The Real Meaning Of The Super Flower Blood Moon

If you see a larger-than-usual full moon turn an eerie, rusty color when the sky dims on May 26, don't panic. The zombie apocalypse did not start. What is happening, however, is a special lunar eclipse called the super flower blood moon.

When the Earth moves between a full moon and the sun, a lunar eclipse occurs, according to USA Today. "Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit," said NASA to the publication.

When the moon moves more toward the Earth on its elliptical rotation, the moon looks brighter and bigger, explained CNet. Hence, the moniker "super" since the celestial orb becomes literally super-sized from our viewpoint. 

A crimson hue forms as sunlight hits the earth's atmosphere and bends it across the moon. The light then reflects just the red wavelengths back to us, according to Space.com and that's where the "blood" in the name super flower blood moon comes from—not any sort of evil doing. 

This phenomenon, dubbed the Rayleigh scattering, is also what colors all those red and orange-tinged sunrises and sunsets, explained Time and Date.

May's full moon is often called a flower moon since it's the month of blooming blossoms, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.  So that fact, plus the closer distance between our planet and moon, along with the lunar eclipse, all factor into how the super flower blood moon gets its name.

While only those located in the Earth's nighttime half can view the lunar eclipse — including Oceania, Hawaii, the western United States, eastern Asia, and Antarctica — astrologically all may benefit from the occurrence.

The first total lunar eclipse to occur in two years impacts astrology, according to British Vogue, and can encourage changes in your life —especially because of the unusualness of the event. The magazine goes on to explain that such an event is a good time to spiritually reconnect with the body, mind, and spirit.

Elite Daily points out that when the super flower blood moon comes, it resides in Sagittarius, a zodiac sign all about adventure, spontaneity and honesty. So the lunar eclipse might offer you a chance for new experiences and some truth-telling. 

But astrology isn't the only spiritual practice that believes eclipses and super moons offer cosmic prophecies. "God uses the sun, moon, and starts to send signals to us on the earth," said Pastor John Hagee from the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, to ABC News.

But before casting this celestial event as a harbinger of doom, remember that after millions of blood moons (perhaps even billions), pointed out Live Science, the earth still remains intact. Add that to the tens of billions the Earth and moon eclipses since the world's creation some 4.5 billion years ago. 

You can see if your area offers views of the spectacle with this viewing guide and those places without a vantage point can live stream the event through the Virtual Telescope Project. Those fascinated with the heavens can also see three other eclipses in 2021, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac — the annular solar eclipse on June 10, a partial moon one on November 19, and a full-on sun event on December 4.