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)

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.

Hunter’s Moon (Full Moon October 2008)

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

With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can easily see fox and the animals which have come out to glean.

Reading through the various Native American moon names for October, references to the leaves changing or falling stand out as well as references to cold and frost.

Harvest Moon (Full Moon September 2008)

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

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. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering.

Glancing the various Native American moon names for September, you can easily note how many tribes in the Americas referenced harvest, the ripeness of corn, the changing of leaves, and the drying of grass.

Sturgeon Moon (Full Moon August 2008)

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

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. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

If you look through the various Native American moon names for August, you will notice a few trends this month: the end of summer (and hot days), the end of ripening and harvest (with emphasis on blackberries and black cherries and acorns), and some stuff about waterfowl (geese shedding their feathers, young ducks start flying).  The Algonquins do reference it as the moon when “Indians corn is edible”, which matches one of the Farmer’s Almanac names.

In my neck of the woods, August usually stands out as blackberry season and the peak of Summer heat.