A Scientific explanation for the magical influence of the Moon?
There has been a long tradition of observing lunar phases in order to determine the best times to perform magick rituals for increase, decrease, attracting or repelling. The period of 3 days before or after a moon phase is especially significant for Moon magick. Three days before the full Moon is said to be a powerful time for bringing things to fruition or completion, and three days after the new Moon for new beginnings.
Back in 2008 Nasa published an article about the moon entering the Earth’s magnetic tail three days before a full moon and clearing it three days after. This caught my attention – NASA was talking about the same amount of time right before a Full moon that lunar traditions have noted as having heightened power for ritual or spell work. They also noted unusual activity on the moon’s surface at this time. Could the lunar ritual three day timing period have a scientific and measurable foundation?
The NASA article explains that the Earth has a magnetic tail extending beyond the orbit of the Moon. Each month, three days before a full Moon, the Moon passes through it and takes a total of six days to pass through it. The magnetic tail contains a ‘plasma sheet’ of charged particles which the Moon meets when passing through through the tail, giving its surface a magnetic charge particularly on the night side (up to 1000V). This sheet is in constant motion so can pass over the Moon multiple times, and was detected by NASA’s Lunar Prospector spacecraft in 1998-1999.
It is an established fact that the Moon has an effect on the earth through its gravitational pull, affecting not just tides but (reasearch suggests) life forms too, including humans. There is a lot about our universe that we still do not know and understand, but if you belive that magick is a real phenomena it isn’t a far stretch to consider that the interaction of the Moon and Earth creates some effect, whether we can detect it yet or not, that creates conditions which supports such activities.
It’s an interesting coincidence of the tradition of a three day powerful period before or after a Full or New Moon and the NASA findings. That’s not to say that this specific result of a plasma sheet is directly related, it could just be coincidence, but perhaps this period of time around the full Moon causes additional phenoma yet to be discovered that may affect energies here on Earth.
At the very least it’s fun to speculate about it.