Dear Readers,
Was Monday manic? Expect more as the weekend’s full moon approaches.
Dear Sally —
The moon is full in Gemini, and they even said on the evening news to go outside and look at it, as we won't be able to see it like this for about 18 or 19 years. Why is it the full moon is so infrequent in each sign? Surely it would be full every month, considering it moves around so frequently in its cycle. Please explain.
– J.
Dear J –
You sent your letter on last full moon, and I’m running it because we’ve got another one coming up this Saturday. To respond to your questions: Why is it the full moon is so infrequent in each sign? Surely it would be full every month, considering it moves around so frequently in its cycle.
The moon changes sign ever 2.5 days or so, which adds up to a 29.5-day lunar month. We get a full moon and new moon on every lunar cycle, and the pattern is simple. When the SUN is in, say, Sagittarius, the moon is FULL in the opposite sign. This is because it's on the other side of us; we're between moon and sun, which is why the full moon is illuminated by earthshine. The opposite sign to Sagittarius is Gemini, and the new moon is always in the same sign as the sun. There's some heavy-duty science on this if you go to the NASA or Sky & Telescope sites. But consider this: Calendar month = 30 days. Lunation = 29.5ish days. Sidereal month = 27.3 days (sidereal means measured by position of specific star). This is why the full moon lags on the calendar from one month to the next. That's why February is so great — it just duplicates the previous month. Well, actually, February kinda sucks, but only in New England, because it's week 10,000 of storm season. Anyway, hope that clears things up.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The ground rules for Letters to Symboline:
I get so many letters that there’s no way I can answer individual queries without posting them. So, what you send me is what I will print, with editing for grammar and mechanics and so on. If you’re writing just to vent, and don’t care about getting a reply, please tell me. I will not post your e-mail address, and I will delete your last name from your letter. If you want to sign a letter "Torid Taurus," that’s fine. However, I am available for individual forecasts, and you can find information about that at www.moonsigns.net. I really enjoy having clients, and have a detailed form that asks circumstances and dates so I can construct a "map" of what’s happened when/why/how. And "Sally Cragin’s Moon Signs Calendar" for 2006, which features a daily Lunar Phase, is finally done. Visit moonsigns.net and click on the store to see. Also, I’ll be appearing in three-dimensions at the Cambridge (Mass.) Center for Adult Education on Sunday, April 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. I’m not sure this is on their present catalog, but call (617) 547-6789, or visit www.ccae.org. Or write me. The course "code" which you have to tell them is MOON.
Ad astra, Symboline (Sally Cragin)
Are you feeling a little fullmoonmanic? :-)> Jo Klashman>
