October illustrated almanac

communing with the ghosts

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 October!

• The origin of the name

  October gets its name like many other months from Latin octo meaning “eight”, because it was the eight month of the early Roman lunar calendar.

• Sun in Libra (September 23d to October 22nd)

  For the majority of October, sun is in Libra, one of the three air signs in astrology, which represent intellect. Libra is described as intelligent, kind and harmonious. Ruled by Venus, Libra also loves everything beautiful. This zodiac sign is represented by the scale, as Libra is a master of mediation and diplomacy. Imagination is its biggest asset and they often end up working in arts and literature. This sign is great at making plans and big picture thinking, but sometimes struggles to follow through with the details. They are said to have a rich inner life, yet are happiest when surrounded with many people on which they can rely on.

• Hunter’s Full Moon

  October’s full moon is called Hunter’s Moon. Like September’s Harvest Moon, this full moon rises early for several nights, bringing light to help with harvesting and hunting in preparation for the dreary winter months.

• Halloween / All Hallows’ Eve / Samhain (October 31st)

  Halloween is traditionally called "All Hallow’s Eve” and is celebrated on the evening before the Christian holiday “All Hallow’s Day”, also known as “All Saints’ Day” on November 1st. It originates from the ancient festival Samhain, meaning “Summer’s End”, which was celebrated by Celts and Druids in the British Isles. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of darker half of the year. The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest during Samhain, which made it the ideal time to remember and communicate with the deceased, as well as divine the future. This practice set the culture of Halloween’s connection with ghosts and graveyards. After midnight, the ghosts are said to go back to rest. That day, November 1, later became All Saints’ Day.

• Daylight savings

  With dwindling sunlight comes daylight savings in most northern hemisphere countries. First experiments with daylight saving time began during World War I, when Germany and Austria implemented a one-hour clock shift to conserve electricity for war effort. Several other countries adopted daylight savings after 1918, even though it has been proven that the energy conservation is minimal at best.