"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Cold Moon moods, and planets

"Cold Full Moon," 5 x 7 watercolor card
The full moon brings moods and magic  and memories to me, and its gravity has always pulled me, like tides. Tonight two planets, Venus and Saturn, will add to the magic.

Here's a link to a chapter from my unfinished novel: "Time for the Moon."

The Old Farmers' Almanac says tonight's December full moon is sometimes called the Full Cold Moon, though it is a moon of many names, depending on geography or Native American tribes.
My favorite would be the Cree name, translated as the "Hoar Frost Moon" or the Hopi, whose ceremonies honored lunar and solar cycles,  "Sparrow-Halk Moon." China's ancients termed it the "Winter Month" moon, because it is so close to winter solstice.
In my imagination,  and thus the watercolor, on the Great Plains, or in the West, I'd just step outside to view the magic.
Here, I'll have to leave our neighborhood because of the trees to see it rise, and on the opposite horizon, in the southwest, shortly after sunset, Venus and Saturn will be almost touching, but they won't be up long before they set, as the "Full Cold Moon" rises shortly after sunset.

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