Celtic Moon Signs: How the Mystical Power of the Druid Zodiac Can Transform Your Life. Helena Paterson

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      In the Celtic myths of Pwyll and King Arawn, the newcomer Pwyll has to undergo the initiation rites of Arawn in order to become the supreme ruler of both kingdoms – the living and the dead, or the upper and lower realms. It is a parallel account of the joining of the upper and lower kingdoms situated north and south of the Nile in Egypt. As Pwyll successfully completes his initiation it would appear to suggest that the druids were accepted into the ancient megalithic priesthood, whose belief in life after death was a more primitive form of reincarnation, which formed the foundation stone in druidic beliefs.

      The eight-fold druidic year was based on the two solstices and two equinoxes and the four seasons represented by four fire festivals marking the four quarter days of the Moon. The fire festivals of Brigantia, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain were celebrated on the first day of the months of February, May, August and November. The first three were identified with their triple-aspected great Mother goddess. She was the Bride or Maiden known as Brigantia or Brighid in February marking spring and the Mother Dana or Ceridwen at Beltane marking summer. Lammas or Lughnasa marked autumn, when she entered her Earth realm to be reborn in spring. Samhain marked the period of winter and was identified with Pwyll, God of the Underworld, who would regenerate the Sun god so he could be reborn at the Winter Solstice. Samhain also marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year because the Celts calculated a day from sunset to sunrise, and their New Year accordingly began at the darkest time of the year.

      The thirteen lunar months marked the passage of the Sun through the cycles of the Moon, and Celtic Moon signs represent the two dimensions of light and darkness. When comparing the two zodiacs, the disadvantage of the Greek/Roman Sun zodiac is its failure to be a perpetual calendar like the Celtic lunar zodiac, which makes no attempt to relate the equinoxes and solstices to the twelve zodiac constellations. The thirteen-month lunar calendar and zodiac is more ancient than the twelve-month version and is less easy to handle with the equinoxes and solstices falling at irregular intervals. The druids, however, obviously preferred a ritual calendar and zodiac that represented an exact guide to the seasons as well as a guide to the stars and Creation itself.

      NOTE

      For people living in the southern hemisphere, i.e. Australia, where there is a complete reversal of seasons, the Celtic lunar zodiac as a perpetual calendar is still highly relevant because the changes of light in the sky relating to the Sun and Moon are universal. The observations of the druids, though related to the northern hemisphere, come from an ancient astronomy, which provides universal concepts of the stars for all mankind.

      For people living in the northern hemisphere, i.e. America or the rest of Europe, it is a question of differing time zones regarding the exact times and even days relating to the druidic eightfold year; marking the solstices, equinoxes and four fire festivals celebrated on the first days of February, May, August and November. Because Greenwich Mean Time is the official universal time, most people, especially astrologers, will have no problem adjusting these differences if drawing up their own astrological charts.

       Comparison of Druidic and Greek/Roman Zodiacs

DRUIDIC SIGN	MONTH	GREEK/ROMAN ZODIAC
BIRCH, Beth	24 December–20 January	CAPRICORN
ROWAN, Luis	21 January–17 February	AQUARIUS
ASH, Nion	18 February–17 March	AQUARIUS/PISCES
ALDER, Fearn	18 March–14 April	PISCES/ARIES
WILLOW, Saille	15 April–12 May	ARIES/TAURUS
HAWTHORN, Uath	13 May–9 June	TAURUS/GEMINI
OAK, Duir	10 June–7 July	GEMINI/CANCER
HOLLY, Tinne	8 July–4 August	CANCER/LEO
HAZEL, Coll	5 August–1 September	LEO/VIRGO
VINE, Muin	2 September–29 September	VIRGO/LIBRA
IVY, Gort	30 September–27 October	LIBRA/SCORPIO
REED, Ngetal	28 October–24 November	SCORPIO/SAGITTARIUS
ELDER, Ruis	25 November–23 December	SAGITTARIUS/CAPRICORN

      Tree Names and Symbols

      The first sign of the Celtic lunar zodiac begins with the Birch Tree and is associated with the letter Beth in the Celtic tree-alphabet. Beth is also the first of thirteen consonants of the Celtic letters that formed a calendar of seasonal tree-magic. The Celts believed that the spoken word had great power, the pitch or tone being harmonious or hurtful, a poem or a curse. The tree symbols represent the mystical tree spirits or dryads that the druids believed came from the first rays of the Sun that gave life to their sacred trees. They breathed life by changing the Earth’s atmosphere into oxygen so that mankind could be born.

      Though people living in Britain and Ireland today cannot consciously remember these symbols, all can be found on the signboards of British pubs and inns. Symbols like the White Swan, White Horse, Black Horse, Green Dragon, the White Stag/Hart and the Unicorn are commonplace and are evidence that these ancient symbols lie deeply buried in our national psyche and in our native folklore. The lunar symbol of the Unicorn for the Holly month corresponds with the Sun symbol of the Lion for the Leo sign and both represent nobility and immortality. Not surprising, therefore, to find both symbols on the British royal family’s coat of arms. A fascinating coincidence perhaps, but it reveals how symbolism can project a powerful statement of status that our ancestors obviously knew about and later acknowledged in heraldry.

       Mythological Star Map

Birch Tree ~ White Stag

      24 December – 20 January

      ZODIAC DEGREES: Capricorn

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