October After Dark: Werewolves, Moon Cycles and the Beast Within

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey everyone, on this week's episode of Whispers from the Mists, Conversations from the Spiritual Byway, today the full moon is rising and we're talking werewolves. Where did the legends begin? What does the moon have to do with the transformation? And why are we all still so fascinated by the idea of something wild hiding beneath the surface? So, with this introduction, let's now take this conversation a little bit further down the spiritual byway. Hey everyone, welcome to another October episode of Whispers from the Mist Conversations from the Spiritual Byway. Today, I'm just gonna start this episode a little bit different. So I want you, Stacy, to listen and everyone out here to listen and to imagine this. You're walking home alone. It's late, the road is quiet, and there's really no one else around. The sky is dark and cloudy, so you can't see much beyond the road in front of you. But as you're walking, the clouds begin to shift. They slowly move apart, and suddenly you can see a full moon hanging in the distance. Its light spreads across the road and everything around you takes on this pale, almost silverly glow. The trees seem taller, but the shadows look deeper, and even though this may be a road that you've walked many times before tonight, it feels different. You continue walking, but then you hear something behind you. At first, you think it might be another set of footsteps. So you stop and you listen. But the sound stops too. There's nothing there. At least nothing that you can see. So you start walking again and then you hear it. Another step behind you, and then another. A few seconds later, a howl rises somewhere in the distance. It starts low and it carries through the trees. And you tell yourself it's probably just a dog, maybe even a coyote, maybe just some ordinary animal calling out beneath the moonlight. But then the howl comes again, and this time it sounds closer. So, Stacy, let me ask you this. At this point, are you turning around to see what's following you, or are you starting to run?

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Oh, I'm booking it. I'm gone. You know those cartoons where the body it's stopped or the body is there and they're that would be me. I'd be gone.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

I think that would be me also. I would not be sticking around waiting to see what might be behind me. But in every horror movie you've ever seen, they always turn around.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Why do you turn around? Don't turn around. My first thought is what is around me that's tall that I can climb onto, and where is my bear spray or pepper spray or whatever spray that I should hopefully have if I'm walking in the dark like that? Just saying.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Yeah, but if you were walking in the dark and you weren't expecting it, you probably don't have a gun with you that has a silver bullet in it, which is what would handle what our story is alluding to, which is werewolves.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Yeah, you you wouldn't. I wonder if pepper spray would keep a werewolf at bay. I doubt it. Sorry, the rhyme. I just cracked myself up. Well, it is funny, but I doubt it. I don't know what else terrifies werewolves. I mean, does anything really terrify werewolves? I don't think scaring a werewolf is really a thing. No, I don't think they stop to listen or think why. I think that it's purely animalistic. I wonder if, like, I'm thinking about the silver bullet, but I'm wondering if my silver jewelry would make a difference or provide any sort of like, would it burn them kind of like vampires with a sun? That's really interesting. I don't know the answer to that. I'd like to believe that if I have silver jewelry on, it'll somewhat protect me. But that also seems super far-fetched too. Like, here, let me touch you with my necklace.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Right. And if silver itself did it, you would think that the person who knows that they have this affliction would wear like a silver necklace or something if it kept the beast away. So I'm thinking silver jewelry is not gonna do it. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

But yeah, I I think werewolves are a very historical fear mongering story. I know we're gonna touch on it at some point, but there are so many different versions of werewolves and how they came about and what happens and the connection between the werewolf and whomever bit the werewolf. And there are ideas that if you were to end the maker's life, all of the other werewolves that were created would then be gone too.

unknown 5:03

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

I hadn't heard that one. But I know we're gonna get more into that shortly. I do have two more questions about my introduction. The first one being which would be more frightening to you? Seeing the creature or only hearing it somewhere behind you?

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Only hearing it. I think if I saw it, it would freak me out. But if you feel like you're being stalked like prey, I think that's more terrifying.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Oh, it's absolutely more terrifying. Okay. And the second question is when someone says werewolf, what image immediately comes to your mind? Why are you laughing?

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Did I say werewolf funny? No, you said it perfectly. What image comes to my mind is actually a scene from a movie called Young Frankenstein, where they're on the way to a castle and they hear a howl and somebody goes, werewolf. And the response is theirwolf, their castle. And so every time I hear werewolf, the scene plays out in my mind.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Oh, well, that makes me feel better. My husband says I say that werewolf weird. So I'm self-conscious when I say it. So then you started giggling. I'm like, did I say it wrong? Like, did I just embarrass myself on the podcast?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

No, it's just me and how my brain works in the strangest ways. And the fact that you said, What is the image that comes to you when I say werewolf? And it's just a video clip that I've watched hundreds of times.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

So funny. Well, my image would probably be more like Teen Wolf. What did he look like when he transitioned? But then you get into Harry Potter and Lupin and how he looked as a werewolf, completely different, terrifying. So I guess on any given day, my vision of one could be different, but it would tend to be more like the Michael J. Fox version, the nicer version.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

I mean, I would hope so. I think if we're talking imagery, my go-to is more Harry Potter or even Twilight, is where my brain goes when I think about werewolves. And I know in Twilight they don't call them werewolves, though. They are they're shape shifters in that series. But I just think of this giant wolf. And I think it's a wolf that trays after people specifically. Like I assume that they're not going to be out there attacking random animals. They're going after others to turn them.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Or to eat, because that is their natural instinct. That is the dark side of them that's coming out and being able to roam free. Like when I think of them, I see the clothes ripping off. And I always see, and we're going to talk about this, the full moon, because the full moon and werewolf go hand in hand. And you can't talk about one without giving time and attention to the other. So we're going to take a few minutes to talk about the moon. A typical lunar cycle lasts approximately 29 and a half days, as we all know, which as a child I didn't realize the moon never physically changes shapes. It's always a full moon, but it just depends on where it is in its cycle as to what we get to see of it. So we see different portions of its sunlit side as it moves around Earth. So there are eight different cycles of the moon. There is the new moon. From there, it moves into the waxing crescent. So waxing is building. Then it is the first quarter moon, the waxing Gibeus, and that's like three-fourths of the moon you can see. And then, of course, the full moon. And it's very interesting because we are recording this episode on a full moon. Oh, I didn't even realize that. From the full moon stage, it then goes into the waning gibeas, where you see three-fourths of it going the other direction, the last quarter, and then the waning crescent just before it disappears. Now it's building, it's releasing. That's how I always think of it. How about you, Stacey, from a spiritual front or aspect?

SPEAKER_00 9:14

I'm kind of the same way. I feel like the new moon, like going through the phases into the full moon, I it's to me, it's always building. So with that said, I think one of the most important things to note spiritually with the moon is there is a lot of work that happens that a lot of people who practice spirituality do on full moons and new moons to honor. I always called her Mama Luna.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Yeah, lots of ceremonies, rituals throughout the different phases of the moon. We know that the moon does have effects on the planet Earth. Its gravity contributes to Earth's ocean tides. A new and full moon produce stronger spring tides. Lunar light and tides influence certain animal behaviors, and some marine animals coordinate feeding, migration, or reproduction with lunar and tidal cycles. So the moon has a lot of effects on Earth and Earth's creatures, but Earth's creatures aren't just marine animals. They're us as humans too. How many times have you ever heard somebody who works in a police department say something along the lines of, it's gonna get crazy denied, it's a full moon, because it does affect us as humans also.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Yes, it really, really does. And I will tell you, working in crisis, it was noted because we would have an increase in calls, we would have an increase in um psychological challenges or emergencies right around the full moon within a day or two. Or the other thing that I've experienced is just more anger and just changed behaviors within people right up to and beyond the full moon within those two days.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

So it kind of makes sense how that is paired with the legend or the transformation of werewolves. I mean, some of the things that people do report during a full moon or different cycles of the moon are changes in their sleep, having more vivid dreams, heightened emotions. I'm glad I have something to blame it on now. Restlessness or increased energy, stronger intuition, or greater sensitivity to other people's energy. So all those things can be associated with where the moon is in its cycle. Absolutely. How about you? Do you notice any difference in your energy dreams or intuition around a full moon?

SPEAKER_00 11:40

So I will say more recently as I've stepped back into meditating on a regular basis, I am noticing that change because I'm stepping back into the practices that I love so much that I'm I'm picking up the energy a lot more. And yes, there are nights on full moons that I would be awake all night. I I couldn't sleep just because the energy was so profound and big and open, I guess. What about you?

SPEAKER_01 12:09

I know I'm very connected to that moon energy. And so maybe my dreaming becomes more vivid around a full moon. Yeah. But I know it's a great time, like where spirituality is concerned. A lot of people look at the full moon as that energy that's ready to start releasing. They put their crystals out to clear absolutely crystals. I mean, there's different things again, ritual-wise, that people do to operate.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Moon water is a big one. And what's interesting too is I have learned that what you do surrounding a full moon or a new moon, you have to be cognizant of the energies that are kind of present in the world and where we are in the astrological cycle as well. Because it does impact. There was one month I remember that a lot of people were talking about don't make moon water, don't put things out in this particular moon because of what it represented for whatever reason. And I was I was fascinated by it, honestly.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

And I think it was like Mercury retrograde, one of those. Yes. I do remember this one time, and my husband used to laugh at me because it would be a full moon. I'm like, oh my gosh, I gotta go get my cards and put them under the moon. I gotta go get all of my crystals and put them under the moon. And I had this big window, and I would lay them in the ledge of the window so the moon as it passed by would work its magic. And the next morning we woke up and like two birds had flown into the window. Oh no. Their prints were on the window. And I had a hard time putting out my crystals after that because I don't know if they were attracted to it. I don't know if it was a weird energy associated with that moon, but coincidence, I don't know. But yeah, disgarred me from putting them there.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

So I don't put my crystals out at a full moon or charge things. I did for a really long time. But then I kind of sat with, you know, Simon, my guide, and I kind of sat with the energy. And I was like, if the moon can shine through a window, why can't I believe that it is energetically charging everything in my home? Energy goes where it needs to go. So if I am of the belief that the moon is going to charge the things that I would like it to charge or clear what I need it to clear, then the need to put it in a windowsill or outside may lessen just a little bit, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:44

No, I agree. And I think you're the one that told me that because I was stressed out. Like, I don't want to put these crystals back out there. Like last time bad things happened. You're like, I think the moon energy can find them wherever they are. And I'm like, I like that. It makes me look like I'm less obsessed with getting all the crystals because I have a lot of them into the window.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

So much better. It just feels better.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Oh, I agree. So, do you want to go through the idea of werewolves and compare it with the different cycles of the moon? We can. So when you think of the new moon, you can think of the beast hidden within a person. To the outside, everything feels completely normal. The curse, it may be present, but it's invisible. And the new moon could represent secrets, suppressed instincts, and the shadow self. And the person may not know yet what happened. So that's taking the life of a werewolf in the first part of the cycle. Then the moon is gonna start to grow, and we're at the waxing crescent. And this is really the first signs you might feel like or a scratch that heals kind of quickly. Your hearing and your smelling may become sharper because you are an animal. Your appetite may increase, your dreams become strange or vivid, and animals around you start to act differently. Oh, interesting. I found that very interesting. So then you're moving into the first quarter of the moon cycle, and you're starting to feel resistance there. The human and the animal sides begin fighting with each other. The person is then searching for an ordinary explanation. Like, why is this happening to me? Like, why am I feeling so agitated? There's some fear, denial, and anger, which you talked about anger just a little while ago. And the half light, half darkness represents the two competing identities. So that's at the first quarter. Then you move into the waxing gibeus. This is a countdown. You know it's coming, the full moon is approaching, your symptoms are becoming harder to hide. A person begins checking the lunar calendar. Like, what's going on out there? Why am I feeling this way? Um, they may look for chains or an isolated place or someone that they can trust. And then the dread begins to build because they know what's coming next. Interesting. And then it's the full moon, it's the transformation, and that hidden creature within the normal person becomes visible. Their bones stretch, their senses sharpen, and instinct takes control. Some werewolves completely lose their human awareness while others remain conscious but cannot control their actions. This represents release, power, fear, and loss of control. And then there's the waning gibeas, which is the aftermath. And the person may awake somewhere that's unfamiliar. They may be naked, covered in dirt, or unable to remember what happened. Their memories, some of them might return, but they might be fragmented. And guilt starts to replace the freedom of the transformation. And we go to the last quarter, the decision. So then the werewolf has to decide what to do. Can they find a cure? Can they hide the truth from those people around them? Can they ask somebody for help? Will they isolate themselves? Will they learn to accept or live with the condition? Or use the power intentionally? Like Dexter. And then the waning crescent that brings feelings of false peace because the symptoms have started to fade. Your ordinary life returns. The person may briefly believe it was over, and the next lunar cycle has already begun. So the curse, it does not disappear when the moon begins to wane. It just simply waits for the next full moon. So it's still living within you. What do you think of that?

SPEAKER_00 18:52

It's like a story. The way you just told it, it's like a story. And it's interesting to me because there are so many different stories of werewolves in folklore or whatever that they don't even know they're a werewolf. They don't know that they transform in the full moon. So they don't necessarily know or remember what happened, but I can see how the full moon cycle and that life kind of history and that forward that movement would really make a lot of sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

And I mean, you can almost see it in your own life, in a pattern of growth or a pattern of change and how it builds and builds and it gets there. And then maybe it's what you expect and maybe it's not. Maybe you wish you could change it. What are the lessons you learned? Is the need still there? What are you gonna do?

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Well, it's really interesting to associate werewolves in this way. I guess, you know, it's it's so funny because I knew that they transformed during the full moon, but I had never really thought about the moon cycle and how much the moon would impact or could impact not just a werewolf, which is what we're talking about, but I'm thinking about the moon and tarot and what it represents. It's a beautiful card. And I think I've shared that whenever it comes up in a reading, it's actually not my favorite card to see in a reading because it really represents the need, needs to be in connection with the self or trusting your gut, you know, really utilizing your intuitive abilities. And it can also mean there is something at play that you have absolutely zero control over, and it's going to impact your current situation or your future moving forward. So thinking about werewolves in this way, to me, it it has me reeling a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

When I originally started researching this episode, it was there were werewolves and they turned from human to these animals when the moon was full. But you can relate your own life to this. This is just a different way of magnifying it or telling the story. Um full moon brings out the werewolf and all of us. It does bring out the werewolf and all of us. And again, as we said earlier, police departments would tell you that. Fire departments would tell you that. Hospitals, hospitals, workers in a restaurant, they would tell you because things do seem to get a little bit more spicy. Spicy. Oh, I like that. I was gonna say creepy, but I like spicy around those times. Well, I think we should take a moment and look perhaps at different ways. One could become a werewolf because I didn't know all the different ways, but one of them we kind of already talked about, or you alluded to Stacey, is a person could receive a bite or a scratch. Uh, this one is the most familiar and modern origin. The curse is transmitted almost like an infection. And movies and modern fiction help to standardize this rule. And like you said, I like the idea. Like if you go back to the original werewolf. That started everything. If that one's gone, does that affect everything else downstream? That it created. Yeah. Yeah. That's very interesting. Because I don't know, are werewolves like Dracula and they live forever?

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Or do they have I mean they're vulnerable? I think it depends on the version that you're talking about, because you have different ideologies surrounding werewolves, right? So generally I would assume that they would create this ability to live forever, or at least very slow growing old. That that didn't make sense.

SPEAKER_01 22:35

It kind of did. Um, another way that someone can become a werewolf is an inherited bloodline, like in the Hollywood movie Teen Wolf. Someone is born into a werewolf family.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Yep. I've I have read stories where that is a thing.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Can you think of another one? Because I have another one.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

So in Twilight they became a thing to fight a creature that hunted people. So was in their bloodline. Yeah. Well, it was they were created out of need. And so for generations they didn't have any until it was needed again. Okay. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

Another way could be a curse, a witch, a magical practitioner, or a wronged person curses someone, and that transformation becomes their punishment. It could be divine punishment, it could be enchanted clothing. Transformation may come from like a wolf skin, a magical belt, an animal hide, enchanted clothing. There could be some magic in there, potions, ointments where people deliberately choose to become werewolves.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

So I did just look up if werewolves can live forever. And the answer that I have is werewolves usually don't live forever, but many fictional versions can live much longer than humans.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

So it's a yes and no. A yes and no. Okay. Well, thank you for taking the time and being a wonderful multitasker because I can't do more than one thing at a time. Okay, so two other ways that they can become a werewolf that I can think of. They make a pact with evil. Or there was an unusual birth tradition. Depending on the region, a werewolf might supposedly be born on a particular day of the year. It could be the seventh sun, it could be born under a curse or marked by an unusual physical feature. Interesting. Yeah. All these things you don't think about, and then they all make so much sense once you hear them.

SPEAKER_00 24:41

I didn't realize that there had been so many thoughts or so many different ideas surrounding how werewolves are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

Because with vampires, it was a bite. That's the only way I've ever heard of someone becoming a vampire. But werewolves, it could happen in many different ways. So which do you think would be more frightening? Being bitten, inheriting the condition, or deliberately choosing to be a werewolf.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

And I feel like you answered your own question there. If I'm deliberately choosing, it's not going to be scary. But if I'm attacked and bit, it would be mortifying.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

I think that would be terrifying too. Because like if you inherited the condition, I would think that you had family members that could help you deal with it. You would know.

SPEAKER_00 25:23

You would just know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:25

Well, let's see. I do want to emphasize here that as we're talking about werewolves, their rules can change from story to story. Like you said, Hollywood's version. Is it old folklore? Where's the story coming from? Yeah, the details can be different as to why this happened. I do have a section here on what werewolves may want or what they may need. Any thoughts to that?

SPEAKER_00 25:51

On what they want or what they may need? Yes. Are we talking about the human as a werewolf or the werewolf werewolf? Just like just the werewolf werewolf part. Okay. Well, I feel like they they want to attack humans and create more of themselves. That's the first thing that comes to mind. I'd like to assume that they're incredibly hungry because if they're turning into a wolf, then that probably takes a whole lot of energy. And what would they need? I don't know. Food.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Well, here's some of my werewolf survival guide tips. Um, if you are a werewolf. You probably already know them. You don't need tips from me, but they're looking for, as you said, raw meat, a freedom to hunt. Some of them may seek isolation during the full moon. They may want a wide open space such as forest or wilderness to run through. They might want a place that's private when they transform, because they probably don't want everybody seeing that. I'd like the next one, a trusted keeper, someone who knows my secret. And if I say, Lock me in this room and don't let me out until after the the full moon, they would do that. I would trust that they would do that to protect my secret. There could be a pack or a community of them, and maybe a werewolf might want some clothing in that secure place for the next morning so they have something to put on.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

Do you think they always lose their clothes when they transform?

SPEAKER_01 27:20

I do. In my version of it, like I know I said when I think of what they look like, I like to think of the teen wolf. But when I see them transforming, I see their clothes shredding. Yeah. How about you? I'm with you. Okay. Well, some possible abilities they may have is increased strength and speed. I've never seen a wimpy-looking werewolf. No. No.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Or an overweight werewolf for that matter.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

True. So true. Um, they may have ability to rapidly heal. They're gonna have sharper hearing and smelling. They may have night vision. We did talk about longer life, perhaps. Animal instincts. They're gonna be resistant to ordinary weapons. That's why we were talking about silver bullets earlier. And they might have the ability to recognize other werewolves who are trying to hide during the rest of the moon cycle.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

That all makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

Yes. And what they may fear or what they may avoid. We already talked about silver bullets, silver blades, wolf bane, fire, blessed objects, sacred objects being confined. That makes sense. Yeah. They may not want to lose control around their loved ones, and they might avoid anybody who knows their secret. And just a quick note about silver, it has that long-standing association with purity and supernatural protection. It has a status as a standard werewolf weapon developed gradually. Movies help to make the silver bullet nearly universal and claim that the beast of Gebadon was killed with the silver bullet, appears to be a later embellishment. So that's about what I have. I mean, I have different movies where we've seen werewolves before or folklore, or do you think we're good with that?

SPEAKER_00 29:06

I think we've talked about a lot of them. Have we really missed? I mean Harry Potter, Twilight, Teen Wolf, like you said.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

The Wolfman, American Werewolf in London, Teen Wolf, Harry Potter, all of those. Yep. I could go into them, but I don't think it's necessary. People want to go watch them. Those movies started back in 1935. That's really interesting.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

Yeah, with that mentioned, why do you think we still love werewolves? I think we love a lot of those mythical creatures. I think it it goes to these ability to storytell over time. I think it it just it goes back into kind of like when we talked about Sleepy Hollow. We tell stories to tell stories. And that's so true.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

And then also they kind of can represent the dark side of ourselves. They are the anger that we suppress, they have desire and instinct. We're talking about adolescence and bodily change, addiction or compulsive behavior. They have a chronic illness, a hidden identity. There's shame and fear of social rejection, fear of hurting someone that we love. And then the struggle between being civilized and what your true instinct is, and the fantasy of becoming powerful and completely free. I love that. I do too, because the moon, what's a whole part of this, the werewolf's a part of it. The moon does not actually become whole and then disappear. It's always there. Um, it only shows the portions that we can see at the moment, and maybe that's why it belongs in the werewolf story. The beast is not created by the full moon. The moon simply reveals what we knew was already there. Well, are you ready to wrap up this episode on werewolves, or is there anything else you would like to share? I am ready. I want to hear your listener questions. Okay, well, the first one is if you were a werewolf, would you want to remember your transformation? Only if it wasn't painful. Well, painful to you or painful to others. Yes. Both. I get it. Both can be true. If you were a werewolf, would you tell your family before your first full moon? Or would you keep it a secret? I don't know. I don't know what I would do. And you know, werewolves are called lycanthropy, L-Y-C-A-N-T-H-R-O-P-Y. So here's the last question. Is lycanthropy still a curse if you learn how to control it? What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 31:35

I mean, I think they're great questions. And I want to hear our listeners' answers. So hopefully we do. I love hearing from our listeners.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

And you know, this episode is bringing us to the end of October after dark next week. Since there are five Thursdays in October, we do have a meditation that I think you're gonna love. And so that'll be next week as a little bonus, a little step into a moment for yourself. Love it. And I can't wait. Okay, with that, Stacey, could you please close out this episode? Stay careful. Trust what you know, and we will be five. Happy Halloween. So much here with that. Whatever you are on your journey right now, just know you're not alone. We're here for you, and we're all in this together.