Liber ab Luna (The Book of the Moon)^161
To make matters even more maddening, I am sure you have heard Samhain called
the Celtic New Year. Well, Samhain’s counterpart is Bealtaine, which has historically
been referenced as Cetsamhain, which means ‘opposite Samhain.’ Now, we know that
Bealtaine moved about on the calendar by about a month and a half in either direction,
so it stands to reason that Samhain—which is ‘opposite’ Bealtaine on the Wheel of the
Year—also moved around a bit. Does anyone really believe that the moon accommo-
dated the placements of these celebrations? So then, if the names given to the lunar
cycles are valid and are in the right order, where on Earth would we start counting
them? Let’s say the Wolf Moon is the first moon of the year. Is that the first moon after
the Winter Solstice that the ancient Celts did not mark? Or is it the first moon after
Samhain, which could occur more than a month prior to October 31st or a month af-
ter? Is there an answer?
I think the answer is that it does not matter. A far superior calendar has been
invented, and that calendar is so ingrained into our culture that it will be around for a
long time. However, for the sake of discussion I will share how I count the lunar cycles
by name should I ever want to do that. Please note that in the past, I have counted
these by the full moon. Today I have a greater understanding of the Greek and Roman
calendars that led to our modern calendar, so I count them by the new moon. I begin
with the first new moon after the Winter Solstice.Winter SolsticeWolf Moon
Storm MoonOak MoonChastle Moon
Seed Moon
Partner MoonHare MoonMead MoonWort MoonBarley MoonBlood MoonSnow MoonThe Celtic Moon Calendarq WB Chap 09.p65 161 7/11/2003, 5:53 PM