November 19, 2021
Sinister time as micromoon turns to blood
It’s a full moon tonight, which for Māori was usually a sign of health and plenty.
But this time it takes on a sinister edge, with an eclipse passing over from 8:20 pm, peaking at 10:04 pm and finishing at 11:48 pm.
Māori astronomer Rangi Mataamua says while it’s known now as a blood moon, the old Māori would call it a Marama kūtia – indicating it was being squeezed or choked.
For the same reason, a solar eclipse is an rā kūtia.
“Whero or the god of darkness and disease periodically attacks either the sun or the moon with the intention of casting the world back into darkness because that is the world in which he rules, so he rebels against everything that emits light, so he attacks these deities. They’re too strong and they eventually cast him aside and the light shines back in so for Māori this is actually quite a sinister time,” Dr Mataamua says.
Tonight’s eclipse is a micro moon, with the moon at its furthest point from Earth, as opposed to the super blood moon earlier this year when it was at its closest.