5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE MOON

Having recently read quite some things about the moon (books, articles, …) such as “The Book Of The Moon: A Guide To Our Closest Neighbor” (astronomy) but also about my moon sign (astrology) in the Dutch book Lunatic, I wanted to make a list of 5 things I love about our closest celestial neighbour The Moon.

(Obviously there are way more than five but we’ll keep it at five things for now, for our own sake.)

**Disclaimer: I love reading about the scientific facts and studies about the moon but I also love reading about astrology, the meaning of the moon in different cultures, mythology, folklore,…

1. THE DIFFERENT NAMES FOR THE MARIA

Maria or the seas of the moon have different names, here are some of my favourites:

• Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis)
• Sea of Serenity (Mare Serenitatis)
• Sea of Clouds (Mare Nubium)
• Sea that has Become Known (Mare Cognitum)

And these are also the ones I’d love to see a little closer, one day.

**A little fact I also read about in the book is that though it might seem easier to see the moon when it’s full (which I thought so too), this isn’t the case as the moon is too bright because of the sun and a lot of details get lost in this phase of the moon.

2. LACK OF SLEEP DURING A FULL MOON

I don’t know if this is really a thing I love. I’d rather call it finding it interesting and annoying but anyways…

Believe me or not, every time, three days before or after or during the time that there is a full moon, it’s harder for me to fall asleep. Or even get any sleep at all. Now, in the book pictured above there is a small section that talks about this phenomenon and if it’s true. In Switzerland for instance there was a research where they found a correlation between less sleep and a full moon, even when the participants didn’t know about the full moon.

However, there have also been researches where there was no correlation found. So who really knows? Maybe for some it does and maybe for others it doesn’t have any effect at all.

3. THE RED MOON OR BLOOD MOON

A couple of years ago, I set my alarm clock at 4am and sprinted out of my bed to see a red moon in the sky. It was beautiful, maybe a little scary too because it looked so different. Nevertheless, very intriguing.

A red moon or blood moon (a complete lunar eclipse) happens when the earth stands between the sun and the moon. Because of this, the moon stands in the shadow of the earth. However, some of the light of the sun can still reach the moon. To know more about how this happens and why the moon gets its red colour, I’d definitely recommend reading the book by Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

Anyways, this is one of my favourite things that happens with the moon and I’ll certainly be installing my seat for the next red moon.

4. MY MOON SIGN (ASTROLOGY)

This has nothing to do with the book pictured above but everything to do with astrology, if you find this to be bullshit, kindly scroll further down and ignore this part.

Your moon sign is the way you feel secure, what makes you feels safe and comfortable. The moon sign is how we respond instinctively. My moon sign is Capricorn and since I’ve known this, a lot made more sense to me. Capricorn Moons are known to be guarded, precise, ambitious and rational. Some of the things I relate to the most are the fact that I need to be productive to feel better or more at ease. Another one is that I don’t let my guard down easily (reserved) and I can be quite hard on myself.

Want to know more about your own moon sign? Go check out this website to get started!

5. WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS BY ANNA-MARIE MCLEMORE

And what better way to end this blogpost than with the book When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

One of the main characters in the book, Sam, who paints the moon in different ways and colours, hangs them around his town which gave him the nickname “Moon”. A lot of the painted moons are helping the children in town sleep at night. It soothes them and gives them rest. It’s one of my favourite books I’ve read this year and though there are many other elements in the story such as roses, pumpkins, beautiful queer characters,… The moon is a big part and therefore definitely fits into this list.

This is also the only reference I’m making to a fictional work where the moon was heavily represented and I know there are tons of other books I could mention. Not to forget, art works, poetry, mythology, folklore, …. The Moon has inspired millions of people and will hopefully continue to do so because I wouldn’t know what to do without all those beautiful works about the moon.

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒🌑🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

What are some things you love about the moon? Are there art works you love, or poetry or …. where the moon is present? Which ones do you like the most? Or maybe you love something else out in the universe? Let me know in the comments down below!