In early societies, the moon was regarded as a mother and early people believed that she also brought fertility and growth to the animals, plants and people as she grew each month. Her appearance and changing shape throughout the month, as observed from earth, is still regarded symbolically by pagans as reflecting the birth of the moon child and growth of that child into the moon maiden as the crescent moon waxes or increases. You can even see the moon woman in the sky, bulging pregnant in the week before the full moon.
The full moon then symbolically becomes the mother. As the moon wanes or decreases in size, the moon mother becomes the wise grandmother who dies with the end of the cycle as the moon disappears from the sky. In the dark of the moon or new moon, in the two and a half days when the moon is not visible in the sky, the old moon is reborn in an ever-continuing cycle.
This moon imagery even today symbolises a link with the life cycle of humans as they move from youth to age, with the fertile woman's monthly menstrual cycle and, more generally, with the monthly mental and spiritual emotional ebbs and flows experienced by men and women alike. It is this last aspect I will focus on as the most useful expression of lunar energy in the modern world.
There is great ongoing controversy over whether the changing monthly moon physically affects the human mind. Some research suggests that the moon - especially the full moon - does have physical effects on human moods and behaviour.
Most notable is the work carried out at the University of Miami during the 1970s, in which a psychologist, Dr Arnold Lieber, and his team studied 1,887 cases of murder committed in Dale County in Miami from data that covered 15 years, between 1956 and 1970. They also took into account a similar number of cases from Cuyahoga County in Cleveland, Ohio.
In both sets of data the murder rate sharply increased just before the full or the new moon approached and declined just as significantly during the first and the last quarters of the moon.
An earlier report from the American Institute of Medical Climatology on behalf of the Philadelphia Police Department discovered that other crimes such as arson, theft and dangerous driving also sharply increased around the full moon.
No one really knows precisely how this might work, but Dr Lieber speculated that because the human body contains a high proportion of water, human emotions, like the earthly tides, may be subject to hormonal moon tides.
Another theory is that there are increased positive ions or atoms in the air at the time of the full moon. Despite their name, positive ions are not good for health and may be linked to hyperactivity, depression, anger and also migraines and some allergies such as asthma.
In Native North America, as in other indigenous societies, women traditionally shed the old womb lining during the dark of the moon when it was not visible in the sky. At this time the menstruating women lived apart from the rest of the tribe in a specially constructed moon lodge, resting, dreaming and contemplating, while the older women cared for the family.
Menstruating women were considered sacred and to have prophetic powers at this time. The full moon was ideally the time of peak fertility, hence the practical association with the full moon and passion in the superstitions of different lands.
This menstruating with the moon cycle still occurs among women in those few societies where there is no artificial light and where the old traditions remain strong.
Of course, withdrawing and resting during menstruation is an impossible ideal for most modern women, but in our anxiety not to treat menstruation as an illness, sometimes women who do suffer pain and bad Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) can push themselves too hard. Nowadays, women often regard the process as a nuisance rather than a sacred sign of their moon wisdom.
From my own work with women, I have discovered that in some cases women who are anxious to conceive may benefit from getting back into rhythm with the natural lunar cycles. This may even begin to regularise their menstrual cycles, which are positively affected psychologically as a result of a new awareness of the moon phases.
It is interesting to note that women living in boarding schools, colleges and convents often find that their menstrual cycles harmonise with each others' naturally. Lunar menstrual harmony may increase naturally over the months if you relax and just focus on the moon in its different phases and spend lots of time watching it, relaxing and breathing in its light.
You may discover as you work with moon energies month by month that your menstrual cycle spontaneously comes more into alignment with the moon cycles and as a result PMS becomes less intense if it occurs during the natural waning or letting go period. Moon awareness also helped me psychologically during the menopause.
If you are having problems conceiving, some of the traditional moon spells may relax you and help to bring back joy and spontaneity to lovemaking, even if you are having fertility treatment or intervention. I have suggested some of these in my Complete Book of Spells (see Further Reading).
Although the effects of the moon on humans may be disputed, strong experimental evidence of connections between plant growth and the moon confirms what farmers have known for many hundreds of years.
One example is the work done at Northwestern University by Professor Frank Brown, Professor of Biology. He demonstrated in extensive studies during the late 1950s that seedlings absorb more water at the time of the full moon than at the new moon and, as a result, germinate faster and grow more successfully than those sown at the new moon.
This is just one of numerous lunar plant growth effects that have been investigated and proven (see Further Reading for books on this fascinating area of study).
Throughout pagan spirituality, especially Wicca, there are a number of traditional lunar associations. These are listed below and can be used to help you explore the energies of the main moon phases or to focus on those areas related to the moon that you feel need attention in your life.
Use the associations either as background at home or as you focus for five or ten minutes on a particular need.
Make a start by lighting two lunar fragrance incense sticks in a holder that keeps the sticks upright (and the smoke therefore goes straight up). Watch the coiling patterns of smoke as you breathe slowly.
This enables you to access the deeper parts of your mind where many of the solutions to dilemmas exist just out of reach of the conscious mind. It should also calm you and thus enable you to flow with aspects of life that cannot be changed at present.
The cycle from new moon to new moon lasts 29.5 days but because the moon has an irregular orbit, the rising and setting of the moon will vary each day and the length of the moon month can likewise vary by up to a day. The cycle of the moon can be divided into either three or eight phases.
You can follow the different moon phases in the weather section of a newspaper or diary, but what you see in the sky and what you feel are always your best guides to using moon energies.
In order to follow the monthly journey of the moon, watch her in the sky, not just for one month but for several. Even in town you can use buildings as markers and will notice slight variations in position as the months pass, because of the moon's irregular path.
Catherine Yronwode describes a simple method of telling the approximate moon phases if you are totally unfamiliar with the concept.
She says if the moon is shining in the sky in the evening when the sun sets, it is waxing (increasing) and each night rises a little later and gets a little fatter. The full moon rises almost at the same time as the sun sets.
If the moon is not in the sky when the sun sets, she says, but rises long after sunset or you can see it faintly during the day the following day, rising again a little later and looking thinner each day, you know it is waning (decreasing).
The moon phases are available in Old Moore's Almanack.
For a few months note down when you feel unduly active or depressed for no apparent reason. Check the moon phase on these occasions and you may find that particular days of the waxing or waning cycle affect you strongly either positively or negatively each month.
Other people may be less affected. Each of us, men as well as women, may react in a slightly different way to the fluctuations of the moon according to our unique make-up.
Becoming aware of the moon and structuring personal and family life, where possible, round its phases, does result in smoother flowing days and calmer evenings. Pre-school children and hormonal teenagers seem especially responsive to moon cycles.
Like the moon, you and any children, pets or plants become more dynamic and charged as the moon increases in size. This effect is also noticeable with moonstones and topaz.
You will not see a physical change in the crystals but as you hold them will feel the difference in energies with these lunar barometer crystals. Any moon crystals are good for centring your emotions if you feel out of synchronicity with life.
As the moon wanes, you and any children will lose energy and enthusiasm. This is the spirit and body's way of telling you to slow down and regenerate where possible.
I am convinced that hyperactivity, PMS and irritability increase if we run counter to waning moon energies.
Of course, you can't ring into work and say that you are not coming in because the moon is waning. However, you can cut down on non-essential tasks, postpone redecorating until the moon waxes again and change exercise regimes to bring in more natural methods such as walking or swimming.
As I discovered in my own family life, it was not a good idea to take children to theme parks where they would be whirled upside down on dangerous rides on the waning moon - tears and fights inevitably occurred.
Save the more dynamic activities for the waxing period and on the wane enjoy quiet walks and candlelit evenings.
Lunar energies differ from solar energies since they build up gradually and so are good for more sustained efforts or aims that may take several months to fulfil. This is especially true of the full moon where energies are similar to the solar noon tide but last much longer.
For extra power, focus on a need or take practical steps towards fulfilling it when the sun and the moon are in the sky at the same time. This occurs regularly, for example, a waning moon and dawn sun appear together, and is particularly effective for bringing balancing energies or different factors in your life.
The following lists indicate the areas of your life that you can effectively focus upon and suggested activities for each of the three phases of the moon. These phases are particularly good to use if you are looking for a broad sweep of energy.
If you want more subtle divisions, refer to the eight phases of the moon. Choose the method of lunar division that works best for you or, if you prefer, use both methods at different times according to your needs. If there is a difficult or long-standing issue you may need to focus for several moon cycles.
1 The waxing moon
This is usually calculated from the crescent moon to the night before the full moon. Waxing moon energies correspond with solar dawn energies.
Use the energies of the waxing moon for focusing on:
Waxing moon activities
2 The full moon
Purists calculate the time of the full moon as the very second when the moon is at its fullest but, in practice, its energies are powerful for 24 hours before the full moon time and during the week after the full moon, though these decrease the further from the full moon you are.
The energies of the full moon correspond with noon solar energies.
Use the full moon energies to focus on:
Full moon activities
3 The waning moon
The waning period extends until the waning crescent disappears from the sky.
The energies of the waning moon correspond with dusk or twilight solar energies.
Use the waning moon for:
Waning moon activities
I wash my hands in your waning light. Take from me sickness/sorrow/pain this night, kind grandmother.
If using a candle, blow it out and tip the water away outdoors. You can repeat this ritual for more than one night if you wish and can name someone else who is sick.
The dark of the moon
There is a fourth short and very inactive stage that corresponds with the midnight solar phase. The two and a half to three days after the waning moon phase are called the dark of the moon when the moon is so close to the sun that it is invisible
This is a good time for planning, for meditation and for any detoxifying programmes. As this is the time of the rebirth of the moon it is also a very satisfying period for sex.
The more subtle eight phases of the moon are the cosmic version of the earthly daily Aetts but divided over the moon month of 28 or 29 days.
It can be useful to think of these eight phases in four periods:
Period 1: days 1-3
Period 2: days 4-14
From when the crescent first appears in the sky to the day the full moon rises. The light increases from right to left during this period. The closer to the full moon, the more intense the energies and the larger the moon disk. (Gibbous means protuberant.)
Period 3: days 15-17
Period 4: days 18-28 or 29
The moon decreases from right to left until, finally, the crescent disappears from the left. About two and a half days later the crescent reappears on the right as a silver sliver again.
1 The new moon, days 1-3
Equivalent to the midnight tide of the Aetts, the new moon (or dark of the moon) rises at dawn and sets at dusk. Because the sun and moon are in the same part of the sky, the sunlight obscures the moon in the day.
At night the moon is on the other side of the earth with the sun and you will see nothing.
This corresponds with the dark of the moon that follows the three phases of the moon, and this is the point at which the two systems are identical.
Day 1 is especially good for meditation or for spending some quiet time walking in the countryside or sitting quietly by water.
Some months you may glimpse the crescent moon on day 3 in which case you can merge the two energies of the new and crescent moon.
2 The waxing crescent, days 4-7
The first quarter or crescent is very slender at this time and is most easily seen at sunset close to the place where the sun sets.
The crescent moon rises mid morning and sets some time after sunset. During this period, the moon can be seen on a clear day from moonrise to moonset.
Use its energies to set plans in motion, for matters concerning animals and small children and for optimism, new love, family joy, making wishes and the gradual growth of money.
3 The first quarter, days 8-11
The moon rises about noon and sets about midnight. The moon can be seen from rise to set.
Use its energies for improved health, good luck and courage, attracting or increasing love, employment issues, house moves and to increase the speed of inflowing finances.
Day 8 is very good for healing.
Day 10 is special for visions of other realms and for gaining insights into old problems.
4 The waxing gibbous, days 12-14
The gibbous moon rises in the middle of the afternoon and sets before dawn the next day. It can be seen soon after rising and then until it sets. It is easily recognisable by the pregnant bulge on its left side.
Use its energies for increased personal power, commitment in love, fertility, promotion, travel and for a boost to finish a project and to make a good impression or sell yourself.
Day 13 and day 14 are good for starting healthy-eating plans and exercise regimes and for contacting old friends or people you would like to know better.
5 The full moon, days 15-17
You can experience the full moon energies most powerfully from moon rise to moon set on the day and night of the full moon.
Within this time band, which is narrower than the full moon period described in the three-phase system, the hours immediately around the full moon rising and the following two days transmit these powerful energies.
The full moon rises before sunset and sets at sunrise so you can have a brief surge when both sun and full moon are in the sky together.
Use the energies of these days to initiate sudden or dramatic change, for all urgent or pressing matters concerning women and especially mothers, for the granting of small miracles, for artistic and creative success and for the swift and successful resolution of legal or official matters that have been dragging on.
Day 15 is good for an all-or-nothing leap and for confirmation that you are right to pursue a particular course.
6 The waning gibbous, days 18-21
The waning full moon (or disseminating moon) is shrinking and rises now in the mid evening, setting in the middle of the next morning, being visible for much of the time.
Use the decreasing full moon for focusing on the protection of home, self and loved ones, for banishing bad habits, phobias and fears, for ending a long-standing destructive or abusive relationship, for relieving acute pain and fighting viruses and for leaving behind past regrets that hold us back from happiness.
7 The last quarter, days 22-25
This moon rises at about midnight and sets around midday the next day. She is visible for the whole time she is in the sky.
Use for protection while travelling, especially at night, for getting rid of unfriendly ghosts, for concerns about older people, for mending quarrels, for avoiding intrusion of privacy, for peaceful divorce and for relieving stress.
Day 23 is an important time for healing and day 25 for women's needs.
8 The waning crescent, days 26-28 or 29
The waning crescent, or balsamic, moon rises before dawn (after the midnight of its day) and sets at mid afternoon of the following day. She is best seen in the eastern sky in the dawn and very early morning.
Use the waning crescent for quiet sleep if you are an insomniac, for peace of mind if you have been anxious or depressed, for protection from crime and violence, for the easing of addictions, for keeping secrets, for saying goodbye finally and for finding what is lost or has been stolen.
This is not apparent in the sky, but is a brief time when meetings or projects tend to get stuck and travel plans can go haywire.
The void of course occurs as the moon leaves one astrological sign and travels to another. The moon spends about two and a half days each month in each zodiac sign. The void of course can last from a few minutes to almost a day.
You can check the timing of the moon void of course in any almanac, such as Old Moore's, or increasingly in newspaper horoscope pages. In an almanac, there will be 'v/c' or 'VOC' next to the moon symbol and the time this begins.
The next entry will tell you the time the moon enters the new zodiac sign, marking the ending of the 'void of course' period.
Allow extra time for everything, double check travel plans or appointment details, especially venues, and if possible avoid trying to finalise anything during this brief stagnant period.
This may sound weird, but monitor a few void-of-course times in your daily life and those of others, and you will find that the number of hitches or delays that occur is quite significant.
Hunter-gatherers and, later, farmers created the earliest calendars by marking the full moons within the lunar cycle on rock, bone or wood. In indigenous traditions such as those of the Native North Americans and the Celts, the names of the different full moons reflected the annual observable migration and reproduction of the birds and animals and the growth of trees and food plants upon which human survival depended.
By counting forward from any point, it could be calculated how many times the moon would be seen in the sky before the blossom appeared on the trees or the geese and ducks laid their eggs.
Full moons are still significant today, for example, in China where they determine the precise date of the Chinese New Year and indeed in Christianity, where Easter is marked by the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox (this usually falls around March 21 in the northern hemisphere).
A blue moon is when more than one full moon occurs in the same month, and these have always been regarded as especially lucky.
The pagan lunar calendar we know most about is the Celtic system, and the early first century CE Roman historian Pliny reported that the druids, the Celtic priesthood, calculated their months and years by lunar time.
The Celtic calendar is more sophisticated than the remarkably similar Native North American moon calendar and noted the moon months when the roads would hopefully be sufficiently dry for travelling to markets, fairs or to seek justice, so that people could make plans to travel two or three moon months ahead.
The archaeological source of our knowledge of Celtic lunar calculations comes from the Coligny calendar which consists of surviving fragments of a huge bronze plate measuring, when it was intact, 1.5 m/5 ft by 1 m/3.5 ft.
The calendar, named after the location where it was discovered in Eastern France in 1897, was engraved in Gaulish, but with Roman letters and numbers.
It has 12 cyclical moon months and it seems, from the 62 consecutive months recorded, that an additional two months were included (one every two and half to three years, consisting of 30 days each). This extra magical bi-yearly month was called Ciallos, the month of no time.
The Coligny calendar ran from full moon to full moon. One theory suggests that the Romanised Gauls replaced an earlier Celtic calendar that was 13 lunar months long, the usual number of moons within a solar calculated year.
If you are interested you can find many excellent online lunar calendars and calculators for the Coligny dates and some lunar almanacs include the Coligny and Native North American months.
However, you may prefer, as I do, to adapt this and the Native North American-inspired calendars to your own everyday world.
Just as these peoples related the full moon in the sky to what was happening in their lives, over the coming year, beginning with the next full moon, create names for each of the moons to reflect the events in your world.
You may, if you wish, choose to name a full-moon month Ciallos or adapt the name to reflect a major change in your lifestyle.
However, if you prefer, just keep the moons rolling one after the other. You can also use the spare month, which can be named as you wish, if a moon month name does not feel right for what is going on.
For me, for example, the full moon in January represents Reckoning Moon when my very chaotic tax accounts are due. Also, after Christmas, it really is a time for assessing what works and does not work financially, career wise and emotionally to plan the coming year's diary.
Wherever you live in the world you will probably find an older indigenous lunar calendar in existence that can act as your template. For example, among the Maori peoples of pre-European New Zealand, the lunar calendar was called maramataka and divided the year into 12 lunar months.
Ohua was the night of the full moon when it was totally circular. The Maori months were calculated from the new moon, the night of Whiro before it was visible in the sky.
For example, their Pipiri lunar month, its name in the east coastal areas, which began around early June, was also the Maori New Year.
It was called the month when 'everything was shrunken by cold even humans', but it was regarded as a moon and a month of hope, as with the year turning, better weather and times were coming, a bit like my Reckoning Moon.
To make your own lunar calendar, follow these steps:
Pagans and non-pagans alike are usually aware of their birth signs and many can identify characteristics of these signs in themselves and friends and family. As the moon travels around the earth each month, in its orbit it passes through each of the sun or zodiac signs in turn and remains in each sign for about two and a half days.
Each lunar sun sign period has its own specific energies that are especially potent for people born under that birth sign. It offers a mini birth-sign energy boost every month.
However, it can also accentuate the basic characteristics of the sun-sign personality and so can bring out the worst as well as the best in the person born under the sign the moon is temporarily passing through.
People whose sign opposes the sign the moon is passing through may find the period challenging but stimulating. The opposing signs are:
The energies of the individual sun signs are favourable for particular purposes during the moon's presence in them each month. The emphasis will additionally vary according to whether the moon is waxing, waning or full, and more than one of these phases can occur within each two-and-a-half-day period.
The full moon gives a burst of power to the waxing qualities but can also be used for change and to launch a waning venture.
Use the lists that follow to choose the most suitable time for a particular energy or need, and look at whether the moon is waxing (to draw something to you) or waning (and therefore good for casting something away).
As the moon enters a new sign and while it is right in the middle are the most potent times. Each sun sign the moon passes through has also been demonstrated in popular folk tradition to be especially helpful for particular conditions - something that seems to be amplified by the moon's presence in the sign.
To find out which sun sign the moon is in and what time it enters, consult a newspaper astrology column or an almanac or search online. When you have identified the ideal time at which to deal with an issue that is important to you, you could carry out the following ritual:
So may it be within (and name your time scale).
The waxing moon in a sign increases energy and self-healing and the waning aspect takes away pain and illness. Again, having identified the appropriate time at which to deal with a particular problem, you could try this healing ritual:
I am certainly not claiming any miraculous powers for crystals but do experiment, as it may be helpful, whether as a placebo effect or something more.
Moon in Aries
Moon in Taurus
Moon in Gemini
Moon in Cancer
Moon in Leo
Moon in Virgo
Moon in Libra
Moon in Scorpio
Moon in Sagittarius
Moon in Capricorn
Moon in Aquarius
Moon in Pisces
