Moonlighting as an Insomniac
It's not your fault, it's the moon
Did anybody else have trouble sleeping last night? I often blame myself when this happens, assuming that it’s my overactive brain, or maybe just too much tea.
But when the sun finally rises it’s time to shake off the sleepy prostration, pour five espresso shots into a mug (sorry, tea won’t cut it this morning), and enjoy what some might call, a moment of brilliance…
It’s not my fault, it’s the moon!
July 13th, 2022 in Toronto was a full moon. Not just any old full moon, it was a FULL BUCK SUPER MOON, the biggest, brightest, insomnia-inducing, mess-your-sleep-up-proper moon of the year.
The Huangdi Neijing has a few interesting things to say about the moon. It’s not just werewolves or alien abductions that you need to worry about during those long drawn out nights, it’s acupuncture too!
Neijing Suwen Chapter 26:
是故天温日明，则人血淖液，而卫气浮，故血易泻，气易行；天寒日阴，则人血凝泣，而卫气沈。
When the skies are warm and the sun is bright, the blood of humans is flush, Wei Qi floats to the exterior, blood easily flows and Qi easily moves. When the skies are cold and the sun is hidden, the blood of humans congeals, Wei Qi sinks into the interior.
I imagine this is why so many people flee Canada to warmer southern regions during the winter. It’s also why old cats like to sit on the radiator or hog the only sunny spot on the floor.
月始生，则血气始精，卫气始行；月郭满，则血气实，肌肉坚；
At the beginning of the crescent moon, blood and Qi are very fine, Wei Qi begins to move. When the moon is full, blood and Qi are abundant, muscles and flesh are strong.月郭空，则肌肉减，经络虚，卫气去，形独居。是以因天时而调血气也。
On the new moon, muscles and flesh weaken, the Jing and Luo are depleted and Wei Qi departs. The physical body is without support. Therefore one should follow nature’s sequence of time when regulating blood and Qi.
It’s no big revelation that the moon influences the tides. When the moon sits between the sun and earth, tides are extra high. During a new moon, when the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, tides are very low.
Just as the moon influences the tides, it influences you. How? During the new moon you’ll feel like a floppy deflated balloon. As the moon starts to wax, you might feel a little perky, but don’t get carried away! The moon is slowly charging your battery, give it a little more time. Finally when the moon is full, you’ll be fully charged, restless and over stimulated. Your inner werewolf will be unleashed.
The Moon and Treatment
是以天寒无刺，天温无疑。月生无写，月满无补，月郭空无治，是谓得时而调之。
When the skies are cold, do not needle. When the skies are warm, do not hesitate. On a crescent moon, do not drain. On a full moon, do not supplement. On the new moon, do not treat. This is known as regulating according to the proper time.
This is consistent with seasonal Wu Xing theory. As things start to grow, don’t suppress or stifle them. If there is fullness, don’t add more to it because it’s already full. If there is deficiency, the body may not respond to treatment, or worse, you may cause more depletion.
Based on this you have permission to close your clinic when there’s a new moon and on cold cloudy days. Or at least, no acupuncture. Likely, this should also apply to exercise, massage, cupping, and Guasha, since they all require the body to utilize its own energy reserves through ‘controlled trauma’. On these days, the best bet is to stick to diet and herbal prescriptions.
故日月生而写，是谓藏虚；月满而补，血气扬溢，络有留血，命曰重实；月郭空而治，是谓乱经。
To drain during a crescent moon is called ‘Draining the Zang.’ To supplement during a full moon, blood and Qi would overflow, the Luo would also retain blood, this is called ‘double excess.’ To treat during a new moon is called ‘Disorder of the Channels.’阴阳相错，真邪不别，沈以留止，外虚内乱，淫邪乃起。
If Yin and Yang do not properly exchange, Zhen Qi and Xie Qi cannot be differentiated, pathology will move inward and lodge there. The exterior would be deficient, the interior would be in disorder. This imbalance will lead to illness.
This is pretty straightforward advice. Don't go around causing 'Drained Zang' or 'Channel Disorder', because nobody needs that. Of course you should question the absoluteness of this. What if during a full moon a patient knocks on your door with chronic digestive weakness? Should you not use acupuncture to supplement? What if during the next crescent moon, you catch a cold and spike a fever. Should you not use purging therapies to expel the excess?
There's nuance to be had here, so don't take these recommendations too seriously (though closing up shop for the winter and heading south may be tempting). It may be as simple as making sure to diagnose properly: supplement for deficiency, just be sure to not supplement excess; drain excess, just be sure not to drain deficiency. However, these are the general rules, not the exception, and so there's a little more to consider here beyond the obvious.
Time for Bed
My five shots of espresso have long worn off. Hopefully writing this article will have sufficiently used up all the extra moon-juice stored up in my blood and I'll get a good sleep tonight. As for you and future full moon-induced wide-eyed late nights, bathing in those overstimulating rays and forced to solemnly stew in your own messy brain, just remember…, the universe is a big place, you’re not alone.
Illustrations are my own, feel free to use them with credit. If you put one on a T-Shirt, don’t forget to send me one.
Special thanks to Yonghao Yu again. His Chinese is much better than mine.