Full Moon in October: Hunter's Moon

Today the moon reaches her peak of fullness.The full moon in October is known as the Hunter's Moon and coincides with Samhain, one of the eight major holy days on the Pagan Wheel of the Year.  In addition to being a time to honor our ancestors, for many who follow an earth-based tradition of spirituality, Samhain is also considered the time of the third harvest. At Lammas or Lughnasadh we celebrate the first harvest of vegetables, fruits and grains. At Fall Equinox, also known as Mabon, we celebrate the second and peak harvest of all that grows from Mother Earth, and at Samhain we celebrate the harvest of the meat. Of course, this calender is based on the European agricultural year and applies to the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere.

So what does this have to do with the full moon? Well, it's no coincidence that the Hunter's Moon and the Harvest of the Meat occur in the same month. Imagine the country folk, the pagans, living hundreds and thousands of years ago, dependent on the foods they grew and harvested from the wild and the animals they raised or hunted for meat. With winter coming it was time to take inventory of food stocks and double all efforts to prepare for the cold barren months ahead.

Not only was Samhain the time to decide which farm animals should and could be fed over the winter and which must be slaughtered, it was also the time for hunters to take to the wild and bring home meat to ensure their familys' survival. Just as the Harvest Moon in September allows farmers to work long into the night and complete the harvest during the full moon phase, the Hunter's Moon in October allows hunters to extend their efforts many hours after the sun has set and find their prey by the bright light of the full moon.

The Hunter's Moon represents survival, culling the herd (for in days of yore hunting did actually help wild herds survive the winter by decreasing their numbers), wise planning, and this year as the full moon passes through the sign of Taurus it's an especially auspicious moon for fertility and abundance.

What are your prayers this Hunter's Moon? What are you trying to capture, what prey alludes you? Now is the time to take action on your own behalf, to be fearless like the hunter who is willing to track by moonlight in order to stock her larder.

May you be blessed with good hunting this cycle.