The full Hunters moon, the soft rustle of downed leaves swept up in the breeze, and a clear view of the shooting stars in the night and somewhere off in the distance an owl hoots.
The Hunters moon, a time when the Gaia once more transforms, this time she rests, dormant and oblivious to the winter winds, snow and ice that clear the earth and get it ready or the time when she wakes and begins her work again.
The Harvest moon was hidden by rain clouds here,leaving any hunter stumbling thru the fields and woodlots in his/her search for small game. The recent and wicked freeze put and end to the gardening season. Leaving me to feel the sharp edge of winter ahead. Also to feel the need to tie up loose ends, move forward and make a sort of "compost" from the remains and cast offs of the past years to amend the fields when Spring finally comes.
This is because the Moon rises about 50 minutes later every day in a lunar month, which is the time it takes the Moon to travel through all of its phases. However, for a couple of days around the Harvest Moon, the Moon rises less than 50 minutes later than the day before.
While there may not be a specific quote about the Hunter’s Full Moon, its spiritual significance can be beautifully captured in this phrase:
“The Hunter’s Full Moon is a celestial feast, a ghostly dance of ritual, symbolizing a time of harvest, abundance, and spiritual transformation. It activates our inner warrior as we set forth into the darker half of the year, illuminating our feelings and bringing situations in our lives to climaxes or conclusions. It’s a time to let go of relationships, beliefs, or habits that hold us back from being leaders in our own lives and getting what we want12.”
This captures the essence of the Hunter’s Full Moon and its impact on our lives.
Hunters Moon 2023: The Spiritual Meaning of the October Full Moon - The Peculiar Brunette
The Hunter's Moon Lights Up the October Sky
October’s Full Moon is the Hunter’s Moon. It is also called Drying Rice Moon, and sometimes Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon.
The Full Moon in October is named after the hunting season in the Northern Hemisphere.
©iStockphoto.com/RelaxFoto.de
Hunter's Moon 2023
Oct 28, 2023 at 4:24 pm
Hunter's Moon 2024
Oct 17, 2024 at 7:26 am
Times for the Hunter's Moon vary by time zone. Times and dates are based on the local time in Brookville. Change location
What is the Hunter’s Moon?
Traditionally, people in the Northern Hemisphere spent October preparing for the coming winter by hunting, slaughtering, and preserving meats, giving this Full Moon its Anglo-Saxon name Hunter’s Moon. The name was added to the Farmer’s Almanac in North America and is used widely today.
Native Americans named this Full Moon after things that happen in the fall, including Drying Rice Moon, Falling Leaves Moon, and Freezing Moon. The Celts used Seed Fall Moon in the same way.
The names Pagan Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon have also been used for this Full Moon. However, these names should not be confused with a Blood Moon—anther name for a total lunar eclipse.
Harvest Moon Some Years
Every three years, the October Full Moon is also the Harvest Moon. This particular name is given to the Full Moon closest to the September equinox, which is the start of fall in the Northern Hemispere.
However, the astronomical seasons do not match up with the lunar month. Therefore, the month the Harvest Moon occurs in varies. Most years, it is in September; however, every three years or so, it falls in the month of October.
When are the Full Moons this year?
12 Full Moon Names
The Full Moon has been integral to tracking the change of months and seasons since ancient times.
Some years have 13 Full Moons, which makes one of them a Blue Moon, as it doesn’t quite fit in with the traditional Full Moon naming system.
Today, we use many of these ancient month names as Full Moon names, and many of them come from the Colonial Americans adopting Native American names into their calendars.
Although the most commonly used Full Moon names are English interpretations of Native American names, some are also Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, medieval English, and Neo-Pagan.
Some other Full Moon names include Autumn Moon, Child Moon, Falling Leaves Moon (since it is the nearest Full Moon to the autumnal equinox), Leaves Turning Moon, Mating Moon, Moon of Brown Leaves, Rutting Moon, or Yellow Leaf Moon, among many others.
In the southern hemisphere, the Harvest Moon is known as Worm Moon, Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Sugar Moon, Chaste Moon, or Sap Moon, among other names.
