Spider Moon

Life is about cycles and spirals. We repeat patterns again and again and much of the time oblivious to what is happening. Television schedules most people know but what's outside-- less aware. Moon cycles are a good example. Sometimes people look up and think ah pretty moon or full again already? but using those cycles for practical living is more rare in a so-called civilized culture.

This full moon led to a discussion over Thanksgiving about full moons. I mentioned they are named but the names don't seem right for them given our modern world-- for instance the November full moon is called the Beaver Moon which might have made sense for trappers or those who needed to be aware of pelts for some reason but sure doesn't mean anything to how I live. Beaver live here year round and nobody harvests them for anything except an occasional lucky predator.

So my daughter said this is the Spider Moon and that rang true. In the Northern Hemisphere, November is the month when the bugs move indoors, where on the wall will suddenly be a big brown spider that has newly occupied its space and I have to decide if it looks safe to let it remain or it has to come to an abrupt end of its lifespan.

I also see a few ladybugs inside right now where I guess they lay their eggs in some secret place to reappear in the spring. There used to be thousands of them that would come from all around to use our attic when we had a cedar shake roof, before it needed reroofing and we decided, due to forest fire risks, it had to be redone in something more fire safe but less desirable for bugs that loved those open spaces between the shakes.

Bug moon though wouldn't cut it for a name-- besides when you look at the full moon and see those radiating rays out from the crater at the bottom, (Tycho Crater, doesn't it look a bit like a spider web?

I think, where most people live in a world that seems to be remote from nature, it's up to us to establish or re-establish our connection to it. The earth is basic to life, and our thinking concrete is the same thing won't make it so. Connecting to basic cycles, being aware what is around us, all of it might someday be a skill we should have taught our children and make sure we are aware of ourselves.

When the tsunami hit a few years ago in Indonesia and Thailand, even many of those people, who did live near to the earth, had forgotten the stories of what a receding sea meant. The fact that something has not happened for awhile does not mean it won't. Being aware, sensitive to our surroundings, training ourselves to listen to our inner voice might be necessary skills again. Even now, they add to the enjoyment of life.

So Spider Moon is now my name for the November full moon. It might be a different name where you live. Naming each full moon with words that have meaning for nature nearby is good and if someone hasn't been paying attention to nature, it's a good place to start.