Welcome to my sanctuary. All opinions are welcomed as long as you agree with me.
    

    

Okay, the moons are linked, all to the same page, with what little info I have found so far, but I plan on doing some more research into them as soon as I can. It happens to be one of my interests. Presently however, I have other areas of the site that need my attention. ~ * Debi * ~

The Full Moon
Esbats

Bullet  January - Wolf Moon
Bullet  February - Storm Moon
Bullet  March - Plow Moon
Bullet  April - Budding Moon
Bullet  May - Mother's Moon
Bullet  June - Mead Moon
Bullet  July - Claiming Moon
Bullet  August - Dispute Moon
Bullet  September - Wine Moon
Bullet  October - Blood Moon
Bullet  November - Mourning Moon
Bullet  December - Oak Moon
Bullet  Blue Moon     

The Dark Moon
Esbats

Bullet  January - Quiet Moon
Bullet  February - Hunger Moon
Bullet  March - Seed Moon
Bullet  April - Planting Moon
Bullet  May - Ninth Moon
Bullet  June - Strawberry Moon
Bullet  July - Blessing Moon
Bullet  August - Harvest Moon
Bullet  September - Singing Moon
Bullet  October - Falling Leaf Moon
Bullet  November - Dead Moon
Bullet  December - Snow Moon     

    

Moon Magick

Lunar Cycles

The Celtic people observed 8 major festivals that were called SABBATs. The four "Greater Sabbats" or festivals are called Samhain, Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, and Imbolc also known as “Oimelech”. And the Lesser Sabbats were the Winter Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, and Summer Solstice. You can learn more about these in the section on Holidays. See the Main Index.

They also celebrated ESBATs. These were the 13 lunar festivals held throughout the year, celebrated at the time of the full moon. These are mainly what we will talk about here.

There are many names for each of these moons, sometimes many corresponding to the same moon. I have listed some of them below. This way, you can see how the names point to the same moon. I don't think anyone has this completely figured out yet, but some of it depended on the tribe or area as to what the moon was called.

The Druids went by what is now called the Coligny Calendar as far as we can tell. This calendar is an ancient Celtic solar/lunar calendar of the Gaulish Druids which was discovered at Bourg near Lyons, France. It dates back to a time when the Romans and Celts lived together, and thus heavily influenced each other.

There is a stone engraving that can be found at the Knowth site in Ireland. It is said to be a graphical depiction of a lunar calendar operating on the same principle as the Coligny Calendar found in France. It shows all 29 phases of the moon and the spiral covers up the three days when the moon is hidden. If you click the link, the diagram shows how the center squiggle in the drawing could be used to measure the 62 month span of the Coligny calendar.

This Calendar is an attempt to reconcile both the cycles of the moon and the sun. It seems to considers the phases of the moon to be extremely important, and each month begins with the same moon phase. This calendar uses an ingenius mathematical arrangement to keep a regular 12 month calendar synchronized with the moon. Simply put, it keeps the whole system straight by adding an extra month every 2 1/2 years.

According to what we know, the Druids used a calendar very like the Coligny, that was also based on the phase of the moon, and each month ran from full moon to full moon. With each full moon another new month began. There are 13 moons in a lunar year, which closely match up to the twelve months in what we now know of as our "calendar" year. Each month was divided into a light half and a dark half of 14 to 15 days each. The full moon generally fell on the 7th, 8th or 9th day of the light half of the month while the new moon fell about the middle of the dark or second half of the month.

The Druid years are also divided into a dark half and a light half. The dark half began at Samonios (Oct-Nov) and went to Giamonios (April-May. Then the light half of the year began and went from Giamonios until once more reaching Samonios. The beginning of the year began on Samhain and the end of the year, fell on the last full moon of October. However, after Samhain there is a period of five days that are not considered a part of the calendar year. These five days are known as Uenicar. This is an "in between" time, a time of Chaos and a time of change, where the old year settles down & resolves old issues before the new year begins again. After these five days, the Celtic New Year starts a new revolution. If you would like to know more about the Coligny Calendar and this system of time keeping, you may find added information at the link below along with a list of the ancient calendar months and their correlations: Coligny Calendar

Now the Druids, who were the "elders" of the Celts, saw that a time schedule could be worked out to its' best potential by careful observation and strict adherence to an annual cycle so they used a system of "time" based on their awareness of solar and lunar cycles. According to the "Coligny Calendar", which is the only evidence that we have of the Druids time frame, they measured the passage of time by observing the lunar orbit around the Earth (a lunar month.) Thus the Druids' Calendar is a lunar calendar with each month represented by a Moon.

Each month of this calendar has either 29 or 30 days depending on whether it is a "math" (good, as in bright) month or "an math" (unfavorable or a dark moon) month. Each day in a month is also identified as being "good" or "unfavorable." Even the years are divided into brightness and darkness.

Five years, in the Druid Cycle was known as a 'Lustre'. At the end of six Lustres, or 30 years, a Druidic Cycle was complete. A period of 21 months of years corresponded to an Era for the Druids. Eras dated from, according to legends, the Second Battle of Mag Tuireadh in Ireland, at which the Tuatha Dé Danann (faery clan) vanquished the Fomorians (a sea dwelling clan). (See Druidic Months below)

The Celts associated many things with each month or cycle and among these things was a sacred Tree that corresponded to each month, each tree having either Feminine or Masculine energies. Using a tree name for each month, they also invented a system of "secret writing" fashioned after it called the Ogham. As you will note on the charts, a certain month equaled a certain letter of the alphabet...the best we can tell. And although they didn't commit much of their history to writing, when they did record things, it was done with the Ogham, which you can find here.


Fight the Fear!

SNOW MOON: This is the moon of November. Dark Moon, Fog Moon, Beaver Moon, Mourning Moon, Mad Moon and Moon of Storms are some of the names it is known by.

OAK MOON : This is the moon of December. Moon of Long Nights, Long Night's Moon, Big Winter Moon, Cold Moon and Moon of Popping Trees are some of the names it is known by.

WOLF MOON: This is the moon of January. Ice Moon, Quiet Moon, Cold Moon, Disting Moon, and Moon of Little Winter are some of the names it is known by

STORM MOON: This is the moon for February. Horning Moon, Hunger Moon, Wild Moon, Quickening Moon, Ice Moon and Big Winter are some of the names it is known by.

CHASTE MOON: This is the moon for March. Moon of Winds, Plow Moon, Worm Moon, Lenting Moon, Crow Moon, Faery Moon and Moon of the Snow-blind are some of the names it is known by.

SEED MOON: This is the moon for April. Planting Moon, Growing Moon, Planter's Moon, Budding Trees Moon, Eastermonath, Pink Moon and Green Grass Moon are some of the names it is known by.

HARE MOON: This is the moon for May. Flower Moon, Merry Moon, Frogs Return Moon, Winnemanoht, Planting Moon and Moon When Ponies Shed are some of the names it is known by

DYAD MOON: This is the moon for June. Lover's Moon, Strong Sun Moon, Honey Moon, Strawberry Moon and Rose Moon are some of the names it is known by

MEAD MOON: This is the moon for July. Blessing Moon, Maedmonat, Fallow Moon, Hay Moon, Buck Moon and Thunder Moon are some of the names it is known by.

WYRT MOON: This is the moon for August. Green Plant Moon, Corn Moon, Dispute Moon, Wedmonath, Herb Moon and Wort Moon are some of the names it is known by.

BARLEY MOON : This is the moon for September. Harvest Moon, Wine Moon, Singing Moon, Sturgeon Moon and Haligmonath are some of the names it is known by.

BLOOD MOON: This is the moon for October. Hunter's Moon, Shedding Moon, Winterfelleth, Falling Leaf Moon, and Moon of the Changing Season are some of the names it is known by.

BLUE MOON: This is the Blue Moon. This is the second Full Moon which falls within a single month. It varies each year, but in general, only occurs once in every two and one-half years. When the Blue Moon occurs, plan to do something unusual or different, something you have never done before.

HARVEST MOON: Last Full Moon In October, the moon of harvesting crops & the end of the growing season. The celtic people usually have a festival thanking the gods for the harvest.

Ogham Alphabet

Ogham Meanings and Correspondents

Back to Calendar Index

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I am

Wiccan: An it harm none, do what thy will.
Celtic: Honor, Responsibility and Duty Always!
Strength be to me and to thee."
Blessed be!

© The Olde Way