The Thirteenth Sign
The solar year has a little more than 364 days. The lunar month has just over 29 days. To reconcile these awkward figures the ancient astronomers devised a calendar of thirteen equal months, each of 28 days or four equal weeks. This calendar is all but regular, with the full moon falling one day and one hour later each month, and with only a small correction to be made at the end of the year.
The lunar months (or 'moon ths'), were represented in the skies by the constellations of the zodiac; and on the ground by a circle of trees in the sacred grove. Twelve of the signs of the zodiac are familiar to us from the astrology columns in the daily newspapers, but what happened to the thirteenth, and what was its symbol? This question can be answered by consulting the works of the ancient astronomers. Ptolemy of Alexandria gives the name of the constellation, and also the bearing and magnitude of the stars which form it. The constellation was called Ophicius (in Greek) and Serpentarius (in Latin). Both names mean 'snake-holder', and refer to the pythoness, the high priestess of the goddess temples. The symbol of this sign, a bare-breasted woman holding snakes, occurred in the Sumerian; Minoan, and other cultures of the Archaic period. Thus the missing month, the month that we disrupted an orderly calendar to avoid, was the month of the Goddess
There is a cryptic reference to this sign in Milton's "Paradise Lost". In Book IX, Milton has Satan approaching the earth and gives the direction from which he came, in these lines:
SATAN in likeness of an Angel bright
The centaur referred to is Sagittarius, and the scorpion, Scorpio, both familiar to us as signs of the zodiac. Less familiar is the forgotten thirteenth sign, which lies "betwixt" them, Ophicius, the Snake-Holder, the symbol of which was a goddess or priestess brandishing two snakes, and which connoted the most important new moon in the goddess' lunar calendar.
Milton, who also wrote the Book of Common Prayer used by Protestant congregations, has told us here in cryptic form that he was mindful that the Christian Satan (aka the Devil), was a new name given to an older but unmentionable deity, the goddess.
Betwixt the CENTAURE and the SCORPION stearing
His ZENITH, while the Sun in ARIES rose:
Disguis'd he came, but those his Children dear
Thir Parent soon discern'd, though in disguise.
Hee, after EVE seduc't, unminded slunk
Into the Wood fast by....
The circle of months in the skies was mirrored below by a circle of trees. Each month was represented by a different species of tree, each chosen because of its appearance or habits. The tree may have flowered in that month, or fruited, or shown some other confirming sign that it was a goddess-tree. The best example of this is the apple, the Goddess' tree of wisdom. The apple has white blossoms (her first colour); the fruit has red peel (her second colour). When the fruit is cut equatorially, the flesh is white, and a five-pointed star (another of her symbols) is revealed in the core, together with black seeds (her third colour). Other trees of the circle showed other signs, like red sap. The actual species chosen depended on the climate and location, although the correspondences are close. The Persian apple we would now call a pear, for example.
The sacred trees were memorised, like other facets of secret lore, in the form of mnemonic verses. A well-preserved example from the druids and the Irish bards gives us the following list of trees-
By memorising this verse-list, the apprentice bard could readily recall the months of the year; the current position of the heavens, and as each tree also represented a letter of the alphabet, learn his letters too. Similar relationships applied to the days of the week-
| Sun | Sunday | Birch | B |
| Moon | Monday | Willow | S |
| Mars | Tuesday | Holly | T |
| Mercury | Wednesday | Hazel (or Ash) | C |
| Jupiter | Thursday | Oak | D |
| Venus | Friday | Apple | Q |
| Saturn | Saturday | Alder | F |
Because of the useful hidden meanings in the sacred verses (for knowledge was power in those times) care was taken that they were not changed. A young bard could sing his verses for the entertainment of the crowds, but he could not reveal their hidden meanings, nor could he invent new versions which might confuse the ancient secrets he had received.
