We speak the names of the gods on a daily basis and most people do not even realize it. Every day of the week, religious and non-religious people alike follow the old pagan tradition of giving thanks to the gods of old. Many do so unknowingly.
While careful attention has been given over many centuries to make certain that the Hebrew God and names associated with the Bible are not used, evidence clearly shows that pagans have ‘tagged’ everything they can with the names of their false gods. This was not a coincidence.
In ancient Mesopotamia, astrologers assigned each day of the week the name of a god. In a culture where days were consumed by religion, it is unsurprising that the days of the week were made in homage to the gods believed to rule the lives of mortals.
Many centuries later, the Romans, upon beginning to use the seven day week, adopted the names of the week to fit their own gods. These were then adopted by Germanic people who also adjusted the names according to their gods. It is predominantly these Germanic and Norse gods that have lived on today in the days of the week, which are outlined below.
Pagan names of the weekdays
Sunday, as you may be able to guess, is the “Sun’s Day” – the name of a pagan Roman holiday. In many folklore traditions, Sunday was believed to be a lucky day for babies born. Many societies have worshiped the sun and sun-gods. Perhaps the most famous is the Egyptian Sun-god Ra, who was the lord of time.
Monday comes from the Anglo-Saxon ‘monandaeg’ which is the “Moon’s Day”. On this day people gave homage to the goddess of the moon. It was believed by ancients that there were three Mondays during the year that were considered to be unlucky: first Monday in April, second in August and last in December.
Tuesday is the first to be named after a Germanic god – Tiu (or Twia) – a god of war and the sky and associated with the Norse god Tyr, who was a defender god in Viking mythology. Tiu is associated with Mars. He is usually shown with only one hand. In the most famous myth about Týr he placed his hand between the jaws of the wolf Fenrir as a mark of good faith while the other gods, pretending to play, bound the wolf. When Fenrir realised he had been tricked he bit off Tyr’s hand.
Wednesday means “Woden’s Day” (in Norse, ‘Odin’), the Old Norse’s equivalent to Mercury, who was the messenger to the gods and the Roman god of commerce, travel and science. He was considered the chief god and leader of the wild hunt in Anglo-Saxon mythology, but the name directly translated means “violently insane headship” – not exactly the name of a loving and kind god! Woden was the ruler of Asgard, the hoe of the gods, and is able to shift and change into different forms.
Thursday was “Thor’s Day”, named after the Norse god of thunder and lightning and is the Old Norse equivalent to Jupiter. Thor is often depicted holding a giant hammer and during the 10 th and 11 th centuries when Christians tried to convert the Scandinavians, many wore emblems of Thor’s hammer as a symbol of defiance against the new religion.
Friday is associated with Freya, the wife of Woden and the Norse goddess of love, marriage and fertility, who is equivalent to Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
Lastly, Saturday derives from “Saturn’s Day”, a Roman god associated with wealth, plenty and time. It is the only English week-day still associated with a Roman god, Saturn. The Hebrews called Saturday the “Sabbath”, meaning, day of rest. The Bible identifies Saturday as the last day of the week.
The seven-day week originates with in ancient Babylon prior to 600 BC, when time was marked with the lunar cycle, which experienced different seven-day cycles. A millennium later, Emperor Constantine converted Rome to Christianity and standardised the seven-day week across the Empire. Rome may initially have acquired the seven-day week from the mystical beliefs of Babylonian astrologers. But it was the biblical story of creation, God making the Heavens and Earth and resting on the seventh day that will have led the first Christian emperor of Rome to make sure it endured to this day.
But how did this planetary week come to be so commonly used in the professing Christian world?
Hutton Webster, in his book Rest Days, provides the answer: “The early Christians had at first adopted the Jewish seven-day week with its numbered weekdays, but by the close of the third century AD this began to give way to the planetary week. . . . The use of planetary names by Christians attests the growing influence of astrological speculations introduced by converts from paganism. . . . Thus, gradually a pagan institution was engrafted on Christianity”.
This planetary week with its days named after pagan deities is not of God. God Almighty did create the week with seven days, but He merely numbered the days one through seven (Genesis 1:3—2:3). The only day He named was the seventh day, calling it the “Sabbath” (Exodus 16:22-26; 20:8-11).
Pagan origin of the names of the months
A few names of the month were derived from Roman deities( not human). Four came from the numbers of the months. In two cases in honor of Roman emperors who were regarded as deities ( Pontifus Maximus).
January
Named after the Roman god of beginnings and endings Janus (the month Januarius).
February
The name comes either from the old-Italian god Februus or else from februa, signifying the festivals of purification celebrated in Rome during this month.
March
This is the first month of the Roman year. It is named after the Roman god of war, Mars.
April
Called Aprilis, from aperire, “to open”. Possibly because it is the month in which the buds begin to open.
May
The third month of the Roman calendar. The name probably comes from Maiesta, the Roman goddess of honor and reverence.
June
The fourth month was named in honor of Juno. However, the name might also come from iuniores (young men; juniors) as opposed to maiores (grown men; majors) for May, the two months being dedicated to young and old men.
July
It was the month in which Julius Caesar was born, and named Julius in his honor in 44 BCE, the year of his assassination. Also called Quintilis (fifth month).
August
Originally this month was called Sextilis (from Sextus, “six”), but the name was later changed in honor of the first of the Roman emperors, Augustus (because several fortunate events of his life occurred during this month).
The remaining four month’s name are based on prefixes derived from latin numbers:
September
The name comes from septem, “seven”.
October
The name comes from octo, “eight”
November
The name comes from novem, “nine”.
December
The name comes from decem, “ten”.
The Hebrew months were originally numbered, but over time names were given to them. For instance, Abib, the first month of spring, means “green [ears of barley]” (this month is also called Nisan, meaning “their flight [out of Egypt]”). Later, the apostate Jews borrowed Babylonian names for many of their months, some of which (e.g., Tammuz) refer to pagan deities.
Pagan origin of the names of the planets (except Earth)
The official names of planets and their moons are governed by an organization called the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU was established in 1919. Its mission is “to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation”…..and obviously to promote false worship.
Most of the objects in our solar system received names long ago based on Greek or Roman mythology. The IAU has therefore adopted this tradition in its rules for naming certain types of objects in the solar system.
With the exception of Earth, all of the planets in our solar system have names from Greek or Roman mythology. This tradition was continued when Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered in more modern times.
Mercury is the god of commerce, travel and thievery in Roman mythology. The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky.
Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet is aptly named since it makes a beautiful sight in the sky, with only the Sun and the Moon being brighter.
Mars is the Roman god of War. The planet probably got this name due to its red color.
Jupiter was the King of the Gods in Roman mythology, making the name a good choice for what is by far the largest planet in our solar system.
Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld in Roman mythology. Perhaps the planet received this name because it’s so far from the Sun that it is in perpetual darkness.
Unknowingly everyday throughout the world, pagan gods are glorified when we use their names to identify the days of the week, the months of the years, and when we make reference to planetary bodies.
Great article. Straight to the point without a bunch of fluff. Thank you!
Thank you Laura!