Binaakwe-giizis ("Falling Leaves Moon") - October 17, 2024
Boozhoo! Hello! Biindigen miinawaa, welcome back in my Storytelling Lodge, where there is love and learning!
Those of us who take the time and effort to look outside once in a while will have noticed that Zhezhoobii’iged, the Spirit Painter, works with his friend Ningiigwagi, the Frost, as they splash color on the leaves preparing Aki Gimaamaaminaan, our Mother the Earth, for her winter sleep.
It is that time of year again that Gimaamaaminaan, Our Mother the Earth, wearing her finest and most colorful dress, performs her annual dance for E-miziweshkaag, the Great Mystery, * and all the children of the Earth. Everything is ripe currently. Leaves reach their medicine time and are picked or dug up and stored for ceremonial use. Our Mother dances until all the beautiful leaves have fallen. She has finished her sacred, annual work, and is now ready to rest, to sleep peacefully and quietly, with dignity, happiness, and satisfaction; for she knows that she has fed, nourished, and provided the food for all her children.
Tonight, Grandmother Moon who lives in the sky, will visit her daughter; her bright light will show our mother dressed in her most beautiful garment.
Those of us who are awake this evening to search the horizon will witness a stunning lunar display rise. The closest supermoon of the year will soon loom large and bright in the autumn sky, her silver light displaying our Mother the Earth in all her beauty, fully maxed out! Although our grandmother appeared round last Wednesday evening and will do so through Friday morning, tonight she will peak at her fullest around 7:26 a.m. ET. Called "Harvest Moon" by the settlers, our People have their own name for this full moon: Gichi-binaakwe-giizis or Falling Leaves Full Moon.
Today's rise of the Falling Leaves Full Moon marks the end of the month called Ricing Moon (also called, depending on the region, Leaves Turning Color Moon, Corn Moon, Moose Moon, Rutting Moon, and Harvest Without Cutting Moon) and the beginning of the month called Binaakwe-giizis, or "Falling Leaves Moon." Since our People traditionally count time and months according to a lunar calendar and not according to the Gregorian solar calendar, the end of a month and the beginning of a new month never exactly coincide with the months on the settler's calendar. This year, the full moon rises in the third week of the month of October, which means that, according to our lunar calendar, today is the first day of October.
Since Ojibwe moon names reflect local cultures, there are several names of the full moons in circulation throughout Anishinaabe Aki. Other Ojibwe names for the Falling Leaves Moon that reflect regional differences are:
Waatebagaa-giizis/Waatebago-giizis (Leaves Turning Color Moon )
Gashkadino-Giizis (Western dialect)/Baashkaakodin-giizis/Mshkawji-giizis (Freezing (Over) Moon)
Adikamego-giizis (Whitefish Moon)
Namegos-giizis/ Namegosi-giizis (Trout Moon)
Binaakwe, a verb that means "(it) is autumn," (literally: "to lose leaves") corresponds with the verb binibagaa, meaning "leaves fall off," and the noun binaakwiig, a word sometimes used to denote autumn. Another word often used to denote fall season is dagwaagin — a verb meaning "it is autumn."
Tonight's full moon is considered the third of four consecutive supermoons expected this year. The Gashkadino-giizis (Freezing Over Moon) on November 15 is the fourth and final supermoon of the year. And the Gichi-bibooni-giizis (Big Winter Moon) on December 15 will be the last full moon of 2024.
The Falling Leaves supermoon is expected to be joined by Gichi Ogimaa Waasamod Aki (Jupiter), the giant star Gichi-misko-anang (Aldebaran) which is part of the great Winter Bringer constellation, and the Hole in the Sky star cluster (Pleiades). Depending on your location, these cosmic wonders may be visible Friday and Saturday night through dawn. So, keep an eye out for bright Jupiter, which will appear near the moon low in the eastern sky around 10 p.m. on October 20, and Akwaabikizid Aki (Mars) will look like a red dot near the Grandmother high overhead in the early morning hours of October 23 and 24.
To read more about the akiwag (planets) that dwell in our solar system, please visit: Star Stories, part 9: Ojibwe Indigenous Star Map - An Artist's Rendition.
Nahaaw. Weweni onjida gibizindaw noongom. Naagadawaabam giizhig noongo-dibik !
Well, thank you for listening today. Make sure to watch the sky tonight!
*E-miziweshkaag, the Great Mystery of the Universe, literally: "The One That Sits Everywhere."
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