Lunar calendars have a built-in problem: lunar months do not synchronize perfectly to the solar year. Eventually, lunar calendars get out of step with the seasons and must be adjusted to continue marking the dates for planting and harvesting. This procedures is referred to as intercalation.
The Romans had a particularly complicated form of intercalation, which became even more confusing when they switched over to a solar year.
According to Nova Roma:
The ancient Romans did not use days of the week and number their days of the month as we do today. The ancient reckoning of days of the month was by counting back from either the Kalends, Nones, or Ides of the month. Counting was done inclusively; i.e., the third day of Januarius would be recokoned "three days before the Nones of Januarious" or "III Non. Ian." The year begins with the month of Martius (this was later changed to the month of Januarius by Gaius Julius Caesar, but Nova Roma retains the earlier, more traditional starting date).As I've been trying to focus on the flavor of the early Italian culture, I, like Nova Roma, started my calendar table in the Spring. Properly speaking, a Wiccan lunar calendar should start in the Fall, as the Celtic new year and the Wiccan new year begin with Samhain. This points out the difference in cultures as to how they number their calendars. What is more important? Seed time or harvest time? The Celtic new year began with the harvest, because it allowed debts to be paid and final accountings to be completed. The Romans initially counted the Spring as more important.
--www.NovaRoma.org
Apparently the Roman calendar was originally lunar. The first day of each month was the Kalends, which was sacred to Juno. From what I've read, the Kalends originally fell on the first day of the visible waxing moon. Later, the Kalends was assigned a time having to do with the solar year. As stated by Nova Roma, each of these solar Roman months had three key dates. The other dates were defined as so many days after the Kalends or so many days before the Nones, etc. The Nones fell on the fifth day of June, August, September, November, December, January, February, and April. In March, May, July, and October, the Nones fell on the seventh day. The word, Nones, meant "nine," because it fell nine days before the third important date, the Ides. I can only assume this very complicated system evolved from trying to adjust a lunar calendar to a solar calendar system.
Julius Caesar is responsible for the creation of the Julian calendar. He set the new year near the winter solstice, because this was an astronomical event unrelated to local agriculture cycles or cultural calendars. By imposing the Julian calendar on the Empire, he made it easier to collect taxes. As an added bonus, the first month of the Roman Julian calendar was Januarius. It was dedicated to January, the God of doors and gates, who had two faces looking forward and backwards. According to Ovidius Fasti: "Ovidius asked of Janus, 'Why do we now celebrate the New Year in the middle of Winter rather than as it was celebrated in the past during the Spring?' Janus answered: 'Midwinter is the beginning of the new Sun and the end of the old one. Phoebus and the year take their start from the same point.'"
| Roman Month | Gregorian Calendar |
Colonial American | Native American | Wiccan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martius | Third Full Moon of the year |
Fish Moon Crow Moon Lenten Moon Chaste Moon Sap Moon Worm Moon |
Worm Moon (A) Crow Moon (A) Sap Moon (A) Moon when the juice drips from the trees (D) Light Snow Moon (C) Long Days Moon (W) Seventh Moon (W) |
Spring Moon Raven Moon Eostre Moon Wind Moon Budding Moon Sap Moon |
| Aprilis | Fourth Full Moon of the year |
Planter's Moon Easter Moon Egg Moon Grass Moon Seed Moon |
Sprouting Grass Moon (A) Pink Moon (A) Egg Moon (A) Fish Moon (A) Spring Moon (C) Little Frogs Croaking Moon (O) Sticky Mud Plant Moon (L) Eighth Moon (W) |
Meadow Moon Grass Moon Seed Moon Egg Moon Rain Moon Mud Moon |
| Maius | Fifth Full Moon of the year |
Milk Moon Mother's Moon Hare Moon |
Flower Moon (A) Corn Planting Moon (A) Milk Moon (A) Moon of the shedding ponies (S) Time when the horses get fat (C) Ninth Moon (W) |
Flower Moon Beltane Moon Corn Planting Moon Maia's Moon Faerie Moon |
| Junius | Sixth Full Moon of the year |
Rose Moon Strawberry Moon Honey Moon Flower Moon Hot Moon Diad Moon Stockman's Moon |
Strawberry Moon (A) Moon of Making Fat (S) Ripening Strawberries Moon (K) Hoeing Corn Moon (O) Rotten Moon (W) |
Rose Moon Midsummer Moon Summer Solstice Moon Strawberry Moon Mulberry Moon Green Grain Moon Lightning Bug Moon Litha Moon |
| Quinctilis | Seventh Full Moon of the year |
Buck Moon Thunder Moon Hay Moon Mead Moon Summer Moon |
Buck Moon (A) Thunder Moon (A) Moon when the cherries are ripe (S) Corn Tassle Moon (L) |
Buck Moon Horned Moon Thunder Moon Hot Moon Independence Moon Fireworks Moon |
| Sextilis | Eighth Full Moon of the year |
Dog Day's Moon Woodcutter's Moon Sturgeon Moon Green Corn Moon Grain Moon Wort Moon |
Sturgeon Moon (A) Red Moon (A) Green Corn Moon(A) Moon when the cherries turn black (S) Time when the cherries are ripe (C) Immature Corn Moon (L) All the Elk Call Moon (O) Blackberry Patches Moon (W) |
Grain Moon Wheat Cut Moon Bread Moon Lammas Moon Lughnasadh Moon First Harvest Moon Diana's Moon |
| September | Ninth Full Moon of the year |
Harvest Moon Fruit Moon Dying Grass Moon Barley Moon |
Harvest Moon (A) Moon of the Black Calves (S) Moon when the plums are scarlet (S) Cool Moon (C) Her Acorns Moon (W) Corn in the Milk Moon (L) |
Harvest Moon Ingathering Moon Harvest Home Moon Michaelmas Moon Goose Moon Barley Moon Acorn Moon Second Harvest Moon Autumn Equinox Moon Autumn Moon Leaf Fall Moon Fruit Moon |
| October | Tenth Full Moon of the year |
Hunter's Moon Blood Moon |
Hunter's Moon (A) Moon of the Changing Season (S) Her Leaves Moon (W) Travel in Canoes Moon (W) Ripe Corn Moon (L) Deer Running Season Moon (O) |
Hunter's Moon Samhain Moon All Hallows Moon New Year Moon Third Harvest Moon Final Harvest Moon Blood Moon Pumpkin Moon Shadow Moon |
| November | Eleventh Full Moon of the year |
Beaver Moon Frosty Moon Snow Moon |
Beaver Moon (A) Moon of the Falling Leaves (S) Her Frost Moon (W) Snowy mountains in the morning Moon (W) Autumn Moon (L) Every buck loses his horns Moon (O) |
Larder Moon Freezing Moon Frost Moon Hunter's Moon Antler Shed Moon |
| December | Twelfth Full Moon of the year |
Christmas Moon Long Night Moon Moon Before Yule Oak Moon |
Cold Moon (A) Long Night's Moon (A) Moon of the popping trees (S) Her Winter Houses Moon (W) Cold Month Moon (O) |
Yule Moon Long Night Moon Moon Before Yule Oak Moon Cold Moon Winter Solstice Moon Natilis Moon |
| Januarius | First Full Moon of the year |
Winter Moon Yule Moon |
Wolf Moon (A) Old Moon (A) Moon of frost in the teepee (S) Her Cold Moon (W) Little young bear comes down the tree (O) |
Snow Moon Tres Los Reyes Magos Moon Twelfth Night Moon New Calendar Year Moon Ice Moon |
| Februarius | Second Full Moon of the year |
Trapper's Moon Snow Moon Storm Moon |
Snow Moon (A) Hunger Moon (A) Moon of the dark red calves (S) Shoulder Moon (W) Racoon's Rutting Season (O) |
Wolf Moon Storm Moon Snow Moon Inbolc Moon Brigid's Moon White Moon Cold Moon Fireplace Moon Coyote Frightened Moon Sick Moon Ashes Moon Ground Hog's Day Badger Day Hedgehog Day |
Native American Indian tribes: (A) Algonquin, (C) Cheyenne, (D) Delaware,
(K) Kutenai, (L) Laguna, (O) Oto,
(S) Lakota Sioux, (W) Wisham
Sources:
Kim Long, The Moon Book, 1988
Nova Roma, www.NovaRoma.org
A. J. Drew, A Wiccan Bible, 2003