Bundle Up for the Cold Moon
If you’ve been looking for a way to be more intuitive, more creative, to find ease and flow in your life, where things click into place more easily, then stick around to the end of the video because I’m going to show you an easy if not downright awe-inspiring way to do – especially during December’s Cold Full Moon in Gemini – which helps give us a chance to examine our self-talk as well as honor our dreams, and goals.
The phases of the Moon serve as a glimpse into Nature’s intricate meanings and aid us as we synchronize ourselves to Nature’s rhythms.
When we plan our meditations and set our intentions in tandem with the phases of the Moon, we begin to feel more at ease with the cyclical energy inherent in Nature and in life.
We begin to understand that there is an intelligent and orderly plan behind the apparently random changes in life.
Staying “in tune” or in-sync with Moon phases is a great way to naturally balance your life activity. Once you become aligned with Moon phases, as lunar energy cycles through two-week phases of waxing and waning, you can rest assured and move forward confidently with your daily affairs.
Not only is this a tried-and-true method for attaining balance and harmony in your emotional life, this is also a natural way to achieve success and fulfillment in your professional life.
Each full moon is a culmination of energy, as it’s the peak of the lunar cycle. The Full Moon brings to light what needs your attention. It’s often a highly emotional time where your intuition may be intensified.
This is a time to Notice situations that are triggering you and who or what is pushing your buttons. Identify what you are feeling so you can release and resolve it and reclaim your power.
When to see December’s Full Cold Moon in Gemini
December’s Cold Moon reaches peak illumination on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at 11:09 P.M. EST.
This is the final full moon of the year!
While it’s always fun to commune with the Moon as she turns full, it’s sometimes a little hard when she turns full late in the evening or in the very early morning hours.
Which is why we always like to catch a moon as she is about to turn full at MOONRISE.
The ‘Cold Moon’ will look orange at MoonRise
… Thanks to an effect called “Raleigh scattering.” According to astronomers, Long wavelength red light travels more easily through Earth’s atmosphere than short-wavelength blue light, which strikes more particles and gets scattered. So a rising full Moon looks orange because you’re viewing it through a lot of atmosphere—for the same reason a setting Sun looks reddish.
Learn more about our full moon rituals:
Why is it Called the Cold Moon?
The Moon names come from Native American, Colonial American, or other traditional sources passed down through generations. A variety of Native American peoples traditionally used the monthly Moons and nature’s corresponding signs as a calendar to track the seasons.
Today, December’s full Moon is commonly known as the Cold Moon—a Mohawk name that (traditionally) conveys the frigid conditions of this time of year when cold weather begins to grip us.
December's full Moon has also been called the Long Night Moon (Mohican), as it rises during the “longest” nights of the year, which are near the Winter Solstice. This name is doubly fitting because December’s full Moon shines above the horizon for a longer period than most full Moons.
- Farmer's Almanac
Other names that allude to the cold and snow include
- Drift Clearing Moon (Cree)
- Frost Exploding Trees Moon (Cree)
- Snow Moon (Haida, Cherokee),
- Other names include Moon When the Deer Shed Their Antlers (Dakota)
. - In Europe, ancient cultures called this full Moon the “Moon Before Yule,” in honor of the Yuletide festival celebrating the return of the sun heralded by winter solstice.
How to Watch for the Full Moon Rise
Full Moons are most easily seen at their best at moonrise, which occurs at dusk in the eastern sky almost opposite a setting Sun in the west.
Catch her as she rises and the full “Cold Moon” will look both more colorful and larger than it will at any other time of night—but only for about 15 minutes. It’s also more impactful because it’s being viewed in twilight, not darkness.
Despite the full Moon officially occurring on Wednesday, Thursday evening offers the best opportunity to see the full “Cold Moon” rise into a twilight sky (on Wednesday it will rise before sunset):
In New York, sunset is at 4:28 p.m. EDT and moonrise is at 4:41 p.m. EDT (the moment of full Moon is at 11:09 p.m. EDT the previous evening).
To find out when the Moon will rise in your neck of the woods, the Farmer’s Almanac has an excellent Moon Rise Calculator – and I’ll include that link in the description below.
What’s even more fun for this Full Moon is that for those of us in North America, the Full Moon will also do something very unusual. The Moon will move across Mars to entirely block Mars from view for a short period. This is almost precisely the same time at the red planet shines at its brightest for 26 months. Astronomers call this a lunar occultation and it is a very, very rare event.
What’s more, December’s Full Moon will have a high trajectory across the sky, which results in the full Moon sitting above the horizon for a longer period.
How to see the ‘Cold Moon’
You don’t need any special equipment to see a full Moon. Your own unaided eyes are perfect. However, if you do have a pair of binoculars then they will give you a stunning close-up. It’s perfectly safe.
You’ll more easily see it appear on the horizon if you get somewhere high-up, or go to a coast with a clear view of the horizon.
How the Zodiac Influences the Moon’s Energy
For many of us who live in concert with Nature’s rhythms, the Full Moon is one of the most magical of times -- an ideal occasion for becoming intentional and for creating change.
The Moon orbits one full turn around the Earth in 28 days. And as it does, it passes through each of the Zodiac signs for about 2 to 2 1/2 days.
The sign of the Moon on any given day broadcasts a subtle emotional undercurrent.
Just as our personalities can be described in terms of the position of the Sun and Moon at the time of birth, the changing moods and energies of our daily lives can be correlated with the passage of the Moon through the Zodiac each month.
Although any Full Moon can mark a time for manifestation, it is helpful to know which sign of the Zodiac the Full Moon is in, and how that effects the energies at work.
Like the mystery of the lunar pull, it's hard to put your finger on … it’s also not scientifically proven … yet it can serve as a good guideline in terms of whatever goal or intention we’ve set out for ourselves.
For example, if you’d like to increase prosperity, your Full Moon meditation would be enhanced by an earth-sign Moon (particularly Taurus); a Cancer Moon might also be appropriate. An air-sign Moon would be less effective, because of the emphasis on the mental rather than the tangible. You could, however, use the energy of an air-sign Moon to stimulate productive conversation with an employer, which might lead indirectly to monetary rewards.
Full Moon in Gemini
The Moon in Gemini helps you tune into your thoughts and identify what’s important.
Gemini is symbolically shown as the twins. It provides information and choices.
The moon in Gemini rules the lower mind – the intellect, thinking, learning, speaking, writing, and networking. It’s easy to become scattered with the full moon, and lack of direction or feel confused.
The full moon provides closure or a culmination of energy.
Since Gemini rules communication, it’s an opportunity to tune into your self-talk. Where are you creating limitations or stopping yourself from fully expressing yourself? What tools do you use to stop the inner critic? Interrupting the cycle is so vital to shifting your results.
This full moon reminds you to honor your thoughts, dreams, and goals. It gives you a glimpse of the future. Before the holidays get too busy, take time to reflect on what you’ve achieved over the past year? How have you grown? What lessons have you mastered? What do you want to take with you into the New Year?
Think about what you want to do and who you want to become. Write a new contract with the Universe to claim what you want to create next!
Balancing Thoughts
Like every Full Moon there is a need to find balance between your physical and emotional needs. Each full moon is a reminder to find balance between opposing forces.
The Sagittarius Sun is opposite the Gemini moon. Sagittarius gives you a glimpse of the next step, the highest vision and expression of yourself. It’s adventurous and inquisitive nature questions the old way of doing things. This simple act of mindfulness begins to shift your patterns toward what you want to create.
The Gemini/Sagittarius axis is an interesting dive into deep cosmic wisdom. You may get a glimpse of the New Year with insight into how you should navigate it.
Gemini relates to your thoughts, perceptions, speaking, networking, and teaching -- to communicating on all levels.
Since Gemini is represented by the twins, there may be choices between options, or you may be multi-tasking to get things wrapped up for the year. You may be deep in thought about what you’re ready to release and willing to move forward with in 2022. Ideas may be planted with this Full Moon that relate to transitions taking place.
With the Gemini/Sagittarius axis there is a lot of activity. Gemini is an air sign, so thoughts may be pinging in many different directions and Sagittarius is a fire sign that likes to act and get things going. You may feel physically charged up and ready to go.
Your Next Step
So -- In this video, you discovered how the phases of the moon serve as a glimpse into nature's meanings and how when you plan in tandem with the moon you feel more at ease with life's cyclical energy.
You discovered there's an intelligent and orderly plan behind random changes in which can help you live a more balanced life.
You learned how the sign of Gemini influences the energy of this full moon making it a great time to look within and identify your thoughts and self- talk so that you can stop your inner critic… which then will help you achieve your hopes, dreams, and goals
You also learned when the best time is to get outside and watch a moon rise and you also took a quick look at how the names of the full moons reflect the energy of the Earth at this time of year
If you want to learn more about how to achieve joy, fulfillment, as well as discover your purpose and passion in life, I have another video for you – hit LIKE or Subscribe in you want more content like this – but seriously …
Click or tap the screen to watch the next video about NATURE MAGIC because you’ll learn some important things about unlocking magic in your life. I’ll see you over there.
Want to join us for our next Full Moon ritual?
COME CELEBRATE with us!