Although most scientists agree that the lunar lunacy effect does not exist, my past week is pretty much proof that it does.
The full moon occurred on Tuesday night, but the effects of the moon’s energy can be felt a bit before and after the moon is full. Generally, the full moon is considered to be the strongest of the moon’s phases, the one that has the most influence on us.
Scientists say that the moon has no effect on us. But we, as Pagans, tend to believe very differently. Not that science should be discounted, but that science may not have the answer to everything. Many Pagans do believe that the energy of the moon has an effect on us lowly human beings, despite its vast distance from us, and that we can use this energy in our spells or rituals or other magickal workings. If we didn’t believe this, why would we bother with learning the moon phases? Or bother incorporating the moon into our magickal workings? Most of us believe that the energy of the moon can be tapped into and can also affect us all on its own.
I believe this. I never really gave much thought to lunar madness before, but this past week, I’ve been forced to think about it. On Sunday and Monday, for no explicable reason, the roads were more hazardous than I’ve ever seen them. I used my horn more in one day than I had in a year, and I had more close-calls with other drivers who weren’t paying attention or who simply made poor decisions than I’ve ever had. I could think of no real reason why everyone would suddenly be behaving so strangely. And then I remembered the full moon… and it just seemed to make sense.
Not only that, but my emotions have been on a rollercoaster this week. (And before some half-wit decides to crack this very ill-advised joke, no, it is not that time of the month, thank you very much.) And again, I could think of no other reason than the energy of the full moon affecting me in ways it hadn’t previously. I had suffered no traumatic event, I had gotten no bad news or good news–basically, nothing had happened that would have warranted such drastic changes in mood. Except the full moon. It’s the only explanation I have for now.
And now, on Thursday, the effects have begun to diminish. I woke up this morning and felt much more stable, more normal. Two days after the full moon, and I start feeling like a normal human being again.
Has anyone else noticed anything like this happening to you? I know a friend of mine had had a really bad day on Tuesday, and my aunt had also noticed the bad drivers on her route on Monday and Tuesday. But has anyone else either felt something like this happen or seen it happen?
Like I said before, scientists tend to discount the lunar lunacy idea as being improbable and unprovable. As a Pagan, I don’t find it a stretch to believe that the energy of something as powerful as the moon could affect us, even in a small way.
For an interesting article on full moon lunacy, check out “Lunacy and the Full Moon” from Scientific American.
