By the Light of the Snow Moon
One night recently I stopped on the road home to make pictures of the full moon rising above the barren trees. At that moment between close of day and drawing of night, the light was that dusky blue of twilight, magical and mystical. I wanted to capture the moon amid that liminal light, nestled among the winter bare tree limbs that stretched up to meet it. The time I spent making photos and appreciating the scene before me was soul filling.
I remember reading somewhere recently that this February full moon is called the Snow Moon—the morning after this moonrise, we woke to a fresh snowfall, properly befitting the Snow Moon.
I’ve been aware of the moon all my life—moon rise, moon set, moonlight. I remember watching the moon from the backseat of the car, my head pressed against the cool window as my father drove us home from my grandparents’ house in the dark of Christmas Eve. From babes in arms, I’ve shown my children the moon, singing “I see the moon, the moon sees me…”, reading Goodnight Moon. That Husband o’ Mine and I love to sit out back on a moonlit night—okay, on any nice night but moonlit ones are exceptional.
Drawn to light as I am, the full moon makes a dark night friendlier, sheltering, magical. There are countless beliefs,stories,myths about the moon and maybe some of those float around in my subconscious. I’ve always simply gone by feelings brought on by the moon—mystical and life affirming.
Our upstairs bedroom curtains are open to the moonlight shining across my pillow this time of year. Once the wakefulness of a full moon night led me to close those curtains, only to miss the glow. I decided to embrace the snuggled in moonlit hours, even the wakefulness it can bring—the curtains remain open. There is a comforting recharge that happens when resting in moonlight—as if quietly storing up celestial energy to draw from later.
I’m convinced that, like all of Nature, the beauty of the moon is a gift from the Creator. Yet another reason why attention to Nature is my spiritual practice.
What’s catching your attention in Nature lately, do tell? I’d love to appreciate it along with you :)
Love the moon! That is a great picture of it too! Sometimes mine look like a white blob! LOL
VIsuals can be so nourishing, I agree! Thank you for sharing.
I love the moon! I am always mesmerized by its beauty, whether in a tiny sliver or the full beauty of a complete orb. My husband always told our children that the moon was racing us during nighttime car rides; this memory came up recently, and though grown up with children of his own, our son vividly remembered the story, and has in fact passed it on to his little girls. I particularly love when the moon is an unusual shade of color, and whatever scientific reasons may exist, I am absolutely certain that the true artist is God!