“The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.” G.K. Chesterton

Tonight I am posting about the beautiful full Beaver Moon, also known as the Frost Moon - and this afternoon I went up Slieve Donard to watch the moonrise. What a treat. It was a full orange beauty in the sky, reflected in Dundrum Bay; and then the darkening clouds made it kind of haunting and supernatural. You all know how much I love the moon so that was a really special experience.

The Beaver Moon is so named as beavers typically start building their winter dams in November. We don't have beavers in Northern Ireland apart from the two characters from Narnia who appear as sculptures in East Belfast.

This morning, the Beaver Moon coincided with a partial lunar eclipse, otherwise known as a Half Blood Moon, as part of the moon traveled through the Earth's full 'umbral' shadow for 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds. For some reason this makes me think of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

If I'm being totally honest, I don't fully understand these things but I've read that this was the longest partial lunar eclipse in centuries. There hasn’t been a longer one since February 18, 1440, (3h, 28m, 46s) and it will remain the longest partial lunar eclipse for 648 years until February 8, 2669 (3h, 30m, 2s). There will be a longer TOTAL lunar eclipse on November 8, 2022. There's a date for your diaries.

Here are a few wee bits of trivia about the moon.

1. The moon is 4.6 billion years old and was formed between 30-50 million years after the solar system.

2. It is smaller than Earth - about the same size as Pluto in fact.

3. Its surface area is less than the surface area of Asia - about 14.6 million square miles according to space.com

4. Gravity on the Moon is only 1/6 of that found on Earth.

5. The Moon is not round, but is egg-shaped with the large end pointed towards Earth.

6. It would take 135 days to drive by car to the Moon at 70 mph (or nine years to walk).

7. The Moon has "moonquakes" caused by the gravitational pull of Earth.

8. Experts believe the Moon has a molten core, just like Earth.

And to finish, here are some nice pictures of beavers.

Please remember to look up tonight at the beautiful full moon. I will be looking at it from the ancient Tuscan hill town of Volterra because I am in Italy! When the Hunter's Moon came round in 2020, my world was very different. The 13 moons of the last year have seen everything change and I am very reflective today in this ancient Etruscan place.

(Moon above Volterra, Tuscany)

The moon is, in terms of distance, the closest heavenly body to earth: we can see it in the sky for three weeks out of four, and for thousands of years, people have used its light to guide them in the dark and to keep track of the passing of time.

As you know, full moons have different names because the early Native Americans didn't record time using months of the Julian or Gregorian calendar. Instead tribes gave each full moon a nickname to keep track of the seasons and lunar months.

Most of the names relate to an activity or an event that took place at the time in each location. However, it wasn't a uniform system and tribes tended to name and count moons differently. Some, for example, counted four seasons a year while others counted five. Others defined a year as 12 moons, while others said there were 13.

Can't remember where I nicked this image from, but it's all apparently photos of the moon. I can't imagine those purple ones are real...

So why is this one called the Hunter's Moon? Well this time of year is reportedly the best time for hunting because leaves have fallen, deer have fattened and harvesters have cleared the fields, making it easier to see the animals. It’s the time of the rut for deer and elk (mating season), and game are currently well-nourished.

Elsewhere it is known as the Travel Moon (appropriately for me), the Dying Grass Moon and the Sanguine or Blood Moon (maybe after the changing colors of the leaves).

The English also called it Winterfylleth, or “Winter Full Moon.” They considered this full moon to be the start of winter. In weather lore, we note, “If October brings heavy frosts and winds, then will January and February be mild".

The first recorded mention of a “Hunter’s Moon” was in 1710. The Hunter’s Moon typically appears in October, except once every four years when it doesn’t appear until November.

The Hunter’s Moon marks the end of the harvest season and it brings a time to reflect on what you have accomplished during this cycle.

(Moon in Massachussetts, courtesy of Peter Harrison)

This is the season for preservation, and preparation for the icy cold days and nights ahead. Before industrialism, people focused on harvesting and preparing for the coming of Winter. Failure to do so meant facing one’s own death or mortality.

Spiritually you need to focus on internal work and self-reflection as the dark half of the year begins. Accept and welcome the darkness with open arms and spirit - it's a moment to look back in history to our ancestors and the lessons they can teach us.

It’s also a wonderful time for gratitude and appreciation for what Nature has given us. You can feel the magical energy in the air right now as the veil grows thin and the ability to communicate with our loved ones increases. It’s an opportunity for personal growth and goal setting.

Anyway, I am in a land of vineyards and olive trees, gelato and coffee and I am grateful for the company I'm with - while I grieve for the company I've lost - so under the Hunter's Moon, I raise my glass 'Saluti' to you all. Ciao Carissima.

Photo courtesy of Evelyn Waring

Tomorrow (Sept 22nd) is the autumn equinox and here, in the Northern Hemisphere, we always call the full moon closest to the autumn equinox the Harvest Moon. For my friends in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, you will get your Harvest Moon in March.

Every lunar month for a year now I’ve been researching and posting about the full moons and their different names. The Harvest moon is different: it doesn’t have any alternative names because it’s not associated with a specific month or time of year, but is solely equinoxial. The name just relates to the gathering of autumn crops and the big, bright moon lengthening the farmer’s day in an age before electric lights. No sooner would the sun go down than the harvest moon would come up. Last year it came in early October, this year it’s September.

One other difference with the harvest moon is that for a few nights in a row (yesterday, today, tomorrow) it will appear to rise at the same time (sunset) each night; whereas all the other moons rise an average of 50 minutes later each consecutive day. This is why we’ll almost have full moons, dusk-to-dawn, for 3 nights in a row.

People have been moon gazing forever. There’s something beautiful about its desolation and knowing that it’s looked the same to everyone, always. In past civilizations the Moon was regarded as a god with power over the tides, human behaviour and the cycle of female fertility. It was the alchemist for magic, transformation, lunacy and romance. My Dad listens to a lot of Doo-Wop music and you’d be astonished how many of those lyrics are addressed to the moon above (which conveniently rhymes with ‘the one I love’).

I think about Galileo and all the earlier philosophers and scientists, staring up at the moon and thinking deeply. The clever ones realised that observation of the moon’s motion and position would allow them to predict tides and develop calendars. We just take these things for granted now - like glass in windows and radio waves and silicon chips; but it’s been the brilliance of people before us, moon-gazers probably, who worked it all out.

(Left) Near side of Earth's Moon, photographed by the Galileo spacecraft on its way to Jupiter.

(Right) Far side of the Moon with some of the near side visible (upper right), photographed by the Apollo 16 spacecraft.

This week in the News, I see a group of spacers took their rocket ship holiday into orbit: I’d say it won’t be that long in the scale of things before we are booking our trip to the moon as nonchalantly as a fortnight in Benidorm, and what are the odds there’ll be an Irish Bar end up there somewhere…..

As for me, I gaze up at the moon in complete empty-minded blankness. I just like its roundness and its shadows and its refusal to do anything other than what it’s always done. It makes me happy.

It also makes the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese happy - they have all kinds of mid-autumn festivals and traditions; and I’ve just discovered that they give and receive ‘mooncakes’. Just look at these delicious things (see pic)! The pastries are given as gifts to all and sundry and the traditional fillings have evolved to now include everything from alcoholic infusions, ice cream and jellies to red velvet, rum raisin and tiramisu. I have never had one but I really think it’s something we should introduce here.

Anyway - last thought of the night - this is the time for lovin’. The long days of summer are away, the nights are closing in, and you need to get harvestin’ yourself some winter-time company before the snows arrive. That’s the message anyway in the early 1900s song ‘Shine on Harvest Moon’ of which most people only know that one line, lol. The lyrics are:

Shine on, shine on harvest moon

Up in the sky,

I ain’t had no lovin’

Since January, February, June or July

Snow time ain’t no time to stay

Outdoors and spoon,

So shine on, shine on harvest moon,

For me and my gal.

Best of luck with that now, friends.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days and happens when the moon is completely illuminated by the sun's rays. It occurs when the Earth is directly aligned between the sun and the moon.

August’s full moon is traditionally called the Sturgeon Moon after a North American fish which was most readily caught around late summer. The name actually means “the stirrer,” and sturgeon stir up the mud and silt on river and lake bottoms as they look for food.

I've been amazed by what I've found out about these prehistoric-looking, grey-green fish.

Firstly, they've been traced back millions of years and many people call them “living fossils". The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous period, and are descended from fish which date back to the Triassic period some 245 to 208 million years ago. To put that in scale, the Giant's Causeway is about 50-60 million years old. These fish even predate the dinosaurs of the Jurassic period. Just wow.

They can live up to 150 years, can grow to over 6 feet long and weigh around 200 pounds. One fella caught in Idaho was over 10 feet long!

Sturgeon used to be a major part of the ecosystems in North America's Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and in the Mississippi River, and they were once found all the way from Canada to Alabama. But, surprise surprise, humans have wrecked things. The lake sturgeon has become very rare because of intense overfishing in the 19th century, pollution, and damage to their habitat and breeding grounds due to agriculture and lumbering. There are now some conservation efforts and their population numbers have been increasing.

Anyway - back to tonight's full moon.... As usual there are some alternative names:

Flying Up Moon (the time when young birds are finally ready to take the leap and learn to fly).

Corn Moon and Ricing Moon (signify that this is the time to gather maturing crops).

• Black Cherries Moon (when these are ripe)

• Hot Moon

• Dry Moon

• Grain Moon

• End of Summer Moon

• Moon of Joyfulness (I like this one)

• Mountain Shadows Moon.

In the lunar calendar, the Sturgeon Full Moon of August embodies the final days of summer and signals the beginning of harvest season. Deep within us, we feel the change as the days start to shorten, the sunlight grows weaker and leaves start to yellow on the trees.

We are supposed to start our autumn preparations now, in advance of the Equinox, by harvesting and filling our larders, drying and saving seeds, creating herbal infusions to use later for salves, tinctures, balms etc.

This is also the time to finish off all the household and garden projects, sign up for new term courses, join the library, get recommendations for binge-watch box sets and order your heating oil.

Bah. I'm not ready for Autumn yet. Let's stretch summer as far as we can......

Happy Full Sturgeon Moon, to all my friends.

A Summer Night by WH Auden

Now north and south and east and west| Those I love lie down to rest; The moon looks on them all, The healers and the brilliant talkers, The eccentrics and the silent walkers, The dumpy and the tall.

Tonight's Full Moon is called The Harvest Moon and it is the first of two full moons we'll enjoy this month. I stopped the car on the east coast, near Ballyhalbert, to take this photograph - but my phone doesn't do it justice.

Photo sent to me by Richard Graham.

Photo found online.

Photo taken in Bangor, County Down, by my friend Bill Maul.

In the whole of this 21st century, there will actually only be six full moons on Halloween:

2001 (only in Central and Pacific time zones so we missed it) / 2020 (tomorrow!) / 2039 / 2058 (I will be 86!) / 2077 and 2096.... (sorry to miss those lol).

A Halloween full moon hasn’t appeared for everyone in ALL time zones since 1944 - so Mum would have been 6 months old, Daddy wasn't yet born, and most people were probably too distracted by the Second World War to even think about the moon.

The first recorded mention of a “Hunter’s Moon” was in 1710 and was attributed to “the country people”.

The Hunter's Moon, which is the full moon following the Harvest Moon and the closest full moon to the fall equinox, is reportedly the best time for hunting because leaves have fallen, deer have fattened and harvesters have cleared the fields, making it easier to see the animals.

Elsewhere it is known as the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon and the Sanguine or Blood Moon (maybe after the changing colors of the leaves).

The Hunter’s Moon typically appears in October, except once every four years when it doesn’t appear until November.

This month's Hunters' Moon is also a BLUE MOON because it's the second full moon of the same month - following the harvest moon at the start of October. So look up please and make a wish on this rare blue moon - for better times, a viable vaccine for Covid-19, and a glass raised with me before long.

Tonight is also Samhain (pronounced Sowin to rhyme with cowan) - arguably the most important date in the ancient pagan Celtic calendar. It is year end as the seasonal calendar rolls from the light half of the year to the dark half - and tonight the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest.....

Tonight the dead can take revenge on the living for any wrong done to them during life. People used to avoid going near graveyards and would never look round if they heard footsteps behind them for “it is the dead who are behind you and if you meet their glance assuredly you must die!”

In Ireland, Samhain customs involved lighting bonfires and visiting neighbours. Lockdown has kind of scuppered that this year - but I have my stove lit inside if that counts.

It was also a night for playing practical jokes. There are many instances of youths tying the doors of houses so that the inhabitants could not get out, stealing corn, pouring water down chimneys, dumping carts in bog holes and removing gates. One joke was to round up all the local donkeys, attach false faces to them with string and paint their bodies with red and black stripes.

The old custom of placing a hollowed out turnip with a candle inside, has been made simpler with the more easily carved pumpkins - but their original aim was to keep away evil spirits because on this night the supernatural world achieved its greatest power to influence the life of men. I suspect it was the smell of the burning turnip that drove them off lol.

Halloween was genuinely regarded as a night of ill omen. As a protection any traveller carried a steel needle. If he should chance upon a fairy host, he would take some dust from under his feet and throw it at them - and then they would be obliged to surrender any mortal they had captured. To protect children, salt and oatmeal were rubbed in their hair.

Games and customs – such as ducking for apples, or catching apples from a stick suspended with a candle at the other end - were customary in the past.

And single girlfriends, tonight is the night to try and discover what any future husbands may look like. PM me for details with a cabbage handy.... lolol.

Burning nuts was another custom – and children used to call Halloween ‘Nut Crack Night’.

In Ireland in the past, adults would disguise themselves (often wearing straw hats) and would roam about armed with sticks and clubs to collect presents of butter, eggs and meal. The most elaborate Halloween procession in Ireland was in Co. Cork. Here in the mid 19th century, a group of young men set out headed by a figure enveloped in a white sheet having the head of a horse – he was called the Lair Bhan – the white mare. The procession was accompanied by sundry youths sounding lustily on cow horns. They visited houses and demanded a contribution.

Anyway. My fingers are getting cold. There is a ring around the moon (a broch) which foretells bad weather so I might go and check my fire.

The New Celtic Year starts tomorrow. I wish you all blessings, health, peace and happiness xx

Tonight's full moon is most often known as The Beaver Moon - the first known use of this name was in 1778.

You may have seen the good news item in today's media about the successful reintroduction of beavers into parts of England.

We have never had them here in Ireland - but sculptures of Mr & Mrs Beaver from Narnia can be found in C.S. Lewis Square in East Belfast.

November’s full Moon was traditionally called the Beaver Moon by Native Americans and colonial Americans who used the moons as a natural calendar.

During the time of the fur trade in North America, this was the time of year traditionally considered best for hunting or trapping beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts.

November is also the time when beavers actively build their winter dams and lodges, before the swamps freeze, having laid up sufficient stores of food for the long winter ahead.

Tonight's full moon has various other names including: Frost Moon; Freezing Moon; Cold Moon; Snow Moon; Fog Moon; Moon of Storms; Mourning Moon; Digging Moon; Scratching Moon; Geese-Going Moon; and Moon before Yule. The first selection obviously refer to the changing weather as we move into winter tomorrow.

In pagan traditions, the rise of the "mourning moon" symbolizes a time to reflect on the year and make personal changes by letting go of the past. If there is a bad habit, fears or emotions that are weighing you down, send them off as the moon rises tonight.

The names 'Digging Moon' and 'Scratching Moon' suggest animals scratching at the fallen leaves, foraging for fallen nuts or remaining shoots of green foliage—with the implication that winter is on its way.

Wherever in the world you live, look into the sky tonight and you’ll see the bright orange star Aldebaran shining close to the Moon. You’ll also find a spectacular open star cluster — the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters or M45 — sparkling nearby.

With the new moon, comes the next tree in the ancient Celtic tree calendar and I will post about it tomorrow.

Happy moon gazing tonight, friends. I (as always) wish you all love, luck and health in days to come.

Tonight's huge, white, astonishingly bright moon is known as the ‘Cold Moon’ and since it's one degree out there right now, it's not hard to know why. There are alternative names including the "Oak Moon"; the pagan name “Moon After Yule”; or the Mohican name “Long Nights Moon”.

More obscure tribal names for the December moon include Drift Clearing Moon, Hoar Frost Moon, Snow Moon and Winter Maker Moon.

This is the month when the moon rides highest in the sky, taking a more northerly trajectory opposite to a low Sun and passing as close to the zenith (the point in the sky directly overhead) as it ever does.

All this means that December's moon is above the horizon longer than at other times of the year - more than 15 hours from tonight into tomorrow morning, making it the longest full moon of the year. And if you miss it, it will also look fab tomorrow night....

(Cold Moon in Romania, photography by Orsi Ka)

This Cold Moon comes in the wake of that spectacular “Christmas Star” or “great conjunction” of planets that I was talking about just before Christmas - exciting times in the night skies, I wonder what they herald.

The next full Moon will be the “Wolf Moon” on Thursday 28th January 2021. I hope it will be shining down on a better world with vaccines for the vulnerable, an end to hospital chaos, and an end in sight after the challenges of 2020. More immediately, I also hope by then to have a better camera for photographing the moon

I will be posting again in a day or two because the new moon heralds the next Celtic 'tree' in that particular calendar; but for now, I am going to wrap up warm and head back out to moon-gaze - wishing you all the Happiest, Healthiest and most normal of New Years and peace and love in 2021.

Hugs to all, xoxo

PS. A very random moon fact that I read this week is that the Chinese goddess of the Moon, Chang'e, is believed to live on the Moon with her pet rabbit, Yutu. Heehee.

This one was named because packs of wolves could be heard howling in the bright moonlight at this time of year, hunting and hungry in the lean winter months. Wolves were once found all over Europe and the United States. Wolves howl to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting. There are some great clips online like this one -

https://youtu.be/F-oAaElViaU

When I played that just now, the cats were freaked.....

Other traditional names for the January Moon emphasize the harshness of the weather: Cold Moon, Frost Exploding Moon, Freeze Up Moon, Severe Moon, Hard Moon, Old Moon, Ice Moon, Snow Moon and the Moon after Yule. Another fitting name for this full moon is the Centre Moon referring to the idea that this Moon roughly marks the middle of the winter season.

Last year, January's full moon, dubbed the ‘super blood wolf moon’, was a spectacular sight - the product of three different phenomena: it was a supermoon, a Wolf Moon and a blood moon. This year I can't see a thing through the rain clouds so I'm hoping somebody will send me a few good photos.

It is tonight, rather than January 1st, when you should think about your intentions for 2021 and set them in your mind by the light of this moon of energy and abundance, starting with an empty clean slate.

This moon is also about emotional closeness. Januaries traditionally bring families closer with people spending more time indoors: however this lockdown has everyone sick of the sight of each other lol. Nonetheless this is the time to work on relationships, partnerships and matters of the heart. Good luck lol.

I will be posting separately about this lunar month's associated tree but if you use aromatherapy oils at home, this is the month to inhale the scents of pine, juniper, ginger and musk, and choose white and violet flowers.

Happy New Moon everyone.

The tide is high, the weather is balmy and this mid-year moon finds us (in Ireland anyway) enjoying an unusually warm July with three new 'highest ever temperature' records set during the last week.

The full moon is shrouded in folklore and magic. I love it. It re-sets me every 28 days or so. I've attached a photo sent to me by a friend which shows the moon photographed every night for the last 28 nights from the same place.

July’s full moon is called the “Buck Moon” in accordance with Native American traditions. By this time of the year a buck's antlers are fully grown and he is ready to dominate the other stags and impress the ladies.

Other names for tonight's moon include:

• Thunder Moon - due to the summer storms this month

• Hay moon - after the July hay harvest

• Halfway Summer Moon

• Feather Moulting Moon

• Salmon Moon (indicating when fish returned to the area and were ready to be harvested)

• Raspberry Moon.

Hindus and Buddhists call July's moon 'the Guru Full Moon' (Guru Purnima), and it is celebrated as a time for clearing the mind. July's moon also marks the beginning of a three-month annual Buddhist retreat called Vassa.

In the Chinese calendar this is Lotus Month; while it also corresponds with the Israeli "holiday of love".

From all that, I take the following.... The nights are long and warm, the first hay is in. Young stags are testing their strength and everyone is in their prime for finding or sustaining love. Make the most of the long, warm nights. Visit Ballywatticock. Be open to hugging again and enjoy life.

(This photo by Gerard Gormley Photography, taken from his Facebook page)

Sending you all Full Moon blessings.

It won’t be as big as last month’s Supermoon but it’ll still be 9 times the circumference of Earth even though it’s 360,221km away (which is 8000 km closer than it’ll be next month).

I read a theory that the moon was created during a collision between the Earth and another small planet, about the size of Mars. The debris from this impact collected in an orbit around Earth to form the Moon. I wish I had the brain to fully ‘get’ these things. I read them and think ‘wow’ but I never really understand properly.

If the clouds clear, you’ll be able to see the craters on the moon which have been caused by billions of years of bombardment from meteorites. There are almost 10,000 of them and usually they are named after deceased scientists and other explorers. I told you recently that it was Galileo who observed the moon through his first telescope in 1609 and realised it had these ‘depressions’.

The big bright one, kind of left of centre, is called Copernicus: it’s the baby of the craters, only 80 million years old. The smaller one over to the left is Aristarchus and the huge one at the bottom is called Tycho: it reminds me of the air valve where you would blow up a beach ball.

Native American Indians called tonight’s moon ‘The Strawberry Moon’ which is appropriate because my strawberry patch is thriving on neglect as usual and I have been eating strawberries for the past few days. Other tribes knew it more generally as the ‘Berries Ripen Moon’; the Birth Moon; the Blooming Moon; or the Mead Moon.

June was traditionally the month for marriages in Ireland. May was considered unlucky (Marry in May and Rue the Day) – whereas June is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. After the wedding ceremony, the new bride was encouraged to drink mead, a strong wine sweetened with honey. This was said to promote fertility and she drank it for a full lunar month: this is where the term ‘honeymoon’ comes from. You really wanted to get married before the full moon in June, when the moon was ‘growing’. If you could tie the time of the wedding in with a flowing tide, you were sure of a successful union.

In modern times, traditions associated with newly weds range from tying cans to the car bumper before the couple drive off, to playing pranks in the honeymoon bedroom. These have got to be preferable to an older Irish custom where the groom’s mother broke a piece of cake on the new bride’s head - I can’t see how that could possibly be lucky.

For Hindus, this full Moon corresponds with Vat Purnima when married women will show their love for their husbands by tying a ceremonial thread around a banyan tree. The celebration is based on the legend of Savitri and Satyavan. In the illustration below, Savitri is begging Yama for Satyavan's life.

Wishing you all the happiest month yet with strawberries and abundance

As I mentioned earlier this week, tonight’s moon is going to appear bigger, brighter and redder than usual. There is something rare happening: the simultaneous occurrence of a Supermoon and a Total Lunar Eclipse (which will result in a Blood Moon in some places - but not here…)

Let me explain those three terms.

• A Supermoon happens when a full moon occurs at the same time as it reaches its closest point to the Earth – a point called perigee. Tonight, we will see the biggest moon of the year looking 14% larger and 30% brighter than a regular full moon.

• A Total Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Full Moon are exactly aligned (with Earth in the middle) putting the Moon into our shadow. Tonight’s will be the first since January 2019 and will only be visible from certain parts of the world including western North USA, Australia, western South America and Southeast Asia. For the rest of us, I have attached a wee clip from NASA that will explain tonight’s phenomenon.

What's Up: May 2021 Skywatching Tips from NASA

• A Blood Moon is when the moon takes on a crimson colour as it drifts into the shadow of the Earth. Our atmosphere bends or reflects ‘left over’ light from the world’s sunsets and sunrises to bathe the moon in a red light. The more dust or clouds in Earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the Moon will appear.

Now, if it wasn’t a Supermoon or a Bloodmoon, May’s full moon would normally just be called the Flower Moon - named by the North American Indian tribes because this is the season when flowers are really starting to bloom. Other tribal names include Budding Moon, Leaf Budding Moon, Planting Moon, Egg Laying Moon, Frog Moon and Moon of the Shedding Ponies…..

Speaking of flowers, gardeners should have all their crops planted out by now (despite this being the wettest May on record over here!), and before this month ends, you need to pour your concrete and set posts.

• In other folklore, whatever you do, don’t let your first view of tonight’s Supermoon be through a window. You need to see it ‘bare’ (not through glass) for good luck.

• And don’t let it shine on your face tonight when you’re in bed, or you’ll wake up mad. (Or madder?)

• When you get your first glimpse of tonight’s full moon, if you happen to have any coins in your pocket, turn them over three times for good luck.

• And finally, if anyone receives a marriage proposal tonight, under the May full moon, say YES, it’s a match made in heaven. (I’m here, ready, if anyone’s asking….. lol)

On that note, astrologically this is an exciting time as we are about to be catapulted into the unpredictable energy of summer with all its potential for growth, re-emergence and change. It aligns perfectly with the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, and we can all fling ourselves, vaccinated and ecstatic into the Age of Sagittarius! This is a month for possibilities, energy and personal bests.

I will leave you all, sky-gazing, like the sea god Manannan Mac Lir in the fab image above, wishing you a Peaceful Vesak - a most sacred day to millions of Buddhists around the world who mark this May Full Moon.

Brendan is given various titles but the most fitting is Brendan the Navigator. He was the tour guide and travel blogger of his day, believed by some to have discovered Newfoundland long before America was even a thing...

Born in the 5th century at Fenit (near Dingle) in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland, Brendan is an early Irish monastic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.

Never content on land, he was forever building wee boats and heading off on adventures. He is primarily renowned for his legendary quest to the "Isle of the Blessed" - today we'd call it 'Brendan in the Wild West'.

He kept a detailed travel journal - the Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis ("Voyage of Saint Brendan") - which became a medieval best-seller.

That voyage is dated to AD 512–530 and Brendan encountered a sea monster, walruses, great crystal pillars rising out of the sea (icebergs) and demons throwing rocks (Icelandic volcanic eruptions).

Brendan and his companions were in a wee, single-masted, currach-like boat of wattle, covered with hides and tanned in oak bark, softened with butter.

There is a really great book by the explorer, Tim Severin who sadly died last December. Tim and some companions recreated St Brendan's voyage as authentically as possible in the 1970s and demonstrated that it is possible for a leather-clad boat to sail from Kerry to North America, via the Faroes and Iceland.

Severin's 1978 film inspired Irish composer Shaun Davey to write his orchestral suite "The Brendan Voyage" - which was the first time the uilleann pipes had led a full ensemble. It is an astonishing score and captures all the moods of the landscape and the voyagers.

St Brendan is featured on the Stella Maris mosaic in Belfast (corner of Garmoyle Street and Dock Street) created by Des Kinney - but I kind of suspect I will be alone in celebrating him here today lol.

One of my ambitions for this summer is to climb Mount Brandon in Kerry - if Ann Curran will take me.

Happy St Brendan's Day, friends :)

Have you looked up tonight at the beautiful, full April moon?

This month, it is a supermoon which means it appears about 7% bigger and about 15% brighter than normal full moons because it is passing Earth at the closest point in its orbit (less than 224,000 miles).

There will be another one in May, but these are the only two proper supermoons we'll have this year. (The last one was a blue Supermoon at Halloween 2020 which was my favourite moon of all time, ever.)

Pink Moon over Carnesure Terrace, by Stevie Ashmore, Comber

According to folklore, this is the best time (for the next few weeks) for killing weeds, thinning, pruning, mowing, cutting timber, and planting below-ground crops. I wish folklore was a bit easier: it never seems to be the best time for drinking gin with friends lol. I have obediently been weeding, painting garden fences and sheds, planting out my baskets and generally keeping busy outdoors.

The April full moon is known as the Pink Moon although some Native American tribes call it the Sprouting Grass Moon, Budding Moon (as new shoots start to appear), or the Flower Moon. Some know it as the Egg Moon as birds start laying eggs. Mum's hens are back on the lay again after being useless all winter: and the rooster is in seventh heaven.

Another name is the Fish Moon, as this was when certain fish swam upstream to spawn. The Cherokees believed that flowing water was under the control of a spirit called the Long Man, and they performed rituals to honour him during the Full Pink Moon - eg the Knee Deep Dance, based on the movements of the Water Frog. I have seen men, unknowingly and unwittingly, doing this dance in Belfast......

(Photo by Aidan Mac Carrig, Galway)

But is the Pink Moon pink? Nope. It's actually named after a wildflower, phlox, which blooms pink at this time of year. Also known as 'moss pink' or 'creeping phlox', it's a gorgeous plant, native to the eastern United States and one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring.

Also moon-related, I was reading today about dandelions. The dandelion is the only flower that represents the 3 celestial bodies of the sun, moon and stars. The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars. Although today we think of them as weeds, dandelions are incredibly useful plants and if you're a bee (which we're not, but just imagine) there is nothing more attractive than that big yellow landing pad full of nectar. Incidentally, you can make dandelion wine or dandelion beer, or even root of dandelion coffee!

My last moon-related thought tonight is about Galileo who, in 1609, produced a set of six watercolours of the Moon which he observed through a telescope. These pictures represent the first realistic depiction of the Moon in history. I like to think that he was outside gawping at the Pink Moon over 400 years ago, and being scunnered about weeding.

Happy Full Moon to one and all.

March’s Full Moon is a very important one: the first of the spring season, coinciding this year with the changing of the clocks. It represents brighter, happier days to come, a move from darkness into light, a putting-away of the old and a welcoming of the new.

Some websites are claiming that it could be considered a “supermoon” due to its proximity to Earth - but I think next month’s will be super-er.

This moon is known as the Worm Moon because earthworms begin to pop out of the warmer soil; and you can start to see their worm trails (or casts) on the newly-thawed ground. I’ve spotted quite a few worms on the wet roads this week, and I’m fairly certain that the robins have spotted them too! The 18th century explorer, Captain Jonathan Carver, wrote that the name ‘Worm Moon’ refers to the emergence of beetle larvae from the thawing bark of trees.

As with all the other months, the Worm Moon was given different names by various Native American tribes, and these include:

• Crow Moon (due to the cawing of nest-building crows),

• Crust Moon (after the crust of frost we still see in the mornings),

• Sap or Sugar Moon (as some trees start to ooze again),

• Sore Eyes Moon (apparently because of blinding rays of sunlight reflecting off melting snow); and the more self-explanatory

• Wind Strong Moon or Moose Hunter Moon.

This next bit is fascinating but complicated: I will try and explain how the first full moon of March is key to determining the date of Easter.

It’s all to do with the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox which occurs when the sun crosses the Equator line, heading north. This happened last Saturday, 20th March, but we were all too busy watching three rugby matches to even notice, lol. Spring officially began - and England came 5th…….. hahahahahaha! (Sorry, English friends....)

Anyway, when March’s full moon occurs before the Spring equinox, it is known as the Lenten Moon (the last full moon of winter). But this year, it has occured after the Equinox, so it is called the Paschal Full Moon (the first full moon of spring).

In the Christian calendar, Easter is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon which is why Easter will be next Sunday. Does that make sense? It’s definitely complex.

Next year, the March full moon is on 17th March (St Paddy's Day, yippee!) - so it will be a Lenten moon. That means we need to wait until the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (16th April), so Easter next year will be later on Sunday 17th April.

Anyway, I am thrilled that we are into Spring, that Easter is next weekend, that the clocks have changed, that my mum and dad have had both their vaccinations, and that when I get up tomorrow morning, it will be lovely and bright.

Happy New Moon everyone, Happy Spring.

Ash is the most common tree in Irish hedgerows and is also a traditional woodland species, with some ash trees living to the grand old age of 400 - but the species is currently under threat due to ‘ash dieback’, a fungal disease which causes the trees to lose their leaves and the crown to die back, and usually results in their death. It is thought that tens of thousands of ash trees will die, potentially changing the UK landscape forever.

Growing up, we had a big ash tree standing at the front gate - and in the autumn, the ‘keys’ (its winged fruits) twirled down in the wind, so we called them helicopters. Bullfinches love to eat these seeds - and owls like to nest in ash trees, maybe because of the caterpillars which eat the leaves.

In Norse mythology, a vast, evergreen ash tree called Yggdrasil, the World Tree or the Tree of Life, grew on an island, watered by three magical springs. The tree was the centre of the world, its trunk reaching up to the heavens, its roots pushing down to the underworld, and its branches spreading over all the countries of the world. A serpent lurked in the deep ocean surrounding the island and gnawed at the roots of the tree. A squirrel ran up and down the trunk carrying messages between the serpent and an eagle in the canopy. A deer fed on the ash leaves and from its antlers flowed the great rivers of the world. A magical goat grazed by the tree, and produced mead for the warriors in Odin’s Great Hall. The gods held their councils under the canopy of their guardian Ash tree.

Viking lore told how Odin hung himself from Yggdrasil as a sacrificial ordeal, for nine days and nights so that he might be granted wisdom. He lost an eye to ravens but was rewarded with insights and wisdom, notably knowledge of the system of the Runes. Both he and Thor, the god of thunder, possessed magical spears made of ash wood.

In Gaelic Ireland, the Druids also associated the Ash with wisdom, and they carried Ash staffs, ‘portable’ versions of the World Tree connecting them to the realms of earth and sky.

The Druids believed that five guardian trees protected Ireland: three Ash trees plus an oak and a yew. Legend tells that in the year 665 AD, these trees were cut down to symbolise the widespread acceptance of Christianity and the end of pagan belief. Just two centuries earlier, the Celts had worshipped a sun god, Lugh, who carried a spear made of ash - so there’s a parallel symbolism in the legend that St Patrick himself, who brought Christianity to Ireland, supposedly banished the snakes using an ash stick…

A friend of mine in County Galway, Rory O'Shaughnessy, tells the following story of the birth of St Colman. The King of Connacht was jealous when he heard a prophecy that a child would be born who would become more famous than himself or his sons. Believing that a woman called Rhinagh was carrying this child, the King had his men tie a stone around her neck and throw her in a river. As she sank beneath the water, she said, ‘Dia Linn’ (God save us): the stone floated and she was saved. Rhinagh gave birth to her son Colman under the shelter of an Ash tree. Two monks, one lame and the other blnd, came upon them. When they heard Rhinagh’s story, the lame man hit the ground and water came forth to christen the baby. The blind man washed his eyes in the water and later his sight was restored at a place which, to this day, is called Labane (‘bright day’). My friend shared this story at a recent workshop and one of the children drew this gorgeous picture of the Ash tree and the pregnant Rhinagh.

Ash continues to have significance in Ireland and is often found growing near holy wells and sacred springs. Irish emigrants to America took a piece of ash with them as a talisman against drowning, snakes and accidents.

Many superstitions surround the ash tree. Folk tradition has it that the ash will be the first tree to be hit by lightning, so avoid sheltering near an Ash in a storm.

People would burn Ash wood to banish the devil, or carry an Ash staff to protect against evil. In the Life of St Moling, the saint confronts an evil spectre and drives him away successfully with his Ash staff.

Ash keys carried in the hand were a protection against witchcraft; however, witches also used Ash themselves for making ritual dolls into which to stick pins!

In Antrim, ash sticks were believed to be a “kindly” wood to drive cattle with, protecting them from harm, while a sprig of ash placed under a milk pail would ensure that the goodness would not be stolen by fairies.

With all this significance in our ancient lore and customs, it is no surprise that Ash (‘fuinseog’ in Irish) is represented on our Irish maps. The Funshion River and Killinafinch (church of the ash) are in Co Tipperary; Cloonafunshin (meadow of the ash) is in Co Galway; Funshinaugh (place of the ash) is in Co Mayo; Lisnafunshin (the ring fort of the ash) is in Co Kilkenny. Ashford in Co Wicklow and Ashfield in Co Dublin are more obvious.

Some famous ash trees were the Tree of Uisnech, the Bough of Dathí, and the Tree of Tortu.

In folk medicine, newborn babies were sometimes given a spoonful of Ash sap before leaving their mother's bed for the first time, to prevent illness. Placing Ash berries in a cradle was believed to protect the child from being taken away as a changeling by the fairies.

Ailing children (especially those with weak limbs) would be passed naked through a cleft in an Ash tree. The cleft was often made deliberately for the purpose and bound together again after the ceremony: it would heal in parallel with the child, and a special bond would forever be established between child and tree.

The bark, seeds and leaves of the ash are all believed to have medicinal qualities. They have been used throughout time to strengthen the liver and spleen, cleanse the system and detoxify the body.

In Ancient Greece Hippocrates was known to have used Ash to concoct remedies for gout and rheumatism. The inside of Ash bark is a disinfectant and was used for cleansing wounds before the use of modern antiseptics.

The leaves of the Ash are said to refresh tired feet when put inside boots.

In more practical terms, Ash is great for burning and its fallen twigs make the best kindling. All this past winter, I gathered bags full of fallen ash twigs to light my stove: it saved me a fortune in buying kiln-dried sticks. The Latin name for Ash (Fraxinus) actually means ‘firelight’. My friend Mark Doherty sent me a great poem recently which celebrates this quality of Ash.

People have worked with ash timber for years; it is one of the toughest hardwoods and absorbs shocks without splintering which makes it ideal for the handles of tools such as hammers, axes and spades, as well as for sporting equipment such as hockey sticks, baseball bats rowing oars, snooker cues, archery bows and hurley sticks. For the past few years, on one of my regular tours, I took visitors to meet Tom O’Donoghue in Kilkenny, a master hurley maker, and it was fascinating to watch this craftsman shape the wood which would later resound in the ‘clash of the ash’.

Ash is also prized for furniture - I am writing this at an ash table, and my reference books are in an ash bookcase beside me. Ash staircases are extremely hard-wearing, and the wood can be steamed and bent to produce curved stair handrails and balusters.

In the 19th century Ash was used to construct carriages, and Britain’s Morgan Motor Company still grows ash to make the frames for its sports cars. It was widely used by early aviation pioneers for aircraft construction.

Last month I mentioned that Alder is popular for guitars - but Ash is also often used for the bodies of electric guitars: some Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters are made of ash, (such as Bruce Springsteen's Telecaster on the Born to Run album cover). Ash is also used for making drum shells.

So - as usual, to the hippy-dippy bit. How do you make Ash work for you, aside from the practical ways such as furniture, sporting equipment and tools etc?

Well, Ash trees are a lesson to us in overcoming or working around obstacles: they embrace stone walls, boulders, and there’s a very famous example in London, in the graveyard of St Pancras Old Church, where an Ash has embraced the many headstones that were stacked around it in the mid 1860s, when railway construction led to the upheaval of this old burial ground.

We should take inspiration from Ash to overcome difficulties, be creative and have the flexibility and motivation to persevere. There is an energy around an Ash tree which we are supposed to harness (I never do any of this myself but maybe I should) …. Here’s what to do. Find an Ash leaf with an even number of leaflets and carry it in your pocket: it will bring you great good luck. Carry a bunch of ash keys to free yourself from melancholy. Touch the trunk of an Ash and mentally convey a situation you’d like assistance with: then, respectfully gather nine ash twigs. Once you’re back home, light a candle and use it to safely, successively burn each twig. Let me know how you get on :)

Finally - to watch a Year in the Life of an Ash Tree, click here for a wonderful video.

I hope you enjoyed all this :)

NEW INFO, ADDED 18th MARCH 2021

Ash trees have a strong link with holy wells. A.T. Lucas found that of 210 trees surveyed growing next to holy wells, 75 of them were Ash trees, a figure surpassed only by hawthorn. St Patrick's Well at Kilcorkey in Co Roscommon had a great old Ash growing beside it called St Patrick's Walking Stick. At St Kieran's Well in Castlekeeran, Co Meath, in 1840, an Ash tree was said to bleed and people flocked to the well for cures. In Outeragh, Co Leitrim, a pilgrimage to St Brigid's Well held on 1st February began with walking around an old Ash tree. Similarly, at Brideswell in Co Roscommon on the last Sunday in July, the pilgrimage involved walking around a single Ash tree on a small mound.

They were, of course, following in the footsteps of the ancient Bronze Age people who built their crannogs (wooden strongholds in the middle of lakes) on Alder piles; and constructed Alder or oak tóchars (boardwalks) across bogs. Remnants of these can still be found in peat bogs in Ireland today although tragically many of them are being destroyed.

Historically, Alder has been used in the construction of boats, sluice gates, canal locks and water pipes - but it is only durable if it’s kept wet and disintegrates rapidly when removed from water. Such was the lesson learned with the Ballachulish Goddess, a life-sized figure from 600 BC, carved from a single piece of Alder, with quartzite pebbles for eyes.

She had once stood overlooking the dangerous straits linking Loch Leven with the sea - some kind of prehistoric pagan goddess; but over the centuries she was swallowed up by Scottish bog, and was only rediscovered in the 1880s. After all her years in water, the Alder goddess was allowed to dry out on her journey to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland in Edinburgh. Firstly she broke at the legs, and then as she dried out further, the Alder warped and cracked, and a large piece broke off….. Today she is a beloved museum piece (see photo) who always reminds me of Groot.

Alder (Alnus) was considered sacred to the Irish, Welsh and Greeks and, in the Celtic world, was associated with healing, breath, the sunrise, the east and new beginnings. Its symbol in the Celtic Ogham script is a vertical line with 3 horizontal strokes to the centre right, and as a tree which is monoecious (carries both male and female catkins at once) it is associated with balance, connection with others, intuition, music, poetry and remaining true to your ethics.

Alder has long been linked with the Welsh deity known as Bran, who uses his giant cauldron to resurrect the dead: this made Alder popular with occultists who would entice crows to an Alder tree (with seed and food) and ask them for help connecting with the spirits of the dead.

Alder loves water. A native tree in Ireland, it grows in moist ground near rivers, ponds and lakes and it thrives in damp, cool areas such as marshes and wet woodland where its roots help to prevent soil erosion.

Seamus Heaney valued the Alder - here is his poem, “Planting the Alder” where he lists the reasons why you should plant it - its wood, its sounds, its smells, textures and colours, its beauty.

For the bark, dulled argent, roundly wrapped And pigeon-collared. For the splitter-splatter, guttering Rain-flirt leaves. For the snub and clot of the first green cones, Smelted emerald, chlorophyll. For the scut and scat of cones in winter, So rattle-skinned, so fossil-brittle. For the Alder-wood, flame-red when torn Branch from branch. But mostly for the swinging locks Of yellow catkins. Plant it, plant it, Streel-head in the rain.

Alder wood can be used to make furniture, carved panels and utensils. Its colour fades with time to a pale, rich brown which was sought after by furniture makers, who gave Alder wood its nickname of ‘Scots mahogany’. Today it is commonly used to make timber veneers, pulp and plywood.

Alder used to be the preferred wood to make clogs. Alder clogs made in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, were worn by the workers in the National Botanic Gardens up to the 1950s.

It was said that a few Alder leaves placed in your shoes before a long journey would cool the feet and prevent swelling. Today, if we wish to remain inconspicuous in any situation, we should (according to folklore) place an Alder leaf in each of our shoes before we leave the house. As we put the shoes on, we are supposed to say:

Alder leaf inside each shoe Hide me one and hide me two. Grounded in your living green Where I walk I’ll be unseen.

If any of you try this, let me know……

It reminds me of the joke:

Sergeant: Murphy, I didn’t see you at camouflage training this morning. Murphy: Thank you, Sir.

Alder is also used for musical instruments such as harps, panpipes and flutes. Whistles made from Alder wood are said to summon the wind and enlist the help of benevolent water spirits; and since 1956, the guitar manufacturer Fender has been using Alder to build the bodies of its electric guitars, including the legendary Stratocaster.

Alder wood burns cleanly, without crackling, and is prized for smoking salmon. Smoke from Alder fires was used for divination, as was the movement of the flames. Its intense heat makes it good for charcoal which is used to burn incense for ceremonial magic; or for forging weapons, and some Bronze Age archaeological finds have revealed that our early ancestors used Alder. It is also used to make gunpowder.

Alder is good for dyes: three colours can be obtained: brown from the twigs, red from the bark and green from the flowers. You should harvest in summer when the sun is actively shining on the tree at the warmest time of day. Both the bark and the wood contain tannin, used for tanning leather. Once it has been cut down, the pale wood of Alder turns deep orange and releases an orange-red sap: this makes it look like the Alder is bleeding and this phenomenon convinced early warriors of its power: the blood of the Alder spirit would act as a talisman and prevent their own blood loss. This belief complemented the idea that Alder was the tree of prophecy and sacrifice, and a shield made from its wood imbued the warrior with ferocity and protection in combat.

Dyes made from Alder flowers can colour fabric for garments: in fact, according to folklore, fairies’ clothes were dyed with Alder pigment to conceal them from human eyes. The green dye from the flowers was used to colour and camouflage the clothes of outlaws like Robin Hood.

An ancient Irish legend names Alder as the material from which the first man was forged. Certainly it is known, in herbalism and folk medicine, for its antimicrobial ability to soothe inflammation, fight infection and promote healing.

A decoction of tannin-rich Bark of Alder can be used as a mouthwash or gargle to heal mouth ulcers or sore throats; or as a poultice to treat burns, wounds, acne, boils and inflammations (just chew up the plant and place directly on the wound).

Make an Alder tincture by cutting a few branches into small pieces (1cm long or so), place in a jar and cover with alcohol such as vodka and let sit for some days/weeks. The tincture will turn bright red over time. Strain the plant material before use. This tincture will be a godsend after you over-eat because Alder supports liver functions, such as the breakdown of wastes, and formation of bile to assist with fat digestion. You can mix your tincture with other bitter and aromatic plants like orange peel, chamomile and gentian as an aperitif.

You can also gently simmer the leaves in a little bit of water, let them cool, and then place the warm herbs over a wound or inflamed area; or saturate a dry face-cloth with the concentrated Alder tea and place it over your face for a sense of refreshment and renewal.

To support spiritual healing, visit an Alder tree and tune-in to its energy by sitting with your spine against the trunk, or hug the tree for a good long moment. If a raven should appear, consider it a very magical omen and you can increase your chances of this happening by placing a shiny object near the tree, such as a mirrored bead or a silver coin.

And the Alder doesn’t just heal humans; one of its greatest gifts is its ability to heal our land. Alders add nitrogen to the earth (from their roots) and rich hummus (from their leaves) creating fertile ground and conditioned soil for other trees and plants. They will self-seed on former industrial wasteland and brownfield sites, replenishing the soil and re-establishing harmony and richness in the landscape. The tree’s Greek name ‘klethra’ is derived from a word that means, “I embrace, I surround”.

And its ecological embrace extends to caterpillars, moths, mosses, lichens and fungi. Its catkins provide an early source of nectar and pollen for bees, and the seeds are eaten by the siskin, redpoll and goldfinch. Alder roots make perfect nest sites for otters - while its twigs feed our native Irish red deer. One caveat - woodworm LOVE Alder and you don’t want to encourage these wee pests.

However much they loved the qualities of its wood, the Irish traditionally considered it unlucky to pass an Alder tree on a journey. Waterlogged Alder woods are called carrs, and these wet and swampy places were thought to have a mysterious atmosphere. Nonetheless, when Deirdre of the Sorrows and her lover, Naoise fled from Ulster to Alba (Scotland), to escape the wrath of King Conchobhar mac Nessa (to whom Deirdre had been betrothed) they chose the Alder Woods of Glen Etibhe as their hideout….

The old Gaelic word for Alder is ‘feàrn / feàrnog’, and there are plenty of occurrences of this in place names throughout Ireland (and Scotland) in constructions such as ‘the place of the Alders’, ‘valley of the Alder’, ‘ford of the Alders’ etc. Examples include Ballynafern (County Down), Fernagh (County Antrim), Fernaghandrum (County Tyrone), Mullafernaghan (County Down), Ferney (County Fermanagh), Fernagrevagh (County Armagh), Ferns (County Wexford), Gleann Fearna (County Leitrim), Borrisnafearney (County Tipperary), Ballyfarnon (County Roscommon).

Finally, this beautiful video from the Woodland Trust shows a year in the life of an Alder tree.

https://youtu.be/UnP8L4qYLFY

Friends have been messaging me to comment on how bright this month's new moon is: while a few other friends, including Daddy, have mentioned sleeplessness over the past few days. Well here's a wee fact for you. The idea of a very bright moon affecting sleep (and therefore behaviour) lies behind the concept of lunacy (or behaving like a lunatic) - a madness caused by insomnia. This dates back to the Ancient Greeks, with Aristotle 2,300 years ago claiming that the Moon could influence the human mind.

Our family dog, ancient and sleepy, reverts to a pack animal at full moon time, wanting to be outside where she can bark at the wind. Many of us feel galvanised, energised or just restless when there's a full moon. Scientists have investigated (inconclusively) whether there is some kind of magnetic effect on us - and just a month ago the British Medical Journal published a study claiming to show that a full Moon actually makes murders more likely! You've been warned lol.

Anyway the Snow Moon is the second full moon of 2021 and typically symbolises the beginning of spring. Spiritually it is a cleansing and renewing moon - a new season and a time for you to organize and sort out your life, whether by spring cleaning your house or getting rid of something or someone associated with negativity (Covid perhaps!).

The Snow Moon is a time for survival and staying close to home. It is not yet time to launch yourself into frenzied activity but to get your nest in order. Yesterday I instinctively "knew" I wanted to deep clean my house, sort out cupboards, "be prepared" somehow - it is so cathartic; and while I was doing that I could see the nesting birds outside with their twigs, obeying the same natural instinct.

February’s Snow Moon is named for the typically heavy snowfall that occurs in the northern United States this month. My Canadian cousin, Colleen, told me just today about the heavy snowfall there last night and the bitterly cold temperatures.

In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver who had spent time with the Dakota tribe, recorded that they called the February full moon 'Snow Moon', “because more snow commonly falls during this month than any other in the winter.”

Different tribes called it: Bald Eagle Moon; Eagle Moon; Bear Moon (cubs are often born this month); Raccoon Moon; Groundhog Moon; Goose Moon; Bony Moon and Hungry Moon (because food was hard to come by at this time).

So whether you are feeling sleepless, house-proud, homicidal or inspired, I wish you all a happy healthy second lunar month of 2021.

ADDITION

This once-in-a-lifetime photo shows an Easyjet flight from Belfast International Airport passing in front of the Snow Moon. The story is here.