A rare grimoire of lunar folklore, myth, and legend, Moon Lore explores the cultural and historical significance of the Moon, offering astronomical, spiritual, and astrological insight.
A rare grimoire of lunar folklore, myth, and legend, Moon Lore explores the cultural and historical significance of the Moon, offering astronomical, spiritual, and astrological insight.
‘Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The Moon takes up the wondrous tale.’
—Addison, Ode, 1712
A masterpiece of storytelling, Moon Lore brings Timothy Harley’s rigorous academic research to life in a collection of myths surrounding the lunar phases, deities, and eclipses. Harley details the anthropology of the Moon’s worship and the agricultural rituals tailored to her cycles. In an exploration of our celestial neighbour’s influence on our tides and emotions, as well as the evolution of our scientific knowledge, Moon Lore is an ode to humanity’s enduring fascination with the Moon.
First published in 1885, this Wyrd Books edition features the original black-and-white illustrations throughout, with a new introduction and William Wordsworth’s 1837 lyrical poem ‘To the Moon’. Moon Lore is the perfect grimoire for those seeking a little lunar magic and is not to be missed by astrology and astronomy lovers alike.
‘Queen of the silver bow! by thy pale beam,
Alone and pensive, I delight to stray,
And watch thy shadow trembling in the stream,
Or mark the floating clouds that cross thy way;
And while I gaze, thy mild and placid light
Sheds a soft calm upon my troubled breast:
And oft I think-fair planet of the night–
That in thy orb the wretched may have rest;
The sufferers of the earth perhaps may go–
Released by death-to thy benignant sphere;
And the sad children of despair and woe
Forget in thee their cup of sorrow here.
Oh that I soon may reach thy world serene,
Poor wearied pilgrim in this toiling scene!’
Charlotte Smith.
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