Mother Goose Magick

Old Mother Goose, when
She wanted to wander,
Would ride through the air
On a very fine gander.

Today, Mother Goose is limited to the nursery, her rhymes intended to entertain only the youngest, least sophisticated children, yet MotherGoose’s namesake bird links her to a host of powerful spirits: Aphrodite, too, rides through the air on a goose. The bird is sacred to Egyptian Hathor and Roman Juno, both valiant protectors and advocates for women.

In the Middle Ages, the once sacred goose became associated with witchcraft and disreputable women. Attempts to discredit Lilith and the Queen of Sheba depict them as dangerously beautiful, seductive women, with one goose’s foot peeping from beneath a skirt.

Interestingly, the recent backlash against “nursery rhymes” being taught to our children has a lot to do with the content of the rhymes; if you’ve never read them as an adult, you may not realize just what they actually “say.” In fact, most of the “nursery rhymes” were not originally intended for children!

Why is Mother Goose never portrayed as a plump Grandmotherly type bouncing a grandbaby on her knee? Why always an elderly hag? Gasp! Could Mother Goose be the prototype of the stereotypical “witch”?

Witches were the keepers of knowledge for the common folk– it was she who nursed the sick babe as well as birthed calves or treated illnesses. She was a “wise woman”. She was a valued member of her community; but, as in any human endeavor, she was not infallible. It was when things went wrong that this woman – often old with no close family ties – was accused of heinous acts. (We are all human and tend to blame others for our misfortune. In today’s society we hire a lawyer and go for blood… in earlier times… they just went for blood.)

One thing is certain… if “she” were one individual, she was passing down oral history, lore and adages… from people of other eras. In the early days, before they were “collected” into the somewhat familiar form of today; these rhymes were actually methods of preserving history, customs, lore and fears for the common man. (We need to recall that the majority of people in the earlier centuries could neither read or write. That is why roving troubadours, bards and minstrels were so popular.)

Here is a short grimoire of Mother Goose spells, charms, chants, and divinations, taken from the 1916 edition of “The Real Mother Goose.”

Hawthorn Beauty Spell

The fair maid who, the first of May,
Goes to the fields at break of day,
And washes in dew from the hawthorn-tree
Will ever after handsome be.

Rain Begone Chant

Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day;
Little Johnny wants to play.

Bridal Protection Spell

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a sixpence in her shoe!

Bee Omens and Luck

A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.

Storm Prediction Lore

As the days grow longer
The storms grow stronger.

Lucky Pin Spell

See a pin and pick it up,
All the day you’ll have good luck.
See a pin and let it lay,
Bad luck you’ll have all the day.

Friday Dream Divination

Friday’s dream,
on Saturday told,
Is sure to come true,
be it never so old.

Sneezing Divination for the Days of the Week

If you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger;
If you sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger;
If you sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter;
If you sneeze on a Thursday, something better;
If you sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow;
If you sneeze on a Saturday, joy tomorrow.

Rain Prediction

A sunshiny shower
Won’t last half an hour.

Saturday Night Love Ritual

On Saturday night
Shall be all my care
To powder my locks
And curl my hair.
On Sunday morning
My love will come in.
When he will marry me
With a gold ring.

Counting Love Divination

One, he loves;
Two, he loves;
Three, he loves, they say;
Four, he loves with all his heart;
Five, he casts away.
Six, he loves;
Seven, she loves;
Eight, they both love.
Nine, he comes;
Ten, he tarries;
Eleven, he courts;
Twelve, he marries.

Health Wealth and Wisdom Ritual

Cocks crow in the morn
To tell us to rise,
And he who lies late
Will never be wise;

For early to bed
And early to rise,
Is the way to be healthy
And wealthy and wise.

To Stay Young

Tommy’s tears and Mary’s fears
Will make them old before their years.

Birthday Predictions

Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for its living,
But the child that’s born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

Collected from various sources including an article by Ashlynn Ward found at Lady of the Earth, Project Gutenberg, and The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells