Full Moon Lore and Information

The full moons and their names for the rest of this year are as follows:

Grain Moon - 22nd July 2013
Blue Moon - 21st August 2013
Fruit Moon - 19th September 2013
Harvest Moon - 18th October 2013
Hunter's Moon - 17th November 2013
Moon Before Yule - 17th December 2013

As you can see from the names of the moons, they correspond very closely with the cycles in nature, and what was being done at these times.

50 Things You Never Knew About The Full Moon

So it's not just a matter of superstition. According to a police study, the lunar event coincides with an increase in hooliganism. Jonathan Brown and Rebecca Bowle shed some light on the celestial phenomenon. 

 

1. The full moon is a lunar phase occurring when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun and all three bodies are aligned in a straight line. Viewed from earth, the near side of the moon is fully illuminated by the sun giving it the familiar circular appearance. 

 

2. It is only during a full moon that the dark side of the moon - the hemisphere on the opposite side to the sun - is completely dark.

 

3. Lunar eclipses - caused by the passage of the earth's shadow across the illuminated hemisphere - only occur during a full moon. However, because of the angle of tilt of both bodies the moon normally passes either north or south of the earth's shadow.

 

4. The chances of being bitten by a dog are twice as high during a full moon, according to a study at Bradford Royal Infirmary, which reviewed 1,621 cases of dog bite between 1997 and 1999. However, a study at the University of Sydney in Australia concluded there was no identifiable relationship between the state of the moon and dog bites.

 

5. Gervaise of Tilbury, a 13th-century canon lawyer, was the first to link the full moon with the transformation into a werewolf. Writing in his Otia Imperialia he reports cases in the Auvergne, below. The philosopher Gottfried Leibniz described the popular work as a "bagful of foolish old woman's tales".

 

6. The full moon occurs every 29.5 days - the duration of one complete lunar cycle.

 

7. The female menstrual cycle has long been linked to the full phase of the moon. One theory is that prehistoric men were more likely to go hunting during their womenfolk's period because of taboos associated with blood. The most profitable time to hunt was during the full moon and the best way to convince the men to return with food was with the prospect of sex.

 

8. Neo-pagans, including followers of Wicca, hold a monthly ritual based around the full moon called an Esbat. The term has been linked to the writings of the controversial anthropologist Margaret Murray.

 

9. The second full moon occurring within a calendar month is called a Blue Moon. The latest was seen on 31st May 2007. Far from being a rare event this phenomenon occurs once every three years on average.

 

10. "Blue Moon", which was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, became a standard ballad and was recorded by singers such as Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan. The most famous version was recorded by the doo-wapp band the Marcels, in 1961, selling more than one million copies.

 

11. The world's tidal ranges are at their maximum during the full moon when the sun, earth and moon are in line. Sailors know the effect as the spring tide - a reference to the leap in the water level rather than the season of the year.

 

12. The only month that can occur without a full moon is February.

 

13. Farmers refer to the harvest moon, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, which occurs in September. It is also called the elk calling moon or the wine moon.

 

14. A full Moon is considered unlucky if it occurs on a Sunday but lucky on Monday or moon day

 

15. According to superstition a male child is more likely to be conceived at full moon.

 

16. In October 1939 in Springfield, Missouri, the full moon appeared to fall from the sky. The event was reported in the local newspaper but was later revealed to be a plunging weather balloon.

 

17. The Gregorian calendar dates Easter as the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon - the first to occur after the vernal equinox. It is also known as the egg moon.

 

18. The Chinese Lantern Festival, dating back to the Han dynasty, is staged on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month after the new year. Chinese communities celebrate across the world by lighting lanterns and feasting on glutinous rice.

 

19. The Lunar Society, which included Erasmus Darwin, James Watt and Josiah Wedgewood, took its name from the practice of holding monthly meetings on the Monday nearest to the full moon. Members referred to themselves as the Lunatics.

 

20. A three-month psychological study of 1,200 inmates at Armley jail in Leeds in 1998 showed a rise in violent incidents in the days either side of a full moon.

 

21. Scientists have long battled to explain the "moon illusion" - whereby the full moon appears to be larger the closer it is to the horizon. The phenomenon is understood to be caused by human perception rather than the magnifying effect of the earth's atmosphere.

 

22. Timber harvests in South America and South-east Asia are avoided during the full moon because it causes the sap to rise in trees, which in turn attracts deathwatch beetles which can devastate crops.

 

23. Thousands of revellers gather each month on the beach at Koh Phangan in Thailand, to celebrate the full moon and dance the night away.

 

24. The Native American Algonquin tribes in New England give each full moon of the year a name such as the beaver moon, the sturgeon moon and the strawberry moon.

 

25. The next full moon will occur on 30 June 2007.

 

26. The full moon may appear round, but is actually shaped like an egg with the pointed end facing earth.

 

27. The dark spots on the full moon that create the nursery-rhyme man in the moon image are actually basins filled up to five miles deep with basalt, a dense mineral. Other facial features are actually "seas" of frozen lava and sharp, rugged mountains.

 

28. In China, the dark shadows forming the man in the full moon are seen as a toad. The toad is considered one of the five poisons of yin. It is believed that eclipses occur when the toad in the full moon tries to swallow the moon itself.

 

29. The Moonlight Sonata, by Ludwig von Beethoven, is probably the most widely recognised classical work associated with the full moon. The name comes not from the composer but from a critic who compared the piece to the effect of moonlight on Lake Lucerne.

 

30. The Innuit of Greenland believe the full moon is a hungry god, Anningan, who is intent on eating his sister, the Sun Goddess, Malina. Their cat-and-mouse sibling chase follows the cycle of the day, with Malina rising as Anningan sets and the cycle of the moon, with the chase waning when the moon is full.

 

31. The RAF used the moon to launch its first successful attack on a German city when planes attacked Lubeck in 1942.

 

32. Wesak, the most important of the Buddhist festivals, is celebrated on the full moon in May. It celebrates the Buddha's birthday and, for some Buddhists, marks his birth and death.

 

33. The full moon is the brightest object in the night sky. It has an apparent magnitude of -12.6 compared with the Sun's of -26.8.

 

34. The Slovakian psychiatrist Eugen Jonas created a method of birth control and fertility based on the full moon.

 

35. An analysis of the birthdays of 4,256 babies born in a clinic in France found no relationship between the full moon and fertility.

 

36. A study by Tübingen University, Germany, claimed that police reports for 50 new and full moon cycles showed that the moon is responsible for binge drinking.

 

37. A telescopic drawing of the full moon by the English mathematician Thomas Harriot,  from early August 1609, is the first on record and preceded the Italian physicist Galileo's study by several months.

 

38. Renaissance artists traditionally depicted the moon as a crescent rather than in its full phase.

 

39. The full moon is said to be at perigee when it is full at the same moment its orbit brings it closest to the earth. The moon appears imperceptibly brighter at this time.

 

40. The Great Moon Hoax of 1835, was perpetrated by Richard Adams Locke for the New York Sun. His story claimed that the eminent scientist Sir John Hershel had spotted furry winged men resembling bats on the surface of a full moon.

 

41. The full moon is at its highest altitude from the Earth during the winter seaaon.

 

42. Some insomnia sufferers claim to sleep worse during a full moon; although others say they sleep more soundly.

 

43. It is a common misperception that the first Apollo landing occurred during a full moon. This did not occur until more than a week later.

 

44. The moon is 10 times brighter when it is full than when it is in a quarter phase.

 

45. Pagans believe the most mystical time at Stonehenge is when the full moon wanes leaving the earth to be reunited with her lover, the sun at dawn.

 

46. The honeymoon is named after the full moon in June. As it fell between the planting and harvesting of crops this was traditionally the best month to get married.

 

47. The oldest lunar calendar, showing the full moon was discovered in caves at Lascaux in France. It dates back 15,000 years and marks the phases of the moon, with a series of dots depicting the days in the cycle.

 

48. In 2001, the first test match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe had to be postponed by one day due to new Siri Lankan government rule, which bans playing sport on a full moon.

 

49. The Californian grunion only spawns on the three or four nights after the highest tide associated with each full moon. The fish come ashore to lay their eggs.

 

50/ In a study of 1,000 tonsillectomy operations, 82 per cent of post-operative bleeding crises occurred nearer the full moon than the new moon, according to the Journal of the Florida Medical Association. 

***

 Food for the Full Moon

1 (12 oz.) can frozen

1/4 teaspoon anise extract

non-alcoholic pina colada mix

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

4 1/2 cups cold water

Rose petals (garnish)

2 whole peaches

Whole bay leaves (garnish)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

 Place the juice, water, peaches, cinnamon, and extract in a blender; mix

 until smooth. For a frostier drink, add 1 cup crushed ice. Garnish each

 glass with a rose petal and a bay leaf or serve over ice cubes with rose

 petals and bay leaves frozen inside. Yield: About 8 cups.

 Magical Attributes: Awareness, psychic energy, divination, foresight,

 mystical insight, lunar energy.

Celebrations: Birthday of the Moon, Full Moon celebrations, before

 initiation or gaining a degree in a coven, Sunning of Buddha, Day of the

Dryads.

Cheese Fritters (Russian)

 In general, dairy products are associated with the maternal and lunar

aspect of the divine, milk especially (in sour cream form here) being a

life-giving

 liquid from birth onward. It was also considered another appropriate

 libation to the Gods.

 1 cup flour

 5 eggs yolks, beaten

 1/2 teaspoon salt

6 cups crumbled farmer cheese

 3 teaspoons sugar                            Sour cream and chives

(optional)

 Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the egg

yolk.

 Add the cheese; mix until sticky. Form into logs 2-3 inches thick. If the

 mixture is too dry to form, add a little water; if too wet, add a little

 flour. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Melt butter in a

 frying pan. Fry until golden brown and heated all the way through. Serve

 with sour cream and chives. Yield: About 12 servings.

 Variation: In India, a similar fritter is made by substituting slice celery

 for the cheese and adding 1 teaspoon curry. This would be appropriate for

 more solar-related magics. The French make fritters with orange flower

water

 to encourage love. Fruit fritters historically have been made to honour

 visiting dignitaries. Apple and fig work especially well as a substitute

for

 the cheese; use sweet cream instead of sour cream.

 Magical Attributes: Goddess energy, lunar magic, maternity and fertility,

 intuitive nature.

 Celebrations: Any lunar observances, Mother's Day, fertility rites, and

 celebrating a birth.

   Stewed Scallops (1600 England)

 White is a colour sacred to the Lady, and this dish, when properly

prepared,

 has almost a luminescent hue, similar to that of the lunar sphere.

 1 lb. fresh scallops                              Salt

 Dash of nutmeg                                  Pepper

 3 tablespoons butter                          1/4 orange

 1/2 cup heavy cream                          2 lemon slices (garnish)

 Saute the scallops and nutmeg in the butter until the scallops are white

and

 the edges turn up. Stir in the cream, salt, and pepper. Squeeze the orange

 over the sauce; stir. Serve as is or over rice for a heartier dish. Garnish

 with lemon. Yield: 2 servings.

 Magical Attributes: Moon and Goddess magic.

 Celebrations: Birthday of the Moon, any holiday which honours a Goddess

 figure, full moon rituals.

Star Fruit Salad

 Star fruit is grown in the tropics and is rich in vitamins. Unpeeled, they

 have a beautiful star shape, reminiscent of the magical pentagram, that can

 be used as an accent to any dish. Raw, their flavour is like jasmine or

tart

 clover.

 1 star fruit, sliced                                  1 cup sliced

 strawberries

 1 orange, peeled and sectioned             3 pineapple slices

 1 tangerine, peeled and sectioned

1 cup blueberries

 2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced                1 teaspoon vanilla

 1 banana, sliced

 Reserve 5 slices of the star fruit for decoration. Combine all other

 ingredients. Cover; chill at least 12 hours. Stir to coat with the juice

 that is formed. Place the reserved star fruit on top to form a pentagram.

 Yield: 5 servings.

 Magical Attributes: Occult wisdom, celestial energies, astrology, health.

 Celebrations: Initiation, appointment of a priest/ess, any lunar

observances.

Sweet Mint Black-Eyed Peas

Shakespearean: Eye of Newt

Magical: Eyes of the Spirit

Egyptian: Osiris' Pleasure

 The "eye" of this bean makes it the perfect medium for edible magics

towards

 improved discernment. Mint adds vitality to this culinary wizardry.

 10 oz. black-eyed peas

Butter

1 teaspoon crushed, dried mint

Salt

1 teaspoon sugar Pepper

 Cover peas with water, soak overnight.

 Drain. Combine the beans, sugar, mint and 2 1/2 cups water in a saucepan.

 Cover; simmer until tender. Serve with butter, salt, and pepper. Garnish

 with a fresh mint leaf. Yield: 4 servings.

 Magical Attributes: Vision, insight, rejuvenation, centering.

 Celebrations: Birthdays, New Year's, Spring Equinox, Sunning of Buddha,

 waxing to full moon rituals, Bean Throwing Day.

 From: A Kitchen Witche's Cookbook

 by: Patricia Telesco

***

Full Moon Calling

We've all felt the full moon's call in our veins.

I have a friend who won't go out on the full moon because he knows that

he'll "get into trouble". The police department says crime rates go up on

this night every month. Lovers look at that astonishing face in the sky as

if they'd never seen it before, and take it as a personal sign that what

they are doing was meant to be.

The tides swell and scientists chart the oceans' response to the moon's

cycles. A tarot reader pulls out the Moon card from the major arcana and

looks for hidden things, dreams, intuitions, and perhaps madness. An addict

finds it hardest not to go back for more on this night, and a housewife

suddenly remembers her childhood dream of running away to the woods. The

wiccans meet to hail their goddess, and spells of fulfillment are spoken.

Herbs gathered on the full moon are measurably more potent medicinally. The

cactus flowers open, pale, fragrant and broad, only to close before the

sun's return. And if you live far enough from electric light, you'll see a

different landscape tonight, fully visible but completely unlike your

familiar daylight terrain. Women in villages without electric light will all

ovulate around the time of the full moon, making this literally the most

fertile time of the month.

On the full moon, you stand on the bridge between desire and doing. This is

not the time to ask "if" or "why" (those are new moon questions!). Now is

the time to ask "how" and "when". That restlessness you feel is the moon in

your veins, bringing your dreams so close to the surface that you can feel

the tension between what is and what you wish to be.

Drastic choices made on the full moon are likely to be regretted later, but

still that call must be answered somehow. This may not be a good time to

leave your job or relationship, but it is a grand time to do something you

"never" do. If you always wear neutral colors, dress in fire engine red.

Stay up all night finishing a good novel (you'll survive work the next day,

I promise). Walk barefoot in your garden.

As a professional dancer, I have learned to welcome the jittery rush of

adrenalin that others call "nerves" as a sign that I have extra energy

available for the work at hand. You can approach the full moon with a

similar practical optimism, recognizing your restlessness as a source of

extra energy.

Now: what are you going to do with that extra energy? This is what ritual

and ceremony are for - to focus intent so that the power running through us

isn't frittered away but flows directly toward our goals. What do you want?

The full moon is the time to answer that question.

If elaborate rituals suit you, by all means use them. I am more comfortable

with improvising and incorporating rituals into daily living. One I love

best is a midnight walk. This is something I don't usually do, and suits the

full moon's spell of going a bit wild. It also clears my mind of ordinary

concerns. While I'm out there, even if it's just for five minutes, I look up

at the glowing face in the sky and greet her. I let some questions run

playfully through my head. What would I do if there was no "but" or "if

only"? Is there a step I can take towards that desire, no matter how small

it may seem tonight? These are the questions that spiral through me on my

full moon walk.

But when the night is too cold for walking, I turn to my herbal allies.

Anything lemon is traditionally sacred to the moon, including lemon-scented

herbs. Since many people get a bit melancholy at this time of the month, I

find it interesting that so many lemon-scented herbs are proven

anti-depressants (lemon balm a.k.a. Melissa officinalis, for example). The

Artemisias, such as mugwort and wormwood, are also sacred to the moon, and

help bring unconscious yearnings and dreams closer to daylight recognition.

Perhaps a moon bath, or a full moon tea? Burn a bit of sandalwood incense

while you're at it (another plant often used in moon rituals), and do keep a

notebook and pen near your bed. Dreams are often easier to remember and

easier to decipher around the full moon.

Moon Bath

Combine equal parts:

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

Place 1 cup of dried herbs, 3 of fresh in a quart-sized mason jar or

non-metallic pot. Cover with boiling water and steep for 30 minutes. Strain

out the herbs and add the liquid to a full bath. Turn off the phone. White

candles might be nice. While you're in the bath, sip on a glass of Moon

Wine:

Moon Wine

Add lemon balm or lemon verbena (1 cup fresh sprigs or ¼ cup dried) to a

bottle of dry, white wine. Re-cork and leave in refrigerator overnight.

Strain out herbs and serve chilled.

And if the moon is tugging at you especially hard, try a mug of:

Merrymint Tea

Equal parts:

Lemon Balm

Strawberry Leaf

Mint

Groves

Dancing amidst the sacred oaks

the groves of long ago

My heart can hear the maiden song

'Come away Come away with me tonight

the full moon calls, the candles alight.

We dance among the groves dark and tall

the myrhh we sing of passions anew

Come away Come away with me tonight,

the fires burn, the maidens sing, spiraling down

circles within, my heart can hear Her song again'

The crisp night air prickling my skin,

warmed by your caress, you kiss and love

we begin again, our art of love

Full moon shining, soul to soul. breast to breast

our song is sung,  tasting your lips

sweetened with wine, drinking you in

your sacred skin my only desire.....