The Rose Moon of June

It is the quintessential northern summer moon, this magnificent glowing creature rising out of the warm June night over a meandering river in the Lanark highlands. I always feel that this moon craves a rite of some kind, a bow, a benediction, a song of praise.

Litha is not far off now, and there is a touch of pathos, a sense of things moving onward and away, always in a fluid cosmic spiral. When the full moon of July makes its appearance, those of us who live in the northern hemisphere will have begun our slow honeyed inexorable descent toward the time of long nights, cold short days, rest and introspection.

When it is summer here, it is winter somewhere else - I was reminded wonderfully of the boundless cosmic spiral this morning by Tom Raven, who shared his own magnificent moon. New Zealand is in the midst of winter, and Tom's beautiful moon rising over Paekakariki Hill and Pukerua Bay is the "Moon of Long Nights".

We also know this magnificent summer moon as the: Bass Moon, Big Mouth Moon, Big Summer Moon, Blackberry Moon, Brachmon, Bulbs Mature Moon, Centek Moon, Columbine Moon, Corn Tassels Appear Moon, Dancing Moon, Duckling Moon, Dyan Moon, Egg Hatching Moon, Egg Laying Moon, Egg Moon, Eucalyptus Moon, Fatness Moon, Fish Spoils Easily Moon, Fishing Moon, Flowering Cherry Moon, Full Leaf Moon, Gardening Moon, Green Corn Moon, Harvest Moon , Hoeing Moon, Honey Moon, Hot Moon, Lady Slipper Moon, Leaf Dark Moon, Litha Moon, Lotus Moon , Lovers' Moon, Making Fat Moon, Mead Moon, Middle of Summer Moon, Midsummer Brightness Moon, Midsummer Moon, Moon of Horses, Moon of Little Fawns, Moon of Making Fat, Moon of Planting, Moon of the Turtle, Moon When Green Grass Is Up, Moon When June Berries Are Ripe, Moon When the Buffalo Bulls Hunt the Cows, Moon When the Hot Weather Begins, Moon When the Leaves Are Dark Green, Moon When the Moon Leaves Come out, Moon When They Hill Indian Corn, Oak Moon, Peony Moon, Planting Moon, Pomegranate Moon, Raspberry Moon, Ripening Moon, Ripening Time Moon, Semivisonna Moon, Sixth Moon, Sockeye Moon, Solstice Moon, Strawberry Moon, Strong Sun Moon, Summer Moon, Sun High Moon, Thumb Moon, Turning Moon, Watermelon Moon, Windy Moon