Thursday, November 12, 2009

Worm Moon



Little late in posting this since the November full moon was ten days ago. But let’s go full-force forward, eh? Nerds-with-guns-a-blazing-type stuff.

A couple of years ago I stumbled on some trivia that I had never heard before. Nothing Earth-shattering, but neat for an amateur astronomer. Did you know that there is a traditional name for every full moon? Probably goes back to our agricultural days, I reckon, when farmers with blades of grass in their teeth stoically mumbled about plantin’ and harvestin’ times to one another. They’d develop a personalized name for each moon as a kind of short-hand so they’d know what season or time a’ year they was referencin’. Anyway, just another one of the many things we’ve sadly lost as we have evolved as a culture towards city-dwellin’ and then suburban livin’.

Because there’s about a tiny bit more than 29-and-a-half days between full moons, on average, every two-and-a-half years, again, approximately, there will be two full moons in one month. One at the very beginning of the month, and the other at the tail end. This second full moon has generally become known as a “blue moon.” (Though technically it’s not quite the official definition.) Next month will have a blue moon in it. Bring that up at your New Years’ Eve parties, ’cause it’s happening December 31st .

But most of the time we have one full moon per month. Each month’s full moon has its own name. Most of the time more than one, as the following list shows:

January – Old Moon
February – Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, or Wolf Moon
March – Sap Moon, Crow Moon or Worm Moon
April – Grass Moon or Egg Moon
May – Planter’s Moon or Milk Moon
June – Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon
July – Blood Moon, Thunder Moon or Hay Moon
August – Green Corn Moon or Hay Moon (again?)
September – Fruit Moon or Harvest Moon
October – Hunter’s Moon or Falling Leaves Moon
November – Frosty Moon or Beaver Moon
December – Long Night Moon or Cold Moon

Most non-astronomer-types have heard of the Harvest Moon. I’ve known of it myself for at least twenty years (I was a huge Neil Young fan in the late-80s). A Harvest Moon can actually occur in October every so often, because it is precisely determined. It’s the first full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox, the first full day of Fall, September 22 or 23. A full moon can occur up to fourteen days before or after this date, so a Harvest Moon can occur anywhere between September 7 and October 7.

My goal is now to somehow use the phrase “worm moon” in everyday conversation over the next week. Possible examples:

Chatting the economy with my local bank teller – “Yeah, I’ve been out of work since Worm’s Moon Eve” (March 10). Just rolls off the tongue.

Reminiscing with the neighbors – “Can you believe we still had snow on the ground last year at Worm Moon?” Neighbors enjoy such arcane references.

On the phone with out-of-state friends – “Well, we’re kinda tapped out until Worm Moon next year; then we’ll be able to drive out and see you guys.” You’ll spend at least $1.05 in long-distance phone charges wasted in silence as they try to figure out what you just said.

The possibilities are as endless as my wife’s patience is not. In any event, I bet from now on you’ll always remember the traditional name of the March full moon.

No comments: