* 6/30 to 7/7: Chinese Buddhist festival of Kuan Yin/Kannon/Tara.
* 7/2: Visitation Day--Christian feast marking St. Elizabeth’s recognition of Blessed Mary’s divine destiny as catalyst for human liberation and redemption.
* 7/3 (2:52 p.m. EDT): Full Moon (Red/Mother Moon). * 7/3: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana.
* 7/4 (11:00 p.m. EDT): Earth Aphelion--when the Earth is farthest from the Sun. * 7/4: U.S. Independence Day--Day to celebrate the right of all peoples to exercise peaceful, democratic self-determination.
* 7/6: Birthday of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.
* 7/7: Tanabata--Shinto rite honoring the Kami of the Stars. * 7/7: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that alienation and hunger for possessions results from ignorance of interconnectedness.
* 7/12: Birthday of Henry David Thoreau (1817), Transcendentalist and naturalist who believed in individualism and living simply in harmony with Nature.
* 7/13 to 7/15: Obon--Zen Buddhist festival honoring departed ancestors.
* 7/14 (A 8/24): Old Egyptian birthday feast of Neter Osiris - partner and true love of Isis, and father of Horus; guide of all husbands, fathers, and judges. * 7/14 to 7/25 (I 7/19): Old Norse/Icelandic Mid-Summer Althingi--Community gathering for democratic decision making. Forseti and Tyr, Gods of Justice and Self-Sacrifice, were honored. * 7/14 eve to 8/19 eve (7/28 peak): Delta Aquarid Meteor Showers.
* 7/17 (A 8/27): Old Egyptian birthday feast of Neteret Isis - partner and true
love of Osiris, and mother of Horus; guide of all wives, mothers, healers, advocates, and teachers.
* 7/18 eve to 7/19 eve: Feast of Old Greek Goddess Hekate, who guides all through transitions and crisis. * 7/19 (12:24 a.m. EDT): New Moon.
* 7/19 eve to 7/20 eve: Hekatombaion Noumenia/Old Athenian New Year--Old Greek festival honoring all the Gods and Goddesses. * 7/19 to 7/25: Iroquois Green Corn Ceremony--in thanksgiving for the maize harvest. Rites include the Thanksgiving Prayer, Confession Chant, and Feather Dance. * 7/19 to 8/1 (A 8/29 to 9/11): Old Egyptian festival marking the return to Egypt of Neteret Isis, Neter Osiris, and the rains that inundate the Nile River. * 7/19 eve to 8/18 eve: Ramadan--Muslim month of purification by self-reflection, fasting from sunrise to sunset, peace-making, and helping those in need. The Five Pillars of Islam are confession, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage.
* 7/22: Christian feast of St. Mary Magdalen, disciple and priestess--Savior Jesus made her His priestess by purifying her seven times; she anointed Him in preparation for His sacrifice and witnessed His torture, death, and resurrection.
* 7/23: Beginning of Leo (the Lion/Lioness). * 7/23: Mayan Sun Festival--honoring Sun God Ahau Kin; celebrated with devotional offerings of food, song, prayer, and a ritual procession that symbolically travels to the four quarters of the Universe. * 7/23: Chokhor Duchen--Tibetan Buddhist celebration of the Buddha’s first teaching.
* 7/26: Christian feast of St. Anna, mother of Blessed Mary and grandmother of Blessed Jesus; guide of grandmothers and elderly women. * 7/26: Birthday of Dr. Carl Gustav Jung (1875), founder of archetypal psychology, which explores universal concepts of Deity and their relation to the individual psyche.
* 7/28 eve to 7/29 eve: Remembrance day for Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (d. 619 or 623), Mother of Islam: first convert to Islam, partner of Prophet Muhammad in monogamous marriage, mother of Fatimah, and liberated businesswoman.
* 7/29 eve to 8/17 eve (8/12 peak): Perseid Meteor Showers.
* 7/30: Friendship Day--Day to celebrate friendships and reach out to estranged friends.
* 7/31 eve to 8/2 eve: Lughnasadh. * 7/31 eve to 8/6 eve: Mid-Summer/First Harvest/Lammas.
Excerpted fromTHE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2012A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality© 2011 Marija Miovskiwww.WheeloftheYear.com
