The Snow Moon
February's full moon
Stillness, scarcity, waiting
The February full moon, named for the heaviest snowfall of the northern year. This is one of the names where an attribution can actually be traced a little: Snow Moon is recorded among Haida and Cherokee names, though the pan-almanac list flattens those separate traditions into one entry. The alternative, Hunger Moon, points at February's older reality — the stores running low.
Where the name actually comes from
The honest attribution
Not in the 1937 English list; entered the popular twelve via the Old Farmer's Almanac in 1964. Snow Moon is recorded among Haida and Cherokee names.
Also called: Hunger Moon, Storm Moon, Bone Moon.
How it tends to be kept
- Traditionally the hardest month of the northern year, when winter stores ran thin
- Many people mark it as a month for staying in rather than starting things
- Often kept as a quiet counterweight to January's resolutions
Questions the month asks
- What am I running low on?
- What can wait until the ground thaws?
- Where am I forcing something that isn't ready?
Prompts are invitations to notice, not assignments — tradition offered as tradition.