Sister Bridget's Blog

New Moon in Libra!

Harvest Moon September 10th, 2022!

 

 

 

Harvest Moon - Things To Do! 
by Sister Bridget

The Harvest Moon will shine bright this weekend! There are many ways to take advantage of this once-a-year energy! Here are just a few!

1. Visit your local farmers market and stock up on fruits and berries a their peak of freshness. Make a batch of jam or jelly to get a jump on holiday gifts! Or, make a yummy apple-cranberry pie (see recipe above!) 

2. Set out your magickal tools and crystals in the moonlight for a cleansing and recharging. Meanwhile, give your altar space a thourough cleasning and refershing for the upcoming Samhain, Ancestor, Fet Ghede season. 

3. Open doors and windows and cense and sweep your home of old, stale energies, and usher in the fresh Fall air.
 
4. The Marie Laveau House Blessing Kit! 

5. Get a jump start on your Mabon/Fall Equionox decorating.
 
6. Mix up a batch of Harvest Moon Oil! 

7. Create a bucket list full of ideas to celebrate Autumn

8. Journal-  As summer comes to a close, is there anything else you’d like to complete before the cold and dark Winter months arrive?  What accomplishments, skills, and creativity do you want to bring with you into the Autumn season? What bad habits, regrets, and negative thoughts will you release?

9. Follow the special energy as it moves through you! There is no wrong answer! 

Strawberry Moon!

Hello!

A while back I started a series on the lore of the different names of  Full Moons. With all the talk about this upcoming Full Moon on Friday the 13th, it seems like a great time to address the June Moon. The moon will be full at precisely 12:11 a.m. Friday, so essentially on Thursday night, not Friday night. But it will still shine brightly on Friday

The month of June's full Moon's name is the Full Strawberry Moon. June's Full Strawberry Moon got its name because the Algonquin tribes knew it as a signal to gather ripening fruit.The Algonquin tribes knew this Moon as a time to gather ripening strawberries. It is also known as the Rose Moon and the Honey Moon.

In Europe, the June Full Moon is known as the Full Rose Moon, perhaps because they have more roses there than strawberries :-)

This month's moon is also known as a "Honey Moon" because it can have a slightly golden tint. That's because it appears low in the sky, meaning we are viewing it through the lens of more of the Earth's atmosphere.   The atmosphere reddens its color.

The next time the moon will be full on a Friday the 13th will be in 2049. That is 35 years from now! However you choose to spend this very unique evening, I hope you make it memorable!

Love

Sister Bridget

 

 

Check out the Moon tonight....It is SuperSized!

Tonight, the moon will be closest to the Earth than it has been in the last twenty years! If you get a chance tonight, go out and  take a look ;-) If it is warm enough where you are, sit a few minutes and contemplate the meaning of life! It should be a really awesome sight!

And tomorrow, of course, HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!

Light and Love

Sister Bridget

June Full Moon ~~ Sunday, June 7, 2009

June's full moon is known by many other names, with some interesting lore behind each.

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 . . . so the full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!

The Green Corn Moon, The Flower Moon, The Planting Moon.

It is sometimes known as the Full Flower Moon since in most areas of the country flowers are abundant.

The Honey Moon as this is typically the first month in North America when honey can be harvested.

Lotus Moon in Chinese astrology.

Moon of the Horses in Celtic Lore.

Native Americans did not domesticate cows, so it was these settlers who named the May full moon the Milk Moon. During May cows, goats, and sheep enjoy sprouting weeds, grasses, and herbs in the pastures and produce lots of rich milk, full of vitamins.

Here is a poem about this moon:

Flower Moon

May Moon, Milk moon, you hide
in the rain. Meadows are wild
with lupine, columbine and phlox.
Tulips and violets open their hearts.

It is time to plant the corn. Young
squirrels practice mating in the garden,
all four in a tumble of spring, taking
turns being boy, being girl. Flower Moon,

this year you bring sorrow, and pain. Old
friends fade; old knees complain of the rain.
Corn Planting Moon, sixty times I have slept
beneath you. Milk Moon, smile on me.

        ~~~~anon.

Full Moon Names

Even tho the phase of the moon has no bearing  on our work with Les Lois, I have always found a full moon sooooo enchanting. When the weather permits, I try hard to find a few moments to sit outside under a full moon to just take a few deep breaths and clear my head. It has always been one of my favorite things to do. I have been writing about the history and stories associated with different full moons throughout the year. Just as an overview, every full moon throughout the year has its own name. Here’s what they’re called:

January: Old Moon, or Moon After Yule

February: Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, or Wolf Moon

March: Sap Moon, Crow Moon or Lenten Moon

April: Grass Moon, or Egg Moon

May: Planting Moon, or Milk Moon

June: Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon

July: Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon

August: Green Corn Moon, or Grain Moon

September: Fruit Moon, or Harvest Moon

October: Harvest Moon, or Hunter’s Moon

November: Hunter’s Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon

December: Moon Before Yule, or Long Night Moon

See you in the moonlight!

Light and Love

Sister Bridget

www.spellmaker.com

The April Full Moon is in the Pink! April 9, 2009

The first full moon of Spring is upon us! Look for it in the sky April 9 & 10, 2009! The April full moon is also known as the Pink Full Moon, as it marks the appearance of the grass pink, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. Native Americans of the northern and eastern part of the United States tracked the seasons by giving a unique name to each of the full moons.  This name was for the entire month that the full moon occurred in.  The name of the full moon and variations of its name was used by the Algonquin Indian tribes from New England to Lake Superior.It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon. Coastal tribes called this moon the Fish Moon, because it was this time of year that shad began their upstream climg to their spawning grounds. Here is a short video about how this “Pink Moon” got its name.

This moon is also known as the Seed Moon. The energies around this moon are ones of fertility, growth and inner wisdom. We are encouraged to be bold at this time; to take action on things we have been putting off all Winter. Spring has arrived, as has its energy for new starts and new beginnings!

Tonight’s full moon shines near the star Spica, the brightest light in the constellation Virgo. The first full moon to follow the March equinox faithfully shines in front of Virgo, the harvest goddess, to signal the change of seasons.

The Christian celebration of Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the northern hemisphere spring. So tonight’s Easter Moon heralds the coming of Easter Sunday.

APRIL FULL MOON by Lee Emmett (Australia)

in smoky-silk, milky-mist sea
full moon beauty gazes around
wearing lilac-veil she sails aloft
worldly domain without sound

dark arms of eucalyptus caress
cool-spirited fairies of mid-night
bathing in droplets on silver-sheen
forest-leaves; forms magical sight

Celebrate this time to begin welcoming in Spring! Clean out your birdhouses, refill those bird feeders, go shopping in your favorite seed catalogs ;-) Light a green candle for Gran Bwa and ask for his blessings in the coming time of sun and lush grass and thick forests. Now would be a wonderful time to do a simple Lwa honoring  ritual   for Gran Bwa as well.

This is also a great time to air out your house with a lovely Marie Laveau Clean Sweep House Blessing kit. Spiritual spring cleaning at its best ;-)

Spring is arriving and it is time to celebrate!

Light and Love

Sister Bridget

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

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

 

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.