According to the Coligny calendar, an early Celtic calendar which dates to the 2^nd century, the tenth month of the year is Elembivios. This year it begins at sundown on February 5^th and continues thru March 5^th.

Elembivios is generally considered Stag Month. However, Stag Month isn’t an entirely correct translation. In Proto-Celtic, sido- (stag) is the root of *sido-bremo- (bellowing of stags) which is translated as autumn. Both are well attested. A better fit is *el-an-ī (deer) or *elnā- (herd) combined with *biwo- (living) or *biwoto- (life/food) which would make this Deer Month or Herd Month. Continue reading →

Many pagan religions herald from cultures that simply don’t have 7-day weeks. Thus, one of frustrations pagans face on a daily basis is simply trying to conform to the Gregorian calendar, which offers no leeway to accommodate our lunisolar lives.

Every year between Christmas and New Years, I lose an entire day of my life to mathematical calculations. I’ve come to think of it day as “Calendar Day.” It’s the date I outline all the months of the Coligny calendar, work out the dates of all the holy days for the coming year, and transpose it all onto the Gregorian Calendar.

This year is particularly special because it includes an intercalarily month. That means, this year’s calendar has 13 months, rather than the usual 12. Below are the start dates of each Celtic month in 2025, which I am happy to share with other Celtic pagans, and especially fellow Gaulish polytheists. Continue reading →

Judging from social media and the commercials on TV, one would assume that pumpkin spice is as American as apple pie. That may be true, but not in the way you think. The spices for both apple and pumpkin pie originated in the Spice Islands, which are about as far from America as you can get.

The Maluku Islands are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia, meaning they are chains and clusters of islands that are grouped fairly close together. The islands were known as the Spice Islands because nutmeg, mace, and clove are exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked colonial European trade interests. But spice trade did not begin with the Europeans.

The maritime spice trade was dominated by Indonesian sailors who established routes from southeast Asia to Sri Lanka and India by 1500 BCE. The Aksumite Empire established the Red Sea route prior to the 1st century CE. Indian and Persian traders also transported spices overland towards the Mediterranean and the Greco-Roman world via the incense route and the Silk Road. Thus, spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, clove, and turmeric were well known in antiquity and had found their way into the Near East well before the rise of Christianity.

During the Crusades (11^th to 15^th centuries), the Italian maritime republics monopolized the trade between Europe and Asia. The trade routes changed again in 1498 when the Portuguese successfully navigated around the Cape of Good Hope. This route, which drove world trade from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance ushered in an age of European domination in the East.

Spain was among the many countries seeking to find faster routes to the Spice Islands. Christopher Columbus wrote the Florentine astronomer, Pabolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli in 1481 about the possibility of a westward route. Toscanelli not only encouraged the plan but provided a copy of a map implying that a westward route to Asia was possible. However, it was not until 1492 that Columbus garnered support for his expedition from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain and set off on his voyage across the Atlantic in search of gold, spices, and a safer route to the East.

On October 12, 1492, Columbus’s ships made landfall in the Americas. His landing place was in the Bahamas’s. Believing himself to be in India, he dubbed the indigenous population Los Indios (Spanish for “Indians”). From there he visited the islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola, and established a colony in what is now Haiti. Thus, it is Christopher Columbus’s failed circumnavigation attempts that lead to America’s connection to pumpkin spice.

See popular spice blends below. Continue reading →

Did you know that Christianity’s stance on abortion has changed over time? Attitudes regarding sexuality and childbirth were markedly different in the past. Hagiographical texts even hold accounts saints performing abortions.

All the saints’ stories carry a similar theme: the abortions are carried out with the blessing of God and recorded as a miracle. If you find yourself shaking your head in incredulity, take a moment to consider that for most of human history abortion was a legal and acceptable way to end unwanted pregnancies.

The most sought-after abortifacient in antiquity was Silphium. It was used across the Mediterranean region and deemed so valuable that the City of Cyrene had its image stamped onto their coins. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depict the plant. Roman poetry declared the herb was worth its weight in gold. Silphium even makes an appearance in the Bible. Not only was abortion permissible in biblical times, but women could be forced to endure abortions against their will. In such cases, priests oversaw the abortions (Numbers 5:11-31) at the behest of the woman’s husband or parents. Thus, it is not surprising that a number of saints also performed abortions. Continue reading →

Ever since learning to walk upright, man has stared at the horizon, watching the sun rise and set.  Early attempts at tracking time often tried reconciling solar and lunar movements as each marched across the sky. Some attempts were more successfully than others, resulting in the formation of calendars.

Sun’s Position on Horizon

One of the best-known calendars attributed to the Celts is the Coligny calendar, whose name derives from the location where it was discovered—Coligny, France. The calendar is of Gaulish origin and dates to the 2^nd century. Despite being in fragments, the calendar has been reconstructed with confidence due to its regular composition, which lays out a five-year cycle of 62 months.

Each Celtic year contains twelve lunar months, divided into just two seasons, summer and winter. Each month is further divided into two fortnights, the first always containing 15 days, the second containing either 14 or 15 days depending on the length of the month.

The calendar is further adjusted with an intercalary month every 2.5 years, so the lunar cycle of the months also aligns with the solar year. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which resets in the winter, the Coligny calendar begins and ends in the spring. Continue reading →

Writers need all kinds of tools to craft believable stories. One of my favorite facets of research for my books was learning about period cooking. To that end, I even purchased a cookbook written by archeologists who reconstructed recipes based off the remnants of food found near cooking fires.

Everyone loves sweets and the ancient Gauls (Celts) were no exception. Deep in the middle of book 3, Klara makes sticky buns to celebrate Imbolg, a Celtic holyday. Both Imbolg and National Sticky Bun Day occur in February.

Coincidence? Probably.

However, in honor of National Sticky Bun Day, I’ve produced a recipe for sticky buns adapted from a stone age recipe in found in “A Culinary Journey Through Time.” The original recipe “Barley Balls with Wild Fruit and Berries” appears on page 95. Continue reading →