FRACTAL TIME SCIENCE

A Closer Look at the Catholic Calendar

The most significant failure of the Gregorian calendar, scientifically and psychologically, is its resolute ignorance of the lunar cycle.

The Moon travels 360º around the Earth every 27.3 days, completing 13 full circuits of the planet in about 355 days. Because the Earth is also moving, the time between two appearances of the Moon in any particular phase is slightly longer — 29.5 days — meaning that from our Earthly perspective, we see only 12 New Moons or Full Moons in that same period of 355 days.

The obvious compromise when measuring the lunar cycle is 28 days, which is also the accepted average of the human menstrual cycle. In diverse human cultures throughout history, masculine and feminine energy has been implicitly associated with the Sun and Moon, respectively. Is this a coincidence?

When implementing a calendar, one must first determine the goals and intentions of the system. What are we trying to measure and schedule? Which cycles in the physical world will we focus on, and which cultural activities and holidays will the calendar emphasize? A calendar is both a road and a lens — both a path and a perspective.

Before we can objectively discuss the nature and purpose of fractal Timekeeping, it is important to contextualize the Catholic method of Timekeeping which we all know and accept.

It bears note that although many humans experience Time only within the matrix of the Gregorian calendar, a significant portion of the global population actually uses more than one calendar simultaneously. For example, the Chinese calendar synchronizes the cultural activities of nearly 1.5 billion people. The Hebrew calendar unites the Jewish community around the world. The Islamic calendar governs the Timekeeping of nearly 2 billion humans. All of these societies have also accepted the Roman Catholic calendar which is today’s global standard, but members of these communities simultaneously hold space for an ‘alternate reality’ of Time in their minds and in their lives.

Some of these calendars are lunar, some are solar, and some are lunisolar, meaning that they acknowledge both the solar and lunar cycles through some form of compromise.

The Gregorian calendar is strictly solar. Etymologically, ‘month’ is unquestionably related to ‘moon’ — but mathematically, the Catholic system disposes of any real connection between the two. Because there are 29.5 days in the lunar cycle as perceived from Earth, many lunar calendars employ a system wherein some months have 29 days and others have 30, allowing every New Moon to correspond to a new month. In contrast, the Gregorian calendar has months of 30 and 31 days (aside from February), which nullifies any potential relationship connecting the calendar to the Moon.

Having been taught as children to accept this as normal and insignificant, it may seem that measuring the solar cycle accurately is implicitly more important than paying attention to the lunar cycle. And were it not possible to integrate the solar and lunar frequencies into one simple system, an argument could perhaps be made in favor of choosing a solar calendar over a lunar one. But as we will see, there is an incredibly simple and effective method of acknowledging both the solar and lunar frequencies within a calendar which is much easier to comprehend — and far more advanced, mathematically — than the Catholic system.

The fact that we have learned to ignore the lunar cycle, becoming accustomed to the week and year as the only regular cycles in Time, is reflective of the manner in which the masculine force (historically associated with the Sun) has dominated and suppressed the feminine (connected biologically and culturally to the Moon) throughout the history of our current civilization.

In today’s world, how many global organizations proudly affirm that women are ineligible for positions of power? The Catholic Church is among them. Both the spiritual beliefs and the administrative structure of the Catholic Church are founded upon the concept of a strict patriarchal hierarchy. Is it truly surprising — or insignificant — that the calendar which the Church imposed upon the masses is one which omits and obscures the lunar cycle?

Try as we may in modern times to reconcile centuries of inequality and injustice between different races and religions (and oppression of the feminine), the very foundation of our planetary civilization is still unwaveringly Roman Catholic — and accordingly patriarchal. The Gregorian calendar is not only the landscape upon which humanity paints itself, but it is also the framework underlying each of our individual minds, and the lens through which we experience our lives.

In fairness, the Gregorian calendar was actually established by the Vatican fairly recently — in 1582. That said, the Gregorian calendar is merely a tweaked version of the Julian calendar, which was mandated by Julius Caesar beginning in 42 BC. And Caesar’s calendar itself was but an update to the previous Roman calendar which had already been in use for several centuries.

Caesar’s deepest intention may have been to ensure his legacy by imprinting his name upon Time itself, and beyond all doubt he succeeded. Two thousand years later, although the “civil” calendar has taken the name of a Pope, the entire human race still honors Julius and his son Augustus for 62 days each year. These are small examples of the subtle but powerful patriarchal dominance coded into the deepest layers of our minds and of our civilization.

Do you know the origin and meaning of the names of the other months and days which constitute the framework of your mind and life?

What place do ancient gods and dictators have in the operating system of a modern human mind?

What principles and characteristics are being reinforced in our subconscious as we live, work, and record our memories within a template which was created by the Roman Empire and commandeered by the Catholic Church?

Why does the Catholic Church receive the honor of defining our planetary Time in the first place?

In doing so, does the Vatican have humanity’s best interests in mind?

Is the brightest possible future for our species a Catholic one?

Why does the government uphold a religious calendar if the Church and State are separate?

If there were advanced civilizations beyond Earth, would human scientists be proud to share our understanding of Time as demonstrated by the Gregorian calendar?

Most importantly, is the Gregorian calendar a good calendar?

Is it easy to use, and effective in describing the nature and passing of Time?

Is there any objective and/or scientific reason to maintain the Catholic calendar as our only standard?