Hungry Like A Wolf

January's full moon is also called the "Wolf Moon," according to Native American tradition associating this month's full moon with wolves howling in the cold midwinter. This full "Wolf Moon" will appear 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon this year, because our cosmic neighbor will actually be closer to Earth than usual.


The moon will be at its closest perigee (the nearest it gets to our planet during its egg-shaped orbit) for this year at 4:04 a.m. ET Saturday, reaching a distance of 221,577 miles (356,593 kilometers) from Earth. At its farthest from Earth, the moon is said to be at apogee (the point in the orbit of a heavenly body, especially the moon or of a man-made satellite at which it is farthest from the earth.) Perigee and apogee each happen generally once a month but the moon's wobbly orbit means that the satellite's exact distance at each of those events varies over the year. The moon's phase can also be different during each apogee and perigee.

This month has the largest full moon of this year, because it coincides with the special moment when the full moon happens to occur on the same day as it is at perigee. I in a remarkable coincidence, Mars is at opposition tonight...(directly opposite to the sun in the sky)...so that as the sun sets in the southwest, Mars rises in the northeast.


Around opposition, the red planet gets closest to Earth. This year Mars swung by at just 61 million miles (98 million kilometers) on January 27, and it will still appear remarkably bright during tonight's sky show.  To the naked eye it will appear as a bright, orange-colored star right next to the full moon...the pair will jump out at you for sure.

Autumn Moon

"The autumn moon is incomparably beautiful.  Any man who supposes the moon is always the same, regardless of the season and is therefore unable to detect the difference in autumn, must
be exceedingly insensitive."

 --The Tsurezuregusa, by Kenko  (AD 1331)




My sweetie caught this picture of the full moon the other night, it was so beautiful and very, very bright that I just had to share it with you!

Random Ramblings

Well I can honestly say desite the rain and random thunder showers (with hail of course) my day was very enjoyable indeed! The two books I ordered through Amazon.com came in the mail this afternoon and when I got home from picking up the kids, my raffle prize was waiting for me on the porch.

I wasn't sure what to open first so I started with the bigger one, the raffle prize that I won in the "Save Moki" website and had a wonderful time looking in and around the packing for the contents inside. I put the brand new cat bed on my webcam and the cats, I'm relieved to say, have taken to it right away. Toodles was the first to lay claim to the catnip mouse and hasn't let it out of his site since but I'm sure Binky will find it as soon as he wanders away from the bed.

My next item in line was the first book I ordered last week "Pagan Every Day" by Barbara Ardinger, I've been absolutely lurking by the mail boxes for that one all weekend and the other also by Barbara Ardiger is "Practicing the Presence of the Goddess, everyday rituals to transform your world" I was positively gleeful when I was finally able to open the books and read their pages. I read several of the pages in each book and I hope to blog about what I've read later this week or weekend.

I hear it's actually going to be sunny for once this weekend and possibly into the eighties Sunday and Monday...wow, hold me back...I've started to think I was turning into a mole lately after not seeing the sunny sky for what seems like weeks and weeks of gloomy rain and wind. I love the sunshine, it makes everything so bright and positive and my energy level is so much higher.

I probably shouldn't be living in the "seasonal depression" city of the nation...(I'm not really sure if it's the capital or not but to me it should be!) Anyhow, I'm going to sign off now and get to reading now that things are quiet and the kids have gone to bed for the nigh. Bright blessings to you all.