Understanding the Blue Moon – Updated July 2015

by Cayelin K Castell

2024,  2027, 2029 and 2032 are years that feature a true Blue Moon based on the original definition of four Full Moons in a season, from an Equinox to a Solstice, or a Solstice to an Equinox. There is a belief that we have 13 Full Moons every year, but the reality is this only happens about every three years as you can see in the tables below..

Working Ceremonially with Any Full Moon Can Be Life Changing
It is useful and can be life changing to work with any Full Moon time regardless of how many are happening in a month or a season or a year. On July 31, 2004 I was doing an Aquarius Full Moon ceremony at a sacred site with three of my priestess sisters in Tucson when my whole life went through a major assemblage point shift. It was totally unexpected. None of us had any idea what would happen, but the intentions set into motion that night changed my life forever and all three women supported me tremendously over the next few months of accelerated change.

That night on July 31, 2004, under the light of the Full Moon I found the courage to share about what was going on in my marriage and learned that my then husband was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). I had no idea what that was but the more I learned the more I knew it was true.

At the time, I thought this information would save that marriage. However, over the next two years through many twists and turns I found myself liberated from a situation that was only going to get worse. Of course I didn’t know that then, but it was a powerful pivotal point in my life and it turned out to be most supportive for all involved, including my now ex-husband and four children.

I share this now, as a way to inspire your own engagement with the upcoming second Full Moon of July 2015, trusting the power of ceremony and the chaos and/or changes it may bring as I find myself happier and more grateful for my life than ever before.

Understanding the Blue Moon

The idea or concept that two Full Moons in a month is what defines a Blue Moon is a mistake, according to this Sky and Telescope article. The article says the original definition of a Blue Moon referred to 4 Full Moons in one season. The article also indicates a season is defined as the time between a Solstice and Equinox or an Equinox and Solstice. (See Table below)

From the perspective of Solstices and Equinoxes, there are four seasons in a year and generally three Full Moons occur in each season. This means there are usually 12 Full Moons per year. This is why the word month comes from the word Moon or Moonth, because it take 29.5 days for the Moon to return to another Full Moon phase (or any Moon phase for that matter). This suggests that our secular calendar actually does recognize that they are at least 12 Full Moons each year. Looking at this from the perspective of the Gregorian Calendar that was instituted in 1582 the years that have two Full Moons in a month are the years that also have 13 Full Moons in a calendar year.

In the year 2012 there are 13 Full Moons in the Calendar year from January 1 to December 31 with two Full Moons in the month of August. In 2013 there are only 12 Full Moons in the calendar year from Jan 1 to Dec 31. However, from December Solstice 2012 to December Solstice 2013 there are 13 Full Moons with four Full Moons in one season, happening between the June Solstice and the September Equinox.

Based on the above article in Sky and Telescope describing the original meaning of once in a Blue Moon as having four Full Moons in one season, the year 2013 most closely fits the definition. In addition to the four Full Moons in a season, 2013 also features two consecutive Full Moons in the same sign. On July 22 there is a Full Moon at zero Aquarius and on August 21 there is another Full Moon at 28 Aquarius. More about this in a moment.  (Also see table below)

Different Types of Blue Moons

In more recent times, the term Blue Moon has been used to describe the occurrence of two Full Moons in a calendar month. This way of defining a Blue Moon comes from a 1940’s article that appeared in Astronomy magazine suggesting the definition of a Blue Moon was the second Full Moon in a calendar month. This is an event that occurs approximately every three years.

July 2015 featured 2 Full Moons, one on July 1 in Capricorn and the second on July 31 in Aquarius. The last time there were two Full Moons in a calendar month was August of 2012 and the next time it will happen is January 2 and 31 and March 1 and 31 of 2018 (due to February being a short month so there is actually no Full Moon in February of 2018).

This pattern recurs about every 33 months or 33 Full Moons so just under three years with of course the exception of 2018 due to February being a short month.

The last time we had 2 Full Moons in July was the 2nd and 31st of July, 2004 – 11 years ago. The next time this happens again in July won’t be for 19 years or the year 2034 when both Full Moons are again on July 1 and 31. This has to do with the 19 year cycle of the Moon and the fact that in 2026 (11 years from now) the Full Moons are June 29 and July 29, as that is the time it takes to recalibrate this precisely with the cycle of the Sun.

However, as I share in the article below having two Full Moons in a month is not the original meaning of a Blue of Moon as our current calendar is not linked with the Lunar Cycle and its arbitrarily linked with the Solar Cycle.

Interestingly, two Full Moons in a month, or four Full Moons in a season, occur with the same frequency about every 2.7 years. (See the tables below) However, four Full Moons in a season has greater astronomical significance than two Full Moons in a calendar month.This is because  the months as outlined in our Gregorian Calendar are NOT astronomically based but rather begin arbitrarily on a date called January 1 so our calendar begins at a time that is not connected to either a Solstice or Equinox. It is also not connected to the lunar cycle.

The Gregorian calendar does however fixate our awareness on a linear way of tracking time through days, weeks, months and years. These dates have been assigned names and numbers and it works brilliantly as a linear way of tracking time.

There is another speculation that the original term Blue Moon may have come from the bluish tinge the Moon gets when viewed through smoke. In this case, the theory is that someone saw the Moon appearing quite blue through the smoke of a large distant fire (like a forest fire) and therefore the term Blue Moon was a literal description of how the Moon looked. Naturally that would also be a rare occurrence. In fact, it would be the rarest occurrence of all the definitions of a Blue Moon.

Here is a 2012 YouTube from Nasa on Blue Moons produced by volcanos and fires. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HRKl0fa2dg

Two Consecutive Full Moons in the Same Sign
There is another way the Full Moon (or any phase of the Moon for that matter) fits the 2.7 year pattern. This configuration isn’t talked about as much but is just as significant as the other patterns, and that is when there are two consecutive Full Moons in the same sign. This only occurs when the first Full Moon is in Zero or One degree of the sign and the next Full Moon is in 28 or 29 degrees of the same sign.

As already mentioned above, July 22, 2013 there is a Full Moon at 00 degrees and 16 minutes of Aquarius. The following month on Aug 21 there is another Full Moon at 28 degrees and 11 minutes of Aquarius. This exact configuration happened one day later in July and August of 2002 with the Moon very close to the same degrees that are occurring in 2013.

Note: This nearly exact recurrence is tracking the 19 year nodal cycle at its half way point. (A topic for another article)

Blue Moon Mystique
The common factor to all these variations of  a Blue Moon, either as seen through smoke, or the number of Full Moons in a season, or two Full Moons in a month, or two consecutive Full Moons in the same sign, is they captivate and inspire our imagination.

When we understand the pattern of what is happening then we can intentionally tune into the magic, getting the most out of the opportunity these Timings represent. One of the opportunities any Full Moon provides is a chance to experience greater illumination of our essential divine nature regardless of whether or not it is a so-called Blue Moon.

From the perspective that we inform the mysteries as much as they inform us, what we put our attention and intention on becomes meaningful. Since there is a lot of collective attention on the phenomenon of two Full Moons in a month, (even though its not astronomically significant) it has the effect of taking on greater significance as a result.

Noticing the Pattern
Below are tables of the various types of Blue Moon dates to ponder. These tables clearly show the pattern of about 2.7 years for all the above variations, except for the one that has to do with seeing the Moon through smoke.

One way to work with this information and the dates below is to notice if any of these Timings were especially significant in your personal experience. Also worth noticing is if there were significant events in the world that happened around any of the prior so-called Blue Moon times?

In tracking this personally, I had a profound experience with a group down in Peru during the December 2002 Full Moon – Blue Moon of four Full Moons in a season (see table below) that was beyond the beyond of anything I had experienced previously. (Here is a more mytho-poetic version of that time )

In July 2004, there were two consecutive Full Moons in a calendar month. At the time of the second Full Moon during another Full Moon ceremony I was a part of, I had an illumination about a personal situation that had been especially challenging. This Timing also coincided with a powerful Pluto transit to my natal Moon, so the Full Moon activation was a part of that cycle and it turned out to be a further catalyst for an initiatory process I was already experiencing, meaning the two factors were working together to help support my journey and may not have had anything to do with the fact that it was the second Full Moon of the month.

This suggests that knowing your cycles and participating in Full Moon ceremonies can help further what ever initiation cycles are going on for you. I have noticed the Full Moon often activates a personal part of my own chart regardless of whether it is a so-called Blue Moon.

The Full Moon Effect Lasts at least Three Days and 3 Nights
Experientially the Moon appears full for three nights, the day before, the day of and the day after the exact Full Moon. Shamanically speaking this suggests the potency of the Full Moon Window lasts for at least three days. Many cultures including the Hawaiians (Hawaiian Moon Calendar article) worked with every possible phase of the Moon in its 29.5 day cycle before it returns to a particular Moon phase and they considered the Moon to be in its full phase for 4 days and nights.

The Hawaiians use 29 and sometimes 30 phases of the Moon, giving each phase its own special name and indications like when it was a good time to fish, or to plant, or to get married, or to stay home.

Is 12 or 13 the Most Sacred Number of the Moon?
In recent years, there have been many articles and books claiming that the number 13 is the most sacred number for the Moon. However, the Moon actually intimately connects with the numbers 12, 13 and 19.

If you are tracking the Moon return to a certain zodiacal degree, say zero Capricorn, it will return to that degree every 27.3 days. If you divide 27.3 into 365 days in a year – the closest whole number is 13. That means the Moon will cross that point or any other starting point 13 times each year.

If you are tracking the Moon phases from Full Moon to Full Moon or any other phase (i.e. New Moon to New Moon or First Quarter Moon to First Quarter Moon) it returns every 29.5 days. If you divide 29.5 into 365 the closest whole number is 12. That is why there are 12 months (moonths) in a year.

It is important to realize the number 13 for the Moon is NOT what most people think it is. There are NOT 13 Full Moons every year regardless of whether you are tracking a calendar year, or a seasonal year – from one December Solstice to the next. Actually more often than not there are only 12 Full Moons a year. That is why both 12 and 13 are sacred numbers, or sacred patterns for the Moon.

Additionally, the 19 year pattern or cycle of the Moon is significant to our personal experience especially when we are turning 19, 38, 57, 76, and 95. This 19 year Moon cycle is related to Nodes of the Moon and the Eclipses…stay tuned for future articles on this subject. The point here is that there is more than one sacred number for the Moon, as the Moon has many patterns that are worth knowing and understanding, because these patterns do play out in our personal and collective experience.

Blue Moon Dates Based on 4 Full Moons in a Season
(13 Full Moons from Dec Solstice to the next Dec Solstice) 

2000	4th Full Moon in a  Season	Mar 20, Apr 18, May 18, Jun 17
2002	4th Full Moon in a Season	Sep 21, Oct 21, Nov 20, Dec 19
2005	4thFull Moon in a Season	Jun 22, Jul 21, Aug 19, Sep 18
2008	4thFull Moon in a Season	Mar 21, Apr 20, May 19, Jun 18
2010	4th Full Moon in a Season	Sep 23, Oct 23, Nov 21, Dec 21 +eclipse
2013	4th Full Moon in a Season	Jun 23, Jul 22, Aug 19, Sep 19
2016	4th Full Moon in a Season	Mar 23, Apr 22, May 21, Jun 20
2018/2019	4th Full Moon in a Season	Dec 22, Jan 21, Feb 19, Mar 19
2021	4th Full Moon in a Season	Jun 24, Jul 24, Aug 22, Sep 20
2024	4th Full Moon in a Season	Jun 22, Jul 21, Aug 19, Sep 18
2027	4th Full Moon in a Season	Mar 22, Apr 20, May 19, Jun 18

2029	4th Full Moon in a Season	Sep 22, Oct 22, Nov 21, Dec 20
2032	4th Full Moon in a Season	Jun 23, Jul 22, Aug 21, Sep 19
2035	4th Full Moon in a Season	Mar 23, Apr 22, May 22, Jun 20
2038	4th Full Moon in a Season	Mar 21, Apr 19, May 18, Jun 17 +eclipse
2040	4th Full Moon in a Season	Jun 24, Jul 24, Aug 22, Sep 20

13 Full Moons in Solar Year (Dec Solstice To Dec Solstice)
next occurs in 2016 (last occurrence was 2010 and 2013)

01. 2015 Dec 25 Cancer
02. 2016 Jan 23 Leo
03. 2016 Feb 22 Virgo
04. 2016 Mar 23 Libra eclipse
05. 2016 April 21 Scorpio
06. 2016 May 21 Sagittarius
07. 2016 Jun 20 Sagittarius
08. 2016 Jul 19 Capricorn
09. 2016 Aug 18 Aquarius eclipse
10. 2016 Sep 16 Pisces eclipse
11. 2016 Oct 15 Aries
12. 2016 Nov 14 Taurus
13. 2016 Dec 13 Gemini

Full Moon Dates Based on Two Full Moons in a Calendar Month

Nov 2001	2 Full Moons/Month	November 1 and 30
Jul 2004	2 Full Moons/Month	July 2 and 31
May 2007	2 Full Moons/Month	May 2 and 31
Dec 2009	2 Full Moons/Month	December 2 and 31
Aug 2012	2 Full Moons/Month	Aug 2 and 31
Jul 2015	2 Full Moons/Month	July 2 and 31
Jan 2018	2 Full Moons/Month	January 2 and 31 with no Full Moon in February AND March 1 and 31
Oct 2020	2 Full Moons/Month	October 1 and 31

 Two Consecutive Full Moons In The Same Sign

(No Taurus, Gemini, Leo, or Cancer)

2000	Feb 19	00 Virgo 51	2000	Mar 20	29 Virgo 53
2002	Jul 24	00 Aquarius 18	2002	Aug 22	29 Aquarius 39
2005	Jun 22	00 Capricorn 51	2005	Jul 21	28 Capricorn 47
2008	Apr 20	00 Scorpio 43	2008	May 20	29 Scorpio 27
2010	Sep 23	00 Aries 15	2010	Oct 23	29 Aries 33
2013	Jul 22	00 Aquarius 06	2013	Aug 21	28 Aquarius 11
2016	May 21	01 Sagittarius 14	2016	Jun 20	29 Sagittarius 33
2019	Mar 21	00 Libra 29	2019	Apr 19	29 Libra 27
2021	Jul 24	01 Aquarius 26	2021	Aug 22	29 Aquarius 37
2024	Jun 21	01 Capricorn 07	2024	Jul 21	29 Capricorn 09

2027	Apr 20	00Scorpio 37	2027	May 20	29 Scorpio 14
2029	Aug 24	01 Pisces 12	2029	Sep 22	29 Pisces 57
2032	Jul 22	00 Aquarius 30	2032	Aug 21	28 Aquarius 34
2035	May 22	00 Sag 57	2035	Jun 20	29 Sag 20
2038	Mar 21	00 Libra 33	2038	Apr 19	29 Libra 29
2040	Jul 24	00 Aquarius 48	2040	Aug 22	29 Aquarius 53