An extra spooky Halloween? When will we see a full moon in October?

Tonight, the first of two full moons in October is shining bright. Called the Harvest Moon, it’s traditionally considered the full moon closest to the autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. 

The autumn equinox is considered the second (and biggest) harvest in the agricultural year. Since the full moon shines bright on the fields during harvest season, it’s considered a great moon to collect crops under. 

Since October is 31 days long and the lunar cycle is about 28 or 29 days, the full moon in October can fall at any time of the month. Because of the way the lunar calendar lines up with the solar calendar, we’re getting an extra treat this month: two full moons! 

Blue Moon

The second full moon in October will be a blue moon, the one full moon a year that occurs twice in a month. For extra spooky bonus points, the full moon is happening on Halloween! The last time we had a full moon on Halloween was in 2001, the next one will be in 2039. 

Unfortunately, thanks to coronavirus, kids might not be able to trick or treat under the light of the full moon. Some towns are implementing trick-or-treat bans, others are implementing social distancing rules. Some parents are opting to keep their kids home this year, replacing the door-to-door experience with indoor scavenger hunts & movie binges instead. 

Bad omen? 

There are some doomsday watchers who believe the full moon in October will be a bad omen. Pastor Paul Begley claimed it was an omen pointing to Revelation prophecies, linking it to a series of “blood moons” leading up to this point, including skies from the California wildfires making the moon (and everything else) appear red. 

Granted, this is neither the first doomsday prediction made, nor do we think it will be the last. Personally, we think we’ll live to see the next blue moon in October in the 2030s. However, there could be some major changes underway before then. 

Astrologically speaking

2020 is a big year in astrology. From a disastrous Saturn/Pluto conjunction in January to a contentious Martian retrograde happening now, 2020 heralded massive changes. A few astrologers even predicted we’d be in a pandemic. Many more pointed to massive political upheavals thanks to a concentration of outer planets in Capricorn. 

The full moon in Aries kicks off October with a bang. When the moon is in Aries, it gives fiery, temperamental energy to everyone. When it’s full, according to Moonology, it calls on us to reflect on our anger. How have we lost our cool this year and what can we do to go to a balanced, more even-tempered state?  

Although the full moon in Aries is in the same sign as pesky Mars in retrograde, it won’t be touching the red planet. Instead, the full moon will be snuggling next to Chiron, the asteroid astrologers call “the wounded healer.” This is a big call to examine what deep wounds are provoking us to be angry. 

Full moon in Taurus

The blue moon in October will be extra special because it will be right on Uranus in Taurus. This can bring some unexpected shifts & surprises our way. Astrologer Steve Judd predicts that we can expect “radical developments in a very short & concentrated space of time” during this full moon. 

Judd also elaborates that the full moons aren’t the catastrophic conundrums we really need to watch out for. The new moon in the middle of October will be more challenging, since it will oppose Mars retrograde in Aries and square the “big boys” (Saturn, Pluto, Jupiter) in Capricorn. 

This formation in the sky of these planets (the new moon, Sun, Mars, & the outer planets in Capricorn) is called a “T-square,” pointing to difficult times. Throughout 2020, Mars, Saturn, & Pluto have been causing major problems according to astrologers. Since we’ve had a difficult year already, we might mark our calendars to take a very big chill pill this month! 

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Are you worried about the full moons, or are you excited to glance up at the sky to see a Halloween full moon? Let us know in the comments!