Interview with the Moon, Part 2

John: [looks at iPad] So you are the fastest moving astrological body. That’s a rare distinction!

Moon: Yes, John, it is. I move even faster than Mercury, and I don’t go retrograde. I am always moving forward.

John: Could you tell my readers how fast that is?

Moon: Oh, they already know!

John: I’m…not sure about that, Luna.

Moon: Come now! Even though I’m behind the scenes, I’m around every night for people to look at. I grow in power and influence for two weeks until I’m full and then I shrink back down again and am reborn in the new Moon.

John: You’re right…many people do know that. But do they know that the word month comes from moon?

Moon: [smiles] I’m sure many do not. But in ancient times, people calculated the time it would take for me to get through all 12 astrological signs and they found that it was…about 28 days. Hence, one month.

John: It makes total sense. Can we break that down for our readers? How long do you spend in each sign, would you say?

Moon: If we get truly technical about it, I spend about 2.5 days in each sign, give or take.

John: Geometrically speaking, that’s more complex than the Sun’s movement.

Moon: It sure is. He moves only one degree a day so he’s easier to track. I move between 11 and 15 degrees a day. It changes regularly, and sometimes I move even a little faster around eclipse times.

John: Right. But bottom line is you move 360 degrees in 28 days?

Moon: 27.3333 days, yes, if we’re being Mercury precise. We call that the sidereal cycle. It’s a fixed length of time.

John: But that means…[pulls calculator out and types in some numbers] you would fly past the Sun once a month. Right?

Moon: Yes. And when I’m at the same spot he is, you can’t see me anymore. So that’s what you call the new moon; I’m nearly invisible next to him, since I have no light of my own. Here's a chart for the new Moon later this month, on April 22.

John: Right. If you’re at the same spot on the wheel, Luna, that would mean you and Sol would be in the same sign, too, right?

Moon: Of course. That’s why the new Moon is always the same sign as the Sun. At the new Moon, Sol and I are together at the same exact degree of the sign, if we’re being Mercury precise; in this case we sit at 3 Taurus 24. It’s when I get my new energy “download” if you will.

John: And two weeks later or thereabouts…

Moon: I’m in the opposite sign of the zodiac from Sol and I am at my full Moon power. Assuming there are no clouds you can see my full face, and my energy is like the breaking wave.

John: Breaking wave?

Moon: Yes. Just ask a medical professional, police officer, teacher, or anyone else who works with the public what it’s like when I’m at my most powerful. Where do you think they got the words lunacy and lunatic, young man? People lose their minds, or it can seem that way.

John: I have seen that in action; I’m sure none of my readers doubt your powers.

Moon: I don’t usually swear, but damn straight they don’t. Or they shouldn’t. 

John: [chuckles] Agreed!

Moon: I've included an image for the next full Moon, which is actually in just a few days on April 7. 

John: But even if my readers don’t know where you are every day, they can safely assume that when you’re full you’re in the opposite sign from the Sun.

Moon: Absolutely. You folks have all kinds of phone apps you can use to track me, too.

John: Yes, but I'm seeing a problem. You haven’t included the extra distance.

Moon: The extra distance?

John: The Sun moves about 1 degree a day. If it takes you 27.3333 days to get all the way around—your sidereal cycle, if memory serves—the Sun has traveled 30 degrees in 30 days. How you do explain the other 2.66667 degrees?

Moon: Ah, yes. Excellent catch! In 27.33333 days, I move through all the signs, 360 degrees. But the Sun never stops moving; as such, it takes me another two full days to actually catch up with the Sun. My synodic cycle—that time period between when I arrive at the same point on the wheel as the Sun and then lap him—is 29.5 days.

John: So nearly 30, then. That’s a lot more plausible.