Modern Hill Woman

Signs

Recently we experienced a blue supermoon. A blue moon occurs when there are two full moons in one month.

Some may not believe that the moon affects behavior in humans, but law enforcement, hospitals, and teachers would probably disagree.

The full lunar cycle takes 29.5 days to complete. During the new moon, the moon is between the earth and the sun, and is not illuminated from our perspective so it isn’t visible. As it “grows” in the sky, this is the waxing phase. As it goes from full to new again, this is the “dying “ or waning phase.

The zodiac is a belt shaped region of the sky which is the apparent path of the sun over the course of a year. The zodiac is divided into twelve signs: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces, which each correspond with constellations of the same name.

Ancient astrologers believed that each astrological sign influenced a specific part of the body. The first sign of the zodiac, Aries, was attributed to the head, moving down the body, and ending with Pisces at the feet.

Astrology interprets the impact that the sun and moon have while they are in a specific zodiacal sign.

My mom always said she did not believe in astrology and viewed it as a type of witchcraft used to foretell the future. However, Mom did everything by the “signs”; from weaning babies, cutting hair, castrating animals, butchering, to planting a garden. She didn’t use the zodiac names. Instead of Sagittarius, the “signs” were in the thighs. If it was Gemini, the “signs” were in the arms.

Mom always had a copy of The Old Farmer’s Almanac on hand for weather predictions, recipes, gardening tips, and the “best days” section that suggested dates for doing everything. She also had a calendar hanging in the living room given out by one of the stores she frequented.

If there were no moon phases printed on the free calendar, it didn’t deserve a spot on the living room wall.