Blue Moon - four Full Moons in a season

Blue Moons

When you hear someone say "Once in a Blue Moon�? do you know what they mean? Most people mean Blue Moon as something that doesn’t happen very often. After all, when was the last time you saw the moon turn blue?

On July 31st 2004, you should have looked, because there was a Blue Moon.

To many people, 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. 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.

An example in 2004 was July as it had had one full moon on July 2nd. The next, on July 31st, because it was still in July was offically called a Blue Moon.

 What is a Blue Moon?

There are two definitions for a blue moon. According to the more recent definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. For a blue moon to occur, the first of the full moons must appear at or near the beginning of the month so that the second will fall within the same month.

Many years ago, if a season, like Spring or Summer had a fourth moon they called it a  Blue Moon. Most seasons will have only three full moons. Christians used moons to decide when to celebrate Easter so when there was an extra moon it made it confusing. They had to fit it into their calendar so they chose the third full moon to call their Blue Moon. Since this type of Blue Moon is according to the seasons, it can only occur in February, May, August, or November, about a month before the equinox or the solstice.

How many times does a Blue Moon happen?

In the next twenty years there will be seventeen Blue Moons!! The two different types of Blue Moons appear almost the same number of times. But no Blue Moons will show up in the years 2006, 2011, 2014, and 2017.

What Do Blue Moons Mean To Us?

Blue Moons are special to some Pagan and Wiccans. They believe it is a powerful wishing moon. A time for making wishes for yourself and your family. It’s also a time for returning favours. Have you borrowed a toy or something from a friend that you forgot to give back? Did a friend do something for you that promised to do something for them in return?  Now is the time to give it back.