Blood Moon….. You saw me standing alone…
Picture taken by me.
On September 27th/28th, North America experienced a rare event, a total eclipse of a Super Moon. A Super Moon is at perigee or at its closest to the Earth rising as a full Moon. A total eclipse of a Super Full Moon is rare. According to NASA, total eclipses of Super Full Moons have only occurred 5 times in the 1900s; in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1962. The next one will occur on October 8th, 2033.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the Earth and the sun casts the Earth’s shadow on it creating a reddish tint on the eclipse. This lunar eclipse or Blood Moon, is generally associated with the first full moon nearest the Autumn Equinox, which is when the Earth tilts away from the sun.
This particular Super Moon is the fourth over the past two years, or what is called a tetrad series. Some religions believe when this happens, something big is ready to happen which will change the world forever. Maybe visitation by extraterrestrials? That would be cool, but some groups of people think differently.
Blood Moon Ritual:
The Blood Moon is generally a non Super Moon eclipse and the last of the harvest moons. Ancient civilizations thought this was the time when the opening between this world and the Otherworld was the most narrowest. It’s also known as the “moon of the changing season” and “failing leaf moon”. The Blood Moon represents the death of one cycle and the birth of the next. Blood is the life force that flows through the physical body, and the Blood Moon ritual gives worshipers the opportunity to give thanks and celebrate the new life force.
In Pagan teaching, the Super Moon represents abundance, hunting, gathering and preparing for the cold winter months, some refer to it as the “Hunter’s Moon”. This period honors all the Harvest and Hunting Gods and Goddesses. Festivals take place during this time frame to give thanks and appreciation for the bounty and stockpiles of plenty gathered by a clan or tribe.
When there’s a full moon eclipse or Blood Moon, this is very special because of its unique energy. This event is used to honor and celebrate life or the blood flow of life. The energy of the moon can be used to energize fertility, abundance or to communicate with spirits.
While I was watching the eclipse, I couldn’t help but wonder what our Native Americans thought about this unusual eclipse 100’s of years ago. Under normal circumstances a Full Moon during this time frame would remind them it was harvest time; but when there was a lunar eclipse, some Native Americans thought the spirits of the dead were trying to eat the Sun or Moon. So during the eclipse there would be singing and dancing to appease the dead spirits, while others in the tribe shouted to try and scare the spirits away. No one would eat any food during this celebration thinking it would also starve the spirits out.
I enjoyed this Super Blood Moon sitting on my front porch facing East, relaxing while drinking a cup of coffee on a cool Colorado night. With my Nikon D3100 camera nearby mounted on a tripod facing the moon, every few minutes I would hit the shutter button which started a timer. Using the automatic timer and a tripod gives you a better chance of getting a good picture without camera shake causing blurring.
I’m not sure where I’ll be the night of October 8th, 2033 for the next Super Blood Moon, hopefully not in an underground bunker waiting for the radiation fallout to dissipate; but back on my front porch enjoying another spectacular Super Blood Moon.
Maybe this time I’ll substitute the coffee for a beer.
Reference Links:
Witches of the Craft
http://witchesofthecraft.com/2011/10/16/blood-harvest-moon-ritual/
Paganspath.com
http://www.paganspath.com/magik/moon.htm
National University of Singapore
http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/gem-projects/hm/0304-1-08-eclipse/The%20Myth%20and%20Rituals%20of%20Eclipses.htm
Category: Chuck Zukowski, The Z-Files
