Many of the most popular Neopagan terms for the holidays we commemorate are problematic. This is largely due to those specific names being popularized after being published in the Green Egg in the 1970’s. Don’t even get me started on why “Mabon” isn’t a good choice of naming for the Autumn Equinox. If you don’t already know, you can go see John Halstead’s article, the Worst Named Pagan Holiday.
Many of these names have very cultural/mythological based themes. In the past, I am someone who has explored several of the cultures of my ancestors as inspiration for my Pagan practices. But in recent years, I’ve come to the realization that I need to turn my focus to my own here-and-now culture. No matter how much they inspire me, I will never be a part of those other cultures. I am separated from them by an ocean and by hundreds of years.
My aim is to live the best aspects of my own culture, as much as possible. So I began using some of my culture’s names for holidays, but they’re incomplete, and sometimes Christianized. There are also instances in which there is no equivalent holiday in my culture, but I want there to be one to complete the seasonal narrative. (I mean, we have “Groundhog’s Day” but no equivalent of Lùnasa at the opposite end of the year? What’s that about?!)
Now I know there will be those who are quick to point out that there was never a single ancient culture that commemorated all eight holidays of the modern Neopagan “Wheel of the Year”. Yet, they are events in Nature. Having evenly placed commemorations in the cycle of seasons seems highly appropriate for a Nature-based spirituality (though I know not all Pagans are Nature-based). There is something in Nature to celebrate or commemorate at every turn of the cycle. If there are no outward signs of its marking in my culture, then that needs adjusting.
So my solution for the names I use for the holidays– for the solstices and equinoxes, it’s simple, as they have long established scientific names. But a little lesser known is that the Cross-Quarter days have similarly established naturalistic or scientific names. They are the thermstices and the equitherms.
So the solstices mark the extreme points of the daylight cycle for the year; Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night, and Summer Solstice is the longest day and shortest night. Then, the thermstices mark the extreme points of the thermal cycle for the year. This is because the thermal/heat cycle lags the daylight cycle- it takes a while to feel the effects of the solstices. So… Winter Therstice is the approximate coldest part of the year, and Summer Thermstice is the approximate hottest point of the year.
It’s along similar lines for the equinoxes; the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes are times of equal day and night, but the Spring and Autumn Equitherms are when that equilibrium has caught up in terms of temperature, as days that are likely to feel truer to the season.
Just as the dates of the solstices and equinoxes change from year to year, so do the Cross-Quarter dates of the thermstices and equitherms, and they’re often on different dates from what cultural customs dictate. The scientific method of determining the date can be more complicated than just finding the exact middle between two dates as it also takes into account local terrain shifts. You can find accurate Cross Quarter dates for your region, as well as the solstice and equinox dates for any given year- on the archaeoastronomy website.
Ozark Pagan Mamma 