The inevitable future

what the future holds for us all…

A different face of time

Jacek Yerka’s take on the issue.

This particular creature is hereby nominated as theAbysmal’s official ambassador to the realms of the surreal. I see an innate tension in this image, between the stress to be on time and live by the clock against the maternal instinct in taking all the time necessary to do a million things.

Western Standard Time

comparing the days as organised by Astronomy, Astrology, and two Calendars.

The small circles in the following diagrams are the 365 days of the year. The darkest of these circles is the Winter Solstice, the longest night, and the lightest of these circles is the Summer Solstice, the longest day. The others are shades of grey corresponding to the amount of daylight they receive at 49 degrees N Latitude.

but first, the KEY to the symbols:

The image below compares the four different dating systems. The first is the astronomical boundaries for the thirteen constellations of the Zodiac. The number of Days in each period corresponds to the number of days the Sun appears to pass through the constellation. It begins on April 19th. The second image has the astrological boundaries for the 12 signs of the zodiac, which begins on March 21st.

The zodiac really differs greatly. the Astronomical boundaries are greatly varied. The Sun takes 45 days to pass through Virgo, and only 7 to pass through Scorpio. The 12 astrological periods are closer to even, but remain varied from 29 to 32 days. With respect to daylight, the astrological model uses the cardinal points, such that Aries begins on the Vernal Equinox.  The astronomical boundaries shift back by one day every 72~3 years. Thus what was announced as April 19th in 1937 has likely now shifted to April 20th.

The first column are the 12 months of the Gregorian calendar, begins January 1st. Finally, the 13 months of theAbysmal Calendar, which begins on December 21st.

Here we see the relative length of the months in either case. The daylight is very similar, as the new year in both these cases only differs by 10 days.

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Because of the cyclical nature of the year, a circular analysis might be helpful In each case, the Winter Solstice is at the bottom, the Equinoxes to either side, and the Summer Solstice towards the top.

Astronomical Boundaries

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Astrological Boundaries

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Gregorian Months

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theAbysmal Months

An appeal to readers of theAbysmal

Help make this calendar a global success ~ it will only take a moment, and give back all the time in the world.

theAbysmal Calendar has been a labour of love ~ as such, the marketing budget comes in at just under $0. If this site has proven of interest and benefit, then please print out a copy of one of the two images below and place it somewhere where people are likely to see it.

This Calendar has been designed to suit the breadth of the world’s peoples and their cultures. It was developed to align us once again with the cycles of the Moon, the Seasons, and our physical selves accordingly.

Your assistance and support is greatly appreciated.

theAbysmal Calendar ~ Northern Hemisphere

theAbysmal Calendar ~ Southern Hemisphere

May you never thirst ~ and may there always be room for one more at your table.

Year 8~XIV Lunation 0

the Countdown to Dec 21st, 2012 begins: 260 Weeks.

4 Weeks until the New Year – 16 Days until Lunation 0 begins our countdown to 2012 and the implementation of this here Calendar worldwide.

theAbysmal Calendar Site (still under construction)

ooze weblog

In the end…

theAbysmal Reform Calendar

“The material of myth is the material of our life, the material of our body, and the material of our environment, and a living, vital mythology deals with these in terms that are appropriate to the nature of the knowledge of time.”
– Joseph Campbell

Here’s the final mandala created out of the components of theAbysmal Calendar. Each circle represents a different progression related to the Day, Month, Year, and longer periods. Note that the image above applies to the Northern Hemisphere. The Equivalent for the Southern Hemisphere is further down this page.

Circle I – 13 x XX = 260 Days

The two cycles, one of Days numbered 1~13 the other numbered I~XX (1~20 in Roman Numerals), illustrated below correspond to the 1~13 Days and twenty glyphs of the Mayan tzolkin calendar, although the mechanics are similar, the two applications differ in fundamental ways.

Circle II – 29.53 Days

The Lunar Month, observed by the majority of the world’s peoples as part of their calendar, roughly marks the synodic period of the Moon. The cycle begins with the New Moon, when the Moon lies directly between the Sun and the International Date Line. Each cycle is observed as having 29 or 30 Days. Each Year has either 12 Lunar Months (254 +/- 1 Days) or 13 Lunar Months (384 +/- 1 Days)

CIRCLE III – 64 Hexagrams of 6 Lines – 384 Days

The I Ching or Book of Changes, an Chinese oracular system based on a binary system of lines. Typically the lines are represented as solid — or broken – -, and the oracle uses them to built 8 trigrams of three lines placed one above the other as well as 64 hexagrams of six lines.  The hexagrams are made up of an upper trigram and lower trigram, however, in more complex analyses, there are also trigrams formed by using the second, third and fourth lines, the third, fourth and fifth. In the illustration below replaces the solid line with white and the broken line with black. The arrangement below is an ancient one, and it represents the change in the amount of daylight through the Day and Year, as much as it represents the face of the Moon during the Lunar Month.

CIRCLE IV – 364 + 1 Days

The illustration below illustrates the Year as arranged with 52 Weeks and 1 non-Weekday. The 52 Weeks are organized below as 13 Months numbered 0~12, although it can also be organized as 4 Quarters numbered 0~3. The shade of each Day represents the amount of relative daylight through the Year for the Northern Hemisphere. The darkest Day at the bottom is the Winter Solstice. The lightest Day at the top is the Summer Solstice. The heptagram in the centre illustrates a symbolic relationship between the 24 Hours of the Day and with the Days of the Week.

Circle V – The Precession of the Equinoxes

Due to a wobble in the motion of the Earth’s axis, the Days on which Stars rise above the horizon or their location in the sky change over a very long period of time. In terms of Calendar observation, the astronomical boundaries for the 13 Constellations that occupy the Zodiac (in astrology, there are different systems altogether) are used as a backdrop for the Sun during its apparent journey through our sky. The boundaries in the image below correspond to the number of Days the Sun takes to pass through an astrological Constellation. Only 7 Days in Scorpio, and 45 in Virgo. The 13th Constellation is Ophiuchus, the serpent healer, who follows Scorpio and precedes Sagittarius.

There we have the significance of the circles of the Mandala.  It is used throughout this site, and represents a new way for the world’s peoples to communicate with one another.

Below, the Mandala accounting for the Daylight in the Southern Hemisphere.

I-Ching in Black & White

Binary count.

The premise of the I Ching lies primarily in its role as an oracle, the black lines indicating “no,” and the white, “yes,” however, the cycles of light and darkness, as well as mitosis, lunations, the seasons, sunspot cycles & the precession of the equinoxes follow all find themselves reflected in the ever-shifting symmetries between the hexagrams.

the white represents the solid lines and the dark  represents the broken lines of the I Ching

Remogrifying the Calendar

from theAbyss to theAbysmal

check here instead:  theAbysmal from theAbyss

The simplest way to approach the division of the Days of the Year lies in leaving the Leap Year question until later. Consider the 365 complete Days that occur for every Year.

In considering the Year, the Days can be further divided into 364 Weekdays plus 1 Day. In this case, the 364 Weekdays exclude the Norther Winter Solstice and Southern Summer Solstice. A 364 Weekday Year contains exactly 52 Weeks.

The Circle of 365 Days

Each individual circle represents 1 Day, whereas the large circle created by them represents 1 Year of 365 Days. The 100% Black Day represents the Winter Solstice, as the longest Night of the Year, and finds its place at the bottom of the circle. The 100% White Day represents the Summer Solstice, as the longest Day of the Year, and finds its place at the top of the circle.

The Circle of 364 Days

The 364 Days of the Year (excluding the Winter Solstice), divided into 52 Weeks of 7 Days,  13 Months of 28 Days, 4 Quarters of 91 Days.

91 = 13 + 12 + 11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1
Northern Hemisphere – The Circle of 360 + 5 Days

The 364 Weekdays plus the Northern Winter/Southern Summer Solstice, divided into 4 Quarters, marking the Day that falls midway between the Equinox and Solstice. This image represents the Year in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Circle of 52 Weeks

364 Weekdays divided into 4 Quarters of 91 Days or 13 Weeks.
Northern Hemisphere – Quarter 0, Weeks 0 to 12

Northern Hemisphere – Quarter 1, Weeks 0 to 12

Northern Hemisphere – Quarter 2, Weeks 0 to 12

Northern Hemisphere – Quarter 3, Weeks 0 to 12

Southern Hemisphere – Quarter 0, Weeks 0 to 12

Southern Hemisphere – Quarter 1, Weeks 0 to 12

Southern Hemisphere – Quarter 2, Weeks 0 to 12

Southern Hemisphere – Quarter 3, Weeks 0 to 12

The Circle of 13 Months

364 Weekdays of the Year equal 13 Months of 4 Weeks or 28 Days each.

Northern Hemisphere – 13 Month Calendar

Southern Hemisphere – 13 Month Calendar

The Circle of 7 Weekdays

The 7 Days of the Week evolved from the Hebrew and Hellenic traditions. Their Weeks began with Saturday. The Circles below indicate order of the weekdays.

The sequence around the circumference represents the order of the furthest Planet from the Sun to the nearest, where the Sun, stands in for Earth, and the Moon comes last, as it orbits the Earth.

Northern Hemisphere – The Weekday Circle

Southern Hemisphere – The Weekday Circle

Symbol Key

24-Hours by 7-Weekdays

h	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
0	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus
1	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury
2	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon
3	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
4	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter
5	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars
6	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun
7	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus
8	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury
9	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon
10	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
11	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter
12	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars
13	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun
14	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus
15	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury
16	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon
17	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
18	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter
19	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars
20	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun
21	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus
22	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury
23	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon

The sequence, if read vertically, corresponds to the sequence around the circumference of the 7 Weekday circles above. The top square of each column represents the first Hour of the Day, and if read horizontally from left to right, corresponds to the sequence of Weekdays.

The Perpetual Month

This perpetual Calendar has 13 perpetual Months or 52 perpetual Weeks, or 4 perpetual Quarters, or 26 perpetual Fortnights for that matter.

Northern Hemisphere – Perpetual Calendar Month

Southern Hemisphere – Perpetual Calendar Month

The Sun’s Days

Another  rising & falling, linear & radial life cycle.

the life of the sun
courtesy of
wikimedia commons

Anasazi Calendar

three stones, two spirals, one sun and one moon

see also
Joseph Campbell’s observations in the Historic Atlas of World Mythology Series.
quoted from above:
p278
“on the rock face behind the vertical slabs are engraved two spirals, a larger of nine and a half turns and a smaller, to the left, of two and a quarter. Toward noon on the day of the summer solstice, a dagger of living light passes through the center of the larger spiral while, in a related effect, a small spot of light, hardly noticeable, shines for but two minutes somewhat to the left of the lesser spiral.”

“Through the following months of July, August, and September, these two beams move steadily, day by day, to the right, until on the day of the fall equinox, September 21, the leftward beam, now much longer then the first, cuts through the center of the lesser spiral. Thereafter, the rightward movement continues, and this second beam ever lengthens. By noon on December 21, the day of the winter solstice, the two darts, now of equal length, perfectly frame the larger spiral, after which the movement, day by day, is from right to left. At noon on march 21, the day of the spring equinox, the positions of the light beams are exactly as they had been September 21, and by the summer solstice the cycle is completed.

The sunlight travels across the spiral from above to below, following the point of light. In the crude illustrations below, a rough representation of the function of the calendar

At Summer Solstice, the light travels across the spiral in 18 minutes.

At Autumnal Equinox

At Winter Solstice, the light travels across the spiral in 49 minutes.
at Vernal Equinox – note the equinoxes have the same pattern

“… the patterns formed by moonlight shining between the slabs are as clear as hose of the day, and when the moon’s declination is anywhere between the solar extremes of 23.5 degrees and minus 23.5 degrees, the patterns formed are the same as those of the sun. However, in the course of a cycle of nineteen years [the Metonic Cycle], the Moon’s declination for a part of that time, goes beyond these solar limits. This periodic extreme was not reached again until 1987, when photographs taken on November 8th (the night the moon attained the most northerly extreme of its nineteen-year excursion) confirmed predictions… that the rising moon, shining on the vertical slabs, casts a shadow which is tangent to the left edge of the spiral. It has been noticed that the count of the lines of nine and a half turns crossing any diameter is 9 + 10 = 19, and we know that once every nineteen years there’s a full moon on winter solstice eve.”

p279
“The Anasazi Calendar utilizes three large rock slabs to baffle and focus both the sunlight and the moonlight, so that significant celestial intervals are marked by a sliver of illumination that falls upon and traverses one or another of the spiral petroglyphs on the adjacent cliff face.”