The Influence of the Moon

Whether we like it or not, the moon exerts a significant influence over us, our environment and the important events of our lives.

In fact whoever we are, the Moon is totally inseparable from our daily existences.

People in certain types of jobs (astrophysicists, astrologers, doctors, farmers, writers, sailors, etc.) are aware of this fact and doubtless attach greater importance to it than most other people would do. 

But who of us can claim never to have sought to delve, albeit superficially, into the secrets and mysteries of the Moon? Since the dawn of time, Man has sought to know and to use the powers of the moon.

Why is this? There is evidence to show that the moon has a powerful influence on our behaviour: more than the other planets, it guides our actions, acts on our desires, our intuitions, our feelings and our emotions.

It’s the Moon that conditions our personality and the course our life takes, and it’s the Moon that plays a role in the twists and turns of our fate…

The moon has an effect on our mood; scientific studies have proven the influence it exerts on our psyche. It has also been proven that patients in hospitals are much edgier and more upset during full moon periods. Of course, popular expressions such as “lunatic” or "ill-mooned" hide deeply-held traditional beliefs. 

Medical research has also shown that the birth rate is higher during full moon periods, and these statistics are reflected throughout the world.

Hairdressers also know the influence the moon can have on our body, because some salons are keen to stay open very late on Full Moon nights.

The moon also exerts its influence on nature. Any gardener will tell you: the moon affects plants and vegetation. The moon also controls the tides, its power along displacing millions of tonnes of water! It can even cause currents in deep water, comparable to 800 million kilowatts! All this has been scientifically proven.

There is no shortage of examples that demonstrate the influence of the moon: women’s menstrual cycles, the high birth rate in full moon periods, the growth of plants and vegetation, the tides, climate variations, etc.

But that’s not all! In modern science discoveries involving the effect of the lunar cycle on every living thing on Earth are everyday occurrences. And finding answers to the complex questions that this star throws up is no small task.

For example, why is it that some Madagascan tribes hide their women away from the New Moon when they go into labour?

Why is it that the fabulous blue butterflies of Latin America are really the darkest brown in colour, and it’s the miniscule scales on their wings that act as prism reflecting the blue rays of the moon?

Why is it that Australian koala bears devour almost twice as many of the eucalyptus leaves they love so much right after the full moon?

And why is it that in Singapore it has been discovered that the pull of the moon makes bamboo grow 50 cm. a day? The ‘why is it that…” list could go on and on forever…

In truth, human beings have always been fascinated by the Moon: closely linked to feminine nature, fertility and the great mystery of procreation and our subconscious, it has had iconic status since time immemorial. The Moon was venerated and celebrated through the cult of “Great Mother” also known as the “Goddess-Mother Cult".

We could even say with absolute certainty that since the very beginning of time, this “Great Mother” has accompanied the slow evolution of mankind. The cult dedicated to the Moon was in fact the first form of religion to appear on Earth.

Archaeological sources give us many indications of the presence of a lunar-inspired female deity dating back to 27,000 years BC. If we look back to Palaeolithic times, we find thousands of statuettes, scattered over an area covering the best part of Europe, representing the Moon in the form of a pregnant Goddess of fertility.

Centred around the cult of the Great Goddess Mother, the Moon had the power, among others, to give birth and govern the cycle of rebirths. Through this cult, which spread across various continents, mankind acknowledged the supernatural influence of the Moon in the cyclical return of animals and the seasons, in the maturing of fruits and the birth of young.

From this era onwards, the Moon became the symbol of vegetable, animal and human fertility symbolised by the universal uterus of the Great Mother.