Blue Moon………

My first blue moon sighting was in October, 1996. I was leaving my apartment in DeKalb, Illinois. I remember it was a beautiful, bright, cool night. At that point I knew nothing about blue moons. If I thought about them at all, I figured it was folklore or an old wives tale or granny juju or a song about being lonely without hope of love. I knew nothing about two moons in a month or the third moon in a four moon season or even atmospheric conditions causing a blue tinged moon.

I looked up at a beautiful full moon hanging huge to the south, slightly southwest of where I was standing. There were blue rings around the edges. The moon surface had patches of dark blue and light blue. I asked my roommate what she knew about blue moons. Did she know if they were real? She said they were real, rare and that was all she knew.

I went on about my life, believing that the blue moon I saw that October night in 1996 was a talisman of my graduate school days, living my life for myself, doing what I wanted to do, when I wanted do it; a harbinger of good things to come. The past several years, my life had been a series of highs and lows and was beginning to even out to an up and down rhythm.

My second blue moon sighting was last night, August 21, 2013. On Monday evening, August 20, I noticed what appeared to be a beautiful full moon. This moon did not have the blue aura of my previous sighting. Later in the evening, while surfing my favorite sites on the internet, I noticed a reference about a blue moon. My computer table, office chair and laptop are finally set up in my lily cave (second bedroom), so I settled in for a little blue moon research.

Research turned up several definitions of the blue moon phenomena. My first blue moon sighting was a full, blue moon. So this was a rare sighting and was probably atmospheric in origin. What was going on in 1996? I found a full moon schedule of dates from 1900 to the present. There was a full moon on October 26, 1996. What were the atmospheric conditions in and around north central Illinois the last of October? On October 26, 1996, the largest late season tornado outbreak on record occurred. There were 26 tornadoes, beginning in Nebraska, moving to South Dakota and into Minnesota by late afternoon, early evening. The atmosphere was definitely churning that day. I believe this explains my blue moon sighting. After all, I am a folk and it is my lore!

My second blue moon sighting is the third moon in a four moon season. My life is more balanced today. I have learned that seasons matter and that going with the flow of my life works well. The affirmation I receive from all of the rare and wonderful sightings in my life, of which blue moons are the rarest, of course, keeps me moving to the next right place for me to be.

My next blue moon sighting will be in July, 2015, a month with two moons. I think there needs to be a blue moon celebration for all blue moons. Of course, I believe celebrations are important vertebra on the backbone of a healthy lifestyle……

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/moon/3305141.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-October_1996_tornado_outbreak

http://www.fullmoon.info/en/fullmoon-calendar/2015.html

http://earthsky.org/space/when-is-the-next-blue-moon#better