Every Persian Month Is a Spirit’s Name
Caption
Every Persian month is a spirit’s name. Farvardin: fravashis. Ordibehesht: Asha. Khordad: wholeness. Tir: Sirius. Mordad: immortality. Shahrivar: dominion. Mehr: Mithra. Aban: the waters. Azar: fire. Dey: the Creator. Bahman: good mind. Esfand: the earth.
Short takes
Every day of the old calendar also had a spirit’s name. When day and month matched, it was a feast: Tirgan on 13 Tir, Mehregan on 16 Mehr, Sepandarmazgan on 5 Esfand. The calendar worked like a festival map.
Which Persian month name do you feel closest to, and why? Mehr (covenant), Azar (fire), Tir (the star), or another?
Image description
A twelve-segment wheel of the Iranian year starting at the top with Farvardin, coloured by season, with each month’s name, Gregorian dates, Zoroastrian spirit and what it governs on both sides of the wheel.
