Rhi Axtell – Writer

It’s cold.

The heating seems to be on all the time at the moment. We break up our hours putting on extra layers, or huddling under blankets. Our second duvet now lives on the sofa – in the evenings we transform it into a small fort, wrapping soft walls around us to protect us from the cold. Sock-covered toes play footsie in the dark warmth.

It seems fitting that tonight is the Snow Moon, or to use its older Celtic name, the Ice Moon. It’s like the cold has summoned it. The Ice Moon. This full moon earned its name because this is the time of year for ice and snow. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but this reason feels far too practical for a name which feels so haunting and mystical. Perhaps I have been reading too much poetry. I am reminded of a line from Polly Atkin’s poem Moon Salutation. Atkin describes the Moon as:

… low, white and cool as the eye of a jackdaw in the feathered night.

Another name for the Snow Moon is the Hungry Moon – because in the past this was the time when food stores were depleted. People were cold and going hungry. For some, I suppose hunger isn’t something relegated to the past, although I wish it was.

It’s all a bit miserable, isn’t it?

But that brings me to the point I was trying to make at the start. It is cold. People are hungry – not necessarily just for food, but for other things too: touch, conversation, a smile, emotional warmth, a moment of peace… and at this time of year they can be difficult to find.

So when you look up into the sky tonight and see the Ice Moon/Snow Moon/Hungry Moon (or, if you live somewhere like me, probably just the clouds overhead), think about two things.

First, think about what warmth you need in your life. How can you find it? Perhaps it is just the warmth of a cup of tea, or a good book. Perhaps it is a conversation with a friend. How can you rejuvenate and warm up at this cold time of year? Self-care is a priority.

Next, what warmth can you share with someone else? Perhaps you could call a family member or friend and tell them you love them. Perhaps you could invite someone over and cook them a warming meal. Perhaps you could buy someone a warm pair of socks (I received a pair of woollen socks for Christmas and I have been wearing them so much I am not sure they will make it to spring.). Perhaps you could just smile at a stranger.

As an introvert who tries to avoid people, even I can recognise the importance of community in these cold days. Even if that community is one or two people.
To quote Polly Atkin again from the poem Strength in Winter this time:

It is too cold for strength in winter.

And maybe it can feel like that sometimes – a difficulty to find strength in all this coldness. But if we search for warmth within ourselves share it with other people, and they share their own with us, I think we can find the strength to make it through. The Hungry Ice Snow Moon can look down on us, the eye of a jackdaw in the feathered night, and we can look back up and smile.

(Slightly related: read Polly Atkin’s poetry book Basic Nest Architecture. It’s like a breath of fresh air in book form).

See you next time.