About Iris Detenhoff

Originally from Germany, Iris has made the Northern Rivers, NSW, of Australia her home. Iris Detenhoff brings together a unique blend of practical intuition and celestial wisdom. After training as a nurse in Munich, she migrated to Australia in 1987 and has since immersed herself in a life of loving connection to nature, community and natural rhythm.

In 2006, Iris brought her passions to life through the creation of the Moontime Diary, an Australian-astrological planner designed to help you live by the Moon, the seasons and the planets. With its lunar phases, seasonal markers, planetary influences and practical rhythms for home, garden and soul, the diary is her love-letter to the natural cycles that shape our lives.

Iris’s approach is grounded in everyday life: sustainable building, mindful gardening, holistic wellbeing, and conscious living. Her vision isn’t just about looking up at the stars—it’s about bringing celestial timing into everyday rhythm. She believes that when we align ourselves with natural cycles, we become more centred, more alive, and more attuned to the Earth-story unfolding beneath our feet.

Each page of the Moontime Diary carries Iris’s voice: gentle, guiding, and rooted in real life. Through her, you’re invited to slow down, notice the Moon’s phases, honour the seasons, and find the magic in the small, steady turns of time.

Inspired by her work? Explore moontimediary.com.au, the latest blog, our social media presence and connect to the community of lunar lovers she nurtures.

A FUTURE WITH NATURAL WOOD

Traditional and Scientific Facts About Trees

Because of my interest in traditional Moon lore, I translated Ewin Thoma’s book: “…dich sah ich wachsen” from German into English.

In his book, Austrian author Dr Erwin Thoma brings forth his grandfather’s knowledge about ‘Moon Timber’, the olden ways of forest management and building.

Erwin Thoma has established a research centre in Goldegg, Austria, where he tests and trials traditional methods of construction and forest management. He developed a highly energy-efficient building system, which offers a sustainable and healthy way of living.

This book is available in our SHOP and on AMAZON.

Over the years, I have given many talks ~ here are some:

Radio Out There 20 November 2025  Barry Eaton talking with Iris Detenhoff

PROGRAM 1088 THE BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH THE MOON

Radio Out There 24 November 2023 Iris Detenhoff talking with Barry Eaton

Radio Out There Barry Eaton interviewing Iris Detenhoff

‘The Art Of Timing’ at the Byron Community College, NSW.

Some feedback from participants:

• It was an excellent, engaging, down-to-earth, enjoyable and comprehensive talk.
• Very informative and inspiring. Professional with a well-prepared PowerPoint presentation.
• Very interesting and well explained. Iris is very well presented and knowledgeable. This talk gave me a good understanding of the moon cycle and other associated cycles.

Philosophical Society of Nerang, Qld.

Freda, Organiser:

I’m Freda from Nerang Philosophical Group. Last Friday night we had a fantastic talk from Iris Detenhoff, the author of the Moontime Diary. We were kept enthralled all during the talk about timing and the myriad of things we can time by the Moon. We didn’t realize how powerful the Moon’s influence was on everything in our lives or how to use the influences to enhance our lives, from what is the best time to wash our hair with the littlest amount of shampoo to the best time to sign contracts etc. Then of course Iris went into the many ways the Moon influences our planet and how and when to use such influences to our advantage. She explained that all these things were used daily until after the second World War when that olden knowledge was discarded for the new.

We all enjoyed the talk immensely and left with much more knowledge about our selves as well. All in all a wonderful evening. Iris is a wealth of knowledge on the subject and a very good speaker. Love and Light, Freda M

Architect Conference, Coffs Harbour, NSW.

Greg Addison, Architect:

It was a great pleasure to have you talk at our 2011 Annual Conference, called “Beyond the Prism”. This was our 51st Annual Conference. Your topic on “Build by the Moon” was for our special segment called “Kirka Kulpa”. This was both a delightful and informative talk which fitted the theme of our Conference. We appreciate the effort you made to take time out from your normal schedule and present a talk that covered the Professional Development Category of Project Management.

Your presentation was fascinating and delivered very clearly and competently. Your accompanying images were also very informative alerting our delegates to largely unknown working practices in this country explaining ways to work with nature, not against it.

The Country Division can only survive when people like yourself offer to attend and talk on topics that collectively expand our knowledge on diverse issues related to the industry. We hope that you enjoyed your stay at Aanuka Resort, Coffs Harbour this year and hope that some of our speakers were of interest to you. We would love to see you there again. On behalf of the NSW Country Division we thank you for your valuable contribution.

All the Very Best, Greg

Don Osborne, Architect:

Iris has an excellent understanding on the effects of the Moon on environmental issues and how this translates into qualities of materials used in building construction and everyday life.