Pournami or Full Moon occurs when the Sun & the moon are in opposition to each other. The moon is exactly opposite to the Sun & hence face of the moon is full & completely illuminated by the Sun’s rays and appears brilliant in the night sky. Each year there are a minimum of 12 Full moons, with one occurring each month, and in each zodiac sign, when the moon finds itself being exactly opposite to the Sun.
Full Moons are considered auspicious & the ancient Hindu culture has always celebrated the Pournami or the Full Moon. We believe that the Moon represents the Mind and the Sun represents the soul. When the soul fully illuminates the mind, there is perfect harmony between the soul & the mind & we are able to to utilise all our mental faculties to the maximum. Also, the mind is aware of the inner consciousness, and we are able to follow the path of righteousness (dharma), there is a sense of direction & peace. This contrasts to that of the New Moon (or Amavasya) where the mind finds itself cut-off from the soul and is in complete darkness. Here we are ignorant of our innermost voice and soul & we may stray off towards a tamasic path. This is when the mind loses is sense of harmony and seems directionless.
Our culture has from the past recognised the significance of the effects of the phases of the moon over the mind & soul.
Every Pournima has a festive ocassion and significance attached to it. Every Pournima is an ocassion to illumine the mind with the soul and to remove ignorance, realise the true-self.
A good majority of our key festivals fall on Pournima dates for reasons mentioned above.
A list of festivals on each Pournima date is as follows:
| Calendar Month | Position of the Sun | Position of the Full Moon | Full Moon (Nakshtra Sign) | Ocassion | Significance |
| October – November | Libra | Aries | Krittika | Kartikai Deepam | Tamil Festival where Lord Muruga is celebrated. In terms of rituals, the festival Occupies siginificance for the Sisters, who light lamps and pray for the longevity and well-being of their brothers |
| November – December | Scorpio | Taurus | Mrigasira | Datta Jayanti | Birth Celebration of Lord Dattatreya, incarnation of the Trinity & the destroyer of ego and pride |
| December – January | Sagitarrius | Gemini | Ardra | Aardhra Darshanam / Thiruvadarai | Festival dedicated to Lord Shiva, in the form of Nataraja. The Dancing form of Lord Shiva symbolises the energies in the universe that is ever-present & constantly involved in creation and destruction. Astrologically, the Moon in Arudra represents weather and climate conditions and a chart drawn during this day can be used to predict the weather for the year |
| January – February | Capricorn | Cancer | Pushyam | Thai Poosham | Festival dedicated to Lord Muruga and symbolises the victory of Good over Evil & involves ritual practices and penance to rid one-self of past sins |
| February – March | Aquarius | Leo | Makham | Maasi Makham | Ritually, the festival involves a dip in the holy waters to absolve one of all sins and karmas. We also have a festival celebrated every 12 year cycle equivalent to the Kumbha Mela, when the Sun is in Kumbha rashi (Aquarius) with the Full Moon & Jupiter in the opposite Leo rashi |
| February – March | Pisces | Virgo | Uttaram | Phalgun Pournima / Holi | The defeat of Holika and the victory of Prahlad, signifying the universal existence of Lord Narayana. The theme of the festival is removal of ignorance and realisation of the Lord; with Forgiveness and removal of ego |
| March – April | Pisces / Aries | Virgo / Libra | Chitra | Chitra Pournima | The theme is once again forgiveness of our sins. Myth has it that mankind prays to Chitragupta the assistant to Lord Yama and the account keeper of “sins / karma”. |
| April-May | Aries | Libra | Vishakham | Vaikasi Vishakam / Buddha Pournima | The birth of Lord Muruga to defeat evil asuras and restore peace. It is also said that Lord Buddha attained Nirvana this day attaining full enlightenment. |
| May-June | Taurus | Scorpio | Jyeshta | Vata Pournima | The Legend of Savitri-Satyavan, the full moon festival dedicated to the worship of the banyan tree and the wife’s love towards her husband. It symbolises the wife’s love, sacrifice and perserverence towards her husband |
| June – July | Gemini | Sagittarius | Poorva-Ashada | Guru Pournima | Sagittarius is Jupiter’s own house. Jupiter being the celestial Guru (teacher), the full moon in Sagittarius, marks the importance of the Guru as one embarks on a life-long journey of learning, & gaining wisdom and knowledge |
| July – August | Cancer | Capricorn | Shravana / Thiruvonam | Narli Pournima / Raksha Bandhan / Avani Avittam | Raksha Bandhan celebrates the sister-brother relationship of love and protection Avani Avittam / Upakarma in South India marks the day when one renews the vows of following the path of dharma, repentence of one’s sins and the beginning of learning vedic knowledge; while ritually changing the sacred thread |
| August – September | Leo | Aquarius | Poorva-Bhadrapada | Bhadrapada or Shraddhi Pournima | Marks the day of the beginning of the Pitru-Paksha, a fortnight dedicated to one’s ancestors. The Purnima Day usually is celebrated with Satyanarayana Poojas, and the fortnight with Shraddha rituals to pacify our ancestors |
| September – October | Virgo | Pisces | Revati | Sharad Pournima / Kojagiri Poornima | The Full Moon marks the end of Monsoon and is dedicated to Goddess Laxmi with various poojas and vratas to worship her |