The Lunar 2009 Calendar: Dedicated to the Goddess in Her many Guises, 33rd Annual Edition

One of the reasons I chose to review The Thirty-Third Annual Edition of The Lunar 2009 Calendar: Dedicated to the Goddess in Her Many Guises by Luna Press was my attraction to the moon and the lunar phases of the moon. Not only am I astrologically a Cancer by heart, and ruled by the moon, but the moon has always been so mysteriously powerful and magical to me. Even as a child, I can remember always being very excited on full moon nights. 

Nancy F.W. Passmore, editor of Luna Press, started this unique lunar calendar in 1975, which was a pivotal year in the United States during Second-wave feminism. Women were the first calendar makers and the first calendars were lunar calendars. According to the information provided in this calendar, more than 50,000 years ago women noted the correspondence between menstrual cycles and phases of the moon on lunar calendrical tally sticks. For generations women have been relying on the lunar cycle to guide them throughout their fertility cycles. 

The '09 edition features beautiful artwork from twenty-eight artists, poets and writers. The front cover of The Lunar 2009 Calendar features a painting called "Prithvi, protectress" by Jamie Hogan. Hogan says: "With free reign for the calendar, I mixed it all up: an earth goddess, Prithvi, as a tiger queen bordered by decorative designs. This Lunar Calendar is "dedicated to the goddess in Her many guises," and I like to think that the Divine Feminine resides in every woman, queen or not. It’s a mix of nature wisdom, cycle awareness, poetry, and original art." The lunar calendar also features the tree-alphabet as inspired by the book-length essay The White Goddess by Robert Graves. I think the tree-alphabet is a powerful symbol of the fact that like the moon, we are part of nature and nature is a part of us. And while on the subject of nature: Luna Press, although costlier to print, only prints their calendars in the United States on recycled paper with soy-based inks. Just one more feel-good reason to purchase this calendar. 

The Lunar 2009 Calendar is like no other because it follows the moon phases in an elliptical pattern, not just the calendar days in a block style. There are instructions in the back of the calendar titled: "How to Use your Lunacy!" that explain in detail how to read the calendar accurately. There is a lunar month diagram example that features letters A to L: each letter interpreting every section of the lunation. 

The moon is a universal symbol for all people. Since the beginning of time we have been using the moon to live our lives by. The full moon and new moon phases can affect people in varying degrees, from feeling happy and full of energy to being exhausted, depressed and anxious. As Sarah Fuhro, long-time contributing poet, donor and reader of The Lunar Calendar says: "To know where the Moon is in her cycle, and in the sky, is to partake of her wisdom: there is a time for all things. The Lunar Calendar belongs to all who love the seasons, the keepers of the lunar rhythm." I would highly recommend ordering The Lunar 2009 Calendar. It is a beautifully well-produced calendar that helps us see time as tendrillar. To order yours, visit the Luna Press website. 

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