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Poor Will's Almanack: December 26, 2017 – January 1, 2018

Thomas Cizauskas
/
Flickr Creative Commons

This week, the Bedding Plant Moon waxes and waxes, coming closer and closer to Earth. And the New Year will arrive as that Moon becomes completely full and reaches perigee, its position closest to Earth, becoming what many people call a SuperMoon because of its tidal strength.

And that SuperMoon occurs in sync with the first high-pressure system of the first days of Deep Winter, almost certain to bring storms of rain or snow and windy cold. Rising in the afternoon and setting in the morning, this Moon passes overhead in the middle of the night, adding the possibility of even more lunar turbulence in the dark.

Even more is happening this week. On December 26, the days start to become longer, and the Sun’s influence grows throughout the week ahead, complementing the surging power of the Moon.

And the position of the distant winter stars enhances the solar and lunar and meteorological drama as Orion’s giant figure fills the southern sky before midnight, preceded by its outrider Taurus with its red eye Aldebaran, followed by the massive Dog Stars Procyon and Sirius.

Anticipating such a mighty cosmic wave, I feel optimistic, at home and at peace. How can I not be swept into the grand confluence of Sun and SuperMoon and stars? How can I not give in and spin out into the wild storm winds of the New Year, fly and explore so high and so far.

This is Bill Felker with Poor Will’s Almanack. I'll be back again next week with notes for the first week of Deep Winter. But in the meantime, get ready. Everything is happening this week.

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Bill Felker has been writing nature columns and almanacs for regional and national publications since 1984. His Poor Will’s Almanack has appeared as an annual publication since 2003. His organization of weather patterns and phenology (what happens when in nature) offers a unique structure for understanding the repeating rhythms of the year.