Category: Lore of the Moon

Spring Equinox – March 20, 2009

Happy Spring, Everyone!

Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2009, at precisely 7:44 A.M. EDT , the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox. Translated literally, equinox
means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator,
day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the
equinoxes.

From a technical standpoint the Vernal Equinox is an astronomical
event, it’s one of the four quadrature days of the Earth’s orbit.
However for people both modern and ancient, the Vernal Equinox marked
the transition from winter into spring. The Vernal Equinox occurs on
March 20th or 21st and is one of two days during the year when there
are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness, the other day is the
Autumnal Equinox.

People have been marking and celebrating the
Vernal Equinox for thousands of years. The Great Sphinx which was
constructed over 4500 years ago on the Giza Plateau in Egypt, faces due
east on the Vernal Equinox. The monoliths located at Stonehenge, which
are estimated to be over 3000 years old, mark the position of the
rising sun on the Vernal Equinox. In Central America the Ancient Mayan
Caracol Tower and Temples of the Sun and Moon also have alignments that
coincide with the sun’s position on the Vernal Equinox.

Most
historians believe that this knowledge was important to ancient
cultures in choosing a time to plant their crops. In Iran they
celebrate Norouz (which roughly translates to “new day”) on the Vernal
Equinox. In China they celebrate Chunfen on the Vernal Equinox. In
ancient Europe they celebrated the arrival of the goddess of spring
Ostara on this day. Ostara was also known as Ostera and Eostre in
different parts of Europe. Many historians believe the Christian
holiday Easter gets its name from Eostre, as she had an enchanted
rabbit that could lay eggs. In more modern times the Vernal Equinox
marked the first Earth Day celebration in 1971.

One of the odd
traditions that that occur on the Vernal Equinox is egg balancing. The
story goes that it is possible to balance a raw egg on its oblong end
on this day. There is no truth to this rumor it’s just as easy (or
hard) to balance an egg on its end on this day as it is any other day.
This story is perpetuated by the media who usually run a small segment
on it, during news shows on this day.

Media hype or not, as a kid I thought the balancing of eggs on the Equinox was great and magickal fun! I still do it, I did it this morning, as I sat here at my desk at work, with the folks around me asking why I was playing with my breakfast. Its a tradition now, that brings me back to simpler times, when one the actions of one little egg could keep me fascinated for days.

Hope you all get to go out and do something special today, to mark the beginning of the season of light!

Light and Love

Sister Bridget

March 20, 2009
November Full Moon

November's full moon, sometimes called the Frost Moon or the Snow Moon occurs at 1:17 a.m. EST on November 13. It will appear more than 99 percent full on both the 12th and 13th as it rises. On November 13 the moon will be near fall's favorite star cluster, the Pleiades.

Two meteor showers occur in November the week before and after full moon. On Tuesday, November 4, the Southern Taurid meteor shower peaks. This shower, along with the Leonid meteor shower on November 16 and 17, are weaker showers.

Because the full moon occurs when the moon is most directly opposite the sun for the month, the full moon’s path across the sky mimics that of the sun six months from now. In both the northern and southern hemispheres, the November full moon rises in the east-northeast and sets in the west-northwest – just as the sun does in May. In the northern hemisphere, tonight’s full moon will soar up high – like the springtime sun. But south of the equator, the moon will follow the low path of the late autumn sun.

The full moon shines from dusk till dawn tonight, unless you live north of the Arctic Circle. That far north, the moon mimics the midnight sun, staying out for 24 hours around the clock.

Keep your eyes to the skies! Its going to be interesting!

Light and Love

Sister Bridget

November 10, 2008
Hunter’s Moon ~~~ October 14th 2008

The Hunter’s Moon (also known as Blood Moon,
Sanguine Moon, Full Travel Moon, or Full Dying Grass) is the first full moon
after the Harvest moon, which is the full moon nearest the Autumnal equinox.

The Hunter’s Moon is the name for the full
moon that immediately follows the Harvest Moon. In the northern hemisphere, the
Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the September equinox.

The Harvest Moon ushers in the year’s
grandest procession of moon-filled nights. Farmers once relied on these several
nights of dusk-till-dawn moonlight to gather their crops. Tonight’s Hunter’s
Moon is similar to the Harvest Moon, except the effect is less pronounced.
Every full moon rises around sunset and shines all night long. On average, the
moon rises 50 minutes later daily. But the few days after the September and
October full moons, the moon rises farther north along the horizon for several
days in succession. In the northern hemisphere, this means earlier-than-usual
moonrises and longer moonlit nights.

Just remember, whether you live in the
northern or the southern hemisphere, the full moon tonight will shine from dusk
till dawn.

These names date back to the Native
Americans in the eastern and northern parts of North America, who had various
names for the Full Moon during each month of the year. European settlers
quickly adopted the Moon names used by the Native American groups, though most
people today are only aware of a few of those names. October’s Full Moon is
called the "Hunter’s Moon" or sometimes the "Blood Moon" or
"Sanguine Moon". It is the first Full Moon after the Harvest Moon
(the Full Moon nearest the Autumnal equinox) and it gets its name from hunters
who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the
winter ahead.

Feasts associated with the Hunter’s Moon
have been going on since the seventh century.

October: Full "Hunters" or
"Blood" Moon (defined as the first full moon following the harvest
moon; from hunting practice of riding over the stubble of reaped grain fields
pursuing foxes by the light of the moon.); also Full Travel Moon, Full Dying
Grass Moon.

The Hunter’s Moon

~~~~~by
Mathilde Blind

The Hunter’s Moon rides high,
High o’er the close-cropped plain;
Across the desert sky
The herded clouds amain
Scamper tumultuously,
      Chased by the hounding wind
      That yelps behind.

The clamorous hunt is done,
Warm-housed the kennelled pack;
One huntsman rides alone
With dangling bridle slack;
He wakes a hollow tone,
      Far echoing to his horn
      In clefts forlorn.

The Hunter’s Moon rides low,
Her course is nearly sped.
Where is the panting roe?
Where hath the wild deer fled?
Hunter and hunted now
      Lie in oblivion deep:
      Dead or asleep.

October 12, 2008
Harvest Moon ~~~ 9-15-08

One of the more well known or commonly known full moons is the Harvest Moon. It has been the subject of much folk lore, poems, and there is even a famous song! The full harvest moon is the full Moon that occurs closest to the
autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in
September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of
harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this
Moon. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice, the chief Indian
staples, are now ready for gathering.

Often, the Harvest Moon seems to be bigger or brighter or more colorful
than other moons. These effects have to do with the seasonal tilt of
the earth. The warm color of the moon shortly after it rises is an
optical illusion, based on the fact that when the moon is low in the
sky, you are looking at it through a greater amount of atmospheric
particles than when the moon is overhead. The atmosphere scatters the
bluish component of moonlight (which is really reflected white light
from the sun), but allows the reddish component of the light to travel
a straighter path to your eyes. Hence all moons (and stars and planets)
look reddish when they are low in the sky.

According to NASA: The Harvest Moon is no ordinary full moon; it behaves in a special way.
      Throughout the year the Moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day. But near the autumnal equinox, which comes this year on Sept. 22nd, the day-to-day difference in the local time of moonrise is only 30 minutes. The Moon will rise around sunset tonight–and not long after sunset for the next few evenings. That comes in handy for northern farmers who are working long days to harvest their crops before autumn. The extra dose of lighting afforded by the full Moon closest to the equinox is what gives the Harvest Moon its name.

There are many interesting stories and mythologies around this moon.

The Harvest Moon is also known as the Wine Moon, as this is a time after the grapes have been harvested and wine is made.

The Chinese Traditional name for this moon is the Chrysanthemum Moon.

Please check out Mambo Sam’s Blog about the Chinese Harvest Moon Festival ! It was great fun with Moon Cakes last year!

The Cherokee call this Nut Moon (because of harvesting some species of nuts from trees….not for the other reason you might be thinking 😉 )

The Choctaw call this the Mulberry Moon.

The Celts call this the Singing Moon as after the seasonal harvests are complete comes a time for acceptance,
mellowing, and rest after labor.
It has been so named in reference to the festive attitude known to
every laborer who has toiled to complete work necessary to the survival
of the community and now celebrates the completion of those labors.



Under the Harvest Moon
by Carl Sandburg

Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver

Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.

   Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.

The Harvest Moon by Longfellow

It is the Harvest Moon! On gilded vanes
And roofs of villages, on woodland crests
And their aerial neighborhoods of nests
Deserted, on the curtained window-panes
Of rooms where children sleep, on country lanes
And harvest-fields, its mystic splendor rests!
Gone are the birds that were our summer guests,
With the last sheaves return the laboring wains!
All things are symbols: the external shows
Of Nature have their image in the mind,
As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves;
The song-birds leave us at the summer’s close,
Only the empty nests are left behind,
And pipings of the quail among the sheaves.

However you choose to celebrate this moon, even if its just with a cup of tea and a few quiet moments in the grass appreciating it’s beauty, Happy Autumn Everyone!

Much Light and Love,

Sister Bridget

September 12, 2008
The Hungry Ghost Moon July 21,2008

Hey There!

I know as Voodooisants, that little heed is paid to the moon, its various phases, etc. But there is some pretty interesting facts (and lore) about the individual full moons and traditions that go along with some of them.

The July full moon, which is coming up this Monday, July 21st, has a few different names associated with it, depending on what occupation or population was working by it.

Hunters often call the July moon the "Full Buck Moon" as this is the month that buck deer begin to push new antlers out covered in a rich velvety covering.

Farmers have 2 names for the July Moon. One is the "Full Thunder Moon" because of the many storms during this month. The other name is the "Full Hay Moon" as it is typically the month when most second hay cuttings are done — which is the richest and most plentiful hay of the season.

American Indians and Colonial Americans called this moon the "Moon of Middle Summer" or just "Midsummer Moon" (Nice to know they agreed on something back then 😉 )

The Cherokee call it the "Ripe Corn Moon" as this is when the corn harvest began for them.

The Chinese call this the "Hungry Ghost Moon" and if you read a bit about it, it sounds somewhat like out Fet Ghede. Each year, for the entire 7th Lunar month, the traditional Chinese
observe this month as the month dedicated to the wandering souls and
the ancestors who have passed on. This year, 25 Jul 2006 marks as the first day of the 7th Lunar Month.
It is believed by the ancient Chinese that on this day, the ghosts
could come up from the "below". And it is also believed that those who
died young or in unusual circumstances could become wandering souls.
Unless their relatives have arranged for the proper conducting of
ritual to raise them up from such status, they would remain wandering
all the time. And during this month, the traditional Chinese would
offer their departed ancestors or relatives as well as the wandering
souls with food and joss-papers (money for the nether world). If you hit Google, you can find some pretty ornate photos of altars used to feed dem hungry ones!

The more Pagan-minded among is might recognize the July full moon as the "Mead Moon".The Mead Moon is the time of observance of the making of mead, a sweet wine, or harvesting honey and making herbal teas.

I did find some references to this month also being called the "Claiming Moon" but I’m not sure about the background on that. I think it could have to do with courtship, maybe. If anyone has any ideas about this one, please pipe in!

I think my favorite so far is the "Hungry Ghost Moon" – there is just soooo much to like about that!

Light and Love

Sister Bridget

Thunder Moon

July Full Moon 2007

July 18, 2008