Today it is Dies Nefastus – the regular working day on which Romans may perform their routine, but it is not recommended to make final decisions, start new projects, sign the contracts or take voyages. Religious life goes with no specific restrictions on these days.
It is Kalendae Februariae.
It is the H nundial day, the 5th day before the market day this year.
Today Roman celebrate the festival of Iuno Sospita (i.e. “propitious”) is an aspect of the divine Iuno, particularly venerated in ancient Lanuvium. February 1 was considered Her birthday. This deity in statuary and coinage is usually represented with a goat skin on Her head, a spear in Her hand and accompanied by a snake. A temple was dedicated to Her at the Forum Holitorium, built around 195 BC by Gaius Cornelius Cethegus. Another sanctuary, very famous throughout ancient Latium, had been built in Lanuvius. An antefix depicting the goddess was found in Antemnae, within modern Rome, where it has been hypothesized a place of worship of the deity. Among the characters most closely linked to Sospita we remember Metella Balearica.
