The Witches' Almanac
A reference guide that provides information and guidance related to various aspects of witchcraft. This almanac includes moon phases, constellation positions, and other celestial information as well as seasonal celebrations, holidays, sabbats (such as Samhain, Beltane, and Imbolc), and equinoxes and solstices, along with ideas for how to celebrate them. You will also find a collection of information on the magical properties and uses of herbs, crystals and gemstones and their seasonal correspondences. There are also small sections of documented folklore and mythology. Practical information related to farming, gardening, and weather predictions, which can be useful for those who follow earth-based spiritual practices.
OOC Note: This was a huge labor of love created with all the collected works of various players who have participated in writing contests that helped shape Hollows lore, organized and expanded upon in some areas with the hopes of being an aide to everyone who wishes to write witches, druids, mages and any other flavor of character who studies the changing of the seasons and the planets.
Mourningfrost
The last and first month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with December and January.
Number of days:
The first of two of the longest months in Lithrydel’s calendar year, Mourningfrost holds 62 Moonrises. It ushers in the ending of Lithyrdel’s year from the 1st through 31st, with the marking of the new year starting on the 32nd day.
Season: Winter
Moon Phases Valaane: Waxing Crescent Arh’Nuk: Waning Gibbous Ruling Constellation The Broom - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding discipline, ambition and responsibility. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Monarch
Holidays
Yule (Winter Solstice)
The 21st Moonsrise through the 31st of Mourningfrost.
A celebration of the winter solstice that marks the longest night and the shortest day of the year. In legends surrounding this time, early records indicate that the goddess* Hind carried Arkhen’s holy light across Lithrydel within her antlers for 62 days in a mad race against Vakmatharas who sought to swallow its light. As Hind began to tire and stumble, she sacrificed her own life to satisfy Death’s hunger and released Arkhen’s light once more to the world, the sun stronger for the life given before she rose again like a forest, stronger for the fire.
Celebrations surrounding Yule are often observed twelve days and twelve nights. There are plays reenacting Hind’s race against death, evergreen trees are adorned with mage and witch light and all manner of ornaments, there is drinking and dancing along with the exchanging of gifts.
Wreaths of golds, silvers, blues and red are hung on doors and over hearths to honor the bounties that earth has to offer even in the harshness of winter. Yule logs are selected with the utmost care and burned throughout all twelve days and nights often associated with the superstition that if the fire were to die prematurely Hind would fall before the 62nd day of Mourningfrost and the sun will never again return to the sky.
Wassail wine, made from hot mulled cider and spices, is drunk as an essential part of Yuletide festivities. Wassailing, the tradition of going door to door to sing and offer neighbors a drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts or to offer charity is commonly practiced across the more civilized kingdoms and city-states of Lithrydel. That is to say, you might not find this tradition in areas such as Gamourg or Kregus.
- Note, most devout focused scholars hotly debate the translation of this deity's gender to this day. While the most commonly accepted gender pronoun for Hind has long been male, most symbolism and connections to all things earthly and growing would point to a more feminized manifestation of this holy power.
The New Year
The 32nd Moonsrise of Mourningfrost.
Out with the old, in with the new. The beginning of another turn around Kafzhash. Often celebrated with grand displays of fireworks, parties, and drinking as well as offerings made to the God of Death in order to appease him and release the cold grip of winter.
New Year’s Day
The 33nd Moonsrise of Mourningfrost.
On the 33rd Moonrise of Mourningfrost, smaller celebrations are often held among close friends and families where they recover from the long night of festivities before with home cooked meals. Many superstitions surround the meals, such as eating a spoon full of boiled cabbage cooked with a piece of silver inside the pot to bring financial successes in the coming year. Most merchants offer deeply discounted prices, making it a popular day for markets and shopping.
Overview:
Mourningfrost is the perfect time of year for shadow work and deep self reflection. As winter settles over the realm and the earth falls into an ice wreathed slumber, this is the perfect time to take personal stock of oneself and do the deeper, darker work to emerge new and stronger in the coming spring.
Often the best time for potion making, baking with the boons of the last harvest, and setting about cleaning hearth, home and altars.
Colors associated with Mourningfrost are blues, silvers, blacks and whites, reds and greens. The best crystals to work with in this month are garnet, rose quartz, topaz and diamond. Herbs are sages, pine needles, cinnamon and clove. Common altar decor is deer, doe, evergreen foliage, green and red candles, lanterns and poinsettias as well as skulls and all manner of bones found to honor Vakmatharas.
Rosales
The second month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with February.
Number of days:
The shortest month in Lithrydel’s calendar year, Rosales holds 28 Moonrises.
Season: Winter
Moon Phases Valaane: First Quarter Arh’Nuk: Waning Gibbous Ruling Constellation The Fair Maiden & The Admirer - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding confidence, generosity, and affection. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Lover
Holidays
Imbolc (Candlemas)
The 1st Moonsrise of Rosales.
A time of transitions, hope, and the gradual return of warmer seasons. Imbolc is the first ushering of spring and the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
Traditions during this time include lighting candles in effort to lure the warmth of Arkhen’s light into homes. Witches also use this time to prepare for the planting and agricultural season’s returns by blessing seeds and tools used for personal gardening as well as larger scale farming.
Passionbloom
The 14th Moonsrise of Rosales.
A time to celebrate love in all forms, both romantic, familial and platonic. The legend surrounding this holiday is said to have been divinely inspired by the Goddess Delisha’s beauty and grace. Hind, offering her a rose of white, was spurned by this offering and from the blood of the Goddess the first red rose bloomed. Because of this, the red rose is the most traditional and favored gift among lovers both young and old.
Traditions include offering sweets and other sentimental gifts to loved ones, as well as wild and salacious parties among the more devoted and reverent followers of Delisha. Most parties are often enjoyed with exuberance and excess, the perfect offering to the Goddess of Pleasure & Inspiration.
Overview:
A time for renewal and the hope for the coming spring. This is often the best time for deep cleansing rituals. To sweep away the trappings of a long and hard winter, to take stock of whatever stores remain from the previous harvest, and to practice magics surrounding love and the mending of relationships as well as powerful cleansing rituals.
Colors associated with Rosales are reds, pinks and whites. The best crystals to work with in this month are ruby, jasper, and strawberry quartz. Herbs are cardamom, vanilla, rose and rosemary. Common altar decorations are symbols of the Goddess Delisha, roses and other blooming flowers, hearts, and red and pink candles.
Fellsol
The third month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with March.
Number of days:
Fellsol holds 31 Moonrises.
Season: Spring
Moon Phases Valaane: Waxing Gibbous Arh’Nuk: Third Quarter Ruling Constellation The Apple - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding justice, work, and study. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Scholar
Holidays
Ostara (Spring Equinox)
The 19th Moonsrise of Fellsol.
Ostara heralds the formal onset of spring, when daylight and nighttime share equal footing, symbolizing the resurgence of light and the victory of life over the darkness of winter. It represents a season of rejuvenation, fecundity, and the rekindling of the natural world from its winter dormancy, with blossoms unfolding, creatures engaging in procreation, and the Earth awakening with a lively, vibrant force.
Gathering flowers to decorate altars and homes are common ways to celebrate the arrival of spring. Rituals focus on honoring the seasons and its cycles while ushering in the hope of personal growth and transformation.
Some traditions include enjoying ale and searching through newly grown clover fields for a lucky four leafed clover, as well as many outdoor games with horseshoes and as well as other games collecting symbols surrounding luck.
The Culling (Local to Vhys)
The 1st week's end of Fellsol.
While this holiday is predominantly celebrated within Vhys, some immigrants have brought this holiday beyond Rynvale Island. It is a four day long celebration of the founding of Vhys and is often celebrated with the enjoyment of spider shaped treats in effort to spurn the Spider Goddess.
Overview:
A time of great growth and abundance, Fellsol is the perfect time to take stock of your finances and look toward the changing of the seasons to usher in growth and a new abundance of luck. This is the best time to practice magics surrounding health, coin, and inspiration for crafting as many consider this the luckiest month of the year.
Colors associated with Fellsol are greens, blues, and oranges. The best crystals to work with during this time are aquamarine, amazonite, aventurine, and tiger’s eye. Herbs are basil, chamomile, mugwort and fennel. Altars are typically adorned with foraged greenery, spring flowers and clovers.
Yannage
The fourth month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with April.
Number of days:
Yannage holds 30 Moonrises.
Season: Spring
Moon Phases Valaane: Waxing Gibbous Arh’Nuk: Waning Crescent Ruling Constellation The Web of Arachne - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding ambition, passion, and insight. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Weaver
Holidays
The Egg Festival
The 31st Moonsrise of Yannage.
While the origins of this holiday have long been forgotten (or obscured by Cire themselves) and are still debated by scholars to this day, the Egg Festival is celebrated across Lithrydel. Typically seen as a family fun holiday, children and adults alike will collect all manner of eggs to decorate with paints and dyes. Afterwhich, it’s common to hide them in order to allow young children to hunt them for prizes and small treats.
Overview:
A season of chaotic weather and erratic behavior from animals to mankind alike, all things beginning to bloom to be nourished by the start of most area’s rain seasons. This is the perfect time to collect rain waters and charge them underneath the rare glimmers of moons light that shines between ever changing clouds. This is also the best time to celebrate change and focus your energies on harnessing chaos magic.
Colors associated with Yannage are greens and blues and yellows. The best crystals to work with are clear quartz, labradorite, malachite and chrysocolia. Herbs are alfalfa, nettle, burdock root, and oat straw. Altars are typically decorated with spiral motifs in honor of Cire, bowls made of shell and stone for collecting the sporadic rain falls, and candles of brown and gold.
Zayvann
The fifth month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with May.
Number of days:
Zayvann holds 31 Moonrises.
Season: Summer
Moon Phases Valaane: Full Moon Full Moon Names: Flower Moon, Witch's Moon, Siren's Moon Arh’Nuk: New Moon Ruling Constellation Daezir, Daedria's Mask - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding emotion, nurturing, and secrets. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Artist
Holidays
Beltane (May Day)
The 1st Moonsrise of Zayvann.
The heart of spring, the celebration of the harmony between feminine and masculine energies and everything in between. Commonly celebrated with maypole dances that symbolize the union of energies, grand fairs with deep fried foods and magical rides and games.
Bonfires are also common around this time, symbolizing the purifying of the rain season and the ushering of the sun into the summer. The most powerful fertility rites are often practiced on this holiday.
The New Year (Local to Rynvale Island and some areas of Larket)
The 1st through 7th Moonsrise of Zayvann.
While most regions observe the new year in Mourningfrost, areas that predominantly worship Zaytor mark this as the beginning of a new year as the god blesses them with rains and brings bounty to both the crops and the fishermen's nets.
Thespian’s Festival
The 12th Moonsrise of Zayvann.
Hosted throughout various regions, the Thespian’s Festival is a time to celebrate all things relating to drama and the theater. Traveling theater troupes and bards will often set up in town squares to put on plays and musicals with open admission, accepting donations as well as collaborating with local merchants selling fair foods and merchandise.
Overview:
The culmination of growth and the height of spring. After all the rains have nourished the crops, flowers and fields, everything is blooming and full. The weather is mild and perfect for outdoor activities and rituals. It is the best season for hiking, exploring, camping and travel. It is a time of activity and reaping the early rewards that come before the long awaited arrival of summer. It is also a time for heightened emotion and great dramatics. Favored by artists and actors and bards, creativity abounds. This is the best time for long running rituals to meet their completion and the ideal time for all fertility rituals.
Colors associated with Zayvann are the blues of water, in honor of Zaytor, and the greens and vibrant colors of all things in bloom. The best crystals to work with during this time are emerald, carnelian, unakite, and lapis lazuli. Herbs that are most potent during this time are motherwort, chasteberry, red clover, raspberry leaf, and bindii. Altars are typically decorated with river stones, symbols for the God Zaytor, flowers, and candles of blues and pinks.
The first season that Valaane reaches its fullest, this is the ideal time for all moon magics. Witches who are close to the Goddess Selene will often host rituals near the sea underneath the moon’s light to draw down the power of the moon to bless waters, crystals, and tools.
Mithrise
The sixth month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with June.
Number of days:
Mithrise holds 30 Moonrises.
Season: Summer
Moon Phases Valaane: Full Moon Full Moon Names: Flower Moon, Witches' Moon, Siren's Moon Arh’Nuk: Waxing Crescent Ruling Constellation Harva, The Pinecone - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding loyalty, creativity, and growth. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Guardian
Holidays
Litha (Summer Solstice)
The 24th Moonsrise of Mithrise.
The longest day of the year, marking the time where the sun is at its fullest strength. This is a time of warmth and the celebration of life. Traditions often center around bathing in the sun’s light, charging crystals and lighting fires and candles to honor the god of light.
Rituals celebrating the light that sustains all life are completed as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. It is a time of gratitude and a time to honor the energies of Arkhen as the days to follow will begin to shorten and the power of the light will wane as we enter the harvesting seasons. Merchants often open shops to discounted fine goods and this is a popular holiday for market events.
Overview:
Named after the dwarven Goddess of crafting and Ale, Mithrise is a time of great creative energy. It is the perfect season to harness the energies of summer and focus them on all efforts that surround many craftsmen’s work. To bless the tools of trade and observe rituals that usher in the creative spirit of the season to bolister projects and labor.
Colors associated with this season are silvers, copper and golds. Crystals for this season are diamond, fluorite, sodalite and citrine. Herbs are lavender, lemon balm, ginger, and passionflower. Altars are typically decorated with symbols of Loda, crafting tools, and candles of gold and silver.
As Valaane continues to fill the night sky with her fullest light, river and ocean rituals are popular to bring about the blessing of both the Goddess of the Sea and the God of Rivers and Tempests. All magic involving water ritual is strongest this time of the year.
Kazarkh
The seventh month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with July and August.
Number of days:
The second of the two longest months in Lithrydel’s calendar year, Kazarkh holds 62 Moonrises.
Season: Summer
Moon Phases Valaane: Waning Gibbous Arh’Nuk: Waxing Crescent Ruling Constellation The Chariot - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding energy, independence, and determination. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Soldier
Holidays
Midsummer (Lughnasadh, Lammas)
The 1st through 4th Moonsrise of Kazarkh.
The midpoint between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, Lammas marks the center of the summer season and the upcoming harvests. It is the final celebration of summer and is often observed by communities coming together to begin harvest preparation and throwing fairs with extravagant shows of fireworks to honor the Arkhen’s light even through the night.
Overview:
While Kazarkh is ruled by Arkhen and Kafzhash, many early celebrations also honor Cyris and the spirit of freedom and free will. This is the perfect season to practice magics that dissolve any unwanted or unwelcome binding spells or curses, to break any chains that surround you magically or otherwise and harness the spirit of true freedom.
Colors associated with this time are reds, whites and blues as well as oranges and yellows. Crystals best worked with are agate, beryl, amber and spinel. Herbs are chamomile, mint, licorice, yarrow, horsetail, and sage. Altars are typically decorated with symbols of both Arkhen and Cyris, horses and sun motifs, as well as candles of reds, oranges, and yellows.
Equaius
The eighth month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with September.
Number of days:
Equaius holds 30 Moonrises.
Season: Fall
Moon Phases Valaane: Waning Gibbous Arh’Nuk: Full Moon Full Moon’s names: Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, Wolf Moon Ruling Constellation Triad of the Gods - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding planning, healing, and community. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Architect
Holidays
Mabon (Autumn Equinox)
The 23rd Moonsrise of Equaius.
When day and night are in perfect balance before the descent into winter's darkness. This is the autumn equinox and the first great harvest of the year. Often celebrated during long nights around bonfires after hard days filled with reaping the harvests of many fields and gardens. Rituals to celebrate and honor the boons of the earth happen during this time, with community efforts to both enjoy the rewards of the work and prepare it for the coming winter by canning and preserving fruits and vegetables. It is a time for gratitude and reflection.
Tomexal
The 1st Moonsrise of Equaius.
A celebration of knowledge and arcane power. What started in Larket as a holiday of studying for school aged children, this holiday has since spread across Lithrydel and become a time of sharing and learning for peoples of all walks of life. Book fairs are often hosted, as well as cultural festivals where people gather to share traditions, games and foods as they share stories around fires.
Overview:
Equaius is a time of reflection and a time to settle into the work of harvesting both the land and knowledge. The Mage’s guild begins to accept new and hopeful apprentices, hosting open nights for peoples across Lithrydel to come and observe demonstrations from the older and graduating apprentices as they show off learned skills and new magics. This is a powerful time to search outside of yourself and soak in the wisdom of the world around you, to settle into the work of the year. The best magics to practice are rituals that draw new insights and fresh ideas, as well as divination spells.
Colors associated with this time are oranges, browns, and yellows. Crystals for this season are sapphire yellow quartz, blue apatite, kyanite and blue tiger’s eye. Herbs to work with are ginseng, guarana and copperleaf. Altars are typically decorated with books and scrolls, motifs of Xalious and the Xalious tree, and candles of purples and blues.
Arh’Nuk, or the mage’s moon, has reached its peak and shines bright and full through the lengthening nights. This moon is favored by witches who practice the darker magics, who prefer to work rituals involving spirits and the energies of the dead and dying. These witches can be found practicing rituals to gain knowledge and communion with often misunderstood powers in order to strengthen divination spells and curses. This moon is the best moon to practice all magics that lean heavily into the arcane powers of witchcraft. It is also often more favored by lycans and hunters as game is more plentiful in the deeply forested areas of Sage, Larket, and Rynvale Island.
Veilora
The ninth month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with October.
Number of days:
Veilora holds 31 Moonrises.
Season: Fall
Moon Phases Valaane: Third Quarter Arh’Nuk: Full Moon Full moon names: Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, Wolf Moon Ruling Constellation Paro the Coyote - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding flexibility, cleverness, and charm. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Cunning
Holidays
Samhain (All Hallows Eve, Halloween)
The 31st Moonsrise of Veilora.
The most well known and widely considered the most spiritually significant holiday for all practitioners of magic, Samhian marks the end of the harvest season for most areas across Lithrydel. Samhain is a time when the veil between the physical world and the spirit world is at its thinnest. It's a time to honor deceased ancestors, reflect on the cycle of life and death, and embrace the mysteries of the afterlife. This time is sacred to witches.
Traditions surrounding Samhain often include the carving of pumpkins and other gourds, hollowing them out in order to place a candle inside to ward away any maleficent spirits that may attempt to enter homes. It is a time of mischief and tricks as well, with many dressing in costume and disguise as they attend parties or go door to door to collect candy or a proper scare. Youthful trouble makers have been known to target houses with pranks that include throwing eggs at doors and windows, as well as scattering paper across yards. Harvest fairs are thrown with games for people to bob for apples and run through haunted mazes and houses or participate in costume and jack-o-lantern carving contests.
Witches host large rituals throughout the night, most centered around the dead or to usher recently departed into the afterlife. Bonfires are common, where people gather around to share stories to spark fear or thoughtfulness. There is often a casting of bones in divination rituals.
Overview:
A sacred and honored time of the year, the harvest is done and the dead arrive through the veil to haunt or offer parting final words. This is a time for reflection and looking forward to preparing for the long winter to come. It is also a time of mischief and play. The best magics worked in this time are jinxes, hexes, and any rituals relating to the dead. Colors for this season are black, orange, purple, and bright green. The crystals best worked with are obsidian, opal, malachite, and tourmaline. Herbs are borage, skullcap, tulsi, belladonna, valerian root, and nettles. Altars are typically decorated with spirit motifs, black bats, cobwebs, snakes, skulls and candles of black and purple.
Arh’Nuk remains full throughout this season, and with the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead, this is the perfect time to practice seances, read spirit boards, and celebrate in rituals that honor the power and wisdom of those that have passed. This is also the most dangerous time for witches with enemies, as this is the most potent time for casting all manner of nasty curses and hexes.
Selevann
The tenth month of the Lithrydel’s calendar year. Corresponds with November.
Number of days:
Selevann holds 30 Moonrises.
Season: Fall
Moon Phases Valaane: Waning Crescent Arh’Nuk: Full Moon Full moon names: Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, Wolf Moon Ruling Constellation Clara, The Third Eye - As the brightest constellation in the night sky, this position of stars is best for matters surrounding intuition, compassion, and adaptability. Ruling Zodiac Sign The Seeker
Holidays
Selene’s Harvest
The last week of Selevann.
Held during the last week of the month, which begins midday and extends well into the night with no lamp light to celebrate and appreciate the last glimmer of green and blue light cast by Vaalanne before it cycles into the darker months, areas that have one final harvest reap the final rewards of the season.
Overview:
The ending of all harvests and the herald of winter. A time for preparation and planning, for putting away the celebrations of the harvest and settling down by the fires for long and cold nights. This is the best time for magic surrounding hearth and home. For bolstering all protective magics and for magic pertaining to familial connections.
Colors for this season are green-blues in honor of Selene, as well as browns and golds. Crystals are topaz, citrine, opal, black tourmaline, mookaite and spessartine. Herbs best used during this time are peppermint, catnip, mint, and oregano. Altars are typically decorated with shells, motifs of the Goddess Selene and Vaalane, and candles of blue, green and white.
The final season of Arh’Nuk’s fullness. Arcane magic has reached its highest potency, this is the last season for harvesting its power. Any long running rituals or spells should be completed at this time.