The Month of Julius Caesar
This month was first called Quintilis, that is, the fifth
month, which shows that the year began with March. In the year 44BCE the name was changed to
Julius in honor of Julius Caesar, the founder of the Roman Empire. The month Quintilis was chosen as the one to
be named after the Emperor Julius because his birthday was on the twelfth of
that month.
The Angles and Saxons had two names for this month of July:
Hegmonath, the hay-month, and Maedmonath, the mead-month. A third name was sometimes given to it–the
“latter mild month”, that is, the second warm month.
The celebrations of this month are wide: July 4 is the Day
of Pax, goddess of Peace and Concordia in Rome, and the 7-8 is the oldest of
women’s festivals, the Ronae Caprotinau, dedicated to Juno, the Great Mother.
The 17th and 18th, respectively, are the birthdays of
Isis and Nephthys in Egypt. July 23, in Rome, is the Neptunalia to honor
Neptune, god of earthquakes. The end of July, in Greece, is the Panathenaea to
honor Pallas Athena.
Lore for the month of July: Grass crops should be sown at
the Full Moon. Then the hay will dry quickly.
The days from 3rd July to 11th August,
‘the hottest part of the year’, were called by the Romans, “dog-days”, because
they thought the great heat was due to Sirius, the dog-star. Sirius was a dog belonging to the giant
Orion, who was a great hunter.
July’s correspondences: The colors of this month are silver
and blue-grey, while the scents are orris and frankincense. Creatures of this
month, whether of this realm of existence or not, are the crab, turtle,
dolphin, whale, starling, ibis, and swallow of the animal kingdom, and its nature
spirits are hobgoblins and faeries of harvested crops. Plants of this month are
the oak, acacia, and ash trees, lotus, water lily, and jasmine, while the herbs
are honeysuckle, agrimony, lemon balm, and hyssop. The stones that represent
July are the pearl, moonstone, and white agate.
The Moon of July is the Wort Moon. The word “wort” is old
Anglo-Saxon for “herb”. This si the time for the gathering of herbs. However,
it over the years has come to be known by other names as well: Hay Moon, Moon
of Claiming, Moon of Blood (because of mosquitoes), Blessing Moon, Fallow Moon,
Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Meadmonath (Meadow Month), and Hewimonath (Hay Month).
The power flow of this moon is of relaxed energy; preparing;
succeeding. A time for dream-work, divination, and meditating on goals and
plans, especially spiritual ones. This esbat is the time to give thanks to the
spirits who dwell in the herb garden and to leave them an offering.
The deities that work well to be called upon in this month
are Athena, Cerridwen, Hel, Holda, Juno, Khepera, Nephthys, and Venus.
Watercress (Nasturtium officinalis)--supplies
a generous amount of vitamin C. Its juice added to water is a tonic to erase
listlessness.
