In Pure Spirit

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Myths and meanings of the Harvest Moon

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In the Northern Hemisphere tonight there will be a Harvest Moon. This is the full moon that happens to be closest to the autumn equinox and is special as the time difference between moonrise and successive evenings is shorter than usual.

The Harvest Moon tends to be large and more colourful than other moons of the year. This is because of the tilt of the earth and reflections from the atmosphere.

The Harvest Moon gets its name from the extra light it gives farmers – which mean in times before electricity that they had even longer to harvest their crops. The Harvest Moon, however, has other names. It’s known often as the Wine Moon as it is through this is when grapes are plump and ready for collecting. It’s called the Singing Moon as the festivals held to mark it would involve signing – it is the last full moon before Halloween. The moon has been called the Elk Call Moon too. The native American tribes may call a Harvest Moon that rises in September the Full Corn Moon and some European people may refer to it as the Gypsy Moon. The Chinese call the moon the Chrysanthemum Moon because of the illusion of the colour change.

The Celts would use the Harvest Moon to mark the time before Samhain and considered it a blessing. It would be a time of crop collection but also of large parties; signing, dancing and drinking.

The Norse noted that the Harvest Moon was often the first full moon after the first frost of the winter seasons. They considered it to be the most powerful moon of the year and associated with the trickster god Loki.

6 Moon Superstitions

  1. An old Chinese superstition suggests that your ears may fall off if you point to a moon.
  2. It’s dangerous to sleep with the moon shining on your face
  3. Seeing a new moon for the first time on a Monday is lucky
  4. Go outside with an empty purse or wallet, under a full moon, say “full up” nine times and within a few days you will come into money
  5. A red moon is the sign of war
  6. If the first time you see a new moon in a month is by looking over your right shoulder it is lucky
  7. If you rub an injury on a horse with silver during the light of a full moon then it will recover

In Pure Spirit

Will you be watching the Harvest Moon tonight? What does it mean to you?

What is Féile na Marbh?

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The festival Féile na Marbh is Gaelic by tradition. In Scotland and Ireland it has become bundled into Samhain.

The phrase “Féile na Marbh” is Irish for Festival of the Dead.

In the past the festival itself could have lasted up to three days; beginning at the end of October. As a result Féile na Marbh can described as being both Samhain (Oidhche Shamhna in Scots Gaelic) and All Souls’ Day as well. There alternative historical theories; with some suggesting that Féile na Marbh concluded at the end of October after a three day festival.

It is widely accepted that bonfires are important for Féile na Marbh. One Irish custom begins with a ritual fire being lit atop of the Hill of Tlachtga. This signalled the lighting of fires across the country. Villagers would throw the bones of slaughtered catle into the flames. Hence the word “bonfire” from the origin “bone fire”. Villages would then re-light their homefires with flame taken from the main village bonfire; thus bonding the whole village together.

Féile na Marbh is considered a time when the curtain between worlds is weak. A time when the words of the living and the dead are close. The practise of turnip carving comes from a Celtic attempt to fighten spirits off.

The tradition of guising is still strong in Scotland. Children dress up as the dead (once again in the attempt to ward off the dead) and visit neighbours.

In Pure Spirit

Is Féile na Marbh a day or festival that’s important to you? How do you plan to mark it this year?

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This blog discusses ideas and causes. Urban myth and history combine here. In Pure Spirit covers stories from elsewhere on the web and may make fair use clippings and quotations from the original source.