The Pagan and Wiccan Significance of The Blue Moon

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “Once in a Blue Moon” comes from?

Surprisingly, it only seems to date back to early Victorian times, with the first appearance popping up in 1821.

“How’s Harry and Ben? – Haven’t seen you in a blue moon.”

1821 book entitled “Pierce Egan’s Real Life in London”

Before being used in the modern context, the phrase “Blue Moon” was used at least as far back as the 1500s to describe something that was fanciful or impossible, a little bit like the phrase: “pigs might fly”.

The Astronomical Blue Moon

So what exactly is a “real” Blue Moon?

Apart from the very rare times that the moon actually turns blue due to volcanic dust, a “Blue Moon” is an astrological term for an extra full moon that appears every two to three years.

Here’s where things get a little complicated. Hold tight, we promise it won’t take long!

• A lunar cycle is 29.53 days.
• There are 365.24 days in a year
• That means you get 12.37 full moons in a year.
• That’s slightly more full moons than there is calendar months.
• That small difference means that eventually, one month will have two full moons instead of one.

The Blue Moon in Folklore

Traditionally, the folklore of Europe and the early American colonies gave names to each full moon of the month:

• January: Old Moon, Moon After Yule.
• February: Snow Moon, Hunger Moon.
• March: Crow Moon, Lenten Moon.
• April: Pink Moon, Awakening Moon.
• May: Flower Moon, Mother’s Moon.
• June: Mead Moon, Strawberry Moon.
• July: Hay Moon, Buck Moon, Elk Moon.
• August: Red Moon, Barley Moon, Green Moon.
• September: Harvest Moon, Corn Moon.
• October: Hunter’s Moon, Blood Moon, Dying Moon.
• November: Frost Moon, Dark Moon.
• December: Oak Moon, Long Night’s Moon.

A Blue Moon, then, is an extra full moon in one of those months that “doesn’t fit”. The occasional 13th full moon that came too early for its season (or month) was called a “Blue Moon”, so that the rest of the full moons that year retained their customary seasonal names and positions.

The Blue Moon: Wiccan Significance

Full moons play a very important role in Wiccan religion and ritual. The moon is associated with love, fertility, mystery, death and rebirth.

With such importance being placed on the seasons and the phases of the moon, it’s easy to see why the appearance of a “Blue Moon”, or “13th Moon” would be viewed as a special event for the casting of spells and celebrations. In fact, in some Wiccan circles, the power of magic cast on the night of a Blue Moon is thought to hold twice its normal potency!

“Thirteen silver moons in a year are,

Thirteen is the coven’s array.

Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,

For each golden year and a day.”

The Witches Creed

The Power of The Blue Moon

Blue Moon energy improves luck and financial outcomes, and Wiccan spells cast on the night of a Blue Moon can be a potent force to “unblock” work related sticking points and assist with career goals.

Besides its associations with luck and fortune, the Blue Moon is also said to be a powerful symbol of fertility, and rituals undertaken during the three days of a Blue Moon’s appearance are said to help with conception and can even promote plant growth!

Harnessing the Power of Your First Blue Moon

Practicing Wicca is a lifelong journey. Even though Blue Moons only occur every three years or so, it doesn’t mean that you need to rush to prepare spells and rituals in time for the event.

Blue Moons are all about “Outcome Based Magic” and achieving long term goals. That means you could use the time between one Blue Moon and the next to work towards an objective, with the final culmination of that process ending with a ritual, three years later, under the light of the next Blue Moon.

A Moonlight Meditative Walk

If you’re trying to choose your first Blue Moon spell or ritual, why not keep things simple and take a peaceful and restorative walk under the light of the Blue Moon?

Are you familiar with the process of creating Moon Water?

In a nutshell, it’s a way of charging bottles of water with lunar energy by leaving them exposed to the light of the moon. The resulting Moon Water stores lunar energy and vibrations like a battery, and can be used to heal the body and bless various objects.

If you take a long walk in the light of the Blue Moon, you could in fact charge yourself with lunar power in the same manner!

Try to meditate on the outcomes and successes you’d like to see happen over the coming years, and focus your intent while you wander under the moonlight.

Blue Moon Magic and Ritual

Now we’ve given you a little background on the Blue Moon’s significance in Wiccan religion, let’s talk about some specific rituals and spells you can undertake to harness the Blue Moon’s power:

Peak Blue Moon Times

For the best (and most powerful) Blue Moon experiences, it’s absolutely essential to check a lunar calendar to find the exact time that the full (blue) moon is at its peak. Finishing spells and rituals at the exact peak of the Blue Moon’s brightness helps to ensure the lunar rays are at their most potent.

Choosing the Right Tools

If you’re ready ahead of time, it’s possible to prepare a “Blue Moon Altar” as a focal point for your magical intent. This might sound a little grand, but in reality all you’re doing is setting aside a small space to conduct your ritual that enables you to concentrate fully on the task at hand. Doing so helps to bring your spirit (or chakras) into alignment with the vibrations and lunar energy of the Blue Moon.

Furnish your altar with blue colored fabrics: Colors have unique wavelengths and help to attune energy. Light blues bring health, compassion and understanding. Dark blues invoke leadership energy and drive.

Place bowls of blue colored foods on the altar: Foods represent offerings to the lunar goddess, and even blue colored drinks can be placed on the altar to be infused with lunar energy.

Crystals make excellent channels for lunar vibrations: Azurite, Angelite, Lapis Lazuli and strongest of all, Moonstone.

A Blue Moon Ritual to Promote New Beginnings

During the night of the Blue Moon, step outside into the darkness, holding (or wearing) a moonstone. Close your eyes and try to focus your intent on the aspects of your life you wish to change, as well as any obstacles you wish to remove from your path.

Visualize the gentle blue lunar light bathing your skin, and whisper the following short prayer:

“Lunar Mother, take these trials away from me. Clear my path and free me from obstacles”

This ritual can be amplified even more by repeating it for the three nights that the Blue Moon is visible. On the final night, find a crossroads far from your home and bury the Moonstone by the roadside, then walk away without turning back.

As you walk away, visualize the negative obstacle in your life being abandoned and bound by the crossroads forever.

A Blue Moon Ritual for Making Your Prophecies Real

Medieval wise women and fortune tellers were able to visualize future events by going into a state of trance with a gemstone placed under their tongues. After removing the stone and returning to a normal state, they would go about their regular day. If the visions that appeared to them during the trance lingered on, they could be sure that they would become real in the future.

A Blue Moon is the perfect time to try this type of fortune telling for yourself. Just be very careful not to swallow the moonstone while it’s in your mouth!

A Blue Moon Ritual for Cleansing

The moon is associated with the element of water, and has a strong pull on the world’s oceans and seas. Taking a long, meditative bath during a Blue Moon can cleanse the soul and invigorate the spirit, washing away negative emotion and syncing your vibrations to the moon’s feminine energy.

Baths are a great time to enter meditative states, and can be made even more relaxing with scented blue candles and essential oils.

If you have access to a beach or a lake and you’re feeling brave, a swim in the light of a Blue Moon can be a powerful aid before beginning other Wiccan spells or rituals.

You May Have to Wait a While for a Blue Moon, But it’s Worth it!

The day of the year that plays host to the 13th full moon is a time of celebration. It’s also a time where magic and ritual is amplified to the fullest. The Wiccan significance of the Blue Moon shouldn’t be underestimated: This is the perfect time to perform a ritual that can open new pathways, bring about meaningful change as well as energizing and cleansing the spirit…