Knowing the Lay Of The Land

Via The Sky...

Standing in the backyard a (kilopar) second ago, stoking a new pipe and looking at the sky. The evening and night have been as blessedly beautiful as the day here in h-town.

As a result, we have a clear view of a very-nearing full moon.

You can follow Her, and her progression through the phases, and gain a sense of direction.

She Follows the Sun. On full moon nights (probably around the ninth this month) She'll rise in the Eastern Sky as the sun is setting in the West. Over the next fourteen to fifteen days She'll rise progressively later into the night, until only days before the new moon you watch Her wink as a Crescent to the Sunrise, before becoming lost in his glare for a few days...
The prior fourteen or fifteen days to full you see the opposite-- the Crescent now winking at the sunset in twilight and rising later-- thus moving further eastward and away from the sun through the day and early nights, until that Full One when balance is Him going down and Her coming up...

Tonight is winter, too, despite the weather-- at least the season quartered as Winter on the Gregorian- modified Julian calendar. Meaning (for us yanks here, Molly!lol) the constellation Orion is rising in the East and travelling low across the sky throughout the night.

Granted we can't see the skies every night-- I mean the stars and moon and void-- but nights you can, go out and learn about a new constellation. Look for it nightly, winter through summer.

Figure which ones of the twelve you are to learn are going to be visible in the east or west on any given day (night!) at any given time.

Just another way to know yours...

Slainte!

Cygnus