A harvest moon is simply known as a full moon. At most the full moon happens at least 2 times a year that is around late March and late September. There are called the spring equinox and the autumn equinox respectively. The harvest full moon is the first full moon that appears right around Autumn Equinox. The full moon signals the change of season and in this case it marks the beginning of autumn. The Equinox occurs when the Earth’s equator is right in line with the center of the sun. During this phase, the days seem to be shorter and the sun looks like it goes down early than usual. Henceforth, the extra light acts as an extension of daylight.
What is a harvest moon mean: the harvest moon cycle?
It was called the harvest moon by Native Americans. To harvest their corn they used the moon to decide when it was right to do so. The extra bright light at the beginning of harvest time happens because the moonrises as little as 23 minutes later on several nights before the harvest moon and after. The moon light is so bright it illuminates sufficient light that enables farmers to harvest their crops late into the night. Thus, the full moon prolongs the time that harvesting could be done. This is advantageous to farmers as, it enables farmers to harvest all their crops in time before the winter season. Failure to harvest on time result in the destruction of crops by frost.
What is the difference between an ordinary full moon and a harvest moon?
There is a huge difference between an ordinary full moon and a harvest moon. Basically, every year there 12 moon cycles. The ordinary moon during the course of the year rises on an average of 50 minutes, whereas for the harvestmoon the difference is only 30 minutes. A harvester moon is quite a beautiful sight, it attracts a lot of attention just like the blood moon. It is brighter than the usual moon. It is bigger and additionally it has an orange shade unlike the usual moon. The full moon rises shortly after the sun goes down and this results in the moon shining so brightly early in the evening. In addition, for several nights in a row the moon rises very near to the sunset which makes it look like there is a full moon for the whole week.
Signs to look out for
A full harvest moon has no specific date, each year it varies. There are so many signs that show that the full moon is right around the corner. When the day becomes shorter and the night time becomes longer it shows that the harvest moons is about to happen. Moreover when the night air starts to get a little breezy and the leaves starts to fall off from the trees. Birds migrating to the south for the winter also marks the beginning of the full moon.
Correlation between harvest moon and agriculture
Agriculture and the harvest moon are linked somehow. It was considered to be important especially for Native Americans and for farmers throughout history dating back to the Egyptians. The full moon signals the season has changed to autumn time. It represents that, it is time to reap summer crops. Most farmers rely on the harvest moon and they consider it as a sign & planting according to the signs. It alerts them so they can start gathering crops before the frost and also for them to prepare winters crops for the incoming winter season. Frost is very bad for crops that are nearing harvest time. It affects the quality of the yield, moreover, it also reduces the yield. It is of utmost importance that farmers pay attention to the changes and they should also be able to recognize a full moon. Failure to do so can affect the overall agricultural produce.
Not only does the full moon alert farmers to start reaping, it also aids them during harvesting. Just as the name suggest the harvest fall moon aids farmers to harvest their crops by illuminating sufficient light. The brightness of the moon light provides just enough light to enables farmers to harvest late into the night. This extension of work time enables them to do all the harvest on time before the winter can destroy the yields.
Mythical moon phases
Farmers not only use the harvest moon as an indicator. Traditionally farmers bases their farming on the moon and its different positions. It is historically believed that the moon administers the moisture. For different phases of planting and harvesting process, for centuries the different positioning of the moon have been used as a reminder and as a sign. For instance, the new moon in the 1st quarter is generally considered to be a good time to plant above ground crops since the soil has enough moisture and is fertile. It is also generally believed that, the last quarter is the ideal time to plant below-ground crops and to removing weeds. Throughout history these markers have aided farmer during their farming practices and have proven to be quite helpful to farmers.
Spiritual meaning of the harvest moon
Astrologist believe that the full moon is very powerful as it illuminates all parts of one’s life that is the dark and the light. Since it signifies the change of the season. it is considered to be the right time to do some emotional spring cleaning, the time to work on yourself and your life aspects. Moreover, it is believed that the full moon can calm you down when you are frustrated and stressed.
Conclusion
In this article, you might get answer for “what is the harvest moon”. The harvest moon is a remarkable and beautiful. It acts as a reminder for farmers and it also provides them with extra light which extends the daylight, provides them with extra harvest time. The different positioning of the moon in different seasons also aids farmers in their agricultural process.
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