The Year Chart reveals the sequence of lunations through the year.
Each Year Chart presents one annual cycle of lunations as a circle. The cycle starts with beginning of the Wolf Moon lunation and ends with next, lasting 12 or 13 lunations, depending on whether there is a Blue Moon in the year, about 354 or 384 days. On the chart the period begins at the seam at the bottom, sweeps clockwise, and ends at that same seam.
The outer part of the chart is organized in concentric bands, each of which shows a different kind of information as described the following sections.
Some feature bands fit the annual cycle of lunations exactly and so continue smoothly through the seam at the bottom. Other feature bands do not line up perfectly with one chart, so they leave a small gap there, indicating they began on the previous chart and continue on the next.
This band names each lunation through the annual cycle.
The lunar ecliptic latitude band shows how far the Moon moves north or south of the ecliptic through the course of its tilted orbit. This band reveals eclipse seasons and node crossings, and provides a big-picture view of an entire year's lunar motion.
The Seasonal Wheel marks the solstices and equinoxes, and the seasons that unfold between them. Because the solar year does not divide evenly into lunations, the seasons do not always start at the same point in the calendar.
This band marks the four solar quarter day festivals that are associated with the solstices and equinoxes, together with the four cross-quarter festivals between them, using names that have been accepted in many modern traditions. Festivals are shown starting at sunset on the day they are celebrated, and continuing through the following day. Because the solar year does not divide evenly into lunations, the seasons do not always start at the same point in the calendar.
The zodiac bands show the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn moving through signs over the course of the year. Conjunctions are indicated by threads connecting the bands.
This band helps to look up the date of any event, or to look up the events that happen near a date of interest. A diamond marks the start of the month and each tick mark indicates a day.
Rare Events mark astronomical, astrological, and other significant occurrences.
The Year Chart is named with the Gregorian year that it mostly covers, so it can be recognized and compared with the individual lunation charts it contains.
The date range names the Gregorian span covered by the whole chart.
Location-dependent features, including Sun and Moon rise and set times, are calculated for the a specific place. This in turn determines the time zone, which affects the Gregorian dates. Longitude shifts the local timing of the sky itself, by about four minutes for each degree east or west; latitude has a more subtle effect on celestial observations.
Next Chart
The two chart types use related visual language, but they answer different questions. Use the Year Chart for seasonal context, the sequence of lunations, and year-wide patterns. Use the Lunation Chart for the close reading: Gregorian date, Moon phase, sky position, and nearby events.
