The first "Farmers' Almanac" in the West is a classic that every library must have: Works and Days, by Hesiod.
Hesiod's Eighth-century B.C. Greek oral poem, second only to Homer's Iliad in longevity, treats of farming techniques, astronomy, seasonal observation, time-keeping techniqes and Greek mythology, among other things.
These days, few other than farmers, mariners, science pros and hobbyists pay much attention to astronomy; in fact, most are oblivious of such simple detail as the phase of the moon on any given day, so out of touch with the natural world they have become. What does the phase of the moon have to do with the evening television schedule? Who cares?
Those who plant things care. Those who harvest things care. Those who deal with animals care. Folk wisdom has it that the moon affects these activities, and observation tends to confirm folk wisdom. As those who live in rural area are fond of pointing out: "You don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind is blowing."
Hesiod's is a voice of sanity and wisdom: "Neither famine nor disaster ever haunt men who do true justice; but light-heartedly they tend the fields which are all their care. The earth bears them victual in plenty, and on the mountains the oak bears acorns upon the top and bees in the midst. Their woolly sheep are laden with fleeces; their women bear children like their parents.They flourish continually with good things, and do not travel on ships, for the grain-giving earth bears them fruit."
And here is some simple, sensible advise for any age: "Do not get base gain: base gain is as bad as ruin. Be friends with the friendly, and visit him who visits you. Give to one who gives, but do not give to one who does not give. A man gives to the free-handed, but no one gives to the close-fisted. Give is a good girl,but Take is bad and she brings death. For the man who gives willingly,even though he gives a great thing, rejoices in his gift and is glad in heart; but whoever gives way to shamelessness and takes something himself, even though it be a small thing, it freezes his heart."
Some practical advice for the Greeks of Hesiod's time and place: "When the Pleiades, daughters of Atlas are rising, begin your harvest, and your ploughing when they are going to set. Forty nights and days they are hidden and appear again as the year moves round, when first you sharpen your sickle. This is the law of the plains, and of those who live near the sea, and who inhabit rich country, the glens and dingles far from the tossing sea,--strip to sow and strip to plough and strip to reap, if you wish to get in all Demeter's fruits in due season, and that each kind may grow in its season."
"Strip to sow and strip to plough and strip to reap" does not mean that you must hire Boom-Boom AlFresco, everyone's favorite outdoor exotic dancer. It means, hopefully obviously, that all these tasks are to be done while hot weather prevails.
How many young people--people, period--know what and who the Pleiades were? They are also known as the "Seven Sisters," and are to be found, along with their parents (Pleione is their mom), in the constellation of Taurus, lovingly pursued by Orion the Hunter. Hesiod does not name them, but they are: Alcyone, Asrerope, Celaeno, Electra, Maia, Merope, and Taygete, although only six appear to the naked eye. Greek sailors of Hesiod's time would not weigh anchor and go to sea unless they were visible, given that storms were likely were the sisters in hiding.
Leibowitz Abbey is written about from the Southern Hemisphere, where the night sky is inhabited by different constellations, the best known of which is the Southern Cross, which will soon be on meridan, on May 10th, to be precise, meaning that winter will soon lay sparkling clouds of frost at dawn on the dying grass. The Cross is set against the starry cloud of the Milky Way, known to medieval pilgrims as the road of souls headed west, and it was followed by those on the Way of St. James.
Read Hesiod and make a point of paying greater attention to the sky, the seasons, the natural phenomena which surround you. You will not regret it, and the day may come that such observations will be of practical use for you, particularly if you contemplating or executing paradigm change.If the spirit moves you, please contact Leibowitz Abbey if you'd like to donate a copy of Works and Days, and should you choose to buy it, please do so through the link provided. Any purchase made on Amazon if you go there through that link will aid the Abbey on its mission.
