April Moon
April 2012 :
For those of us who live near water, we should know that April's Full Moon is often called the Fish Moon, as the shad swim upstream this time of year to spawn. Also, we have to recall one of the ways our Moon proves useful waterwise: its creation of our tides. Who hasn't noticed the changing ocean as we've sat along the shore, or just listened to our local weathermen remind us about this daily cycle?
For those who live with a large yard, we can watch seeming everyday changes as the season of spring is now fully upon us; therefore, look up on our meeting night, weather permitting, and say hello to the Sprouting Grass Moon. Time to start sharpening our lawn tools.
And, of course, this Full Moon is the precursor to one of the year's movable feasts: Easter. Every year, this Sunday celebration changes date, based on this Full Moon in its relationship to the start of spring. Easter can not occur until the Sunday after the first full Moon that happens after our start of spring, the date of the vernal equinox, which for us is now on March 20th. And, for many of us, who try our best to determine images based on the Moon's surface features, this is an opportune time of year to try to forget about the traditional Man - look to see if you can recognize the Rabbit. He was placed on the Moon for his willingness to give himself as food to the homeless. And, of course, this bunny is a relative to a winter constellation that can still be viewed early in the evening low in the southwest, Lepus. Lepus (which those of you who have taken Latin might notice has a masculine suffix) is the only cuddly rabbit who lays eggs, giving rise to the myth of the Easter Bunny, and to our final designation of tonight's Full Egg Moon.
