Does The Moon Affect Mood?

My theme this week is the moon. It was full on Tuesday and kicked off the New Year. Poets, painters, musicians, artists, philosophers and psychologists have always been fascinated with our nearest celestial neighbour.

Legends have been written about it and how it affects our psyches. For example, the Werewolf symbolises an ancient understanding that links human behaviour with transits of the moon. This legend embodies the idea that during the full moon, man becomes wild, violent and instinctive, and reverts to a less civilised version of him/herself.

This idea that the moon controls human aggression, impulsiveness, violence and mood has been passed down the ages, tacitly accepted as fact. The word ‘lunatic’ even comes from the word ‘lunar’, meaning moon. But does the moon really affect our moods and mentality? Successive scientific studies say, no. It seems our love affair with the moon is based purely on its potent effect on imagination (see previous post).
And because the moon stimulates the imaginations of our little ones,  I love using moon imagery in my stories. In Find My Name in the Alphabet Train,

I have used the moon in connection with the wolf: “Wolf winked at the wind and waved at the moon / writing wild wizardry, wielding it soon…” My wolf isn’t a werewolf, nor is he frightening! But he does help little ones to learn their alphabet and teach them how to sound the letter ‘W’.

About Dr Niamh

When I was a little girl (a very, very long time ago), I used to love learning new, really big words like ‘discombobulate’. As I grew, my love of words grew too, until I loved them so much, I could not stop writing them down. One day, as I was scribbling a particular word, a very peculiar thing happened. The word shouted at me, “Stop! Don’t put me there!” As you can imagine, I was shocked and nearly fell off my chair. When I recovered somewhat, I said to the word, “Could you stop shouting, please? I am not used to it.” Can you guess what happened next? No! I thought not. The word said, “I might be small, but I will misbehave if you do not use me properly. I will not tell the story you would like me to tell. I will say something entirely different!” I dropped my pen. I hoped that by dropping my pen, the word would stop talking. Alas! It did not. It carried on chitterchobbling, even after the ink had dried. I was in a pickle. I could not allow my words to run away with my story, now could I? I don’t know about you, but when this sort of thing happens, there is only one thing left to do if you prefer not to spend your time arguing. “Very well,” said I. “I will do as you ask if you will just be quiet and allow me to concentrate.” Since that day, I have been paying special attention to every word I invite into my stories. After all, a story should say exactly what it means to say and not be led astray. With love from Dr. Niamh, Ph.D in Learning Through The Imagination and Founder of Dr Niamh Children's Books. www.drniamhchildrensbooks.com

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