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This winter has been bitter for many of us, so let’s talk about a traditional sign of spring appearing in the night sky next month—the “Worm Moon.”
Ushering in morning runs and perhaps some early gardening, the March full moon will signal getting outside more as the weather warms and daylight lengthens. For Native Americans, similarly, this full moon meant maple syrup flowing again and birds like geese and eagles returning.
It also signified beetle larva squirming in the bark of trees and worms wriggling in the thawing soil, thus tribespeople dubbed it the Worm Moon. The name was adopted by colonial explorers centuries ago and it stuck. It’s still used today.
On average, full moons in March don’t look terribly different from those in other months, but a total lunar eclipse next month will make this one exceptional. When the full Worm Moon falls on March 3, at 6:38 a.m. ET, the Earth’s shadow will cause it to darken and turn deep red. This is known as a “Blood Moon.”