The Wolf Moon

The 2010 Wolf Moon appeared big and very bright on the 29th. Last night also was amazing. The first full moon of the year is also known as the wolf moon. The moon appears wider and fuller than any other moon of the year. The name wolf moon came from the hungry wolf packs that howled at the moon near Native American villages hundreds of years ago. Wolf Moon is also referred to as the old moon and moon after Yule. This full moon appeared 14% wider and 30% brighter than a typical full moon, according to Spaceweather.com

Traveller's Prayer

By John Renbourn


Praise to the moon, bright queen of the skies,
Jewel of the black night, the light of our eyes,
Brighter than starlight, whiter than snow,
Look down on us in the darkness below.


If well you should find us then well let us stay,
Be it seven times better when you make your way,
Be it seven times better when we greet the dawn,
So light up our way and keep us from all harm.


Give strength to the weary, give alms to the poor,
To the tainted and needy five senses restore,
Give song to our voices, give sight to our eyes,
To see the sun bow as the new moon shall rise.


Cast your eyes downwards to our dwelling place,
Three times for favour and three times for grace,
Over the dark clouds your face for to see,
To banish misfortune and keep Trinity.

In the name of our Lady, bright maiden of grace,
In the name of the King of the City of Peace,
In the name of our Saviour, who hung on the tree,
All praise to the moon, for eternity.

John Renbourn wrote the words to Traveller's Prayer after researching the ancient songs of the Carmina Gadelica . This is based loosely on a prayer called The New Moon. There are several prayers with the moon as the main subject that are in this collection of ancient works collected by Alexander Carmichael. These lyrics are posted here to introduce people to John's Music and for those like myself who like to sing around the house the music that moves us the most. To reproduce this or perform this in concert you must contact John Renbourne. To listen to this performed with John's voice and his tune is just wonderful. I advise all to buy his CDs. For the Traveller's Prayer see Ship of Fools.

Copyright John Renbourn, All Rights Reserved

John Renbourn


THE NEW MOON

Traditional




In name of the Holy Spirit of grace


In name of the Father of the City of peace,


In name of Jesus who took death off us,


Oh! in name of the Three who shield us in every need,


If well thou hast found us to-night,


Seven times better mayest thou leave us without harm,


Thou bright white Moon of the seasons,


Bright white Moon of the seasons.


A GHEALACH UR


An ainm Spiorad Naomh nan gras


An ainm Athar na Cathrach aigh,


An ainm Iosa thug dhinn am bas,


O! an ainm na Tri tha d' ar dion's gach cas,


Ma's math a fhuair thu sinn an nochd,


Seachd fearr gum fag thu sinn gun lochd,


A Ghealach gheal nan trath,


A Ghealach gheal nan trath.


Collected by Alexander Carmichael in the Highlands of Scotland and translated by him as well.

A GHEALACH UR

Notes by Carmichael from the 19th Century.


This little prayer is said by old men and women in the islands of Barra. When they first see the new moon they make their obeisance to it as to a great chief. The women curtsey gracefully and the men bow low, raising their bonnets reverently. The bow of the men is peculiar, partaking somewhat of the curtsey of the women, the left knee being bent and the right drawn forward towards the middle of the left leg in a curious but not inelegant manner.


The fragment of moon-worship is now a matter of custom rather than of belief, although it exists over the whole British Isles. In Cornwall the people nod to the new moon and turn silver in their pockets. In Edinburgh cultured men and women turn the rings on their fingers and make their wishes. A young English lady told the writer that she had always been in the habit of bowing to the new moon, till she had been bribed out of it by her father, a clergyman, putting money in her pocket lest her lunar worship should compromise him with his bishop. She naively confessed, however, that among the free mountains of Loch Etive she reverted to the good customs of her fathers, from which she derived great satisfaction!

http://www.ramshornstudio.com/traveller_s_prayer.htm

Hunters Moon over Stedman

The Hunter's Moon is so named because plenty of moonlight is ideal for hunters shooting migrating birds in Northern Europe. The name is also said to have been used by Native Americans as they tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. The Hunter's Moon and Harvest Moon are not brighter, smaller, or yellower than during other times of the year, but all full moons have their own special characteristics, based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that they are visible. The full moons of September, October, and November, as seen from the northern hemisphere - which correspond to the full moons of March, April and May as seen from the southern hemisphere - are well known in the folklore of the sky.



The harvest moon is the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. The Harvest moon is often mistaken for the modern day Hunter's moon. In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible. The full moons of September, October and November as seen from the northern hemisphere - which correspond to the full moons of March, April and May as seen from the southern hemisphere - are well known in the folklore of the sky. All full moons rise around the time of sunset. However, although in general the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, as it moves in orbit around Earth, the Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special, because around the time of these full moons, the time difference between moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than usual. In other words, the moon rises approximately 30 minutes later, from one night to the next, as seen from about 40 degrees N. or S. latitude, for several evenings around the full Hunter's or Harvest Moons. Thus there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise around the time following these full moons. In times past this feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter's Moon, hunters tracking their prey). They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest Moon.


The reason for the shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the time of the Harvest and Hunter's Moon is that the ecliptic - or plane of Earth's orbit around the sun - makes a narrow angle with respect to the horizon in the evening in autumn.



The Harvest Moon is said to come before or after the autumnal equinox. It is simply the full moon closest to that equinox. About once every four years it occurs in October (in the northern hemisphere), depending on the cycles of the moon. Currently, the latest the Harvest Moon can occur is on October 13. Often, the Harvest Moon seems to be bigger or brighter or more colorful than other moons. These effects have to do with the seasonal tilt of the earth. The warm color of the moon shortly after it rises is an optical illusion, based on the fact that when the moon is low in the sky, you are looking at it through a greater amount of atmospheric particles than when the moon is overhead. The atmosphere scatters the bluish component of moonlight (which is really reflected white light from the sun), but allows the reddish component of the light to travel a straighter path to your eyes. Hence all celestial bodies look reddish when they are low in the sky.

As for the large size of a full moon when seen low in the sky, it is true that the human eye perceives a low-hanging moon to be larger than one that's high in the sky. This is known as a Moon Illusion and it can be seen with any full moon. It can also be seen with constellations; in other words, a constellation viewed low in the sky will appear bigger than when it is high in the sky.






This is really nice and the music is so right.