For decades hospital emergency rooms and police departments have noticed a surge of activity around the time of the Full Moon, and mental institutions have also reported a rise in the number of patients that inexplicably become agitated around the same time. Even the word “lunacy” is derived from the Latin word for moon “Luna”, and ancient folklore, most notably about the werewolf, is also tied to the phases of the Moon, particularly the Full Moon. It's interesting that people made this connection so far back, and that the connection has continued to be made right up to to the present day.
The only heavenly body in close proximity to the Earth which can verifiably be shown to be capable of affecting or influencing the human body physiologically in any way is the Moon. It’s well known that the Moon acts on the Earth gravitationally in creating the tides, and also that the human body, being composed largely of water is also affected by its gravitational pull. However, the quantity of water present in the human body is negligible to the point that no physiological effects can be observed or easily measured.
Since the gravitational pull of the Moon exerted on the Earth is pretty much the same whether it’s full or not (it's mass does not change) as it passes overhead and it has no significant magnetic field, its gravitational pull and magnetic field can reasonably be excluded from consideration as being a viable theory of the mechanism of operation involved in the cyclic nature of the observed phenomena.
In trying to explain both the ancient folkloric beliefs and modern observations that something is happening, that leaves the light reflected by the Moon as the only predictable cyclic influence available to explain it.
Could there possibly be some peculiar quality about the altered visible spectrum of light reflected from the lunar surface that renders it capable of acting directly on the brain via the optic nerve, causing physiological/psychological changes in the brain? Is it possible that somehow this causes already unstable people who don't know how to control it or are unaware of it to become even more unstable, making them more likely to exhibit aberrant behaviour? It’s just a theory....
Here’s the visible electromagnetic spectrum....
Here’s the altered visible electromagnetic spectrum after being reflected from the lunar surface during a Full Moon....
To reiterate, the main thrust of my little theory (even lacking any illustration) is that there’s something about the altered nature of the reflected light from the lunar surface that’s qualitatively unique in its ability to influence the mental state of those who are especially susceptible to it which can lead to aberrant behavior or general agitation.
The inclusion of those images (solar visible spectrum and Full Moon reflected visible spectrum) may actually be misleading. Since the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is only a tiny fraction of the whole, it’s as likely as not that the observed effects may have to do with wavelengths not visible to the human eye. Of course, this is all just speculation borne of curiosity.... looking forward to any opinions.
On a lighter note, I've been conducting an experiment,
spending every available moment staring at the
Full Moon looking for any obvious visible effects,
but so far....
....there's no change in my appearance!
"SHAPE SHIFTER" by Emile Cole
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