DIVINATION

Entries

• #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’, Mass.
• #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. 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.

  Massachusetts.
• #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 Massachusetts.
• #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.

  Nashua, N. H.
• #1088

  Look over the right shoulder at the new moon, and count nine stars, pick up whatever is under your right foot, such as a stick, pebble, or what not; put it under your pillow, and you will dream of whoever is to be your husband.

  Deer Isle, Me.
• #1089

  When you see the moon, say,—

  I see the moon and the moon sees me,
  And the moon sees somebody that I want to see.

  Massachusetts.
• #1090

  New moon, true moon, true and trusty,
  Tell me who my true love must be.

  Pennsylvania.
• #1091

  Wish the first time you see the moon, and your wish will come true.

  General in the United States and Canada.
• #1092

  Bow to the new moon seven times the first time you see it, and you’ll get a present, or wish and you will get your wish.

  New England.
• #1093

  If you shake your dress at the new moon, you will get a new one.

  Alabama.