Llewellyn’s 2009 Spell-a-Day Almanac Entries

Starflower - Trientalis borealis

These links were posted throughout 2009, and I thought it a great idea to post them all at once on a blog post here, for easy reference.

Llewellyn published 5 Elven Spells, and here they are:

http://www.llewellyn.com/free/spell.php?spellid=3581 (Isilnarvinyë)

http://www.llewellyn.com/free/spell.php?spellid=3659 (Yestarë)

http://www.llewellyn.com/free/spell.php?spellid=3715 (Nost-na-Lothion)

http://www.llewellyn.com/spell.php?spell_id=3826 (Isilyavannië)

http://www.llewellyn.com/spell.php?spell_id=3847 (Enderi)

All of these Elven Holidays are in the older Elvish language, called Quenya.  Yestarë, Nost-na-Lothion and Enderi are explained more fully on the Elven Calendar post.

Isilnarvinyë and Isilyavannië are referring to the Full Moons that relate to that particular Elven Month.  Isilnarvinyë, the Moon of New Fire, occurs in the Elven January.  Isilyavannië, the Moon of Yavanna (the Giver of Fruits) is held in the Elven September.  To find the Elven month of which a particular Full Moon is assigned, visit the “Resources” button on the left when visiting ElvenSpirituality.com and you will find an Interactive Calendar.  Type in the Gregorian Calendar Date of the Full Moon in question, and the Elven Month will appear.  Under the “Calendar” button, you will also know the Elven Seasons – and these are also revealed when typing in a Gregorian Calendar Date.

These links will be available in 2010, so you can enjoy these short spells and get to know some of the Valar.

Thanks for visiting – ENJOY!

Calantirniel

Artist - John Howe

Cuivérë Quendiva, the Awakening of the Quendi (Elves)

Cuivienen - Waters of Awakening

November 21st is the Gregorian date that Tië eldaliéva (the Elven Path) has assigned this observance (which means it is not one of the seven feasts in Tolkien’s calendar in the Appendices of Return of the King). However, it is also the First Day of Hrivë, the Elven Winter. The Elven Calendar has 6 seasons, with the ones bearing the Solstices being the longest.
At midnight this night, the Pleiades (called Remmirath by the Elves, meaning Netted Road) is directly overhead. The description of the starry sky was shown in The Silmarillion to be very much like this time of year when the Elves were first awoken on Arda (Earth) in the Waters of Awakening, or Lake Cuivienen; thus, Tië eldaliéva’s reason for this observance at this time.

According to these stories, the Elves were awoken before the creation of the Sun and the Moon. The sky then was always a twilight color with stars that were lovingly created by Varda Elentari, the Queen of the Stars, which the Elves loved indeed. In fact, it was the nearby Helluin (Sirius) that was deemed the star that actually awoke the Elves.  They arose from the waters and looked up at the stars, and exclaimed “Eä!” which in this case means “Behold!” It was the same word that “The One” Iluvatar used when bringing forth the song of creation that was indeed sung by the Ainur (likened to “angels” and were the “thoughts” of Iluvatar).

It is a time when we reconnect with the Elven Origins, and thereby reconnect to All that Is. Indeed, we remember our source and where we come from.

Remmirath - the Pleiades

The Elven Calendar, or Loa

The following is the Elven Calendar, or “Loa” with what could be termed as the Solar observations.

From Tolkien:
Turuhalmë (Elven “LogDrawing”) December 21st
Solvalwaris (Purification, begin Stirring): February 2nd
Yestarë (Elven New Year, begin Spring): March 28th
Nost-na-Lothion (Day of Flowers, begin Summer) May 22nd
Tarnin Austa (Gates of Summer) June 21st
Yavië (begin Elven Autumn) August 2nd
Enderi (Middle Days, begin Fading) September 25-27th (all 3 days)

Improvised by Tië eldaliéva:
Cuiverë Quendiva (First day of Winter/Origins of the Elves) November 21st

Tië eldaliéva improvised the Full Moons too, using the Legendarium as much as possible, and will be in the book when published. For full article, visit www.elvenspirituality.com, and click on “Calendar” – ENJOY!

Calantirniel

P.S. Dave/Aikanar, the author of the Calendar Article can also be found at www.westofwest.org.