The Liminal - Corn Moon Cycle - August 2025
The Fox & Thistle Liminal - Corn Moon - August 23, 2025
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Fourth Issue
*Published in concert with our Fortnight Calendar.
Welcome to the August 23, 2025 issue of The Fox & Thistle Liminal, A Creative Almanac weaving together Art & Design — Inspired by History and the Natural World. This issue celebrates the Corn Moon, offering a guide to the season’s wonders and celestial events for all who seek inspiration under the same sky.
Look Out For - Seasonal Highlights in Late August and Early September
Apples, pears, plums, grapes, late-summer melons, setting pumpkins, gourds, squash, peppers, okra, basil, sage, goldenrod, asters, sedum, fading black-eyed Susans, sunflowers hanging their heads, monarchs on the move, geese beginning migration, swallows gathering, katydids, crickets, praying mantises, orb-weaver spiders, grasshoppers, bats, deer, foxes, squirrels caching acorns, cool mornings, mist on the fields, & the hinting of turning leaves!
Look Up For - Celestial Events in Late August and Early September
The Corn Moon cycle begins August 23, as late-summer harvests gather momentum. On August 30–31, the Aurigid Meteor Shower streaks across the pre-dawn sky, brief but brilliant. September 7–8 brings the Full Corn Moon, rising into a total lunar eclipse (not visible to most of the US) and transformed into a deep red Blood Supermoon, its face appearing larger than usual as it nears Earth in its orbit. By September 21, the eve of the equinox, autumn’s steady descent begins, where shadow tips the balance of the year, bringing us to the doorstep of change.
THE CORN MOON CYCLE ›› 8/23 ◑ 8/31 🌒 9/07 🌕 9/14 🌗 9/21 ··· NEXT: HARVEST MOON
Inside this Issue:
Censorship in the Second French Republic, gritty yard art, an old-world apple cake recipe, greeting cards for aimless avoidants, absurdist t-shirts with a literary flair, toxic messaging for the male ego & more!
New Wave Vibes from 19th century France
In 1868, Paul Verlaine wrote Les Amies under the pseudonym "Pablo de Herlagnez," an evocative collection of sonnets celebrating the intimacy of women at a time when obscenities, blasphemies, and political dissension were being openly suppressed. The work was immediately banned in France, its copies seized, and its publisher imprisoned. As is often the case, notoriety only made the work more seductive. Over fifty years later, in 1921, Swiss artist Gustave Buchet interpreted Verlaine's words into thirteen exquisite etchings, capturing the poetry's delicate allure and hidden intensity with the female form.
From one of these originals, Fox & Thistle Studio has reimagined the image into a pattern that evokes the neon lights of 1980s New York. With a distinctive retro vibe—when Blondie flirted over the radiowaves—we've transformed the original etching into a wearable piece of literary and artistic rebellion for your hair.
Hothouse Flowers
Recent Highlights from our Vintage Shop
A mancave mantra. A she-shed saga. The question every working soul has asked since humankind began toiling away in the dirt.
Where in the Hell is Easy Street?
Hand-painted in enamel, on a broken antique iron sawblade. Forged in fire, hammered in blood, sealed in sweat. Yard art for the weathered, the weary, and the enduring.
https://foxandthistle.studio/products/where-in-the-hell-is-easy-street-sawblade-sign
Seaglass - 14 ounces
Across cultures, these ocean-tumbled fragments have been seen as gifts of luck and transformation. Mediterranean folklore called them "mermaid's tears," while sailors kept them as charms for safe passage. In Japan, their imperfect beauty resonates with wabi-sabi, the acceptance of transience and change.
The metamorphosis is as patient as it is precise: currents tumble the glass for decades—sometimes centuries, while minerals leach away, leaving behind the matte finish that collectors prize.
Kettle & Crumb
Simple, seasonal recipes — tried & true, from Fox & Thistle's kitchen.
Preparations to Bid Adieu to Late Summer & Welcome in Early Autumn
Hurricane Cocktail
PREP 5 min SERVES 1 (generously splits into 2)
A classic rum drink born in 1930s New Orleans, THE HURRICANE is bold, bright, and carries the weight of the old adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em".
· 2 ounces light rum · 2 ounces dark rum · 1 ounce passion fruit purée · 1 ounce orange juice · 1 ounce grenadine · ½ ounce lime juice · orange slice & cherry for garnish
1.Pour the light rum, dark rum, passion fruit purée, orange juice, grenadine, & lime juice, into a shaker. 2. Add a good scoop of ice and shake hard til the tin turns frosty in your hands. 3. Strain into a tall hurricane glass filled with ice. 4. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry, then batten the hatches & hunker down.
*freshly juiced and puréed fruit is always preferable to pre-packaged.
Apfelkuchen · German Apple Cake
PREP 20 min COOK 1hr to 1hr15min SERVES 8
A rustic and delicious butter sponge cake with roots the 18th century.
· 1 cup sugar · 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter · 2 large eggs · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 cup flour · 1 tsp baking powder · 1/8 tsp salt · 4–5 small crisp & tart apples, thinly sliced · lemon juice · cinnamon · sugar · shortening & flour to line pan
Grease a 9" pan with shortening and dust with flour, then heat the oven to 350°F (325°F if using a dark pan). 2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. 3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then fold into the batter just until combined. 4. Slice the apples about 1/4" thick and toss in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of sugar, and a dusting of cinnamon. 5. Spread the batter into the pan and press the apples gently into the dough, being sure to not hit the bottom of the pan. 6. Sprinkle cinnamon & sugar over the top. 7. Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick in center comes out clean, then cool on a rack before serving.
*pitted & unpeeled plums are a terrific substitution for apples!
Here are a few more noteworthy projects that can be found online at https://foxandthistle.studio/
Offhand Cards for Common Situations
Fox & Thistle Studio's Offhand Cards for Common Situations walk a fine line— offering solace to the giver—and clarity, confrontation, or something in between to the recipient. See the full collection at: https://foxandthistle.studio/collections/offhand-cards
Pantagruel's Reverie
A series of ten cryptic designs based on 16th-century French woodcuts—revived as t-shirts with surreal warnings & ambiguous dilemmas. See the full collection at: https://foxandthistle.studio/collections/pantagruels-reverie
May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way
'Tis Easy to Flatter, & Toilsome to Praise.
from our blog — Scatterings:
SuiteNuthins: Emasculations & Degradations, 2022, Digital artwork (NSFW)
A short series diving into male emotional struggle, crippling self-worth, and toxic messaging.
The images and captions in this collection are provocative and suggestive.
Viewer discretion advised.
https://foxandthistle.studio/blogs/scatterings/suitenuthins-emasculations-degradations-nsfw
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