Av: Tisha B’Av, Tu B’Av and the Leo correspondence
Av is the fifth month counting from Nisan. It has 30 days in the fixed calendar, follows Tammuz and precedes Elul. The month contains both Tisha B’Av and Tu B’Av, so its religious calendar cannot be reduced to a single emotional theme.
Prepared by Mazalogy · Published · Our editorial approach
| Hebrew name | אב |
|---|---|
| Order counted from Nisan | 5 |
| Days in the fixed calendar | 30 |
| Gra letter | ט · Tet |
| Gra zodiac correspondence | Leo |
| Gra faculty, concise gloss | Hearing |
Two dates, one month
Tisha B’Av names the ninth of Av; Tu B’Av names the fifteenth. Menachem Av is another name you may see in family records and calendars. It still identifies Av, not a separate thirteenth month. Retain the fuller wording when copying a record, while recognizing the month it names.
Compare the two dates within one selected Hebrew year. Keep the event’s traditional date and the calendar’s observed date visible if they differ. Planning for an observance also requires the appropriate evening or fasting boundary; the month’s ordinary 30-day length does not settle those questions.
Sources: Chabad · The Jewish Month: order and fixed-calendar lengths
Remembrance and the Fifteenth of Av
Chabad’s Av introduction associates Tisha B’Av with the destruction of the First and Second Temples and presents the Fifteenth of Av as a contrasting joyful date. Study these as named observances with their own sources. Neither date is evidence about the fortune of a person whose birthday falls nearby.
When describing the month to someone else, begin with the two dates rather than a slogan about Av. Write what each source actually says, then add any personal reflection on a separate line. This allows a source’s religious significance and your own response to remain intelligible.
Sources: Chabad · Av month introduction
Tet, Leo and the Gra version
In the Gra version of Sefer Yetzirah, Av is associated with Tet (ט) and Leo; Mazalogy renders the connected faculty as “hearing.” This is a named textual correspondence, not a calculated natal Sun position.
In the Gra version, Av corresponds to Tet, Leo and hearing. An original exercise can begin with listening: summarize another person’s account, then identify a question you still need to ask. Let their reply revise your summary. The exercise does not assign a listening style to everyone born in Av.
Sources: Sefer Yetzirah · Gra version, chapter 5:8 · Sefer Yetzirah · Compare another version, chapter 5:1–2
Use it in a calendar or birthday record
A birthday on 30 Av gives a useful comparison with the variable months Cheshvan and Kislev. Av itself has 30 days in the fixed calendar, while those months can lack a thirtieth. Keep the original month and day together; a bare “30th” loses the detail needed for anniversary questions.
Continue from Av
Explore the Hebrew calendar · Find your Hebrew birthday · Study the correspondence system
Sources and approach
Prepared with AI assistance using the linked sources and original reading exercises. Calendar facts, named textual correspondences and contemporary applications are kept distinct. The Gra version is the reference for this table; other versions can assign faculties differently.