoples were certainly aware of the solstices and equinoxes and cycles of the moon. They HAD to be since no other method existed to tell the seasons. Solstices and equinoxes can be measured precisely by their location on a horizon. Implementation of a lunar calendar requires use of the full moon, since a new moon is unobservable. Thus the full moon was used to construct a 12 and 13 month calendar...it is the full moon half-way between the solar events that is 1)observable and 2)most in line with changes in flora and fauna. Early February, the time of Imbolc, matches well with the first appearance of the crocus in continental Europe. Late October matches with the time when most of the leaves have fallen from the trees and the land appears dead. Early May corresponds to the trees and flowers being in full bloom. As for what change Lughnassah corresponds to, I dont really know ;)

A good resource might be

Stairways to the Stars : Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures by Anthony Aveni

I believe it is laid out there. I therefore removed all instances referring to Julian and Gregorian calendar dates because they really could not be used. I studied ancient astronomy (of the Maya, Anasazi, and Celts) so that is why I feel the need to make these changes. Really I should be looking at the Maya and Anasazi articles too...