Phases of the Moon and Life on Earth

How the Moon Affects our Planet

The ever-changing moon moves swiftly through the night-time sky and with her cycles and phases there are links with life on Earth, with human personality and activity.

From one new moon to another takes 29 ½ days. Most years have thirteen new moons or thirteen full moons but never both. Occasionally a year will miss out and have twelve of each. As well as the cycles of the moon as it travels through each sign of the zodiac each month, there are eclipses, Harvest Moons and Blue Moons.

The phases of the moon have been observed and recorded since ancient times and man has always respected the importance of the moon’s cycle. Observations have noted the following lunar effects.

Full Moon and Lunacy

There are more accidents, crimes and admissions to mental homes at the time of a full moon. At the University of Miami, psychologist Arnold Lieber and his colleagues decided to test the old belief of full moon and lunacy. Research using murder date from Cuyahoga County in Ohio, Cleveland showed that the full moon marks a monthly peak in various kinds of psychotically oriented crimes such as murder, arson, dangerous driving and kleptomania.

Crimes and violence aren’t the only things affected by the full moon. In the Journal of the Florida Medical Association, Dr Edson Andrews noted that ina study of 1000 tonsillectomies, 82 per cent of postoperative bleeding crises occurred nearer the full than the new moon, despite the fact that fewer operations were performed at that time. This suggests the full moon is a more dangerous time for surgery.

Moon Phases and Tree Felling

In South America and Southeast Asia, tree-harvesting contracts are linked to the phases of the moon. Trees are only cut down on a waning moon, as near to the new moon as possible. This is because on a waxing moon, the sap rises in the trees, this attracts hordes of deathwatch beetles which can destroy a crop.

Moon Babies

Curtis Jackson, controller of Southern California Methodist hospital quantified over 11,000 births over a period of six years and found that nearly 1,000 more children were conceived during the waxing moon. The conclusion drawn from this is that conception is easier at this time.

Lunar Calendar, Life and Astrology

How does the Moon affect personality and life events? Rather than look for a reason, many astrologers observe and trust in what they see through those observations. Just as God can’t be seen but many trust without question and feel His presence in their lives.

Some will argue that because the human body, like the Earth is about 70 per cent water, the Moon’s pull must surely be felt within our bodies too. It has been seen that the Moon does have an affect and further personal observations can

Sources

McKeown B A Fish Migration

Moon Phases, Astrology and the Earth

Moon Calendar, Moon Cycles and Known Effects on Earth

It is a fact that the moon moves the tides through its gravitational pull and also that women’s menstrual cycles are often in alignment with the moon. How else can lunar effects be seen on earth?

Observations throughout the ages have helped man live by the moon and recognise how the moon’s cycles effect the earth, lives and personality.

Moon and Tides

Perhaps the most noticeable effect the moon has on the earth is its gravitational pull which is responsible for the tides. The relationship between moon and tides was observed by the ancients and is lost in antiquity. It was observed that whenever tidal levels rose, the moon was visible and thus the relationship between the two because part of folklore.
When the moon, the earth and the sun are in line, Spring Tides are formed and very high tides or very low tides can be expected. When the moon, the earth and the sun are at right angles to each other, Neap Tides are formed. During these tides there is not a great deal of difference in the heights of the high and low tides.

Moon Calendar and Farming

In ancient times, man looked to the sun, moon and stars and recognised patterns in the cycles by which they would live by. Farmers had a planting calendar based on the phases of the moon and there would be different variations depending on geographical location. As this knowledge was passed on through the generations it evolved to cover different crops and more productive farming techniques were used.

Planting was the most important time for farmers as was harvest time. It was seen that different plants grew better when planted at different phases of the moon. Each of the moon’s phases seems to have a different influence on the way vegetation grows on earth through the rising and falling of moisture on the ground and in the plants.

Seeds germinate more quickly and effectively when sown with a moon waxing to full. The water content of plants is greater at a full moon.

Lunar Cycles, New Moon and Salmon

It has been found that there is a relationship between a surge of the hormone thyroxin in salmon, the new moon and the onset of downstream migration. Spawning migrations in fish occur only at night during March to August at the time of a full or new moon. Lunar spawning migrations have been reported in other fish species as well.

Moon and Menstruation

Menstruation takes its name from the moon and is often to be seen linked to the lunar cycle. Many woman find their periods tend to occur at a New Moon or Full Moon.

As the moon waxes and wanes throughout the month, so does the female cycle. She will experience different moods, desires and aspects of herself depending on where she is in the menstrual cycle. The light of the full moon stimulates ovulation. This is a good time for conception and also a time of increase sexual activity.

Moon and Psychology

Some conditions, especially depression, anxiety and behavioural problems have been associated with a full moon effect. C P Thakur and Dilip Sharma published an article in the British Medical Journal in 1984 suggesting that incidents of crime were far higher on full moon days, based on researching four years of police reports from three towns, one rural, one urban and one industrial. It was also found that poisonings were more likely on full moon days and crimes of all types rose by a significant amount.