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Neo-Pagan calendar. “Instead of the eight
    Neo-Pagan holidays, the Irish people observe four major fes-
    tivals throughout the year: Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and
    Lughnasadh.” As an active member of her local Pagan com-
    munity, Diane participates in group solstice and equinox rites, f 43 2
    the sacral calendar
    but her personal sacral calendar emphasizes the four holy tides that reflect her spirituality.
    She also knows that the popular, modern interpretations
    of those four holidays are not necessarily traditional Irish
    Pagan interpretations. Diane believes that today’s Pagans
    sometimes miss the deeper significance of holy tides like
    Beltane and Imbolc. In her own words, “Beltane is seen by
    Pagans today as being a fertility rite, but imagine the significance of the fertile earth…when your survival depends upon
    it. (Beltane) isn’t as much about sex as it is about the poten-
    tial for life to grow once again.” She adds that, “animals were often led between two fires to bestow blessings upon them
    for the upcoming year,” a custom rarely seen in contem-
    porary Beltane rites. Of Imbolc, the winter festival, Diane
    says, “Imbolc is commonly associated with the lactating of
    the ewes. In Irish society, wool was an important part of the
    economy so it seems natural that this would be observed
    in some way. On the Christian calendar, February 1st is the
    Feast of St. Brigid. Presently, many Pagans honor the God-
    dess Brigid in some way on this holiday, although it is unclear whether this is an ancient Pagan practice.”
    The Irish sacral calendar and the Saxon calendar are sim-
    ilar in their agricultural focus, but Diane makes it clear that there are also distinct differences between the two. The Winterfylleth moon in October marks the beginning of winter
    for Saxon Pagans, but for the Irish Pagan this time of year,
    known as Samhain, means much more. “The Irish marked
    the start of the New Year with Samhain, observed on the eve
    of November 1st and throughout the following day,” says
    Diane, “Samhain is neither a day of this year or next. It stands f 44 2
    the sacral calendar
    on its own as a time between times. The Irish thought it to
    be neither summer nor winter and the boundaries between
    the spirit world of the sidhe and the world of men were eas-
    ily crossed.”
    Diane and I have different sacral calendars because we
    follow different spiritual paths. We can both relate to the
    Neo-Pagan calendar, but we each do so in a slightly differ-
    ent way. Spiritual cultures that evolved farther away from
    England will have sacral calendars that vary more from the
    Neo-Pagan calendar.
    Hellenismos, also known as Hellenism or Hellenic reli-
    gion, is Greek Paganism. Worship is directed to the Greek
    gods: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite and so on. With a spiri-
    tual culture originating in southern Europe, Hellenic Pagans
    have a sacral calendar that bears little resemblance to the
    Neo-Pagan calendar. Irisa MacKenzie, a Hellenic Pagan liv-
    ing in Ohio, says, “The Hellenic calendar was based on a
    lunar cycle. As such, this affected their worship.” Here we see a similarity between the Hellenes and the Saxons. Like the
    Saxons, the Hellenic people inserted a thirteenth month into
    their calendar every few years so the lunar months would fall
    into place with the solar year. This thirteenth month usually
    (but not always) followed their month of Poseideion, which
    falls in December and January. Irisa echoes Diane Dahm’s
    comment about the Irish sacral calendar, saying, “The Hel-
    lenic calendar does not mirror the traditional Neo-Pagan
    wheel of the year. Aside from (some Hellenic festivals) being
    celebrated during a similar time frame, there is little in com-
    mon with the modern wheel of the year.”
    f 45 2
    the sacral calendar
    One significant difference between the Hellenic sacral
    calendar and that of the Saxons, as Irisa has pointed out to
    me, is that the Hellenic month is reckoned from