House Occidens · The Terrace

Occidens

West · Autumn · Earth · Evening

Mascot: Constance the porcupine · Head of House: Professor Cogbranch Timberclank

Resilience · Groundedness · Resourcefulness · Balance

Our season, month by month: festivals and holidays around the world, the turning of the year, and what to look for in the night sky — north and south, because our scholars live under both.

When it is our season
While autumn belongs to Occidens, this house hosts. Any scholar of the house can help plan an event around any date on this calendar: a festival, a meteor shower, a turning of the year. The plans and the rules live here in The Terrace; when the event is ready, it is announced in the Quadrivium, with Occidens credited as its planners.

September(in the south: spring begins)

Around the world

Founders Day, Sep 14 — the School of Evershade's own day
Mabon, at the equinox — a modern name for the autumn-equinox festival, at the height of the harvest
Oktoberfest, mid-September to early October — Munich's great festival
Mid-Autumn Festival (movable, Sep–Oct) — mooncakes and lanterns under the harvest moon
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (movable, Sep–Oct) — the Jewish High Holy Days

In the sky

September equinox, Sep 23 — equal day and night worldwide; autumn begins in the north, spring in the south
Aurora: equinox weeks again — among the best odds of the year at both ends of the Earth

Look for

North: the Great Square of Pegasus climbing in the east; the Summer Triangle westering
South: Fomalhaut, the lonely autumn star of the north, rides high in southern skies

October(in the south: spring)

Around the world

Diwali (movable, Oct–Nov) — the Festival of Lights, India and Hindu communities worldwide
Samhain, Oct 31 – Nov 1 — the old Celtic turning of the year (a matter of history)
Halloween, Oct 31 — trick-or-treat, from North America to the world

In the sky

Orionid meteor shower, peak Oct 21–22 — more of Halley's Comet; both hemispheres

Look for

North: Pegasus and Andromeda high; the Pleiades rising — winter is coming
South: the Magellanic Clouds coming into their season; Achernar bright in the south

November(in the south: late spring)

Around the world

Day of the Dead, Nov 1–2 — Mexico remembers its dead with marigolds and altars
Guy Fawkes Night, Nov 5 — bonfires and fireworks in Britain
St. Martin's Day, Nov 11 — lantern walks for children in parts of Europe
Loy Krathong (movable, November) — Thailand floats its lights on the water
Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday of November) — the United States

In the sky

Leonid meteor shower, peak Nov 17–18 — swift meteors from Leo; both hemispheres, best before dawn
Taurid meteors through the month — slow, bright fireballs

Look for

North: Taurus and the Pleiades high by late evening; Orion rising before midnight
South: the Magellanic Clouds at their best; Canopus climbing
One house page carries three lists (its whole season). A student who joins in
Southern scholars: each list names the southern season too ("in the south:
The equinoxes belong to everyone: day and night equal on the whole Earth.
Keep the (movable) marks when pasting — they're what makes the lists honest

Dates marked (movable) follow lunar or church calendars and shift each year — check the year before planning an event around one. Solstice and equinox days can shift by one day across time zones.

Plan An Event