It is Friday the 13th and much has been made of this “unlucky” collision of day of the month and date. There were Thirteen at the last supper, it is the number of witches that makes a coven, and on Friday the 13th in 1307 the Knights Templar of France were rounded up by King Philip IV. Regardless of the origin, the combination strikes concern into the heart of about 10 percent of the population. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of things associated with the number 13 and I now understand that paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of the specific day. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, the person affected goes to lengths to avoid the situation or object. Agoraphobia is associated with panic attacks caused by the specific fear. The most common fears involve snakes, spiders or heights; ophidiophobia, arachnophobia, and acrophobia. Six to eight percent of people in the Western world suffer from a phobia. There are a variety of treatments suggested but for many it is exposure therapy – yes the person is introduced to the spider, snake or number of concern until the fear resolves. I am not fond of snakes but I appreciate the important role they play in nature. My late developing phobia seems to be related to divisive leaders with swept, colored hair and orange complexion. Exposure therapy is only making me more anxious.
Tonight we will see an unusual sight, a Friday the 13th micro harvest moon. The moon is “full” when the earth is positioned between the Sun and our satellite. In the alignment, once a month the moon is fully illuminated-a perfect circle. The circle will be complete at 12:33 am on Saturday even though it looks full to us for about 24 hours. In our time zone, Pacific and Alaska we will see the full moon on a most unlucky day in Western superstition. This is a rare occurrence and will not reoccur until Friday October 13, 2049. The Harvest moon occurs when it is closest to the fall equinox, September 23. The significance for farmers was the extra light to work later into the night. You may notice that moon looks smaller by 14% from a super moon. This moon is at its apogee in the orbit —at its furthest distance from our earth. Seems to me this could be a turning point for the long running superstition, enjoy a Moondance in the micro shadows.
I grew up watching Groucho Marx with my parents. He hosted a game show called, You Bet Your Life, if you said the secret word a duck came down and you won $100. Groucho would have loved the comic opportunities of today’s politics. We conclude with this pithy quote from Marx “if a black cat crosses your path, it signifies that the animal is going somewhere.”
Enjoy the week end. Mike