Here we see last night’s full Hunter’s Moon rising above Naskeag Harbor. This bright October moon reportedly was named by Native Americans to commemorate the period after the harvest when they would hunt in the newly-cleared fields for animals, especially deer, that came to scavenge the remains of the crops.
Some Native Americans also called the October full moon the Blood Moon, apparently another reference to hunting, or the Sanguine Moon, which apparently was a reference to the optimism of the annual fall feast that many tribes held.
Curiously, the Hunter’s Moon occurs this year during our archery hunting season for deer (October 5 through November 1). Guess what was the weapon of choice for many Native Americans when hunting deer before the Europeans arrived? (Brooklin, Maine)