Blue moon. You saw me standing alone

"And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked the moon had turned to gold "

Friday 31^st is a Blue Moon. This simply means it the second full moon in the same month. It is a moon shrouded in mystery, magic and folklore, perhaps because it only appears once every 2.7 years.

The very term “blue moon” is over 400 years old when Shakespeare first wrote the words “blue moon” to mean rare or absurd. The rarity of a full moon appearing twice in one month, or a third full moon appearing in an astronomical season with four full moons versus the normal three, must have inspired the great playwright to coin the term.

In some cultures, the blue moon was considered the trickster moon. The faker, not the real full moon, but a mysterious doppelganger. In other cultures the blue moon was considered fortunate, something to celebrate, and a perfect time to start a long-term goal or make plans for the future.

There are many superstitions and tales through the ages regarding this rare moon occurrence.

There is an old Eskimo legend. In the tale, the Sun is a woman, draped in golden light. She is optimistic and creative and warms the earth with her powerful glow. She brings life to the earth and is loved and revered by many stars and planets in the sky.

The moon was a man, passionate, dark, and handsome. He hid in the shadows admiring the sun from a distance. It was a time when the moon had no light, but just watched and waited in dark shadows of sky and worshiped the sun from afar.

Then one day as lady Sun was putting on a brilliant set of morning clothes, she felt she was being watched. She looked around and noticed the handsome moon starring at her from a deep corner of space.

“Why do you stare at me so, sombre moon?” asked the Sun.

“I’m overwhelmed by your beauty and you leave me speechless so I can only watch you from a distance, because if I touched you I would surely die of ecstasy.”

The Sun went closer to the moon and said, “You will not die if you touched me, come closer and kiss me.”

The Moon went to her and kissed her fiery lips that morning and the fire was so strong it left him glowing all day and into the night. And every morning she would kiss him again and he would rise up glowing so brightly he lit up and the light filled his whole being and the night sky was full of light.

Then one day the Sun came out and said he would not receive a kiss from her that morning because he was becoming too bright, and the people on earth would have two Suns instead of one and it would break the natural course of things. “But I will kiss you and love you as much as I can, just not every day.”

The Moon was sad to miss the morning kiss and in his sadness he began to grow cold and dark again. But he did not become black as the night as he once was. The hope and anticipation of being with the sun once more kept a few embers glowing leaving the moon to look as if he had put on a blue cloak.

And so is the legend of the blue moon.

Other superstitions include:

It’s a great idea to pick flowers and berries during a blue moon as it will bring more abundance, love and beauty into your life.

If you see a full moon and it is blue, take a coin in your pocket and turn it over for good luck.

There is an old English tradition that if you are a housewife and see a blue moon you are to go turn the bed because it will make you more fertile.

A Welsh tradition holds that if a member of the family dies during a blue moon, three more will follow.

In the gypsy culture, if you sleep with the moon on your face, particularly a blue moon, you may go insane, so blinds were drawn or windows closed during all full moon phases.

If you attempt a robbery on the third day of a blue moon it will fail. Best not to rob anything at all.

Among the metaphysical or spiritual community, particularly wiccans and pagans, a blue moon is a powerful moon. This is usually prime time for rituals for prophecy and protection. It’s also a good time to perform rituals to attract a new job, healings, love, legal undertakings, money and dreams.

So if you are looking to improve your luck or to finish a long-term goal, don’t worry about the ancient superstitions! Instead, focus on this full moon as a lucky one and the beginning of a great new journey for yourself.