The Barghest Wyrd. A term I coined for the background hum of the strange that leeches its way into our otherwise mundane lives. By virtue of being close to the bleeding edge, Gutter Mages like myself soon become aware that occulture is a team sport. As such, in an effort to give something back to those impacted by the ever present trickster energy that permeates our once clockwork reality I have decided to list a few of the historical and modern observances that might be useful for everyone in the months ahead. This is the second of two such posts for 2026, covering July to December. The first was shared late last year.

Of course some of 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.

Observances for July actually begin in June, with Mercury Retrograde continuing from that earlier month until the 23rd. The Third Quarter is on the 7th and Classical Romans held sacrifices in the name of Consus, a grain god who also presided over secret councils, on the same date. My fellow Accelerated Necromancer’s observe the New Moon on the 14th as The Scholar’s Moon, in honour those occult adepts who died before sharing their insights with the wider community. This is also the start of the Holly month of the Celtic tree calendar. Romans would then clear sacred groves of unwanted growth for Lucaria on the 21st.

As can be inferred from the name, Neptunalia on the 23rd was a celebration of the god of the sea, the date no doubt chosen due to it being during one of the most drought prone months of the year. The Furrinalia, a similar observance for the freshwater spring goddess Furrina, was also held a few days later on the 25th. The month ends with the Full Oak or Blessing Moon on the 29th. This is also the peak of the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower, though they will be visible an evening or so either side as well. Notable historical deaths this month include Marjorie Cameron in 1995 and John Alva Keel in 2009.

For those with more Neopagan leanings, Lughnasadh on the 1st of August marks the start of the harvest season, though outside of rural areas it is more about baking bread and cooking with berries than actual outdoor toil. A more authentic agrarian observance would be Old Llammas on the 11th. This later date is original, and hails from before the change in calendar from Julian to Gregorian slid it back to the start of the month. Mercury reaches its Greatest Western Elongation on the 2nd, becoming generally easier to view though perhaps hindered by the short summer nights.

The classical Romans celebrated the Augurium Salutis, a ceremony dedicated to the goddess Salus and tied directly to both the prosperity of the state as well as the individual, on the 5th. We find the Third Quarter on the 6th and an observance tied to Sol Indiges, or the deified sun, on the 9th. There has been some debate as to whether this is a distinct, earlier god or just a variation on the later Sol Invictus, though both are generally considered to have enough in common that they can be approached the same way. The Perseids Meteor Shower peaks on the 12th and then continues through to the 13th as well.

The 12th is also the New Moon for the month, and this year coincides with a Partial Solar Eclipse as well. Accelerated Necromancer’s observe this as the Crofter’s Moon, and it usually represents the final lunar event of the Broken Wheel of the Year. The rich harvest energy is inverted, and those who crossed the Veil hungry during times of famine and are honoured instead. This is also when the Celtic tree calendar turns to Hazel. The Nemoralia, a three day observance tied to the goddess Diana and notable for both its use of torches and hunting dogs, also ran from the 13th to the 15th in classical Rome.

In general the 13th was an exceptionally busy day within that culture. Those who worked with horses, especially in a military role, made offerings to Fortuna Equestris on this date, and the goddesses of childbirth, or Camenae, are also noted as receiving reverence in separate rites as well. Rituals were also held at the temple of Hercules Victor, which is currently considered to be the oldest standing building in modern Rome. The twins Castor and Pollux, known collectively as the Dioscuri, also had veneration on this date. Tied to sailors and horsemen, they were particularly popular among the Spartans as well.

Virtumnus, a god of seasonal change and Flora, the goddess of both flowers and spring were venerated on the 13th. Returning to celestial observances Venus is at its Greatest Eastern Elongation on the 15th and the Moon reaches the First Quarter on the 20th. The first of two Consualia, rituals dedicated to Consus, was held on the 21st. Opiconsivia, a harvest end festival in honour of the chthonic goddess of plenty, Opis, was held on the 25th, while the Full Holly or Corn Moon on the 28th also coincides with a partial lunar eclipse as well. Notable deaths include Henry Sidgwick in 1900 and Manly Palmer Hall in 1990.

A defining feature of September in the classical era would have been the Ludi Romani which, while of variable length, ran anytime from the 4th to the 19th. Ludi are public games, and this particularly violent example would have been held to honour Jupiter in his role of both sky god and keeper of oaths. Much gladiatorial blood was spilled in his name around that time. Accelerated Necromancers view the New Moon on the 11th as the Serf’s Moon. This is the first lunar observance of the Broken Wheel of the Year, honouring those killed in farming accidents. It is also the start of the month of Apple in the Celtic tree calendar.

Followers of S. Connolly’s system of demonolatry may choose to recognise Luciferge Rofocal’s Holy Day on the 14th and then the Second Rite to Leviathan on the 21st, while the moon reaches its First Quarter in-between on the 18th. Mabon, the Neopagan celebration tied to the Autumn Equinox is on the 23rd and Neptune is at Opposition on the 25th as well. Celestial observances for September wrap up on the 26th with the Full Hazel or Harvest Moon. Conkers are falling around this time and the leaves are turning too. Notable deaths this month include Pamela Colman Smith in 1951 and Doreen Valiente in 1999.

Even those who do not work with spirits directly will feel that October is an extremely liminal time, coinciding as it does with a thinning of the Veil between the living and the dead so potent that it has even leaked into the wider culture. The month starts strong with an observance tied to the goddess Fides, who oversees trust, obligation and good faith on the 1st. The Moon reaches its Third Quarter on the 3rd and Saturn is At Opposition on the 4th. This latter date also coincides with the Ieiunium Cereris, a day long fast dedicated to the grain goddess Ceres that was initially set to occur every five years until it was made annual.

Looking to the heavens the Draconids Meteor Shower peaks on the 7th, while Accelerated Necromancers will treat the New moon on the 10th as the Ancestor’s Moon, dedicated to the dead twigs along their own family tree. Speaking of twigs, the Celtic tree calendar shifts towards Blackthorn on that day as well. Meditrinalia, a celebration of the first batches of wine produced that year was undertaken on the 11th and Mercury also finds itself At Greatest Eastern Elongation on the 12th. Wells and springs in Rome were decorated with garlands of flowers in honour of the god Fontus during the Fontinalia on the 13th too.

The Moon’s First Quarter rises on the 18th while the Orionids meteor shower peaks on both the 21st and 22nd. The Roman war god Mars was honoured just before this, on the 19th, via the Armilustrium. This was a ritual purification and then blessing of the Legion’s arms and armour which coincided with the end of the part of the year usually earmarked for military campaigns. And then the ever annoying Mercury Retrograde lumbers into view, starting on the 24th of October and running all the way through to Friday the 13th of November, bringing chaos in its wake. The Full Vine or Blood Moon is then on the 26th.

For obvious reasons Halloween on the 31st is one of the busiest nights out of the entire year for those who work with The Wyrd. Neopagans will view the date as Samhain, though rarely need an excuse to recognise just how close the realms of the living and the dead truly are. Those of a demonological persuasion may instead choose to perform rituals in honour of Lilith, Eurynomous, Baalberith and Babel, though any patron spirit from the infernal hierarchies can also be venerated on that date instead based on personal ties. Notable historical deaths this month include Sybil Leek in 1982 and Anton LaVey in 1997.

The long tendrils of the death current etched into the landscape during the previous few weeks remain in full effect during the start of November. While ostensibly Catholic in tone, both All Saints Day and the Day of the Children on the 1st may be of interest to a few of the more necromantically minded devotes of the occult arts. The noble Welsh tradition of Nos Calan Gaeaf, celebrating the first day of Winter, as well as the Moon’s Third Quarter also occur then too. This overall air of celebratory reverence continues on the 2nd, with both All Soul’s Day and The Day of the Dead acknowledging a still thinned Veil.

The Ludi Plebeii, or plebeian games, ran from 4th to the 17th in Rome. Designated as a peasant celebration it tended to be a far less bloody affair than the Ludi Romani. The Taurids Meteor Shower peaks on both the 5th and 6th, while Accelerated Necromancers treat the New Moon on the 9th as the Butcher’s Moon, an observance acknowledging those who through war or disaster were unable to be buried whole. The Celtic tree calendar shifts subtly towards Elder on that date too. As previously mentioned, Mercury Retrograde continues until the 13th, and this also coincides with the Second Rite to Lucifer as well.

The Epilum Jovis, also on the 13th, was a feast wherein the Roman gods and goddesses were made guests of honour at the table, their statues reclining on the finest couches that the lower classes could scrounge together. As part of the Ludi Plebeii it formed a more grass roots expression of that culture’s spirituality than the gladiatorial games or multi part plays preferred by more affluent groups. Rituals specifically held to honour Feronia, a goddess of the wild who also presided over the freeing of slaves and the welfare of commoners were also held on the same date too.

Another Meteor Shower, the Leonids, peaks on both the 17th and 18th, while Mercury is At Greatest Western Elongation on the 20th before the Full Ivy or Dark Moon peaks out from behind the clouds on the 24th. This coincides with the assumed start of Brumalia, an early winter solstice festival that originated in the Eastern Roman Empire and continued to around the 17th of December. Feasting and merriment were not the only point, however, as many prophesies were spoken into being too. Finally, Uranus is At Opposition on the 25th. Deaths this month include Edward Kelley in 1597 and Carl Llewellyn Weschcke in 2015.

December starts in the heavens, as the Moon reaches its Third Quarter on the 1st. Married Roman women would have had the option to take part in rituals associated with Bona Dea, a goddess tied to chastity, fertility and protection on the 3rd, while observances for the rustic forest god Faunus on the 5th was open to all. While the veneration of the god Tiberinus Pater on the 8th is unlikely to be of much use to the modern practitioner, seeing as he was simply a local deity tied to the admittedly important River Tiber, the fact that Gaia had a feast on the same date is worth remembering regardless of geographic location.

Accelerated Necromancers will treat the final New Moon of the year on the 9th as the Traveller’s Moon, offering solace to those wayward souls lost to the snow far from home and not found until the late winter thaw. This is also the date that the Celtic tree calendar shifts to the Yew. The Geminids Meteor Shower peaks on the 13th and 14th, while a second Consualia relating to the veneration of the grain god Consus was held on the 15th. Brumalia, which started in November, ends on the 17th. This coincidentally coincides with Saturnalia, which runs from then to the 23rd.

The enduring influence that this week long carnival of feasting, gambling and sanctioned ignorance of social taboos had on the later Christianised Romans is disputed by those who take the birth date of their short lived demigod literally. Yet the pre-endorsed frivolity and expected gift giving in the name of the god Saturn as paragon of some fabled golden age does seem to mirror the much later Christmas period in general application if not literal tone. Looking back to the heavens for a moment we also witness the Moon reach the First Quarter for the last time of the year on the 17th too.

Eponalia, a festival dedicated to the once Celtic goddess Epona who oversaw the protection of horses, ponies and donkeys occurred on the 18th, while Opalia again venerated the goddess Opis on the 19th. This winter version of the ritual seems to have been specifically tied to her perceived role in the storage of grain. For many in both the Pagan and occult community the Winter Solstice on the 21st remains the most important date of the year, and long has it been so. While modern practitioners will celebrate Yule on this date, the Classical Romans had the option to take part in a number of different rituals instead.

Divalia was a sacrifice to the goddess of pleasure, Volupta. This may also have had ties to the Celtic goddess Angerona who, sharing many of the same associations, was adopted by some parts of the Empire. Hercules too saw worship on this day, as did Ceres, the harvest goddess, likely for similarly pragmatic reasons to Opis a few days before. Spoiled grain could cause untold problems for even the more well provisioned of major towns, not to mention decimating rural communities far out in the wilds. Finally, those of a more demonological persuasion may choose to perform a rite to Belial before Yule ends as well.

The Ursids Meteor Shower then peaks on the 22nd and 23rd. This year that latter date also coincides with the Larcentalia, in honour of the Lares, minor spirits who protected hearth and home. Ignoring Christmas, the Full Elder or Long Night’s Moon on the 24th is also a Super Full Moon and the 25th is Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. A Roman festival in honour of their major solar god Sol Invictus, it was a day of rest dedicated to the unconquered sun and may not have had any ties to Mithras either. The Third Quarter is then of the 30th. Deaths this month include Aleister Crowley in 1947 and Philip Coppens in 2012.