Metaphysicists, paranormalists, wiccans and spiritualists including healers use the energy of the Moon according to the intention of their rituals and practices.

The favorite moon phase is FULL MOON, which mostly believe the lunar energies are at full blast during this manifestation. Though other phases like waning and waxing have special purpose.

Moon appearances in the night skies have many interpretations based on the feeling, sense and intuition of the viewer though most of the time we prefer to relate such images in folklore supertitions.

Recently, Moon Halo baffled night sky watchers  with the variation of interpretations mostly believe about the manifestation of calamity.

Scientifically, halos – either around the Sun or the Moon, according to Hyperphysics (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/atmos/moonhalo.html), are produced by the refraction of light in tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the air. With the 60° apex angle of the prism formed by extending the sides of the crystal and the index of refraction of ice (n=1.31) one can calculate the angle of minimum deviation to be 21.84°.

The UP Astronomical Society says “Lunar halos are mostly due to refraction of moonlight that passes through ice crystals present in thin clouds,” when cirrus and cirro-stratus clouds are present in otherwise clear skies. Cirro-stratus clouds bend light at a 22-degree angle which forms a halo of 44 degress in diameter.”

“The effect is highlighted by the fact that only bright stars are visible in the night sky when there are cirro-stratus clouds. The brightness of lunar halos depends on how bright the moon is and how thick the clouds are,” UP Astrosoc noted.

Despite scientific explanations about the moon halo, most Filipinos prefer to interpret such phenomenon based on superstition and folklore beliefs.

– Some say, moon halo could make people fall in love with someone who won’t love them back.

– It foretells an impending storm and the number of stars inside the moon halo predicts the number of days before the start of the storm.

– When the moon points upwards, the weather condition will be good and when points downward, it will rain.

– If a large star or planet seen near the moon, we can expect violent weather condition, while fog and a small moon together could bring easterly winds.

– Other weather ‘readers’ say the moon halo phenomenon could bring catastophic disasters, though it all depends on how large the effects are and what place could be hit.

There are other superstition, myths and beliefs about moon phases not only lunar halos as posted in paganwiccan.about.com:

• The word lunatic comes from the Latin luna, because it was believed that people were more likely to exhibit aberrant behavior during a full moon. Although studies have been done showing that emergency room visits and accidents are increased during the full moon period, there has yet to be conclusive evidence for causation.
• The moon seems to have an effect on animals as well as people. A Florida expert on animal behavior reports that hamsters spin in their wheels far more aggressively during the moon’s full phase. Deer and other herbivores in the wild tend to ovulate at the full moon, and in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the full moon is mating time for coral.
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, was inspired by the strange — and yet very true — case of Charles Hyde, a London man who committed a series of crimes at the time of the full moon.
• There is a British legend that if Christmas fell on the day of a dark Moon, the following year’s harvest would be a bountiful one. Some parts of the British Isles believed that a waxing moon on Christmas meant a good crop the next fall, but a waning moon indicated a bad one would come.
• In some countries, a halo around the moon means bad weather is coming.
• 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.
• 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.

Maybe, you have something to add about these folklore or superstition beliefs about the phases of the moon and the lunar halo, kindly post them. Namaste.