The Moon of the Middle Ages
In the fourteenth century Europe, a world of fear and intolerance prevailed. There was no room for religious freedom, and intellectual pursuits were frowned upon as leading to evil. In the Middle Ages, feudalism was the prevailing way of life. This came down to service in return for land, or the use of land, protection and justice. Society was divided largely into two classed: the wealthy landowners, and the poor peasants. It is this division which make the time period so fascinating, for the division created a group of people unable to educate themselves, and forced to depend upon outside forces veyond their control to survive. It was perhaps the best breeding ground for superstitions to arise.
Why should we care about superstitions? It is a good question. Perhaps it is because superstitions, though by nature irrational, teach us about ourselves. Through these myths and stories we can reach back in time and perhaps glimpse into the minds of our ancestors. It is alson fascinating to discover how these myths grow and change right along with us through the years. Superstitions are created so that if people know how, they can shape their future with particular rituals. In sach way, it helped alleviate fears and allowed one to feel more in control
Of Course, there are many superstitions on a wide variety of subjects, but it seems the most porevalent myths centered around the Moon. It isn't surprising, since there wasn;t much to do in the evenings except sit around the hearth, and a big shinning ball in the sky was hard to miss. Today the Moon is just as alluring, even if we do have the television to distract us.
The Moon and its Power
The Moon was also thought to influence the daily work of the peasant. Fam animals were castrated when the Moon was waxing, and planting was often arranged to fit in the Moon's various phases. This practive has survived until today. Almanacs guide us to the various dos and don'ts of planting properly to ensure a good harvest. Two Moons in a month brought a month's bad weather, but when this occured in May it meant rain for a year and a day-good news when drought could mean disaster. A Full Moon at Christmas was said to forewarn a poor harvest in the coming year. The peasant woman who worked in the kitchen all day could turn her apron backward upon spying the new Moon for the first time to have a wish granted. They must have been vigilant, for now we have dishwashers. All the great or important occasions in life were marked by the Moon. More births were said to occur when the Moon changes or just before a New Moon comes in than at any other time. It was also believed that a child born in the dark of the Moon would not live long. Lunacy is a word that comes directly from the Moon. It was believed that a person's mental state was greatly affected by the Moon's various states. It was said that idiots and the insane were always worse by the light of the Full Moon. It was also thought to be very dangerous to let a child sleep by the light of the Moon, for there was a danger that the child would become mad, blind, or at the least have a swollen, disfigured face. In the monasteries, often the only place to receive medical treatments, it was believed that blood letting had to be done when the light was waning, for to let blood when the light was increading and tide was high could result in the patient's bleeding to death. The Old Man in the Moon Just who is the old man in the Moon? He seemed alive and kicking in the middle ages. It was believed very unlucky to point at the Moon, and the children were raised to believe this was very rude and told the man in the Moon would become angry. The story of the "old man" is a difficult one to decipher, perhaps because its roots go back so far. In the ninth year of Edward the Third, the year 1335, there is a curious seal appended to a deed preserved in the record office, which shows a man in the Moon. On the seal, a man carries a bundle of sticks with a Moon surrounding him, along with a few stars. The legend on the seal reads, "I will teach thee, Walter, why I carry thorns in the Moon." Children were told that this man carrying his bundle was found by Moses, gathering sticks on the Sabbath, and for this crime he was doomed to reside in the Moon to the end of all things. Another version tell that the man was given a choice, that of burning in the Sun or freezing in the Moon, and that he chose the latter. Now at Full Moon he can be seen with his bundle on his back. Still another side to the story adds a woman to the tale, and this I believe is the more ancient of the stories. The story goes that both a man and a woman stand in the Moon, the man because he strewed brambles and thorns on the church path to hinder people from attending Mass on Sunday; the woman because she made butter on that day. The man carries his thourns, the woman her butter tub. Other tales have the man with a dog instead of a woman; or stealing vegatables or willow bows instead of gathering sticks. Some say he is a giant, who stand in a stooping posture because he is gathering wather, which is poured out on Earth, causing high tide. At the time of ebb he stands erect and rests. However the tale goes,, the gist of it remains constant. There is a man of the Moon, with a companion, and the black spots there mark his passage. The classic old man of the Moon is thought to be Endymion, the beloved of Selene. In Egypt, images of the Moon represent Horus in the womb of his mother Isis. It seems important to understand the story of this goddess to see how the myth of the man in the Moon came about. Plitarch tells the story of the most popular of all Egyptian deities. The offspring of the earh go Geb and the sky goddess Nut, Osiris and Isis married an resided as king and Queen on Earth, giving much tothe Egyptian people, and blessing the world with discoveries of agriculture and civilization. Isis is considered the one who brought crops to the people. But their other brother Set, was jealous of the love between them, and plotted against Isis and Osiris. Set killed Osiris. Torn to fourteen pieces, the body of Osiris was thrown into the Nile. Isis took a boat made of papyrus into the marshes to collect his broken body, and, using magic spells, gathered the peices together to form a mummy, which then rose from the dead. From this came the custom, which continued into the middle ages, of carrying a ship, which was denounced by the church as idolatrous, Sometimes the ship was replaced by the plough (as Isis was the mother of farming), and the ceremony of Plough Monday in England is a relic in honor of Isis. In Germany, she was called Holda, the great pale lady who glides throug the sky at night, sailing over heaven in her silver boat. She was attendied to by the sould of maids and children, and sits in a mountain of crystal, to scatter the winter snow on Earth, or revive it in the spring. In other parts of the world, she was called Gode, which harks back to Artemis the heavenly huntress of the Greeks accomplanies by her maidens. In Austria and Bavaria she was called Bertha (the shinning), and wore horns as the other lunar goddesses. We can see that the man in the Moon really began as a love story between a male and female who oversaw and ensured the good harvest and taught mankind how to grow crops. At a time when farming was important, it seems natural that myths about the Moon should include superstitions connected with plants and harvest. The man in the Moon isn't lonely after all. Medieval Christianity meerly cleaned him up so that the roots of pagism wouldn't show through. The peasants found a way to keep the lunar goddess and their tales alive. Now wonder the Full Moon has always represented romance. Rember that the next time you are "Mooning" over your love.
I Hope you enjoy working with the MOON.
A long time ago, Moon worshop came into being as people spied the mysterious heavenly bodies in the sky and wondered at their powers. This Moon worship influenced the myths during the fourteenth century. It gave the Moon a special power to bestow good or evil. One of the superstitions was that a man was supposed to "M
