Wolf MOON - January 25th
Herstory
The early Native Americans did not use the Julian or Gregorian calendar months as our modern times do. Many tribes kept track of time by observing the seasons, and, most importantly the lunar months. And, we see that Colonial Americans adopted many of the Native American names and incorporated them into their calendar. It seems that most full Moon names today are a combination of the Native American, Anglo-Saxon, and Germanic cultures merging together.
The full Moon in January is known as the Wolf Moon, after the howling of wolves that was often heard at this time of year. Many sources state that wolves howled due to hunger. Rather, wolves use howls to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and gather for hunting.
Wolves are nocturnal animals, so they are in general more active at night. And wolves do howl in the direction of the Moon; they point their faces toward the sky for better acoustics, because projecting their howl upward carries the sound farther.
Wolves live in social group known as a pack. Their canine packs are led by a breeding pair, consisting of the alpha male and alpha female. Wolves howl to communicate, especially over long distances. It is a way of saying “here I am” to the rest of the pack or “stay away” to intruders.
During the denning season in spring and early summer, wolves only howl to communicate to their pack mates. As late summer turns to fall, wolves call more and more to neighbors and enemies, protecting their territory.
The average howl from a single wolf lasts from 3 to 7 seconds. And, a chorus by a pack of wolves can last from 30-120 seconds and longer during the breeding season, which is in February. So, wolves are particularly loud and vocal in the first months of the year in preparation to their breeding season, which is probably why January is associated with howling wolves.
Wolf Moon Ritual
If you’re up for it, I invite you to howl at this month’s moon (actually, that is an open invitation for any full moon😉)
Set your intention before you howl for what you are calling into your life. You are communicating out into the universe with your howl.
You can set the intention to call your pack to you, or to protect yourself (your energetic space/your physical territory/a project you’re working on) from intruders/enemies. If it’s the matters of romantic love, howl out to call in your alpha male/female into your life to lead your pack together.
Additional Names for this full Moon:
Since ancient times, it was common to follow the lunar month rather than the solar year. Other cultures named the months after features they associated with the seasons.
Celtic names of the full Moon in January include Stay Home Moon and Quiet Moon.
In Anglo-Saxon culture, January's full Moon was also called the Moon after Yule. Yule is the ancient winter solstice festival celebrated on December 21.
Another name for this full Moon is the Center Moon. Used by the Assiniboine people of the Northern Great Plains, it refers to the idea that this Moon roughly marks the middle of the cold season.
Other traditional names for the January Moon emphasize the harsh coldness of the season: Cold Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Moon (Cree), Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin), and Severe Moon (Dakota). Hard Moon (Dakota) highlights the phenomenon of the fallen snow developing a hard crust. Canada Goose Moon (Tlingit), Great Moon (Cree), Greetings Moon (Western Abenaki), and Spirit Moon (Ojibwe) have also been recorded as Moon names for this month.
Southern Hemisphere Moon Names:
The full Moon names used today refer to the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, so it doesn’t work to flip the names to fit the calendar in the Southern Hemisphere.
As far as I have researched, full Moon names are not common in Australia and New Zealand. However, like the Native Americans, Māoris have their lunar calendar. It’s called the maramataka, meaning both the moon and lunar month.
For January to February the Māori’s called this Hui-tanguru - the foot of Rūhī (a summer star) now rests upon the earth.