Much has been written and said about the Lunar fertility methods. Most of the articles are critical and some are biased one way or the other. Most so-called scientific articles reject any relationship between fertility and the Moon.

However, there are some scientific studies that point to the fact that the ovulation cycle can NOT be the only fertility cycle at work.

A 2003 research study conducted by University of Saskatchewan researchers funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has uncovered evidence that suggests the traditionally accepted model of the human menstrual cycle is wrong.

Prior to this 2003 Study, researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Durham, North Carolina, found in a year 2000 study that a woman's fertile window -- the six days each month when she is most likely to conceive -- is extremely difficult to predict. This research too clearly proved that a woman can be fertile on any other time in the month...

That's why some women get pregnant, even when they thought they had intercourse during a so-called infertile and safe period. The reverse is true also: some women who persistently and only follow their ovulation cycle don't get pregnant, even if they think they are in a fertile period. Perhaps they are in a fertile period, but clearly not in THEIR personal fertile time!

They forget, neglect or, mostly, are unaware that there are other fertile times too in which they can become pregnant. By only following their ovulation cycle, they are losing other opportunities and neglecting the way nature works. But they are not to blame! It's the mainstream "belief" that the ovulation cycle is the only fertile cycle that counts that's wrong. And the medical textbooks!

Nature never works in a linear way that is. Nature is non-linear and cyclic and there are different cycles at work making it all the more complex.

From different well-timed moments of sexual intercourse resulting in pregnancies, astrologers are able to identify such other fertile periods and cycles.

1) The most known fertility cycle was (re)discovered by Dr. Jonas, a psychiatrist from Czechoslovakia who found that there are two independent monthly rhythms of fertility: the ovulation cycle and the period of time in the monthly cycle when sexual intercourse can give rise to "reflex ovulation" (a spontaneous ovulation). The reflex ovulation is related to the Moon phase return, i.e. the repetition of the angle between your natal Sun and the natal Moon.

Whenever such a monthly Moon phase return occurs, the woman is in a fertile period (irrespective of her own biological or ovulation cycle) and can become pregnant.

When in the progressions of a female horoscope there is a Moon phase return (actually, around the age of 27), we can expect this to be the year of highest fertility.

Whether or not the lunar phase cycle represents a biological process is not yet proven, nor unproven. Also, the relationship between the Moon (phases), Moon phase returns and indirect effects of celestial factors and the pineal gland and the results thereof are not uncovered and fully understood yet. Chances are there is a connection of some sort.

From my astrological practice I've found that the Moon phase return is a highly important fertility cycle that should not be neglected but it's not the only one and does not work for every woman either.

This makes sense as human beings are still individuals with individual characteristics, cycles, traits, behavior, expectations etc. There will never be one single method that works for everyone all the time. What helps the one may not help the other and vice versa. The mainstream thought or belief that just one drug or method may cure a disease or heal cannot be right for that reason. There is no cure-all.

In that sense, human beings are not really born equal.

2) A 2nd fertility cycle can be found any time the transiting Moon conjuncts the natal Ascendant. The Moon's position here marks another fertile high. Interestingly, the Ascendant marks the moment of birth of the native. When the Moon travels over the Ascendant, it brings on or triggers another 'birth' moment that may be related to the conception of a child.

3) A 3rd important fertility cycle is found when the transiting Moon is parallel the natal Sun. A parallel is formed when two points or planets are in the same declination within an orb of 1°. The declination is the number of degrees a point or planet is North or South of the Equator. The declinations can be found in any ephemeris. This Sun-Moon combo is another one blending the lunar and solar principle, the same as with the Moon phase return and denoting another fertile moment.

There are some possible other fertility cycles too, for example the transiting Moon exactly on the solstice point of the Sun but in my astrological practice I've not found this to be convincing yet. More research is needed.

The more the different fertility cycles coincide, including the ovulation cycle, the higher the chances of becoming pregnant. Clearly, if women would try and learn to think out of the box and try these fertility cycles, they could increase their chances of becoming pregnant (on condition there is no medical problem that prevents them from becoming pregnant).

It's yet unclear though how we can know beforehand which method will work for which woman. Some women respond very well to the Moon phase return theory, while others respond very well to the Moon-Ascendant theory, and others go by their ovulation cycle etc. For the moment one can only know what method works by trying them all and diligently keeping track of them.

Fortunately and after all, these methods have more advantages than disadvantages, they are quite simple to follow and almost free. So, why not trying them all together?