We endeavor to answer all inquiries personally, but always ask for the reader’s understanding if we are unable to give any guarantee of this. We are sincerely grateful for the confidence in our work that is expressed in such letters and would like to say a few words here that may be of some use to you:

We have received numerous requests for the addresses of good dowsers or healers who work according to lunar and natural cycles. There are admittedly more of these every day, but all the ones that we know have now become hopelessly overstretched because their work is so successful. It is very simple: if the doctor of your choice is unwilling to go along with your wishes, then find another one. We understand that this is not easy, especially in the countryside, in small cities, and that it is difficult for seniors, who possibly depend on others for transportation. The only way then is to talk to the doctor. Maybe you find interested people? A really good doctor will always do everything to ensure that you get well and stay well. On the other hand, anyone who works exclusively according to fixed patterns is either only interested in earning money, or else he is ignoring his own experience: namely, that statistics and patterns learned by rote never cover the individual case: your case.

A large proportion of the letters contained inquiries about sources for particular services or products in fields related to our work. People asked: “This is all good and fine, your books are great, but where can I get products like these? Who works today according to the moon? Where do I get wood cut at the right time or natural teas and cosmetics produced in harmony with lunar rhythms?”

With the aim of coping with at least some of these requests, we looked for possible partners and companies in order to help interested readers. Our success with this endeavor can be studied here: www.mondversand.de

Our entire work, both now and in the future, is directed toward awakening in people the courage to make their own decisions and take responsibility for themselves—the courage to get right to the bottom of a problem, look at it from every side and think things through to the end. There is no other person, no “expert”, no cult, who can take on this task for you—and that goes for us, too. If our work has been able to awaken in you the courage to do this, then we rejoice with you from the bottom of our heart.

* Given the choice, one should operate when the moon is waning. Waxing moon is unfavorable, the closer to full moon the more unfavorable the moment.

* Anything that burdens those parts of the body and organs governed by the sign through which the moon is currently moving has a more harmful effect than on other days. Surgical interventions should therefore be avoided during these days if at all possible.

Every surgeon will make this discovery or may have accumulated parallel experiences: complications and infections are more frequent on such days, and healing and convalescent phases take longer. Toward full moon there are often instances of severe bleeding that are hard to staunch. An additional aftereffect is a more marked scar tissue formation which acts as a blockade for the energy flow in a body.

Hippocrates (460–370 B.C.) explicitly formulated this in his journal: “Do not touch with iron those parts of the body that are governed by the sign through which the moon is passing.”

What he meant was that a doctor should not carry out any surgical operations on regions of the body that are governed by the current zodiac sign. I.e. on Pisces days operations should not be carried out on the feet; there should be no heart operations on Leo days. No hip operations on Libra days, no surgery on a knee in Capricorn, etc.

Only at first glance, surgery is an exception to the general rule, which states: "All that is done for the well-being of body parts and organs governed by the sign through which the moon is passing is doubly useful." Operations are in the long term performed for the welfare of each organ or the whole body, but in the moment of surgery and the time immediately afterwards they exert a strong negative impact. Especially for cosmetic surgeons this information is vital and extremely useful.

If your doctor recommends a rapid intervention, always listen! And do not just look at the calendar. Practice trust, surrender to the situation and the wisdom of the Power that has sent you this situation as an opportunity for learning and awakening. And if you notice that the event occurred at the "wrong" time - do not be afraid. Take a deep breath and tell yourself: "Moon or not, I trust my self-healing power. I trust those who help me and Him, who sent me here, and sooner or later I will see the meaning of it." Then you have achieved more than many others, who can adhere to the right time and are under the illusion that "nothing can happen now". Guarantees in life there are none - with one exception: We all are guaranteed to receive all lessons that we need to grow. If not today, then tomorrow.

Personally we would choose dates during waning moon for all visits to the dentist. At the same time we would try to avoid the signs Aries and Taurus (this applies to implants too!). In this way we would avoid all negative influences exerted by the lunar rhythms. The only exception are molds for dentures. In the experience of dental practitioners this is more effective during waxing moon.

There is not an ounce of difference in the effect of lunar rhythms between man and animal.

Johanna Paungger: I grew up with the moon knowledge from day one as a daughter of mountain farmers in Tyrol. Through daily familiarity with the application of the lunar calendar, by compliance as well as by the occasional “failure to comply” out of childish or youthful exuberance we experienced its meaning and validity firsthand, just like a fish growing up with water. It was not until after I moved to the big city at the age of 15 that I realized to my great surprise that there are people who do not live in harmony with the rhythms of the moon - and how much more difficult their life is because of that.

Guidelines for new beginnings, for the timing of important projects and contracts, for “New Year” resolutions, for giving up detrimental habits, etc. go like this.   

* Favorable times:
* Ideal time: New Moon
* The two weeks of waxing moon (except when Mercury in Retrograde)

Unfavorable times:    
* Shortly before Full Moon
* During Mercury in Retrograde
* On „Wasting Days“ (see below)

Old traditions have it that each year the 2nd of February and the 1st of September are very favorable, regardless of the moon’s course. Since time immemorial these days were chosen for important new beginnings, change of employment, etc. Conversely each year the 1st of August is very unfavorable.

Waning moon in general is not favorable for starting anything designed to have a lasting success for years to come. Energies dissipate more easily, i.e. need additional resources or more maintenance. Waning moon is the ideal time to care for or push projects already under way.  This does not apply to building, renovating or repairing something tangible. On the contrary: Waning Moon then helps to make things more robust, wooden structures last longer, paints do not peel or crack, etc.   

“Mercury in retrograde” is the ideal time to attend to those piles of unfinished business, to stuff not yet organized and filed properly, etc. Mercury in retrograde is a time to keep in motion what has already been set in motion. It is especially unfavorable for setting up a company, hold elections, sign important contracts, etc. These phases can be had on almost any astrological website.

Each year the following dates are also unfavorable for „new beginnings“. These are the “Wasting Days” of ancient agriculture, where the farmers and foresters used to go out and cut away any unwanted growth.

January     2 / 3 / 4 / 18     
February    3 / 6 / 8 / 16
March        13 / 14 / 15 / 29
April        19
May        3 / 10 / 22 / 25
June        17 (very bad) / 30
July        19 / 22 / 28
August     1 (very bad) / 17 / 21 / 22 / 29
September     21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28
October    3 / 6 / 11
November      12
December      1

“Choosing a favorable time” is akin to inviting a steady breeze for sailing. Whoever sets sails now and deftly works the ropes will have the wind in his back like a good friend. Important here: The favorable wind is there, but it does not carry any warranties with it. The wind does not enhance per se the capabilities and dexterity of the captain. Their development is the captain’s job. Choosing even the most auspicious of times does not confer the license to overlook those storm warnings or authorizes him to leave common sense below deck.

Giving up a bad eating habit or smoking? Be prepared to leave your car behind for about three days! No activities requiring a high degree of focusing or attention. Proper timing will shorten the time of withdrawal symptoms, will intensify them, but after three days the physical aspect of the addiction is gone. After that what counts is the clarity of decision.

Johanna Paungger: It was always my dream to make a cosmetic series manufactured at the “right time”, herbal teas and wood products too. The principal reason is because I want to show that it is both reasonable and feasible. The distribution method of mail order we have chosen because it can’t work otherwise. At least not at the beginning. Products produced at the correct time are indeed of a superior quality and may do without toxic preservatives, but the limitation to a maximum of 16 days of production per month has its own challenges. Not to mention the difficulty of finding reliable partners who are not only keen on using our “brand name”. But that is the past - we have fulfilled our dream and our readers and we ourselves are happy about it.

Thomas Poppe: Women in general are more open to the knowledge of the lunar cycles, because they think, act and feel more reasonably and more down to earth than we men – contrary to common preconceptions. The common prejudice of women being more “emotional” than men is probably an invention of a patriarchal society afraid to be discovered for what it really is – a blundering bunch of pre-teenage boys. At least that is my experience, almost without exception.
Women are not easily bribed by the latest fads and hoaxes and usually see immediately behind the smokescreens of adept salespeople. They sense what is really meaningful and what adds to the family income. They think and act more patient, more long-term and are much more open to new ideas than men. The Lunar knowledge with its countless applications in everyday life is a revelation for them. Johanna Paungger: I would like to add. that the moon knowledge has nothing to do with esotericism, astrology and the "spiritual world" as you call it. That wounds bleed more just before full moon and that they heal faster before new moon, that organic fertilizer manure is incorporated well into the soil just before new moon and it remains lying on top of the earth just before full moon - these experiences are real experiences, independent of the eye who observes them.

The knowledge of the lunar cycles and their influence on all living things is an old empirical knowledge, applied and lived as an essential and natural part of everyday life for thousands of years by mankind. The only point of contact with Astrology is the method of calculation of the lunar calendar - the only tool you need to apply the knowledge. The same calendar is also printed in the "Old Farmer's Almanac (since 1786) and many other lunar calendars. In some regions there is home without such a calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. Not because the residents are on intimate terms with astrology, but because they gratefully appreciate the knowledge of their ancestors.

Maybe we should briefly talk about why we've written almost nothing about the moon and its effect in the realm of sexuality - a question that we are often asked. The reason is simple: A young human being who wants to discover his or her sexuality today is confronted with images and false information so twisted and ugly that it defies description. The situation is a sure recipe for a life of sexual rigidity, pressures and anxieties. Basically not a whit better than fifty or five hundred years ago. False idols, false morality and false freedom deny everything natural, beautiful and in the true sense of the word liberating. This source of health and true joy gets poisoned.

Every man and every woman has the right to experience sexuality without any law, without norms, rules and false taboos - as long as what happens is the expression of harmony and consent. The Moon has no place in it, except perhaps as a gentle amplifier of romantic feelings. We wish every human heart the courage to explore sexuality and love, without a spark of expectation and competitiveness. Weighing and comparing is cold and inhuman, it has no part in the matters of love. And when pressure and expectation emanate from the partner, ask yourself in silence the question: "Where is the love?" Without love is no life - that's for sure.

Johanna Paungger: The question is, what are our chances in the future without it? Our future is inconceivable without this knowledge. Horticulture, agriculture and forestry – organic and natural, humane building with wood, being healthy and getting healthy again by one’s own resources - all this and even more can be achieved more easily by acting at the right time and sometimes only then. All you need is a bit of correct information, a bit patience, self-confidence - and a lunar calendar.

Real and toxic superstition is to blindly follow modern science and the “experts” and relinquish self-confidence, self-responsibility and trust in one’s own senses. For example, that asbestos is a useful material has been found to be superstition. In a hundred years from now much of what is sold to us today as the "latest developments in science and technology" will be ridiculed no end as a superstition of our forefathers. Rightly so in many cases.

Thomas Poppe: We cooperate with many real doctors and real scientists. These are people who never belittle anything, just because it sounds and looks unfamiliar. These are people, for whom it is proof enough, if something works well for millennia. They do not require an answer to the question “Why?” something works before they apply it happily. So-called "scientists" however we have also met here and there. People for whom something does not exist if it does not fit into their rigid thinking patterns. We do not try to convince them. Our time is too valuable.

Patience - and a lunar calendar. The only “technical aid” required to apply the knowledge of natural and lunar rhythms is a lunar calendar—a calendar that gives the phases of the moon and the position of the moon in the zodiac.
From countless letters from all over the world we have discovered what interests our readers in connection with these calendars and what experience they have had with them over the years. We are now able to pass this experience on to you.

The lunar calendar in use in Johanna’s family was and is calculated according to the position of the moon in the zodiac. All the useful experience that we pass on in our books—in the domain of medicine and medicinal herbs and ecologically sound building, in gardening, agriculture, and forestry—is based on this calendar. We have frequently received queries because some regional lunar calendars exhibit slight differences from ours. You need not worry about this. Most of these differences arise because many lunar calendars have been calculated by astrologers or astronomers according to their own principles, without any regard for lunar rhythms, which are for the most part unknown to them. If you have any doubt about the validity of a particular calendar, simply experiment with both calendars until you can be certain. For some activities it is important to know the exact times of the phases of the moon and these can be found in most conventional calendars.

Valid lunar calendars have not been calculated according to the actual position of the sun, but from the vernal equinox, when day and night are the same length, on about March 21.

It is possible to calculate to the minute the shift from one zodiac sign to the next; but calendar-makers today, as in all previous ages, give only the position of the moon in the zodiac for whole days, and for good reasons pay no attention to over-exact methods of measurement. The influences indicated by the moon’s position in the zodiac overlap and merge, particularly when the calendar shows a sign three days in a row. Then the force of the neighboring sign can still be felt on the first or can already be felt on the third day. God does not work in such a petty way that he compels us to cut our hair (successfully) only before eleven in the morning, while after that he causes hair that has been trimmed to fall out. He has ordered nature in such a way that, for every suitable time that is missed or spoiled by the weather, sufficient alternatives are available in order to achieve results that are nearly as good. When we are talking about an operation for which the patient is able to specify the date, then he should simply look out for the waning moon and steer clear of the zodiac sign that governs the particular body part in question.

In any case, people who have grown up with the lunar calendar and watch out for the right moment for their activities often no longer need to consult the calendar, because there are numerous signals in nature that indicate the change from one sign to another, once one has begun to pay attention to them: the penetrating light on air-days (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), the active circulation during Leo, the differences in the way windows steam up on water-days and air-days, the slight headache when Aries arrives, the digestibility of a fatty meal during Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, and much more. People with “intuitive” gifts or “green thumbs” are often unconsciously guided by all these signals, which show us the most sensible way to proceed.

Nature does not allow itself to be forced into a rigid system and governed according to a set of handy formulae, even if that is what our laziness constantly cries out for. We consider that to be one of its most beautiful and life-giving qualities. The lunar calendar is a valuable aid—no less, but no more either. It is not intended as a substitute for your personal awareness and experience. On the contrary: it can serve as a key to the enlargement of your awareness. Out of this experience a force can grow that will be useful in all areas of your life.

And finally, a note for readers in the southern hemisphere: All the rules concerning lunar and natural rhythms have the same validity for you—from South America to South Africa to Australia to New Zealand.

Slight exceptions are principally connected with the fact that the seasons are reversed where you are. Our winter is high summer for you, and when in your temperate latitudes the leaves are falling, we are being wafted by spring breezes. This difference is particularly important in gardening, agriculture, and forestry—for instance when deciding the right time for felling timber. This should be done mainly when the sap is at rest—in temperate or cold regions between June 21 and July 6, or in tropical regions during the period of greatest heat and aridity. With a little experimentation all the guidelines in the book can effortlessly be transposed to the southern hemisphere with its reversed sequence of seasons.

However, perhaps the most relevant difference for you is the external form of the waxing and waning moon in the sky. In the northern hemisphere the moon waxes from right to left, in the southern hemisphere from left to right. Since probably 90 percent of our readers live in the northern hemisphere, we have depicted the symbols for the waxing and waning moon as they are to be observed in the northern hemisphere—the exact reverse of what you see. To make matters simpler, look at it this way: when we talk about the “waning” moon we mean the period between full moon and new moon—regardless of the form manifested in the sky or depicted in the calendar. When we talk about the “waxing” moon we mean the period between new moon and full moon—regardless of its form in the sky or in the calendar.

Ultimately it comes down to your own common sense: Take our information first and foremost as a stimulus for the journey into the realm of natural and lunar rhythms. Build up your own experience, experiment, try things out. You will soon discover for yourself exactly what difference the “topsy-turvy” seasons make down under. In the long run it is definitely more profitable to gain your own experience than to have every single step prescribed for you in a book.

Many readers have asked us when exactly there is “full moon” or “new moon” - for example in response to the suggestion to fast on a full and new moon day. As is so often the case the answer depends on what activity is profiting from the right time. You need to exercise your instincts when you decide which day you can declare a new and full moon day. For example, when the full moon happens between 12 noon and midnight we would call this day a “full moon day”. Activities that are favored by the waxing moon or full moon are OK on that day. However, when the time of a full moon is given as 3.20 AM in a calendar, then the whole day is already influenced by the waning moon, and we would act accordingly, even if this day is often referred to as a "full moon". Ultimately, the decision is yours and your intuition’s.

Johanna Paungger: When we think of the huge spectrum of "fully mechanized” partners that we counsel - from agricultural and horticultural companies, surgeons, carpenters, sawmills, construction companies and municipalities to the "high-tech" housewives of modernity - then there is no modern professional group whatsoever in sight that would not benefit from moon knowledge. Car paint is more durable, environmentally friendly and less harmful to process, if you avoid certain days when applying it. Even software companies can benefit when it comes to the right time for certain things, such as the release of a new program