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September 19
On this day in ancient Babylonia, an annual festival of prayers and feasts took place in honor of Gula, the goddess of birth.
On this date in the year 1692, Giles Corey (a Massachusetts man charged with the crime of Witchcraft) was pressed to death by two large stones in Salem for refusing to acknowledge the Court's right to try him.
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September 20
The Spring Equinox (South of the Equator) was celebrated approximately on this date by the ancient Incas. It was a time for honoring the Sun God, feasting, rejoicing, animal sacrifices, and divinations. Festivals were also held on this date throughout South America to celebrate the birthday of the god Quetzalcoatl.
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September 21
Saint Matthew's Day. In many parts of the world, this is a traditional day for performing divinations of all kinds. In Germany, fortune-telling wreaths of straw and evergreen, made on this day by young girls, were used for love divination.
In ancient Greece, the birth of the goddess Athena was celebrated annually on this day.
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September 22
On the first day of Autumn (which normally occurs on or near this date), the Autumn Equinox sabbath is celebrated by Wiccans and Witches throughout the world. Autumn Equinox (which is also known as the Fall sabbath, Alban Elfed, and the Second Festival of Harvest) is a time for thanksgiving, meditation, and introspection. On this sacred day, Witches rededicated themselves to the Craft, and Wiccan initiation ceremonies are performed by the High Priestess and Priests of covens. Many Wiccan traditions also perform a special rite for the goddess Persephone's descent into the Underworld as part of their Autumn Equinox celebration.
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September 23
On this date (approximately), the Sun enters the astrological sign of Libra. Persons born under the sign of the Scales (the Balance) are said to be artistic, resourceful, extroverted, balanced, and often indecisive. Libra is an air sign and is ruled by the planet Venus.
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September 24
In ancient Egypt, the annual death and rebirth of the god Osiris was celebrated once a year on this date. A festival held in his honor consisted of song, dance, and ceremonial plantings.
In West Africa, this day is sacred to Obatala, a hermaphrodite deity who was believed to have given birth to all Yoruban gods and goddesses.
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September 25
On this date in ancient Greece, a feast of beans known as the Pyanopsia was celebrated annually in honor of the great Olympian god Apollo and the three beautiful goddesses of the four seasons known as the Horae.
The birthday of Sedna, the Eskimo goddess of both the sea and the Underworld, is celebrated annually on this date in Greenland, northeastern Siberia, and the Arctic coastal regions of North America.
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September 26
Theseus, the great hero of Athens who slew the Minotaur and conquered the Amazons, was honored on this date in ancient Greece with an annual festival called the Theseia. The celebration lasted until the twenty-ninth day of September.
In ancient times, a goat sacrifice was performed annually on this day to appease Azazel, a Hebrew fallen angel who seduced mankind. He was associated with the planet Mars.
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September 27
Moon Festival. On this date, an annual ceremony takes place in China to honor the Moon Hare and to give thanks to the gods for a harvest of abundance. The rites associated with the Moon Festival are always performed by women as the Moon represents yin, the female cosmic element.
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September 28
On this date in ancient Athens, an annual Thesmophoria festival was celebrated in honor of the Greek goddess Demeter. The festival lasted until the third day of October.
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September 29
Michaelmas. According to English folklore, it was on this day that the Devil fell from Heaven, landed on a blackberry bush, and cursed the berries. Therefore, it is unlucky to pick blackberries after Michaelmas. In parts of Scotland, special Michaelmas cakes are eaten by the superstitious on this day to ward off all evil and misfortune in the coming year.
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September 30
On this date, the annual Meditrinalia festival was celebrated in the city of Rome in honor of the goddess Meditrina, a deity who presided over medicines
and the arts of healing.
In ancient Greece, the Epitaphia was held once a year on this date to honor the souls of the warriors slain to battle.
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