As we have previously seen, the cycle of the sun through the Wheel of the Year combined with the fire or agricultural festivals marks points throughout the yearly cycle. The moon is equally important in this yearly cycle, and based on the archaeological evidence from the Neolithic stone circles together with the recorded writings from Classical interpreters of Celtic culture, we can see that the moon’s cycle was equally revered by the Druids and their predecessors.
Without the benefits of indoor lighting, streetlights, and so on, the moon’s light was a very important factor to our ancestors. Have you ever tried walking outside at night at the time of the dark moon, without any light source? Today, too many suffer from light pollution, where the night sky is never as dark as it should be and the orange lights coming from towns and cities light up the night sky so that only the brightest stars can be seen and the true darkness of a moonless night is hitherto unknown. Walking out of doors at night was made much easier by the light of the moon, and calculating the cycles and eclipses were important to our ancestors on this very basic level.
The moon orbits the earth roughly once each month (once every 27.322 days to be precise), where the angle shared between the three objects of sun, earth, and moon affects how we perceive the moon, its shape, and its cycle. It also takes around twenty-seven days for the moon to rotate once on its axis, and this results in the phenomenon that the moon does not appear to be spinning but rather keeps almost perfectly still, which is known as synchronous rotation (hence the “dark side of the moon,” which we never see). The moon is illuminated by the light of the sun off of its rocky and dusty surface. The new moon, or the first crescent with points facing left, reaches its first quarter and then afterward becomes a waxing gibbous moon, where the moon appears to get fatter and fatter and the points slowly diminish. The full moon occurs two weeks after the dark moon and then turns into the waning gibbous phase of its cycle until it reaches the third quarter of its cycle, whereupon it returns to the crescent shape again, this time with points facing to the right. Two weeks after the full moon, the moon appears to diminish in size until it “disappears” for three days. This occurs when the moon is in conjunction with the earth and the sun so that no sunlight can be visible upon its surface from the earth’s perspective. A blue moon is technically when there are two full moons in the same astrological sign; however, nowadays people refer to the blue moon as the second full moon in a calendrical month.
The moon, like the sun, rises at a different point on the horizon each day. However, the moon’s cycle is quicker and moves eastward roughly thirteen degrees every day, rising approximately fifty minutes later on each successive night. What is interesting to note is that the full moon rises where the sun will rise at the opposite time of year; so where the full moon rises on Samhain is where the sun rises at Beltane. Where the full moon rises at the Summer Solstice is where the sun rises at the Winter Solstice. The length of days and nights are swapped, and so during the summer months, the moon’s journey appears shorter and the sun’s longer—and vice versa in the winter months.
Eclipses and being able to predict them were important to our ancestors, hence the building of circles to mark out the cycles of the moon and sun. A solar eclipse is when the earth moves through the shadow cast by the moon, the moon itself blocking out the light of the sun. This can only occur when the moon is at its dark moon stage. In contrast, a partial or total lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the earth’s shadow, which can only occur when the moon is full. A full cycle of an eclipse, where the same eclipse appears in the same place in the sky, occurs approximately once every eighteen years. As well, eclipses are phenomena that occur together in twos or threes; a solar eclipse usually is preceded or followed by a lunar eclipse.
The moon also affects the tides, and where I live on the coast of the North Sea, this is something to be taken very seriously, especially in the autumn during hurricane season, as storms are swept across the Atlantic to hit our shores or cold winters surge down from the Arctic. If this is timed with a full or dark moon, we have spring tides, which can cause storm surges that flood the beaches, marshes, creeks, and rivers as the higher levels of water rush in at high tide. We take storm surge warnings very seriously, and any person living on the coast knows (or should know!) what phase the moon is in at any given time during this season. The moon’s gravitational pull on Earth causes the part of Earth that is closest to the moon to bulge outward, toward the moon. In the fluidity of the seas and oceans, this pull is markedly higher, and so we see the real difference in high tide and low tide. There are two high tides and low tides each day, every six hours. Knowing the tides is important, not only for storm surges, but also to reach islands that are connected by land bridges, such as St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall or the holy island of Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland.
For the Celts, the cycle of the moon was used to determine important events and for declaring when sacred rituals should take place. The new moon, when the first crescent appears in the sky, was of importance to the Druids. In his Classical account of the Druids harvesting mistletoe, Pliny states that this was done during the sixth day of the moon, during the waxing crescent, which will have been newly visible after the dark of the moon. Lunar eclipses were also important. In 218 BCE, a Galatian army (Celts living in modern-day Turkey) was brought to a halt by a lunar eclipse, suggesting an apprehension of moving at this time, which would allude to a deep acknowledgement and perhaps veneration of the lunar cycle. Strabo records the Celtiberians worshipping an unnamed god at the full moon. In the Dindschenchas an oath is sworn to natural phenomena, including the sun, moon, and sea. The mysterious item known as “The Druid’s Egg,” which may have been a stone used for magical and/or ceremonial purposes, could only be collected at a certain time of the moon. Mistletoe was harvested at a certain moon phase, popularly recorded by Pliny the Elder in his work, Natural History:
We should not omit to mention the great admiration that the Gauls have for it as well. The druids—that is what they call their magicians—hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and a tree on which it is growing, provided it is a hard-timbered oak [robur] … . Mistletoe is rare and when found it is gathered with great ceremony and particularly on the sixth day of the moon. … Hailing the moon in a native word that means “healing all things,” they prepare a ritual sacrifice and banquet beneath a tree and bring up two white bulls, whose horns are bound for the first time on this occasion. A priest arrayed in white vestments climbs the tree and, with a golden sickle, cuts down the mistletoe, which is caught in a white cloak. Then finally they kill the victims, praying to a god to render his gift propitious to those on whom he has bestowed it. They believe that mistletoe given in drink will impart fertility to any animal that is barren and that it is an antidote to all poisons.25
Some Druid groups today celebrate and hold ritual on the sixth day of the moon in accordance with this bit of information on the ancient Druids. However, drinking mistletoe is to be avoided—it is poisonous! Others hold ritual at the full and dark moon. As a new day in Celtic terminology begins at sunset, so does the importance of night time, darkness, and the moon hold an equal resonance to the sun and its yearly cycle. We can see that the Celts estimated time by the different moons throughout the year in addition to the sun, from what we know of the famous Coligny calendar dating back to the second century in Gaul. This calendar is known as a lunisolar calendar that contains intercalary months. The word “month” is directly correlated to the word “moon” (Old English mona), which stems from the Indo-European word mé, from which the words “measure” and “month” can also be derived. The Coligny calendar attempts to bring together the cycles of the moon and sun. The phases of the moon are important to the Coligny calendar, where each month always begins with the same moon phase, the sixth night of the waxing moon. The calendar employs a mathematical system to keep a normal twelve-month calendar synchronised with the moon and keep the entire system in sync by adding an intercalary month every two and a half years. The Coligny calendar records a five-year cycle of sixty-two lunar months, divided into a “bright” or “light” and a “dark” fortnight (or half a moon, two-week cycle) respectively.
|
Month Name |
Length of Days |
Etymology |
Time Period |
|
Samonios |
30 |
Seed Fall |
October/November |
|
Dumannios |
29 |
Darkest Depths |
November/December |
|
Riuros |
30 |
Cold Time |
December/January |
|
Anagantios |
29 |
Stay At Home Time |
January/February |
|
Ogronios |
30 |
Time of Ice |
February/March |
|
Cutios |
30 |
Time of Winds |
March/April |
|
Giamonios |
29 |
Shoots Show |
April/May |
|
Simivisionios |
30 |
Time of Light/Brightness |
May/June |
|
Equos |
29/30 |
Horse Time |
June/July |
|
Elembiuos |
29 |
Claim Time |
July/August |
|
Edrinios |
30 |
Arbitration Time |
August/September |
|
Cantios |
29 |
Song Time |
September/October |
|
Sonnocingos |
30 |
Sun’s March |
Intercalary* |
|
* Reese, Coligny Calendar, Ancient Origins, accessed November 30, 2017, http://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/coligny-calendar-1800-year-old-lunisolar-calendar-banned-romans-002429. |
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The Welsh goddess Arianrhod is also known as “The Lady of the Silver Wheel.” This might refer to her dwelling, Caer Arianrhod, which is also known as star constellation the Corona Borealis. It is interesting to note that this constellation forms a semi-circle, similar in shape to a crescent moon or the horns of a bull. However, as the constellation is not so much of a circle but rather a crescent, it is my opinion that the epithet of Lady of the Silver Wheel refers to the moon and not the stars that are commonly associated with this goddess. There are others who share this opinion, and it is certainly divided. For me personally, one look up in the sky at the full moon confirms this beautiful silver wheel, making its rounds through the heavens. As an aside, there is another Caer Arianrhod located in a reef off the coast of Gwynedd in Wales, said to be the goddess’s castle and is only visible at low tide, which might reflect once again the connection between the moon and the sea.
Around the world there are different names for the full moons and their cycles. Popular ones today mostly stem from Native North American names for these moons; however, there are still some Celtic names (based on the Coligny calendar) and medieval ones to be found:
Celtic Moon Names
|
January |
Quiet Moon |
July |
Claim Moon |
|
February |
Ice Moon |
August |
Dispute Moon |
|
March |
Wind Moon |
September |
Singing Moon |
|
April |
Growing Moon |
October |
Harvest Moon |
|
May |
Bright Moon |
November |
Dark Moon |
|
June |
Horse Moon |
December |
Cold Moon † |
|
† “Full Moon Names,” Moon Facts, accessed December 12, 2017, http://www.moonfacts.net/moon-name-meanings. |
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Algonquin Moon Names
|
January |
Wolf Moon |
July |
Buck Moon |
|
Febraury |
Snow Moon |
August |
Sturgeon Moon |
|
March |
Worm Moon |
September |
Harvest Moon |
|
April |
Pink Moon |
October |
Hunter’s Moon |
|
May |
Flower Moon |
November |
Beaver Moon |
|
June |
Strawberry Moon |
December |
Cold Moon ‡ |
|
‡ “Full Moon Names” The Old Farmer’s Almanac, accessed December 12, 2017, https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-names. |
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English Medieval Moon Names
|
January |
Wolf Moon |
July |
Mead Moon |
|
February |
Storm Moon |
August |
Corn Moon |
|
March |
Chaste Moon |
September |
Barley Moon |
|
April |
Seed Moon |
October |
Blood Moon |
|
May |
Hare Moon |
November |
Snow Moon |
|
June |
Dyan Moon |
December |
Oak Moon § |
|
§ “Full Moon Names,” Moon Facts, accessed December 12, 2017, http://www.moonfacts.net/moon-name-meanings. |
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In a Hedge Druid tradition, it would be encouraged to find your own names for each moon’s cycle, if you do not live in a land that has already found and preserved its own names for the moons or if you are simply unable to find out what these names used to be, lost to the mists of time. Cycles change as well and the old names may no longer hold resonance with what is happening in your environment, and so new names might be required. Naming the moons helps to provide a deeper insight into the cycles within cycles, the phases of the moon throughout the longer cycles of the earth’s path around the sun.
There is a lingering tradition of honouring the moon in Celtic countries still to be found today—in folkloric wisdom. In Scotland, in the historic work Carmina Gadelica, which records old folk traditions, we see several examples of the moon influencing behaviour and what one should do upon viewing it:
When I see the New Moon
It is fitting for me to lift my eye
It is fitting for me to bend my knee
It is fitting for me to bow my head.
I praise you, Moon of Guidance
Now that I have seen you again
Now that I have seen the new moon
Beauteous guide on the Pathway 26
In the county of Cork, Ireland, women blessed themselves upon viewing the new moon, offering a short prayer: “May she leave us in good health.” 27 Turning money in the pockets, especially silver coins when viewing the new moon for the first time was said to bring wealth. Other traditions state that when the moon is viewed for the first time, a garment should be turned inside out in order to receive gifts. In Cornwall, it was unlucky to view the new moon through glass and one should always see it outside first and foremost. “See the new moon through glass: you’ll have trouble while it lasts.” As well, there is the saying “two full moons in the month of May are neither good for corn nor hay.” Scotland had an abundance of lore pertaining to sowing and harvesting by the moon, as well as cutting peat during the waning of the moon. In the Orkneys, marriages were conducted during the time of the waxing moon. In Wales, a child born during the new moon would be gifted with eloquent speech and those born in the third quarter had exceptional powers of reasoning.
Some Druid and Pagan groups work through the festivals according to the cycle of the moon in relation to the zodiac—celebrating Samhain at the first full moon when the Sun is in Scorpio, for instance. For the purposes of this work, we will work to the Modern Druid/Neopagan calendar (the Wheel of the Year) in Part Two, as well as offering rites and rituals dedicated to the dark moon and the full moon.
It is the Wind Moon, which is living up to its name. For three days storms have raged and the snows have fallen. Though it is the month of March and the snows are late, still the Hedge Druid struggles outside to catch a glimpse of the full moon through the tattered clouds. She wraps a blanket around her shoulders and stands on the patio overlooking the garden. The glow of the moon can be seen from behind the clouds, brightening the eastern part of the sky. Patiently she waits, the cold wind caressing her with icy fingers. Then the moon appears, bright yellow and shining upon the garden. The Hedge Druid smiles, feeling the moonlight upon her face. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the moon is hidden once more and the snow begins to fall again, sideways in the biting wind. Shivering, the Hedge Druid bows to the moon and goes back into the warmth.
25. Pliny, Natural History, Celtic Literature Collective, accessed November 3, 2017, http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/classical_pliny.html#16.
26. Carmina Gadelica, accessed December 13, 2017, http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/Carmina.
27. Sharynne MacLeod NicMhacha, Queen of the Night: Rediscovering the Celtic Moon Goddess, (Weiser, 2005), 199–205.