What is a “Storm Moon”?

29 January 2014

The Short Answer (TSA)

            The next full moon is coming up on Tuesday 3 February.  Or at least it is in my time zone in the U.S.   So, depending on where you live, you might want to check to be sure that your full moon will fall on that day. 

            In England, during the Middle Ages, February’s full moon was called the “Storm Moon.”  The name came from the weather.  Storms typically began to blow-in from the northwest in the month of February.   And February enjoyed the reputation of being the month of, by far, the greatest snow falls – the most often and the most snow.

            But England still enjoyed a relatively moderate climate.  Temperatures were cold enough for snow to accumulate on the ground.  But changes in temperatures kept the snow on the ground melting steadily, even as more snow fell.   So, for the English of the time, February wasn’t a month of abundance.  But it wasn’t a month of suffering either.

            Of course, in places like China, February brought the beginning of spring with celebrations.  In Northeastern North America, where many nomadic Native American tribes struggled to survive, February brought much colder temperatures.  More snow fell and almost all of that snow stayed on the ground.  

            When the European colonists established settlements and joined the Native American Tribes in Northeastern North America, they experienced these severe Februaries.  Names with the words of suffering and hunger were attached to February’s full moons.           

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What is a “Cheshire Moon"?

8 May 2014

THE SHORT ANSWER (TSA)

 A Smiling Moon?

            What’s a Cheshire moon? Well, the answer starts in Hawaii and ends up in England. But let’s begin at the beginning.

In Hawaii and other places near the equator, the moon sometimes looks different than it does in the temperate and frigid zones. Because of the tilt of the earth, people living in the tropics see the face of the moon rotate during the course of year.

This is most noticeable when the moon is in crescent phase before the first and after the fourth quarter.  With December, the crescent moon seems to have fallen over on its side. When this happens, the moon looks like it has two horns.

To the ancient Hawaiians, the crescent moon seemed to form a bowl that caught and stored the water for the spring and summer rains. As the crescent tipped back over into the up and down position (crescent moon most of the rest of the world sees all the time) the Hawaiian rains poured. The rains would stop about the time the crescent moon had rotated to the upright position. In other words, the rains stopped when it looked like the bowl had been tipped and completely poured out.

But the “bowl” crescent doesn’t just look like a bowl. It also looks like a smile. A smile, without a face — just floating in the sky.

Who ever heard of something like that?

Well, anyone whose read Lewis G. Carol’s Alice in Wonderland will recognize the scene of “nothing but a smile” floating in the air.

In Carol’s book, Alice finds herself in Wonderland after either passing through a “looking glass” (mirror) to the other side (Wonderland), or falling down a rabbit hole. (Carol wrote two versions of the story.) In Wonderland, she meets a cat who later reappears in the branches of a tree.

 The "Friendly-Looking" Cheshire Cat?

Unlike a regular cat, this cat – “the Cheshire Cat”– can not only talk, but appears and disappears at will. This cat has the irritating habit of engaging Alice in confusing conversations, but its appearances and disappearances are made stranger by its ability to appear only partially. In one scene, the cat’s head appears without its body. In another the cat fades away until only its grin is visible. Alice observes that she has seen a cat without a grin before, but never a grin without a cat.

So, the floating grin of the Cheshire Cat became famous as it found its way into popular culture. So, much so, that when the crescent moon is tilted at an angle that makes it look like just a smile floating in the sky, some have called it a Cheshire Moon.

Mark Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois
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What is the “Moon Diet”?

20 January 2014

            The “Moon Diet” is the only possible way to lose weight.  You can lose as much as 6 pounds in 24 hours during certain phases of the Moon!  Of course, you could listen to the medical establishment.  Their ineffective diets require time, patience, care and, sometimes, (gulp) even exercise. 

            If you consult a medical professional, you’ll be told to continue to eat regular, well-balanced meals.  You may also be advised to exercise moderately.  How does this silly routine produce weight-loss?  

            Well, supposedly, all you have to do is reduce the fat and carbohydrates in your daily diet until you are taking in slightly fewer calories than your body is using each and every day.  With patience, weeks and, sometimes, months, you will eventually lose all the weight you want or need to lose. 

            Yeah!  Right!

            Everyone who’s ever read a magazine cover in the checkout line at the grocery store knows that to lose weight you need to know a “secret.”  Does anyone lose weight over a long period of time with diet and exercise?  Nobody you hear anything about!  Instead, you need to know the weight-loss secret.  And anyone who’s ever read about the weight-loss secret knows it involves a crash diet and a trick . . . a secret trick.

            When I heard about the “moon diet,” I was skeptical.  But I went to the experts to see if the “moon diet” was the real deal.  Was the "moon diet" . . . the secret?  It's another trick to find the experts.  And, the “experts” aren’t a bunch of doctors.   I knew the “moon diet” was the real deal when I found out that Demi Moore and Madonna had used it.  What more proof do we need?

            There are two basic moon diet plans and both use special fasts and foods during certain phases of the moon.  The theory behind the moon diet is actually a bit thin.  It is said that everyone seems to agree that the moon affects the human body.  Ok.  So far so good.  (Even though no one has explained just what these effects are.)   “[E]veryone knows the moon affects the water in the human body."  I didn't know this, but maybe I'm just out of the loop.  Then, consider: the human body is 60% water.  Ok.  And, then, doesn’t the moon affect the ocean tides?  Well, yeah, but . . .  

            Anyway, the "moon diet" theory goes like this.  Together with the sun, the moon, when it is a full or new, has the greatest gravitational pull on the earth.   The strong gravitational effect lasts about 24 hours.  During that 24 hours, the “moon dieter” fasts (doesn’t eat anything) except drinking water and juice.  This cleanses the body of toxins and “moon dieters” report losing up to 6 pounds during that 24 hours period.

            But something worried me.

            I don’t know just how much effect the moon’s gravity has on the water in the body.  And, if the moon does strongly affect the water in the body, why would that make you lose weight? 

            I know the full and new moons affect the oceans causing the water at the shore line to disappear.  Does that mean that reduced gravity on the water in your body makes you . . . lighter?  Even if the water disappears at the shoreline during the new and full moons, the water come right back.  All of the water comes right back.  And this is what worries me.

            Suppose the new or full moon makes my waist shrink.  Will my waist expand right back out, like the ocean, as soon as the new or full moon is over? And, if this possibility worries you too, you might try the modified moon diet.

            With the modified moon diet, you do everything you did during the regular moon diet described above.  Only, after the new or full moon is over, you eat regular, well-balanced meals, but with reduced calories from fat and carbohydrates.  Being careful to consume slightly fewer calories than you need, on a daily basis, you soon discover that, as the weeks pass, you are losing weight and keeping it off.  The lovers of the modified moon diet also recommend moderate regular exercise.  

            Well, statistics show that this modified moon diet, if carefully followed, really works.  Let’s see the medical establishment come up with something like that!  

            Remember!  Weight-loss is all about “the secret.”  Without knowing the weight-loss secret, you can't expect any diet to work.  And now we know "the secret."  It’s the moon that makes the difference!

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What Is a “Dripping Wet Moon?”

8 May 2014

THE SHORT ANSWER (TSA)

The Bowl-Shaped Moon was Believed to Fill with Water

There’s no water involved in a “wet moon.” The moon has phases – it grows from new to full and, then, back to new every 29 days (+ a few hours). In the first and last “quarter” (seven or eight days) of one cycle of the moon’s phases, the bright, visible part of the moon looks like a crescent.

Because the earth is slightly tilted, the angle of the crescent moon changes and sometimes the crescent seems to be lying on its side with the two ends pointing up like horns. At these times, the moon looks a bit like a “bowl” or a “smile.”

In Hawaiian mythology, the “bowl” image inspired the name “Wet Moon.” Appearing at the “bowl” angle from late January to late February, the bowl-shaped moon was called the wet moon because it was said to be filling with water. In Hawaiian Astrology, the period from January 20 – February 18, is associated with “Kaelo the Water Bearer.”  During that time, the “Wet Moon” became the “Dripping Wet Moon” – the bowl is full of water.

With the approach of summer, the rains increase as the crescent moon gradually tilts back out of its “bowl” position and into an upright crescent — looking like it’s pouring out its collected water with the summer rains. The “upright” crescent moon has it own name. Logically, it’s called the “Dry Moon.”

Because of the tilt of the earth, bowl-shaped “Wet Moons” happen often in the tropics near the equator. As you go farther north, wet moons become rarer, and never appear in the Arctic Circle.

Mark Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois

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What is a “Moon Bridge?”

13 January 2015

The Short Answer (TSA)

 Moon Bridge

            A moon bridge is, well, a picture is worth a thousand words (see above).  But, more technically, the term “moon bridge” refers to a “high arched” footbridge.  The open arch -- over a stream, creek, river, or ravine -- is circular reminding you of a full moon.

            This type of bridge is believed to have come from China.  The bridge style moved to Japan and, then, much later, to the rest of the world.  There are a lot of examples of actual moon bridges around, but two get most of the attention.

            First, the Jade Belt Bridge in Beijing.

 Jade Belt Bridge in Beijing China (Hennessy)

            Second, the wooden moon bridge in the Japanese tea garden in Gold Gate Park in San Francisco, California.

Moon Bridge in the Japanese tea garden in Gold Gate Park, San Francisco

 

Mark Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois

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What is a “Wet Moon?”

8 May 2014

THE SHORT ANSWER (TSA)

            There’s no water involved in a “wet moon.”  The moon has phases – it grows from new to full and, then, back to new every 29 days (plus a few hours).  In the first and last “quarter” (seven or eight days) of one cycle of the moon’s phases, the bright, visible part of the moon looks like a crescent.

            Because the earth is slightly tilted, the angle of the crescent moon changes and sometimes the crescent seems to be lying on its side with the two ends pointing up like horns.  At these times, the moon looks a bit like a “bowl” or a “smile.”

 In Hawaiian mythology, 

the "bowl" shaped moon was said to fill with water and, 

as it tilted back to an upright position, 

pour the water onto the earth in the form of rain

            In Hawaiian mythology, the “bowl” image inspired the name “Wet Moon.”  Appearing at the “bowl” angle from late January to late February, the bowl-shaped moon was called the wet moon because it was said to be filling with water.  By late February, the moon was believed to become full.  The full “bowl” was called the “dripping wet moon.”

            With the approach of summer, the rains increase as the crescent moon gradually tilts back out of its “bowl” position and into an upright crescent -- looking like it’s pouring out its collected water with the summer rains.  The “upright” crescent moon has it own name.  Logically, it’s called the “Dry Moon.”

            Because of the tilt of the earth, bowl-shaped “Wet Moons” happen often in the tropics near the equator.  As you go farther north, wet moons become rarer, and never appear in the Arctic Circle.

Mark Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois

About the Author

What is the "Dry Moon?"

15 May 2014

THE SHORT ANSWER (TSA)

In Hawaii, the late summer and autumn are periods of relatively little rain. During that period of the year, the crescent moon, seen from topical latitudes appears to be upright in the sky. In Hawaiian mythology, this is the “Dry Moon.” For people living in most of the world, the upright crescent moon is nothing unusual.  But, for the old Hawaiians, this upright crescent moon was associated with drought and picked-up the name: Dry Moon. 

To the old Hawaiians, during the summer and autumn dry spell, 

the upright crescent moon looked like a dry bowl turned on its side 

from which all the water (rain) had been poured out

But, because of the tilt of the earth, the moon, as seen from Hawaii, rotates as December approaches. By January each crescent moon, before first and after the last quarter of each lunar cycle, seems to be lying on its side with its two ends pointing upward like two horns. To the ancient Hawaiians this crescent moon also looked like a bowl.  But this moon-bowl was in a position to hold water.

This moon-bowl of January and February got the name wet moon. As the story goes, the bowl moon fills with rain water, until it becomes the “Dripping Wet Moon.”

With the Dripping Wet Moon, the spring rains begin and extend into summer. Finally, in the late summer, when the rains stop, the crescent moon has rotated back to an upright position – looking like all the water gathered in the “bowl” has been poured out – “The Dry Moon” -- again.

Mark Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois

About the Author

What is the “Wolf Moon”?

01 January 2015

The Short Answer (TSA)

            January’s full moon is, sometimes, called the “Full Wolf Moon.”   The “Wolf Moon” describes not just the full moon, but the period of about a month, or 29 days, extending from the new moon to the next new moon.  If the full moon coming in the middle of this period, also, falls in the month of January, it is called the “Full Wolf Moon.”

 Full Wolf Moon

            It seems like almost all of the full moon names bring a discussion (or argument) about where the name came from and what exactly it means.  But the origin and meaning of the “Full Wolf Moon” seems certain.

            The name “Full Wolf Moon” originated with the population native to the northern part of North America.  With the deep snows of midwinter, wolf packs roamed in search of food.  At night, in Native American villages, the wolves could be heard howling and, certainly, hungry.  And, at the time of January’s full moon, the wolves would have been more visible than ever.

            Wolves get “a bad rap” in the sense that, in North America, wolf attacks on human beings are quite rare.  Most historical attacks are thought to be the result of the wolf being in the late stages of a rabies infection and, therefore, displaying extreme aggression toward everything in its environment. 

            Native American oral tradition recounted instances of human beings attacked by wolves.  But only in the last 50 years have actual attacks on humans, by otherwise healthy wolves, been documented.  Still, North American attacks are rare with a total of only about three fatal attacks from healthy wolves on record.

            Surprisingly, North American wolves have always tended to avoid humans.  This is thought to be because human beings walk on two instead of four feet.  We share our two-footed walk with the bear, an animal wolves carefully avoid.  Also, over several generations, wolves are thought to have “learned” of the danger of human hunters with firearms. 

            Oddly, a human being is most likely to be attacked by a wolf if the animal is comfortable with humans and unafraid.   Apparently, when wolves are in close relationships with human beings, familiarity does breed contempt.

            At any rate, Native American tribes in the northern parts of North America had already given the January full moon the name “Full Wolf Moon” by the time the first European settlers arrived.  The colonial farmers picked up the name “Full Wolf Moon,” which became one of the standard North American full moon names found in the old and new Farmers’ Almanac.

Mark Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois

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