The Hunter’s Moon

October 9th’s full moon is called the Hunter’s Moon.

The Hunter’s Moon. What a lovely and evocative name for a moon.

According to the Almanac, the names of September’s Harvest Moon and October’s Hunter’s Moon are not (as with other full moons) tied to Native or Colonial American folklore, nor do they relate to European folklore. Rather, these moons are tied to the autumnal equinox with the Harvest Moon occurring nearest to the equinox.

The Hunter’s Moon also is sometimes called the Sanguine or Blood Moon. From what I’ve read, the name is linked to the time after farmers cleaned up their fields from the harvest, giving hunters a clear view of game they hunted in preparation for long, cold winters. The Blood Moon name also is associated with the changing colors of the leaves in hardwood forests.

I celebrate that there is a Harvest Moon and a Hunter’s Moon. I also am captivated by other names for full moons:

Wolf Moon (January)

Snow Moon (February)

Worm Moon (aka Eagle Moon...Goose Moon...Sugar Moon) (March) Pink Moon (April)

Flower Moon (May)

Strawberry Moon (June)

Buck Moon (aka Berry Moon...Salmon Moon...Thunder Moon) (July) Sturgeon Moon (aka Corn Moon...Mountain Shadows Moon) (August) Beaver Moon (November)

Cold Moon (aka Snow Moon...Hoar Frost Moon) (December)

Sometimes, when the moon is full, I will call people I love and ask them to go outside and look at the moon. Even when we live hundreds and thousands of miles away from each other, we are gazing at the same moon at the same time. It is a connection that is as magical as it is mysterious. Hello moon.