March Art Challenge: Raven Moon, Sap Moon

Crow Descending From The Moon, Splendid Fish

At least in the Northern Hemisphere, the March moon lights a warming sky; it looks down on new growth and the return of fair-weather friends to colder lands (and the farewell of the faintblooded from the southern hideaways).
The Raven, with its dark feathers and hoarse calls and generally rude nature, may seem an odd bird to fly in the first moon of Spring. But the Raven is a trickster first, and the first month of Spring is a tricky time. The March moon brings early warm days and final fierce freezing weather; it wakes up the flowers and blights them, and lures the unwary out of their winter beds to bustle about for a first few warm weeks that may or may not shatter into ice and disappointment on a stray wind.


Crow Moon Necklace and Earrings, Anika's Art


Nightlily collar!

Raven is a trickster first.


Thought, Memory and Moon, Carapace


Raven Crow Moon Statue, Baby Black Bird, PhenomeGNOME


But Raven is a messenger too, for gods and men and things in between, and Raven never lies. The Raven Moon promises the arrival of spring, and whatever tricks may still hide in the changing sky, the new season has never failed to follow its herald. So the glossy black wings break the ice for tender green shoots, and the harsh voice calls the first bar of the spring chorus. Raven is a bringer of fire and bad news and trouble; and Raven's beak carries the sun, and calls the sap back to life in the cold trees.

Snake Priestess Earrings, Mermaiden Creations


Maple Leaf Green and Brown Cartilage Chain Earring, Meri Greenleaf