Every month the moon silently but magnificently orbits planet earth. The reflection of light from the sun gets brighter and fuller each day as the moon begins to once again light up the night sky. Alongside the beauty and magic of the full moon there are also all sorts of phenomena, stories, news reports and incidents that associate the full moon with strange and even crazy human behaviour.
Recently, in the middle of a chat with a sales assistant, the conversation quickly turned to the phase of the moon. He had recently experienced some intense encounters with customers, who had been what he described as moody, aggressive and rude. He looked at me and said, “It must be close to full moon!”.
It is commonplace to hear people talking about the effects of the full moon. From increases in violence, aggression and unusual behaviour, through to car accidents, fights, hospital admissions and arrests, the full moon throughout history has often been linked to strange behaviour. Even the word ‘lunatic’, which refers to a reckless, crazy person or to a mentally disturbed person, is derived from Luna, the Latin word for moon.
Hospital staff and Police Officers have long observed the effects of the period around the full moon. Police departments have been known to roster more officers on in an effort to cope with the expected increases in crime rates. Hospital staff have also faced increases in hospital admissions and emergencies when the moon is full. These are just some of the things they share (Selby, 2015):
“You could almost tell the phase of the moon by how crowded that area of the Emergency Department was. Anytime the moon was full, that area was overflowing.”
“I think people are sicker and it seems like more unusual things happen when the moon is full, though I don’t think I could ever prove it.”
“For as long as I’ve worked in the emergency department, whenever there’s a full moon, invariably someone will make a comment about how it’s going to be a rough night.”
The sales assistant mentioned above had his own stories to tell about what he had seen on full moons. Four years earlier he was witness to a brutally violent act on the night of a full moon. He was working as security at the front of a club when a fight broke out. Fists were flying, and the fight ended when a broken piece of glass was used as a weapon. What took place that evening was so disturbing for this young man that he walked away from that job never to return. He had no doubt that the full moon could trigger some very inhumane behaviour.
So what is it that the full moon’s reflection is offering us each month? The incidents described above are extreme, but on some level are we all noticing and feeling the effects of the full moon? Not necessarily always in such an extreme way, but as a more subtle or loud tension within?
The Ageless Wisdom teachings, as learnt through Universal Medicine, have inspired me to learn more about the moon, its cycles and how this both supports and affects me every month. It made total sense when I learnt that the moon has a purpose and that each month it offers us a reflection on how we have been living. The moon is naturally guiding us to return to a way of living that is true and harmonious. It’s quality and movements around the earth not only affect the tides, but also our physiology – yet another reminder of our inter-connectedness with everything.
The full moon, as I have been learning, can be a time of the month where I am asked to reflect upon how I am feeling and therefore how I have been living.
Every full moon feels very much like an opportunity to be more honest with myself and others, to look after myself on a deeper and more loving level, to take my time to connect more with the people in my life, whether I have known them for 2 minutes or 20 years – basically living more lovingly and harmoniously with everyone I meet. The full moon has come to symbolise the potential of how I can be living and relating.
At times the inner tension I can feel is stronger than others, and I have come to accept this as a gift of awareness and understanding – a way of giving me a loving nudge to keep being open to even more. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut and comfortable with what we know. Yet there are endless opportunities to take a good look at ourselves, our behaviours, how we are in relationships etc., to see what can be let go of to make way for new experiences.
When I find ways to distract myself and avoid this awareness, the inner tension and agitation builds up. This is the opportunity to ask myself the question, “What’s going on within me?” as there is no one else responsible for how I am feeling and choosing to live.
Wherever we are in the world, we can all see the magnificence and magic of the light of the full moon. It’s like an SMS from God to the whole of humanity to remind us all of who we truly are – interconnected, loving human ‘beings’. A message that we all get, regardless of where we are, what we are doing or what we have done. No one ever misses out on our divine reflection.
So is all that strange behaviour that occurs on the lead up to the full moon a resistance or even a denial of the constant evolution that is on offer? We can deny the gift that is on offer or we may choose to accept the reflection and discover that we can let go of the old behaviours, ways of relating and communicating that have never truly supported us and discover a whole new way of living.
By Vicky Geary, Bachelor of Business (Accountancy), Dip. Yoga Teaching, NSW, Australia
Reference:
(1) Selby, L. (2015). Full moon madness in the ER: Myth or Reality. American Osteopathic Society, The Do.
Further Reading:
Nature: The Ultimate Reflection
Zoochosis – A very human condition
Our Cycles – Period and Full Moon Diary
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
I was talking to a family member recently and they had been chatting to someone about the cycles we live within and how when we complete a cycle we go into another. This felt so loving because it showed me how we build our cycles and as we complete them we are given another opportunity to expand and this is how we will all return to the one cycle we came from.
It would make sense to me that if the Moon has such an effect on the sea tides around the world that it would also have an effect on humanity whether we want to own up to this or not.
Since most of our physical bodies are water it makes sense that we equally feel a pull from the moon as do the sea tides around the world.
It seems to me we have lost inter-connectedness with everything Vicky and so we have constant reminders from heaven to remind us that we are far more than we ever could imagine. We are fallen Gods from heaven and we will in the great cycle of life return to the beginning again. The moon by its reflection shows us the cycles that we live within and yet seemingly ignore, yet cannot ignore because they are the laws of the universe that we will all return to. Humanity thinks itself so clever, so intelligent but we are actually so unintelligent because we ignore the one intelligence we come from and accept a lesser intelligence, so as I say how intelligent is that? I will be the first to admit that I valued intelligence from my mind rather than the intelligence from my heart, but my heart has shown me it knows far more as it can access heaven and who would not want access to the purity of heaven?
Anything that can be considered extreme or ‘negative’ or abusive behaviour, I know from within in myself and others, there is always a point of greater love/wisdom to be embraced. When it is resisted that’s when the flip side (all that is not love) is instead expressed.
To resist an upgrade of energy we have to have an offset of energy and that is what makes the madness of the full moon seem real, and those of us who are aware of the advance deepen in the Harmony that can be lived.
We cannot escape cycles yet it seems we are constantly fighting against them rather than flowing with them. I know I have so much to learn with regards to this and deeply appreciate Universal Medicine for bringing cycles more to my awareness ✨
We are a part of, and in, so many cycles that support our return to Truth.
I too can vouch for the changes in behaviour that occur in many areas of our society with full moons. I have found personally that it really is a period that allows a regular stock take of how I am living. The awesome part is the truth of what it offers as there is no lying or getting away with anything – it has all been clocked by my body and offers me a clear marker of where I am at.
Helen I too can vouch for the changes in behaviour that occurs with the coming of the full moon. We are living in cycles within cycles of cycles, no matter how we try to make everything happen in a linear progression we are just lying to ourselves as there is enough proof out there that we all live under the energy of constant expanding cycles, I often wonder if they are like the ripples that expand out from the stone we drop into the water of a lake or pond.
I clocked from a much younger age how people, and my long term partner would be affected by the full moon, I didn’t understand why back then, it was just an interesting phenomenon of the universe.
There is no doubt for me that leading up to the full moon feels different in my body and the intensity is increased. So, having people grumpy or rude is no surprise because as the full moon approaches I can judge how I have lived by the quality of my sleep and if it is particularly bad I would have difficulty getting to sleep or have a night of interrupted sleep. Then the knock-on effect of that would be feeling tired during the day.
My body knows a week before the full is happening, I have a couple of days around a week before the full moon when my body is frequently exhausted.
The full moon is a cycle that repeats itself every month – but do we fully appreciate what we learn in between those moons?
What is the full moon showing us, ‘It made total sense when I learnt that the moon has a purpose and that each month it offers us a reflection on how we have been living.’
This is a great article to remind us that there are many rhythms and flows in nature that if we not honour and live in harmony with them then we have the tensions recorded here. However, if we do honour and live in harmony with them they support and nurture us, enriching our lives.
I was just speaking with a friend who mentioned that he normally had difficulty sleeping well during a full moon. I have sometimes felt the same and I know that many others have shared how they feel their sleep can be disturbed. This in and of itself shows how the moon and moon cycle can affect our bodies and rhythms.
I have noticed increased tension around the full moon time, and I agree, that is how it would feel when I am in resistance to the flow of what is holding me.
I have been on the front line of an industry where the full moon affected women in their pregnancy. It was noticeable when I worked in the UK and the night shift would be absolutely busy. Nights where we were constantly on the go, and many a times with out breaks.
I haven’t mastered this yet, but the moon does have a cycle and is no different to the four seasons of the year. Whilst winter in particular is for consolidating, repose, the spring is the opposite. The moon offers this to us too.
We need to take more heed to what is on offer, with cycles of the sun, moon and the stars – there is more to it than meets the eyes.
Could it be that the full moon is supporting our return to oneness, ‘The moon is naturally guiding us to return to a way of living that is true and harmonious.’
Sometimes I feel an inner tension and I try to get rid of it by keeping busy and hope it would eventually go away. But these moments are offering me more awareness and if I ignore them then I miss the opportunity to clear, heal and go deeper. Now, I am learning to simply allow myself to feel the tension, I try not to judge it, get rid of it or fix anything. I am learning to allow myself to feel that my body is clearing, assist it and go with the flow, surrender and stay more connected.
Chanly88 Sometimes I notice when I feel slightly off or not on par with the day. I check the ‘Our cycles’ app created by Natalie Benhayon, when I’m feeling out of sorts its always the first day of the week before the full moon. This gives me an opportunity to look back at how I have been living in the previous moon cycle that needs to clear before the next full moon. There is so much more to life than what we see and live on the surface. The moon cycle is just one example of how we do not appreciate what is being offered to us by the universe.
There is support all around if we are willing to be open to evolving back to who we are in truth, ‘The full moon, as I have been learning, can be a time of the month where I am asked to reflect upon how I am feeling and therefore how I have been living.’
I remember working on a psychiatric ward many years ago and patients went into a different mode of behaving around the full moon. I love how we can now be aware of the different moon cycles and what they can offer us – motion or repose – and how that affects my day.
Vicky, this article is really interesting to read and will make me more aware of how I am feeling and what there is to learn around the full moon. It is great to be reminded about our connection to these natural cycles.
The cycles of nature are all such strong reflections for us, and all offer something magnificent if we only choose to see what we can learn from them.
And, these cycles actually support us to clear, discard and get ready for the new cycle. Sometimes we may feel some tension but that is a sign we have something to clear, if we don’t fight it, our body will clear it for us naturally, so working with our body and not against it will assist this very natural process.
Surrendering to what is supporting us to evolve, ‘Every full moon feels very much like an opportunity to be more honest with myself and others, to look after myself on a deeper and more loving level, to take my time to connect more with the people in my life’.
There are many cycles in the Universe supporting us to go deeper with our return to who we are in truth.
When I haven’t been aware of how full the moon is and have a couple of intense nights trying to sleep, instantly my thoughts go to see when the full moon is due and inevitably what I am experiencing is the lead up to the full moon. The moon leading up to the full moon definitely shows us our momentum.
The intensity prior to a full moon can be full on but I am not sure that we fully appreciate how much it brings up for us and how much we can actually learn from what is on offer.
We’re offered a stop point each full moon to look back over the past cycle and consider how we are now and how we’ve been, how we are with that is up to us – we can resist, hence all that extreme behaviour or we can go with it and see and feel what we can learn, the choice is ours.
Very beautiful to connect to the purpose of natures stunning reflections. That we are all part of the wondrous cycles of life both on the micro and the macro level. Everything is interconnected and the quality that we live with affects the greater whole.
I find it quite ridiculous that The human race after all the time we have spent on this planet don’t follow the cycles of the moon far more precisely, as from personal experience I know we are affected by the moon in all its stages, not only when it is full.
This is a great point Kev. And its not just the cycle of the moon – nature reflects to us consistently day after day, month after month, year after year, the same cycles which have the most beautiful rhythm and flow, yet we don’t seem to pay due care or attention to this innate flow of life that surrounds us and truly learn from it. It seems we are more interested in manipulating the intricacies of life and all its beauty to make it fit into something that more suits our wants and needs.
I liked what you shared about how easy it is get stuck in a rut with what we know, yet there are actually endless opportunities to have a look at our lives and how we are in them – our behaviours etc…. And in doing that we can make way for new experiences as we don’t need to keep repeating the same way of doing things…taking us out of that self-imposed rut.
Everything about life supports us to remain disconnected from the fact that we are no island. We are intricately connected to everything in this world and beyond. When we start to recognise this, then perhaps we will begin to see that everything we do, think, act matters.
I have often felt that we live within and on an unseen spiders web, so that every move we make is felt by everyone else living on it. As you say Jennifer we are all intricately connected to this world and out into the universe. Ignoring this intimacy has led us down a Rabbit hole.
I love the way despite scepticism and even in some cases a lack of scientific evidence, people still notice things, like the heightened intensity in people around full moon. It was really obvious working as a nurse that there was a significant effect, especially on those who were already a little emotionally unsteady.
Thank God for the full moon because it always feels like we go through a cleansing period around it.
Being aware of the cycles on offer to us in life such as with the moon cycle, also with things like the seasons and our daily cycles, among many, also reminds me of our inter-connectedness with everything.
Yes, nature offers us such beautiful reflections everywhere we look, and as you say reminds us of the interconnectedness of everything.
“For as long as I’ve worked in the emergency department, whenever there’s a full moon, invariably someone will make a comment about how it’s going to be a rough night.” We know far more about life beyond what we see and feel with our physical body than most of us are aware of, and this is one such case in point.
“Wherever we are in the world, we can all see the magnificence and magic of the light of the full moon. It’s like an SMS from God to the whole of humanity to remind us all of who we truly are – interconnected, loving human ‘beings’.” I love this. What a magnificent reflection indeed, and one that we can’t ignore, try as we might!
If we don’t honour the cycles of the Universe, which can support us, they will work against us as we are resisting them. And that takes a lot of force.
Seeing the full moon in the sky brings an immediate response in my body, like a leaning in to the grandness of the universe – it is a very real and felt invitation to deepen my understanding of how I fit in to all this and to explore the purpose of life.
A gorgeous reflection offered here of how we are constantly in a relationship with the cycles within our bodies and how our bodies are always in a relationship with the cycles and order of the universe. And always it is our choice to resist or surrender to what is on offer through these relationships. Developing an honouring relationship with the truth of our bodies is wise beyond measure as we then are able to deepen our awareness as to how we are living, the depth of connection to our Soul we are living with and what is needed to heal so that we can live more of who we truly are. What a beautiful beholding of love we are held in, in order for us to evolve.
I work in a hospital and we definitely know when there is a full moon because of how it affects people.
Same in the maternity unit… !
Same in the supermarket people are much more impatient frustrated and irritable and are much more verbal about whatever it is that is annoying them. I wonder if there are more gall bladder issues that arise around the full moon?
That would make a fascinating study and perhaps we would bring a greater understand as to why? That there is a relationship between the inner and outer cycles and all they reflect to us.
Agreed it would make a fascinating study to see how our behaviours change around the moon and how the moon like everything else moves in cycles
“The moon is naturally guiding us to return to a way of living that is true and harmonious. It’s quality and movements around the earth not only affect the tides, but also our physiology – yet another reminder of our inter-connectedness with everything.” A beautiful reminder of the significance of not only the moon and the enormous importance, impact and deep reflection it has on everything on the earth, but also of the whole of our galaxy and the universe. We can get so caught up in our day to day lives that we very often dismiss or give no relevance to what is going on above us.
I was driving home two nights ago and the new moon was just exquisite. A bright silver crescent suspended in a dusky deep blue sky, with the north star twinkling away to the side of it, I was once again blown away by the clarity and beauty of this magnificence. What we are constantly offered by way of reflection from the Universe is beyond extraordinary.
I smiled at the idea of the moon being “an SMS from God to the whole of humanity to remind us all of who we truly are – interconnected, loving human ‘beings”. Now that is one text message I would be open to receiving often, a gentle reminder of my natural connection to my fellow man.
The deeper appreciation and understanding for the many cycles that we all live under that Universal Medicine has supported me re-connecting with is truly enriching.
If people truly understood and honoured the cycles of the moon they would be more open to what the cycles are constantly reflecting and offering us.
The cycles constantly offer us reflections and support in our evolution.
Even though many people would not say they pay attention to the cycles of the moon, the fact that so many organisations like the police and hospitals notice the impacts and staff accordingly shows that deep down we know this impacts us and things can be ‘crazy’, however how we work with this is quite passive right now, in that we manage it’s impacts, but what if we actually engaged more clearly with what the moon and it’s cycle offered us, what then could we learn and even perhaps change to more clearly support us in how we live and how we are?
I love how you question here what could actually be on offer with the pull of the moon cycle – how there could be something deeper there for us to connect with and be supported by rather than just see it as having no effect or a negative one.
The fact that people recognise or are open to understanding that the (full) moon can affect one’s behaviour shows that we do know that there is more to this world than just the physical.
Yes well said Nick – we do indeed know more than we are willing to admit and take responsibility for living.
We do know that we are more than just human, that there is more to life than what we can physically see.
“The full moon has come to symbolise the potential of how I can be living and relating.” How utterly magical it is that we have such incredible reflections from the world around us all of the time that we can learn and grow from, if we are only willing to observe the lessons that they are conveying to us.
As I have come to understand the many cycles we all live in, including the cycle of the moon, I have come to understand how these cycles all have a place in my life. As each cycle completes I know that I am being offered an opportunity to take an honest look at how I have been living, the choices I made and the choices I didn’t make, so as the new cycle begins I can choose to live as I have been or to make changes. And that choice is mine to make but always keeping in mind that any choice I make does not just affect me but everyone else as well; the consequences are my responsibility.
Its so interesting how many times we can relate to something that we feel or have a sense of that is impacting on us in a way that we dont deny but we cant explain, but more often than not we dont take it any further either because our awareness is not open to the possibility that there might be more to it, or because we dont know where to go for the true answers. Enter Serge Benhayon, who has brought so much awareness and a true and deeper understanding to so many areas of our lives.