For those who follow the Coligny calendar, Anagantio is translated as Ritual Month and runs from August 30th thru September 29th in 2025. But the big question is, which ritual is being celebrated?
I’ve come up with a few possibilities:
- The Proto-Celtic lexicon compiled by the University of Wales, lists *an-gnāto-as meaning “unknown.” So, it’s possible were worshiping the great unknown.
- The Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic by Ranko Matasovic lists *aneg-tlo as meaning refuge or protection. This is later attributed in Gaulish on a statue of Apollo as “he whose protection is great.”
- Finally, I separated the roots. *Ana- is both an intensive and means remain. The second half clusters around familial words: *gnato (son), *gnata (Daughter), *genos (family), and *gn-iyo- (beget). Thus, it’s possible that everyone in the clan/tribe ritualistically become one year older. It’s equally possible that this was a ritual to celebrate children who were separating from their birth families and moving into foster families.
If none of those suit your fancy, there is a fourth option, although it does not fall within the month of Anagantio regularly … Bhuiridh.
The Proto-Celtic word for autumn is *sido-bremo, translated as bellowing of the stags. This survives in Gaelic as Bhuiridh, the day of roaring, which is officially set as September 20th. Historically, it likely marked the official opening of hunting season. Owing to the varying nature of the Coligny calendar and the insertion of intercalarily months, Bhuiridh doesn’t always fall within the Ritual Month. But when it does, it’s certainly cause for celebration.
As a shape-shifter and Lord of the Hunt, I’ve always associated Cernunnos with hunting seasons and the beginning of the rut. In Proto-Celtic *karno- means horn, thus Karnunnos is the horned god. He’s often depicted antlered, usually holding or wearing a torc, indicating that he either held power himself or had the authority to bestow it. With the Roman invasion of Gaul, the Celtic “Ka” was changed to the Latin “Ce”, but his attributes remain the same.
Below is an image of Cernunnos that appears on the Gundestrup Calderon, a beautifully decorated silver vessel that dates to the La Tene period:
Over the years, archaeologists have unearthed 24 red deer headdresses from the Star Carr site in North Yorkshire, UK. The headdresses, which are over 11,000 years old, were made of stag skulls with the antlers still attached. It is believed they were used in shamanistic rituals. Similar headdresses were found in Bedburg-Königshoven, a Pre-Boreal Mesolithic site in the Lower Rhineland, Germany.
(See: Reconstruction of Star Carr Headdresses)
I hope to be present for the release of Sequana this month, a tiny mallard duckling my cat brought me in July.
Sequana is the Goddess of the River Seine and patroness of ducks. It seemed like a fitting moniker for an orphaned duckling.
The duckling currently resides at the Palouse Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, where she had a friend in the form of another duckling rescued from a cat. They plan to release both of them in September, so they can fly south for the winter. That will be my ritual, and I’ll post updates when it happens.
What ritual will you be celebrating this month?