We Name, Therefore We Are

 

DUKES FANS:  

“It’s a full moon on Main Street...” 

The Kinsey Report 

August has been a great sky month. There was a new moon at the start of the month, the Perseids, and a “Blue and Super Moon” coming next week. . Because the earth is not a perfect sphere, the moon at certain times can appear to be larger and more brilliant as the earth revolves. Thus, it appears to be “super.” August gives us the opportunity to look up and observe two of these this month. While not rare, it is an uncommon event. So, we name and note it. 

 The Full Moon from August 30-31st is also called a "Blue Moon.” This is because it is the second full moon of the month. That happens “once in a blue moon”; ie, it is unusual. We get to enjoy the full moon twice this month, and we name that occurrence. 

This, of course, brings up a question: why do moons have names, anyway? The August 1st full moon, for example, is also called the “Sturgeon Moon.” Why?? Does it need a name?? 

 One of the things that makes humans “human” is that we name things; we have to name things. If something is seen or happens and it seems important, humans, no matter where on the planet we are or what time period we are in, simply have to name it. We do that for several reasons; to attempt to understand it; to recognize it so we can prepare for it if it happens again; so we can connect it to or apply it to other things that occur around it, and more. The sturgeon moon, for example, is called this because for Northern midwest Native Americans it happened when sturgeon fish returned to the Great Lakes to spawn. This was a huge event. Much like the role the buffalo played for many other native American cultures, the sturgeon was an important food source and trade item. As with the buffalo, some Great Lakes Native peoples even moved to follow the flow and path of the fish. So they needed to know just what could herald its arrival. The early August full moon did just that. 

I mentioned in an earlier newsletter the origin of the term, “Dog Days "and its celestial connections. It had to be named because it signaled something that was essential to Egyptian culture. It is the same thing with the moon. So much of what happens on earth is connected to what is happening in the sky, so we have to track it and name it. It is one of the things that links all humans and all human cultures-we all do it. We may do it in different ways, and we may come to some different conclusions as to what the names we give things mean and imply. But ultimately, we are reacting to and interpreting our surroundings and our important experiences through the power of naming. We are all simply being human. Enjoy next week’s Super Blue Moon. 

(For a discussion of how the sturgeon affected the history of parts of the United States, go to: 

https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2019/april/sturgeon-lanston-mandel.html )