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![]() OCTOBER 2020 THE FULL HARVEST MOON & THE FULL BLUE MOON ![]() The sun greets us every morning, many times with a beautiful sunrise, but unlike the moon, it's always a circular orb that glows with warmth. The moon greets us each night (even the new moon hidden in the shadows), showing us a different shape and phase, as it moves through its magical, monthly journey. The full moon, however, gets most of our attention. A full moon calls the werewolf to transform, for witches to gather around their cauldrons, and some say, causes human to behave a bit 'looney." The moon (Luna, in Italian and Spanish, with Latin origins) gave us the word lunatic and many illegal 'sprits' were brewed beneath the moonshine as not to get caught. ![]() In Tarot, the Moon Card is a Major Arcana and traditionally depicts the full moon lighting a path with two towers (good and evil) in the distance, helping navigate through the two forces one must face on life's journey. 2020 has been a tough year, but for those of us who love Autumn, Halloween, and all things that go bump in the night, this month 2020 has no tricks up her sleeve, but an astronomical treat - 2 full moons. The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox. Sometimes it's in September, sometimes, October. This year's Harvest moon was on October 1st and it was a beauty! Scientifically - the moon usually rises about 50 minutes later than the night before, but the Harvest moon due to its alignment with the equinox, rises only 30 mins later each night. This can sometimes give the appearance of the a huge moon hanging in the sky, but it's an illusion - a very cool one, but nevertheless, an optical illusion. Historically - many crops are ready to be picked in Sept/October. For centuries and probably millennia, farmers noticed the difference in the moon at this time of the year and without our modern technology, worked late into the night, with the moon light guiding them, to a successful harvest. A Blue Moon happens approximately every 2.5 years, when instead of 12 full moons a year, we have 13. (or 4 full moons during one season, not 3). This year we have a Blue Moon on October 31st! Yay!! No one can pinpoint when or why it's been called a Blue Moon. There's a reference to the phrase in the 16th century by Cardinal Wolsey mocking the intelligence of his enemies by saying "they would believe the moon is blue." By the 1700's it become a term for an 'absurdity or impossibility." But in the early 1900's, the Farmer's Almanac in Maine, coined the term "Blue Moon' one year that had an extra full moon in a season, and it stuck. Halloween will arrive this year is all it's creepy glory, and while we may have to celebrate differently than we're used to, at the very least we can all sit back and gaze up at the wonder of the 2020 Blue Moon, cocktail in hand... ![]() ~ I hope everyone had a good time at this year's October Frights Blog Hop. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by this week and to Anita Stewart for organizing and doing all the hard work. Please leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for a $10 Amazon Gift Card. HAPPY, HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY, BE RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS, AND HAVE A SPOOKY GOOD TIME! PLEASE VISIT THE OTHER AWESOME HORROR AND PARANORMAL AUTHORS PARTICIPATING Hi everyone - I'm headed out of state to my son's house to indulge in some spooky shenanigans with family for my birthday. I'll be back on Thursday. Even though I don't have a frightening post, feel free to leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Hop over to the other horror and paranormal authors for some spooky shenanigans of your own! Enjoy! Are You Afraid of the Dark? Night to Dawn Magazine & Books LLC Hawk's Happenings Heidi Angell Curiosities James McDonald Always Another Chapter Spreading the Writer's Word Yours in Storytelling Carmilla Voiez Hello Romance GirlZombieAuthors Frighten Me M'habla's! Angela Yuriko Smith Brain Matter NLCARTERWRITES.COM HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Welcome back! Today is the conclusion of The Land of the Rising Sun. I hope you've enjoy it. I loved writing it. If you missed part 1 and part 2, you can catch up by hitting 'previous post' on the bottom. Karl paced the room like a trapped animal. He didn’t sleep a wink today. Shame and revulsion tied his stomach in a knot. What had he done? Exactly what she wanted. What she begged and pleaded for. He craved her touch, her kiss, her taste and she invited him, enticed him. He surrendered and with each heartbeat, her blood flowed willingly into his mouth. Hachiro sat bent over the table, his hands folded. “Karl-san, tell me what happened.” “I’m sorry, I’ve never done anything like this before.” “You don’t realize how bad this is.” “You weren’t down there. You don’t know how high emotions run,” he said, a feeble attempt to justify his actions. “She got under my skin. I got thrown off by her--" “Beauty?” Hachiro fumbled through his pockets and retrieved a pack of cigarettes. “Among other things, yes.” “She’s a stunning woman.” Hachiro patted the tip of his smoke on the table and put it between his lips. “Some say as a young girl an oni, or female demon, possessed her. Others believe she is simply the pure evil humans are capable of.” His hand trembled as he tried to light his cigarette. “Let me,” Karl offered and in one flick a small flame rose from the lighter. His friend inhaled deeply and relaxed, the tobacco having a soothing effect on him. “She has an uncanny ability to lure men into her web. To persuade them to tell her their deepest and darkest secrets and use it against them. No one knows who she really is. The police named her Kiyomi, which translates to pure beauty.” “The police?” Hachiro took a long drag of his smoke. “Yes. Whatever she is, human, demon or a little of both,” he leaned his head back and blew a stream of smoke into the air, “Karl-san, you have just turned Japan’s most notorious serial killer into a vampire.” *** Karl was spread like a five point star. Silver cuffs bound his wrists and ankles. His flesh smoldered against the tight grip of the metal, his strength long gone. Shrewd and dangerous, she attacked at his most vulnerable time. He raised his head inches off the rock and stared out at the shimmering ocean. The clouds slowly broke apart, flickering with the reflection of the vibrant hues of red and orange along the skyline. Gradually, the golden sphere peeked over the horizon. She’d given him one last chance to see the one thing he’d yearned for. The rising sun. Beautiful yet deadly. Like Kiyomi. ![]() If you liked The Land of the Rising Sun, you might enjoy the other stories in my dark anthology, CURIOUSLY DARK TALES available here on Amazon. Leave a comment to be entered to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.
Winner announced on the last day of the hop! Once again, thanks for stopping by! Check out these other horror and paranormal authors participating in the hop! Are You Afraid of the Dark? Night to Dawn Magazine & Books LLC Hawk's Happenings Heidi Angell Curiosities James McDonald Always Another Chapter Spreading the Writer's Word Yours in Storytelling Carmilla Voiez Hello Romance GirlZombieAuthors Frighten Me M'habla's! Angela Yuriko Smith Brain Matter NLCARTERWRITES.COM |
Debbie Christiana
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