“The Cold Moon lights our way into the unknown.  In many areas, the January nights are cold – almost brittle – and snow softens the barren landscape.  Tonight, the Cold Moon serves as a beacon, & we are drawn to her to lead us on our journey into the New Year.   If you can see her, gaze upon her for the first time.  See the moonlight as it shines upon the snow & turns the frost of the windowpanes to glitter.  Let the moonlight become your path into the future.  Honor her by lighting a white or silver candle, & place it near a window.  As an offering, crumble white sage near your door to purify the threshold.  Welcome her by opening your front door.  Step outside and see yourself walking down a new path, but you are unafraid.  Speak to her:  

As I speak these words on this winter night,            Guide me Cold Moon with your light.

                                                                             Allow my path to remain clear,

                                                                             As I travel through another year.”

                                                                                                                            James Kambos 

I also found in the trusty The Old Famers Almanac that this was called Wolf Moon by the Algonquin tribes of Native Americans “because it appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages.”

Happy Cold Moon.  Even in these bitter cold nights of January, beauty abounds, as our journey of this New Year begins.