Why are hares associated with the moon? Hares are fundamentally nocturnal. Nighttime was once a very dangerous place and the moon was once believed to actually cause madness, (hence luna / lunacy). Knowing that the hare regularly went about its business under a mania-inducing moon, it was assumed that this was the cause for their ‘madness’ during spring. The mad March hare was indeed seen as ‘moon-struck’.
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With the exception of artists, inventors, and teenagers - we humans are diurnal daytime creatures on the whole, and although it’s one thing to be out and about during the night in a street lit urban environment, it’s a very different scenario if you find yourself in, say… oh, I don’t know, a forest per se. Where, if you’re lucky, you may hear the unmistakable cry or hoot of an Owl: natures very own nocturne, a stark reminder of the unknown peril of night, and a creature that has featured heavily in myth and folklore throughout the ages.
Daniel Mackie
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