My Four Agreements and naming the full moons

"New World Coming" **

One of my new neighbors and I have started a small ritual of reviewing our intentions on the night of the full moon. Last night’s incredible Strawberry Moon (see below for more info) prompted a lot of thoughts about personal agreements and the keeping of them. 

With gratitude and deference to Don Miguel Ruiz who gave the world Four Agreements that have changed lives for millions, I have decided to set down my own four agreements for this place and time in my life.

 * Connect Deeply … with my self, my spirit, my body, with others, with my environment and the world.

* Express Gratitude … for everything that comes to me and everything that exists in our world.

* Give Generously … of my time and resources, to myself, to others and to the world we live in.

* Celebrate Beauty … honor the beauty of the world and let it flow into my actions and art.

However, what are the actions that support those agreements? 

Thought without action is a seed on the wind. Or, as my elders used to say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” What actions will I take to give life to my agreements, to plant these seeds in fallow ground where they can grow and thrive?

The agreement that most calls to me now is … Connect Deeply. I want to know my new environment, its culture, its history, its people, its language. I also want to slow down and take time to connect to my spiritual and physical self.

Action: learn Spanish. I’ve embarked on a self-study course but need to speak the language more. I need to find a native speaking tutor.

Action: practice yoga. Getting ready for this move to Mexico, I sprained my foot (mildly). In the process of hobbling about, I threw my hips out of whack. While my foot has mended, my hips hurt and it is taking away from my joy of walking. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor, which has helped, but I need to practice yoga and allow my body to regain flexibility.

Action: meet mural artists. I am fascinated by the wall art I find here in Mexico and I want to know more about the artists and their work. So, go meet them.

So, that's my plan for this moon. We'll see where we are at the next full moon.

If you are fascinated by moon names, here’s some additional information, which makes me think that we should get to name our moons according to life in our particular environment. Since I am now living on Lake Chapala, Mexico, I am renaming Strawberry Moon to Return of Rain Moon.

Thank you, Return of Rain Moon for these insights and I look forward to your next appearance, which, for now, I will think of as New World Coming Moon. 

** (I recently started a new Photoshop Artistry online class and this is one of the first images from that class.)

More full Moon names: 

(from: www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-names)

Month	Name	Description
January	Full Wolf Moon	This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February.
February	Full Snow Moon	Usually the heaviest snows fall in February. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some Native American tribes this was the Hunger Moon.
March	Full Worm Moon	At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of robins. This is also known as the Sap Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins.
April	Full Pink Moon	This full Moon heralded the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.
May	Full Flower Moon	Flowers spring forth in abundance this month. Some Algonquin tribes knew this full Moon as the Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.
June	Full Strawberry Moon	The Algonquin tribes knew this Moon as a time to gather ripening strawberries. It is also known as the Rose Moon and the Hot Moon.
July	Full Buck Moon	At this time, a buck’s antlers are in full growth mode. This full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.
August	Full Sturgeon Moon	Some Native American tribes knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this full Moon. Others called it the Green Corn Moon.
September	Full Corn Moon	This full Moon corresponds with the time of harvesting corn. It is also called the Barley Moon, because it is the time to harvest and thresh the ripened barley. The Harvest Moon is the full Moon nearest the autumnal equinox, which can occur in September or October and is bright enough to allow finishing of all the harvest chores.
October	Full Hunter’s Moon	This is the month when the leaves are falling and the game is fattened. Now is the time for hunting and laying in a store of provisions for the long winter ahead. October’s Moon is also known as the Travel Moon and the Dying Moon.
November	Full Beaver Moon	For both the colonists and the Algonquin tribes, this was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. This full Moon was also called the Frost Moon.
December	Full Cold Moon	This is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark. This full Moon is also called the Long Nights Moon by some Native American tribes.

There are many names for full moons … here is a plethora of names from different cultures:

From the Native American Tribes:

(from: http://www.ecoenchantments.co.uk/mynaming_of_moonspage.html)

Jan Old Moon,    Wolf Moon,    Ice Moon,    Moon after Yule,      Winter Moon
Feb  Hunger or Starvation Moon,  Storm Moon, Trapper's Moon,    Moon of Ice,  Tree Moon
Mar Crow Moon,  Sap Moon,   Worm Moon,  Moon of Winds,  Fish Moon,   Chaste Moon, Death Moon
Apr  Egg Moon,    Seed Moon, Frog Moon,   Pink Moon, Awakening Moon
May  Flower Moon,     Milk Moon,  Hare Moon,  Grass Moon
Jun  Strawberry Moon,    Planting Moon,  Green Corn Moon
Jul  Hay Moon,      Summer Moon,  Thunder Moon,     Buck Moon
Aug   Sturgeon Moon,      Corn Moon, Green Corn Moon,    Dog Days Moon,  Lightening Moon
Sep   Singing Moon,     Barley Moon
Oct   Travellers' Moon,      Blackberry Moon
Nov   Frosty Moon,    Beaver Moon,  Dark Moon,     Tree Moon, Snow Moon
Dec   Cold Moon,    Long Night Moon

Or these - special ones from the Siouan (Assiniboines) Tribe, Montana ....  the March 'Sore Eye Moon' comes from long days watching the glare of the sun on the snow - and 'Gophur Looks Back' from the little Gophur looking behind him at lost summer days.

Jan	Hard Time Moon
Feb	Long day Moon
March	Sore Eye Moon
April	Frog's Moon
May	Idle Moon
June	Full Leaf Moon
July	Red Berries Moon
Aug	Black Cherries Moon
Sep	Yellow leaf Moon
Oct	Gophur Looks Back Moon
Nov	Frost Moon
Dec	Younger Hard Time Moon

  How about these - from the Inuit peoples of Northern Canada?

Jan	Dwarf Seal Moon
Feb	Seal Pup Moon
March	Snow Bird Moon
April	Snow Melt Moon
May	Goose Moon
June	Hunting Moon
July	Dry Moon
Aug	Swan Flight moon
Sep	Harpoon Moon
Oct	Ice Moon
Nov	Freezing Mist Moon
Dec	Dark Night Moon

 
Here are the old Celtic and Medieval names attributed to Britain

Jan	Wolf Moon,  Stay Home Moon,  Moon after Yule
Feb	Storm Moon,  Ice Moon,  Snow Moon
March	Plough Moon,  Wind Moon,  Lenten (lengthening) Moon
April	Budding moon,  New Shoots Moon,  Seed Moon
May	Mothers' Moon,  Bright Moon,
June	Mead Moon, Horse Moon, Dyan Moon,  Rose Moon
July	Claiming Moon,  Wyrt or Herb Moon,  Mead Moon
Aug	Dispute Moon, Lynx Moon, Grain Moon
Sep	Wine Moon, Song Moon, Harvest Moon
Oct	Hunter's Moon,  Blood Moon.  Seed Fall Moon
Nov	Mourning Moon,  Darkest Depths Moon,
Dec	Oak Moon,  Full Cold Moon

 Then, there are the beautiful and ancient names for their much celebrated Moons, given by the Chinese people

Jan	Holiday Moon
Feb	Budding Moon
March	Sleeping Moon
April	Peony Moon
May	Dragon Moon
June	Lotus Moon
July	Hungry Ghost Moon
Aug	Harvest Moon
Sep	Crysanthemum Moon
Oct	Kindly Moon
Nov	White Moon
Dec	Bitter Moon

 Here are Muddypond's Faery Moon names

Wolf Moon	Dec 21st - Jan
Icicle Moon	Jan - Feb
Snowdrop Moon	Feb - March
Waking Wood Moon	March - April
Birthing Moon	April - May
Moon of White Petals	May - June
Wild Cherry Moon	June - July
Dancing Delight Moon	July - Aug
Blackberry Harvest Moon	Aug - Sep
Chestnut Moon	Sep - Oct
Moon of the Wild Hunt	Oct - Nov
Mistletoe Moon

 Stop.  The rest of this is formatting I can't make go away. Sorry.

 


  

  

 

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