Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’ve tasked myself with exploring the concepts of pronoia (the belief that the universe is conspiring to shower us with blessings), quiety (serenity) and peace – all through the lens of unusual, obscure, or simply delightful-to-me words.
N is for…
noctilucy – A 17th century word for moonlight.
I love the moon – I’m a lunar devotee for sure. She always has something to tell me, and I do my best to talk with her daily.
For many votaries it’s customary to blow a kiss to the moon when first spotting her, and I’ve always been charmed by that practice. And I certainly recite an adapted greeting “I see the moon and the moon sees me. I love the moon and the moon loves me. I bless the moon and the moon blesses me.”
The moon is magical. She waxes and she wanes. She pulls the tides both in the oceans and in our own beautiful body vessels, whether we think of that as physical or etheric. She’s poetry. She practical. She’s deeply feminine. And she always invites us to reflect.
I love the moon so much, I have a number of them around my house. I was delighted when I looked up I saw tiny little rainbows reflected on the wall, surrounding one of my vintage glass full moons. It made me laugh – it’s not often the moon gets to experience rainbows.
But of course nighttime is the most natural time to commune with La Luna. It’s a time to moon bathe, or be in quiet meditation, or go for a moon-lit walk, or simply pay attention over the course of a month to see where the moon rises, sets, where she waxes and wanes, grows full and goes dark.
But maybe the best thing to do is a noctilucy dance. I’ve always loved Edward Lear’s tale, and I adore this print by Australian artist Mara Girling which I have hanging under another one of my moons.
“They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.”
What about you? What noctilucy celebrations call to you? Are you a proud moon maven? Pay attention to lunar cycles? Talk to the moon? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
Yes, I love watching the moon go through its cycles. It reminds me that God has made us to inhabit time and gave us natural means by which to mark it. The sun as well, as some beautiful biblical writings express (Psalm 8:3).
I love knowing that my grandmother and her grandmother and all the grandmothers before have stood under the night sky and watched as the moon moved from drak to crescent to full to crescent to dark again. None of us are so very different, no matter where we live, no matter what we believe.
I also love the moon, though I’d not heard of the custom of blowing her a kiss. 🙂 I think I fell in love with her as a teenager, while out walking late at night with some friends. We were outside of town where there were no street lights, and yet the moon was so bright we could see perfectly well. The world had transformed, in a way. The same, yet different when viewed by moonlight. Magical.
That print is adorable.
I love those transformation moments Sara – it seems simple, a slight change – and yet fundamentally different. The fact that moonlight can do that, again and again and again, feels utterly magical to me.
Noctilucy, what a cool word! I love the rainbow reflections. Full moon follower to the max here. I have a special journal for my Full Moon Dreamboards. Loving your series, Deborah! I’m falling a bit behind because I have to print my pictures and make my pages!
Janet
Thanks for the kind words Janet. April certainly does invite crazy busy-ness doesn’t it? It’s cool though you’ve got a built in incentive to get your concert pages done. Some projects need that little push.
I love that you keep a full moon dreamboard journal – how perfect. And if you keep it long enough, I bet it’s fun to go back over the years and see what you’re wishing for at particular moons.
Such a lovely post Deborah. Feeling all bathed in moonlight–gentle and incandescent.
Things I love about your post today: “She’s deeply feminine.” and the Mara Girling’s illustration and the rainbows and this beautiful new word (new to me).
According to my birth chart (which has an important part to play in India), I was born in the moon phase of my ruling planet. So, I guess when I say I love the moon, I’m just stating the obvious.
Thank you:)
N is for Naada
I love connecting with kindred moon lovers Arti. I know only the most basics of Indian astrology, but it’s a beautiful system. Wishing you endless moon magic always.
Noctilucy is a seriously neat word. Learnt something new. Thanks. In my culture, we follow a lunisolar calendar, and the phases of the moon are what determine the dates of everything. In fact, we don’t have a ‘date’ of birth in the Bengali/Hindu calendar, it’s ‘…th day of the moon.’
Love the Lear poetry too.
Nilanjana
Madly-in-Verse
I didn’t realize that about your calendar Nilanjana – my turn to learn something new. Thanks!
i loved the poetic rhythm in your post , Deborah. Thanks for another new word . i would need to visit you over and again to revise the words as they are brand new and hence difficult in a fascinating sort of way. Its a happy coincidence for me that your post talks about my name (a part of it atleast) 🙂 Moon-watching and star gazing was a favoirite childhood activity for me too .:)
Best wishes,
Moon
https://aslifehappens60.wordpress.com
You sent me off on a lovely train of thought Moon, with your expression “difficult in a fascinating sort of way.” I really love that – it’s the things that are hard to grasp and require some effort that often seems the most rewarding, don’t you think? It’s as though you have to lean into them, and in doing so, find richness you might not otherwise. I’m not sure that makes sense as I say it, but I thank you for inviting me to think about it.
OMG, my mother used to recite that poem to us from an anthology she would often read. Is it Wynken, Blinken and Nod? Unless I have it confused. Wonderful post. But I never actually thought of the moon as feminine, although she does affect a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Wynken, Blinken and Nod was written by a different author, while the poem I quoted is The Owl and The Pussycat. But I can certainly imagine both of them being included in some sort of anthology of kid’s poems/stories. How fun you remember your mom reading it to you.
I believe most cultures consider the moon to be feminine, with its reflective silvery energy.
I’m going to have to remember this word and write some flash fiction with it. Love it.
How great – I hope I get to read it.
Interesting and pretty word. Of course, I had to run to my friend Google and see what popped up. Related to noctilucy, no doubt: “Noctiluca definition, a dinoflagellate of the genus Noctiluca, capable of producing light and, in groups, of causing a luminous appearance of the sea.” And there were some lovely videos of these dinoflagellates. What can be better than the moon and the ocean together.
Wonderful! And now you’ll have me going down the dinoflagellate rabbit hole. A perfectly fun thing – thanks.
Hi Deborah – love the moon – last night it was golden red half-orb in the sky with some hidden behind a straying cloud, sending a golden circle of light onto the English channel as it danced by itself across the sky –
The Edward Lear poem has always been around us … cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/o-is-for-orkney-islands-adapted-breeds.html
Oh my goodness Hilary – sounds spectacular. I hope you danced under it. 🙂
I love the moon more than the sun. Am I allowed to have favorites?! For one thing I don’t need SPF when I view the moon. And for another thing I enjoy the idea of change, systematically happening above me, while I go about my daily life. Also, the moon is pretty to photograph.
You are indeed allowed favorites – and given those wonderful reasons I think you’ve made a sound choice. 🙂
Lovely Deborah thank you! Loved the comments and your responses back to them! I often see the moon at night from my desk in my study. Since she’s on the wane right now, she comes up over the trees later and later. Invariably, most evenings I go outside to check her out and see what’s she up to. Loved the photo too of your moon and her rainbows – 🙂
Oh I love the idea of the moon keeping an eye on you at night in your study Susan, and you going out to see her.
I’ve always enjoyed the Edward Lear rhyme too. 🙂 Noctilucy is another word I haven’t heard before but it’s a lovely one.
Here’s my “N” post 🙂 http://nataliewestgate.com/2017/04/noticed-secret-diary-of-a-serial-killer
It is lovely isn’t it? Of course I can see you writing a little murder and mayhem in the moonlight as well. 🙂
This past winter I went on my first full moon snowshoe hike. It was magical to get to the top of the mountain where they had a bonfire going and look up at the moon. It was so much fun and extremely peaceful. WeekendsInMaine
Oh Karen that sounds absolutely delightful, and very magical indeed! Hope you get to do it again.
I do spend time watching the moon. Like Hilary, I’m fascinated by the ring that sometimes encircles it, but I’m excited to watch the moon peek from behind the clouds and butter them with melted moonlight.
Can you help me with noctilucy’s pronunciation? Is it like a nocturnal “Lucy” (in the sky with moonbeams 😉 )? Or does it have an unexpected syllabic emphasis?
I wonder if it was used rather more by 17th Century educated elite than by the common folk.
Moon halos are pretty magical aren’t they? But how I love your description of buttered clouds – fabulous!
As far as pronunciation goes: I can’t seem to figure out a way to write with emphasis. So let me head you over to
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/noctilucent?s=t
That’s the definition and pronunciation for notilucent, which will give you the starting point – just change cent to cee and I’ll think you’ll have it.
I imagine you’re correct about the usage, but it always seems like a dice throw when it comes to obsolete words. I so wish we had time machines and could peek and listen.