top of page
Psychle: Lunar Month
This portal was curated by:

RENEWAL PSYCHLE

Lunar Month – Starting with the full moon, the story begins when it starts to wane. A sliver of darkness cuts into its round. The sliver grows and grows until the moon is half empty. It continues to darken, and darken, and darken until the last light is gone. The moon grows fully dark, until, its first sliver of light. This sliver grows, and grows and grows, until, the moon is half full. And it continues to grow, and grow and grow, until there’s as much light as there’s ever been.
The crescent moon can be recognized at the very bottom of Inanna’s journey through the underworld, at which point she goes into labor. This is comparable with the image of Mary, standing on a moon, child in arms. It can also be compared with the image of Isis and Horus with the crescent horns of a bull. In each case, the mortal renewal of humans through offspring is projected onto the monthly renewal of the moon.
The full moon is associated with the redemption of Horus, whose lunar eye is restored (to fullness) in conjunction with Osiris’ rebirth. Osiris, who is himself associated with the (lunar) Apis bull, is cut into fourteen pieces. The disassembly and reassembly of these fourteen pieces is associated with the fourteen waning and waxing days of a month. By now, any vision of Osiris’ journey as reductively solar should begin to dissolve. Cyclical qualities of the sun AND moon can be seen in his journey. And the same can be said of Horus, whose defeat and victory are sunset and sunrise.
DATABASES
Lunar Month – Starting with the full moon, the story begins when it starts to wane. A sliver of darkness cuts into its round. The sliver grows and grows until the moon is half empty. It continues to darken, and darken, and darken until the last light is gone. The moon grows fully dark, until, its first sliver of light. This sliver grows, and grows and grows, until, the moon is half full. And it continues to grow, and grow and grow, until there’s as much light as there’s ever been. 
The crescent moon can be recognized at the very bottom of Inanna’s journey through the underworld, at which point she goes into labor. This is comparable with the image of Mary, standing on a moon, child in arms. It can also be compared with the image of Isis and Horus with the crescent horns of a bull.  In each case, the mortal renewal of humans through offspring is projected onto the monthly renewal of the moon. 
The full moon is associated with the redemption of Horus, whose lunar eye is restored (to fullness) in conjunction with Osiris’ rebirth. Osiris, who is himself associated with the (lunar) Apis bull, is cut into fourteen pieces. The disassembly and reassembly of these fourteen pieces is associated with the fourteen waning and waxing days of a month. By now, any vision of Osiris’ journey as reductively solar should begin to dissolve. Cyclical qualities of the sun AND moon can be seen in his journey. And the same can be said of Horus, whose defeat and victory are sunset and sunrise.
As the Moon orbits around Earth and Earth orbits around the Sun, the angle between the Sun, Moon, and Earth changes. As a result, the amount of sunlight that reflects off the Moon and travels to our eyes changes every day. (The Moon itself produces no light of its own.) 

We see the Moon’s disk change from all dark to all light to all dark again: This span of time is called a lunar cycle, lunation, lunar month, or synodic month. The length of the cycle can vary slightly, but on average, it is 29.53059 days. (See “What’s the Moon’s Age?” below for more information.) 

Astronomers have broken down this cycle into four primary Moon phases: New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter. There are also four secondary phases: Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous, and Waning Crescent. The primary phases occur at a specific moment, no matter where you are on Earth, which is then converted to local time. (Depending on where you live, you may or may not be able to see the exact moment of a phase, in part because the Moon may not have risen yet in your area.) The secondary phases, however, represent a span of time rather than a specific moment.
There are four principal lunar phases: the new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter (also known as third or final quarter), when the Moon's ecliptic longitude is at an angle to the Sun (as viewed from Earth) of 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°, respectively.[a] Each of these phases appears at slightly different times at different locations on Earth. During the intervals between principal phases are intermediate phases, during which the Moon's apparent shape is either crescent or gibbous. On average, the intermediate phases last one-quarter of a synodic month, or 7.38 days.[b] The descriptor waxing is used for an intermediate phase when the Moon's apparent shape is thickening, from new to a full moon, and waning when the shape is thinning. The longest duration between full moon to new moon (or new moon to full moon) lasts about 15 days and 14+1⁄2 hours, while the shortest duration between full moon to new moon (or new moon to full moon) lasts only about 13 days and 22+1⁄2 hours.

A new moon appears highest on the summer solstice and lowest on the winter solstice.
A first quarter moon appears highest on the spring equinox and lowest on the autumn equinox.
A full moon appears highest on the winter solstice and lowest on the summer solstice.
A last quarter moon appears highest on the autumn equinox and lowest on the spring equinox.
Our Moon doesn't shine, it reflects. Just like daytime here on Earth, sunlight illuminates the Moon.

Illustration showing the eight phases of the Moon.
Credit: NASA/Bill Dunford
We just can't always see it.

When sunlight hits off the Moon's far side — the side we can't see without from Earth the aid of a spacecraft — it is called a new Moon.

When sunlight reflects off the near side, we call it a full Moon.

The rest of the month we see parts of the daytime side of the Moon, or phases. These eight phases are, in order, new Moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter and waning crescent. The cycle repeats once a month (every 29.5 days).
Lunar Superstitions

The first time you see a crescent moon for the month, take all your spare coins out of your pocket, and put them in the other pocket. This will ensure good luck for the next month.

Some people believe that the fifth day after a full moon is the perfect time to try to conceive a child.

Many cultures throughout history have honored lunar deities, including Artemis, Selene, and Thoth.

In some Chinese religions, offerings are made to the ancestors on the night of a full moon.

In some Native American legends, the moon is held captive by a hostile tribe. A pair of antelope hope to rescue the moon and take it the village of a good tribe, but Coyote, the trickster, interferes. The antelope chase Coyote, who tosses the moon into a river each night, just out of reach of the antelope.

The night of the full moon is believed to be a good time for divination and scrying.
Visit our special guest curator
Related Portals:
 
Related Portals:
 
bottom of page