The Hunter’s Moon One Last Feast in Honor

The Hunter’s Moon was a very important feast day in Europe as well as for many Native American tribes. Appropriately, the Ponca tribe’s name for the Hunter’s Moon is “the moon when they store food”. The fields have been reaped, hunters would capture foxes and other small animals who come out to graze on the fallen grains, as well as hunting deer in the moonlight. They would carefully butcher and preserve their meat for the arduous winter ahead. The long held pagan tradition of feasting during the Hunter’s Moon was lost in the late 17th century, but its spirit still lives on in historical reenactments like the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon, and more commonly as the feast of candy and sweets enjoyed by trick-or-treaters everywhere on Halloween.

Full Moon Mood

This full moon is still a partial continuation of the Harvest Moon, which is a celebration of abundance. Many tribes would continue feasts of honor and life as the world around changes slowly to the silent death of Winter and the hardships she brings. It’s the last call for the good times and the overflowing food reserves. This carries over spiritually for us as well. We feel the changes coming and can use this time to enjoy the hard self work we’ve done over the spring and summer. Though our modern world has made winter more comfortable, it’s important to honor the biological and spiritual ancestry that has brought us here. We can honor that the time of work and harvest are coming to an end as we pass into the self reflection of winter.

Full Moon Action

Cook, bake, and drink! create space in your being for the honor of these feasts and what is to come. Where the Harvest moon is a feast of disregard and pure enjoyment, The Hunter’s Moon comes with it a reverence for the good times we’ve had. Create space in your heart for what you are thankful for and have grown and learned over the past year. The energy is ripe for you to fully bring into your heart all the hard work you’ve been cultivating and you can reap the rewards of the changes you’ve made to improve your life. Winter is not a thing to be scared of, but it is a time of silent self reflection so that we may find new opportunities for growth that we plant in the spring. So drink up, laugh more, and love wildly and most of all, honor yourself for the love that has brought you to this very moment.

Catch the Full Harvest Moon on the night of and before October 20th. Happy Halloween!