A lunary (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''lunarium''), also called a selenodromion or moonbook, is a book of prognostication based on the position of the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

at any given time. It is an astrological genre with parallels as far back as

Akkadian literature Akkadian literature is the ancient literature written in the Akkadian language (Assyrian and Babylonian dialects) in Mesopotamia ( Assyria and Babylonia) during the period spanning the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age (roughly the 23rd to 6th ...

. From the 2nd century AD, it is common in the

Greco-Roman world The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were dir ...

. There are examples in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, Coptic,

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

and Old Nubian. Pagan,

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

examples are known. The lunary was "by far the most popular and widely circulated prognostic genre" during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Use of the term "lunary" for the genre is a modern convention. In Middle English, ''lunarie'' referred to volvelles and not prognostic texts. The Latin ''lunaria'' had a similar usage. The term "lunary" is sometimes applied to the practice of creating lunaries and determining propitious days on the basis of the moon, a form of hemerology. Lunaries are similar to electionaries in that they were used for choosing (electing) astrological propitious dates for events. They differ in that they limit themselves to the moon, ignoring the other planets and stars. Lunaries were used for predicting and planning birth, business, death, illness, marriage, planting, phlebotomy and travel. There are two main types of lunary: the day or mansion lunary, which is concerned with the station of the moon in its cycle (

lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...

of 28 days or

synodic month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...

of 30), and the month or sign lunary, which is concerned with the moon's successive risings in the twelve signs of the

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The p ...

. There are picture lunaries in which the things to be done or avoided on a given day of the moon are illustrated.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{refend Astrological texts