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.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Also appears in
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Aliases
- None listed
- Last updated
- 2026-07-16
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
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.
The Great Almanac frames Golden Number with educational restraint. Mystical or symbolic language may be meaningful, but it should not be exaggerated into certainty, panic, or permission to ignore ordinary responsibility.
Golden Number in the Bible
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.
Example in a reading: Years separated by nineteen positions receive the same Golden Number even though small lunar-cycle errors accumulate.
Interpretive caution: Do not interpret the Golden Number as numerology or a guarantee of identical observed Moon phases.
How Golden Number is used in a reading
Use Golden Number in historical almanacs, computus manuscripts, and explanations of Easter tables.
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.
The page starts with a direct definition, then separates use, example, caution, spiritual meaning, and historical context. For astrology, occult, demonology, curse, and spiritual warfare terms, the editorial rule is to explain the term without making fear-based, fatalistic, medical, legal, financial, or ritual-instruction claims.
Continue learning
Place this timekeeping idea beside the current sky, universal timing, and live celestial positions.
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These related entries help place Golden Number inside a wider reference cluster instead of leaving it as a standalone keyword.
