My Hair, the Moon, and a little Faith

A couple of days ago, I was speaking with someone who had recently cut his hair and donated it to Locks of Love. He showed me a photo of his long hair and it was like staring at my dream. I love long hair, and have had it for most of life, until the past six years. Today, my hair is the longest its been in that time, and I want it to be the longest it's ever been, in my life! I want it to reach to my navel, but I'd love even more to get it to my hips. Some people seem to have no trouble accomplishing that, the kind of people who just don't really shed and can grow their hair to their ankles with nothing more than a hairbrush. Maybe it's because it's my own hair and I obsess over it everyday, but it never seems to get past the bottom tips of my shoulder blades. I'm determined to change that, and because of that recent conversation, I might have found a new way.

I've done lots of research on growing hair in the past, and many of the tips I've collected over the years are now established parts of my daily routine. I only wash my scalp, and not everyday. I only condition my ends (and not everyday). I hardly ever style my hair with heat (or otherwise), besides straightening the pieces in the front once in a while -- anything else, and I use a heat protectant spray pretty generously. I take a provitamin A supplement every morning, I use a split end treatment, I've stopped using chemical dyes altogether and am now working towards including natural henna and indigo hair dye into my hair care practices. Something I've failed at is keeping my hair tied back for most of the day. I vastly prefer the way my hair looks down, but keeping it that way, especially at work, exposes it to breakage constantly. I've also started trimming it to get rid of the inevitable split ends, which keeps it stronger and gives it the illusion of being longer, but admittedly I'm not doing that frequently enough. And now, I might have found a way to trim my hair that will be even more effective, and it comes from a very old source: the Farmers Almanac.

The man I was speaking with who donated his hair told me that he always had his hair trimmed during different moon cycles that he believes influence both the thickness and the speed at which hair grows. I know I believe some wacky stuff, but I am science-minded and was skeptical of that idea immediately. But then he said, "It's in the Farmers Almanac," and my interest piqued right away. For the past two days, I've been looking into whatever information I can find about cutting hair in conjunction with the various moon phases and I'm surprised to find that it appears to be a pretty widely spread practice with lots of positive (albeit anecdotal) evidence.

"I tested this by trimming my two daughters hair every 2 mos and after 1 year the one cut by the moon had grown almost to her waist and was twice as thick as her older sister's hair [sic]." --from a Farmers Almanac forum on lunar hair-cutting. {And yes, I realize this would be a better experiment had the daughters been identical twins with the same haircuts starting out, but at least there are people out there who are attempting to use the scientific method to test this.}

A simple search on the Farmers Almanac website will tell you the best days to cut hair to increase growth, as well as the best to retard hair growth, or increase its thickness. It seems that the moon phases are used to inform lots of different types of cutting, from haircuts to mowing the lawn to pruning trees to culling cattle from a herd. I was totally unaware of these common lunar timings for different activities, and although I'm disappointed that I've yet to come up with any good scientific evidence for the validity of the practice, I'm still tempted to try it myself. I doubt my hair will grow any slower at least!

The thing is, the moon influences a lot in my life. Many Pagans, especially those practicing witchcraft or different types of folk magic, rely on the moon for its (her) influence. Spells and tricks are timed according to the phases to harness the appropriate lunar energy for the success of the magical working. Spells to bring in money might be performed during the waxing or full moon, which symbolizes growth and increase; while work to break a bad habit is performed during the waning or new moon, that indicates weakening or decrease.

Each of the four moon phases includes a variety of energies that can be captured to positively effect our lives. The new/dark moon is about potential. It's a starting point without expectation and represents all the possibilities we can imagine. It also represents privacy, turning inward, self-contemplation. The waxing moon is all about growth, increase, exploration. It represents the energy of anticipation and adventure. This is why the Farmers Almanac says the best days to cut hair for length are during the waxing phases. The full moon has deep symbolism, even in secular culture. It represents accomplishment, the womb, strength, and vitality (cut hair during the three days of the full moon for thickness). It is an agent of great change, from the tides on the Earth, to the legend of werewolves. Moonlight from the full moon is considered both cleansing and energizing, especially when meditating under it. The waning moon is about decrease, maturity, slowing down. It is passive in energy, while the waxing is very active. It is shrinking and preparing to once again return the dark and inwardness of the new moon. It helps to think of these three moon phases using the imagery of the Triple Goddess that Wiccans and some other Pagans worship. The waxing moon is equated with the Maiden, the full moon with the Mother, and the waning moon with the Crone, three separate aspects of the same being.

One of my favorite phases: the very thin waxing crescent (this represents birth to me). Image found here.

The moon is a huge comfort to me. Often, getting off work late at night and exhausted, I feel so much better instantly when I can walk to my car and look up at the moon, and I know it sounds crazy, but just talk to her (I really think of the moon as female). When I feel sad or lonely or overwhelmed, I sit on my deck I night and look at the moon and just try to let everything go. The moon can really do a lot for us, and not just cause the tides and the ebb and flow of the water in our own bodies. So, since I think my life is already pretty involved with the moon, I don't see it as much of a step to start cutting my hair by the moon's timing either. I'll be heading back up to my hometown in New Jersey soon for the summer, so the next time I think I'll be able to schedule a trim, according to the Farmers Almanac, will be June 19th or 20th. Maybe before then I can come up with some way of recording results in the most scientific manner possible. The Almanac is eerily right about a lot of things, and I hope that this is one of those times as well.