With the expansion of Euro-American influences in North America, the Cherokee adapted their calendar to the widely accepted Julian calendar. Snow Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎫᏘᎭ) Nv-da Gu-ti-ha (First snowfall)Ĭherokee names for Julian calendar months.Harvest Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᏥᎠᎶᎭ) Nv-da Tsi-yah-lo-ha.

Corn in Tassel Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎤᏥᏣᏔ) Nv-da U-tsi-dsa-ta (the corn is showing a tassel).Green Corn Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᏎᎷᎢᏤᎢᏳᏍᏗ) Nv-da Se-lu-i-tse-i-yu-s-di (The corn is up).Planting Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎦᏢᏍᎦ) Nv-da Ga-hlv-sga (Putting it in a hole).Flower Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎠᏥᎷᏍᎩ) Nv-da A-tsi-lu-s-gi (Flowers bloom and the earth is renewed).Wind Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎤᏃᎴ) Nv-da U-no-le (Winds prepare the land for renewal).Bone Moon – (ᏅᏓ ᎪᎳ) Nv-da Ko-la (So little food the people eat bone marrow soup).The common names in English are listed followed by their names in Cherokee syllabics, the Cherokee name's transcription in the Latin alphabet, and a literal translation of the Cherokee name for some of the moons in parenthesis. Turtle shell calendar Thirteen seasonal moon ceremonies Ĭherokee priests, known as ᎠᏂᎫᏔᏂ or A-ni-ku-ta-ni, defined the 13 ceremonies as listed below. The scutes around the edge added up to 28, the same number of days as in a lunar cycle, while the center contained 13 larger scutes, representing the 13 moon cycles of a year. The Cherokee, like many other Native tribes, used the number of scutes on the backs of certain species of turtles to determine their calendar cycle. It was considered an important spiritual element for social cohesion and a way to bring all the Cherokee clans together. The seasonal round of ceremonies was integral to Cherokee society. In order to rectify the Cherokee calendar with that of the Julian calendar, these cycles were reduced to 12. Each cycle was accompanied by a ceremony. The Cherokee calendar is traditionally defined as a Lunar calendar marked by 13 moon cycles of 28 days. Lunar calendar marked by 13 moon cycles of 28 days

Cherokee astrology calculator