M is for Moongazing

Full Moon - I love looking into the sky at night and seeing the universe unfold before me.  For many years, I am one of those people who check the night sky for shooting stars, planets, UFOs, Milky Way, and of course, checking out the moon.  I should have been a vampire because I really do not like being out in the sun.  The night sky has so much more to offer.  There are many names for the different full moons but I will use my heritage as a source since one branch of my family tree traces back to the Algonquin Native American Indians.

Moon names date back to early northern and eastern Native Americans.  The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring Full Moon.  Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.  There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.  European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names.  Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year.

(Information gathered from Farmer’s Almanac and McDonald’s Observatory)

January – Wolf Moon:  Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages.  Thus, the name for January’s full Moon.  Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. 

February-Full Hunger or Snow Moon:  Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February’s full Moon the Full Snow Moon.  Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

March- Full Crow or Maple Sugar Moon:  As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins.  The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of  tapping maple trees, is another variation.  .

April –  Full Pink Moon:  This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. 

May - Full Flower, Corn or Planting Moon:  In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time.  Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.

June – Honey Moon or Full Strawberry Moon: This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe.  However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon.  Also because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June.

July – Thunder or The Full Buck Moon:  July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time.

August – Green Corn or Full Sturgeon Moon:  The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month.  It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

September – Harvest or Full Corn Moon:  This full moon’s name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. Most often, the September full moon is actually the Harvest Moon.

Shine on Harvest Moon

The full Moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox is commonly referred to as the "Harvest Moon," the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere.  Its bright presence in the night sky allows farmers to work longer into the fall night, reaping the rewards of their spring and summer labors.   This occurs usually in September. 

October - Full Harvest Moon or Hunter’s Moon:  This 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.

November – Frosty or Full Beaver Moon:  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 also referred to as the Frosty Moon.

December - The Full Cold Moon or the Full Long Nights Moon: During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest.  It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule.  The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time.  The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

Oh, we cannot forget the Blue Moon.  What is a Blue Moon?  Where did the phrase "Once in a Blue Moon" start?   The next Blue Moon will be August 2012.

Because the time between two full Moons doesn't quite equal a whole month, about every three years there are two full Moons in one calendar month.  Over the past few decades, the second full Moon has come to be known as a "blue Moon."  The term "blue Moon" has not always been used this way.  While the exact origin of the phrase remains unclear, it does in fact refer to a rare blue coloring of the Moon caused by high-altitude dust particles. Most sources credit this unusual event, occurring only "once in a blue moon," as the true progenitor of the colorful phrase.