Lunar Lore: The Moon at Midnight

Above, you see a beautiful representation of the Moon. The Moon is changing shape and you wonder about the meaning of this. A new teacher introduces herself to you as Silvius, the Guardian of Night, Wisdom, and Mental Strength.

We are also blessed to have our very own Moon Goddess, Neesa, here at The Magickal Planetarium.

The Moon is beautiful and seems to pull you in. You are drawn to her. You want to learn all you can about her. Your eyes notice a pillar and so you get up to go over to it. There is a screen on top with the following image:

CURRENT MOON moon info

The phases of the moon are caused by the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon. The moon goes around the earth, on average, in 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes.

The sun always illuminates the half of the moon facing the sun (except during lunar eclipses, when the moon passes thru the earth's shadow). When the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, the moon appears "full" to us, a bright, round disk. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, it appears dark, a "new" moon. In between, the moon's illuminated surface appears to grow (wax) to full, then decreases (wanes) to the next new moon.

The edge of the shadow (the terminator) is always curved, being an oblique view of a circle, giving the moon its familiar crescent shape. Because the "horns" of the moon at the ends of the crescent are always facing away from the setting or rising sun, they always point upward in the sky. It is fun to watch for paintings and pictures which show an "impossible moon" with the horns pointed downwards.

(Information courtesy of NASA.)

Another beautiful addition to our Lunar section is Cancion. She is a Moon Spirit and teaches us songs about the Moon.