What would you name the Full Moon where you live?

Plus: “Nine Days of Brigid” coming soon

The Moon from the Gaian Tarot. Art by JPC.

As I become comfortable inhabiting the Elder stage of my life, I find myself frequently contemplating the idea of legacy. Legacy has many layers and expressions. But today I’m thinking about all the material I’ve created over the years for workshops, online courses, books, and blog posts.

I’ve been rereading the Gaian Tarot companion book that I wrote about 15 years ago. I’m finding some deep wisdom there (so glad it holds up) but I’m also finding some outdated, insensitive language. I find myself disagreeing with my younger self at times, writing in the margin “Well I just don’t agree with that at all!” A misconception that some folks have about aging people is that we’re too old to change. But we’re not. At least we don’t have to be. Two of our most trustworthy guides, La Luna Bella Herself and the archetypal Wheel of Fortune in the tarot, teach us that change is constant.

Honoring the seasonal changes and holy-days along with the lunar round is one of the most potent ways I know to bring fresh eyes to old traditions. Every year, one particular holy-day appears in a familiar yet unique way. Every lunation, a certain moon phase dresses up in different finery. As I reread the book I wrote years ago, I come to it with 15 extra years of experience and education. Tradition brings comfort, while new ideas liven things up with a fresh perspective.

When I started publishing on Substack, I decided to revisit my old material. I’m dusting it off, refreshing and renewing it, then handing it on to you. It’s part of my legacy. Some of you who’ve been with me a long time (I wrote my first blog post in 2003!) may recognize and remember some of the things I’ll be sharing. I hope you don’t mind, but will find value in taking another look through the lens of your own experience.

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Name That Moon

January Full Moon rises over the pond by my porch. Photo by JPC.

You may be familiar with some of the names that Indigenous people across North America give to the Full Moons. We see them noted in places like the Farmer’s Almanac, or on astronomy websites or social media. It’s often written with great authority: “January’s Full Moon is the Wolf Moon.” Or the Cold Moon, or the Cracking Tree Moon, or another name.

But of course, the names are not homogenous. How could they be? Names for the full moons are as varied and diverse as the tribal nations and the ecosystems where they live. Indigenous people named the moons for the weather, cultural activities, or significant seasonal activities like hunting and planting. Each tribe’s names for the moons connect them to their own ancestral traditions. Here’s a fascinating resource created by the Saanich people of British Columbia, Canada. And this is a beautifully designed story map, an inspiring look at the cycle of the seasons and moons created by members of the Samish Indian Nation, close to the area where I live.

I suspect that many cultures around the world had a similar practice. It would be a fascinating research project to find out if and how my own pre-colonial ancestors (Welsh, Irish, Italian) named the Full Moons.

My old friend Helen Farias (now an ancestor herself) was the original publisher of The Beltane Papers back in the 1980s. She and Waverly Fitzgerald were the ones who initiated me into a lifelong love affair with seasonal lore. Helen introduced me to the idea of naming the Full Moons according to what’s going on in the natural world where you live.

It’s a wonderful way to become more connected to the moon and at the same time to deepen your relationship with the land where you live, whether it’s urban, rural, or something in-between.

I invite you to name the Full Moon of January with me. It’s simple and fun. All you really need to do is to pay attention and notice what’s going on in the natural world in your neighborhood on the day and night of the Full Moon (in Leo) on January 25th.

I think of the Full Moon as three days — the day before, the day of, and the day after. I like to sharpen my observation skills on these 3 days and really notice what catches my attention, especially when I go out for a walk. Was it a particularly striking sunrise? The call of a red-winged blackbird? Blackened rosehips and tiny rosebuds on the same branch? Freezing temperatures? A hard rain? I might name the moon for one of those.

Here are some names for inspiration.

The Full Moon of January in the Northern Hemisphere has been called Strong Cold Moon, Frozen Ground Moon, Ice Moon, Moon When the Sun Has Travelled South, Pine Moon, Quiet Moon, Whirling Wind Moon, Earth Renewal Moon, Wolf Moon.

The Full Moon of January in the Southern Hemisphere has been called Ripening Moon, Blackberry Moon, Young Corn Moon, Hungry Ghost Moon, Meadow Moon, Moon When Cherries Are Ripe, Rose Moon, Strong Sun Moon, Wort Moon.

We can be inspired by the names others have given the moons, especially the original inhabitants of the land. But I still encourage you to come up with your own. One year I was going to name the January Full Moon “Spring Comes Too Soon Moon” because of the mild weather, then I changed it to “Hard Rain Moon.” If the Full Moon had arrived last week when the temperatures were in the single digits, I might have called it “Bitter Freeze Moon.” Today I’m leaning toward “Snowmelt Mud Moon.”

If you keep doing this over a number of years, you’ll be able to see what names appear over and over for a particular month or how they differ (especially in this time of climate change).

Once you’ve named the moon, please share it here. We want to hear!

You may want to do a little creative expression with it too: take a photo, make a collage, do a little doodle sketch write a haiku. If you have something visual to share, please share it over in Chat. (We can share photos in Chat but not in post comments for some reason.) 

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Coming Soon ~ Nine Days of Brigid: 
A Daily Sacred Pause of Creative Inspiration

Detail of “Brigid’s Fire” in process, which I finished in 2014. Art by JPC.

The Wheel is turning toward the holy-day of Imbolc / Candlemas, coming up on February 1st and 2nd. This festival marks the midway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. It’s a time when many of us love to celebrate Brigid, the beloved Irish Goddess and Saint.

Back in the day (ha!) I taught a number of popular seasonal courses that delivered an inspirational quote, prompt, and creative practice into your inbox every day for 30 days. This morning I woke up thinking how much fun it might be to resurrect that course. Maybe not all thirty days. But how fun to use that format to celebrate Brigid as we honor her holy-day and ease into the season of Winter-Turning-to-Spring. Instead of “30 Days of Brigid” though, I decided on nine days.

Why nine? Because a span of nine days is less overwhelming than thirty days. Because in Irish mythology, the mystical Otherworld lies beyond the ninth wave. Because nine is the power of “three times three” in spellcrafting. Because the Nines in the tarot are cards of experience, maturity, and wholeness. Because nine is a potent, magical number, and I love it.

Each of the nine posts will include a daily spark of inspiration (a quote or poem, often by me but not always); a photo or illustration (almost always by me, including brand new ones from my oracle-deck-in-progress); a journal prompt; and a photo or art prompt. I’m looking forward to seeing what you all post in response, in the comments or in Chat. Some of the material is essentially the same as it was in “30 Days of Brigid” and some of it is new.

“Nine Days of Brigid” is a perk for paid subscribers and begins on Sunday, January 28th.

If you’ve been following me here on Substack, I hope this will encourage you to become a paid subscriber. Thank you for considering it. And yes, you can gift someone with a subscription!

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Thank you for listening to my ruminations and inspirations. I appreciate the gift of your attention, always.

Blessings of Sea & Cedar,

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Out for a walk in the snow last week. Today we have rain, rain, rain.

About me: I’m Joanna Powell Colbert, creator of the Gaian Tarot and the Pentimento Tarot, and co-creator of the Herbcrafter’s Tarot. I write and teach about tarot, earth-centered spirituality, seasonal & lunar lore, and creativity as a spiritual practice. You can also connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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