Here I am trying to type, and trying to soak in the beauty of tonight's full moon at the same time. It isn't working out well, typing is not one of the skills I have mastered, and after all these years, I am pretty sure that it never will be.
There were a number of superlatives tossed around about tonight's Full Hunter Moon. Watching it climb above the horizon, winking through the trees, A huge disk, glowing softly golden, it gently glides across the dark velvety sky. No longer obscured by tree leaves, pine needles or branches, it has that silvery gleam that hunters and farmers were said to have used like daylight to help them track game and harvest late crops. The Hunters Moon is traditionally the Full Moon after the Harvest Moon, and the idea of using it's brightness to lengthen the work day was first mentioned in print during the 18th century.
This particular Hunter's Moon will appear much larger, and hence be called a "Super moon", and it will be a deeper orangish, redish color because of atmospheric conditions. So that makes it a super superlative moon, considering all of the attention the media has been giving to the 'Blue moon", "Black Moon" etc...right?? It still only looks bigger, because it is closer to earth than usual. And here is EarthSky's illustration of that.
This particular Hunter's Moon will appear much larger, and hence be called a "Super moon", and it will be a deeper orangish, redish color because of atmospheric conditions. So that makes it a super superlative moon, considering all of the attention the media has been giving to the 'Blue moon", "Black Moon" etc...right?? It still only looks bigger, because it is closer to earth than usual. And here is EarthSky's illustration of that.
As Ladymoon glides across the cloudless expanses, on this very quiet night, I feel privileged in experiencing one of those moments when I sense the thinness of the veil between worlds that our Ancestors feared and celebrated at this time of year. The crisp air, and the scent of fallen leaves, the rich golden colors that come before plantlife decays and returns to the earth. Downed leaves that rustle in the chilly breeze cause me to pull my jacket closer around me, even my mug of generic tea tastes richer and the mug itself warms my hands. Standing here admiring the same moon that our ancestors did, a second meaning for Hunters Moon crosses my awe filled mind. Was it only game that they hunted for, only something to feed the body or was it more? Could it be that they were also be that they hunting for something to feed their souls?
