Jack and Jill and the Man in the Moon 

Moon Spots and Mysteries

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The silver orb that dominated the night sky held people transfixed long before they began to unravel its mysteries. Early people knew nothing of the topography of the moon; they saw the moon as a god or a goddess, and they fancied all sorts of Immortals living there, their dark images silhouetted against the bright lunar surface.

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                                            Pareidolia

             

Many early mythmakers identified moon spots as animal forms, commonly as a hare or a rabbit. The story of the rabbit in the moon took many forms and appeared in legends around the world. The rabbit was not the only animal people saw etched on the moon’s surface; there were many others – and human faces as well – with all sorts of legends attached to them.

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Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water ....

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In ancient Sweden, people saw two faces on the lunar surface, a boy’s and a girl’s, and they believed them to be those of Bil and Hjuki, two children the Moon took a fancy to and swept into the sky to become his companions. There are different versions of the legend. In some versions, the children are taken to the sky by Mani, who drives the moon’s chariot. In others, the children are captured. In my story, the children climb a rainbow bridge every month, when the moon is full, to visit Mister Moon in his silver sky palace. He fills their pail with magical moon dew, and they return to Earth to renew the fields.  The story explains the lunar phases. It also shows Jack and Jill's shadows on the face of the moon. 

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