Every year, around this time, I see a familiar debate erupt online: the Gregorian calendar is fake, it’s arbitrary, it doesn’t align with the moon or the feminine, we should have 13 months, 28 days each…
And yes, all of that is true - to a certain extent. Calendars are human inventions. Names, months, weeks - they are conventions, tools we’ve created to measure the passage of the Earth around the Sun, the Moon’s cycles, and our own cycles.
But here’s the nuance that often gets lost: maps are not the territory, and a perfect calendar doesn't exist and wouldn’t automatically make us more spiritually aligned. The tool isn’t where the magic lies - it’s the relationship we bring to it.
The Gregorian Calendar: Solar Precision Amidst Patriarchy
The Gregorian calendar, which most of the world uses today, was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. One of its main purposes was astronomical accuracy: to prevent the drift of the equinoxes, keeping seasons in alignment with dates. In other words, it wasn’t just about patriarchal power, though power was certainly involved - the naming of months, the reshaping of weeks, the centralization of authority was patriarchal by design.
But let’s not dismiss its usefulness. By aligning the calendar with the solar year, humans could track planting, harvests, and seasonal shifts, creating stability that mattered for survival. The Gregorian calendar solved a practical problem while also reflecting the biases of its time.
Let’s also not forget that the Sun is sacred - all of it is. And an unpopular opinion: the Sun is not only masculine, but also feminine - life-giving, nourishing, abundant. Seeing the Sun as only masculine is only half the truth.
Multiple New Years, Multiple Rhythms
We live in a world of many calendars. Some follow the moon, some follow the sun, some track both. None are “wrong” - they simply reflect different ways of observing the sacred movement of our planet through space.
Consider a few examples in 2026:
- Gregorian New Year: January 1
- Chinese New Year (lunisolar): February 17
- Astrological New Year (Sun enters Aries): March 20
- Nowruz / Persian New Year: March 20
- Islamic New Year (Hijri): mid-June
- Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah): September 11–13
Each begins a cycle, a portal of potential, an invitation to reflection. Celebrating one does not cancel the others. In fact, some people honor multiple new years at once, weaving together solar, lunar, and personal rhythms.
Lunar and Menstrual Time: Honoring the Feminine
There is particular beauty in calendars that follow the moon. Many women attune to a lunar cycle, aligning their personal rhythms - menstruation, energy, creativity - with the phases of the Moon. Some traditions even envision a 13-month lunar calendar, with each month mirroring a menstrual cycle.
This isn’t an esoteric quirk. It’s a profound recognition that the sacred moves through the body, the moon, and the Earth together. You can follow your personal cycle, honor the Moon, and still celebrate January 1st - the two are not in conflict. Multiple truths can coexist.
Multiplicity Over Correctness
Some people argue fiercely for “the right way” to track time. My invitation is different: what if we embraced multiplicity and paradox? Time, like reality, can be experienced through different lenses, and each lens reveals something sacred.
The Gregorian calendar aligns us with solar precision and the seasons.
Lunar calendars honor ebb, flow, and the feminine cycle.
Astrological New Years remind us that planetary alignments carry energy we can work with.
All of them are human ways of measuring movement through space. None are pure divine edicts. Yet all can be portals into relationship with life, the cosmos, and ourselves.
I also urge you to remember the power you hold in how you choose to define things. To believe that any honoring of the Gregorian calendar brings you into misalignment, is to create that reality for yourself. It becomes your truth, and that is completely valid. That is the power of your belief system.
My real question is: why do that to yourself? Why not find empowerment in everything - even as you recognize its problems?
Symmetry, Order, and the Sacred
Symmetry, cycles, and repetition are sacred. They bring sacred flow, yes, but also structure for reflection and growth. The Moon waxes and wanes, the Sun rises and sets, the seasons turn. These patterns are inherently holy. But perfect symmetrical measurements - like in a 13-month calendar with 28-day months - doesn’t automatically align us spiritually. Alignment comes through awareness, attention, and intentional participation in cycles, not mechanical perfection.
Humans as Creators of Time
Ultimately, calendars are evidence of our creative role in the universe. We are not passive observers. We experience, we measure, we name, we celebrate. Our tools reflect our culture, our science, our spirituality, and our imagination.
Instead of arguing for the “right” calendar, we can cultivate respect for multiplicity. One person might follow the Gregorian calendar closely. Another might flow with the Moon. Another might track astrological seasons. Each is valid. Each opens a doorway to reflection, intention, and communion with the sacred. Because all of it is sacred.
A New Beginning Every Day
January 1st is magical - not because the date itself holds power, but because we believe it does. The real magic lives in the focus and attention we bring. Hundreds of years of human celebration have layered it with energy, creating a collective resonance that is tangible.
And yet, it is not the only magical day. Any day can hold the same power if we bring awareness, intention, and presence. Calendars are tools - mirrors for our attention. They remind us that time is alive, that the universe is in motion, and that we can participate consciously in the unfolding of life.
Every day is a new beginning. Every day the sun rises. And that is magical.
Takeaway
Maps are not the territory.
Even the neatest design cannot hold the vastness of our universe.
But the way we observe, honor, and move through cycles can be deeply sacred.
Choose your rhythm. Hold multiple truths. Celebrate beginnings - of the year, the day, the month, the moon, the body - and notice how each opens you to the living movement of life.
Don't let anyone invalidate your celebration of life. We must express joy, now more than ever.