Saturday, January 30, 2010

Full Wolf Moon

Today is the Full Wolf Moon, so named by our Native American forebears for the wolves that howled beneath the moonlight on these cold, bright winter nights. And tonight will be the brightest of all the full moon nights for the whole year yet to come, for tonight's moon is going to be 14% wider and 30% brighter than all the lesser moons of 2010. This is because the moon is in perigee, which is when the moon is physically closest in its orbit to us here on earth, and when that coincides with a full moon it gives the impression of being far bigger and brighter to the naked eye. Not only does this cause higher tides in our oceans, but tides within the earth's crust as well, thus shaking up our energy fields a bit.

Tonight's moon is also known as the Winter Moon, the Quiet Moon, and in China it's called the Holiday Moon for Lunar New Year. Native American tribes had several different names for it, such as the Cold Moon, the Cooking Moon, and the especially unpleasant Moon of the Terrible. Its neo-pagan name is the Ice Moon, which is more than apt in many locations right now.

Like last month's rare Blue Moon, tonight's moon is powerful and special (Mars will also be visible just to the left of her) making this a wonderful time to both honor the Goddess and draw potent energy from this moon for whatever ritual you may have planned.

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