This rhyme was for figuring out who you would marry....
New Moon, True Moon
Divination Rhyme
New moon, true moon,
True and bright,
If I have a true love,
Let me dream of him tonight!
If I am to marry rich,
Let me hear the cock crow!
If I am to marry poor,
Let me hear the hammer blow!
Notes
Here's another version of this rhyme:
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.
A form of this rhyme can be found as early as 1852 in Notes and Queries. It was a way people tried to predict who they would marry...
"When you first see the new moon after midsummer, go to a stile, turn your back to it, and say,
"All hail, new moon, all hail to thee I
I prithee good moon, reveal to me
This night who shall my true love be:
Who he is, and what he wears,
And what he does all months and years."
