Tag: #FullMoon

Full Moon on Thursday, 28th January

The Full Wolf Moon rises on Thursday, January 28, 2021. It’s thought that January’s full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more often heard howling at this time. It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but we know today that wolves howl for other reasons.

The Gaelic word for January, Faoilleach, comes from the term for wolves, faol-chù, even though wolves haven’t existed in Scotland for centuries. The Saxon word for January is Wulf-monath, or Wolf Month. Meanwhile, the festival of the Japanese wolf god, Ooguchi Magami, is also held in January. The Seneca tribe links the wolf so strongly to the moon, they believe that a wolf gave birth to the moon by singing it into the sky! So just why are wolves so strongly associated with January’s full moon?

The most obvious answer is because wolves are much louder and more noticeable in January, which is when breeding season begins. Wolves begin to howl more frequently and aggressively to establish their territory, threatening neighbours and enemies alike to stay far away from their breeding grounds. A small pack of wolves may even try to make themselves seem like a larger pack by howling together. While a lone wolf can sustain a howl for the duration of a single breath, an entire pack may howl in unison for longer than two minutes during breeding season. Howling and other wolf vocalizations are generally used to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting.

Wolves are so well-known for their tight-knit communities that the Sioux tribe called January’s full moon the Moon Where Wolves Run Together. The wolf is often seen as a symbol of loyalty and protection in many cultures. The Wolf Moon is the perfect time for you to reach out to loved ones and reaffirm your connections, in preparation for deepening your bonds and taking on new challenges together over the upcoming year. We’ve most certainly got those ahead.

Stay safe with your pack!

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Full Moon on Wednesday, 30th December

The last Full Moon of the decade is known as The Cold Moon. This is a Mohawk name that conveys the frigid conditions of this time of year, when cold weather truly begins to grip us. This Full Moon has also been called the Long Night Moon (Mohican), as it rose during the “longest” nights of the year.

Ancient pagans called the December Full Moon the “Moon Before Yule,” in honour of the Yuletide festival celebrating the return of the sun heralded by winter solstice.

December’s Full Moon shines above the horizon for a longer period of time than most Full Moons.  There is an old saying “If a snowstorm begins when the Moon is young, it will cease at moonrise.”

This Full Moon will rise over the horizon just before sunset on the 30th December. Until the end of the year, Jupiter and Saturn, very bright and beautiful, will still be visible just after sunset, although they sit low in the South West sky.
Throughout December, Venus in its faster orbit around the sun will be going farther and farther away from Earth but being the brightest planet, it is still visible in the morning sky.

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Full Moon on Monday, 30th November

This month’s Full Moon is known as the Beaver Moon. So called as this was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes referred to as the Frosty Moon – no explanation required there!

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Blue Full Moon on Hallowe’en

This Saturday we will see the second Full Moon of this month which gives it the name of a Blue Moon. The Moon does not appear blue in colour.  What makes this event even rarer is that it will be seen in all parts of the world on Hallowe’en for the first time since World War II.

The entire 21st Century will see only six Halloween Full Moons: 2001, 2020, 2039, 2058, 2077, and 2096.

This Full Moon is known as The Hunter’s Moon or by others, Blood Moon. Traditionally, this time included hunting, slaughtering and preserving meats for use in the winter months ahead.

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Full Moon on Thursday, October 1st

The first of two Full Moons this month, this is the Harvest Moon.

Most years, the Harvest Moon occurs in September but approximately every 3 years it occurs in October. The majority of sources state that the Full Moon names originate from ancient Native American tradition. There are others who point out that Harvest month was recorded as early as in the 700’s in both Anglo-Saxon and Old High German languages.

As the Moon rises from the horizon around sunset, it may appear larger and more orange which is quite apt for the season. It’s the location of the moon near the horizon that causes the Harvest Moon – or any full moon – to look big and orange in colour.  For several evenings, the moonrise comes soon after sunset. This creates an abundance of bright moonlight early in the evening, which was a traditional aide to farmers and crews harvesting their summer-grown crops. Hence, the ‘Harvest’ Moon.

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Full Moon on Wednesday, September 2nd

September’s Full Moon is the Corn Moon,  also known as the Barley Moon.
This year’s Harvest Moon will occur in October, on the 1st and will be the first of two full Moons: the other on the 31st (the Hunter’s Moon and a Blue Moon, too)!
The full Moon that happens nearest to the Autumnal equinox (September 22 or 23) always takes on the name “Harvest Moon”.

Most of the names for the Moons come from the Native Americans and colonial times and tracked the seasons.  Other Indian tribes would refer to this moon as

  • “Moon When the Plums Are Scarlet” by the Lakota Sioux.
  • “Moon When the Deer Paw the Earth” by the Omaha.
  • “Moon When the Calves Grow Hair” by the Sioux.

September’s Full Moon is also a Micromoon – this is when a New Moon or a Full Moon coincide with the point in the Moon’s orbit farthest away from Earth.

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Lammas on 1st & Full Moon on 3rd

Lammas is celebrated on August 1st and is the first of the three harvest festivals (the Autumnal Equinox and Samhain being the others). The first fruits of summer are enjoyed. There are many festivals and ceremonies but throughout, there is a custom of climbing hills and mountains – we have Lewesdon hill our our doorstep 🙂

August’s Full Moon is on Monday, 3rd and is known as the Sturgeon Moon.  So called because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain in North America were most readily caught during this part of summer. It is also referred to as Full Green Corn Moon, signalling that the corn was nearly ready for harvest, Grain Moon, Fruit Moon, Barley Moon. Wheat Cut Moon, and Blueberry Moon.*

The word “sturgeon” means “the stirrer”, which is what this giant freshwater fish does when it is looking for food; it stirs up the mud and silt on river and lake bottoms.  The sturgeon is sometimes called a “living fossil,” as it belongs to a family of fish that has existed for more than 135 million years.
SturgeonIn ancient times, it was common to track the changing seasons by following the lunar month rather than the solar year, which the 12 months in our modern Gregorian calendar are based on.

*For millennia, people across Europe, as well as the Native American tribes, named the months after features they associated with the Northern Hemisphere seasons, and many of these names are very similar or identical.

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Full Moon on Sunday, 5th July

July's Buck MoonJuly’s Full Moon is known as the Buck Moon named after the new antlers that emerge from a buck’s forehead around this time of the year.
Another name for July’s Full Moon is Thunder Moon because of the frequent thunderstorms in the summer. The Anglo-Saxon name is either Hay Moon, after the hay harvest that takes place in July, or Wort Moon, indicating that July is the time to gather herbs (worts) to dry and use as spices and remedies.
For Hindus this is the Guru Full Moon (Guru Purnima) and is celebrated as a time for clearing the mind and honouring the guru or spiritual master. For Buddhists, this full Moon is Dharma Day, also known as Asalha Puha or Esala Poya.

There will be a partial penumbral lunar eclipse in the early hours of Sunday morning which the tabloids are promoting – but don’t expect to see much!

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Penumbral Lunar & Solar Eclipse in June

Strawberry Moon in JuneThe new lunar cycle begins this evening around 6.30pm.  This June, we will get a chance to see both a solar and lunar eclipse. The first will be the Lunar Eclipse, which will happen on June 5th, then will come the Solar Eclipse, on June 21st.

A Solar Eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, which totally or partly blocks out the Sun for a viewer on Earth.

A Lunar Eclipse can occur only on the night of a Full Moon.
It occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy), with Earth between the other two.
In a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, the Moon moves through a portion of the Earth’s outer shadow. The Earth restricts or obstructs the sunlight from reaching the Moon.
The eclipse starts at 18.45 hrs. but won’t be visible until the Moon rises above the horizon around 21.15 hrs. Look South East. The eclipse ends at 10:04 pm.
The next Penumbral Lunar Eclipse that we’ll be able to see is on 30th November.

June’s Full Moon on the 5th is also known as the Strawberry Moon., being the time of year for ripening strawberries.  June was traditionally the month for marriages – it is even named after the Roman goddess of marriage, Juno. Following marriage comes the “honeymoon,” which give may give credence to this Full Moon’s name.

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