The Amazing Moon
“The Amazing Moon”
Why are we so fascinated with the moon ?
I know I just love being outside during an evening with the full moon. In fact, I’ve even howled at the moon. It’s amazing how much light it can provide. While working in the mental health field many moons ago, practitioners use to say our clients would show us when the full moon has arrived and the crisis center would be busier than normal. Could it actually have been true that there is this “affect” that takes place on the human body when there is a full moon ?
Wikipedia state s that Full Moons are traditionally associated with temporal insomnia, insanity (hence the terms lunacy and lunatic) and various “magical phenomena” such as lycanthropy. Depending on where you do your research there are psychologists that found that there is no strong evidence for effects on human behavior around the time of a Full Moon. They find that studies are generally not consistent, with some showing a positive effect and others showing a negative effect. However, The British Medical Journal in December 23, 2000, published two studies on dog bite admissions to hospitals in England and Australia. The study of the Bradford Royal Infirmary found that dog bites were twice as common during a Full Moon, whereas the study conducted by the public hospitals in Australia found that they were less likely. However, Dr. Timo Partonen of the Finnish National Public Health Institute carried out a study of 1,400 suicides and found that people were more likely to make an attempt on their life when there was a New Moon. Maybe I need to continue studying the affects on people during the New Moon. If your visiting www.hippymom.com the New Moon you will see members wanting to know when to write their Abundance Checks. There are strong believers on this site that swear it’s this little step during the New Moon that when you align yourself with the Universe during the New Moon that you will bring abundance into your life. I have to admit I am one of those individuals.
If you want to learn more about abundance checks try this website: http://www.rolandberard.com/Production/EN/abundance_2006.htm
Many neopagans hold a monthly ritual called an Esbat at each Full Moon, while some people practicing traditional Chinese religions prepare their ritual offerings to their ancestors and deities on every full and New Moon. Then there is the Blue Moon. The term “Blue Moon” traditionally referred to an extra moon in a season~ if a season had four Full Moons (rather than the more common three), then the third of the four moons was known as a Blue Moon. A season in this sense begins not with the months, but with the solstices and equinoxes, as described on Blue Moon. The next “Blue Moon” will be in December, 2009 with full moons on December 2 and December 31.
My favorite moon is the Harvest Moon. Wikipedia has this for part of it’s explanation:
The harvest moon is the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. The Harvest moon is often mistaken for the modern day Hunter’s moon. In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible. The Full Moons of September, October and November as seen from the northern hemisphere – which correspond to the full Moons of March, April and May as seen from the southern hemisphere – are well known in the folkloreof the sky. All Full Moons rise around the time of sunset. However, although in general the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, as it moves in orbit around Earth, the Harvest Moon and Hunter’s Moon are special, because around the time of these Full Moons, the time difference between moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than usual. In other words, the moon rises approximately 30 minutes later, from one night to the next, as seen from about 40 degrees N. or S. latitude, for several evenings around the full Hunter’s or Harvest Moons. In times past this feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter’s Moon, hunters tracking their prey). They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest Moon. I personally love the Harvest Moon because it’s warm and you it’s very bright and I feel totally energized.
The Moon is just amazing in my eyes. It takes about 1.25 seconds for moonlight to reach the Earth yet we all take it for granted that it’s always going to be there for us.
What would our nights be like without a moon ?
