NATURE AND WEATHER LORE
Dew
Dew has been used in charms and spells for many centuries; its mysterious
origins (as something which appears even on a clear, dry night, and disappears
quickly in the morning) has made it a magical symbol. It was used as a remedy
for many ills, especially as a lotion for sore eyes and for skin diseases and
itches. Even into the nineteenth century it was sometimes rubbed into sickly
children to strengthen them, and was also considered to heal gout and strengthen
the sight (the latter property being far greater if the dew was gathered from
the leaves of fennel).
Dew gathered on May Day was considered to be the most potent, undoubtedly
arising from the connotations of fertility and love which were associated with
the Beltane festival. Washing in May dew, or rolling oneself in it, was
considered to protect against evil and bring good luck throughout the upcoming
year. A tale is told of two witches in Scotland who were observed collecting May
dew with a hair-tether; the tether was taken from them and hung in a cow-byre,
and the cows thereafter gave enormous quantities of milk until the tether was
removed and burnt. In Europe, cattle were anointed with May dew on May Day to
protect them from overlooking, faeries and evil spells throughout the year.
The most common use of dew, however, was in beauty charms and as a cosmetic.
Throughout the centuries women have gone out early on May Day to bathe their
faces in dew, a lovely old custom which was supposed to ensure both beauty and
good luck for twelve months. If a girl gathered dew very early in any morning,
and preferably from under an oak tree, and washed her face in it, she would be
beautiful for the year to come.
Dew Weather Lore: If a warm sunny day is followed by a heavy dew, fine weather
is likely the next day also.
Moon
Lore and charms associated with the Moon could fill entire books, and indeed
have. From earliest times the Moon has been worshipped, associated with various
goddesses, and considered to have some power over the lives and dealings of
humans.
It is considered bad luck to point at the Moon, as it shows a certain
disrespect. Instead, when the new Moon is seen for the first time it should be
respectfully greeted with a bow or curtsey in its direction, and if wearing a
hat in the Moon’s presence, it should be doffed for a moment. Bowing three or
nine times, wishing during the process, was also done. In fishing villages
children would recite a charm to keep their sailing fathers safe: ‘I see the
Moon and the Moon seas me, God bless the sailors on the sea’.
It has always been customary to turn over silver in one’s pocket upon first
seeing the new Moon, as this means there will be plenty of money during the
coming month, and many people still do this today for luck. In some districts a
special coin was carried and turned over three times when the new Moon was seen.
To be without any coins to turn over, however, is unlucky.
The waxing and waning of the Moon has given rise to many beliefs about the
timing of events. It was formerly believed that animals should not be
slaughtered while the Moon was waning, as the meat would shrink more during
curing and cooking. Anything cut during the waning Moon will not grow again, or
will grow abnormally slowly, so corns were often pared at this time, and hair
which was meant to stay short would be cut. A child born under a waning Moon was
purported to be weak or unlucky all its life, and animals born during the Moon’s
wane would not thrive as well as those born under the waxing Moon. Marriages
celebrated under a waning Moon were deemed to be unhappy and possibly barren, no
doubt stemming from the ancient connection between the Moon and fertility. On
the other hand, the waxing Moon was far more fortunate. Hair trimmed during the
waxing Moon will grow thick and lovely; eggs set under a hen then will not go
bad, and seeds planted during a waxing Moon will thrive.
The word ‘lunacy’ derives from the Moon, which was once believed to cause
madness. Sleeping in moonlight was once said to be dangerous because it led to
lunacy, blindness or some other serious disorder.
Warts could be cured by blowing on them nine times at the full Moon. Another
wart remedy was to catch the rays of the Moon in a metal bowl (preferably
silver) and go through the movements of ‘washing’ one’s hands in the rays while
saying:
‘I wash my hands in this thy dish
Oh man in the Moon, do grant my wish
And come and take away this’.
Moon Weather Lore: When the Moon is circled by a misty ring, it means rain to
come. If the circle is large, it will rain very soon. Several concentric circles
means a long period of wet weather.
In winter months, a clear moon means frost is on the way.
A bright clear yellow moon rising in a cloudless sky means fine weather to come.
Rain
There was once a wide belief that cutting or burning ferns brought rain, and in
some districts this also applied to heather. Other rain-bringing methods
included sprinkling water on stones whilst reciting a charm, or tossing a little
flour into a spring and stirring with a hazel-rod. In mediaeval times images of
the saints were often dipped into water during a drought.
Children’s charms to drive away rain are still common today, the most famous
being ‘Rain, rain, go away, come again another day’. A variant on this charm
offers to bribe the rain to go:
‘Rain, rain, go away
Come again tomorrow day
When I brew and when I bake
I’ll give you a little cake’.
Rainwater was believed to have healing properties when it fell on particular
days, especially Ascension day, or rain that fell at any time during the month
of June. The water must be collected after falling directly from the sky; rain
which ran off leaves or off the roof was useless. A Welsh belief was that babies
bathed in rainwater talked earlier than others, and that money washed in
rainwater would never be stolen.
Rain Weather Lore: Rain which falls from a fairly clear sky is likely to
continue falling in short bursts for some time.
If it rains in the very early morning, the weather may clear up by the afternoon
- ‘Rain before seven, shine by eleven’.
Rainbow
The rainbow has had many meanings in many cultures, the main similarity being
that it is always connected with deities. In the Christian Bible the rainbow was
set in the sky as God’s pledge that there would never again be a great flood. In
Burma the rainbow is a dangerous spirit; in India it is a bow from which divine
arrows are fired. In Norse mythology the rainbow is the bridge that Odin built
from Midgard, the home of men, to Asgard where the gods lived, and the souls of
the worthy dead passed along the rainbow. In ancient Rome the rainbow was the
many-colored robe of Isis, attendant to Juno.
It is lucky to see a rainbow, and to wish when it is first seen, but unlucky to
point directly at it, which will lead to bad luck or at least to the return of
the rain. In Ireland, anyone who found the place where the rainbow touches the
ground would find a pot of gold at its foot – something my brother and I tried
to do several times as children!
A rainbow in the morning means future rain during the day, but a rainbow
appearing late in the day means the rain is gone for the rest of that day. Small
broken pieces of rainbow appearing on a cloudy sky are sometimes called Weather-
galls, and signify storms and blustery weather.
Rainbow Weather Lore: If a rainbow fades very quickly, good weather is on the
way.
A rainbow generally means that the rainy period is about to end.
Stars
In many traditions and cultures stars are thought to be the souls of either
unborn souls, or those who had passed away. In some cultures a shooting star
foretells a birth, and is said to be the soul racing to animate the newborn
baby, while in other places the shooting star foretells a death, or a soul
released from purgatory. In some Native American traditions the Milky Way was
considered a soul-road, where souls traveled on their journey after death, and
that the brightest stars were campfires by which they rested on their travels.
It is unlucky to point at a star, or to try to count them. However, making a
wish on the first star of evening will ensure its fulfillment, especially if the
wisher repeats the old rhyme:
‘Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
Wish I may, wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight’.
A wish made while a shooting star is seen in the sky will be granted if it is
made very quickly; an old French cure for pimples was to pass a cloth over them
while a shooting star fell.
Star Weather Lore: If the stars look larger and brighter than usual, and very
flickery, rain or a storm may be on the way.
If faint stars have disappeared and cannot be seen at all, the wind is about to
rise.
Storms
Storms have usually been considered an omen of divine wrath, and in most
cultures a person struck and killed by lightning was thought to have been
directly struck down by a deity. In ancient Rome a person killed this way was
hastily buried without extensive mourning rites, and it was also frowned upon to
rebuild any home struck by lightning.
In Britain in past centuries, a storm was usually considered the work of the
devil; witches were also often accused of raising storms and at witch trials
accusations were often made of deliberate attempts to damage property or sink
ships by raising a storm. Some wise-women and cunning-men sold knotted threads
to sailors which were supposed to have the power of the wind bound into them;
one knot would be untied to release a wind until the sailor had as much as he
needed.
Some people still cover all the mirrors in their house during a thunderstorm; it
used to also be believed that windows and doors should be left open so that if
the thunder got into the house, it could get out without having to damage
anything. A comforting superstition states that lightning never strikes twice in
the same place, but since many high buildings have been struck repeatedly, it is
also untrue.
An old rhyme speaks of which tree is least likely to attract a lightning strike,
and therefore should be sheltered under if caught outside during a storm:
‘Beware of the oak, it draws the stroke,
Avoid the ash, it courts the flash,
Creep under a thorn, it will save you from harm’.
A winter thunderstorm was once thought to be an omen of death for a great man.
Storm Weather Lore: ‘Thunder in spring rain will bring’.
Thunder in the evening often means several days of wet, sultry weather.
Sun
The sun has been worshipped as a symbol of life itself in many cultures since
the dawn of humanity. The bonfires that our ancestors lit at Midsummer, Beltane
and Samhain were intended as rituals to encourage and strengthen the sun on its
journey throughout the year.
In common with most other heavenly bodies and phenomena, it is unlucky to point
at the sun, and in Hungary if a girl threw house dust from the broom towards the
sun, it was said that she would never marry. It is a fortunate omen to be born
at sunrise, and also considered to be lucky for a bride if sunlight surrounds
her: ‘Happy is the bride the sun shines on’.
An eclipse of the sun was feared by primitive peoples, who worried that the
source of light, warmth and light was being devoured forever. From this arose
the idea that an eclipse heralded a prominent death or a great disaster such as
war, plague or famine. It was believed to be unlucky to view an eclipse directly
(as well as bad for the sight).
Sun Weather Lore: When the sun appears hazy with a thin, watery light, bad
weather is on the way. However, if it looks like a large bright ball as it
rises, that day will be fair and warm.
A bank of heavy dark clouds at sunset indicates that the next day may be stormy.
A ring around the sun during rainy weather indicates a period of sunny weather
and clear skies to come.
If the sun comes out while it’s raining, the showery weather will continue for a
few more days.
A red sunrise means rain, but a red sunset means fine weather the next day.
Three old sayings:
‘Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight
Red sky at morning, shepherds take warning’
‘If red the sun begins his race, be sure the rain will fall apace,
If the sun goes pale to bed, ’twill rain tomorrow, it is said’.
‘Evening red and morning gray sets the traveler on his way,
Evening gray and morning red brings the rain upon his head’.
The Moon completes a revolution around the Earth every 29 days, passing through the 12 signs of the zodiac and spending about 2 1/2 days in each sign. The Moon is void of course during the time between making its last major aspect to a planet in one sign and its entry into the next sign. The duration of this period can be as little as a few seconds or more than two days. The exact moment the Moon enters the new sign ends the void of course period.Void of Course Effects
