Sun, Moon and Star Calendar for 2024

Here are the Sun, Moon and Star calendar charts that show us the Full and Dark Moon with the Eightfold Sun Year for 2024. After a lifetime of searching I have found the keys to setting the correct dates for what is often called the 'cross quarters'. This is an unfair term / name as it implies that the festivals of Imbolg, Beltine, Lughnasa agus Samhain fit into a Sun year by being a mathematical balance to the equinoxes and solstices. They are not calculated by interpolation or by using the catholic commercial calendar - each of these 4 festivals are calculated using the ‘heliacal setting’ of the Sun with one of the four bright Stars in the belt of the Zodiac. Heliacal means when the Sun is just below the horizon and a Star becomes visible just before sunrise. The Egyptians used the Heliacal Rising of the star called Sirius with the flooding of the Nile to set their calendar. The Hindu's use the Heliacal setting of the Sun with the Dark Moon and the same 4 bright stars as I have used in my calculations - they get different results because of longitude and latitude. They do not share their methodology but their Diwali is nearly always the same night as our Samhain.

Heliacal usually refers to a star rising and being visible just before the brightness of the rising Sun hides that star in its glare but in this instance I will use it to refer to the setting Sun and Dark Moon being below the horizon and one of the four bright stars making an appearence before it too sets. This Dark Moon is the day after the Last Cresent of the Moon and the day before the First Cresent of the Moon - it is between these two Last and First cresents that there is a Dark Moon. This Sun, Dark Moon and one of the four bright stars making alignment to Earth is not fixed in time and not aligned to any temple. It is however a spectacular event in archaeoastronomy that can be seen as a moveable celebration / feast that cannot be controlled by the will of kings, emperors and priests. It is a lost part of a living calendar as used by our ancestors now returned to modern use.

I now have this method of fixing the dates for our modern version of our indigenous calendar secure and I'll offer a specialised course to a limited number of students later this year. I will include this understanding in my next (currently being written) book entitled “Sacred Starlore of the Tuatha De Danannan”. I will also teach a Saturday class here that includes this topic during February and March - more info later. Pre-register at [email protected] subject ‘Wisdom in the Hemp Hall’.

Moon Year 2024 Chart Code

From the left -
Weekday: actual day of the week Example Monday, Tuesday etc
Date: Day, Moonth, Year of the Gregorian commercial calendar 2024
Rise: Actual time of Moon Rise over Dublin / east coast
Degree*: Degree on east horizon of Moon Rise. Example NE, E and SE
Full: Time when the Moon is directly opposite the Sun @100% illumination
Tara 20:00: At 8 pm on Tara shows the Degree to look to see the Moon.

#Eclipses: Two partial eclipses visible over Ireland - 25/03/2024 and 19/09/2024

Sun Year 2024 Chart Code

From the left -

Imbolg: Festival aligned with Brigid, aka Fomalhaut In Piscis Australis
Sun-7*: Sun is 7 degrees below horizon
DMoon-10*: Dark Moon is 10 degrees below horizon
Brigid+5*: Brigid is 5 degrees above Horizon
Event: Time and degrees west for the Helical setting of Sun, Moon and Star.
Rise 127*SE 8:36: Sun rises at 127 degrees to the south east at 8:36
HNoon: High Noon aka Sun exactly due south / true midday
Set: Sun Set time
MNight: Exact time of true midnight (12 hours after High Noon)

Earrach: Spring Festival aligned with Crom, aka Hydra
Earrach: Closest to equal day to night = 11 hours 59 minutes 55 seconds of daylight

Beltine: Festival aligned with Bile, aka Alderbaran in Taurus.
Event: Time and degrees west for the Helical setting of Sun, Moon and Star.

Samhradh: Festival aligned with Aonbharr, aka Saggitarius
Samhradh: Longest Day with 17 hours 00 minutes 12 seconds of day light

Lughnasa: Festival aligned with Lugh, aka Shasllinnis in Leo
Event: Time and degrees west for the Helical setting of Sun, Moon and Star.

Fomhar: Autumn Festival aligned with Corra, aka Cygnus
Fomhar: Closest to equal day to night = 11 hours 58 minutes 28 seconds of daylight

Samhain: New year Festival aligned with Tlachtga, aka Antares in Scorpio
Event: Time and degrees west for the Helical setting of Sun, Moon and Star.

Geimhreadh: Festival aligned with Dagda aka Orion
Geimhread: Shortest day with 7 hours 29 minutes 56 seconds of daylight

# Partial Solar Eclipse 8 April visible over Ireland. Max 20:10 Duration 18 minutes.

As always, edits, errors, corrections and comments welcome.
Grá
Con
07/01/2024

Hi Melanie,
thank you for your comment / query.
Yes, you are correct - the ‘Moon’ for Lughnasa should read Dark Moon - thank you for seeing this and informing me - I have corrected this. Yes you are correct again - the Dark Moon of Beltane will happen on the 8th of May, please see pic below. I made a miscalculation and thanks to your support I have now made the correction.
For Beltane 2024 when the Sun is minus 7* below the horizon and the Dark Moon (under the Pleiades) is unlit by the Sun - Bile (Alderbaran) is +3* above the horizon  we will get that magic illumination of the bright star at 312* NW during twilight from about 10 o’clock...
I really appreciate your comment and your supportive polite manner of giving it.
Grá
Con