Archive for Wednesday 1st January 2002 - New Moon
Tuning in to the energies of tomorrow’s New Moon could inspire us to keep our resolutions.

To harness such power requires that we heed our intuition, a voice that can be all too easy to ignore. The effect of lunar power can be seen by its action on ocean tides, women’s monthly cycle, and animal behaviour.

The more research there is on these subtler, invisible forces of nature, the more science and traditional folklore fall into line. Ancient texts advise both doctors and gardeners to heed planetary movements. Hippocrates, father of modern medicine, wrote: “Anyone who practises medicine without taking into account the movement of the stars is a fool.”

Gardening by the lunar cycle has been tried and tested since the dawn of agriculture. Nick Kollerstrom, in his book Gardening And Planting By The Moon 2003 (Quantum, £7.99), explains how certain plants are best planted on specific days in the Moon’s cycle. Root crops favour days when the lunar energy is earthy – as the Moon passes through the earth signs of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn; leafy plants, lettuce and cabbage, flourish if planted under the water signs; flowers under air signs; and fruits under fire signs. Health care responds in the same way. In Moon Time (C.W. Daniel, £10.99), Johanna Paungger explores how the lunar cycle can help promote self-healing: the waning moon with its detoxifying power and the waxing moon with its regenerative force. Paungger advises: “Nature makes sure that you never have to travel far to obtain what your body needs. What your heart needs is much nearer still – not a hand’s breadth away. Do not go seeking what you already possess.”

Mark Winter