Bella Luna

Did you see the moon this weekend? The Harvest Moon. Gorgeous. A night after the full moon, the Hub and I hauled out our telescope last night as a massive cantaloupe colored moon rose above the bean field. We love to moon gaze a day or two either before or after a full moon, as the contour of the peaks and craters is best accentuated by the sliver of the waxing/waning new moon.

Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE trivia and any useless facts that will clutter my brain in the place of more vital information. I also love Native American lore. While visiting my blog friend Michael’s post from this weekend I was reminded of the moon phases and their Native American monikers. For your interest (or boredom, depending on who you are), here are the Native American seasonal lunar phase titles.

Wolf Moon (January) – Wolves are getting hungry, and habitually howl outside of the villages.

Snow Moon (February) – Heavy snow season is here. Also known as the Hunger Moon, as harsh conditions and the length of winter has set in, hunting is difficult and rations are getting low.

Worm Moon (March) – The ground is thawing and the worms appear. Can’t you just smell that damp wormy smell of spring?

Pink Moon (April) – The phlox blooms of spring are appearing. Also known as the Fish Moon, as shad are returning to spawning waters.

Flower Moon (May) – Wildflowers are everywhere now.

Strawberry Moon (June) – Marking the short harvesting season of the treasured strawberry fruit.

Buck Moon (July) – Bucks are budding their velvety antlers. Also called Thunder Moon, for the plentiful summer thunderstorms of this month.

Sturgeon Moon (August) – Fishing season for the large sturgeon fish of the Great Lakes region. Also known as Red Moon, for the fiery hue taken on while rising through the hot summer haze.

Harvest Moon (September) – Marking the autumnal equinox and harvesting season. Farmers could work late into the night by the light of the bright moon in the clear fall air.

Hunter’s Moon (October) – With fields reaped and leaves fallen, it’s time for hunting up winter meat rations for the long cold winter.

Beaver Moon (November) – Time for setting traps for a supply of warm winter furs.

Cold Moon (December) – Also called the Long Night Moon. The nights are their longest and darkest. The moon is now in its longest nightly trajectory.

As the lunar phases vary slightly, each being normally less than a calendar month, placement of where the full moons fall can vary, and occasionally a full moon will occur twice in one month. This, as you may know, is the beloved Blue Moon.

Enjoy the velvety black sky and bright silver moon of this delicious autumn season!