lunabar | Janet Ní Shuilleabháin

For me the first step to planning my year to come from a spiritual and craft point of view is to find out when certain events are due to happen.

Our way of craving up the year into months and weeks is an effort to put some shape on the year which makes sense in a linear way but, the solar system mocks our feeble attempts to do so.

It’s not just handy to know when the next 12 full moons will be but also when the solstices and equinoxes are for they often appear to move about the calendar,
but well the calendar attempts to use maths rounding down on the number of days it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun and so is flawed from the start.

For nearly 15 years I have used a small program to aid me, it’s sat in my toolbar
in many versions of windows and may it do so for another 15+ to come.

It is called Lunabar:

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For thousands of years, people have observed, been fascinated by, and even worshipped the moon. Helping to bring the art of the almanack into the next millennium, Infra-Azure Labs (formerly Clysmic Software) presents Lunabar, the Digital Lunar Almanack.

The Lunabar application will put a lunar almanack in your taskbar. It accurately shows the current phase of the moon, the times of moonrise, moon southing, and moonset, and the zodiacal constellation and sign. The phase, constellation or zodiacal sign is shown in a tooltip window when your mouse hovers over the icon, and a full lunar almanack is just a click away. There are many graphical features, such as selectable fonts and “themes.” There is a full installation and uninstallation program and a help file.

Lunabar can display many full moon name ‘traditions.’ It can display moon phases in astronomical or astrological format, appealing to a wide range of users. There also are many popup features: moonlight hours window, position in constellation/sign.
Lunabar shows sunrise and sunset, the constellation and sign of the Sun, and the current Planetary Hour.

For international users, Lunabar uses your Windows system’s settings for time zone, daylight savings time, and time display format. Also there’s full support for southern hemisphere users.

Lunabar is freeware, that means it is free to download, install and use and it has no ads or pop ups and has not time limit on the use of it.

You can find and install it from www.softpedia.com
which certifies that it is free from ads or add ons or nasty trackers or viruses.

Here is a button to take you directly to where you can get it.

Every year I try and keep the same tradition, I light a large candle from the hart of the house and leaving burning during the longest nights.

These days modern pagans can check when exactly the Sun moves into Capricorn, but it wasn’t that long ago what it was a little harder to tell. Yes, yes there is Newgrange but even then there are 3 days that the sunlight will make it down the passageway, on the Solstice and the day before and the day after.

I have used the same small program for years, to help me keep track for you do need to, as you can’t rely on the calendar dates, it is called Lunabar

The Wheel of the year turns but we do not turn with it unless we put the time and effort in. This winter so far has been a good one, one of accomplishment and new challenges and for me discovering new skills and forging new relationships. I look forward to what they year to come will bring.

I love this time of year as we reach the tipping point, the point of change and transition and I am grateful for the time winter gives me to contemplate the past year, and the year to come and to spend time with friends and family.

I have friends the far side of the planet and am aware that for them it is the Summer Soltice, for them the Sun starts to wane and the harvests start to ripen. There is such wonderful balance in this.

So were ever you are, what ever your spirituality or if the Sun is returning or taking it’s leave, I hope the next 6 months are wonderful for you and in ways you don’t expect.

Janet Ní Shuilleabháin

Tag Archives: lunabar

Planning the year to come

Waiting for the return of the Sun…