At the middle of this week, Mercury comes to what I’ll call its “Full” phase, and at the end of the week, the Moon achieves its rare Blue Moon phase. We won’t see Mercury, and the Moon won’t appear blue, but still they’re both good for story!
So here’s the thing with Mercury: Later this year, in November, Mercury will make a rare transit in front of the Sun. This only happens about 13 times a century, so it’s kind of a big deal. This week, on Thursday, Mercury will be exactly opposite the place where it will transit, so this is why I said it’s at its Full phase, because it’s standing opposite. This is the peak in Mercury’s cycle as messenger, so pay attention to all communications!
Then on Saturday, the Moon will come to its Full phase for the third time this season, and because there will be four Full Moons this Spring, this Saturday’s Full Moon is what’s traditionally known as the Blue Moon. For the Moon to achieve fullness four times before the season expires is much more rare than to have two Full Moons in one calendar month, so on top of the Mercury position, this Blue Moon adds an extra-special layer of celestial wonder.
So what should we do? Maybe write a love letter and mail it to yourself, or to the secret beloved, but don’t open it until the Mercury transit in November. Include your best wish for what is to come, and then let it go. It’s really a terrific experience to set an intention, offer it up to the postal service, so it can be carried out into the world, and then let it come back. Lots of things can happen along the way!
Emily Dickinson said it this way:
This is my love letter to the world
That never wrote to me,–
The simple news that Nature told,
With tender majesty.
Her message is committed
To hands I cannot see;
For love of her, sweet countrymen,
Judge tenderly of me!
Here is my Storyteller’s Night Sky radio segment on the Moon and Mercury this week of May 2019.
Also to note about the May 18th Full Moon!:
It is the most important Full Moon in Buddhist culture every year, and it’s happening this weekend, May 18, at 5:12 pm edt.
Why is the May Full Moon so significant? Because three major events in the life of the Gautama Buddha took place on this day:
1. The Prince Siddhartha (who would become the Buddha) was born at Lumbini Grove on the Full Moon day in May.
2. After six years of hardship, he attained enlightenment under the shade of the Bodhi tree and became Gautama Buddha, also on the Full Moon day of May.
3. After 45 years of teaching the Truth, when he was 80, he passed away to nirvana, the cessation of all desire, also on the Full Moon day of May.
And this year, the May 18th Moon, also referred to as Vesak or Wesak because it is the day of the Full Moon in the lunar month of Vesakha, will be a traditional Blue Moon ~ the third Full Moon in a season that will see the Moon come to Full Phase four times before the season fulfills itself at eve of Solstice in June.
“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
“Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse