"In Tennessee in America, a new moon can be used as a love portent if you glance at is over your right shoulder, take three steps backward and then repeat this verse: New moon, new moon, true and bright, / If I have a lover let me dream of him tonight. / If I am to marry far, let me hear a bird cry; / If I am to marry near, let me hear a cow low; / If I am to marry never, let me hear a hammer knock."

Philippa Waring, "A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions"

Source: National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky