This weekend we get a rare Super Blood Harvest Moon—doesn’t that sound dramatic! Before we go running through the streets, screaming towards our doom, let’s break it down.
Moons didn’t become “super” until 1979, when an astrologer cleverly coined the term to describe New or Full Moons occurring when the Moon is at perigee, or, closest to Earth. What’s the impact? The Moon looks brighter and bigger. The ancients didn’t bother to note these occasions in their astrology journals, so, we’re free to make up our own meanings. Here’s one: the Moon—as emotions, nurturing, neediness, the Great Mother—looms larger in your life this weekend. At the least, the Moon will be 30% brighter and 14% larger because it’s 18 thousand miles closer. There are 4 to 6 super Moons a year, so you have many opportunities to view these Moons. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this is also the “Harvest Moon,” which is the annual Full Moon arriving closest to the Equinox.
Full Moons get “bloody” when sunlight refracts through dust particles in Earth’s atmosphere during an eclipse. Lunar eclipses were noted by ancient astrologers. These were linked to dramatic changes and collective upheavals. I have seen this to be true—but I’ve also seen the opposite to be true. During eclipses—while the energy feels a little wonky and for some people it coincides with devastating events—for most people, life stays pretty much the same. Some claim to receive celestial “downloads” during eclipses; again, that may or may not be true. I’ve never gotten one.
The astronomical truth is that a lunar eclipse is a great light show. The Earth comes between the Sun and Moon in such a way that Luna reddens and Earth’s traveling shadow creates the illusion that the Moon is gradually disappearing. Reassuringly, the entire Moon does return, all in the same night.
Rare events inspire hype. Around the internet the news is traveling: “We haven’t had one of these since 1910 and we won’t have another one until 2029!” I once saw a man and woman wearing red hats riding a tandem bicycle down my street. That was rare. But was it meaningful?
Skip the hype. It’s what we bring to it that gives the Moon her deeper meanings. Find a nice seat, commune, and enjoy the show. If you’re on the East Coast of the Americas, it begins at 9:07 pm and lasts until 12:27 am. For the West Coast, you’ll have to wait for moonrise, which occurs around 7:00 pm.
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