NOTES from. the universe // buck moon

Nature is so much bigger than plants, people, or the earth we walk upon. It's also the connections with the sky, the cosmos, and the great unknown. This month we turn with the Buck Moon.

The longest day has been and gone but this year I’m imagining a string of longish days on either side and making the most of them. The buck moon falls roundly into these heady days and balmy nights, so named by Native American peoples for the time in which a male deer’s antlers would begin to grow again after being shed earlier in the year. Other monikers include the hay moon – for the traditional July hay harvest – and the thunder moon for the likelihood of summer storms.

This year’s buck moon is the first of four successive super moons including the Super Sturgeon Moon (1 August 2023), the Super Blue Moon (31 August 2023), and the Super Harvest Moon (29 September 2023). Each of these moons will shine brighter and bigger than usual thanks to the moon being in its perigee state – the point at which, thanks to its elliptical orbit, it is closest to the Earth.

Although 100 percent illumination, head out at 6.40am on Monday 3 July – but for optimum viewing potential, the dark sky provides, so any howling should be done on the night of Sunday 2 July. As for gardening jobs, this is the time when everything is at its full, bursting to harvest growth so get picking those summer fruits. Also known as the Wyrt Moon, named after the Old English word for herbs (wyrt or wort), this is also the time to plant or pick healing plants for medicine or magic. Time to expand on the wyrtyard (herb garden) at school me thinks.