April illustrated almanac

the return of the fire

This is an illustrated digital almanac of the internal emotional climate, as influenced by the external natural and astronomical events. I wanted to capture visually the shared experience of how it feels to be alive as a tiny human, enveloped in the greater cyclical movement of this planet, throughout one calendar year. Welcome to April!

• The opening

  The name of the month of April probably stems from Latin aperire, which means “to open” and refers to opening and blossoming of flowers and trees in the Northern hemisphere throughout the month. Nature returning to life at this time of the yearly cycle is a cause for celebration of fertility, rebirth and new beginnings in folklore from around the world.

• Other names for April

  Eastremonath was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month, where the name Easter comes from. In Icelandic it was called Einmánuður, the lonely month, as it was the last one of the winter period. In Finland it was Huhtikku, a term related to the custom of cutting down wild plants and burning them to make the fields fertile. In Chinese tradition, this period was called Peach Month. In Japan, it is the month of white flower u-no-hana. And in Slovenia, the name used to be Mali Traven, referring to the growth of small greenery on fields, meadows and forests.

• Daisies

  There are many floral references this month and particularly daisies come up often. According to Roman myth, the nymph Belides transformed herself into a daisy to escape the unwanted affections of Vertumnus, the god of gardens and seasons. The daisy is also associated with the Norse goddess Freya, the goddess of fertility, love, and beauty.

• Pink full moon

  To continue the floral theme; April’s full Moon is named the Pink Moon, after rose colored wildflowers known to bloom this time of the year in parts of North America.

• Sun in Aries (March 21-April 19)

  Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, blessed with the youthful enthusiasm and unburdened mind. They have leadership skills, passion, independence, as well as competitive and even impulsive tendencies. Being smart and ambitious, they tend to have many projects in the works. Aries is also a fire sing and can get burned by its own intense enthusiasm. Aries is ruled by Mars, the god of war. They are risk takers and leaders with natural initiative that don’t follow others expectations and generally strive to be number 1 in anything they do.

• Cuckoo bird

  The return of the cuckoo in the UK some time in mid April is the signal that spring is here.