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   XPost: alt.religion.druid, alt.traditional.witchcraft, alt.religion.shamanism   
   XPost: alt.magick   
   From: dalton@nfld.com   
      
   The Silver Bough thumb   
      
   Once in 1996 or 1997 I thumbed at random a book on Scottish folklore called   
   The Silver Bough Vol. 1 by F. Marian McNeill. It came out to a page with this   
   poem on it:   
      
   Ri faicinn domh na gealaich uir,   
   Is duth domh mo shuil a thogail.   
   Is duth domh ma ghlun a leagail,   
   Is duth domh mo cheann a bhogadh,   
      
   Toir cliu dhuit fein, a re nan iul,   
   Gum faca mi thu a rithist,   
   Gum faca mi a ghealach ur,   
   Ailleagan iuil na slighe.   
      
   Is iomadh neach a chaidh a null   
   Eadar uine an da ghealaich,   
   Ged tha mise a' mealtainn fuinn,   
   A re nan re 's nam beannachd!   
      
   which translates as:   
      
   When I see the new moon,   
   It becomes me to life mine eye,   
   It becomes me to bend my knee,   
   It becomes me to bow my head.   
      
   Giving thee praise, thou moon of guidance,   
   That I have seen thee again,   
   That I have seen the new moon,   
   The lovely leader of the way.   
      
   Many a one has passed beyond   
   In the time between the two moons,   
   Though I am still enjoying earth,   
   Thou moon of moons and of blessings!   
      
   Now in that I think new moon refers not to the modern new moon or dark of   
   moon but the early waxing crescent moon or first horn of moon. For a while I   
   thought that significant to me since I thought a new age would begin in early   
   waxing moon or I would be released from my low years in early waxing moon   
   (and that could still be true since I am not, June 2017, yet out of the low   
   years). Another interpretation is that it could be about having gone through   
   an intense waning crescent high and now being back to normalcy for early   
   waxing crescent. But really I just found it interesting and plan to research   
   its signifance and Scottish lunar traditions further in future and take the   
   thumbing as a sign I should do so. I would also like to know who the author   
   was and if the author was similar to me at all.   
      
   --   
   David Dalton dalton@nfld.com http://www.nfld.com/~dalton (home page)   
   http://www.nfld.com/~dalton/dtales.html Salmon on the Thorns (mystic page)   
   “If I look hard enough into the setting sun   
   My love will laugh with me before the morning comes" (R.Stones)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)