The guardian of the Night- Presentations of the moon in Shropshire Folklore

 The moon is a magnificent thing. As the closest celestial body to earth, it has been the source of fascination and intrigue for as long as there have been people to wonder. As a result, a wealth of folklore, symbolism and belief has been attributed to the moon, which can be seen cross culturally and throughout history. For Plutarch, the moon was the stopping point on the journey of souls.  The Fon people of Abomey believed the moon to be the supreme creator goddess Mawu, who brings the night and cooler temperatures to the world. When the Incas stared into the darkness, they saw a goddess and called her Mamma Killa. She was the wife of Inti, cried tears of silver and ruled over the menstrual cycle. She was also a fierce defender of women. As a Cancer myself, astrologically I am said to be ruled by the moon, which amongst other things represents emotion, intuition, and empathy. Here we see just some of the rich symbolism, attributed to the moon. It can also represent luck, divination, fortune telling, femininity and lunacy. It can enact prophecy and has associations with magic and witchcraft. It also plays an important role in the folklore and practices of Shropshire, which will be the focus of this article.

The moon was said to have played a prominent role in Shropshire folk belief. Indeed, Charlotte Burne states that Shropshire folk ‘worship the moon without realising’ due to the nature of some of the practices associated with it. It could be suggested that some of these practices have roots in something far older, perhaps pre-Christian. In Shropshire, there is a particular focus on the changing phases of the moon, and the potential power they hold. For example, on the first sight of the New moon, it was customary to greet it with three curtseys and with each curtsey one must spin around. If one completes this ritual, they could expect a gift before the next new moon. There are variations of this practice however depending on where you are in Shropshire. In Shrewsbury it requires nine bows, and the practice bestows luck rather than a gift. In Ruyton Xl towns the rite involved three curtseys whilst revering the moon by chanting ‘Pretty Moon, Pretty Moon, Pretty Moon’ the more enthusiastic this is done, the greater the reward.

In Wem, it is believed that when you see the New moon, you must wish without speaking to bring that wish to life. It is also deemed incredibly lucky to be kissed at the appearance of the New moon. The New moon has further associations of luck in Shropshire. It is generally considered a time of growth, and thus is customary to turn out your pockets of any money at the sight of the New moon. Place this money on the windowsill, and as the moon increased, so will your wealth. One must be careful of this practice however, as if you do not remove your coins when the moon starts to wane, your money will decrease with it.

Upon the appearance of the New moon, particularly the first, one must greet it with pleasantly and with respect. By correctly acknowledging the moon you are sure to reap the rewards of good luck and plenty.  It could certainly be suggested that respecting the moon in such a way could hold its origin in pre-Christian veneration, and similar practices have been found within places such as Germany, where it is deemed respectful to correctly greet the stars. In Shrewsbury it was deemed very unlucky to point at the moon with your fingers, as this was a sign of irreverence. This is again similar to Germany, where it was deemed disrespectful to point at the stars, due to them being the eyes of the Angels. Here we see the high status of this celestial body, cementing it as being important and worthy of respect.

An area in which the moon holds particular power is love divination. In times gone by Shropshire folk would hold up a silk handkerchief to the New moon and ask about romance, before looking through the silk handkerchief. The amount of moons that you saw through the handkerchief is the number of years you will have to wait for your wedding. In Worthen, a similar practice is undertaken, however this is done by looking at the reflection through a pail of water. The practice is seen in Pulverbatch too, only one must count the reflections in a mirror or looking glass. To gaze at the moon in such a manner ensured that you would unlock the secrets of romance.

It is important to note here that any of the New moon rituals described must be performed outside. This is because it is deemed very unlucky to look at the moon, especially the New moon through glass or a window. If you perform the ritual outside, correctly and with respect, there would be no barriers to the moons power, and you would feel its influence.

The phases of the moon also hold influence over more mundane practices, such as when you cut your hair. For example, if you cut your hair during a waxing moon, it will strengthen, and grow beautifully, however if you do so on a waning moon, it will be quite the opposite. Similarly, on nights that it rained my grandmother would collect the water, leaving it out in the moonlight, only to use it the following morning to wash her hair. The moon charged rainwater was said to make it grow luscious and strong, adding to your beauty. This practice had been taught her by her own grandmother, which no doubt has its origins in folklore.

Another area that the moon influences is dreams. In Shropshire, it seems that the moon guides us in our dream state. It is the subtle overarching influence in all our nocturnal wanderings. The symbolism of dreams is an interesting subject, and worthy of its own separate discussion but generally it follows certain rules of opposites. For example, to dream of the dead denotes good news for the living, and to dream of a funeral means a wedding is nearby. Furthermore, it is generally accepted that if you dream of something three times, then it will come true. The power of dreams and the moon is demonstrated in our next story- Of Betty Fox and the Wroxeter treasure.

The story of Betty Fox (sometimes known as Mother Fox) is recounted by Charlotte Burne in her 1883 book ‘A Sheaf of Gleanings’. Betty was a wheelwrights wife who lived in Wroxeter, not too far from the ruins of Uriconium- known as Wroxeter Roman city today and in the care of English Heritage. All of her life Betty had been possessed with strange dreams regarding Uriconium, particularly of its purported hidden treasure. She was overcome with a strong desire to find this treasure, so by day she would explore the ruins, and by night she would dream of what lay beneath them.

One night, when a full moon was high in the sky she began to dream of a large crock of money. It shone vividly in her mind. This crock was buried by an alder bush on one side of the road between Wroxeter and Uckington. When she woke, she was thrilled and shook her husband to wake him. One can imagine that he wasn’t too happy about this, but she told him everything and he sighed. ‘You’re a fool Betty’ he grumbled and told her to go back to sleep. So, dejected Betty settled down and went back to sleep. Soon enough, she was dreaming again, of the same crock buried under the same alder bush on the same road. She woke her husband to tell him, but he was just as dismissive. So, she begrudgingly went back to sleep. When she dreamt of this a third time, she knew she needed to find out for herself. So, she rose from her bed, got dressed and set off with her spade. After some time, walking, guided only by the moonlight she reached the very road she’d dreamt of, and sure enough about half way down the road was the alder bush. She was ecstatic and quickly started digging. Not too long after she’d started her spade struck a roman vase, and around 400 silver coins flowed out! She quickly gathered them into her apron, thanked the moon for guiding her and took them home. When she returned, she went straight upstairs and woke her husband by saying ‘Well, Fool or not I’ve found them coins’ pouring them out in front of him. One can only hope that the wheelwright took her more seriously after this. Betty was right to trust her intuition, as she made around £30 from the coins she found when sold to collectors. Interestingly, it is stated that Betty’s son later began working on the excavations of Wroxeter and began to have similar dreams. He was said to be a difficult person to work with, as he would dig where his dreams took him, rather than where the archaeologists had told him too! I love this story as it demonstrates a belief in the power of intuition and dreams, but also the fact that the moon is ever present, watching over the events like an omnipresent deity.

I want to briefly touch upon the relationship between witchcraft and the moon in Shropshire, as I believe it is worthy of discussion. I do have another post that focuses specifically on the topic, which will give you a greater understanding of our witches. The moon definitely plays a part in the craft of witches, and magic in general. For example, the fae are said to gather by moonlight to dance in the fields of Coalbrookdale. The moon is often deified and linked to fertility, femininity, and love magic, all of which has a presence in Shropshire.  Some of the practices we have previously mentioned could fall into this category of divination and magic.

Shropshire witches often chose to meet in the moonlight to practice magic. This would have practical reasons, as they were less likely to get caught but also, they could use the power of the moon in their craft.  The most prolific area for such is the Stiperstones. Indeed, it is said that every Friday night, under the light of the moon witches will ascend the slopes and take to the Devil’s Chair to plan out nefarious deeds and cast wicked spells. Its definitely one way to spend your Friday nights. On the winter solstice witches also journey up the Stiperstones to be judged by Owd Scratch, to see who is the most wicked of the year. There are celebrations here and merriment, revelling in the wickedness and promises are made to Old Scratch, that the witches will bring about even more wickedness the following year. This is an incredibly evocative image, and I would love to witness such an event. The moon provides the backdrop for supernatural events here, ever present in the proceedings.

It is generally accepted that under the light of the moon witches were able to turn themselves into hares, and one Madeley witch used this to her advantage. This sadly unnamed witch was said to live in a hovel on the grounds of the modern day Madeley court hotel.  She was wicked through and through and would roam the local area by moonlight searching for children. Once she found them, she would snatch them up, and sell their little souls to Owd Scratch for fine pieces of silver. She would eagerly wait for the moon to be out before shape shifting into a beautiful hare. Then she would stand by the children’s windows or in their gardens and tempt them over, whispering sweet words to them. The children would be eager to stroke her, which would be their gravest mistake. She would then grab them with her human hands, dragging them back to her dwelling, to wait for ‘Owd Scratch’ to seal their fate.  

Eventually the locals began to notice that their children were missing. No one knew why though stories of a great hare roaming the area began to emerge. They couldn’t prove the two were linked, but resolved to catch the hare and kill it, in hope their children would return. They waited until nightfall and began to search the area, and soon enough their paths crossed. The local people managed to corner the hare, wounding it a few times on the face and its side.

The witch hare’s mind was a tumult now, petrified by the violence and the unravelling of her secret, she ran so hard that her feet bled. She managed to get away from the angry crowd, but the moon betrayed her. Her bloody footprints were illuminated in the darkness, allowing the locals to follow her trail, and see how her hare prints turned into human ones not too far from the hovel. The locals kicked down the door now, and found the witch in her human form, bleeding from the same area the hare had been, thus confirming the two were the same. They demanded to know where their children were, and she laughed and told them that ‘Owd Scratch had them now’.

The locals dragged the witch out of the hovel to a clearing nearby and then burnt the woman alive in the last light of the moon. It is said that as the flames consumed her, she shifted into her animal form one last time- and as her laughter filled the air, she disappeared into the flames.

This is such a powerful story, and one cannot help but wonder what inspired such a tale to be told.

I believe that Shropshire is truly a wonderful place. It is rich in folklore, belief, and unique stories such as those we have explored today. The moon holds dominion over all of them, a celestial watcher observing the long march of centuries, of witches and ghosts and Owd Scratch. It knows the secrets of this county, and it implores us to wonder, to try and understand.