“Impending Dark”
Treasure the sliver
of moonlight —
the dark night’s coming!
– a Kelly lune by me, Robbie
Tonight we will have a little sliver of Moon visible, but by Thursday our Moon will be “dark”– the New Moon. Keep some coins in your pocket and jingle them when you first see the New Moon. According to some European Moon lore, doing so will increase your fortune!
We know that the Moon has been worshiped all over the world but it wasn’t always a female deity in the cultures that worshiped it. Mesopotamians’ Sin, Japan’s Tsukoyami, and apparently all of the Teutonic Moon deities were male — as was the Hindu Chandra who rode his chariot across the sky. Most Moon goddesses seem to have originated in Eastern Mediterranean lands.
I confess that I never wondered about the birth of our tradition of candle-lit birthday cakes! Have you? Well now you’re gonna know…the ancient Greeks honored their Moon goddess Artemis on her birthday with Moon-shaped cakes adorned with lit candles that they offered the deity with a prayer (a wish?).
“Artemis Day”
Remember me with
cake and fire — I might
grant your plea.
– a Collum lune of mine
And then there was (is?) that silly belief that the Moon, especially when full, can cause lunacy. It’s true that in a South Texas neighborhood bar I once joined some folks on the porch to howl at the full Moon. If you’ve never howled at the full Moon — well, you’re going to have to wait until May 10! Plenty of time to practice.
Hey dear readers, if you have a lune to share — even if it’s not about our little satellite — I wouldn’t mind a bit if you posted it in the comments below. To remind: a Kelly lune is 13 syllables — 5 in first line, 3 in second, 5 in last line, no other rules. A Collum lune is 11 words — 3 first line, 5 second, 3 in last line, also no other rules. Not as challenging as a proper haiku, but challenging — and addicting to some of us!
Check out these great sites where I gleaned some info for this little post of mine:
metastudies.com, article “Moon Magic and Lore” by Anita Burns
infogalactic.com > List of Lunar Deities
timeanddate.com > Sun and Moon
Until next week….
Howl on, my little Moon-dawgs!
"Out of My Head" - and onto the page 