Scientifically, the connection is more dubious. There is a long and surprisingly persistent association between the Moon and a woman’s menstrual cycle.Įtymologically at least the connection is clear: the Greek word for Moon – ‘mene’ – and the Latin for month – ‘mensis’ – provide the root for the term ‘menstruation’. An article published in the Times of India before the July 2019 eclipse warned, “It is believed that eating during lunar eclipse is harmful for health, and this is simply because the eclipse leads to emission of strong ultraviolet rays, which impacts cooked food as it is prepared with water, which further attracts emissions, which turns the cooked food into poison.” Lunar cycles and menstrual cycles In India, newspapers still report on the belief that people should avoid eating during a lunar eclipse.

Similarly, apothecaries created herbal remedies using watery plants that were thought to be influenced by the Moon.' In contrast, the Full Moon was thought to intensify a patient’s fever. 'The waxing phases of the Moon were thought to enhance the benefits of bloodletting. 'They used the black spokes on these rotating paper discs – 'volvelles' – to keep track of the Moon’s position,' Devoy explains. The chart below shows one way in which physicians would determine how the Moon affected their patients. Women also wore them to improve fertility and for protection during childbirth.īy the 16th century, tracking the Moon's position had become an 'essential part' of medicine according to Louise Devoy, curator of Royal Observatory Greenwich. In ancient Greece and Rome by contrast, girls were given crescent-shaped amulets on their birthday to protect them from evil spirits. The tablet describes how to ward off the evil effects of a lunar eclipse, which were believed to threaten the life of the king. One of the oldest objects in the 2019 The Moon exhibition at the National Maritime Museum was a Mesopotamian tablet from 172 BCE.

Why have people believed that there is a connection between the Moon and human health? And what, if any, is the scientific basis for it? How the Moon affects humans – a historyīelief in the Moon’s influence on human sickness and health is ancient and widespread, from early folklore and medicine through to contemporary accounts of full moons and a rise in violent crime. All these and more have at one time or another been associated with the Moon.

Can the Moon affect our health and behaviour?

Closest to celestial theme word 2016