A ponderous topic for today. I am not really a superstitious person nor do I believe in a lot of that mystical stuff like Astrology. However I am fascinated by Astronomy and I love to see a Full Moon in the night sky. Not only do I find it beautiful, but it’s kind of cool to be able to see at night and experience the effects of King Tides on nature...but there is another aspect of a Full Moon that I am not so sure about...
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I’ve been out the last 2 nights playing Poker during the Full Moon here in Australia and it has been Off-The-Hook. Normally the games I play are pretty civilized but jovial. We have a bit of banter and a good laugh. It can sometimes get a little rowdy...but the last 2 nights (at 2 separate venues with different players) have been insane. People shoving their stacks in with garbage and the banter has gone to 11 on the scale with shouting and antics on a level that would make you blush. So I’ve been wondering – "Has the Full Moon made people go crazy?"
It’s kind of one of those “Oh yeah, that happens” things that everyone kind of knows and acknowledges about a Full Moon but don't really understand. I only really have anecdotal experience, but over the years it was always those crazy footy games or nights out on the town that end in madness that have seemed to fall on a Full Moon.
The word “Lunatic” is in common use today but it’s origins are back from the Middle Ages and it basically means “Moon Struck”. Its definition today is more like “Wild or recklessly foolish”...and yes, that fits with my own experiences. So this is not a new phenomena. Maybe even it’s a really, really old thing. But why? Well, here's my layman theory...
Humans are animals and my belief is that animals have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years on this earth. The Full Moon is a good time for animals to get out and forage or mate or whatever they can't do when it's dark. It's a time to leave the safety of their den, drop their inhibitions and get active at night. For humans I think we still have something Primal and Instinctive embedded in our animal brain and psychology that carries forward to this day and still affects us to some degree when the Full Moon is out.
I’m not a psychologist or biologist, but this makes sense to me. What about you? Have you experienced the Lunacy of a Full Moon first hand with a story you can tell? Got a better theory about why it happens that you can share with me?