i’ve got a feeling you’re gonna want to stay up late for this

there are some things that make me who i am that i get from my dad.

my love of photography + documenting life. my love of driving, especially long distances. go ahead: challenge us. 8 hours? 10 hours? we are totally up for it. my weather obsession. there’s a tornado warning? oh, yeah. we will go and stand at the door to look out. a hurricane coming? we will be glued to the tv for the insane entire 24 hour coverage. a thunderstorm? let’s stand on the porch and take photos! my love for airplanes + boats. my love for historical places (my mom loves this too!).

and my love for space. or the night sky. or the sky in general (see weather, photography, airplanes, etc. above).

photo by john rauda
photo by john rauda

as a kid, whenever something crazy was gonna happen in the night sky, my dad knew about it. now, we weren’t those people who packed it all up and went way out into the middle of nowhere to sky watch. but, we did stay up and go outside and enjoy it from our little suburban american backyard.

my family and i never talked about how these celestial events affected us here on earth, more than their affect on the tides in the ocean. but, somehow, through my experience of growing up + learning to love nature and the universe, i have come to realize that what my parents taught me, without even saying a word, was the beauty of the interconnectedness of everything. of all people, all places, all plants + animals, and all of the stars out there in the vast, endless night sky.

without saying a word, i hold my parents responsible for creating a life for me where exploration was natural. and where the natural was sacred. and because it was sacred, everything in us, everything in the universe, everything was connected to each other. creating a beautiful coexistence.

and so, today, when something happens way out there… i know that it happens in here (points to her soul) as well.

so, in honor of my dad always keeping me abreast of the night sky goings on, i am here to pass on some info to you: tonight, my friends, something crazy is gonna happen. and i’m pretty sure that you’re gonna wanna stay up and experience it.

tonight, as the moon rises in the sky. new opportunities, new beginnings arise in us as well.

moon rising

here’s what’s (scientifically) happening tonight:

it’s a powerful night to watch the sky.

tonight’s moon is the harvest moon, the full moon closest to the fall/autumn equinox. remember, in the northern hemisphere we changed seasons just a few days ago, passing from the light + warmth of summer in to the cozy, internally-focused darkness of autumn. this signifies the cycle of life, that changes are inevitable, death cannot be escaped. and yet, everything must die, in order to live again, to be born anew. could it be the same for us too?

tonight we will also experience a total lunar eclipse of the moon. this hasn’t happened since 1982 and won’t happen again until 2033. it is a very rare event. making it very special. isn’t that how it always is, with us, though? when something doesn’t occur often, we regard it with more honor and see it as something special and unique. we give those things that are rare more value + worth. so, it is with the lunar eclipse tonight. it is a valuable, worthy, special, moment for us to experience. perhaps we want to slow down just a little bit to soak it all in.

because of this type of rare eclipse, the moon is also known as a blood moon. tonight, the earth orbits between the sun and the moon, blocking out the light from the sun, which makes the moon “shine” during regular nights. tonight, as the earth passes through, the sun, earth, and moon will be in perfect, complete alignment. how freaking crazy is that?! there’s gotta be some symbolism in that, right? perfect alignment.

and, on top of the earth being in the middle, blocking the light that lights up the moon, as the earth passes by, the moon will appear red. hence the name “blood moon”. the little bit of light that seeps through before and after everything is perfectly lined up, will make the moon will appear red.

as if all of this were not enough, tonight’s moon is also known as a super moon. this means that the moon is closer to the earth than it usually is. it’s only about 8% closer, but it is enough to make it appear that the moon is huge in the night sky.

for me, all of this makes me just giddy with excitement.

and, while we can simply observe and look at the night sky’s happenings tonight and be inspired by the pure scientific and natural phenomena of it all, i am who i am. and i need to go deeper. it goes back to all of that i was talking about above in the beginning of this post. this interconnectedness that i feel. i need to ponder what we can learn from the heavens above.

photo by robert ondrovic
photo by robert ondrovic
so, what can all of this crazy moon stuff mean for us? 

well, it’s obvious that the cycle of nature is the same as the cycle of life, teaching us about life, death, and rebirth. there is much to learn from nature. so, i dare say that all of these cosmic happenings can hold symbolic meanings for us too.

it’s easy to see that what’s happening tonight is rare and beautiful and filled with energy. and that’s scientifically true. the tides get all crazy when there is a full moon, and when it’s a super moon, it’s even more crazy. so, first of all, all of this equals intense energy moving around us. up in space, down on earth, in our souls.

1 // surrender to change

and, anyone knows, when there is energy, something is happening. change is occurring. so, tonight, i believe that all of this magical, scientific moon stuff is reminding that life is about changes, especially considering that all of this is happening just a few days after the autumn equinox.

perhaps now is the time to let go. to surrender. to release the old ways of living + step into a new way of living + being. changes are inevitable, but right now, these changes can give us a doorway into a whole new way of living.

2 // align with your true self

as the earth and moon and sun all align for a short moment tonight, maybe we can use that magic to begin to learn how to align our own lives. to live the life on the outside that we feel called to on the inside. perhaps it’s a time of action. a time of learning to balance our ego, who we are, and what is best for our soul with our call to be in community, in partnership, and global beings. i don’t think of this as  something that is a struggle or a fight. it just is. it’s a time of high awareness of both. and the importance of both. we need to live our own authentic lives, while at the same time live as global, loving citizens.

3 // the power is within

so, as we stand on the brink of something new, a whole new way of living perhaps, we can realize with this big moon hanging above us tonight, that we have the power within. it’s up to us to choose. no one can do it for us. no one will do it for us. it is up to us to take control of our own lives, to choose to live the best lives that we can. it’s up to us to decide to take that first step in letting on + moving on.

4 // see your shadow side

nights like these, with their mysterious + mystical full moons and lunar eclipses, are the perfect time to take a few moments to discover that nudge that is within us. it’s the perfect time to stare out the window at the moon and wonder a bit about that quiet whisper within that tells us who we are and who we are supposed to be. and with the eclipse tonight as well, as the moon seems to be hidden for a moment, we can symbolically go within to our dark side as well. we can explore and look at those things that we are keeping in the shadows of our soul.

don’t push it away right now. let’s embrace our shadows. embrace our darkness. look and feel and see all that is within us – the good and the bad. see where we are stuck.

an aligned life embraces the balance of the light + the dark. just as the earth, aligned with the sun + the moon stand directly and perfectly balanced in between the two.

moon path

whether you are spiritual or not, tonight’s moon happenings are something to experience. i invite you to spend a few moments gazing at the sky. and, if you really feel like it, pull out a journal or your blog and write down your thoughts + feelings. explore the ways that you see your life changing. think about who you really want to be. discover the dark within, face it, and then decide what choices you want to make in your life. change is happening. it is occurring. and it always will. such is life. and we are called to simply surrender to that.

but, how we respond to it, what we do with our lives, well, that’s all up to us. 

use the cosmic love + beauty of the night to inspire you to move forward. and remember, that you are loved + accepted just as you are. hold on, surrender, reach inward + move forward. you are called to greatness. moon blessings to you all.

onwards + upwards! xoxo

and just for fun:

since we all live in different places, tonight’s events are happening at different times. you can use this eclipse calculator to figure out the best time to view the eclipse from your location.

the times in uppsala, sweden (where i live):

begins: mon, 28 sep 2015, 02:11

maximum: mon, 28 sep 2015, 04:47

ends: mon, 28 sep 2015, 07:22

duration: 5 hours, 11 minutes

10 thoughts on “i’ve got a feeling you’re gonna want to stay up late for this

    1. I hear it was cloudy there, and it was definitely cloudy here. Grrrr.. Oh well, the magic is still present! 🙂

  1. Thanks for that eclipse calculator, I found that for us in the UK it starts around 2 am and it’s at its maximum around 4 am. Perhaps I’ll wake up at that specific time. Perhaps there won’t be any clouds on the sky. Perhaps some horses will fly also… 😀

    1. Bahahahha! That’s an fabulous response! I cracked up so much, I had to show your comment to Lina. 🙂

  2. Forgot to say that the items 1 to 4 are a brilliant summary. 1 and 2 I am already up to my neck in. Number 3 I am learning how not to forget. Number 4 I need to work on. Thanks for this post Liz. 😀

    1. So glad you enjoyed the post. That’s all I could ever hope for! And, I think I’m in a similar boat as you when it comes to how I deal with those four things. I really need to work hard on number 4! Lots of love and power to you, dear. xx

  3. Guess what?

    I woke up at that specific time
    There weren’t any clouds in the sky

    I couldn’t see the moon from my flat. I almost gave up but the girl inside insisted that I needed to go out and look. Funny how the city is quiet at 4 am. Short walk and there it was. Beautiful, mesmerising, and totally amazing. She was correct at telling me that this wasn’t a sacrifice of sleep but a beautiful experience I had to see with my own eyes.

    Here’s the funny thing. I knew I’d wake up at the correct time. Once I knew the time I knew waking up wouldn’t be a problem. So I need to thank you at this point. Because without your post and your eclipse calculator I wouldn’t know and I wouldn’t have woken up. Gratitude and hugs.

    On and one last thing: Perhaps horses can fly. Worst case scenario we load them on a plane. Best case scenario they have wings in some parallel universe. 😀

    Thank you again and have an amazing week.

    1. Aura! This is amazing! I am so so glad that you experienced the beauty and magic of it all!

      Wanna know what’s ironically funny? I did not see it. I set my alarm, got up, wandered to and fro in my apartment, walked up and down the stairs in the hallway, craning my neck every which way I could. But I knew it was hopeless. There were clouds right over the city. I was frustrated beyond belief. But, I also knew that perhaps there was some sort of meaning behind it. I stayed awake for the entire total eclipse times. I watched a live stream in my phone from my bed, getting up again and again, just to gaze at the cloudy sky. I didn’t see it, but I knew it was there. And perhaps feeling it was exactly how it was supposed to be for me. Believing without seeing.

      Again, though, I am so excited that you took that walk and saw the gorgeous moon in all of her glory. What an experience! Lots of love and light to you, my dear.

      1. Then I watched a little for you too. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see it live. But you are correct you were there present even if it wasn’t visible. Its influence transcends the clouds and contains more than the eyes can see. Plus it will be back in 15 years if I recall correctly so here’s hoping in good weather at that time. 😀

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