Falling in love has all the tell tale signs of an illness. You can’t think straight. You’re distracted with your head in the clouds. You start acting goofy, even awkward, around your love interest. That’s what they call moonstruck.

What It Means to Be Moonstruck

The word moonstruck has an interesting etymology. A combination of moon (a celestial body) and strike (to hit), it actually refers to people getting mentally or emotionally disturbed based on the phases of the moon. First used in John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1674), it was a word that used to describe people who were “insane” or mentally ill. It has since evolved to refer to someone who is lovesick.

Loretta may have taken the term literally when she struck Ronny Cammareri after he told her he loved her. Moonstruck was brilliant that way, subtle and in your face at the same time. That said, Cosmo’s moon may have shown us best of all.

La bella luna! The moon brings the woman to the man. Capice?

Loretta Castorini’s grandfather, Moonstruck (1987)

Love Is Complicated

In Moonstruck, Loretta is a widow who finds love in the arms of her fiance’s brother. As if that is not complicated enough, her fiance doesn’t love her at all. He only proposed to her to appease his dying mother. In the meantime, her father cheats on her mother, her mother seeks advice from a philandering professor, and her grandfather goes around town with a pack of dogs watching it all unfold. It’s a lot to take in.

Amidst the chaos, you realize that the moon is the perfect allegory for love. It’s big and it touches everything. Love is complicated, it’s passionate, and in its own way, it’s life-affirming, even when things don’t go the way you expect them.

Hurts So Good

Falling in love can feel good but it can also hurt. Sometimes, your heart literally beats so hard in your chest, it aches. As John (Cougar) Mellencamp says, “it hurts so good”.

Love can lighten the spirit but it can also overwhelm you. It can make you feel invincible at times but make you vulnerable at others. In the best case scenario, you will grow to be confident and hopeful. In the worst, dependent and jealous. The best relationships are built on mutual respect and trust. That means keeping communication open and sharing your emotions.

There’s no easy way to navigate love. My advice to you is simple. Enjoy the moments and follow your heart. The trick is not to lose yourself in someone else. After all, you were moonstruck and they were moonstruck because you both fell in love with who you were in the first place. Don’t forget to honor that.