In tune with the moon

For the ancients, life revolved around lunar phases, which measured time, heralded the changing seasons – and even caused madness

- SIR JOHNNY SCOTT

The 29½-day cycle of moon phases was the earliest form of measuring time, and the present-day months are roughly equal to the lunar cycle. Each of the farming seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter – lasts three months or three moon cycles, thus a year was made up of 12 full moons; the cycle of each following the same pattern. A new moon is completely black; over the next four nights, the moon ‘waxes’ or becomes more visible until a quarter, known as a ‘waxing crescent’, can be seen on the right side. Four nights later, half the moon, known as the ‘first quarter moon’, is visible. A couple of nights later, this has enlarged to become a ‘waxing gibbous moon’, then, two nights later, a full moon. After this it ‘wanes’ in similar time intervals on the left side, through ‘waning gibbous’, ‘last quarter’ and ‘waning crescent’ until it becomes a darkened or new moon.