One of Scratch's traditions is honoring the meanings behind each full moon, each month. The New Moon is upon us, marking the beginning of this month's moon, therefore I'll share the history behind January's Full Moon.As January is often the coldest month of winter, (in colder regions), food in the wild would became scarce. Wolf packs would howl hungrily outside Indian villages, thus this moon was referred to as the Full Wolf Moon.
The full moon in August is most commonly known as the Sturgeon Full Moon. It is the time when this large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water is most readily caught. Sturgeons are one of the oldest families of bony fish in existence, which first appeared in the fossil record approximately 200 million years ago. Therefore they are the most ancient of the ray-finned fishes. In their existence as a species they have undergone remarkably little morphological change, indicating that their evolution has been exceptionally slow and earning them informal status as living fossils. This is explained in part by the long inter-generation time, tolerance for wide ranges of temperature and salinity, lack of predators due to size, and the abundance of prey items when bottom-feeding.
- Besides the Sturgeon Moon it is also called the Fish Moon, because most rivers and lakes are filled with schools of fish. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze or the Lightning Moon or the Grain Moon.
Summer is officially upon us. The next full moon is referred to as the Full Buck Moon, the time when buck deer sprout velvety new antlers.
This full moon is also known as the Full Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are more frequent during the month at hand. It has also been called the Full Blood Moon, for sometimes as the moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze.
It symbolizes a time of harvesting and enjoyment of crops of the season. To some this is the Blessing Moon. It is known as the Hay Moon or the Meadow Moon because the meadows are at their greatest point of growth in this month, and it is time for hay cutting. Some call it the Grass Cutter Moon.
It seems as though this is the month of many moon names, since it's also known as: Ripe Corn Moon, Raspberry Moon, Herb Moon, Grain Moon and Red Berries Moon.
It's definitely a plentiful time of year!
June's Full Moon is most commonly named the Strawberry Moon. May flowers have begun producing fruit, the first of which is the wonderfully sweet strawberry.
These flowers have also brought fresh honey; giving this moon the names Honey Moon and Mead Moon. The sun rises higher as summer approaches signifying the Hot Moon.
This next full moon goes by the name of the Flower Moon, due to the abundance of flowers in bloom. Hence the old saying, "April showers bring May flowers". Seattle's cold and damp April weather has hindered some of the great foods of spring. The few days in between of great sunshine may allow this next dinner to be full of some new spring eats.
May's full moon is also known as the corn planting moon and the milk moon. The cows and goats are done birthing the young calves and kids, which results in lots of milk, and fresh cheeses. We won't be doing any corn planting in our garden but later in this moon cycle would be the time to do so. As far as food goes, this would be a great time to use a lot of the corm meal I have saved up. If anyone has some other names they have found for this moon let me know. I would love to get others involved.
