Full Moon Mania

“It is the very error of the moon.
She comes more near the earth
than she was wont. And makes
men mad.”
—William Shakespeare, Othello

ACROSS THE CENTURIES, many a person has uttered the phrase “There must be a full moon out there” in an attempt to explain weird happenings at night. Indeed, the Roman goddess of the moon bore a name that remains familiar to us today: Luna, prefix of the word “lunatic.” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lunacy-and-the-full-moon/

Even today many people think the mystical powers of the full moon induce erratic behaviors, psychiatric hospital admissions, suicides, homicides, emergency room calls, traffic accidents, fights at professional hockey games, dog bites and all manner of strange events…. In 2007 several police departments in the U.K. even added officers on full-moon nights in an effort to cope with presumed higher crime rates.

So if the lunar lunacy effect is merely an astronomical and psychological urban legend, why is it so widespread? There are several probable reasons. Media coverage almost surely plays a role. Scores of Hollywood horror flicks portray full-moon nights as peak times of spooky occurrences such as stabbings, shootings and psychotic behaviors. …As a result of our selective recall, we erroneously perceive an association between full moons and myriad bizarre events.. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lunacy-and-the-full-moon/

According to Raison, the lunar lunacy effect may possess a small kernel of truth in that it may once have been genuine. Raison conjectures that before the advent of outdoor lighting in modern times, the bright light of the full moon deprived people who were living outside—including many who had severe mental disorders—of sleep. Because sleep deprivation often triggers erratic behavior in people with certain psychological conditions, such as bipolar disorder (formerly called manic depression), the full moon may have been linked to a heightened rate of bizarre behaviors in long-bygone eras. So the lunar lunacy effect is, in Raison and his colleagues’ terms, a “cultural fossil.”

However…..personal observation and experience has shown more disturbing behavior in some individuals during the full moon. I love the full moon and feel the moon energy at this time is very strong and powerful. The energy of the moon can be absorbed into water by placing containers full of fresh water in the moonlight for the 3 full moon period. I also have personal experiences with people who always cause trouble in this time as the power of the moon can disturb those who cannot handle it’s power.

The September Full Moon has been very beautiful. I watched the rising moon the night before and the setting moon this morning…both an amazing experience.