Strong Sun Moon

There is a full moon this weekend - on June 7 at 7.12pm London time to be precise, according to the online Pagan calendar. And while that calender says the medieval name for it is Dyad Moon, another name for the full moon closest to to the Summer Solstice is Strong Sun Moon.

That name does seem rather self-explanatory, and it is a powerful time magically, especially for handfastings, weddings and matters of the home, family and heart.

I certainly will be spending the full moon at home. I am still caring for my mum, who broke her wrist. I was invited to an Esbat with some lovely friends, but I had to say I can't go.

What I'll be doing instead - if it is a fine night - is spending some time sitting in my garden under the full moon, sharing with her my cares and woes; hopes and dreams. The moon is a good listener, she's been doing it for millennia. And for those who are open to such things, she can offer quiet words of wisdom - because she has seen everything before and knows our hearts sometimes better than we do ourselves.

Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/06/full-moon-to-meet-under.html
http://www.ewebtribe.com/StarSpiderDancing/strongsun.html
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/moonphasemagic/g/Strong_SunMoon.htm
http://paganwiccan.about.com/b/2008/06/12/strong-sun-moon-on-june-18.htm

A full moon for mourning

Tomorrow, November 13, at 6.17am, is a full moon. It is often called a mourning by modern pagans. Others call it oak moon, dark moon or snow moon.

According to www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names, Americans sometimes call November's moon beaver moon, because it is the beaver hunting season. I could never call it that - not only am I opposed to hunting animals for fur, but I would have trouble not giggling at the word beaver. I guess it means something quite different in the UK than in America.

Last year, a short while after I first starting writing A Bad Witch's Blog, I wrote about coming home from a party under a full mourning moon.

A year later, the party season is starting once more, but I am also remember one November that was a far sadder time for me. It was the time my father died. His funeral was held one bright autumn day. The leaves on the vines growing up the side of the crematorium chapel were blood red. Now, whenever I see leaves that colour at this time of year, I remember standing in a cemetery, crying.

And on cold, dark, November evenings, I miss him, and when I talk to my elderly mum I realise she will be all alone with just the TV for company, and it makes me sad to realise she must miss him too. I also miss him at this time of year when I plan what Yule presents I will buy and remember those I loved but who are no longer here.

Yes, it is the party season, but it is also the time when we enter the coldest, darkest months of the year. Yes, this full moon is definitely a mourning moon for me - and many others.

Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2007/11/mourning-moon.html
www.pagancalendar.co.uk/
http://www.new-age.co.uk/moon-dates.htm
www.pagan-heart.co.uk/articles/moonnames/moonnames.html
witchcraze.moonfruit.com/lunarmonths/4526627125
pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/moon-phases-a-27.html?osCsid=db16cdf4e05cfc0e79990eca4af8f5e
www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names

Full moon

On Sunday April 20 there is a full moon.

I love it when a full moon falls at a weekend because I can celebrate the occasion later into the night than I can if I have work the next day.

Most wiccan covens celebrate the esbat on the nearest weekend to the full moon anyway, but it always seems better to do it when the moon really is full in the sky.

If you are a solitary witch and fancy doing a full moon ritual on your own, here are some links to rituals designed for just one person:
www.witchway.net/ritual/solmoon.html
www.paganlore.org/solomoon.htm
www.thesacredpaths.com/village/2006/03/14/a-solitary-full-moon-ritual/

I often prefer to simply spend time meditating on the moon when I am on my own or, if the night is mild, I like to go for a moonlit walk in the country or along a beach.

For those who like to call the full moons by names each month, the full moon for April was apparently called the Seed Moon in medieval times - perhaps because April in the month when planting was done. Neopagan names include Awakening Moon and Wind Moon.

For more information about the magical significance of the full moon, follow these links: www.pagancalendar.co.uk/
www.pagan-heart.co.uk/articles/moonnames/moonnames.html
witchcraze.moonfruit.com/lunarmonths/4526627125
pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/moon-phases-a-27.html?osCsid=db16cdf4e05cfc0e79990eca4af8f5e
www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_moon tacircle.morbidlemon.co.uk/index.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=12