A few days ago, I mentioned some people think that if a full Moon falls on certain days of the week, it’s lucky — or maybe unlucky.
I know I’ve blogged about this before, but since ancient times, moons and full moons, especially, have been associated with bizarre happenings of all kinds. As far as I can tell these notions fall into the superstition or folklore category, but a lot of people, including some members of our families absolutely believe there’s something to them….
For some, a full Moon is romantic, but for others, it evokes madness. But people have always been bewitched by the full Moon and are convinced it influences the human mind or spirit and the rhythms of nature.
A full Moon only occurs about 12 times a year, give or take. so the repeating phases of the Moon have intrigued people for centuries. The Moon is regular in its cycle, but not exactly regular — so it took people some time to figure it out.
Even the origin of the terms we use when discussing the Moon gives us some insight into our perception of the Moon — the words Lunacy, lunatic and loony all have their origins in the word “lunar.” And the persistent belief that werewolves morph into their canine incarnations when the Moon is full leads to the belief that it is a time of transformation and magic.
For years, many doctors and mental health professionals believed there was a strong connection between madness and the Moon. Hippocrates, considered the father of modern medicine, wrote in the fifth century that “one who is seized with terror, fright and madness during the night is being visited by the goddess of the Moon.”
In 18th century England, people on trial for murder could campaign for a lighter sentence on grounds of lunacy if the crime occurred under a full Moon. Even today, contrary to scientific evidence, some people think full Moons make everyone a little loony.
In the 1820s, the Bavarian astronomer Franz von Paula Gruithuisen claimed to have glimpsed entire cities on the Moon with his telescope. He wrote that the “lunarians” who live there had built sophisticated buildings, roads and forts. Most of his colleagues scoffed at his assertion, but he eventually got a small luna crater named after him.
One theory that still exists today is that full Moons cause an uptick in births, flooding maternity wards with mothers-to-be in labor. Studies have turned up little statistical evidence for Moon-induced baby booms.
Several science-fiction books of the early 20th century, including H.G Wells’ The First Men in the Moon, take place within a hollow Moon inhabited by aliens. In 1970 two Soviet scientists took this seemingly whimsical premise a step further, proposing that the Moon is actually a shell-like alien spacecraft built by extraterrestrials with superior technology and intelligence.
After World War II, rumors circulated that German astronauts had traveled to the moon and established a top-secret facility there. Some even speculated that Adolf Hitler faked his own death, fled the planet and lived out the rest of his days in an underground lunar hideout.
Legends from various traditions around the world, including Buddhism and Native American folklore, recount the tale of a rabbit that lives on the moon. This shared myth may reflect common interpretations of markings on the lunar surface — an alternate take on the famous “man in the Moon.”
There is actually a bit of logic to the myths linking the Moon and human behavior. Earth, much like the human body, is composed mostly of water. If the Moon’s gravitational pull can affect ocean tides, so the reasoning goes, couldn’t it also affect a person’s body? Some American Indian tribes considered the full Moon to be the best time to detox and take part in “sweat lodge” rituals. Their thinking was that “at that point, the Moon’s pull is going to pull more out of you.”
Even today some people consult the lunar calendar when deciding when to have surgery. Each part of the zodiac corresponds with a part of the body. As the Moon moves through the different signs, the superstitious caution against medical intervention on that body part or region.
And farmers who’s livelihoods depend on the health of their crops — planting by the phases of the Moon is still common in some rural areas.
So the Moon always has, and will probably continue to fascinate us in her simplicity, but remember that we’re all under the same sky, looking at the same Moon….
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