Part 39 (1/2)

CHAPTER XV.

MOON.

DIVINATION.

1080. Repeat, looking at the new moon the first time you see it,--

New moon, true moon, tell unto, me Who my true love is to be; The color of his hair, the clothes he is to wear, And when he'll be married to me.

_Mansfield, O._

1081. On first seeing the new moon, hold any small object in the hand while you repeat,--

New moon, true moon, reveal to me Who my true love shall be; The color of his hair, the clothes he shall wear, And the day that we shall wedded be.

Put the object--handkerchief, pebble, or what not--under your pillow at night, and you will dream of your future husband.

_Prince Edward Island._

1082. New moon, moon, Hail unto thee!

In my sleep upon my bed, May the one I am to wed In my dreams smile on me.

_Middleboro', Ma.s.s._

1083. If you see the new moon over the right shoulder, take three steps backward and repeat,--

New moon, true moon, true and bright, If I have a lover let me dream of him to-night.

If I'm to marry far, let me hear a bird cry; If I'm to marry near, let me hear a cow low; If I'm never to marry, let me hear a hammer knock.

One of these sounds is always heard.

_Tennessee._

1084. Say to the new moon over your right shoulder,--

New moon, new moon.[TN-9] come play your part, And tell me who's my own sweetheart; The color of his hair, the clothes he shall wear, And on what day he shall appear.

Then dream.

_Ma.s.sachusetts._

1085. The first time you see the moon in the New Year, look at it and say,--

Whose table shall I spread?

For whom make the bed?

Whose name shall I carry?

And whom shall I marry?

Then think of one you would like to marry, and go your way. Ask some question of the first person you meet, and if the answer is affirmative, it indicates that you will marry your choice; if negative, it means you will not.

_Told by a Norwegian girl in Eastern Ma.s.sachusetts._

1086. Rest a mirror on the head and look at the new moon in it; as many moons as you see mean the number of months before marriage.

1087. When it is new moon, take out a stocking, and as you knit repeat,--

This knot I knit To know the thing I know not yet, This night that I may see Who my husband is to be, How he goes and what he wears, And what he does all days and years.