How to Understand the Almanack

DOMINICAL LETTER. One of the first seven letters of the alphabet, used to mark the relation of Sunday to the year and to aid in determining the date of Easter. These letters being used to mark the day of the week, beginning with A at January 1, the same one that falls on the first Sunday will mark all the Sundays for the year, and is the dominical letter for that year, except in leap year, when at the end of February the letter is exchanged for the one preceding. After 28 years any given order of letters is repeated.

EPACT. The number of days in the age of the moon on the first day of any particular year, the age being the number of days since new moon.

LUNAR CYCLE OR GOLDEN NUMBER. A period of 19 Julian years amounting to very nearly 235 lunar revolutions, at the conclusion of which the phases of the moon recur at the same time of the year.

The golden number is the number indicating the place of a year in a metonic cycle of 19 years used in calculating the movable feasts as Easter. If 1 be added to the number of the calendar year (A.D.) and the result divided by 19, the remainder will be the golden number. Where there is no remainder the number is 19. It was usually printed in gold in old calendars, hence the name.

SOLAR CYCLE. A period of 28 years at the end of which the dates of each month fall again on the same days of the week.

ROMAN INDICTION. A period of 15 years. To find the indiction, 3 is added to the number of the year in the Christian era and the result is divided by 15, the quotient will give the number of indiction or cycle, and the remainder the position of the year in that indiction.

JULIAN PERIOD. The year of the Julian period is found by adding 4713 to the year of the Christian Era.

EMBER DAYS. 12 days in each year, 3 in each season, for fasting and prayer. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, after Whitsunday, after September 14, and after December 13. Columns of calendar pages.

MOON SOUTH. Time the moon crosses the meridian. Moon R.&S.—Time given shows either moon rise or moon set as indicated.

MOON’S PLACE AND AGE. Moon’s passage through the zodiac. The age is the number of days elapsed since the previous new moon.

MORNING AND EVENING STARS. The bright planets are morning or evening stars according as they are on one side or the other of the sun. Thus, the inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, are morning stars from inferior to superior conjunctions, and evening stars during the remainder of their synodic periods; and the outer planets, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are morning stars from conjunction to opposition, and evening stars from opposition to conjunction.

Inferior planets are those whose orbits lie inside that of the earth, as Mercury and Venus.
Superior planets are those whose orbits lie outside that of the earth as Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Etc.