Day 23,744: Paying respect to lunar cycles. 

It’s a full moon tonight. And it’s high tide. On a night like this it’s hard not to marvel in the amazingness of the universe.  The moon is 238,900 miles away and yet it has a strong pull on us, literally causing our oceans and waterways to bulge.

The April moon, I’ve now learned, is called The Pink Moon, after the pink flowers of spring. It has other names as well – The Egg Moon and Fish Moon. The names come for colonial Americans who took the names from the Native Americans as a way of marking time through the seasons. he December moon is the Cold Moon, with June’s being the Strawberry Moon.

In Chinese culture, this same April moon is called the Peony Moon, a different flower, but generally pink nonetheless. May, in Chinese culture, is the Dragon Moon, a fact I’ll have to pay more attention to given the Red Dragon icon of this blog.

Now living down the shore on the coastline, the effects of the moon are impossible to ignore. Many roads flood on a regular basis, and the entire scent of the area changes depending on low versus high tide. We’re on a salt water marsh where the sulphur scents are hard to ignore at low water marks. It’s just one of the few things that has me more attuned to the atmosphere living now farther from the suburbs and closer to the elements.

Things I Learned About The Moon:

  • To date only 12 people have set foot on the moon – all men. Interesting since it cycles around earth in tandem with women’s cycles  – 27.9 days.
  • It has taken space travelers 3 days to get to the moon, but if you were able to drive a car there, it would a six-month trip.
  • Most full moons are totally full — just the fullest for that month. The only 100% full moon is during a lunar eclipse.
  • A Blue Moon refers to the few times there are two full moons in a month, and it’s the second full moon. It generally happens only once a year, hence the term once in a blue moon to refer to rare occurrences.
  • The moon is pulling away from the earth ever so slightly every year. 

 Full Moon Rituals

For years, there are rituals across many cultures and religions around moon phases.  The Jewish faith has rituals — Rosh Chodesh – around the new moon. The full moon, according to at least one feminine source, is a good time to release either what you’ve outgrown or what no longer serves you. MindBodyGreen.com advocates it also is a good time for practicing forgiveness. It’s likely never a bad time to release what’s unneeded nor to forgive, but if a full moon gives you a monthly reminder to consider both, it’s all to the good.

During this full moon, I’ll be helping one daughter transition into a new living space. She’s giving up an old lease and address that no longer serves her. It’s a happy transition toward a more positive living space. I can’t think of a better thing to do to celebrate a new moon.

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Daily Focus on Gun Sanity: A fact from Sandy Hook Promise – “Guns used in 80% of all incidents at schools were taken from the home, a friend or relative.”