Drawing Down the Moon

Drawing Down the Moon by hilary llewellyn-williams from animaculture First, clear a space for it. The moon needs room to breathe, to swell and shrink. And don’t just think of the white disc, but the light around it. Remove all rocks and stumps, nettles and cabbages. Be ruthless; this snare must be smooth as a coin, and fine as the skin of your eye. Next, take a rope and cast your circle. May everything in the ring attract moonshine. Then hammer wooden pegs around the shape, pulled hard against the wind, which would carry your garden, moon and all away, if it could. Remove your coat, and get digging. Right down to the subsoil, two feet deep in the middle, shelving towards one end. Use a level; if the ground tilts your prize will spill. Heap the spoil high to the south, for shelter. Strew sand for a bed and tread it firm. Ignore your neighbours’ sidelong glances as you unroll stout polythene to keep the precious rays from running out. Stretch it tight across the hole, weigh it down with stones and feed in liquid to the brim. Stand back in admiration. Wait until nightfall. Say the spell; and behold the moon in your garden, swimming up through nets of water. illustration by Charley Jungle Russel-Lewis first published on facebook 28.6.2012