“Hunter’s Moon” by Tamas Ladanyi
The Farmer’s Almanac tells us that this full Moon is often referred to as the Full Hunter’s Moon, Blood Moon, or Sanguine Moon. Many moons ago, Native Americans named this bright moon for obvious reasons. The leaves are falling from trees, the deer are fattened, and it’s time to begin storing up meat for the long winter ahead. Because the fields were traditionally reaped in late September or early October, hunters could easily see fox and other animals that come out to glean from the fallen grains. Probably because of the threat of winter looming close, the Hunter’s Moon is generally accorded with special honor, historically serving as an important feast day in both Western Europe and among many Native American tribes.
“Harvest Moon Painting” by Samuel Palmer
According to the Wise Witches Society, this full Moon is also referred to as the Full Harvest Moon. “This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering.” (This is all generally speaking as this year was a weird year with a supposed “Blue Moon” in August that I think threw things off a bit).
Known as the Blood Moon, “this is the annual slaughter of all but breeding stock that took place at this time of the year (see “Samhain Lore“) . This is the time of seeking inner peace and truth. The zodiac association [generally] is Libra. [1]
“Orange Dream” by Cebarre
OCTOBER: Blood Moon (October) Also known as: Harvest Moon, Shedding Moon, Winterfelleth (Winter Coming), Windermanoth (Vintage Month), Falling Leaf Moon, Ten Colds Moon, Moon of the Changing Season
Nature Spirits: frost faeries, plant faeries
Herbs: pennyroyal, thyme, catnip, uva ursi, angelica, burdock
Colors: dark blue-green
Flowers: calendula, marigold, cosmos
Scents: strawberry, apple blossom, cherry
Stones: opal, tourmaline, beryl, turquoise
Trees: yew, cypress, acacia
Animals: stag, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion
Birds: heron, crow, robin
Deities: Ishtar, Astarte, Demeter, Kore, Lakshmi, Horned God, Belili, Hathor
Power Flow: to let go; inner cleansing. Karma and reincarnation. Justice and balance. Inner harmony. [2]
Sources:
The Celtic Lady. The Olde Way, “Individual Moons Explained“.
Farmers’ Almanac, “Full Moon Names and Their Meanings“.
Willow Grove, “The Witch’s Esbats“.
Wise Witches Society, “Full Moon Names and Their Meanings“.
Suggested Links:
The Fine-Arts and Bluesband & Poetry Press, “The Names of the Moons“.
McDowell, Robert. Mooncircles.com, “The Divine Feminine and the Promise of the Hunter’s Moon“.
National Geographic, “Full Moons: What’s In A Name?“
The Old Farmer’s Almanac, “Full Hunter’s Moon” .
Sites.google.com, “October: Blood Moon“.
Turner, Bekah Finch. Mooncircles.com, “Taurus Full Moon & Hallowmas ~ Back to Earth“.
What-Your-Sign.com, “Symbolic Native American Full Moon Names“.
* Check out Mooncircles.com every month, or better yet, subscribe to their monthly newsletter to get the scoop on each month’s Full and New Moons, find out more about Moon Astrology and read blogs. They even have a different 3-Minute Moon Ritual for each Full Moon!
Journeying to the Goddess 
Ah, one of my favorite moons of the year. I’m not sure I understand the bit about this being the moon closest to the autumn equinox, I thought that was the Harvest Moon, where the second is the Blood or Hunter’s Moon. Either way, the second moon after Equinox is the real turning point in the year where I live. The light to dark ratio shifts at the equinox, but the spirit in the air shifts to dark at the Hunter’s Moon. This is why I generally skip the earlier harvest festivals- they don’t match my locale.
Yeah, that confused me a little bit too…I think that that info from the Wise Witches Society is very general and different factors can mess with it (i.e. the “Blue Moon” at the end of August) and maybe if October’s moon falls, say, within the first week of the month – then it would be considered a Harvest Moon. Since the full moon falls at the end of October this year though, I wouldn’t be so keen on calling it a Harvest Moon.
Of course, all of this confusion could be alleviated if we were to switch to a 13-Moon Calendar – the logical and natural way to count the 365-day year cycle. Then, “instead of 12 months which are 28, 29, 30, or 31 days long, the year would be instead measured into13 months, each one an even 28 days. 13 moons of 28 days each gives 364 days – plus 1 ‘day out of time,’ a day of celebration and forgiveness, to acknowledge the passing year and welcome in the new year.” (http://www.13moon.com/faq.htm) How cool would that be?
That would make so much more sense.Of course, it would require that people pay more attention to the natural world, so odds are slim right now. 😦
This is a beautiful site. It set the tone for my meditations for the blood moon tomorrow night.
Thank you Amy and wonderful! 🙂 You know, I had thought about posting info on each full moon the day they were supposed to happen; but then I thought, well, do it at least 3 days ahead of time so people who plan out their rituals in advance or celebrate before the actual full moon have a chance to incorporate this info into their own practice if they so choose.
Reblogged this on Journeying to the Goddess and commented:
Well we certainly have an interesting time coming up – Full Moon, a lunar eclipse, Mercury going retrograde and Samhain just around the corner! Here are some links to let you know what is going on and what to expect! “Right of Action: Full Moon Lunar Eclipse Oct 2013!” (http://www.aeprilsastrology.com/2013/10/right-of-action-full-moon-lunar-eclipse.html) by Aepril Schaile. “Power and Surrender – Friday’s Lunar Eclipse in Aries” (http://virgomagic.com/2013/10/16/aries-lunar-eclipse/) by Virgo Magic. “Lunar Eclipse October 2013” (http://darkstarastrology.com/lunar-eclipse-october-2013/) by Marina E. Partridge. “Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse in Aries – October 18th, 2013” (http://celestialspace.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/full-moon-and-lunar-eclipse-in-aries-october-18th-2013/) by Dipali Desai. “Celestial Twinkle: Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio October 21st – November 2013” (http://celestialspace.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/celestial-twinkle-mercury-retrograde-in-scorpio-october-21st-november-2013/) by Dipali Desai. And of course all the fabulous articles on Mooncircles.com.
I am White Wolf, Native Shaman. I will be doing a Native Shaman ceremony tonight starting at sunset East of Liberty Mississippi, where I’m gonna do the ceremony is in front of a old 2 story house where the owner is documenting paranormal activity (Ghost/spirits) which I plan to look into exactly there & from there I will review things if any other ceremony is to be conducted, if a expelling/exorcism is to be done.