Jewish Lunar Months

The Gregorian calendar, which is named after Pope Gregory XIII and became the standard Christian calendar in 1582, is a purely solar calendar. This means that it plots the place of the sun in the sky to count a year. The Jewish calendar, alternatively called the Hebrew calendar, is a lunisolar calendar. Lunisolar calendars plot both the position of the sun and moon. This means that in order for a full year to pass, the sun and moon must go back to the same position in the sky. This is why, according to the Gregorian calendar, the Jewish holidays appear to be on different days every year.

Chodesh, which means month in Hebrew, actually means 'new'. However, the actual names of the months are derived from the Babylonian names and are a leftover of the evolution of Caananites to Jews.

Like the Gregorian calendar, there are twelve months in the Hebrew year (a 13th month is added to the year seven times during 19 years). However, unlike the Gregorian calendar, each of these months has significant spiritual meaning; as we move through the year, we move through different spiritual energies that impact what we do and why we do it. Each month also has its own affiliated Hebrew Zodiac, Angels, and quality- just to name a few elements.

⤞ Tishrei

• Gregorian Months: September to October
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 1
• Torah Month: 7
• Season: Autumn
• Hebrew Astrology: Libra
• Hebrew Letter: Lamed (ל)
• Primary Angel: Tzuriel
• Netivah: Matriarch / Queen
• Spiritual Focus: Community through Resources
• Soul Trait: Spiritual Responsibility
• Quality / Sense: Coition
• Alternative: Touch
• Tarot Card: Justice
• Element: Air
• Alternative: Air within Earth
• Offerings: Sweet Foods, Lulav & Etrog, Water

The first month of the Hebrew year is the Moon of Gathering, where we literally gather our families, tribe, ancestors, and the final harvest before winter. It begins with Rosh HaShanah and continues with a month of festivals and holidays.

Libra, which is categorized by the scales, is apropos of the judgment that is passed down from HaShem for the new year. As we write our names in the book of life during this time, HaShem chooses the next year of our lives and its bounties for us; coition, the quality of the month, focuses on fertility, bounty, and merging. It is a month of balance, and new beginnings, as seen by the element of air.

⤞ Cheshvan

• Gregorian Months: October to November
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 2
• Torah Month: 8
• Season: Autumn
• Hebrew Astrology: Scorpio
• Hebrew Letter: Nun (נ)
• Primary Angel: Gabriel
• Netivah: Mourning Woman
• Spiritual Focus: Communal Resources
• Soul Trait: Honor, Respect, Dignity
• Quality / Sense: Smell
• Tarot Card: Death
• Element: Water
• Alternative: Air within Earth
• Offerings: Salt Water, Olive Branches, Red String, Offerings at Crossroads

Cheshvan (also known as Hesvan, Heshvan, Mar Cheshvan) is considered the most negative month of the year. Following directly after a month of celebration and new beginnings, this is often considered a month of hardship that culminates in growth- represented by the Moon of Stillness. It is a month for perseverance and maintaining faith, dedication, and gratitude during times of stress; a month that invites introspection to allow us to see what we may have forgotten along the way

⤞ Kislev

• Gregorian Months: November to December
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 3
• Torah Month: 9
• Season: Autumn into Winter
• Hebrew Astrology: Sagittarius
• Hebrew Letter: Samech (ס)
• Primary Angel: Maduniel
• Netivah: Witch / Spirit Vessel
• Spiritual Focus: Personal connection to Divine through creative expression
• Soul Trait: Awestruck, Radical Amazement
• Quality / Sense: Sleep
• Tarot Card: Temperance
• Element: Fire
• Alternative: Fire within Water
• Offerings: Combinations of Fire and Water or other opposites, Braided Candles

Trust, perseverance, optimism: These are all qualities of the Moon of Dreaming. As the nights grow longer, we read many Torah portions about dreams and dreaming. In these long nights, take the time to dream and re-ignite your creativity.

During Kislev we also celebrate Channukah, which is etymologically related to the word chinuch which means renewal. This is in line with the quality of the month: sleep. This sleep can represent a number of things: rest, rejuvenation, dreaming (literally and symbolically), but also the ignoring of spiritual callings. Because of this, Kislev can be a time for spiritual awakening and actively choosing to pursue the spiritual.

⤞ Tevet

• Gregorian Months: December to January
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 4
• Torah Month: 10
• Season: Winter
• Hebrew Astrology: Capricorn
• Hebrew Letter: Ayin (ע)
• Primary Angel: Shaniel
• Netivah: Seeker
• Spiritual Focus: Personal connection to Divine through creative expression
• Soul Trait: Curiosity
• Quality / Sense: Anger
• Tarot Card: Devil
• Element: Earth
• Alternative: Fire within Water
• Offerings: Symbols of Seeking and Light, like Candles

The quality of Tevet is anger, which is most frequently coupled with negativity. However, this is not always the case. Like many things, anger can be a sign of healing and a requirement along a journey. Tevet encourages us to refrain and hold ourselves, to be one with ourselves, including the parts of us that we so often choose to ignore.

The refrain for spiritual success is often discussed as well as the intentional removal of blockages from one's spiritual path moving forward. As a result, Tevet is the Moon of Clarity, and is thus a month to seek clarity on our path- even though the days are still short and the nights are long and dark.

⤞ Shevat

• Gregorian Months: January to February
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 5
• Torah Month: 11
• Season: Winter
• Hebrew Astrology: Aquarius
• Hebrew Letter: Tzadi (צ)
• Primary Angel: Gabriel
• Netivah: Lover
• Spiritual Focus: Personal connection to Divine through creative expression transitions to Resources through Community
• Soul Trait: Love
• Quality / Sense: Taste
• Tarot Card: Star
• Element: Air
• Alternative: Fire within Water transitions to Earth within Air
• Offerings: Pine Cones, Tree Branches, Tree Bark, Tree Syrup and Sap, Water

The new year of the trees, Shevat is a month of knowledge, abundance, and awareness. According to Bereishit, it is a month of abundant blessings. It is believed that during Shevat, Moshe translated the Torah into all commonly spoken languages at the time, as the Torah belongs to all Jews, regardless of the language spoken. The month denotes a wellspring of knowledge, spiritual and practical.

It also is a month represented by the Moon of Centering. This is our cosmic opportunity to center ourselves and determine our priorities for the busy growing seasons of late spring, summer, and fall- seasons which are well suited to taking care of one another. It thus acknowledges the importance of community and neighbors, and the role of the self in helping them.

⤞ Adar

• Gregorian Months: February to March
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 6
• Torah Month: 12
• Season: Spring
• Hebrew Astrology: Pisces
• Hebrew Letter: Kuf (ק)
• Primary Angel: Rumiel
• Netivah: Sacred Fool
• Spiritual Focus: ?
• Soul Trait: Illuminated Awareness
• Quality / Sense: Laughter
• Tarot Card: The Fool
• Element: Water;
• Alternative: Earth within Air
• Offerings: Hamentaschen, Poppy Seeds, and Myrrh

Adar, which has the same root as the word adir, denotes strength. And as I mentioned earlier, every 19 years there are two months of Adar for the leap year; the Talmud tells us that Adar is a month of fortune and joy for Jews.

However, it is also the Moon of Revealing: Be perceptive to the things that may be hidden from plain sight and reveal things in their right time.

⤞ Nissan

• Gregorian Months: March to April
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 7
• Torah Month: 1
• Season: Spring
• Hebrew Astrology: Aries
• Hebrew Letter: Hei (ה)
• Primary Angel: Uriel
• Netivah: Maiden
• Spiritual Focus: Resources through Community
• Soul Trait: Joy
• Quality / Sense: Speech
• Tarot Card: Emperor
• Element: Fire
• Alternative: Earth within Air
• Offerings: Bread Crumbs, Grain, Parsley, Matzah, Blood/Bone, Barley, Shofar Blasts

Associated with Aries, the symbol of Nissan is that of the lamb. As spring arrives, so does the sense of renewal and rejuvenation. This is a time for beginning new projects, starting new phases of life.

Nissan is also the month of the Moon of Speaking: Of weighing judgment and loving-kindness. This can manifest in reevaluating relationships and your interactions with the world. This is also a time to look out and evaluate where you stand in regards to what is happening in the greater world at large- and where we’re ignoring injustice; in Nisan we are challenged to speak the truth so we may find freedom and take responsibility for our lives, and the quality of speech encourages you to use your voice and speak up about it.

⤞ Iy(y)ar

• Gregorian Months: April to May
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 8
• Torah Month: 2
• Season: Spring
• Hebrew Astrology: Taurus
• Hebrew Letter: Vav (ו)
• Primary Angel: Lahatiel
• Netivah: Midwife
• Spiritual Focus: Resources through Community transitions to Creativity through Divine Connection
• Soul Trait: Patience
• Quality / Sense: Thought
• Tarot Card: Hierophant
• Element: Earth
• Alternative: Earth within Air transitions to Water within Fire
• Offerings: Barley & Wheat; Challah with Honey, Healing Herbs

The Moon of Healing and the month of the bull; Iy(y)ar is the stage of infancy in the year. We also begin counting the omer, the only time of year when each day has a specific mitzvah. The quality of the month is thought or thinking. This is a time for introspection and acknowledgment of one's thoughts. While most people see meditation as a time for an empty mind, it can also be a time for quiet contemplation of one's own inner workings. Observe your thoughts and give them names.

Iyar is also considered to be an astrologically important time for healing, especially through the elimination of toxicity from one's life (emotional and physical). It is a month to explore healing practices for ourselves, our communities, and our world.

⤞ Sivan

• Gregorian Months: May to June
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 9
• Torah Month: 3
• Season: Spring
• Hebrew Astrology: Gemini
• Hebrew Letter: Zayin (ז)
• Primary Angel: Lahatiel
• Netivah: Prophetess
• Spiritual Focus: Uncover and expose hidden truths
• Soul Trait: Truth
• Quality / Sense: Action / Movement
• Tarot Card: Lovers
• Element: Air
• Alternative: Water within Fire
• Offerings: Wheat, Dairy, First Fruits

The third month of the year, the month of Sivan is about receiving both communal and personal revelations at Sinai on Shavuot. It also honors the symbolism of three within Judaism: The three tribes (Kohen, Levi, and Israelite), Moshe as the third child in the family, the three days we prepare, and so on.

Sivan is a time of moving forward as well. We think of the story of Ruth, who abandoned all she knew in the pursuit of HaShem; Iyar allows for taking stock, while Sivan is the time to act upon that deep thought and encourages action after introspection.

⤞ Tamuz

• Gregorian Months: June to July
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 10
• Torah Month: 4
• Season: Summer
• Hebrew Astrology: Cancer
• Hebrew Letter: Chet (ח)
• Primary Angel: Zuriel
• Netivah: Mother
• Spiritual Focus: Creativity through Divine Connection
• Soul Trait: Wholehearted
• Quality / Sense: Sight
• Tarot Card: Chariot
• Element: Water
• Alternative: Water within Fire
• Offerings: Red Ribbons, Jerusalem Stone

Marking the beginning of summer, Tamuz is a time of confrontation and challenge, which can push people into action; the month of claiming personal sovereignty and risking success, failure, and change.

With the quality of sight, Tamuz can be a month of extremes that can sometimes cause people to act prematurely. The most intense versions of positive and negative are exposed during this time, but it provides the opportunity for Teshuvah- or return.

⤞ Av

• Gregorian Months: July to August
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 11
• Torah Month: 5
• Season: Summer
• Hebrew Astrology: Leo
• Hebrew Letter: Tet (ט)
• Primary Angel: Barakiel
• Netivah: Wise Woman
• Spiritual Focus: Creativity through Divine Connection
• Soul Trait: Courage
• Quality / Sense: Hearing
• Tarot Card: Strength
• Element: Fire
• Alternative: Water within Fire
• Offerings: Grapes & Grape Leaves

For nine days of the month, we mourn, but on the 15th day, we celebrate rebirth, rebuilding, and redemption, which is symbolized by the lion. Av is therefore the Moon of Endings and Beginnings: A month for us to tear down our walls, both physical and emotional, challenge what we believe we need to thrive, and get ready to do the work of beginning again.

Categorized by the need for pause, the quality of hearing calls for time to be taken to evaluate and listen, but also to listen to one's heart. To feel and acknowledge both the highest highs of human emotion and the lowest pains of mourning.

⤞ Elul

• Gregorian Months: August to September
• Linear Lunisolar Month: 12
• Torah Month: 6
• Season: Summer transitions to Fall
• Hebrew Astrology: Virgo
• Hebrew Letter: Yud (י)
• Primary Angel: Chaniel
• Netivah: Priestess / Guardian of Gateways
• Spiritual Focus: Community through Resources
• Soul Trait: Presence
• Quality / Sense: Action
• Tarot Card: Hermit
• Element: Earth
• Alternative: Air within Earth
• Offerings: Mirrors, Copper, Water, Grass & Herbs, Cow Meat & Leather

Elul is a month of introspection- the Moon of Making Space; In Elul “we become hollow to see what we will create in the space we make. We do tzimtzum, self-contraction, in memory of the first moment of making”.

As we approach the High Holidays and the Days of Awe, we take stock of who we are and who we have been for the last year. During the month of Elul, we focus heavily on taking stock in our lives and seeing where each of ourselves is in the process of Teshuvah on an external and internal level in preparation for the holy days to come.

These are all short summaries of the months. Each is rich with its own qualities and correspondences, and just because a month may be best for something does not mean that it is the only time it can be done. We should do Teshuvah year-round. We should speak out against injustice year-round. We should be in tune with our thoughts and emotions year-round. Take each month as you go and treat yourself, and others, with kindness.