The moon
closest to the autumnal equinox or Mabon is often called the Harvest Moon due
to its obvious connection with this harvest celebration. Mabon is the
celebration of the harvesting of the grain and the point on the wheel of the
year when day and night are in perfect balance.
The September
equinox moon is particularly special due to it’s timing co-inciding with this
point of balance. Usually the moon rises about 50 minutes later than the time
of the sunset. However when a full moon occurs close to the autumnal equinox,
the moon rises only about 30 minutes later daily for several days before and
after the full Harvest moon. This is because the elliptic, or orbital path,
makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn
equinox. The narrow angle of the ecliptic results in a shorter than normal
rising time between sunset and moonrise.
Because there
is relatively little time of darkness between sunset and moonrise this was
perfect for the farmers so a lot of harvesting of the crops was achieved around
the time of the full harvest moon. The corn moon and barley moon were other
popular names for this September moon that were also based around the harvest
theme.
In China the moon nearest the autumn equinox is
called the kindly moon or Chrysanthemum moon. In China, Taiwan and Vietnam the equinox/ Mabon is celebrated with the
Moon festival also known as Mooncake festival or Zhongqui Festival. This festival honours Chang’e the lunar
Goddess and it commemorates the only day in the year that she can visit her
husband Houyi who lives on the sun. Because of this it is seen as a celebration
of the balance of yin and yang. The mooncake festival is a time of giving
gratitude and being with family and friends. In Japan, people gather at
lakes or in special moon- viewing pavilions and eat "moon-viewing
noodles": thick white noodles in broth with an egg yolk
floating on top. This moon is seen as a moon of peace and family re-union similar to
thanksgiving traditions, hence the term ‘Kindly moon’
The September equinox full moon is all
about balance. Day and night are of equal length and we are at the beginning of
autumn, balancing on the edge before we tip into that time when the nights
become longer than the days. Try and take some time during the Mabon full moon
to think about anything in your life that is out of balance. How can you change
that? Maybe there is something that you need to let go of during the waning
moon weeks that follow?
Below is a list of full moon names from
around the world.
Mabon harvest moon blessings to you,
Alison
Soaproot (Pomo).
Corn Moon (Pueblo).
Harvest moon (Hopi).
Singing Moon (Celtic).
Leaf fall Moon (Kiowa).
Ripe Moon (San Juan).
Maize Moon (Natchez).
Acorns Moon (Wishram).
Rice Moon (Anishnaabe).
Hay Cutting Moon (Yuchi).
Mulberry Moon (Choctaw).
Deer Paw Moon (Omaha).
Snow Goose Moon (Cree).
Freshness Moon (Mohawk).
Harvest Moon (Pagan).
Little Chestnut Moon
(Creek).
Corn Maker Moon (Abernaki).
Drying Grass Moon
(Arapaho).
Yellow Leaf Moon
(Assiniboine).
Drying Grass Moon
(Cheyenne).
Autumn Moon
(Passamaquoddy).
Barley Moon (Medieval
English).
Moon when the calves grow
hair (Dakota).
...(O:
ReplyDeleteThank you! Great post ;o)
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