December's moon always seems poignant to me and rather lonely, floating up there in the velvety darkness by herself. When this full moon rolls around, those of us who live in the north are huddled indoors near our hearths, heaving wood into the fireplace or stove at regular intervals and watching the dancing flames, drinking tea, trying to stay warm and out of the wind and the cold. We watch the ebb and flow of the seasons and the passing of the short days and long nights from our frosty windows, and we hold fast to thoughts of warmth and light returning, knowing well that it will be the end of January before we begin to see any real change in the length of our days and the warmth of the sun.
Moon watching in December is not for everyone, and it takes a hardy soul indeed to stand shivering in the garden under the dark spidery trees with camera and tripod looking up, but however cold the night and the wind, the exercise is always well worth it, for December's moon really is something special.
Like its older sisters, this moon has many names, and we also know it as:
Ashes Fire Moon, Beginning of Winter Moon, Big Bear Moon, Birch Moon, Center Moon's Younger Brother, Cold Moon, Bitter Moon, Deer Shed Their Horns Moon, Dumannos Moon, Eccentric Moon, Elder Moon, Frozen Over Moon, Holy Moon, Hellebore Moon, Her Winter Houses Moon, Hunting Moon, Ice Moon, Little Finger Moon, Little Spirits Moon, Long Nights Moon, Long Snows Moon, Middle of Winter Moon, Moon Before Yule, Moon of Cold, Moon of Long Nights, Moon of Much Cold, Moon of Popping Trees, Moon of Putting Your Paddle Away in the Bush, Moon of Respect, Moon When Deer Shed Their Horns, Moon When Little Bears Are Born, Moon When the Young Fellow Spreads the Brush, Moon When the Wolves Run Together, Moon When the Sun Has Traveled South to His Home to Rest Before He Starts Back on His Journey North, Night Moon, Oak Moon, Poinsettia Moon, Real Goose Moon, Snow Moon, Star Frost Moon, Turning Moon, Twelfth Moon, Under Burn Moon, White Orchid Tree Moon, Winter Moon, World Darkness Moon, Yule Moon
A Monday haiku offering may be found here.
Source: i-love-witchcraft.blogspot.com
