What to Know About Your Period During the Super Wolf Blood Moon

On Sunday, millions of people will be able to check out what's known as a "Super Wolf Blood Moon," (opens in new tab) which, I know, sounds like the creepiest, most apocalyptic thing ever. In fact, it's a total lunar eclipse during which the moon will take on a cool reddish color that you can see with the naked eye. Per Forbes (opens in new tab), North and Central America will view the red-hued moon on Sunday night, and South American and Western Europe can see it in the very early hours on Monday. But here's an important question: Will it affect your period, like many women reported last year's total solar eclipse did? (opens in new tab)

There is a lot of speculation about how the cycles of the moon affect our menstruation in general. According to a Nylon article (opens in new tab), there are two types of women who menstruate—those who usually menstruate with the white moon cycle, and those who do so with the red moon cycle. Since we're talking about the Super Wolf Blood Moon here, the women most likely to be affected are Red Mooners, who menstruate with the full moon and "are said to focus their 'darker' and more creative menstrual energies outward, rather than inward, in order to nourish and teach others from their own experience."

Back during the total solar eclipse last August, Marie Claire reported (opens in new tab) that many women noticed their period cycles going haywire around the time of the eclipse. But there hasn't been much research done around the topic, so it's impossible to say for sure whether there's any connection. But the connection seems at least plausible—Allison Walton, a women's health and integrative nutrition specialist, told Sinrich: "Think about the power of the moon's gravitational pull on the tides. Now imagine what that may do to our body as well."

Elite Daily (opens in new tab), meanwhile, explains that a full moon is thought to bring regularity to our cycles—there's allegedly a special significance to a lunar cycle, because the moon's cycle is 28 days, like the traditional four-week cycle for menstruation. But there's a catch with the Super Wolf Blood Moon: Because this is the second full moon of the month, it apparently may cause more moodiness and "double the hormonal fluctuations."

All that said, the Super Wolf Blood Moon doesn't technically have anything to do with menstruation; the "blood" in the title is in reference to its color. But if you happen to be crabby this Sunday, you now have a built-in excuse: The blood moon made me do it.

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