A full moon will appear on Friday the 13th tonight, something that hasn't happened for 19 years.

The last time a nationwide full moon happened on the spooky date was on October 13 2000, and it won't happen again until 2049.

And while some fear this day might be particularly unlucky with a full moon and Friday the 13th on the same day, some astrologers actually believe the number 13 is lucky, meaning a full moon that falls on the 13th is particularly lucky, RSVP Live reports.

"It's such a beautiful sign for us to tap into our own divinity and our heart space,” says Gabriela Herstik, author of Inner Witch: A Modern Guide To The Ancient Craft, told  Refinery29.com :  “This is a holistically grounded time for us to access our intuition and our feelings.”

A super blood wolf moon over Ashford in Kent during a lunar eclipse

She added: “It's a time for us to shed fear and release anything keeping us back, it’s a time to live authentically in alignment with our heart and our vision. The full moon always signals the completion of cycles, which is especially powerful this month because we’re so near the equinox and the end of the year"

However, can the moon really mess with your mood and emotions as so many people seem to believe?

For centuries, we've heard stories of humans turning into wild werewolves or the end of days because of the moon.

But they're not as far fetched as you may think.

There are multiple accounts from medical professionals in  A&E  who have said they've seen an increase in activity.

A full moon will not fall on Friday the 13th again for another 30 years

Eric Chudler  , Ph.D., a research associate professor in the department of bioengineering at the University of Washington in Seattle found that the following activity increased during a full moon.

  • Anxiety
  • Crime
  • Animal bites
  • Accidents
  • Drug overdose
  • ER visits
  • Suicides
  • Hospital admissions
  • Violence and aggression

According to Chudler, while urban legend persists, the scientific results related to how full moons affect human behavior are somewhat inconclusive.

He said in his research: "Perhaps one of the first things you notice about [lunar] studies is that the results are inconsistent.

"Some studies show a particular behavior will occur more often during the full moon and other studies show no relationship between the behavior and the full moon.

"Although most experiments fail to show a relationship between the phase of the moon and abnormal behavior, the belief in the 'lunar effect' is still strong among many people.

"Unfortunately, the occasional newspaper story that describes strange behaviors during a full moon only reinforces this myth."

What does a "blood moon" mean?

It simply means that moon will look more reddish in colour. It will appear much brighter and larger than usual as well.

The name is derived from the Blood Moon, which is also known as a total lunar eclipse. This occurs when the Earth moves in between the sun and the moon. The Earth will cast a shadow over the moon, and this in turn blocks out the sun's light.

Because of how the light passes through the Earth's atmosphere during an eclipse, red light from the bright sun is reflected onto it and this is what makes the moon look red.

How does the moon affect us?

Lunacy and lunatic stem from luna, the Latin word for moon.

It is believed that people were more likely to show erratic behavior during a full moon.

A publication on the National Criminal Justice Reference Service titled  lunar effect- biological tides and human emotions , shows extensive analyses of data on human behavior.

Lunar astronomy accurately indicated that the repression of the moon's gravitational influence brings about social tension, disharmony and bizarre results.

Another  study looked at data over a 5-year period  from police records in Florida, which showed an increase in cases of homicide and aggravated assault around full moons.

There are three ways the moon can affect us:

  • It can affect our sleep
  • A supermoon can cause a baby boom
  • The moon could regulate menstrual cycles



Swiss study  showed that the moon's phases affect our sleep.

In most sleep studies, research participants were not aware of the moon phase or time cues.

The study showed that sleep is significantly affected by lunar phases.

Their results show changes to sleep throughout the moon’s 29.5-day cycle, and significant increases to sleep disruption during the time immediately surrounding the full moon.

During study periods, volunteers slept in a highly controlled laboratory environment, which removed them from any direct visual contact with the moon, and controlled exposure to nighttime light.

They were given no indications about time of day. Participants prepared for the study by having their sleep routines regulated before the study period even began: for a week before in-laboratory sleep sessions, volunteers maintained a strict sleep-wake schedule and pattern of exposure to light and dark.

Full moon

They also abstained from both caffeine and alcohol.

What’s behind this connection between our sleep and the cycle of the moon?

That ultimately remains something of a mystery—but scientists have some ideas, based on other research linking animal physiology to lunar cycles. As researchers point out, the answer does not lie with forces of gravity.

In their study, they said: "Since the full moon does not have an explicit gravitational effect on terra firma, gravitational forces cannot explain lunar repercussions on human sleep.

"Although the moon clearly influences oceanic tides, it does not produce tides in smaller bodies of water such as lakes and even some seas, let alone in a human body."

Baby Boom

Researchers  followed 1,000 births in a hospital in Kyoto, Japan, where the mothers were not induced. Their  study showed  more babies were born when the moon was the closest to Earth, when the gravitational pull is the strongest.

According to theories that persist to this day, full moons cause a moon-induced baby boom.

The Japanese study was conducted on a population of births in a private midwife hospital from January, 1966 to December, 2000.

In their research, they said: "There was a significant increase in the cases of births, when the gravitation of the Moon to the Earth was less than 31.5 N.

"Results of this study suggest that the gravitation of the Moon has an influence on the frequency of  births ."

Menstrual Cycle

Biological clock researcher at the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Dr. Tobias Kaiser told  AccuWeather : "An effect of the moon on the  menstrual cycle  is controversial: Some studies show it, some refute it."

In nature there are certain events that happen at an absolutely regular basis.

The seasons have a yearly cycle, the moon phases 29.5 days, night and day 24 hours and the tides 12.4 hours.

A menstrual cycle has about the same length as the moon cycle, which is roughly a 29.5-day cycle.