The Full Moon

Some may be curious as to the connection between werewolves and the full moon, and right there with you are the educated, superstitious, religious and scientific men throughout time, all coming up with their own theories about werewolves and their relation to the full moon.

It was largely viewed in the 17th and 18th centuries that a werewolf’s transformation was supernaturally influenced by the waxing and waning of the moon. In the 19th and 20th centuries this idea went even further, and the theme of man turning into wolf become solely dependent on the full moon.

Then you have those ancient Greeks, they noticed the way that the weak gravitational pull of the moon affected the ocean tides and figured that since the human brain contains moisture that the moon could also screw up someone’s mind in the same way, which would cause savage feelings to come forth. The “civilized man” might be gradually transformed by the pull of the moon into a raging, irrational creature – a lunatic. Many of the well known Greek scholars such as Aristotle and Hippocrates agreed with this theory. Then taking in account one of Greece’s moon goddesses, Selene, was often portrayed as a wild and unpredictable woman that would dance unrestrained in the woods, the Greeks felt that they had further proof  the moon made people wild and crazed.

But nowadays we have actual scientific proof, no more of this guess work and superstitions like in the old days (well not AS much). Many recent studies have noted that a large percentage of people are affected by the full moon. As I mentioned in this post, when asked about her full moon research, Leonie Calver replied, “Our findings support the premise that individuals with violent and acute behavioral disturbances are more likely to present to the emergency department during the full moon.”

So it seems that the full moon does cause stirrings in us humans, but depending on the time and age those stirrings mean something completely different. Throughout time we have many myths pertaining to the full moon and a wide assortment of of theories, believe it or not, this is just a small taste.

– Moonlight

By moonlight

One of the writers for werewolves.com, as well as vampires.com.

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