Lunar Lore
An old moon in a mist
Is worth gold in a kist [chest];
But a new moon’s mist
Will ne’er lack thirst.
– Collected in R. Inwards, “Weather Lore”
Is worth gold in a kist [chest];
But a new moon’s mist
Will ne’er lack thirst.
– Collected in R. Inwards, “Weather Lore”
…
But how many months be in the year?
There are thirteen, I say;
The midsummer moon is the merryest of all
Next to the merry month of May.
There are thirteen, I say;
The midsummer moon is the merryest of all
Next to the merry month of May.
– “Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar.”
…
In the decay of the moon
A cloudy morning bodes a fair afternoon.
– Tusser, “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry” (17th century).
…
A cloudy morning bodes a fair afternoon.
– Tusser, “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry” (17th century).
…
Some works in dead of night are better done, or when the morning
Dew prevents the sun. Parch’d meads and stubble mow by
Phoebe’s light, which both require the coolness of the night;
For moisture then abounds, and pearly rains
Descend in silence to refresh the plains.
Dew prevents the sun. Parch’d meads and stubble mow by
Phoebe’s light, which both require the coolness of the night;
For moisture then abounds, and pearly rains
Descend in silence to refresh the plains.
– Dryden’s trans. of Virgil’s “Georgics,” Book I
The Witchcraft Chronicles 
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