Ides of March

The Ides of March, 3/15. Where does the name originate from? What does it mean? There is a saying, 'Beware of the Ides of March', but why?

Here are some answers to shed light on these questions:

1. Kalends, Nones and Ides were ancient markers used to reference dates in relation to lunar phases. Ides simply referred to the first full moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. In fact, the Ides of March once signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing. Pretty neat, right?

2. However, March 15th was very unlucky for one man a very long time ago. On that date in the year 44 BC, Julius Caesar was killed by a group of 60 conspirators. March 15th may not be unlucky for you but it was for Julius Caeser. This is where 'Beware of the Ides of March' comes from.

So, as Clint Eastwood so famously said, 'Are you feeling lucky, punk'? What we take away from this is that anything can happen on any day. Even a day as ominous as today could be, every day could be like that and equally the opposite, the greatest day. So, it's all about being prepared, aware, and in-the-moment so as to be ready for anything that life may throw at us. This is something we ought to be doing every day anyway. March 15th happens to be a physical date on the calendar which reminds us of that.