While I doubt that I am the first person to coin the term, The Weird is a serviceable catch all for the background hum of the strange that leeches its way into our otherwise mundane lives. As a proud Gutter Mage I am all too experienced in repurposing older concepts to get the point across. As such, in an effort to give something back to the more Pagan end of the occult community I have decided to compress some of the calender related observances for 2025 down into a format which allows them to be shared in six month blocks. This will be via a blog post now and another in June.

Of course the the following dates are given as a guide only. That is just the nature of such a wide sweeping project as this has become. It has a distinct Northern Hemisphere bias, so location may interfere with the specifics, especially with regards to the day that certain moon phases fall upon. This is because I personally reside in the UK and under both GMT and BST during the calendar year. Also, a few of the more obscure historical festivals forced me to make assumptions based on what seemed the most sensible. If you do them on a different date then there is a good chance you are right and I am wrong.

Weird observances for January begin on the 3rd as it ushers in both the Full Birch or Cold Moon as well as the peak of the Quadrantids meteor shower as well. While somewhat obscured by the resplendent glow of the lunar disk they may be slightly easier to view on the 4th as this too is during their most active phase. The Agonola of Janus is celebrated on the 9th, wherein classical Romans would appease the god of beginnings, endings and thresholds ahead of the newly born year. Juturna, the goddess of fountains also has two Carmentalia, or feast days, on the 11th and 15th respectively.

Accelerated Necromancers will observe the New Moon on the 18th as the Miner’s Moon, in memory of those who died while toiling underground. A dark copper candle dressed in liquorice is offered to those lost souls. Both Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and Tellus, mother Earth, were honoured during the last week of the month. This observance moved based on decree, but always involved the sowing of seeds. The First Quarter then falls on the 26th. Historical deaths related to The Weird this month include Dion Fortune who passed away in 1946 and Jake Stratton-Kent in 2023.

February starts strong with the Full Rowan or Quickening Moon on the 1st, which is also Imbolc. This is a Celtic celebration of the goddess Brigid and it is not uncommon to visit holy wells on that date. The Third Quarter falls on the 9th and the Ides of Faunus on the 13th. A Roman god tied to forests, fields and plains he shares a lot of associations with the Greek Pan, and as such both fertility and fruitfulness are within his domain. Dies Parentales, designated as a time to honour family ancestors, begins on the 13th as well and carries through to the 22nd. Rituals tended to be personal, though state sponsored events ran too.

It is likely far from a coincidence that Lupercalia fell during this otherwise solemn period, and the 15th saw goatskin clad priests as well as naked revellers cavort in the city streets. The New Moon occurs on the 17th, observed as the Fisherman’s Moon by Accelerated Necromancers and an offering of a turquoise candle rolled in sea salt is made for those who died under the turbulent winter waves. This date also marks the beginning of the Lunar new year, that of the Fire Horse. Mercury reaches its Greatest Eastern Elongation on the 19th and is far easier to view with the naked eye as a result.

Feralia occurs on the 21st and was held to prevent the spirits of the dead from wondering. These could be downright malicious if not placated, and indeed this was taken so seriously by the population of Rome that neither marriages nor regular worship of the Gods was advised. A fitting way to bring Dies Parentales to a close. The first Quarter is on the 24th before Mercury Retrograde stumbles into view on the 26th, causing both technology and communication to fail when needed the most. Important historical deaths include Gerald Gardner in 1964 and Christopher S. Hyatt in 2008.

Aside from Mercury Retrograde, which continues through to the 20th, March is relatively quiet from the point of view of The Weird. The Full Ash or Storm Moon dominates the sky on the 3rd, while Liberalia, a ritual which included the removal of protective childhood amulets, was seen by Romans as a transition point for young men into manhood on the 17th. Accelerated Necromancers designate the New Moon on the 19th as the Foundling’s Moon, and either a pink or candy striped candle dressed with brown sugar is offered to the spirits of orphaned children on that date.

Minerva, the goddess of both wisdom and tactical warfare is honoured via the Quinquatria, between the 19th and 23rd. For Pagans Ostara, which this year falls on the 20th, is an especially important date, and a great time walk in slowly waxing nature. Those outside of that community will still acknowledge the Spring Equinox either way. Followers of S. Connolly’s system of demonolatry can observe the first of two rites to Lucifer on the 21st, and the First Rite To Belphegore on the 31st. Deaths of note this month include Howard Phillips Lovecraft in 1937 and Harry Price in 1948.

April proves to be far more steeped in The Weird than March. The classical Romans celebrated Veneralia on the 1st, where the cult statue of Venus Verticordia was bathed and then adorned with flowers by the purest maiden in the city. An oddly reserved goddess, she held sway over traditional family values and sexual abstinence. The Full Aldar or Growing Moon occurs on the 2nd, while Mercury reaches its Greatest Western Elongation on the 3rd too. The Ludi Megalenses, honouring the mother goddess Cybele, ran from the 4th to the 10th and featured games, chariot races and epic plays held in sight of her temple.

The Second Rite To Belphegore occurs on the 9th and the Third Quarter on the 10th. The Ludi Cereri begins on the 12th and then runs through to the 19th. A week long festival dedicated to the grain goddess, Ceres, it involved animal sacrifice and the bizarre practice of releasing packs of foxes with blazing torches tied to their tails. Foxfire indeed. Accelerated Necromancer’s mark the New Moon on the 17th as the Militia’s Moon, and a pale green candle rolled in garlic is used to honour the shades of common folk dragged to war by those in power and then left unburied when the battle ended.

Parilia occurred on the 21st and was designated a day of purification of both shepherds and sheep. Interestingly, part of this ritual cycle involved the use of bonfires as a tool of fumigation in a similar way to Beltane. It would later become intimately tied to the actual birthday celebrations for Rome itself. The Lyrids Meteor Shower peaks on the 22nd and 23rd, while the First Quarter falls on the 24th too. Robigalia on the 25th saw the sacrifice of a dog to protect the grain fields from disease. Indeed many of April’s classical observances were tied to agriculture. Understandable, as a bad harvest could devastate whole regions.

The Ludi Florales, merrymaking relating to the flower goddess Flora, ran from 28th of April through to the 3rd of May. Both slaves and prostitutes were notable players within the wider festivities, which was rare in Rome. Finally the month ends on the 30th with Walpurgisnacht, when witches were said to meet upon the peak of the Brocken to dance the night away before May 1st. Saint Walpurga was considered an enemy of witchcraft, so it is an interesting choice for such revelry. The Church of Satan was also founded on this date in 1966. Notable deaths this month include Art Bell in 2018 and David Farrant in 2019.

Of course, the Beltane fires will be burning bright on the 1st of May, and this also coincides with the Full Willow or Flower Moon and a continuation of the previously mentioned Ludi Florales as well. Demonolaters may choose to conduct the First Rite to Leviathan on the 2nd, while the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Peaks on both the 6th and 7th as well. The Third quarter is on the 9th, and Classical Romans observed Lemuria on that date, the 11th and 13th. Widespread across the empire, it was a time to exorcise the home of any Larvae that may well be hiding in the shadows, bringing sickness or bad luck.

Black beans were spat on the ground or thrown over the shoulder at midnight to achieve this, and a potential feast dedicated to Manea, a lesser known Etruscan goddess of both chaos and the underworld, is also thought to be undertaken on the 11th. This seems to have been far from widespread, however, and may have been a more local affair. The Third Rite To Belphegore then falls on the 13th, with Mercuralia on the 15th as well. This was a celebration of the god Mercury and mostly confined to merchants, as these fell the most closely within his remit as a deity of both commerce and communication.

The New Moon on the 16th is also the first Super New Moon of the year. Accelerated Necromancer’s consider this to be the Martyr’s Moon, and a gold candle dressed in chilli flakes is deemed sufficient to honour those who were executed for the spurious crime of witchcraft in less enlightened times. The First Quarter is on the 23rd, while the Full Reed or Blue Moon on the 31st proves to be doubly interesting as it is also a Micro New Moon. In this case the Blue status comes from being the second Full Moon in a single calendar month. Notable deaths include Austin Osman Spare in 1956 and Kenneth Anger in 2023.

And so we reach June, and the final month in this first of two entries on how The Weird effects the calendar in 2026. The month starts slow, but ramps up considerably by the end. Vestalia begins on the 7th and runs through until the 15th. This was a female only observance in honour of both the many household spirits who lived alongside the population as well as Vestia herself. As goddess of hearth and home she was given a dedicated feast day during those wider observances on the 9th. The event also had secondary meanings tied to the continued burning of Rome’s sacred fires as well.

The third Quarter falls on the 8th and the Matralia falls on the 11th. This was a multifaceted observance initially tied to the maturation of woman but also growing to encompass grain, fertility and childbirth, as well as the dawn itself with the equivalency of the goddesses Mater Matuta and Aurora much later. Interestingly, many of the all female priesthood who oversaw the temples dedicated to this double goddess seem to have been married, and likely had children too. A far cry from the usually virginal servants maintaining other shrines within the empire, though a fitting reflection of their divine mother for sure.

Accelerated Necromancer’s observe the New Moon on the 15th as the Companion’s Moon, and offer a white candle dressed with dried apple to the many female spirits of violence, domestic and otherwise, unjustly taken from the world. This year is also another Super New Moon, while Mercury reaches its Greatest Eastern Elongation then as well. Of course the highlight for many in the Neopagan community will be Litha on the 21st. An opportunity for those who adhere to the various earth based spiritual systems and seemingly bemused journalists freely to intermingle, while the Summer Solstice dawns over Stonehenge.

The First Quarter also occurs on the 21st this year, and Demonolaters may also observe the rite to Flereous on this date as well. Fortuna, the goddess of luck and to a lesser extent fate, has a feast day on the 24th. Mercury Retrograde then begins again on the 29th, bring with it the usual lack of the very same thing that Fortuna oversees. This runs through to the 23rd of July, and firmly into the next entry in this two part series. The Full Hawthorn or Honey Moon is on the 30th, and is also a Micro Full Moon as well. Notable June deaths to round out this list include John Whiteside Parsons in 1952 and Carl Gustav Jung in 1961.