Full moon of April 2023, the pink Moon that comes with spring

The full moon of April has arrived this year a Thursday, the 6th, at 6:37 in the morning Spanish peninsular time and it is the fourth full moon of the thirteen full moons that 2023 will have. It is the first full moon of spring in the northern hemisphere, and the first of autumn in the southern hemisphere.

to this full moon it is known as Pink Moon because of the spring bloom, and especially because of the color of a flower that forms a blanket on the ground in early spring, the flower of the phlox moss, very common in North America. For Christians it is the Paschal Moon, the one that Allows you to calculate the date of Easterwhose closure is always set for the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring.

The March full Moon took place on March 7, before the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, so this April full Moon inaugurates the new season. And hence, also, that this year Holy Thursday is the same day April 6 and Resurrection Sunday falls on the 9th. When this April full Moon ends its waning and the lunar cycle closes with the arrival of the Moon new, on April 20, a hybrid solar eclipse will take place, the first of four eclipses that will occur in 2023.

In it southern hemisphere this full moon is known as harvest moonfor being the closest to the autumnal equinox.

When is the full moon in April

In the 2023 lunar calendar, you will be able to verify that the full Moon of April 2023 occurred on Thursday day 6. From an astronomical point of view, it took place at 6:37 Spanish peninsular time.

for optical purposes the Moon could be seen fully illuminated during all night from wednesday 5 to thursday 6 (98.3% illumination on Wednesday at midnight) and all night from Thursday 6 to Friday 7 (99.5% illumination at midnight). It will also still be practically full on the night of Friday the 7th (96.8% illumination at midnight).

How was the full moon of April in 2023

At the time of the astronomical full moon, the Moon could still be seen in the firmament in Spain, although already close to the horizon. This was hidden at approximately 8 in the morning and reappeared around 9 at night.

SThe full moon is considered from 12 hours before and up to 12 hours after of the exact moment of alignment between the Earth, the Moon and the Sun in which the astronomical full Moon occurs: it will have been able to be seen fully illuminated throughout the night and, as we have seen in the previous section, for optical purposes Also the night before and the night after. The face of the Moon that we see illuminated it is always the same. The Sun illuminates other areas of the Moon throughout the lunar cycle, but these are not visible from Earth.

Regarding his position in heaven, the Moon came from being at the height of Gemini, near the star Tejat, on Wednesday the 5th at night, to be located, in the full Moon phase, next to the constellation of Virgo. We saw it shine in the sky near Spicathe brightest star in this constellation, although the light of the full moon surely dulled this second protagonist.

From the point of view of astrology, however, this April we have the full Moon in Libra.

How the Full Moon Influences Libra

According to Marga Roldán, an expert in evolutionary astrology, the full Moon in Libra gives us “a precious moment to contemplate those wounds or voids that were installed very early in our liveswhen we did not have the tools and knowledge to understand what was happening, and that make us react to conflicts reactively today.”

“If you can look inside yourself, leaving aside the judge and punisher that automatically triggersand contemplating with love and compassion how the alarms are activated and what are the reactions that this brings”, says Marga Roldán, “you will be able to get to know yourself better, know more about that person you truly areand also know what keeps you from living from that truth”.

The Celts associated each lunar cycle with a tree loaded with symbolism. This April full Moon occurs, for Celtic culture, in the month of aldersrelated to the fertilitythat moment when growth in nature accelerates, and with the courage, with the ability to face adverse circumstances. It is also a moon that invites us to look for the balance between our most intuitive and the most rational part. In Neopagan culture, she is considered the awakening moon.

When will the April full moon be in 2024?

The full Moon of April in 2024 will be on April 24 at 1:50 in the morning and we will already be facing the second full Moon of spring.

Why is it called Pink Moon?

Although it is known as the Pink Moon, this Moon does not have to look pink in the sky. Name It has nothing to do with the color of the moon.. It was the North American natives who chose this name to refer to it, because of the effusive appearance of flowers that takes place in spring, and especially because of the color of the first flower to appear in North American fields: the pink moss or mossy phlox (Phlox subulata).

The mossy phlox, of which there are different species of colors ranging from white to purple, passing through different shades of pink, used in gardening to upholster rockeries and borders, as it covers the surface well, is maintained all year round and allows easy formation of blankets of flowers that give color in spring and early summer.

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Other names for the full moon in April

Although it is the most popular the name of Luna rosa is just one of those that the North American almanac collects to refer to the full moon in April. He also mentions other names given to it by different native tribes.

All of them reflect the moment in which it occurs, like small haikus that capture the essence of spring: the icebreaker moonthe Moon that makes torrents navigablethe red grass moonthe Moon in which the ducks returnthe moon where geese lay their eggs wave frog moon.

Others traditional names in Europe They also associate this Moon with everything that is born in spring, such as egg moon in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, or moon of new shoots, seed moon either Crescent moon in the Celtic tradition.

Curiously, according to Chinese tradition, the full moon in April is also named after a flower that is usually pink: peony moon.

In it southern hemispherethis first full moon of autumn is known as hunter moon, for the beginning of the hunting season. Being the closest full moon to the equinox, it is also called harvest moon.

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