Tonight's Full Moon, occurring at 11:13 pm EDT, is the annual event known in the northern hemisphere as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the Full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox and was called this because, rising within a half hour of sunset, it allowed farmers extra time to bring in the harvest, working by the light of the moon. The Harvest Moon always hangs low in the sky. It seems to be larger and more beautiful than other Full Moons and often has an orange or pink cast. When you gaze at it, it looks very large and gives a lot of light throughout the entire night. No other lunar spectacle is as awesome as the Harvest Moon.

The Harvest Moon, when it falls in September, is also known as the Fruit Moon. When it falls in October, it is sometimes called the Hunter's Moon because October is the month when large animals, such as deer and moose, are hunted for the winter's meat supply.

In Celtic traditions, the October Full Moon is known as the Blood Moon, not from blood sacrifices, but from the old custom of killing and salting down livestock before the Winter months made it impossible to feed them. Only the choicest stock was kept through the cold season. It is the Moon of Celebration and is associated with courage, protection, prosperity, healing, inspiration, and spirituality. The Gaelic word for fortune comes from "that which denotes a Full Moon." The Druids believed that when the circle of the Moon was complete, good fortune was given to those who knew how to ask the gods for it.

Other names for the October Full Moon: Blood Moon, Shedding Moon, Winterfelleth (Winter Coming), Windermanoth (Vintage Month), Falling Leaf Moon, Ten Colds Moon, Moon of the Changing Season.

This year, the Harvest Moon falls in the passionate and bold sign of Aries -- inspiring us to take action and follow our desires. I think Cafe Astrology provides the best information on the implications and effects of tonight's Full Moon:

On Friday, October 6th, the Full Moon occurs when the Libra Sun opposes the Moon in Aries. The Full Moon is a time of culmination and the promise of fulfillment of that which was started at the New Moon. It is an emotional time—a time of romance, fertilization, and relationships.

The Aries-Libra polarity is a relationship axis, where Aries represents "self" and Libra represents "other". Where Aries is about self-assertion, Libra is about compromise. The energy of the Libra Sun is the awareness of the need for relationships and all that comes with maintaining them--compromising, negotiating, graciousness, and balancing. The Aries Moon, on the other hand, is self-assertive, leading, and personally courageous. This Full Moon urges us to strike a balance between meeting our personal needs and tending to the needs of a significant other, and between independence or autonomy and dependence or companionability.

The Libra Sun is diplomatic, equality-minded, and fair-minded. The Aries Moon, however, values authenticity over tact, and is energized by independent efforts. The Full Moon illuminates this conflict. This Full Moon is a creative one, with the Sun at the midpoint between Venus and Mars, and supported by both Neptune and Pluto, offering us the chance for creative revelations and solutions to the basic dilemma.

Neglecting either end of the Aries-Libra axis will surely backfire on us. Ideally, a balance should be found between the two energies, and this is what the Full Moon invites us to do. This Full Moon is about emotional declarations. Something has been building inside of us, likely of a personal nature, and now is the time when the energy of the cosmos fairly demands that we let it out. Over the next two weeks, we will discover what this declaration means for us. For now, we can't sit on our feelings. We need to express them.

The Full Moon illuminates the conflict between "me" and "you", and between autonomy and sharing. Its involvement with the Venus/Mars midpoint reinforces the "battle" between the need for companionship and the need for independence. Issues surrounding romantic and sexual needs also come up now.

With the Moon full and bright in the sky, symbolic "illumination" occurs in our own lives. However, these new feelings and revelations are emotional ones, as there is a sense of emotions bursting forth into our consciousness. It's time to express ourselves, and to let things out of our systems. Of course, we might want to exercise some care while doing so, knowing that what is coming out of us is new and not particularly rational as yet.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:35 PM