Tuesday, March 14, 2006

March's Full Moon of Awakening

March's litany of full moon names comprise a cantrip which sings of burgeoning springtime, of melting snow, high winds, birds returning, new life and green things emerging from the earth. The season of long white nights has ended, and when the astronomical Vernal Equinox (Oestara) arrives on March 20, day and night will be perfectly balanced in length.

For me, this is the "Moon of Earth Awakening" and a time of sylvan alchemy. What are my own markers for this season? I think of black bears awakening from their hibernation, of Saw-Whet Owls (known in the Lanark Highlands as "sugar birds") singing in the forest, of sap being gathered and brewed into maple syrup in great cauldrons and vats in the woods, of geese and ducks returning north, of the Great Horned Owls who are nurturing their young in an old oak tree on my place in Lanark.

Alder Moon, Awakening Moon, Big Winds Moon, Blossoming Moon, Bud Moon, Catching Fish Moon, Chaste Moon, Cold's End Moon, Crow Moon, Crust on Snow Moon, Daffodil Moon, Death Moon, Deer Moon, Eagle Moon, Flower Shower Moon, Flowers Moon, Goose Moon, Green Moon, Growth Begins Moon, Hertha's Moon, Hyacinth Moon, Kono Moon, Lenten Moon, Little Bears Moon, Little Spring Moon, Longer Days Moon, Maple Sugar Moon, Moon of Opening Hands, Moon of the Crane, Moon of the Whispering Wind, Moon of Winds, Moon When Buffalo Cows Drop Their Calves, Moon When the Leaves Break Forth, Moon When the Geese Return, Moose Hunting Moon, Plow Moon, Princess Flower Moon, Purple Glory Tree Moon, Rebirth Moon, Renewal Moon, Sap Moon, Seed Moon, Sleepy Moon, Snow Melting Moon, Snowshoe Breaking Moon, Spring Moon, Storm Moon, Sucker Fishing Moon, Sugar Making Moon, Third Moon, Tibouchina Moon, Trail Sit Along Moon, Tree Peony Moon, Violet Moon, Water Stands in the Ponds Moon, Wind Strong Moon, Windy Moon, Worm Moon

1 comment:

Josephine said...

Delicious Moon!

Wow. You really have a spectacular writing voice. So strong, so present.

I love all of those moons!