Studying Lunar Months

The Moon is what makes people nuts. If you try to study the orbit of the Moon around the Earth you begin to understand why. The Moon's orbit is measured not by one orbit, but by many orbits around the Earth that are slightly out of sync with each other. Trying to follow the Moon's orbit is probably a lot like trying to view the world out of a Fly's eye, a Kaleidoscope effect.

I've found a great link to an article that explains some the Moon's orbits here: http://www.hermit.org/eclipse/why_months.html. I believe there are more, something like 29 or more, cycles of the Moon but I can't remember where I read that. Some book written by a psychologist in Florida. Since we're talking about the Moon here, and not Mercury or Saturn, I don't feel a strong need to be factual or correct. Imagination, Baby! That's what the Moon is about. Enjoy it! Use it! And don't try to focus too hard. I think the New Moon is most likely to land you in jail followed by the Full Moon.

Here are the cycles as presented at the link listed above:

Sidereal Month: The days it takes for the Moon to orbit the Earth moving due West I suppose from the Vantage Point of the Earth.

27.321661 days

Anomalistic Month: Accounts for the elliptical orbit of the Moon which makes it slightly longer in some way than the Sidereal Month.

27.554549 days

There is a 9 year cycle associated with this type of Month which is the time it takes for the Moon to return to some sort of spot that's thrown off probably by a tilt or a pole or the earth's own orbit around the Sun. I can't figure it out.

The point when the Moon is farthest from Earth is called the Apogee and the point when the Moon is closest is called the Perigree. Sophisticated titles to label your next Abstract Paintings after.

Synodic Month: The Time it takes for the Moon to travel from one New Moon to the next. This varies from 29.27 days to 29.83 days. A Lunar Day is measured off of this. For example, if the Little Prince were actually from the Moon instead of a comet, he would have to scoot his chair across the surface of the Moon according to the Synodic Month. It's not an Earth Day, in other words, it's a Moon Day. Maybe St. Exupery lived according to these himself.

Averages 29.530589 Days.

Draconic Month: The Nodal Month. The Time that it takes for the Moon to return to a Node. Named after the Dragon's Head and Tail that are responsible for the North and South Nodes. Maybe your Past and Future Lives can be measured best through these Months.

27.212220 Days.

The combination of these last 3 Lunar Months combines to create a Saros Cycle of 18 years 11 Days 8 hrs. because the the Synodic Months and the Draconic Months almost line up with each other at those spots. (223 Synodic Months = 6585.321 days and 242 Draconic Months = 6585.357 Days).

The Saros cycles run alongside of each other in time. They are a long series of Eclipses that begin with a very short eclipse that builds into the longest Eclipse in the series and then ends with another very short Eclipse. They take 2,000 to 3,000 years to complete and sorry I forgot how many cycles of each Eclipse it takes, 70+ I believe. Astrologers are starting to study them to try to see if they show some sort of common theme. In 1776 when the United States gained Independence, there were significant phases in some Saros Cycles. The Longest Total Lunar Eclipse of Saros 120 occurred on Feb. 4, 1776 possibly showing a culmination of some sort. And, the first Solar Eclipse of Saros 151 occurred on Aug. 14, 1776. There are 72 eclipses in that series. Whew! I wrote that down.

There's also:

Tropical Months: Time it takes between Lunar Equinoxes (Equinoxi?).

27.321582 Days.