The second Full Moon I've see in Costa Rica (April 19th) had a halo around it and it was awesome! I had never seen this before so I was intrigued to look into this further. Was everyone else around the world also seeing a halo around the moon? Or were the aliens trying to tell us (human beings) something? I was determined to find out. According to Wikipedia, "A 22° halo is an optical phenomenon that belongs to the family of ice crystal halos, in the form of a ring with a radius of approximately 22° around the Sun or Moon. When visible around the moon, it is called a Moon ring or winter halo." There's an old saying that says, "A ring around the moon means rain is soon." It appears that as moonlight shines through a thin layer of cloud made up of ice crystals is reflected into a halo (the moonlight is bent in a way similar to light passing through a lens). So I guess, it's not the aliens after-all, it's just icy clouds refracting light around the moon that mean cirrus clouds are present, which indicates a storm is possibly coming.
So what's the difference between a Full Moon and a New Moon?
Apparently, a New Moon occurs when the moon is directly between the Earth and Sun. A Full Moon occurs when we can see the entire lit portion of the moon. The difference is simply a matter of the moon's position in it's orbit around the Earth relative to the Sun. When it is between us and the Sun, we cannot see its lit side, and call it a New Moon. When the Earth is between the moon and the Sun the moon's side facing us is fully illuminated and we call it a Full Moon. The Full moon phase occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun, called opposition. A lunar eclipse can only happen at Full moon. The Full moon happens three days past perigee (the point in its orbit where the natural satellite is nearest to Earth) so it will almost be a "super-moon," appearing larger than average. Super-moons happen when the Full moon coincides with perigee, but the difference in size even for these "super" satellites is usually too small, but the most careful observers can notice.
Okay, so what's all this hype about feeling weird around Full and New Moons?
Prior investigations were carried out to test how light affects hormones. It is said that the light of a Full Moon affects the level of melatonin we produce, so this may affect our sleep by an average of 20 minutes. Modern day analytical research has shown that physically and psychologically, we are affected by both the Full and New Moon phases. "This is because the gravitational pull between the Sun and Moon are strongest when they are sitting together (conjunct) at a new moon or exactly opposite (in opposition) at a full moon." More information around this concept can be found here.
Is it important to manifest during Full and New Moons?
The New Moon is all about new beginnings and asking for what you would like to manifest. The Full Moon is all about completion, releasing and removing what no longer works for you. Ask yourself to manifest something during a New Moon and then release your intentions and remove what is blocking you from what you want to manifest during the Full Moon. Using the New Moon and Full Moon in conjunction with each other is one of my favorite ways to manifest, as well as cleanse my crystals. When you cleanse your crystals with New or Full Moon energy, you are purifying as well as recharging the stones. Try it sometime and really see if you can feel the re-charged energy in your crystals.
Recently, I've been digging a bit deeper into the meanings to these questions and find myself noticing a change with my connection to Earth. As a little kid, I feel like we were all so curious about space and where we stand in the universe. For some of us, the curiosity fades away and comes back every once in a while, for others, it's solely the way we see ourselves, or "read" ourselves. Something that really opened up my eyes to astrology is this birth chart that one of my yoga instructors shared with me. It's free and all you need to know is your birth location (city) and time of birth. I feel like everyone would get a kick out of it, even if you don't believe in it. It's fun, check it out and use the cheat sheet at the bottom of this post to fully understand your birth chart!
I hope this helps open up your eyes to the universe like when you were a little kid, interested in outer-space. Kind of reminds me of when I first watched E-T and perhaps you still believe in aliens? Who knows...all that we can really go by (or that I know of) with where we stand as human beings on planet Earth is this. Whether you believe it or not, try to see how the moon affects your mood during the next Full or New Moon phase. You may be surprised how spot on, or "perigee" this all is. You can view the moon phases here along with the calendar and specific names here. Enjoy :).
Birth Chart - "How to Read"
general instructions: as you read through, it starts with Ascendant, and moves outward in the milky way. the "personal" planets are key to your personality and are specific to the date/time you were born whereas the outer planets (Uranus and beyond) are linked to generations and larger groups (all relative to orbit length). one cool concept I've learned this year: your North Node (very bottom of chart) is supposed to be linked to your karmic path this lifetime. (whereas your South Node – which is the polar opposite sign (aka six months away from) of your North Node – indicates the karmic energy which you bring into this life and may need to resolve/address.) i need to learn more about it, but very interesting to think about.
mini cheat sheet:
rising/ascendant = mask we wear to world (personality around new friends, coworkers, etc.); it's recommended to read for this sign in addition to your sun, because it's such a big part of our personality.
sun = true self/soul self
moon = how we process emotions/reactions in moment
mercury = how we view/manage communications, finances, friendships
venus = love, relationships, sensuality
mars = sexuality, physical movement, career
jupiter = expansion, power dynamics, "big picture" of life
saturn = task master planet - forces us to face faults, rise above, grow
uranus = freedom, individual self among group, expression
neptune = dreams, art, escapism, emotional connection
pluto = transformation, dreams, other realms, secrets
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