October (Roman month) did not number days of a month sequentially from the 1st through the last day. Instead, they counted back from the three fixed points of the month: the Nones (5th or 7th), the Ides (13th or 15th), and the Kalends (1st) of the following month. The Nones of October was the 7th, and the Ides was the 15th. The last day of October was the "pridie Kalendas Novembris," "day before the Kalends of November". Roman counting was inclusive; October 9 was "ante diem VII Idūs Octobris", "the 7th day before the Ides of October," usually abbreviated "a.d. VII Id. Oct."
September (Roman month) may represent a magico-medical charm to ensure healthy wine, with the lizard either a potent lustration or the potential damage to be warded off. The lizard is also an attribute of Apollo Sauroctonos. In calendar mosaics from Hellín in Roman Spain and Trier in "Gallia Belgica", September is represented by the god Vulcan, the tutelary deity of the month in the "menologia rustica", depicted as an old man holding tongs. The mosaic from Hellín (2nd–3rd century) depicts each of the months as a personification with or representing a zodiac sign. September is shown holding balance scales and assisted by Vulcan.