KATHERINE NEVILLE’S
August Moon Newsletter
August 1, 2023
“Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon up in the Sky
I ain’t had no Lovin’ since January, February, June or July…”
*(1908 Ziegfeld Follies, various credits)
Harvest Moon
Today is the Full Moon of August–which this year happens to fall upon the same date as the ancient Gaelic festival of Lughnasadh, or Lammas Night. This “Feast of First Fruits,” as it is sometimes called, is one of the important Cross-Quarter Days of the Celtic calendar, each of which falls between the four important celebrations of the ancient world.
Lammas Night is situated between Summer “Solstice” (the day when the “Sun Stops” and heads south for the winter) and Autumn “Equinox” (“Equal Nights”–the time when day and night are the same length.)
In other words: Today, the Harvest full moon also ushers in a turning point in Mother Nature’s calendar.
Harvesting First Fruits
The Moon pulls the tides, influences the opening and closing of oysters, as well as the timing of women’s menstrual cycles (“menses” means “month”–one Lunar cycle.) And the full moon marks the completion or “Fruition” of a cycle.
Tonight, Lammas Night–specially blessed by this Harvest full moon, we can begin to reap the harvest that we sowed last Winter or this Spring.
If, as the song goes, you “Ain’t had no Lovin’ since January, February, June or July…” it’s never too late to start!
Happy Full Moon Lammas!
*(Note: Since its 1908 premiere at Ziegfeld Follies, Shine on Harvest Moon was covered by Rosemary Clooney, Leon Redbone, Liza Minelli, and many others.)
