Who doesn’t love a Blue Moon at All Hallow’d Eve?

And though the Blue Moon this week is simply a quirk of the Gregorian calendar system, nine months from now we will have a True Blue Moon, which is a mighty and rare celestial phenomenon! The true Blue Moon comes ’round only when there are four Full Moons in one season. So consider, because there are three months per season  (the word “month” derives from “moon”), we typically have one Full Moon per month, but on occasion, we’ll end up with an extra dose of Luna in one season, and when we do, the third one of the four is called the Blue Moon.

This kind of Blue Moon can only happen in the months of February, May, August and November, and the next one comes on August 22, 2021. Not only that, but the August 22, 2021 Blue Moon will rise in the East with the super giant Jupiter in tow as the Sun sets in the West (but more about that when we get there!).

What else can we watch for with regard to the Moon? On Saturday, October 31, the Moon comes Full at exactly 10:55 am, though it will still look Full when we see it break the horizon later that night. And it’s a Moon that will pack a bit of a punch, given that it’s fresh from a meeting with Uranus, planet of change. This combination give rise to impulsiveness and impatience and a desire for something different. And consider, because the Moon, when it’s Full, appears to swallow up all of the available celestial light and then focus it toward its closest celestial companion the Earth, it’s as though we get an intensified dose of starshine at Full Moon. This can break up things that are stuck or rigid, which is kind of the same mood as Uranus, so the trick this Halloween weekend is to go with the flow.

Then on Thursday, November 12, 2020, the Moon will be at its waning Crescent Phase, which makes her mood fit for meeting the brilliant morning star, Venus. Look for them in the East about an hour before sunrise.

The Moon will achieve New Phase on November 15 in the midnight hour for us on the East side of North America (it will still be the 14th in the West), and now’s the time to start watching for the waxing lunar crescent in her encounter with Jupiter and Saturn, especially the evenings of November 18 and 19.

There’s so much ahead in the path of the Moon! And the whole process begins again after the November Full Moon on the 30th, after which the waning crescent meets Venus again on Saturday, December 12 an hour before the Sun sweeps above the horizon. Moon and Venus radiate warmth and comfort, which is the perfect send off for Venus given what’s about to happen on December 14. On that date, the New Moon will totally eclipse the Sun, visible over Argentina in South America, during which time the goddess of love and beauty is unveiled in broad daylight.

Then the  Moon carries on, making a beautiful approach to Jupiter and Saturn on December 16, where they are already appearing quite close to one another in the evening sky. Look southwest about an hour after sunset to catch this scene, and see what dreams accompany you from their meeting with the Moon on the 16th until Jupiter and Saturn make their Great Conjunction on Winter Solstice, on the 21st (more on this later, too!).

The Moon tops off the year at Full Phase on December 29, 2020, in the tropical sign of Cancer, where she’s right at home, helping us all shake off the dust of 2020 in time for being resolute in the New Year ahead.

Here are several upcoming events for getting engaged with your stars while all this is going on overhead:
Saturday, October 31 Full Blue Moon Halloween Hike at Offield Family Viewlands, including fireside chat both live and on zoom. Go to www.landtrust.org for more information
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 you are invited to join me at 7:30 pm on Zoom for a talk with the Great Lakes Branch of the Anthroposphical Society in America (familiarity with anthroposophy will be assumed). Email mary@storytellersnightsky.com for the Zoom link.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020 I’m back at the Viewlands for the restorative effect of woods and water and sky! Register for this event at www.landtrust.org

Stay tuned for information about
*my online Holy Nights Workshop December 8, 2020;
*my seasonal program for the Ford House on December 10;
*what I’m doing for the Great Conjunction at Winter Solstice;
*and last but not least, a series of programs “How to Know the Stars with Star Lore Historian Mary Stewart Adams” offered online through North Central Michigan College every Thursday in January, 2021.

Yours in the good work,
Mary
(The Moon Bridge image by Seung-Hwan Chung)

In the black pool of midnight
Lu has lung the morning star
and its foam in rippling silver
whitens into day afar…
~A.E.