|
Phases
Of The Moon
By
Pamela
R. Blaine
"A
New Moon and a windy night,
Sweep
the cobwebs out of sight."
In
times past, many calendars had information about the moon phases and besides
that almost everyone had a copy of The Old Farmer's Almanac around the
house. It began publication in 1792, and is still published today.
That old farmer has been around for a long time!
The
almanac gave information on almost everything.
It included schedules for the sunrises and sunsets, times of the tides,
recipes, weather predictions, unusual stories, and perhaps most importantly to
many gardeners it gave planting schedules.
The point of the planting schedule was to reap the best harvest from what
was planted
and
some people thought that the moon had something to do with the outcome of the
harvest.
Many
people used to plant their gardens according to the moon phases and some still
do. My Grandma used to say that
potatoes should be planted during the dark of the moon but they were to be dug
in the light of the moon. If they weren’t then they just might rot in the ground.
As a child, I didn’t understand this and thought people were supposed
to go out in the dark (dark of the moon) and plant potatoes because nobody
wanted a crop of rotten potatoes. Later
I discovered what she was talking about was
that the lunar month is divided into four phases or quarters. The light
of the moon is the 14-day period (first and second quarters) when the moon is
growing from the new moon to the full moon. The dark of the moon (third and
fourth quarters) is the following 14 days -- from the full moon to the next new
moon.
Since
the moon does affect the tides, some believe that it could well influence other
things also. In years past,
however, the idea got a little out of hand because it became mixed with
superstition.
Some people
followed the phases of the moon so closely that they wouldn’t have their hair
cut or trim vines except when the moon was "right".
Here are just a few of those old time sayings regarding the phases of
the moon that were thought to be true by some people:
*The
new moon is a time for planting, courtship, and for starting
new
business trips and ventures.
*Eggs
should be put under a setting hen in the light of the moon and if they are
carried there in a woman's bonnet, they will all hatch out as pullets.
*Shingles
or clapboards laid on a roof during the dark of the moon are sure to curl
up.
* Blowing nine times on a wart while the moon is full will make the wart go
away.
* Hair or nails cut during a waxing moon will grow back quicker.
*Never
hammer a nail into a board during a full moon.
*You
should not look at the new moon through a window, but at the first sighting of
the
new moon outside, you should take money out of your pocket and spit
on
it to increase your cash flow.
*Hogs should be butchered in the light of the moon -- otherwise
the meat will not keep well and will curl up in the skillet when fried.
*Pepper plants will produce best if planted by a lunatic.
(My pepper plants always do well, by the way)
*A passing stranger should plant sage. (I’m sure if I stop a stranger and ask
him to plant sage for me, there will be no question as to my qualifications for planting peppers.)
*Gourds do best if planted by a feeble-minded person
(I’ve never planted gourds, maybe I should give it a try?)
As for the saying at the top of this article: "A New Moon and a windy
night, sweep the cobwebs out of sight”. If it doesn’t work, just throw
a little glitter on them and call them holiday decorations.
by
Pamela R. Blaine
© September 2004
|