Episode 13: The Fae Realm: The Moon

The folklore of the moon in a nutshell, how I reimagined it for my writing, and the moon translated into Afrikaans.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2021 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about the moon here.

Get the transcript here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my book Once… Tales, Myths and Legends of Faerie available in eBook, paperback and audiobook. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books for more.

We’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

Today’s subject: the Moon

Folklore in a nutshell by Ronel

The moon can heal any poison and ailment in her magical glow. If she so wishes.

Some form of Moon worship can be found in almost all ancient religions. In that respect, a Moon Deity has a variety of functions depending on the culture and is sometimes a personification of the Moon. In some cultures, the Moon Deity changes names – as what happened with the Greek Artemis and Roman Diana, and the Greek Selene and the Roman Luna when they were syncretised as a Greco-Roman Moon Goddess known as Cynthia.

In many cultures, the monthly cycle of the moon has been linked with women’s menstrual cycles because they believe that the Moon is female. In some cultures, though, the Moon is male (and the Sun is female).

Magically speaking, the Moon is our connection to everything in this world and the galaxy beyond. The Moon receives power from all planets, stars, etc. and reflects it. Thus the moon is a powerful magically ally. The moon is used in many magical rites. Some rites can only be performed during a New or a Full Moon.

For the most part, the Moon is associated with night, darkness, rest, death and water. She is seen the best in the dark, she appears at night, night is the time people rest, “go softly into the good night” is a euphemism for death, the Moon’s phases control the ocean’s tides, and there is a belief that the Moon controls rain and fog, too (a halo around the moon is an ancient sign of rain).

Farmers are known to sow and reap according to the Moon’s phases, believing that certain times of the month it is better to plant leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach) and other times of the month it is better to plant root vegetables (e.g. carrots).

Interesting fact: the word “lunatic” comes from the Latin luna, because it is believed that people behave more outrageously during a full moon. Sounds like someone is blaming Luna for their bad behaviour…

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an Origin of the Fae: The Moon

As a celestial orb, the moon radiates power that magic-users can draw upon to enhance their spells.

As a deity, the Moon is known as Cynthia.

Cynthia is the Guardian of Earth. She doesn’t belong to either Faery Court, and she stays out of Faery politics. She does have dealings with various Nature Fae and others who are condemned to live on Earth, though it is difficult for those on Earth to have direct contact with her. There is a portal that connects the moon (celestial orb) to Earth which Cynthia uses to travel and allows others to meet her on the moon.

Technically, Cynthia is the moon and the moon is Cynthia. Her thoughts, feelings, well-being is directly connected to the celestial orb earth dwellers view at night.

A Black Moon, when the Moon is completely absent, is a bad omen for the workers of Death – especially Valkyries.

A Blood Moon, when the Moon is seen tinged with red, is a good omen for Vampires.

As a little bonus, let’s look at the translation of Moon into Afrikaans: Maan.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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