Hunter’s Moon
“Hunter’s moon is mentioned in several sources as the Anglo-Saxon name for the Full Moon of October. This is the month when the game is fattened, and it is time to start preparing for the coming winter. Traditionally, this included hunting, slaughtering and preserving meats for use in the coming winter months.
“Other names are Travel Moon and Dying Grass Moon. Some also called it Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon, which also refers to the hunting season. However, this name should not be confused with the term Blood Moon to describe a Total Lunar Eclipse.”
TimeAndDate.com
- January – Wolf moon (alt: Moon After Yule, Ice moon, Snow moon)
- February – Snow moon (Hunger moon, Chaste moon)
- March – Worm moon (Crow moon, Crust moon, Sap moon, Chaste moon, Lenten moon)
- April – Pink moon (Sprouting grass moon, Fish moon, Hare moon, Egg moon, Paschal moon)
- May – Flower moon (Corn planting moon, Milk moon)
- June – Strawberry moon (Hot moon, Mead moon, Rose moon)
- July – Buck moon (Thunder moon, Wort moon, Hay moon)
- August – Sturgeon moon (Green corn moon, Barley moon, Fruit moon, Grain moon)
- September/October – Harvest moon (full moon closest to autumnal equinox)
- September – Corn moon (Full corn moon, Barley moon)
- October – Hunter’s moon (Dying grass moon, Blood or Sanguine moon – not to be confused with the Blood moon marking a total lunar eclipse)
- November – Beaver moon (Frosty moon, Oak moon, Mourning moon)
- December – Cold moon (Oak moon, Moon Before Yule, Wolf moon)
This October’s Hunter’s moon is also being referred to as a Blue moon, which is the second full moon in a month. Such moons are so infrequent that the expression “once in a blue moon” expresses their rarity.
However, the first full moon this month was masked (pun intended) by atmospheric smoke. Now, with hazy air lending a golden-orange cast to the moon, this is the first full moon truly seen this month, so we prefer thinking of it as the Hunter’s moon.
