The Ariadne's Tribe sacred calendar doesn't look like the eightfold Wheel of the Year that many modern Pagans are familiar with. Instead, we based our calendar specifically on Mediterranean seasonal cycles (the Minoans came from the island of Crete in the Mediterranean) as well as archaeological and ethnological evidence about the Minoans' religious practices.

So instead of a neatly balanced eight-spoke wheel, our calendar has some festivals that are spread out across the months and others that cluster together. One of those clusters - the biggest one - is my focus today.

The Mysteries are the centerpiece of what we think may have been a multi-week Minoan holiday season in the autumn, similar to our modern western winter holiday season.

In the Tribe calendar, this holiday season begins with the Feast of Grapes (August 31), and continues with the Mysteries (September 1-10) and the agricultural New Year (Autumn Equinox, September 22 or so).

We originally considered that cluster to be our full "holiday season," but then we began exploring the "sailing side" of Minoan culture, we realized that the sailors and overseas traders also had a seasonal calendar based on the natural cycles of the winds and the sea.

In the Mediterranean, the sailing season begins in the spring when the winds turn friendly. In the Tribe, we celebrate it with the Blessing of the Ships.

And in the autumn, the season ends when the winds shift again and it's no longer safe to put to sea. We call the end of the season Harbor Home, and we celebrate it on the third Monday in October. 

So you can enjoy the holiday season that ends today on the equinox. Or you can extend it to Harbor Home, the time when the sailing families' loved ones finally returned and everyone was safely home again. Because there's nothing better than having everyone home for the holidays.