According to my resources August 13th is the day the Romans celebrated their harvest festival of Pomona which celebrated the fruit harvest. The festival is named after the goddess Pomona, who was a deity who governed fruit orchards and largely apples. She may have had her origins as a wood nymph. The virginal Pomona was only interested in ruling over her orchards and not interested in marrying. The Roman god Vertumnus was so passionately in love with Pomona that he pursued her non-stop. Vertumnus's claim to fame was that he ruled over the seasons and governed over change. This helped make him a likely spouse to become Pomona's husband. Eventually Pomona fell in love with Vertumnus and became his wife. They had several children and apples became Pomona's sacred symbol. It should be noted that some sources have the festival of Pomona as happening on November 1st. At any rate the apple became an important symbol of the fall harvest with bobbing for apples being one of the rituals derived from the earlier holiday.

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       Among the many festivals celebrated in August, in India the time of the August full moon is the festival of Ganesha-the Elephant God. Ganesha is considered one of the most important deities in the Hindu Pantheon, and the August full moon was the best time to revere and honor this be­loved deity. According to legend the goddess Parvati lost her son, thus she begged the god Siva to give her another. Siva instructed her to create an image from clay, which she did. From this came the handsome war­rior, Ganesha. Gods being jealous and all, another catty deity informed that Parvati had conceived Ganesha from an adulterous affair. Siva had forgotten about his agreement with Parvati and beheaded Ganesha. After Siva was made aware of his mistake, he instructed Parvati to take the head of the first being she encountered. The first was the noble elephant and the rest is history as they say. Ganesha is said to be one of the most kind and loving of all the Hindu deities which is why he is so revered. On this day Hindus awake early, bathe, and gather all the articles needed to honor Ganesha. Beautifully decorated images of the Elephant God are taken in processions through the streets with accompanying music and songs. Throughout India and Nepal, Ganesha is revered at this time.

      The Greek Hecate was a patron of crossroads, and like Hecate, was sometimes depicted in triple form. Thus, Ganesha could look in three directions at once. Ganesha, like most deities connected to the crossroads, was patron to people traveling. Lunar dei­ties such as Hecate and Ganesha are often connected to crossroads since their triple form connects them to the three phases of the moon- waxing, waning, and full and makes them good guardians for such an intersection of roads. Crossroads being ambiguous places connect them to various deities and supernatural agencies such as ghosts, fairies, witches, and so on. This ambiguity comes from the fact they are not any certain direction, but four potential directions at once.