by Jane St. Clair

Last night there was a complete lunar eclipse, and what was amazing was that in the middle of it, the great round white moon turned red.  Or as the drama queens among us put it, “blood red.” This is the blood red moon with a star.

…..

A lunar eclipse is a predictable event for modern people, but when I was watching it, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

It was like watching the moon fast-forward – seeing 28 days of moon phases occur within a few hours. 

Then, of course, the eerily beautiful bright red moon glowed at the climax like an angry red planet.  Something so beautiful could not last so once the red moon appeared, she undid herself by phasing out backwards.

…

Here in Tucson, Arizona, we are lucky to be able to watch this beautiful lunar eclipse so clearly. We are out West where we can still see the stars (although not as well as sailors can see them on board ships at high sea). Tucson worries about things like light pollution and having too many streetlights because we have many amateur and professional stargazers, including several men who are at the same time scientists and priests, and who report to the Vatican about the goings-on of stars. 

…….

Isn’t it nice to think that there are still wise men asking eternal questions and looking to the stars for answers?

Anyway, as I watched the beautiful moon dance and put on her light show, I knew why such a thing would terrify an ancient person. 

…….

It’s a fearful thing –a lunar eclipse—even as we modern people put it into ordinary time and classify blood red moons as predictable things. We line up the phases of the moon like cans of tomato soup. 

….

……

But blood red moons are magic. Sheer magic.

…….

Shakespeare wrote, “Oh wonderful, wonderful and most wonderful wonderful, and yet again wonderful, and after that … wonderful!”

…..

Maybe he was talking about a bloody red lunar eclipse.