Planetary Influences on Personal Energy: Part I - The Moon

I have been fascinated by space and energy most of my adult life. During long sessions of meditation years before I became a Reiki Master or Medium, I became aware of the knowledge that the cosmos are responsible for the energy that affects us all. It is an energy that runs through us, connects us and influences us on many levels. As I started to explore astronomy and astrology, as well as ancient cultures, wisdom and belief systems, I immediately noticed the pattern, this common thread throughout ancient history: the stars and the planets speak to us. The cosmos have been the source of magic, mystery and wisdom for millennia. Fast forward to modern science, that is able to explain planetary influences on energy in an intellectual way and scientific way. Science covers the big, grand scale stuff - for example the connection between the moon and the tides of our oceans - but our moon, being the closest cosmic body to us, exerts a lot of pull on us – literally. There is so much more to the planets and their influences on earth. If the moon can move the oceans, imagine what moon energy does to us personally. Think of each planet as having a unique chemical makeup. These chemical compositions are directly reflected in our own chemical structure as humans. On the most basic level, our chemicals are reacting to and through their connection to planetary bodies. In my university Astronomy textbook, the authors' remarked that as humans, we are made of exploding stars. I remember thinking how amazing that sounded, but didn't quite understand it until much later on. The stars and planets are comprising of the same chemicals with our bodies. 96% of the human body is made up of just four elements: oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen. The moon’s most abundant element is oxygen, making up 60% of its chemical composition. Venus is made up of 96% carbon dioxide and 3% nitrogen. Mars, the next planet closest to Earth, is comprised iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium and aluminum (also in our bodies) on its surface/crust, with an atmosphere comprised again of 96% carbon dioxide. (Okay, if didn’t know this already, we are actually made of star stuff.) Now that you can see the connection, all that stuff about full moons creating chaos and craziness in people isn’t so unbelievable after all. In fact the word lunacy is derived from the latin word for moon; luna. The origin of the word goes back to the mid 16th century with a rough translation/reference to a type of periodic insanity attributed to the cycles of the moon. But not every full moon will cause mood swings in all people. Depending on where the full moon takes place in the sky and where it was in the sky at the time of your birth will dictate how you react to any given full or new lunation, as well as the underlying energy of the particular lunation itself. However, full moons are not the only lunar events that create change in our personal energy. Each cycle and phase of the moon, such as waxing, waning and new moons, are directly responsible for personal energy and thought processes. This makes sense since the moon orbits the earth and is our closest cosmic neighbour (therefore exerting the most pull). Even the moon at apogee (when it is farthest from the earth), and perigee (when it is closest to the earth, commonly referred to as a supermoon), present differently for our personal and collective energies. The energy of the moon is complex, but it is essentially at the forefront of creating balance in our inner worlds. At its most basic level it is about cycles of completion and new beginnings on surface issues as well as deep personal ones. If we delve a bit further we discover that the new moon, which occurs when the moon is positioned between the Earth and the Sun for a 1 – 3 day period, causes us to look inward for our own inner light. This is meant to be a period of inner reflection as we look for the light within, while the moon itself appears dark. (Think the balance of light and dark.) The full moon is when cosmically speaking, the Sun, Moon and Earth are in almost perfect alignment. This ‘alignment’ may explain our temporary insanity, because the cosmos seek to balance us at the deepest (and often subconscious) levels. In the case of the full moon, this alignment will naturally expel any misalignment or imbalance within us. This is why some full moons we feel like we have a new lease on life (our energy is in alignment with the moon and planets) or a new understanding of how we should proceed, while other full moons make us feel like we are losing control (our personal energy out of alignment with moon and planets). This is the moon's way of helping us let go of things we have been struggling with or have buried deep down inside. Supermoons are accepted as accelerators of consciousness. In one of my recent Facebook posts I said that January's supermoon was like a full moon on steroids (I'm still feeling its effects as I write this weeks later). This is an easy analogy to explain how the energies of a supermoon are amplified over and above a full moon. We can make radical decisions, forge a path forward and take on new projects, all of which can be attributed to this energy. Likewise, we can finally let go, radically accept and move on from things that may have been holding us hostage. A supermoon is a rare energetic catalyst for radical change, and its affects can last long after the actual event. Next: Venus