Hare-Wife

A full moon tale for your Easter Sunday

“Lunar Hare” by Mandy Walden

Thursday morning brought April’s Full Moon. Budding Moon. New Shoots Moon. Seed Moon. April a greening goddess. Wild primroses, leafing trees, longer days and starry nights. April, month of my birthday just past and of Easter upon us today.  

Today’s story is about a hare-wife, which has little to do with Easter, or indeed with April’s Moon. May’s Moon is called for this magical creature, and the expression Mad as a March Hare places them a month earlier. However, the Easter Bunny was a hare in our house. A pair used to live at the bottom of the garden, and my mother convinced us that it was they, not the invasive rabbit, who brought the magic of the day.

I could write an entire post on the questionable ‘information’ which abounds regarding a supposed ancient Celtic hare goddess who was apparently originally celebrated during the Spring months and for whom Easter is called. But I’ll stick to hare lore and telling tales and leave the history for you at this link: Ostara and the Hare.

The Irish word for hare is Giorria, and the Irish Hare is unique to our island.

A hare-wife refers to the Irish and British folk belief that some women could turn themselves into hares. These witch-animals were believed to steal milk and could be caught or killed with silver.

To cut the last sheaf of corn in a field was called ‘putting the hare out of the corn’ whilst to kiss the foot of the hare meant to say goodbye to something forever.

In Donegal, where I wrote todays tale the hares visit often. Fittingly, magically, as I sat down to write some of this piece late at night, under that full moon, one wandered down from the mountain to check the garden for food. They feast on the fallen apples, plums and pears in autumn. The sensor lights startled both it and me, and it slowly hopped off into the darkness of the lane. I left out a plate of honey and she brought her leverets to the garden, where they are merrily being fed on apple slices.  

Below is a full moon tale. Make yourself a cup of tea, or crack open that chocolate egg and settle in for a short yarn of hares and the mountain. Of spring and hope, love and earthy magic.