Éscae
An experimental, fantasy lunisolar calendar.
Éscae is a calendar whose annual cycle roughly follows the seasons of a year while its weeks follow the phases of the moon.
The Rhythm of Weeks and Months
Each week consists of between six and nine days, depending on the lunar cycle. Weeks start on the day after a lunar phase—new moon, waxing half, full moon, waning half—and end on the day the next phase occurs. Each month then consists of four weeks. The ninth day of a week is called nómad.
Week one starts the day after a new moon and ends on the day of a waxing half moon. Week two starts the day after a waxing half moon and ends on the day of a full moon. Week three starts the day after a full moon and ends on the day of a waning half moon. And week four starts the day after a waning half moon and ends on the day of a new moon.
A month, with its constant number of weeks, is an opportunity to contemplate seis in one’s own life, while the variable number of days within a week invites reflection on ceo.
The Gyre of a Year
Years consist of twelve or thirteen months and are therefore another opportunity to ceo. A year starts and ends with the new moon nearest the autumnal equinox. More precisely: a year ends when a new moon either immediately follows the autumn equinox and is closer to it than the preceding new moon, or immediately precedes an autumn equinox and is closer to it than the following new moon.
Year one on the Éscae calendar begins on the date corresponding to 23 September 1680 on the Gregorian calendar.
Month Names
Each month has a tree or shrub associated with it.
| Name | Tree/Shrub |
|---|---|
| Luis | rowan |
| Úr | heather |
| Beithe | birch |
| Ebhadh | aspen |
| Dair | oak |
| Ailm | pine |
| Straiph | blackthorn |
| Nin | ash |
| Coll | hazel |
| Sail | willow |
| Tinne | holly |
| Idad | yew |
| Ruis | elder |
The month of Ruis falls on the calendar, on average, seven times in every nineteen years.
Date Format
Dates are given in the order year, month, week, day, joined by an interpunct. The date of Y2K is 320·3·4·3: the third day of the fourth week of the third month of the three hundred twentieth year.
Time
Time in Éscae is called tráth. A day breaks into three slices, each slice into five segments, and each segment into 200 units, or beats.