From the NASA Lunar Eclipse Gallery
Those of you who, on the East coast of the US, were crazy enough to wake up with me around 3:00am last night were around to witness something that hasn't happened since 1554: A winter solstice lunar eclipse.
The eclipse began last night, 21 December at 1:33am EST, with totality reached at 2:41am for a total of 72 minutes. While I wasn't awake to watch the entire thing, I did manage to get up at 2:45am to see the beginnings of this totality. By the time it reached its peak at 3:17am, I was already back in bed (what can I say, it was freezing out, and I still had work this morning!), but according to NASA:
If you're planning to dash out for only one quick look - it is December, after all - choose this moment: 03:17 am EST (17 minutes past midnight PST). That's when the Moon will be in deepest shadow, displaying the most fantastic shades of coppery red.
If you were fortunate enough to catch it at its peak, and even luckier to snap a picture, be sure to leave a comment here with a link to your photo! I took a few last night, but I admit they're not the best quality. Still, I'll post them later tonight for you to check out! Also check out this NASA site, which displays how the lunar eclipse worked and where it was best visible.
NASA further explains why the moon was cast with an eerie red glow last night:
Why red?
A quick trip to the Moon provides the answer: Imagine yourself standing on a dusty lunar plain looking up at the sky. Overhead hangs Earth, nightside down, completely hiding the sun behind it. The eclipse is underway. You might expect Earth seen in this way to be utterly dark, but it's not. The rim of the planet is on fire! As you scan your eye around Earth's circumference, you're seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all of them, all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb.
Back on Earth, the shadowed Moon paints newly fallen snow with unfamiliar colors--not much luster, but lots of beauty.
Do you see this as a particularly magickal time for you, when the moon is full yet enters all three stages of death and rebirth? If so, it's not without good reason. When the eclipse took place, we saw the moon slowly become covered in darkness. With the full moon happening at the same time, we will see the three phases -- Maiden, Mother, and Crone -- highly amplified as well. Add in the power of rebirth and renewal of the winter solstice, and you had a great opportunity to work with magic to draw strong change into your life.
Here are some themes to use for spells and magic you may have used last night:
- banishing seriously bad habits that you are truly ready to release
- getting the final boost to make a major life change
- revealing the shadow in a situation
- connecting with your own shadow and understanding deeper aspects of yourself
- drawing on triple strength and power for change
ETA: Thank you to my friend Sally for posting a time-elapsed video of yesterday's feat of nature. Enjoy!
Later today: Theological Thursday (a little early): Yuletide!
Regards for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting info . "The average Ph.D. thesis is nothing but a transference of bones from one graveyard to another." by J. Frank Dobie.
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