Moon in mythologyThe monthly cycle of the moon, in contrast to the annual cycle of the sun's path, has been implicitly linked to women's menstrual cycles by many cultures, as evident in the links between the words for menstruation and for moon in many resultant languages.[1] Many of the most well-known mythologies feature female lunar deities, such as the Greek goddesses Selene and Phoebe and their Olympian successor Artemis, their Roman equivalents Luna and Diana, Isis of the Egyptians, or the Thracian Bendis. These cultures also almost invariably featured a male Sun god.

Male lunar gods are also frequent, such as Nanna or Sin of the Mesopotamians, Mani of the Germanic tribes, the Japanese god Tsukuyomi, Rahko of Finns and Tecciztecatl of the Aztecs. These cultures usually featured female Sun goddesses.

The bull was lunar in Mesopotamia (its horns representing the crescent). See Bull (mythology) and compare Hubal. In the Hellenistic-Roman rites of Mithras, the bull is prominent, with astral significance, but with no explicit connection to the moon.

Also of significance is that many ancient pagan religions and societies are orientated chronologically by the Moon as opposed to the sun. One common example is Hinduism in which the word Chandra means Moon and has religious significance particularly during the Hindu festival Karwa-Chouth.

The moon is also worshipped in witchcraft, both in its modern form, and in Medieval times, for example, in the cult of Madonna Oriente.

While many Neopagan authors and feminist scholars claim that there was an original Great Goddess in prehistoric cultures that was linked to the moon and formed the basis of later religions,[2] the Great Goddess figure is highly speculative and not a proven concept. It is more likely that, if existent, the Great Goddess is based upon earth goddesses, such as Gaea of the Greeks. It may be noted that most of the oldest civilizations mentioned above had male lunar deities, and it was only later cultures - the classical ones most people are familiar with - that featured strong female moon goddesses.

The words "lunacy", "lunatic", and "loony" are derived from Luna because of the folk belief in the moon as a cause of periodic insanity. It is a feature of modern belief that shapeshifters such as werewolves drew their power from the moon and would change into their bestial form during the full moon, but this feature is largely absent from older folklore.

The purported influence of the moon in human affairs remains a feature of astrology.

The moon also features prominently in art and literature.

List of lunar deitiesAncient Near East