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Pick a year, a place, and the layers you want. Your almanach generates instantly - no signup, no data leaves your browser.
Powers sunrise/sunset, moon positions, frost dates, and local holidays.
Used to calculate your phases throughout the year. Stays in your browser only.
Weekly reading from Horoscope App API. Screen only - not printed.
Events are saved in your browser. Yearly events repeat on the same date each year.
Sources & Credits
Moon & Stars
Moon phases, ecliptic longitude, and equatorial coordinates are computed client-side using astronomy-engine by Don Cross (MIT license). No API calls - all calculations happen in your browser using the same algorithms professional planetarium software uses.
Sidereal zodiac: We use the Lahiri ayanamsa (the official Indian government standard) to convert tropical ecliptic longitude to sidereal positions. This is the same correction used in Vedic/Jyotish astrology and by the Maria Thun biodynamic calendar. The ayanamsa was approximately 24.2° in 2025 and precesses at ~50.3 arcseconds per year.
Ascending/descending moon: Based on the moon's declination (how high it tracks across the sky), computed from equatorial coordinates. When declination is increasing, the moon is ascending. This is different from waxing/waning (which is about illumination).
Biodynamic day types
The Root/Leaf/Flower/Fruit system comes from Maria Thun (1922-2012), a German farmer who spent 50+ years experimenting with planting times. She mapped the 12 sidereal zodiac signs to plant parts through classical elements: Earth signs → Root, Water → Leaf, Air → Flower, Fire → Fruit.
This system is part of biodynamic agriculture, founded by Rudolf Steiner in 1924. It is widely practised - the Demeter certification covers thousands of farms, and some of the world's most prestigious wineries follow biodynamic methods.
On Steiner: Rudolf Steiner's broader writings contain racist pseudoscience - a hierarchy of „root races" with white Europeans on top, and claims linking skin colour to spiritual development. This is not a grey area. It is wrong, and we reject it. The element-to-plant-part mapping used here is rooted in classical Greek tradition that predates Steiner by two thousand years. We use the gardening tool, not the ideology.
On the science: The mechanism (zodiac signs affecting plant growth through cosmic forces) has no scientific support. Multiple controlled studies found no significant difference in outcomes. However, biodynamic farmers tend to be exceptionally attentive to their soil and timing - and that attentiveness itself produces genuinely good results. We include this data as a traditional framework for garden planning, not as settled science.
Key reference: Maria Thun, „Gardening for Life" (1999). The annual Maria Thun Biodynamic Calendar.
Sun & Light
Sunrise, sunset, daylight hours, and golden hour are computed using SunCalc by Volodymyr Agafonkin (BSD-2-Clause license). Calculations are based on your selected city's latitude and longitude.
Lostage & Bauernregeln
Lostage (literally „lot days" or „fate days") are saint's days and fixed calendar dates that German-speaking farmers have used as agricultural markers for centuries. Each Lostag carries weather lore and practical guidance - when to sow, when to expect frost, when to harvest.
Bauernregeln (farmer's rules) are weather proverbs tied to these dates. Some are statistically sound - the Siebenschläfertag (June 27) correlation with summer weather patterns has been confirmed by meteorological studies and is connected to the jet stream's position settling into its summer pattern. Others are folk tradition without empirical backing.
Our Lostage data covers 50+ marker days compiled from multiple German agricultural almanachs and regional calendars. The Eisheilige (Ice Saints, May 11-15) remain one of the most practically useful markers - Hamburg gardeners still wait until after Kalte Sophie to plant tender crops.
Key references: Bauernkalender tradition, regional Norddeutsche Almanache. DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst) studies on Siebenschläfer correlation.
Folk traditions & festivals
Seasonal festivals (Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, Samhain, Yule) draw from a blend of pre-Christian Germanic, Celtic, and Norse traditions as practised and adapted in Northern Germany. The Rauhnächte (Dec 25 - Jan 6) and Kräuterweihe (Aug 15) are specifically Bavarian/Austrian Catholic traditions that have spread across German-speaking regions.
On far-right co-option: Germanic pagan and folk traditions have been misused by ethno-nationalist movements - historically by the Völkisch movement, and today by groups that fuse runes, solstice rites, and „blood and soil" ideology. These traditions are ancient and belong to everyone. They are not the property of racists, and we refuse to cede them. This almanach is inclusive, queer-friendly, and not interested in anyone's ethnic purity fantasy.
We present these as shared cultural heritage, not religious instruction. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't.
Cycle & Inner Seasons
The menstrual cycle layer maps the four phases (menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, luteal) to „inner seasons" (Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn) - a framework popularised by Maisie Hill („Period Power", 2019) and supported by research on cyclical hormone patterns.
TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) nutritional guidance for each phase draws from both classical TCM texts and modern integrative medicine. Energy and activity suggestions are informed by exercise science research on hormonal fluctuations.
Honest note: Individual cycles vary enormously. This layer provides general patterns, not medical advice. The „inner seasons" metaphor is a useful self-awareness tool, not a diagnostic framework.
Garden
Week-by-week garden tasks are tuned to Hamburg (zone 7b/8a) using phenological seasons tracked by the DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst). Companion planting and sowing dates draw from regional Norddeutsche gardening tradition.
Biodynamic day types (root/leaf/flower/fruit) are in the Moon layer and complement the garden tasks. Bauernregeln are in the Lostage layer. Neither is duplicated here.
Key references: Maria Thun, „Gardening for Life" (1999). DWD phenological data. Regional Hamburg gardening calendars.
Holidays
Public holidays are fetched from Nager.Date API (MIT, 100+ countries), filtered for Hamburg (DE-HH). School holidays are fetched from OpenHolidays API with server-side Hamburg filtering.
Both APIs are free, CORS-enabled, and require no authentication. Fetched data is cached in localStorage so the app works offline after first load.
Admin
Tax dates and administrative reminders follow the German freelancer calendar: quarterly advance tax prepayments (Vorauszahlung), Steuererklärung deadlines, VAT returns, and insurance review cycles. Focused on Hamburg-based self-employed / Freiberufler.
Dates are generic across years. Specific tax rates or amounts are not included as they change annually.
Seasonal Foods
Weekly produce lists (field, greenhouse, storage) are based on German seasonal food calendars and adjusted by latitude. Higher latitudes shift harvest windows later in spring and earlier in autumn. Data compiled from Bundeszentrum für Ernährung (BZfE) seasonal charts and regional farmers' market guides.
Foraging
Wild edible plants, locations, and uses are drawn from Northern European foraging tradition. Timing adjusts by latitude zone. Based on regional German foraging guides and cross-referenced with botanical field references.
Safety note: Never eat wild plants unless you are 100% certain of identification. This layer is a seasonal reminder, not a field guide.
Garden Birds
Bird activity (nesting, migration, dawn chorus, feeding, fledging, moulting) and species lists are based on Northern European ornithological calendars. Timing adjusts by latitude. Data drawn from NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland) seasonal bird guides and BTO/RSPB references for wider European coverage.
Golden Hour
Golden hour and blue hour times are computed from solar elevation angles using SunCalc. Golden hour: sun between 0° and 6° above horizon. Blue hour: sun between −4° and −6° below horizon. Week-over-week shift tracking shows how the light changes.
Night Sky
Meteor showers, planetary visibility, and constellation highlights are computed from fixed astronomical event calendars. Live aurora probability uses the Kp index from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (public domain), fetched hourly and cached locally.
Kp thresholds for Northern Germany: Kp 5+ for coastal aurora, Kp 7+ for Hamburg-latitude visibility, Kp 8+ across central Europe.
Horoscope
Weekly zodiac readings are fetched from the Horoscope App API via the AllOrigins CORS proxy (both free, no authentication). Only the current week's reading is available. Data is cached in localStorage for 6 hours. Screen only - not printed.
Honest note: Astrology has no scientific basis. We include this as a bit of cosmic fun, not as guidance. Take it or leave it.
Tides
Spring and neap tide rhythm is estimated from moon phase geometry - spring tides near new/full moon, neap tides near quarter moons. This gives the pattern but not exact local times or heights. For precise tidal data, consult your local harbour authority or BSH (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie).
Weather
7-day weather forecasts are fetched from Open-Meteo (free, no API key, CC BY 4.0). Includes temperature, rain probability, wind, and soil temperature. Data is cached in localStorage for 6 hours. Screen only - not printed.
Frost Window
Last spring frost and first autumn frost estimates are derived from latitude-based statistical averages for Northern Europe. These are rough guides, not forecasts - actual frost dates vary by microclimate, elevation, and year. Screen only.
Custom Events
User-created reminders stored entirely in your browser's localStorage. Supports yearly recurring, one-time, and weekly events. No data is sent anywhere. Screen only.
Cat Health
Seasonal reminders for flea & tick prevention, quarterly worming, vaccinations, dental checks, shedding care, and household hazards. Based on common veterinary guidance for indoor/outdoor cats in Northern Europe. Not a substitute for professional veterinary advice.
Libraries & tools
- astronomy-engine v2.1.19 - Astronomical calculations (MIT)
- SunCalc v1.9.0 - Sun position calculations (BSD-2-Clause)
- lz-string - URL state compression (MIT)
- Font Awesome v6.7.2 - Icons (Font Awesome Free License)
- Inter - Typeface by Rasmus Andersson (SIL OFL 1.1)
Philosophy
This almanach blends computed science (astronomy, meteorology) with folk tradition (Bauernregeln, biodynamics) and personal practice (cycle tracking, seasonal rituals). We label each layer clearly so you always know what's evidence-based and what's traditional wisdom.
No data leaves your browser. Everything is computed locally or stored in localStorage. There are no accounts, no tracking, no analytics. Your almanach is yours.