Moon phases: What phases does the moon go through?

“It must be a full moon.” How many times have you heard this sentence or even said it yourself? Although the moon has been blamed for mood swings, sleep disorders and mystical events for centuries, science on the subject points to a mere correlation rather than a cause. So why do many of us hold on to the faith? And what phases of the moon are there? besides the full moon actually? All Phases of the moon and their supposed ones Effects You can find an overview of our lives here.

What phases of the moon are there?

The moon is not a luminous object, but simply reflects the light that falls on it from the sun. As the moon orbits the Earth, the proportion of the illuminated side we can see changes. The resulting ones eight phases of the moon of a lunar month are in four primary and four in between (increasing and decreasing) Moon phases divided:

What are the phases of the moon?

A complete one Lunar cycle takes approximately 29.5 days. The New moon marks the beginning of a lunar cycle, which is divided into four quarters. The first quarter ends around 7.4 days after the new moon. The third quarter starts after 14.8 days – with the full moon. Here all the individual phases of the moon are explained in more detail:

1. New moon

New moon is when the sun and moon are on the same side of the Earth. Since the sun does not face the moon, from our perspective on Earth it appears as if the dark side of the moon is facing us. In astrology, this is the moment when the sun and moon form a conjunction.

2. Waxing crescent moon

During this phase, a crescent appears, revealing a thin strip of light just before becoming a waxing crescent. Now is a good time to also see earthshine, when sunlight reflected from Earth makes the dark areas of the moon glow faintly.

3. Waxing Crescent

The first crescent of the lunar cycle occurs about a week after the new moon. This phase is also called the first quarter phase because the moon has completed a quarter of its monthly cycle of lunar phases. This crescent moon can be seen particularly well in the blue afternoon sky.

4. Second Quarter (Waxing Gibbous Moon)

This moon phase is the last phase before the full moon. Here the moon is easy to see during the day as a large part of the moon is illuminated.

5. Full moon

A full moon occurs when the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the Earth. Since the Sun is directly opposite the Moon, it is completely illuminated by its light, so the Moon appears complete on Earth.

6. Third quarter (waning gibbous)

After the full moon, the brightness of the moon decreases again. However, the moon can still look quite full a few days after the full moon.

7. Waning Crescent

Now the last quarter of the lunar cycle begins. The last crescent is the reverse process of the first crescent.

8. Waning crescent moon

In this phase you can also see the earthshine clearly again, when the sunlight reflected from the Earth makes the dark areas of the moon glow faintly.

How do the different phases of the moon affect us?

There are many popular ideas about how the moon can influence everything from sleep quality to mental health to heart health. Some of us even use the lunar calendar as a guide when visiting the hairdresser (more on this here: Cutting hair on the lunar calendar). Only a few of these have been proven in studies so far.

In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, the maid Emilia tells us that the moon came too close to the earth – and drove people crazy. In fact, according to one study, nearly 81 percent of mental health professionals believe that the full moon can make people sick. So let’s take a look at those first spiritual interpretations of the individual phases of the moon.

According to science: This is how the full moon affects us

The idea that the moon influences certain aspects of physical and mental health can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome. Much of this is well documented in the writings of classical philosophers and poets such as Aristotle and Lucilius. In the 1970s, psychiatrist Arnold Lieber theorized that the moon affected the body’s “biological tides” and altered human behavior, leading to an increase in violence and murder rates. Although many of these theories have now been debunked, the possibility that humans could be influenced by the lunar cycles is not entirely unreasonable. So what can researchers say about the connections between people and the full moon?

Conclusion

Because the lunar cycles are known to influence natural phenomena such as the tides, there has been a persistent belief in some cultures that the phases of the moon also influence human emotions, behavior and health. However, according to research, a full moon does not cause people to become more aggressive, anxious or depressed. There is only evidence that the full moon can have an impact on our sleep and that the state of the cardiovascular system changes slightly during the full moon. However, all of these results should be viewed with caution, as they have mostly only been studied on a small portion of the population. It will continue to be Influence of the moon phases researched. However, it currently appears that the moon’s effect on the body is less strong than expected. However, we are individuals looking for something to be passionate about orientate can. For some, that is faith. For others these are horoscopes. And if it’s the phases of the moon for you, that’s just as legitimate.

Do you know yours? Moon sign? Here you can find out which one it is. You can also get yours here Birth chart calculate.

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Bridget