“Blood Moon” (2016)
by Barbara Kacicek (1957-)
10 × 10 in., oil on linen
Coppola Collection

Part of an ongoing series from Barbara, commemorating the differently labeled moons that exist.

The phenomenon has been known for a long while: the moon in total eclipse appears reddish in color as it is illuminated by sunlight filtered and refracted by the earth’s atmosphere.

The popularization of the “blood moon” label is quite recent, historically. The blood moon prophecy is a series of apocalyptic beliefs promoted by Christian ministers John Hagee and Mark Biltz, which state that a tetrad (a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses—coinciding on Jewish holidays—with six full moons in between, and no intervening partial lunar eclipses) which began with the April 2014 lunar eclipse is a sign of the end times as described in the Bible in the Book of Joel, Acts 2:20 and Revelation 6:12. The tetrad ended with the lunar eclipse on September 27-28, 2015.

As far as I can tell, we’re still here.

On the up side, Barbara’s painting is phenomenal.