Bad Moon Rising?

There is so much drama going around right now it just breaks my heart. It's also a full moon. Are moon children drawn to personality extremes from the influence of the moon? You don't have to look far to find articles on the trends between moon phases and illness or violence.

Now there were three sexes then,
one that looked like two men back to back;
called them children of the Sun.

And similar in shape and girth
were the children of the Earth,
they looked like two girls rolled up in one.

And the children of the moon
looked like a fork shoved on a spoon
they were part Sun, part Earth, part daughter, part son.

- Stephen Trask, The Origin of Love

I've noticed this trend, but while it may be true that the moon affects us in the same way as the oceans, pulling us here and there, that doesn't explain the full moon incidents... the moon isn't any closer to us when it's full than new, we just see it. The tides come and go even when you can't see the moon, so there must be some other mechanism at work.

In a world without light, I would think the full moons would be joyous times for one could see at night. Similarly, new moons would be most dangerous for walking around after the sun goes down.

Whatever the reason, there's a lot of drama going around and once again, there's a full moon.

The link between the Moon and human behavior is not a new theory; in the 17th century, Sir William Hale, the Chief Justice of England, was explicit about the connection between the Moon and a person’s mental state: “The Moon has great influence on all diseases of the brain, especially dementia.” Well, that would explain the extremes in personality, but most people aren't even aware of the moon, so it must be something deeper.

Speaking of deeper, did you know that like the Earth, below the crust, the Moon is a molten ball of iron?

In any event, the Moon affects the oceans, so it's no small stretch to accept that - at some level - it affects us. But is it always negative? Nah, can't be... it could always be going to extremes, and as we've learned, anything taken to its extreme is absurd, but perhaps there's an opportunity here...

Perhaps if we find ourselves in situations we couldn't normally get out of, going to extremes, while absurd in the long-term, might be beneficial in the short term? That is, if we can consider the direction of the extreme behavior and use the moon as wind for our psychic sails, perhaps it can always be an opportunity for growth.

And as growth often comes with pain, perhaps that's the source of all the drama.

Rest well my friends, heal, and know that when you look at the moon on nights like this, I'll be there with you, gazing in awe at the same ball of metal spinning eternally 'round our heads.