The alleged predominant influence of the moon’s wax and wane over the
growth and welfare of vegetation was formerly generally recognized. Thus
in an almanac of the year 1661 it is stated that:—
If any corn, seed, or plant be either set or sown within six
hours either before or after the full Moon in Summer, or before
the new Moon in Winter, having joined with the cosmical rising
of Arcturus and Orion, the Hædi and the Siculi, it is subject
to blasting and canker.[43]
Timber was always cut during the wane of the moon, and so firmly rooted
was this superstition that directions were given accordingly in the
Forest Code of France.
An early English almanac advised farmers to kill hogs when the moon was
growing, as thus “the bacon would prove the better in boiling.”
Even at the present time a host of credulities regarding the moon is
prevalent among the ignorant classes of different lands. Thus, for
example, the negroes in the vicinity of Washington, D. C., believe that
potatoes should be planted before the new moon in order to thrive, and
among the negroes and Indians of the State of Missouri, the proper time
for weaning a baby or calf is determined by the lunar phases.
Moon-worship was one of the most ancient forms of idolatry, and still
exists among some Eastern nations. A relic of the practice is seen in
some parts of Great Britain in the custom of bowing to the new moon.
Astrologers regarded the moon as exerting a powerful influence over the
health and fortunes of human beings, according to her aspect and position
at the time of their birth. Thus in a “Manual of Astrology” by Raphael
(London, 1828), she is described as a “cold, moist, watery, phlegmatic
planet, and partaking of good or evil as she is aspected by good or evil
stars.”[44]
The growing horned moon was thought to exert a mysterious beneficent
influence not only over many of the operations of agriculture, but
over the affairs of every-day life as well. Hence doubtless arose the
belief in the value of crescent-shaped and cornute objects as amulets and
charms; of these the horse-shoe is the one most commonly available, and
therefore the one most generally used.
In astrology the moon has indeed always been considered the most
influential of the heavenly bodies by reason of her rapid motion and
nearness to the earth; and the astrologers of old, whether in forecasting
future events or in giving advice as to proper times and seasons for
the transaction of business affairs, first ascertained whether or not
the moon were well aspected. This was also a cardinal point with the
shrewd magicians of later centuries. And should any one require proof of
the existence of a modern belief in lunar influences, let him consult
Zadkiel’s Almanac for the year 1898. Therein he will find it stated that
when the sun is in benefic aspect with the moon, it is a suitable day for
asking favors, seeking employment, and traveling for health.
Venus in benefic aspect with the moon is favorable for courting,
marrying, visiting friends, engaging maid-servants, and seeking amusement.
Mars, for consulting surgeons and dealing with engineers and soldiers.
Jupiter, for opening offices and places of business, and for beginning
new enterprises.
Saturn, for having to do with farmers, miners, and elderly people, for
buying real estate and for planting and sowing.
For, says the oracle of the almanac, astrologers have found by experience
that if the above instructions are followed, human affairs proceed
smoothly.
In his work entitled “The Evil-Eye” (London, 1895), Mr. Frederick Thomas
Elworthy calls attention to the fact that the half-moon was often
placed on the heads of certain of the most powerful Egyptian deities,
and therefore when worn became a symbol of their worship. Indeed, the
crescent is common in the religious symbolism not only of ancient Egypt,
but also of Assyria and India. The Hebrew maidens in the time of the
prophet Isaiah wore crescent-shaped ornaments on their heads.[45]
The crescent is the well-known symbol of the Turkish religion. According
to tradition, Philip of Macedon (B. C. 382-336), the father of Alexander
the Great, attempted to undermine the walls of Byzantium during a siege
of the city, but the attempt was revealed to the inhabitants by the light
of a crescent moon. Whereupon they erected a statue to Diana, and adopted
the crescent as their symbol.
When the Byzantine empire was overthrown by Mohammed II., in 1453, the
Turks regarded the crescent, which was everywhere to be seen, as of
favorable import. They therefore made it their own emblem, and it has
since continued to be a distinctively Mohammedan token.
In the Mussulman mind the new moon is intimately associated with
devotional acts. Its appearance is eagerly watched for and
The moment the eye lights on the slight thread of silver in
the western twilight, it remains fixed there, whilst prayers
of thanksgiving and praise are offered, the hands being held
up by the face, the palms upward and open, and afterwards
passed three times over the visage, the gaze still remaining
immovable.[46]
Golden crescents of various sizes were among the most primitive forms of
money. Ancient coins frequently bore the likenesses of popular deities or
their symbols, and of the latter the crescent appears to have been the
one most commonly employed.[47] It was the usual mint-mark of the coins
of Thespia in the early part of the fourth century B. C.;[48] is seen on
the coins of the reigns of Augustus, Nero, and other Roman emperors; and
on the silver pieces of the time of Hadrian is found the _Luna crescens_
with seven stars.[49]
A crescent adorned the head of the goddess Diana in her character of
Hecate, or ruler of the infernal regions.
Hecate was supposed to preside over enchantments, and was also the
special guardian and protectress of houses and doors.[50] The Greeks not
only wore amulets in the shape of the half moon, but placed them on the
walls of their houses as talismans;[51] and the Romans used _phalĕræ_,
metallic disks and crescents, to decorate the foreheads and breasts of
their horses.
Such ornaments are to be seen on the caparisons of the horses on
Trajan’s Column and on other ancient monuments, in the collection of
Roman antiquities in the British Museum, and in mediæval paintings and
tapestries.[52]
In the portrayals of combats between the Romans and Dacians on the Arch
of Constantine, the trappings of the horses of both armies are decorated
with these emblems,[53] as are also the bridle reins of a horse shown in
a French manuscript of the fifteenth century representing “gentlefolk
meeting on horseback.”[54]
Charms of similar shape, made of wolves’ teeth and boars’ tusks, have
been found in tumuli in different parts of Great Britain.
A sepulchral stone, which is preserved among other Gallo-Roman relics
within the château of Chinon, France, bears the effigy of a man standing
upright and clad in a large tunic with wide sleeves. Above the figure is
a crescent-shaped talisman, a symbol frequently found in monuments of
that period.[55]
But the use of these symbols, although so ancient, is by no means
obsolete; the brass crescent, an avowed charm against the evil eye,
is very commonly attached to the elaborately decorated harnesses of
Neapolitan draught-horses, and is used in the East to embellish the
trappings of elephants. It is also still employed in like manner in
various parts of Europe and in the England of to-day. In Germany small
half-moon-shaped amulets similar to the ancient μηνίσχοι or _lunulæ_ are
still used against the evil eye.
In Sweden and Frisia, bridal ornaments for the head and neck often
represent the moon’s disk in its first quarter; and it is customary to
call out after a newly married pair, “Increase, O Moon.”[56]
Elworthy remarks that the horse-shoe, wherever used as an amulet, is the
handy conventional representative of the crescent, and that the Buddhist
crescent emblem is a horse-shoe with the curve pointed like a Gothic
arch.
The English fern called moonwort (_Botrychium lunaria_) is thought to
owe its reputed magical powers to the crescent form of the segments
of its frond. Some writers regard it as identical with the martagon,
an herb formerly much used by sorcerers; and also with the Italian
_sferracavallo_.
According to the famous astrologer and herbalist, Nicholas Culpepper,
moonwort possessed certain occult virtues, and was endowed with
extraordinary attributes, chief among them being its power of undoing
locks and of unshoeing horses. The same writer remarked that, while some
people of intelligence regarded these notions with scorn, the popular
name for moonwort among the countryfolk was “unshoe-the-horse.”[57]