The moon is more than just a pale satellite of interest to poets and astronomers. Its influence goes beyond merely creating ocean tides or driving biological cycles. More importantly, the moon exerts a significant influence upon the mechanical, emotional, and psychological states in man. The werewolf myth and superstition concerning full moon lunacy are not far from the truth. Certain lunar phases heighten the possibility for emotionally draining situations and stimulate reactivity and sensitivity in vulnerable individuals.
Personal observation reveals what numerous esoteric sources have explained at length, namely that we are food for the moon. In this article I shall summarize these sources and then give an account of how through personal experience I independently arrived at similar but more expansive conclusions framed in context of the matrix control system. This is an incredibly fascinating and practical subject since the lunar factor can be observed by anyone with eyes to see and knowledge of such cycles can be used to bypass obstacles normally exacerbated by the fog of ignorance.
Fourth Way philosophy aims to strip man of his mechanical behavior and hypnotic programming in order to build within him a core of heightened consciousness. It is an esoteric system assembled from incomplete fragments of inner Christianity and Sufism. It’s founder, Georges Gurdjieff, frequently admonished the thoughtless mechanical behavior of humanity and was fond of saying that we are “food for the moon.”
What did Gurdjieff mean by this phrase? Many have interpreted “food for the moon” as a figure of speech, that perhaps Gurdjieff meant we are slave to our mechanical conditioning and feed our baser impulses. While it can be additionally interpreted that way, Gurdjieff was likely being literal. Peter Ouspensky, one of Gurdjieff’s most prolific disciples, lectured at length concerning the moon’s role in human affairs and its place in the cosmological scheme of things. It is reasonable to assume what Ouspensky wrote about the moon accurately reflects what Gurdjieff taught him.
According to Ouspensky, the moon acts as a giant electromagnet pulling upon all organic life on earth and sucking into itself the soul essence of dying creatures. The moon is an embryonic planet receiving its nutrition from organic life on earth through an etheric umbilical cord, an energy conduit between earth and moon.
In man, the moon drives his mechanical aspects like a pendulum moving the gears of a clock. The degree to which one’s actions are driven by the moon is proportional to one’s level of reactivity and non-being. For people incapable of moving themselves through life by nobler spiritual impulses, the moon provides a propulsive force. Without this force, mechanical individuals would be passive as puppets without a puppeteer.
Ouspensky went so far as to say that the very physical motion of our limbs was made possible thanks to the moon. Other Fourth Way initiates like Rodney Collin explained that because our body was largely made of water and the moon pulls on water to create the ocean tides, our bodies are made to move in similar but more complicated ways through hydraulic principles. Though I find this explanation dubious, I have included it only to be complete in my summary. The moon’s gravitational field pulls on all masses equally and is not strong enough to have any measurable physical influence over the motion of water within the body.
It would be more accurate to say that the moon exerts some subtle influence upon the organs of our etheric body responsible for initiating neurochemical impulses that trigger habitual motions. Such mechanical behavior may therefore be driven by the moon, but not necessarily via crude physical means.
The moon is therefore an important factor in driving our mechanical actions. As long as its influence is limited to such effects, the moon is doings its job properly. Ouspensky warned, however, that if lunar influences trespassed into one’s emotional and mental aspects, then emotional and mental imbalances would occur. How can the moon affect our emotional and intellectual centers? By the very fact that these lower centers have their own mechanical aspects.
Ouspensky was asked whether there was any truth to the connection between full moons and lunacy. He said there was none and that lunar phases are irrelevant because the moon is always around earth exerting virtually the same pull regardless of its phase. That much is true, however as I shall explain later, it is the alignment between earth, sun, and moon that colors the lunar influence, therefore lunar phases do correlate with cycles of mental and emotional stability and instability.
In the cosmological schema, earth is like a mother to the moon which is still a fetus in the sense that it cannot yet “breathe” on its own, hold an atmosphere, or support life. Gurdjieff said: “The Moon is actually a fragment of this Earth, which must now constantly maintain the Moon’s existence.” In that sense, the moon is like a parasitic thoughtform. Nevertheless, the equation is balanced because in exchange for the moon propelling our mechanical movement, we feed the moon so that it may grow and one day be born as a living planet. As to how organic life feeds the moon, Ouspensky explained that upon death the physical body returns to the earth but the soul essence, the astral and etheric energies sloughed off by the evacuating spirit, float toward and deposit themselves upon the moon. This comes with the dissolution of the body’s mechanical center. During life, however, unprovoked emotional turmoil and unconscious psychological suffering produce subtle energies that feed the moon, and this much is detrimental to personal esoteric evolution.
In line with the objectives of Fourth Way, to escape the more deleterious lunar influences Ouspensky said we must “create moon within ourselves.” By this he meant we must develop within us a driving mechanism that can take the place of the external lunar influence; in this way we would break free of the puppeteer. Assuming for a moment a more general and practical interpretation, this simply says that in order to become free from mechanical conditioning and reactive behavior we must reinforce our sense of self-awareness so that conscious choice and awareness reigns supreme over any external stimuli that might provoke an unconscious reaction. In this way we stop feeding the moon while living, and still properly pay our dues upon death.
In his epic work Gnosis, Boris Mouravieff formulated an esoteric system for spiritual evolution founded upon the inner traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy. Though sharing a common basis with Fourth Way, what Mouravieff detailed is comparatively more complete, accurate, and systematic. Here is an excerpt from Gnosis summarizing what is necessary to transcend the lunar influence:
As a cell of organic life on Earth, man plays a part in the development of the Ray of Creation. The vivification of the Moon, that cosmic foetus, is one aspect of this development. This requires considerable quantities of energy, which is produced in particular by the human part of organic life. Illusion, which plays such an important role in the waking consciousness of man, was introduced into that state so that he would accept this aspect of the cosmic work, participating in it without rebellion.
If we become conscious of this situation and desire to escape it, we must conceive and create a screen which will protect us against this devouring influence of the Moon. We must meanwhile guard against falling into Illusion again by erecting a false screen; the result would be an aggravated waste of these forces instead of an economy of force. The quantity of force necessary to genuinely oppose the influence of the Moon is already considerable. The first imperative, then, is to stop wasting these forces, to turn off the taps which let the energy escape uselessly: sterile emotions, in particular negative emotions; fantasies from uncontrolled imagination; uncoordinated mental gymnastics, gossiping and chattering. We must thus act like a wise minister of finance and carefully economize our energies, yet without all the time sterilizing either our activity or our intelligence. On the contrary, we must store and as far as possible augment these forces to build up our reserves. These are the two main aspects of the first objective we have to attain. (Mouravieff, Gnosis I, p.168)
Mouravieff also explained that organic life functions as a transmitter station sending refined energy to the moon to assist its growth. Despite increases in the human population and thus an increase in quantity of energy transferred, times of peace do not produce sufficient energy and so catalysts for suffering such as wars and catastrophes arise to sustain the process.
The Moon’s passive energy arises from solar energy. It reflects this, but not without a transformation as its own nature. […] Unlike the Earth, the Moon does not have a direct organic link with the Sun. Being a satellite, it depends directly on its planet, and it is only through the latter’s mediation that it enters into relation with the Sun. One of its essential roles is to reflect solar energy onto the Earth’s surface in a form modified by reflection as described above. This also leads to qualitative and quantitative variations that depend on its phases. These changes do not prevent continual reverberation, due to the fact that the Moon always presents the same face to Earth, as the duration of its rotation around itself and around our planet are both the same. (Mouravieff, Gnosis II, p.29)
Although Mouravieff did not elaborate in what manner the lunar influence varies with phase, it stands to reason that essentially it is a matter of astrological alignment between earth, sun, and moon. During new and full moons, the moon and sun are respectively in conjunction and opposition. During quarter moons they are square. Opposition, conjunction, and square represent alignments that in this particular case aggravate the mechanical aspects in man. Other times of the month when the moon is trine or sextile sun, a more harmonious astrological aspect establishes itself. These alignments engender calmer temperaments with the mechanical influence not trespassing into emotional or mental territory.
That the moon always shows the same face, has an unusually circular orbit, and is precisely distanced to blot out the sun during total solar eclipses implies an intentional placement by the “Architect” of the matrix, or perhaps it simply suggests a collective choice to experience this highly improbable but necessary reality. When asked if the moon was intentionally placed, the Cassiopaeans responded: This is impossibly complex because in one way or another, everything is part of a “plan.” Mouravieff and Ouspensky emphasized that despite the soporific nature of the moon and the urgent necessity for individuals to overcome its influence, there is still an important cosmological reason for this arrangement. If nothing else, the moon makes physical life possible by driving the earth’s rotation.
Another interesting source is The Zelator by Mark Hedsel, an autobiographical account of his initiatory pathway through various mystery schools. The following excerpt takes place in the presence of a teacher who gives a lengthy discourse on the moon:
We became fascinated by the nature of the Moon, and with the other female planet, Venus. It was as though our attention had been drawn to the feminine side of Darkness and Light, as represented in the purgatorial side of the Moon, and the burning light of Venus. Our questions led our Master to some fascinating and unexpected observations about the lunar connections in ancient esoteric lore, and it was not surprising that the few questions we did put to our Master at that time concerned these planets. ‘Do you know what the third-day pig is?’ he asked in response to a question I had put to him about the Moon. Although our Master was looking directly at us, everyone shook their heads, as though he had directed the question to each of us personally. Perhaps the question had been rhetorical, for he continued almost immediately. ‘The three-day pig is a phrase from the ancient Mysteries. Prior to the initiation held during the Greater Mysteries of the Boedromion at Eleusis, in Greece, there was what the Greeks called the Halade Mystai. Early in the morning, the candidates for initiation would make their way to the sea, carrying young pigs, which they would wash and then sacrifice. The usual — we might even say the exoteric — explanation for this sacrifice is that they considered the blood of the pig to be especially pure, and much appreciated by the gods of the Underworld. They buried the killed pigs deep in the Earth, after the blood and slaughtered bodies had been dedicated to these infernal gods. Because the sacrifice was held on the third day of the Greater Mystery, such a creature was called the third-day pig.’
He raised his eyebrows, and smiled. ‘Now, as with all Mysteries of initiation, the term is not quite correct — it is meant to hide something. It was not a third-day pig, but a two-and-a-half-day pig, as the sacrifices always took place in the morning. The fact that the rites were conducted near the sea should lend a clue to one aspect of this arcane symbolism, for the two-and-a-half day period is a lunar period. In two and a half days, the Moon completely traverses one sign of the zodiac: the period, cosmically speaking, is a 12th part of the month. Now, perhaps, you will begin to see something of the deeper significance of the third-day pig?’ Perhaps once again the question had been rhetorical. At all events, there was no sound from the circle.
‘In a sense, the third-day pig is humanity — the liquid sweat of the Earth. Humanity is in thrall to the Moon — mankind is subject to the two-and-a-half-day rhythm, and to all other lunar periodicities. In another sense, the third-day pig is the animal of Set, the reject darker side of Mankind — that lucifuge side, which does not strive towards the light.
‘This truth is recognized both in the overt symbolism of the pig sacrifice, and in its deeper arcane implications. The initiation centres have always recognized that mankind is in thrall to the Moon — that ordinary men and women are sleeping under the influence of the lunar powers. […] The symbolism of the three-day pig must now be evident. The creature is a surrogate for a sacrifice which is no sacrifice, as the loss is of no value in the face of that gained. […] What happens to our higher principle at this fission of porcine sacrifice is of direct account in the symbolism of the three-day pig. Just as in a sacrifice involving a burnt offering, where the flames go upwards, and the carbonized remains go downwards, so the sacrifice of the third-day pig is a fission of separation. Note this word, fission. One cannot go far in the hermetic studies without having formed a good idea of what Spiritual fission implies.
‘On one level, then, the pig is symbol of the lower nature, which must be buried — or, more accurately, placed into the hands of the infernal hordes, to which it rightly belongs. Meanwhile, the initiated Spirit rises upwards on the scales of perfection. As you know, only the initiates sacrifice at the Helade Mystai, so we may presume that, at the symbolical death, it is only the lower part of the “pig” — the body and the blood — which is rendered unto the lower world. The higher world carries the Spirit to a higher realm, in the wonder of initiation. You see, the three-day pig is a symbol of this rejected part, of the dark part pushed downwards after the separation which is the immediate consequence of initiation.’
‘But the pig. Let us glance once more at the symbolism of the famous three-day pig. We are the pig, awaiting sacrifice. We are in thrall to the Moon: we are all sleeping Endymions, who must render to the Moon that which bears the imprint of the Moon. Let us presume that the sacrifice of the three-day pig is symbolical of the three days …’ — he emphasized the words to show that they had a much deeper meaning than might be at first apparent -’… that we spend in the sphere of the Moon after our death. As you know, in traditional Christianity, this period is called Purgatory. In esotericism, it has other names, with which you will all be familiar. The three-day pig is a symbol’ — he emphasized the word — ‘of this period we must spend in Purgatory.
‘If you reflect upon it, you will see that it is not a far-fetched symbolism. The pig, through its association with Set, is a creature of the Moon, and the period in Purgatory is a “blood sacrifice” in the sense that during that experience the sins of the blood — one might say the sweat of our blood sins — are washed away. In Purgatory, at great cost to ourselves, we sacrifice our sins. These entities — our sins — are devoured by the demons in what might be regarded as a blood-lust. We have clung to our sins throughout our lifetime, and letting them go is no easy matter: they must be torn away from us.
‘Purgatory is a sort of cosmic clearing house — even a place of enforced learning — where the entities and dispositions born of sin find fulfillment and regeneration. Without the existence of such a cleansing house, the Spiritual atmosphere of the Earth would have been completely poisoned long ago.
‘The skull-face of the Moon, glaring down with cratered eyes at the world, is a perpetual memorial to the inexorable consequences of human sin. It would be possible to point to vast documentary sources for this belief that the Moon is the cosmic centre of purgatory — it is indeed encapsulated in very many symbols in Christian doctrine and symbolism. On what may be the most obvious level, the very idea that demons have horns is probably a throw-back to the idea of the crescent of the Moon, their natural homeland: they are, so to speak, branded with the C of the crescent.
‘You were quite right, Mark …’ — much to our chagrin, he turned to us, making public private conversations we had had with him — ‘… to link the Moon with demonic assault, and with the dark realm of seances and atavistic clairvoyancy. The demonic beings love the dark. While it is true that the seance rooms are kept dark to enable amateur conjurors to perform without detection, it is also true that those Spiritual beings who work evil through such seances love the dark. They are lucifuges. Just as they cannot understand the need for light, so they cannot understand human love.
‘The ancients used darkness, not to contact the demons, but to contact the Higher Beings. One reason why the so-called air-shafts in the Great Pyramid are directed towards specific stars is to allow these stellar influences to pierce into the darkness where the initiations took place. ‘The ancients built their stone circles to enable them to use darkness for specific purposes. They knew that during an eclipse, when the Moon is thrown into darkness, the effect of the Moon is, to some extent, weakened. At such times, certain diabolical and evil influences which have been built up in the aura of the Earth can escape. It is as though a safety valve has been opened in the skies, pouring into the cosmos down the dark tunnel of the Black Moon, which hangs in the shadow of the Earth. This Black Moon — the Moon of snake-infested Hecate in the ancient mythology — is quite different from the Lighted Moon. In some of the ancient centres this Black Moon was even given a different name.
‘The Lighted Moon is, to some extent, Spiritually warmed by the Sun. One has to be attuned to cosmic realities to feel the difference between the Dark Moon and the full Moon. When the Sun is eclipsed by the Dark Moon, then it is not unusual for birds to drop from the skies in fear. Great wisdom is shown in such fear. You must all try to experience an eclipse — solar or lunar — to catch a feeling of this cosmic reality. There is a frisson in the air, quite unlike anything which can be felt under normal circumstances. The primaeval terror of the Moon among the ancients was not entirely unrealistic: in those days, there was a different consciousness which allowed men to perceive cosmic realities that are now hidden from us. You will never understand why the ancient stone circles were built if you do not familiarize yourself with the Dark Moon.’
In the meeting prior to his death, our Master fulfilled his promise to speak about the secrets of the Moon. Normally, he would wait for someone in our midst to ask a question. This time he began to speak without preamble.
‘In the esoteric literature, you will find many records indicating that the Moon was at one time part of the Earth. It had to leave the Earth, in order to allow life on Earth to continue its Spiritual development unimpeded.
‘It is important that anyone on the Path should attempt to form a clear picture of what this separation was like. Not only was it of considerable evolutionary importance in the cosmogenesis of the Earth, but it is played, in miniature, in many of our Spiritual activities. It is the archetypal form of fission. Now, unfortunately, in modern times even our imaginative faculties have been materialized, and it is difficult for us to form a picture of what this Moon-loss was really like. It is difficult for us to form clear images of the fission which lies at the root of all Spiritual activity. It is difficult for modern man and woman to visualize things in purely Spiritual terms. This is because the picture-making which lies at the basis of our imaginative faculty longs for mythology, since mythology is itself an agency of Spirituality.
‘If you cannot imagine in this way at present, you must perforce cling to materialistic images …’ — he touched the glass of water on the round table in front of him — ‘… then imagine a glass of water clouded with a pigment. If the glass is left to stand, the particles will settle to the bottom in a thick dross, leaving the water above clear. This is much nearer to the Spiritual reality of what happened when the Moon left the Earth, taking with it certain forms of dross materiality. […]
‘The schema which depicts the planets in extended space pertains only to physical vision. You must understand this, or there will be no way in which you can approach some of the greater Mysteries of the cosmos. What appears to be on the outside is more accurately described as being on the inside: our Earthly vision is extremely limited, for, under normal circumstances, we see outwards from the central Ego to the cosmic periphery. However, this is not the cosmic vision. We are so used to this limited vision that we are not sufficiently tolerant to accept that there can be others — including a vision from the periphery into the centre.
‘In the case of the Moon, the matter is made more complex by the fact that the physical matter of the Moon did once form part of what we now call the Earth. Within the context of the lunar sphere, the two centres did once coincide. A tremendous effort of meditative power is required to follow these connections, however, and the bald statement I have made can result in misconceptions.’
‘Why,’ asked Philip, ‘did the Moon have to separate from the Earth?’ ‘It was a cosmic fission. The Moon represents the harder mineralization of the Earth. In the body of the Moon is the matter which, had it remained with the Earth, would have weighed down human development too deeply. Man would not have been able to bear the weight of those forces in his own body. Just as we know from our own observations of ourselves that we must slough off darkness to reach into the light, so the planetary bodies must also involve themselves in a similar fission. Even so, it is true that the weight of the Moon, albeit removed by half a million miles, still contorts the physical body of the Earth and its inhabitants through what are usually called ‘gravitational’ effects.
‘Now we must touch upon the connection between the Moon and clairvoyancy. We must do this because one of our members has — wisely or unwisely — become involved with mediumistic groups.’
‘It is important that we set out very clearly the dangers inherent in opening the soul to such activities. It is not for me to forbid such activity. I have no power to forbid, and would relish no such power. Much as I would wish to protect you, I cannot. The best I can do is make the dangers clear to you. After that, your beliefs and your conduct remain your own.’
He look around at our faces, as though to indicate that he had arrived at the most important point of the evening.
‘And so now we must look at an esoteric truth which touches on the very edge of what is permissible. What I have to say will be greatly disturbing for many people of modern times. It will disturb, because it is generally taken for granted that clairvoyancy, mediumship and spiritualistic activity are somehow linked with Spiritual development, and consequently of benefit to mankind. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. A vast amount of our modern so-called “Spiritualist” literature pertains to channelling and clairvoyancy which is far from beneficial for the development of mankind. Indeed, not to mince words, I should tell you that it is distinctly harmful.
‘I must now make a statement which will introduce you to a concept which was, until comparatively recently, one of the deepest secrets of the esoteric Schools: In some ways, the Moon is the greatest problem of esoteric lore. The Moon is not at all what it appears to be.
‘At the end of the last century an astounding revelation was made, as a result of dissent among members of secret Schools. Information, hitherto guarded jealously by the most enclosed of the inner Orders, was made public. The secrets disclosed pertained to a far deeper level of knowledge than has hitherto been made exoteric by the Schools — even in this enlightened age.’
His trace of cynicism seemed to go by unnoticed.
‘Our purpose here is not to document how so deep an esoteric idea was made public — or even to assess whether it was wise for this idea to be brought out into the open. All this has been dealt with in the literature — and if any of you wish to follow this up, I will give you a few titles later.
‘In a nutshell, what was made public during this conflict in the Schools was the truth that our Moon is a sort of counterweight to another sphere,
which remains invisible to ordinary vision. This counterweighted sphere is called in esoteric circles the Eighth Sphere.
‘We must be careful with these words, for, in spite of what I have just said, this region is not itself a sphere, nor is it a moon. Even to locate it behind the physical Moon is not correct, for in the Spiritual realm spaces and distances are different. The truth is that this Eighth Sphere does not pertain to anything we are familiar with on the physical plane, yet we must use words from our own vocabularies whenever we wish to denote its existence. Were we to use a word which fits most appropriately this
Sphere, then we should really call it a vacuum. Certainly, vacuum is a more appropriate term than sphere, for the Eighth Sphere sucks things into its own shadowy existence.
‘This Sphere is lower in the scale of being than the Seventh Sphere (which is the Earth). It acts as a sort of demonic conduit to suck into its maws certain degenerate Spiritual forms on the Earth. It is a shadow Sphere, controlled by shadow beings. However, the fact that they are shadow beings should not lead us to demote or underestimate their capabilities and intelligence. In many respects they are more intelligent than Man, for they are not limited by the power of love, as is Mankind.
‘The operation of this Eighth Sphere is complex. Its denizens — those shadowy beings for whom it is home — wish to people their Sphere with humanity, or (more accurately) with human souls. Towards this end, it has erected what we might call terminals on the Earth: these terminals are soul-conduits, which will suck into the lower Sphere a certain form of materialized Spiritual energy that is engendered on the Earth plane. The most usual circumstances where this materialization or engendering takes place is in seances, and in other localities wherein human beings attempt to meddle — against the cosmic law — with the lower Etheric planes.’
Philip was having difficulties with this curious account of the lunar powers, and asked: ‘Are you saying that Spiritualist activity is itself victimized by the Eighth Sphere?’
‘Yes, Philip. Certain Spiritualist activity is coloured by the erroneous belief that the realm of the dead is accessible to the living. In truth, mediumistic activity cannot penetrate through into the true realm of the dead: it is therefore dealing only with shadows. In so doing, it is creating fodder for the nourishment of the Eighth Sphere. This sucking of certain forms of human soul-matter into the Eighth Sphere is not, by any means, intended for the benefit of humanity. The aim of the denizens of this
world is to enhance and populate a world which may truly be described as the realm of the damned. The efforts of these denizens, or demons, is contrary to the evolutionary development which has been planned for the world. In truth, the human being was not designed to become a shadow being, captive in a demonic sphere: it was designed to become a god.
‘It is less than one hundred years since this knowledge of the Eighth Sphere was made public. At first there was an outcry at this breach in initiate knowledge, but now we can see that it has proved something of a blessing that the demonic threat has been brought out into the open. In some ways, it is easier to deal with a visible enemy. Those who dabble in the supposed communications with the dead, and with that spirit-land which they fondly imagine lies beyond the veil, have not gone unwarned.
I will leave most of the above for the reader to digest, and discuss only the so-called “Eighth Sphere.” What is meant by the moon being a counterweight to the Eighth Sphere? Evidently, the moon is but a physical reflection of something tangible but not material, something beyond our realm of perception.
Based on the clues given in The Zelator we must conclude that the Eighth Sphere by definition encompasses all the nonphysical aspects of the Matrix Control System, the service-to-self (STS) hierarchy from top to bottom minus the physical levels of which we ourselves are part.
The Eighth Sphere would therefore include: the lower astral planes where carnal and demonic thoughtforms dwell, the hyperdimensional realms inhabited by so-called reptilian beings, the parasitic etheric lattice overlaying the earth comprising the very tendrils of the Matrix, the soul-pool of which spiritless humans are incarnate extensions, and the demiurgic creature positioned atop the negative occult hierarchy sucking into itself all energy gathered from the “tiers” below.
This interpretation of the Eighth Sphere should be self-evident for those familiar with the works of Rudolf Steiner, Carlos Castaneda, Robert Monroe, Dr. William Baldwin, the Cassiopaean Transcripts, and my articles on the Matrix.
For instance, that spiritless humans have something to do with the moon is clear from the fact that they, being extensions of less evolved (“second density”) energies occupying human (“third density”) bodies, are essentially two-and-a-half density beings, which relates to the two-and-a-half-day pig. Pigs, by the way, are physically incapable of looking up at the sky which, in addition to the fact that they share many human characteristics and have genetics strongly suited to house low vibrational frequencies, makes them ideal symbols for the animal nature in man. That the moon shares an archetypal basis with spiritless humans is further evidenced by it being a second density planet reflecting light rather than generating its own, just as spiritless humans are not fully third density and merely reflect back the soul image of others.
Studying the mythological and esoteric meaning of the moon is mere entertainment if no practical understanding comes from it. One can easily get absorbed in the arcane and lose sight of its application in the real world. So I was fortunate to have observed the lunar influence for myself before reading anything about it, and based on these observations I developed some practical solutions.
This began with my early experiences as moderator of an alternative discussion group on the internet. Having been a member of several forums previously, I was aware of the various pitfalls and how theoretically to avoid them. Putting theory into practice required close observation, foresight, and a case-by-case system of moderation. Over the months I was forced to deal with various disruptors of varying degrees of cunning, each of which played key roles in setting up and triggering a period of emotional turmoil.
After numerous months of this, it finally dawned on me that these disruptive episodes followed a cyclical pattern, always one or two incidents per month on the same set of days that would gradually shift later in the month with each passing month. So it was nine months of observation that made me realize there was order behind the chaos. Furthermore, trouble wasn’t limited to the forum; often it occurred elsewhere such as in my personal life or with my family, on other message boards, and with friends and their families — anyplace at all, but only during certain predictable days of the month.
That these key days shifted a little each month implied that perhaps it has something to do with the moon phases, since full and new moon dates do shift gradually from month to month thanks to our irregular calendar system. So I took the nine months of records and checked them against a moon calendar: sure enough, the disruptive incidents happened consistently within two and a half days from new or full moon.
This much I had figured out by October 2004. By constructing a calendar with days shaded according to their proximity to lunar perigee or apogee and new or full moon, I was able to test the theory over the next several months. It was utterly disturbing to watch disruptions take place on schedule month after month during the predicted days and never outside of those days. And it wasn’t just me seeing what I wanted to see because when learning lessons of an emotionally charged nature arise, there is no mistaking or ignoring them. Additionally, I started with nine months of unbiased records in which a pattern was clearly evident before I ever suspected the moon might be involved; the data spoke for itself.
Putting this knowledge to practical use involved predicting and preparing for disruptive days, understanding that during heavy lunar influences things might not be as they seem, and remembering that emotional buttons are far more sensitive during such days. Moderating the forum became a game of nailing the timing, nature, and plot of the upcoming disruption in order to head it off, sometimes with success and sometimes without depending on how sophisticated the plot was and how well I could decipher the synchronistic omens and symbolic warning dreams preceding these impending obstacles.
The process usually played out as follows: within a week or two leading up to an incident I would be given dreams containing symbolic clues about the themes and characters involved, then I would reference the moon chart to get an idea of the timing, and finally within a day I would receive numerous synchronicities informing me the event was close at hand. Lately I have begun incorporating astrological aspects (planetary alignments) to gain additional insight on the timing and theme.
While this system may seem delusional to the casual reader, it was derived using a process of observation, hypothesis, testing, and refinement. That this system has been applied successfully in all areas of my life to reduce stress and redundant obstacles, improved my skills as moderator and kept the forum impervious to permanent disruption, and continues to correctly predict when mechanical tendencies are amplified — these prove to me its validity and practicality.
Only then did I realize Gurdjieff was being completely literal when he said we are food for the moon. Anyone who becomes aware of the lunar influence will see how people all around sway to the lunar influence like reeds to the breeze. Twice a month, what I term the “Matrix Control System” opens its maws and draws in a torrent of emotional energy from all those susceptible to the lunar influence.
So what exactly is the relation between the Matrix and the moon? The archetypal correspondences were discussed earlier. As for the technical relation, I have concluded that the gravitational interaction between earth, moon, and sun causes cyclical variation in the separation between dimensions and densities. Just before and after a new or full moon, the dimensional veil is thinnest and hostile forces from other realms, including the astral and hyperdimensional realms, have an easier time penetrating into the physical plane.
The thinning of dimensional separation has two main consequences. First, as mentioned it is easier for beings to cross realm boundaries. Hostile entities require less energy to breach the realm of their targets, or stated another way, metaphysical defenses against physical and psychic violence tend to wane around such times. But on a positive side the thinning also supports personal expansion into new realms of being, thus the new moon is said to be a good time for starting new projects and manifesting intent through the principles of reality creation.
Second, because other realms become temporarily more accessible, occult practices become more effective. Invocations, psychic warfare, scrying and remote viewing are assisted during such times. This most greatly assists those darker forces who rely upon remote viewing of probable futures and psychic attacks to stalk and ambush their prey. But once again on a positive side the intuitive faculties are heightened and more technical forms of divination like scrying gain accuracy.
Concerning strictly the negative aspects of new and full moon energies, there is a qualitative difference. New moon energies tend toward implosion while full moon is characterized by energy of explosion. Whereas the new moon tends to induce oversensitivity, dissatisfaction, and depression, the full moon energies amplify overreaction, violence, and outright lunacy. It is esoteric fact that the moon rules over the imagination, and both during full moon and new moon windows the imagination is particularly prone to being misapplied, meaning misunderstandings, false suspicions, and unfounded worries increase. But whereas the new moon exacerbates introspective turmoil, full moon externalizes the trouble.
What accounts for the qualitative difference? None other than the particular alignment between earth, moon, and sun. During a full moon, the earth is between sun and moon, meaning the latter two are astrologically in opposition. Whereas the sun represents spirit, the moon represents one’s shadow self. When in opposition, the light of spirit is misdirected by the mechanical pressures of the shadow self, meaning energy is expressed but in an outwardly harmful way, thus its association with overreaction and violence. When new, the moon is between sun and earth, energetically blocking or filtering the solar energies. The shadow self stifles the light of spirit, thus the implosive quality of this alignment and its association with oversensitivity and depression.
To illustrate, in my experience certain vulnerable forum members tended to get moody during the new moon and overreact to misperceived criticism or get depressed and give their farewell, while during a full moon people are more likely to lash out when the lunatics crawl from the woodwork to provoke at the most sensitive times. This is not a fast rule, just a general observation. How these energies manifest elsewhere depends on the context, and the lunar influence manifests through whatever means are at hand to extract the greatest amount of emotional anguish.
Nevertheless, it would be incorrect to blame the moon exclusively as the cause of troubles, as during more harmonious astrological alignments it actually supports healthy mechanical functioning. When the moon is trine or sextile to the sun, meaning in between new and full and at least a day away from quarter moon, the lunar influence sustains peaceful progress. So one could equally say that four times a month the moon supports tranquility.
The moon is by no means the only cyclical factor pulling our strings. There are numerous other cycles from personal to national to global and cosmic. Most of these have biological or astrological origins. While the astrological ones are important to consider, particularly certain planetary aspects, I consider the lunar influence to be the strongest and most observable.
It is no secret that hyperdimensional attacks, which are acts of spiritual warfare, are directed at a target’s weakest spots at the weakest moments. That is simply a matter of efficiency and logistics. Astrology is an important part of determining this timing because the realm dynamics between attacker and target are greatly influenced by celestial alignments. Different alignments impress upon a given location different spectra of vibrations which in turn resonate corresponding elements within the souls of individuals in the vicinity; the manner in which they vibrate pulls from reality a corresponding set of experiences and learning lessons. Certain vibrations correspond to learning lessons involving confrontation, violence, and attack, and it is when these vibrations are strongest for an individual that astral and hyperdimensional attackers find it easiest to fulfill their role in his experiences. A more thorough explanation can be found on my website in an article titled Realm Dynamics.
While certain lunar alignments exacerbate certain mechanical tendencies which in turn can create emotional turmoil, I have found that the moon’s primary function during such times is merely to open a window between the darker realms and this world. Whether this window of opportunity is actually utilized depends on the individual in question and whether the attackers have the necessary interest and resources. In other words, the turbulent experiences that may arise during critical lunar days are not necessarily deterministically created by the moon, rather the moon opens a window during which intelligent forces can, at their own discretion and choice of timing, initiate an episode of feeding or sabotage.
The reason I say this is because through certain means already described I can detect well in advance of a lunar influence period what plans for sabotage are already in the works. There is an active intelligence behind many of these episodes, presumably non-human as evidenced by the periodic abduction and posthypnotic programming of key individuals who will take part in the next disturbance. Or, in the days preceding a sabotage attempt coinciding with a lunar window, one will experience increased precognitive indicators like ear ringings and deja vu, respectively signifying monitoring attempts and timeline editing by hyperdimensional forces.
There are a variety of reasons why some people seem to experience the lunar influence more than others.
First, active targeting plays a large part in the worst of the trouble, those who are not targeted will not experience much trouble other than some crankiness between themselves and others.
Second, where the moon is placed in one’s natal chart (what the lunar configuration was at moment of birth) may play a role in how strongly its mechanizing influence trespasses into one’s emotional and psychological states. Different people have different natal charts and will thus be influenced to different degrees.
Third, although this is speculative, I suspect geographic latitude factors into how strongly one falls within the earth-moon energy conduit; because the moon orbits around the earth’s equator with a maximum eight degree deviation north or south, those nearer to the equator will be more deeply caught up in the gravitational line of tension between earth and moon while those in the higher latitudes might experience the lunar influence more weakly.
And fourth, the lower one’s soul frequency, the greater one’s mechanical tendencies, and the less esoterically developed one is, the greater the lunar effect. It would take fission from the base matters of the soul and fusion of the nobler qualities to gain victory over the lunar influence within oneself, and great wisdom and compassion to handle whatever disruptions may arise among others. In fact, it is toward this end that the moon can actually catalyze our progress by making us aware of our weaknesses.
If you want to test this theory for yourself, consult the Moon Chart for the current month to see whether the shaded regions on the chart correlate with any patterns in your own experience. You can also download this chart to your computer, to run within a browser.
Generally, the shaded regions (gray = new, red=full, purple = quarter moon) are merely windows for turmoil — there is no guarantee each window will bring trouble, but in my case I have found that when trouble does arise it does so exclusively in the shaded regions. There have been some weaker disturbances on quarter moon days (moon square sun) and during certain very strongly discordant astrological aspects, but these are infrequent and no where near as severe as what tends to arise around new or full moons so I consider them insignificant. If you find the moon chart has some validity, then you can use it to better prepare for and perhaps head off potential obstacles. It should merely assist in giving you a heads up, to be used in conjunction with your own intuitive system of “reading the weather”.
Without being aware of the lunar influence one falls too easily under its soporific influence. One is likely to perceive the wrong dynamics behind a situation, take things too personally and succumb to depression or misplaced outrage, and fail to place one’s energies at the right place at the right time. The types of lessons attracted during lunar windows can be learned in easier ways through foresight; by becoming aware of a problem before it happens, one learns the same lessons that would otherwise come about through painful experience… therefore awareness protects against involuntary suffering.
The ultimate goal of this knowledge is to increase awareness and help one gain an upper hand over otherwise invisible and subliminal influences. Applied awareness always has an inverse effect upon negative influences; for instance, while lunar windows tend to induce suffering by default, through awareness one can make use of temporary dimensional fluidity to more effectively intend for and manifest positive futures. With awareness one can learn more efficiently, have a smoother and more exciting path of progress through life, avoid unproductive obstacles, and gain a measure of liberation from the enslaving effect of ignorance.
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