S7-6 ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

[Scott]

Witches with PMS, synchronized no less, confront a once in fifty year occurrence: two blue moons in one calendar month. PMS turns the sisters into hideous monsters who unabashedly attack whitelighers. The new whitelighter assigned to the sisters is savagely assaulted by the sisters. Yet, because Leo had warned the new whitelighter that the sisters did not welcome a newbie, Leo again comes under suspicion for an attack on the Elders. Already, Leo is thought - correctly - to have been the cause of the death of Zola, an Elder who died when Leo attacked him with lightning bolts while being mind manipulated by Barbas. Leo, of course, is innocent of the attack on the whitelighter. Yet, when Leo launches an attack on Odin and two other Elders in Magic School, Odin's suspicions rise even further. Though the Charmed Ones free Leo of the demon possessing him, Odin is not dissuaded that Leo is a problem. The sisters demand that Leo be excused, an action that Odin vehemently disputes. As the blue moon rises, Odin discovers to his surprise that it is the sisters who are the monsters when they attack him in Magic School. Their attack is both motivated by their desire to go after whitelighters and Elders, but also to teach Odin a lesson with respect to his unflinching condemnation of Leo. With bolts of lightning, Odin subdues the sisters for the duration of the evening. In the morning, after the Charmed Ones have reverted, Odin relents in his condemnation of Leo.

[vandergraafk]

On Wednesday, 30 May 2007, in anticpation of the second full moon of May on Thursday, 31 May, NPR reported on new research that demonstrated popular misconception surrounding the phrase "once in a blue moon". Although its figurative meaning, hardly ever or a rare occurrence, remains unchanged, the current literal meaning rests upon a crucial mis-interpretation or non-interpretation of the phrase as used in traditional agricultural societies. Since 1946, when reported in Sky and Telescope magazine by an amateur astronomer, the phrase "once in a blue moon" has referred to the occurrence of two full moons within one calendar month. As it turns out, this is an erroneous reading of the phrase as used in the Farmer's Almanac. A blue moon is the occurrence of four full moons in one season. Traditionally, full moons were named by the season they occurred in such as Autumn's Harvest Moon. Therefore, it is not surprising that a full moon occurring on 20 August 1946 was referred to as a blue moon since its mid-August appearance meant that a fourth full moon would occur during that summer season and this particular full moon was absent a special name.

Unfortunately, the amateur astronomer based his interpretation on a certainly casual reading of the Farmer's Almanac. That the editors at Sky and Telescope magazine never bothered to check the veracity of this interpretation against the Farmer's Almanac itself allowed the now popular misconception of the phrase "once in a blue moon" to become widespread. Fortunately, the current regime at Sky and Telescope magazine have acknowledged the magazine's past oversight.

Whether the phrase "blue moon" can be viewed as a guttural derogation of the French phrase "la double lune" remains open to debate. Certainly one can see how "double lune" could be slurred into "blue moon".

[Scott]

Every time I watch this episode I am annoyed by the once every 50 years, a reference that is made twice in the episode: once by Paige and once by Piper. That is, a blue moon, two full moons within a calendar month, is such a rarity that it occurs only once every 50 years. Poppycock!

Okay, here's the mathematics. Let's assume a non-leap year. In this cycle the first full moon falls on 1 January. Second, even though the approximate orbital cycle of the moon is 29.5 days, let's round this to 30. Here goes.

YEAR 1 Full Moons

1 January
31 January
2 March
1 April
1 May
31 May

And, voila we have two blue moons within 5 months.

Suppose we start with 15 January.

YEAR 1

15 January
14 February
16 March
15 April
15 May
14 June
14 July
13 August
12 September
12 October
11 November
11 December

YEAR 2

10 January
9 February
11 March
10 April
10 May
9 June
9 July
8 August
7 September
7 October
6 November
6 December

YEAR 3

5 January
4 February
6 March
5 April
5 May
4 June
4 July
3 August
2 September
2 October
1 November
1 December
31 December The first blue moon.

YEAR 4 (Leap year)

30 January
29 February
30 March
29 April
30 May
29 June
29 July
28 August
27 September
27 October
26 November
25 December

YEAR 5

24 January
23 February
25 March
24 April
24 May
23 June
23 July
22 August
21 September
21 October
20 November
20 December

YEAR 6

19 January
18 February
20 March
19 April
19 May
18 June
18 July
17 August
16 September
16 October
15 November
15 December

YEAR 7

14 January
13 February
15 March
14 April
14 May
13 June
13 July
12 August
11 September
11 October
10 November
10 December

YEAR 8 Leap Year #2

9 January
8 February
9 March
8 April
8 May
7 June
7 July
6 August
5 November
5 December

YEAR 9

4 January
3 February
5 March
4 April
4 May
3 June
3 July
2 August
1 September.
1 October
31 October Ding! Ding! Ding! Blue moon
30 November
30 December

YEAR 10

29 January
28 February
30 March
29 April
29 May
28 June
28 July
27 August
26 September
26 October
25 November
25 December

YEAR 11

24 January
23 February
25 March
24 April
24 May
23 June
23 July
22 August
21 September
21 October
20 November
20 December

YEAR 12 Leap Year #3

19 January
18 February
19 March
18 April
18 May
17 June
17 July
16 August
15 September
15 October
14 November
14 December

YEAR 13

13 January
12 February
14 March
13 April
13 May
12 June
12 July
11 August
10 September
10 October
9 November
9 December

YEAR 14

8 January
7 February
9 March
8 April
8 May
7 June
7 July
6 August
5 September
5 October
4 November
4 December

YEAR 15

3 January
2 February
4 March
3 April
3 May
2 June
2 July
1 August
31 August Second blue moon.

The time between consecutive blue moons is 6 years, a far cry from 50 years.

Watch out elders and whitelighters. Witches on PMS are afoot!