* 4/1: Veneralia--Old Roman festival celebrating Venus (Goddess of Peace) vanquishing Mars (God of War) with love.
* 4/2: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that the joys and suffering of others are your joys and suffering.
* 4/7 (7:24 a.m. EDT): New Moon.
* 4/7: Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha’s teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. The Buddha taught an Eightfold Path to enlightenment - right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
* 4/7: Birthday of William Wordsworth (1770), poet and mystic who found connection with Deity while communing with Nature.
* 4/7 to 4/10: Iroquois Thunder Ceremony--in thanksgiving for the rains. Iroquois believe Awenhai/Sky Woman descended from the Sky and created Earth.
* 4/8: Hana Matsuri--Shinto rite honoring the Kami of Flowers.
* 4/8 to 4/15: Navaratri--Hindu festival honoring Great Goddess Maha Devi as Gauri - life, growth, and fruition. Tantric Hindus recognize gender equality and reject caste.
* 4/10 eve to 4/11 eve: Feast of Old Greek Goddess Aphrodite--Day to honor peace and compassion.
[caption id="attachment_10024" align="alignright" width="256"]
Image: Susan M. Stanton[/caption]
* 4/12 eve to 4/13 eve: Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis, who represents the feminine in Nature and protects women throughout their lives.
* 4/14: Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on Bodhisattva Deities Avalokitesvara and Green Tara, consciousness and empowerment of Compassion. Buddhists recognize the equality of all sentient beings.
* 4/14: Cetacean Day--Day to honor all creatures of the sea and to meditate on Deity manifesting as sea creatures.
* 4/14 to 4/15: Ramanavami‑‑Birthday of Hindu God Rama (avatar of Vishnu), protector of beloved wife, Goddess Sita (avatar of Lakshmi).
* 4/14 eve to 4/15 eve: Feast of God Poseidon, Goddess Amphritrite, and all Old Greek Gods and Goddesses of the seas.
* 4/14 to 4/25 (I 4/21): Old Norse Summer Days Feast--Offerings were made to the Deities (particularly Odin, Thor, and Freyr) for success, peace, and plenty.
* 4/15: Tax Day--Day to give back to the community for the benefits of community.
* 4/19: Day commemorating the birth of Mahavira Vardhamana Jnatrputra (599 BCE), founder of the Jain faith. Jainas avoid aggression and practice harmlessness, simplicity, and charity to attain enlightenment and unity with Deity.
* 4/20: Beginning of Taurus (the Bull/Cow/Calf).
* 4/20 eve to 4/23 eve (4/21 peak): Lyrid Meteor Showers.
* 4/21: Birthday of John Muir (1838), naturalist and conservationist.
* 4/22 (1:24 a.m. EDT): Full Moon (Flower/Corn-Planting Moon).
* 4/22: Earth Day--Day to honor the Earth and to meditate on Deity manifesting as Mother Earth.
* 4/22 eve to 4/30 eve: Passover/Pesach--Jewish festival recalling their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and celebrating freedom from oppression. Passover Truce.
* 4/26 to 5/3: Mayan Rain Festival--honoring Rain God Chac and His attendant Chacmool, and welcoming the fructifying rains.
* 4/27: Death day of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1882), Transcendentalist Unitarian who believed in equality, self reliance, and the immanence of Deity in humans and in all Nature.
* 4/28 eve to 5/3 eve: Floralia--Old Roman festival devoted to Flora, Goddess of Flowers.
* 4/29: Arbor Day--Day to honor trees, to plant trees, and to meditate on Deity manifesting as trees.
[caption id="attachment_13866" align="alignleft" width="212"]
Beltane by Janice Duke[/caption]
* 4/30 eve to 5/2 eve: Beltaine--Old Celtic/Welsh feast of Blodeuwedd (Goddess of Flowers) and Llew (the Oak King - God of the waxing Sun).
* 4/30 eve to 5/4 eve: Mid-Spring/May Day/Walpurgis--Celebrates sacred love and the flowering vegetation by gathering flowers and dancing around a Maypole.
Excerpted from THE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2016A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality© 2015 Marija Miovskiwww.WheeloftheYear.com
