Dictionary term
Golden Number
Direct answer
Golden Number: The Golden Number marks a year position from 1 to 19 within the Metonic lunar cycle used in traditional calendar computation.
The Golden Number identifies a year place in a nineteen-year lunar cycle.
The Golden Number identifies a year place in a nineteen-year lunar cycle.
A cycle or timeline schematic for comparing the named timekeeping concept.Quick reference
- Use when
- Use Golden Number in historical almanacs, computus manuscripts, and explanations of Easter tables.
- Do not use it for
- Do not interpret the Golden Number as numerology or a guarantee of identical observed Moon phases.
- Reference category
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Related terms
- Epact, Metonic Cycle, Calendar, Julian Date
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The story behind Golden Number
The number was prominently displayed in medieval calendars because the nineteen-year cycle was valuable for locating lunar dates.
Golden Number in spiritual tradition
Spiritually, the Golden Number demonstrates how a memorable label can preserve a technical cycle.
Golden Number: fact and faith, kept distinct
This is a factual calendar, astronomy, Earth-science, cultural-history, or observational reference. It can support wonder and practical planning without becoming a claim of fate, spiritual causation, or private revelation.
Golden Number in numerology
Golden Number is not a numerology claim. Any numbers attached to it should retain their ordinary scientific, calendrical, navigational, or historical meaning unless a separate symbolic interpretation is clearly labeled.
Why Golden Number matters
It allowed calendar makers to organize recurring ecclesiastical Moon dates before modern ephemerides.
Golden Number at work: an example
Years separated by nineteen positions receive the same Golden Number even though small lunar-cycle errors accumulate.
Where interpretation stops
Golden Number is presented as sourced astronomy, calendrical, Earth-science, cultural, or instrument-history reference. Definitions should distinguish measured phenomena from civil convention and historical interpretation, preserve location and time dependencies, and avoid turning factual sky data into a deterministic personal claim.
Sources and editorial method
Research references used for this entry include:
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Introduction to Calendars - Official overview of calendar systems, leap rules, eras, and historical calendar reform.
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Astronomical Almanac Glossary - Reference definitions for astronomical periods, coordinates, dates, and time scales.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Also appears in
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Aliases
- None listed
- Last updated
- 2026-07-16
Find the Metonic year position
Golden Number in a book is one thing; Golden Number in your own birth chart is your life. The Oracle casts your real chart and tells you what it means for your love, your work, and your year ahead, in conversation, free.
Speak with the OracleRelated terms
More in Calendars & Timekeeping
- International Atomic Time
- Local Mean Solar Time
- Ordinal Date
- Sidereal Year
- UT1
- Astronomical Year Numbering
- Civil Calendar
- Draconic Year
Common questions
What is Golden Number?
The Golden Number marks a year position from 1 to 19 within the Metonic lunar cycle used in traditional calendar computation.
How is Golden Number used in an almanac?
Use Golden Number in historical almanacs, computus manuscripts, and explanations of Easter tables.
What should I avoid when interpreting Golden Number?
Do not interpret the Golden Number as numerology or a guarantee of identical observed Moon phases.
