When you hear someone say “once in a blue moon” you know what they mean. They’re usually talking about something rare, silly, and even absurd. To most, the term gives mixed messages.
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After all, when was the last time you saw the moon turn blue? Well, rare or not, we’re having one this week and it happens on the last night of the month, July 31. It’s the second full moon of this month, we had one earlier on July 2.
It’s not at all clear where the term ‘Blue Moon’ comes from. It dates back at least 400 years. According to modern folklore, a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. Usually months have only one full moon, but occasionally a second one sneaks in. Ancient cultures around the world considered the second full moon to be spiritually significant. They were also a danger too.
It was once thought that to sleep under direct moonlight would cause a person to go mad or blind. It was from this lore that the word “lunatic”, originating from “luna”, or moon, and “tic”, meaning stricken, arose.
Full moons are separated by 29 days, while most months are 30 or 31 days long; so it is possible to fit two full moons in a single month. This happens every two and a half years, on average.
February is the only calendar month that can never have a Blue Moon by this definition. This is because the month of February has only 28 days. Even in leap years when February has 29 days it is one day short for a blue moon to be experienced.
Does the blue moon actually turn blue? No. Blue moons are rare, and that’s where the phrase comes from. There are occasions though when pollution in the Earth’s atmosphere can make the moon look particularly bluish. The extra dust scatters blue light.
The Moon appeared blue across the entire earth for about 2 years after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883.There were also reports of blue moons caused by Mt. St. Helens in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991. Blue Moons don’t have any real significance scientifically but they’re fun to look at. Anytime you can get people out to look at the real sky to me is a great plus, enjoy it while you can this week.
Can You have A Blue Earth?
Yes, and we have proof of it. Photographs taken of planet earth from distant space probes show our globe as a ‘big blue marble’ floating in space. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon in 1969 they remarked how blue our planet was.
When I visited Buzz at his home in California in 2010 he told me Earth’s oceans gleamed a light bluish colour and they could make out the landforms as shades of tan. So, the Earth can be called blue too! By the way, and contrary to popular belief, you cannot see the Great Wall of China from the Moon, nor any other man made features. They’re just visible from the orbiting space station.
Moon Myths and Superstitions
Moon and Weather Lore:
- When the moon points up, the weather will be clear, when it points down, it will rain.
- Weather is most violent, when a large star, or planet, is orbiting near the moon.
- Fog and a small moon will bring an easterly wind.
Moon & The Tides:
- When the moon hangs low in the sky, the tides will be higher than normal.
- When the moon is at its brightest, the tides will be at their highest.
- Deaths occur most often when the tide is going out, and births occur when the tide is coming in.
Good Luck:
- People once believed the moon was made of silver, so they would jingle the change in their pockets and ask the moon to bring them wealth.
- To cure warts, catch a moonbeam in a metal basin, while you wash your hands, say “I wash my hands in thy dish, ‘O man in the moon, do grant my wish, and come and take this affliction away.”
Bad Luck Moon:
– It was once thought that to sleep under direct moonlight would cause a person to go mad or blind. It was from this lore that the word “lunatic”, originating from “luna”, or moon, and “tic”, meaning stricken arose.
New Moon Lore:
- When a person sees the new moon for the first time, they are to bow to it three times in honor of the ancient Egyptian trinity; Osiris, Isis, and Horus (father, mother, and son).
Good Luck:
- The new moon is an auspicious time for planting, courtship, starting a new business, or beginning a trip.
- In order to promote faster growth, a new moon is the best time to cut your hair and fingernails.
- According to an old English tradition, when a new wife sees the new moon for the first time after her wedding, she should quickly turn down her bed to ensure a happy marriage.
- At first sight of the new moon, flip a silver coin and make a wish.
- Seeing a new moon on a Monday will bring you good luck.
- When you see a new moon over your right shoulder, it ensures good times ahead.
- If you see the new moon for the first time and are holding something in both of your hands, you will never want for anything.
- A wish made while looking at new moon will come true within a year.
Bad Luck:
- It is unlucky to view the first new moon through glass objects or trees, it is also unlucky to point directly at the new moon.
- It is bad luck to dig a grave or bury a body during a new moon.
Weather:
- If a new moon occurs on a Monday, then the weather will be clear.
- If a new moon occurs on a Saturday, then there will be twenty days of wind and rain.
- If a new moon occurs on a Sunday, there will be a flood before the month’s end.
- The strongest storms and hurricanes are likely to be 1-3 days after a new moon and 3-5 days after a full moon.
And finally for single women:
Glance at the moon over your right shoulder and say:
"New moon, new moon, true and bright, If I have a lover let me dream of him tonight. If I am to marry far, let me hear a bird cry; If I am to marry near, let me hear a cow low; If I am to marry never, let me hear a hammer knock."
Are you superstitious?
David Reneke, one of Australia’s most well known and respected amateur astronomers and lecturers, has over 40 years experience in astronomy with links to some of the world’s leading astronomical institutions. David is the Editor for Australia’s Astro-Space News Magazine, past news editor of Sky & Space Magazine and is now affiliated as a writer and publicist for the prestigious Australasian Science magazine.
