What it's about

"Ártala" is Old Icelandic for "Year Counter" and appears in the Eddic poem Alvíssmál (stanza 14) as the elven word for the moon. At its core, Ártala is a source-based reconstruction of a Germanic lunisolar calendar: the moon sets the rhythm — each month begins with the first visible new-moon crescent, the full-moon night marks the middle of the month, and an intercalary-month rule tied to the winter solstice keeps the months in step with the solar year.

An app makes this ancient way of reckoning time tangible: it shows when each month begins, which feast is coming up, and how the interplay of moon and sun shifts across the decades.

From paper calendar to app

The idea was born in 2016. From 2017 to 2021, I designed, printed, and sold the reconstructed Germanic lunisolar calendar as an annual A3 wall calendar. Sales grew steadily, and partnerships with several shops developed — but the customer base remained too small for print production. The last edition covered the year 12021 (in the Holocene Era after Cesare Emiliani). From 2019 onward, the wall calendar was published with its own ISBN through Edition Roter Drache.

Even during the print phase, the idea of offering Ártala as an app took shape. A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in October 2021 was unsuccessful — but the idea wasn't dead, just postponed.

In 2026, Ártala finally became an app: as a web application (since March 2026) and as a native Android app on Google Play (since June 2026). The iOS app is coming soon.

Voices from the wall-calendar era — 6 reviews, 4.83 out of 5 stars (2018–2019, via ProvenExpert):

"Everything perfect. Very good service and a very good product." — ★★★★★

"Very good service, fast delivery, and well-packaged goods. What more could you want? Gladly again anytime." — ★★★★★

"I've been thrilled with the calendar from the start. Definitely an enrichment!" — ★★★★☆

Scholarly basis

Ártala is a source-based reconstruction, not developed on gut feeling. Its scholarly foundation is Andreas E. Zautner's book Der gebundene Mondkalender der Germanen (Edition Roter Drache) — a reconstruction that draws on a broad range of ancient, medieval, and early-modern literary sources. Zautner has advised the project since the paper-calendar phase.

Where the source record is thin, this is clearly marked — gaps are not filled with assertions. The project's knowledge base consistently distinguishes between what the sources attest and what is interpretation.

Partnership with the Eldaring

Eldaring e. V. — the largest Germanic Heathen organisation in the German-speaking world — partners with Ártala and recommends it. With the signing of the partnership agreement in May 2026, the board and I agreed to strengthen public visibility for each other.

The Eldaring stands for an open, inclusive, and scholarship-oriented approach to Germanic Heathenry. Ártala explicitly distances itself from any far-right appropriation of Germanic culture.

Illustration

Monthly illustrations, cover art, and feast symbols are by Nils Broß — both in the historical wall calendars and in the app.

Contact

Questions, feedback, or partnership enquiries? Feel free to reach out via the Contact page.