Worm Composting

In honor of the full Worm Moon today, check out this video on vermicomposting.

My thanks to Jason for sharing this video.

Imbolc

In the introduction to one of her books (my memory fails me as to which one), Ursula K. LeGuin commented about the importance of thresholds.  She talked about sacredness of those places of transition — the doorway to a home where the outside meets the in, the edge of the woods where the field meets the forest, the bank of a river where the land meets the water — and how they have a power unto themselves. In the Wheel of the Year, each sabbat marks a threshold of change from one season to the next.

Imbolc marks the beginning of the end of winter.  As a cross-quarter day, it stands between Yule (the Winter Solstice) and Ostara (the Vernal Equinox).  It has associations with several other holidays, both sacred and secular such as Candlemas, St. Brigid’s Day and Groundhog’s Day.  As the threshold of the first warming weather, Imbolc serves as a time to monitor, celebrate and focus on change — both in the world at large and in your own personal life.

Holidays and Full Moons (aka Sabbats and Esbats) for 2009

Full Moons (Esbats)

• Jan 11: Wolf Moon
• Feb 9: Snow Moon
• Mar 11: Worm Moon
• Apr 9: Pink Moon
• May 9: Flower Moon
• Jun 7: Strawberry Moon
• Jul 7: Buck Moon
• Aug 6: Sturgeon Moon
• Sep 4: Corn Moon
• Oct 4: Harvest Moon
• Nov 2: Beaver Moon
• Dec 2: Cold Moon
• Dec 31: Wolf Moon

To those that follow the Seasonal Method of naming the moons (see Full Moon Names: Rewilding your calendar for an explanation of the two different methods) the 2nd moon in December receives the name of Wolf Moon, where as those that follow the Monthly Method would call this moon a Blue Moon.  Note that this moon occurring in December but after the solstice sets up 2010 for the same kind of discord between the two methods that we saw last year where the January moon takes the name of Snow Moon by the Seasonal Method and Wolf Moon by the Monthly Method, etc.

Holidays (Sabbats)

• Feb 2: Imbolc
• Mar 20: Ostara (Spring Equinox)
• May 1: Beltane
• Jun 21: Litha (Summer Solstice)
• Aug 1: Lughnasadh
• Sep 23: Mabon (Fall Equinox)
• Oct 31: Samhain
• Dec 21: Yule (Winter Solstice)

Sabbats and Esbats together

• Jan 11: Wolf Moon
• Feb 2: Imbolc
• Feb 9: Snow Moon
• Mar 11: Worm Moon
• Mar 20: Ostara (Spring Equinox)
• Apr 9: Pink Moon
• May 1: Beltane
• May 9: Flower Moon
• Jun 7: Strawberry Moon
• Jun 21: Litha (Summer Solstice)
• Jul 7: Buck Moon
• Aug 1: Lughnasadh
• Aug 6: Sturgeon Moon
• Sep 4: Corn Moon
• Sep 23: Mabon (Fall Equinox)
• Oct 4: Harvest Moon
• Oct 31: Samhain
• Nov 2: Beaver Moon
• Dec 2: Cold Moon
• Dec 21: Yule (Winter Solstice)
• Dec 31: Wolf Moon

Resources

• Witches Esbats 2009 (Northern Hemisphere)
• Witches Sabbats 2009 (Northern Hemisphere)

The Wheel of the Year: Rewilding your calendar (again)

Back at the beginning of 2008, I made the New Year’s resolution to “do more pagan shit this year.”  While I did do some pagany things like celebrating each full moon and thinking a little more about some of the obvious holidays like solstices and equinoxes, I wish that I had focused more on each of the major pagan holidays.  By the time that Samhain (Halloween) and Yule (Christmas) rolled around, I found myself wishing that I knew more than just the buried pagan traditions that have survived the razor of Christianity for these celebrations.

So this year, I have resolved to not only do more pagan stuff, but to learn (and, through this blog share my learning) about more pagan stuff.  Because just like the beauty of looking at the full moons in terms of phenology like I did last year, wrapping my mind around the cycle of the year and celebrating the changes that come with the quarter days and cross quarter days provides yet another way to rewild the calendar.

Cold Moon (Full Moon December 2008)

This moon marks the last of the year and the end of this series of posts.

The Farmer’s Almanac has this to say about our moon this month:

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.

Although a lot of the Native American moon names reference the winter, snow, and cold, you find variety among the other variations:

Beaver Moon (Full Moon November 2008)

The Farmer’s Almanac has this to say about our moon this month:

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.

Reading through the various Native American moon names for November, references to frost, freezing, cold, snow, and the onset of winter dominate the list.  References to beavers, however, don’t exists.