In Solaria, time is not conceived as a neutral succession of abstract units, but as the rhythm of light. For this reason, the count of hours in a new day begins at dawn, and the day is divided into two cycles of 7 hours — seven after dawn and seven after dusk — which correspond exactly to our 24 Earth hours.
Day and Night
The complete Solarian day consists of 14 Solarian hours, divided into two perfectly symmetrical halves: 7 hours of light and 7 hours of night.
The civic day begins at dawn. On a clock face, this moment corresponds to the lowest point of the circle, which serves as the zero of the cycle. The same point returns at dusk, since the hour hand completes one revolution every 7 hours, not every 14; therefore the lowest point marks both the beginning of the day and the beginning of the night — in essence, the hand simulates the movement of the sun across the sky.
The result is that daily time has a double structure: an inner cycle of 7 hours that repeats twice, and a cycle of 14 hours that embraces the entire day. Some clocks display both cycles. In the Solarian Number System, this value is written as 10, because 7 in decimal corresponds to 10 in base 7.
Hours, Minutes and Seconds
Each Solarian hour is divided into 84 Solarian minutes, and each Solarian minute is divided into 84 Solarian seconds. The number 84 is the number of completeness and derives from the Number System of Solaria.
Compared to Earth time:
- one Solarian hour lasts 1 hour, 42 minutes and 51.428 seconds of our time.
- one Solarian minute lasts approximately 73.47 Earth seconds.
- one Solarian second lasts approximately 0.8746 Earth seconds.
This means that, although the Solarian day and the Earth day have the same duration, the Solarian hour and minute are longer, while the Solarian second is slightly shorter than its Earth counterpart.
Months and Year
The Solarian civic year is constructed with great regularity. It consists of 7 equal months of 52 days each, for a total of 364 days, to which a single day outside the months is added, bringing the year to 365 days in total.
The formula is therefore:
7 months × 52 days = 364 days
plus 1 sacred day = 365 days
The sacred day conventionally coincides with the winter solstice. It belongs to no month, but belongs to the year, and constitutes its beginning. After this day, the first month begins.
The sacred day carries special symbolic value: it too is divided into 14 hours, but is interpreted as a cosmic threshold, with 7 hours belonging to the extreme contraction of light and 7 hours belonging to its renewal.
If the sacred day is conventionally fixed on December 21, the seven months fall as follows in our calendar:
first month: from December 22 to February 11
second month: from February 12 to April 4
third month: from April 5 to May 26
fourth month: from May 27 to July 17
fifth month: from July 18 to September 7
sixth month: from September 8 to October 29
seventh month: from October 30 to December 20
The following December 21 is again the sacred day.
The Seasons
Alongside the 7 months, Solaria recognizes 5 seasons, which do not coincide with the months but with great qualities of light. Unlike the months, the seasons include the sacred day as well, so the year divides into 5 perfectly equal parts:
365 days / 5 = 73 days
Each season therefore lasts exactly 73 days.
The five seasons are:
New, from December 21 to March 3
Rising, from March 4 to May 15
Sweet, from May 16 to July 27
Waning, from July 28 to October 8
Transparent, from October 9 to December 20
Their meaning is not primarily meteorological, but luminous. New is the minimum light that begins again; Rising is the light that grows; Sweet is the full light that is still gentle; Waning is the light that has passed its peak and retreats; Transparent is the light that thins and makes the world clearer and more bare.
Calendar Corrections
Because the civic calendar of 365 days does not perfectly coincide with the astronomical solar year, Solaria introduces two ritual corrections.
Every 7 years, one day is added at the summer solstice.
Every 70 years — written 130 in Solarian notation — an entire week is added around the winter solstice.
This double correction is not only practical but also symbolic: the small seven-year adjustment realigns the rhythm of the year, while the great 70-year correction becomes a rare and solemn event, a kind of reconciliation between the civic calendar and the sky.
Brief Formula of the System
If one were to summarize it in the most compact form possible, time in Solaria works as follows:
the day lasts 14 hours
the day is divided into 7 hours of light and 7 hours of night
each hour has 84 minutes
each minute has 84 seconds
the year has 7 months of 52 days
plus 1 sacred day at the winter solstice
the seasons are 5, each lasting 73 days
every 7 years, 1 day is added
every 70 years, 1 week is added
In essence, the Solarian system brings together three ideas: the symmetry of 7, the 5–2 structure of the symbolic world, and a perception of time built not on simple counting, but on the movement of light.