Are you ready for just one more supermoon in 2020?

This Thursday, May 7th see the rise of the “Super Flower Moon,” the fourth and final so-called supermoon of the year.

Exactly how special is the “Super Flower Moon?” Given that there have been three overly large full moons in a row so far in 2020, you could be forgiven for thinking that the “Super Flower Moon” is not particularly special.

All full moons are special, but only if you get your timing exactly right.

Native Americans had a tradition of naming moons based on tracking seasons as well as folklore. So this month's full moon is called the Flower Moon because of the plethora of flowers that bloom in May. According to the Farmer's Almanac, it was also called the Mother's Moon since it was a time of increasing fertility.

The trick with any full moon—and particularly a supermoon—is to be in the right place at the right time.

So here’s everything you need to know about when and how to get a great view of the final supermoon of the year.

What is a supermoon?

A supermoon, also known as a perigee full moon by astronomers, is a colloquial—even astrological—term for a full moon when it’s at its closest point to Earth in its orbit. Although it’s only a slight effect, it may appear bigger and brighter in the sky.

What time is the full moon?

This month, the Moon will enter its full phase—entirely lit-up by the Sun as seen from Earth—at 10:45 Universal Time on Thursday, May 7, 2020. You can convert that to you local time, but it may be during the day. That doesn’t matter. In fact, it’s ideal since it means you can watch a 99%-lit full moon at both moonset on the morning of May 7, and at moonrise later that same day.

Best time to look at the supermoon

The best time to see any full Moon, and particularly a supermoon, is when it’s close to the horizon. Firstly, your brain makes the Moon seem bigger because it’s rising between buildings/trees/mountains/landmarks. Secondly, you’ll be looking at the Moon through the thickest part of Earth’s atmosphere, so rather than the bright, white orbit appears as when it’s high in the sky, it will appear to be a deep orange color (when rising or setting) and an entrancing pale yellow color (when just above the horizon). Just like the Sun at sunset.

How to look at the supermoon

You really don't need anything apart from good timing and a reasonably high observing location (a second-floor window is fine) to see the rise of the “Super Flower Moon.” Here’s how to get organized:

Find out the exact times of moonset and moonrise on May 7, 2020 where you are
Look west for a setting full Moon around the time of sunrise
Look east for a rising full Moon around the time of sunset

Why you need patience to see the ‘Super Flower Moon’

FUN FACT:
A meteor shower *and* a supermoon will be lighting up the night sky this week.

But since it's a supermoon, its brightness might make the meteor shower hard to see.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that the specific time the Moon appears on your horizon will be a little bit later than apps and charts will tell you. After all, the Moon has to rise above anything on the horizon, and any buildings blocking your view before you will see it. So get in position just after the Moon is due to rise in your location, and stay there for at least 15 minutes. You will see it, if the skies are clear. The only way of definitely not seeing the “Super Flower Moon” is to run out of patience too early and step away from the window or go back indoors.

When is the next supermoon?

The next time the moon comes closest to Earth while in its full phase is on April 27, 2021 to create a “Super Pink Moon”. The Super Flower Moon will be the last supermoon of the year, so you won't want to miss it!

Full moons have forever been a mystical time of connecting with our spiritual, sacred feminine selves. While new moons are associated with new beginnings, full moons represent the culmination of energy: fruition, completion and celebration, as well as releasing and shedding of the old to pave way for a whole new cycle.

Journal Ritual: One of the reasons we can feel so emotional during a full moon is because it’s a time of making the unknown known, the unconscious conscious, the hidden seen. Naturally, this includes relationships and patterns that are not in alignment with our truth and highest good.
If we don’t allow ourselves to face and process these insights, we may feel hypersensitive, confused and overwhelmed.
The best thing we can do for ourselves during such a time is actually take some time to express everything we are feeling in a safe and healthy way.
A simple ritual to bring light to any darkness you are facing is to take a sheet of paper and write out everything you are feeling—uncensored. Notice any surprises or insights you gain about issues that are important to you. Have you been ignoring or suppressing your feelings in a certain area? Have you been settling, compromising, or disowning your truth and boundaries? Are you ready to release what’s no longer serving you?
You don’t need to know the answers, but it’s important to ask the questions. In the next steps, you will learn how to awaken your intuition, which will guide you on any action to take and changes to make as you move forward.
For now, once you feel you gave released all that you need to on this sheet of paper, (very safely, perhaps in a pot) burn it.
Clear Your Energy: Set and intention to clear & cleanse the energy in your space and light a white or yellow candle. Smudging with incense, sage or palo santo to rid the atmosphere of negative energy and usher in positive energy. Smudging is a powerful energy clearing ritual used in Native and earth-based traditions during ceremonies. It is said to help release negative, toxic, stagnant energies, and even get rid of earth-bound spirits and attachments.
A full moon night is an especially potent time for a smudging ritual, as after facing and releasing what you need to; you can ceremoniously clear it away with the smoke of sacred sage.
To perform the ritual, simply burn the dried sage bundle, keeping a ceramic/fire-safe dish underneath to catch the ashes, and simply waft it around your entire body (at about a two-feet long distance).
As you do so, you can again set an intention such as, “I release all that no longer serves me for my highest good.”
After smudging yourself, you can smudge your home by waving the wand in the corners and centers of each room of your home—or anywhere you feel guided. Trust your intuition, as you may feel the need to smudge some unexpected places or linger somewhere a little longer.
Be sure to perform this very safely, keeping distant from fabrics, pets, children, and always a dish underneath. You just need to wave the wand once or twice in each area to get the smoke flowing there as you keep moving along. Keep an eye out for any fallen ashes and put them out immediately. After the ritual, open all your windows to air out the smoke and let new, fresh energy, and ideally moonlight, into your home. Bonus step: Since your space is now clear, you can go around the center of each home and “re-program” the energy by setting intentions for what you want to bring into your space and life instead. You can clap three times at the end of each intention to seal it in, or if you have a bell or singing bowl, ring it three times for extra blessings.
Recharge Healing/Spiritual Tools: The light of the full moon is amplifies everything… so it’s a great time to infuse this energy into our spiritual tools, like crystals, essential oils, mala beads, rosaries, and incense, etc. It is recommended to clear them with sage as mentioned above first so that they are pure and clear before absorbing the energy of the moon.
To “charge” them set your intention of blessings, positivity, and empowerment with each object and place it somewhere it can get the maximum amount of moonlight throughout the night. Be sure to take all your objects back in the morning, as some crystals and spiritual tools can react to and alter with sunlight.
Moonlight Bath/Walk: Take a walk or bath during the time of the full moon. Set an intention to release that which no longer serves you and luxuriate as you soak/walk and elevate your energy. As the moonlight shines on and over you, imagine your mind, body, heart, and energy field soak up all luminescent silvery rays. While sunlight energizes and uplifts us, moonlight awakens our intuitive, receptive, softer, spiritual side. Absorbing full moonlight is especially healing for us women as it nourishes our sacral chakras—our wombs and menstrual—or moon—cycles.
Full Moon Meditation: Because of our monthly cycles, women have always had a very intimate and special connection with the moon. The waxing, full, and waning moon are associated with the triple goddess archetypes of Maiden, Mother and Crone, a new menstrual cycle, ovulation and bleeding/shedding, and the universal cycle of birth, life and death/transformation. This is a great time to reconnect with your divine feminine energy. Simply sit in meditation, and set the intention to connect to your highest self in a loving grateful way. During the sit, pay attention to your intuitive senses - what you’re seeing, thinking, feeling, hearing, etc, and just observe without judgment or action. Remember to stay in a place of love & gratitude, even for that which you wish to release under the full moon.

Reference: Forbes (by Jamie Carter), House Beautiful, Flourishing Goddess, Sage Goddess