The next full Moon will occur this Wednesday, September 2, 2020, at 1:22 AM ET, and is known as the Full Corn Moon.
When the full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox, known as the Harvest Moon, happens in October, September’s full Moon becomes the Corn Moon.
History of the Corn Moon
Historically, some Native Americans gave a name to each month’s full Moon, naming it in relation to a natural event or sign of the season. This aided them in tracking the progression of the year. Different peoples had different names, reflecting the areas where they lived.
One such name for the September full Moon was the Full Corn Moon because it traditionally corresponded with the time of harvesting corn in what is now the northeastern United States. It was also called the Barley Moon, as this is the time to harvest and thresh ripened barley.
Celebrating the Corn Moon
The nights are beginning to grow longer, and fall is in the air. It's a time of gathering and preparation, allowing us to look ahead. We have harvested some of our crops, but many others are waiting to be collected.
This is a good month to focus on your spiritual and physical health.
Try one or more of these to welcome the magic of the Corn Moon into your life (tips from www.learnreligions.com)
- You need to start thinking ahead and focus on the future. Do a ritual to banish any excess baggage from your life—get rid of things you don't need, relationships which are unfulfilling, and people who make you miserable.
- Bake some bread, ideally, cornbread, but any grain product will do—and offer it up as a sacrifice to the spirits of your land and property.
- As you gather plants from your garden, set aside the parts you might not be planning on eating, and use them for other purposes. Use stems and vegetable detritus as compost, save seeds for next year's planting process, and hang up roots, leaves, and stems to dry for later use.
- Hold a harvest ritual to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season and the cycle of rebirth.
- This is a great time of year to some protection magic, as you gear up for the colder half of the year. In many magical traditions, workings are done during the harvest season to ensure protection of home, property, and people.
- Make a straw man out of corn husks and other garden debris. Allow him to dry out, and then when Samhain rolls around, ask him to work as a guardian of your home. Alternately, you can save him until spring, and burn him as part of your Beltane rituals when you're planting new crops.