There are many things that the people in Sumer did that we did not include in our religion. The Lunar celebrations were by far the most important of the practices for most Sumerians. Special breads were used by the Sumerians long ago as well. That is why we have them in our celebrations. They used date and rye cakes for the dark moon celebrations. Dates were considered the "bread of life". For libations they had beer, wine and mead, although it wasn't called mead as it is today it was just called honey wine. There are even recipes for the cakes, beer and honey wine that have been translated from the original clay tablets. It was a simple step for us to use half dark and half light cakes for the quarters and white cakes for the full moon. The solar rites were second and the "cross quarter" rights were virtually nonexistent. There were lunar events that marked the cross quarters for agricultural purposes instead of the astronomical dates. The new moon "Diana's Bow" was used to begin new projects and lunar eclipses held the meaning of fertility and the coming of age for young girls. There were six lunar celebrations in all an six is one of the important magical numbers for the peoples of Sumer.

Of course hun. 

Yeah ... I'd guess some of the observances noted on the calendar might seem odd to those not familiar with a specific path or pantheon.  Then again, some of the major holidays celebrated by everyone in the US were originally Celtic holidays. (think Christmas, Easter, and Halloween)

Thanks for the help (and the thread move), CD! I haven't started reading yet on the Celtic path. The vast majority of my reading are books, and I'm working my way through the recommended reading lists. (A couple books I'd found on my own were listed, so that was cool.) I just had zero frame of reference for the calendar entry and was curious. Really appreciate the explanation.

Moving this thread to a more appropriate board


While what DF has posted is interesting, it has very little to do with the calendar entry.

Just what is a mooncake for a Pagan and why does it have a day?

Depends on who the Pagan is ... The Day of Mooncakes is a Celtic celebration centered around the Moon Goddess. 

Are mooncakes part of Cakes & Ale?

No

Or does it have something to do with the New Moon?

Nope

Because the ancient Celtic religions were mainly oral traditions, there isn't a lot of information available from an anthropological standpoint so there won't be much that can be found online about any of the lesser holidays, celebrations, or traditions they held.  Don't know why the day is named such, but a mooncake was likely a bread based food created to honor the Celtic Moon Goddess.

This celebration was included because at least one of the staff here observes Celtic celebrations.  We'll be happy to include observances of other traditions or pantheons but those items need to be requested as the admins do not have time to research every single Pagan observance. 

As an aside ... do not try to learn about anything solely from the internet ... much of the information found online is flat wrong (including some information found on many public forums).  Online research if fine if you can sort the wheat from the chaff, but any research needs to be heavily augmented by reading knowledgeable resources (such as books written by recognized experts).

Thanks for the explanation! I'm still curious, though, as to why there is just one day on the calendar for Mooncakes. Wouldn't there be two per lunar month? One dark, one full?

Dark (new) and full moons are special times for pagans as we relate the lunar cycle to deity and life together. Light, round cakes symbolize the full moon and dark round cakes (think chocolate) symbolize the dark moon. These times are when the moon shows the fullness of the goddess and the crone or inner wisdom of the goddess. Pagans commonly use symbolism to participate in the magik of the moment. We can "partake" of the goddess' strength and wisdom by eating the cakes that have been blessed in the making and a ritual to join with her. It is one of the "fun" things that make our practices more enjoyable.

Howdy. I hope I'm posting in the best place for this; the calendar board appears to be locked.

I was cruising around the board and discovered the calendar. There's an entry for today: Day of Mooncakes. I tried searching the boards for information. A Google search turned up the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and yummy looking mini-cakes. Just what is a mooncake for a Pagan and why does it have a day? Are mooncakes part of Cakes & Ale? Or does it have something to do with the New Moon?

My learnings about witchcraft have been pretty limited to Cristopher Penczak series of Temple of Witchcraft. It's only now that I have started reading Starhawk's Spiral Dance and discover more into various aspects of wicca. And damn, I never have came across such a simply yet mesmerising writer. She's amazeballs, that lady!

Inner and Outer Temple of Witchcraft, as well as Instant Magick by Penczak were a good beginning point for me though.

Such a warm question, DF!

I am renewing my vows to myself tonight. Might sound completely eccentric and crazy, but I have been through a lot lately. And in order to keep things functional on professional front and in family, I kind of forgot to love myself. So tonight, I solemnly begin a life long affair with myself.

At office, things are balanced. Nothing too grand of a success, nothing too scary to drive us off the road. Although I really want it to scale up now.

I have been meaning to learn a lot of things lately - French, Gardening, Working with crystals (that's been on the list for the longest time now), playing violin, etc. But was putting off. Will start now, with crystals first.

Hello! Going back to DragonsFriend's original question, I haven't been able to find a Pagan 101 class locally but did manage to find a basic magic class. Have only been to two sessions so far. The teacher covered some basic Pagan beliefs (colored through her Asatru path), how to cast a circle, how to shield (wish this had been further explained), how to focus intent into an object, and a little astral travel. It's been pretty interesting so far, but I'm still hoping to find a class more about the path(s) than the craft. It's exciting for this newbie, however, to be in a room with other Pagans that are willing to share insights and take questions.