Friday, September 20, 2013

The magic of the Harvest Moon

Last evening, the eastern hemisphere saw the rise of the full moon of September, commonly known as the Harvest Moon. This is the moon all know by its folk name, but most people expect it to occur in October.

This Full Harvest Moon allows farmers to work in their fields late into the night, bringing in crops. It is also called the Full Corn Moon by Native Americans who set this date to mark when corn should be harvested. Other names include: Barley Moon; Hazel Moon; Wine Moon; Singing Moon; Sturgeon Moon; Haligmonath (Holy Month); Witumanoth (Wood Month); Moon When Deer Paw the Earth.

Around the world, the coming Autumn Equinox will be celebrated by many cultures. The energy flowing from the Autumn Equinox through Winter Solstice to the Spring Equinox is getting deeper, more hidden. Spiritually, the Dark Moon deities, representing the Underworld, death, reincarnation, and deep spiritual mysteries, now hold control.

In the ancient Incan Empire, the Citua celebration was held on the date of the New Moon nearest the equinox. Everyone performed a ritual cleansing, then smeared their faces with a paste of ground maize (corn). After, they feasted and danced for several days. This was a festival in honor of Mama Quilla, the Moon goddess.

Correspondences of the September Moon
Nature Spirits: trooping faeries
Herbs: copal, fennel, rye, wheat, valerian, skullcap
Colours: brown, yellow-green, yellow
Flowers: narcissus, lily
Scents: storax, mastic, gardenia, bergamot
Stones: peridot, olivine, chrysolite, citrine
Trees: hazel, larch, bay
Animals: snake, jackal
Birds: ibis, sparrow
Deities: Demeter, Ceres, Isis, Nephthys, Freyja, Ch'ang-O, Thoth
Power Flow: rest after labor; balance of Light and Dark. Organize. Clean and straighten up physical, mental, emotional and spiritual clutter.
 
I hope you were able to take a moment to enjoy the simple pleasures and magical beauty of the Harvest Moon.

Art: ahoberer78 and Jayne Barnett
Reference: The Months of the Moon

1 comment:

Juli D. Revezzo said...

It was pretty, wasn't it? Happy Mabon, my friends!

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