The Gorean Clock

The Gorean Calendar

The Gorean calendar is divided into twelve twenty-five day months. Each month consists of five weeks (Hands), each of which is five days long. Each month is separated from the month which follows it by a five day Passage Hand, which marks the passage from one month to the next. Following the normal Passage Hand which marks the end of the twelfth Gorean month is a five day period known as The Waiting Hand; during which most Goreans mourn the passing of the old year. Every fourth year (leap year) the Gorean New Year is celebrated on a separate day between the Waiting Hand of the previous year and the first day of the first Hand of En'Kara.

The calendar below lists the Gorean hands and months, along with their Earthen equivalents. Also presented and described are the Gorean holidays.

Gorean Holidays

The Sardar Fairs

The Gorean equivalent of the World's Fair on Earth, these are four huge trade fairs which are held quarterly in the shadow of the Sardar Mountain Range. Each young person of Gor is expected to make a pilgrimage to the foot of the Sardar Mountains before he or she reaches their 25th birthday. They typically last ten full days (plus at least that long for set up and break down) and are scheduled to coincide with the solstices and equinoxes.

The Waiting Hand

This is a five day period (March 16th-20th) during which doors are painted white, little food is eaten, little is drunk and there is no singing or public rejoicing in the city. Walls and doors are adorned with sprigs and branches from the brak bush to ward off ill-luck in the coming year. On the day of the Vernal equinox, the Ubar or Administrator of the city performs a ritual "greeting of the sun," after which doors are repainted and the brak foliage is removed, beginning a ten day period of general revelry.

The Month of En'Kara

Gorean New Year: On the day of the Vernal equinox (March 21), many northern Gorean cities, including Ar, celebrate the Gorean New Year. Typically upon this day a celebration takes place, doors are painted green, and a city-wide festival is held, lasting for two full Gorean hands (ten days). Every fourth year the New Year is celebrated on the extra day which occurs between the Waiting Hand and the day of the equinox.

Wagon People - The Return to Turia: The last day of the Second Hand of En'Kara (March 30th) is traditionally the day which marks the beginning of The Season of Little Grass for the Wagon Peoples, and shortly thereafter they begin the long trek from their winter pastures back to Turia.

The Planting Feast of Sa-Tarna: A complex feast celebrated by most Gorean cities early during the growing season, and believed by many to ensure a plentiful harvest for the year ahead. Numerous rituals are performed during the three days of the feast (April 16th-18th) by members of the caste of Initiates, and members of each of the five high castes perform their own part of the ceremony during that three-day period. Most of these rituals consist of sacrifices or prayers to the Priest Kings conducted in the presence of the city Home Stone. On the final eve of the feast, the Home Stone is placed beneath the sky, typically atop the tallest cylinder in the city, and sprinkled with sa-tarna grain and ka-la-na wine by a dignitary of the city, often the Administrator, Ubar, or a member of the ruling family.

The Second Month

Wagon People - Games of Love/War: The Wagon Peoples compete against the Warriors of Turia on the Plain of Stakes during the Second Passage Hand (May 15th-19th) in mid-spring, participating in various challenges and ceremonial-combats in order to exchange freewoman for slaves.

The Fifth Month

Ar - Kajuralia (The Festival of Slaves): It is held in most Gorean cities (except Port Kar, where it is not celebrated at all) on the last day of the Twelfth Passage Hand (March 15th). In Ar, it is celebrated on the last day of the fifth month (August 12th), the day which precedes the Love Feast. Upon this day, slaves may take liberties which are otherwise not permitted them during the year, including the drinking of wine and liquor, the freedom to roam at will (provided of course they do not attempt to escape from their owners permanently), the freedom to choose their own sexual partners and to couch with slaves of the opposite sex whom they find attractive, temporary suspension of all work and duties, and even the opportunity to play (minor) tricks and practical jokes upon freepersons. After the twentieth ahn, however, they are expected to be back in their respective kennels and slave quarters to resume the services required by their inbonded status; slaves who "go renegade" during Kajuralia are typically punished severely if recaptured, and are often executed for such an offense.

Ar - The Love Feast: Held during the Fifth Passage Hand (August 13th-17th). It is a time wherein many slaves are sold. The fourth day of the Love Feast (August 16th) is typically conside#6F1604 the climax of the festival in regard to the sale of slaves. The fifth day (August 17th) is normally reserved for great contests and spectacles in the Stadium of Blades, grand races in the Stadium of Tarns, great Kaissa championships and general celebratory feasting.

The Month of Se'Kara

Wagon People - The Passing of Turia: The herds of the Wagon Peoples traditionally pass closest to the city of Turia on or around the Second Hand of Se`Kara (September 22nd-26th)

Port Kar - The Festival of the 25th of Se'Kara: An annual festival held in Port Kar to celebrate their great naval victory over the combined fleets of Cos and Tyros (October 11th).

The Eighth Month

Feast of Fools: This is a festival celebrated in some Gorean cities on the last day of the Third Hand of the eight Gorean month (October 31). It is similar in many respects to the southern festival known as Carnival, except it lasts only for the period of one night. Also known as "Festival of the Cities of Dust," in homage to the spirits of the deceased who died during the last year.

The Ninth Month

Torvaldsland - The Thing: An annual celebration held in Torvaldsland, during which all of the shield men of the various Great Jarls travel to the Hall of their particular leader, submit their weaponry for inspection, and formally re- pledge their oaths of loyalty. The Thing usually occupies a span of from three to five days, and occurs sometime during the middle of the ninth Gorean month (mid-November), varying according to such factors as weather and the current political situation.

Wagon People - The Wintering: The nomadic herds of the Wagon peoples typically occupy their winter pastures during the period from the middle of the ninth Gorean month (late November) through the Second Hand of En'Kara (late March).

The Month of Se'Var

Wagon People - New Year: The day of the Winter Solstice (December 21st) is celebrated by the Wagon Peoples as the first day of the new year, and marks the beginning of The Season of Snows. In addition, the women of the Wagon Peoples keep a calendar of their own, based upon the phases of the largest of the three Gorean moons. It consists of fifteen separate divisions, each named after one of the fifteen di f ferent kinds of bosk, for instance: "The Moon of the Brown Bosk", "The Moon of the Spotted Bosk", etc.

The Twelfth Month

Southern Cities-Carnival: Held in many southern cities, notably Port Kar, during the five days of the Twelfth Passage Hand (March 11th-15th). During this celebration it is often customary to garb oneself in outlandish costumes or masks and attend various masquerade fetes and feasts.

Kajuralia (The Festival of Slaves): It is held in most Gorean cities (except Port Kar, where it is not celebrated at all) on the last day of the Twelfth Passage Hand (March 15th). In Ar, it is celebrated on the last day of the fifth month (August 12th), the day which precedes the Love Feast. Upon this day, slaves may take liberties which are otherwise not permitted them during the year, including the drinking of wine and liquor, the freedom to roam at will (provided of course they do not attempt to escape from their owners permanently), the freedom to choose their own sexual partners and to couch with slaves of the opposite sex whom they find attractive, temporary suspension of all work and duties, and even the opportunity to play (minor) tricks and practical jokes upon freepersons. After the twentieth ahn, however, they are expected to be back in their respective kennels and slave quarters to resume the services required by their inbonded status; slaves who "go renegade" during Kajuralia are typically punished severely if recaptured, and are often executed for such an offense.