WENN 'S MÖNDEL INS KÖRBEL SCHEINT

There was this incantation in a Grimm story that kept me intrigued... the moon and this Zachiel whose name is a hapax in the whole Grimm folktale corpus. It's a liberation spell, used to free victims of magical paralysis (they cannot move a limb or speak, but I assume their vital functions remain unchanged during paralysis):

ORIGINAL GERMAN:

[···] erlöst [···] mit einem Singsang, ebenfalls schwere Jamben. Die Vokale sind dunkler, die Verse abgebrochen und plump, besonders am Schluss. Manche Herausgeber druckten sie ebenfalls als Vierzeiler:

„Grüß dich, Zachiel,

wenn's Möndel ins Körbel scheint,

bind los Zachiel,

zu guter Stund.“

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS:
"If the moon shines on the cage, Zachiel, let him loose at once." (Olcott)
 'Good evening, Zachiel; when the young moon shines in the basket, you are freed early, Zachiel.' (Lang)
 'When the moon shines into the basket, Zachiel, set him free.' (Pullman)
“Greeting to thee, Zachiel! When the moon shines upon the cage, unloose the captive, Zachiel!" (Kliros)

IN SPANISH:
 -¡Hola, Zaquiel! ¡Cuando la luz de la lunita brille en la cestita libéralo, Zaquiel, en buena hora!
—Hola, Zaquiel, cuando la luna se refleje en el cesto, desátalo, Zaquiel, en el momento preciso (This was the version I grow up with)

–¡Hola, Zaquiel! Cuando brille la lunita en la cestita, desata, Zaquiel,

y que te vaya bien.

The interpretation I see of "wenn's Möndel ins Körbel scheint,/when the young moon shines in the basket" is of the moon's reflection in a well bucket (after all, the version I grew up with has 'se refleje' translated for 'schien' --'shines'--). The moon would then vertically be right above the well.

While the Lang version speaks of the young moon and the verse Grimm of the diminutive Möndel (moonikin, little moon), both of which refer to a one-day waxing crescent, while the lunar phase most traditionally laden with supernatural lore is the full moon. But still this Möndel/young moon is not bereft of symbolism either: haircuts, for instance. It's believed that the hair grows more rapidly if cut under a waxing moon, and slower if it grows under a waning moon. Thus, this young moon/Möndel in its very first waxing crescent may be the best of phases to disenchant/free a paralysed person.

Wells lead to the underworld in tales like Dame Holle and The Tinderbox; in both of these, the hero/ine returns to the surface with a boon/treasure after their descent into the underwell (something like the rabbit hole of Alice fame, but as a dry or nearly dry well).

There are archangels named both Zadkiel and Zachariel in the Heavens, and often identified as one and the same (their name meaning "thought GOD"), but why a sorceress of the night should invoke heavenly powers sounds a bit ironic.

According to Friedel Lenz, "wenn's Möndel ins Körbel scheint,/when the young moon shines in the basket" refers to the offering to Persephone in the Eleusinian mysteries; the moon had to shine in the basket of offerings (Persephone was considered, in some traditions, one of the three faces of Artemis, aside from Selene [moon goddess] and Mistress of Beasts [huntress].)

The archangel Zadkiel is associated with Jupiter, ie Zeus, the father of Persephone and Artemis.

Zeus in his youth was a liberator, who freed his siblings by giving Cronus an emetic to drink, and then freed the Cyclops and the Hundred-Handers from their captivity in Tartarus.

The chant, or Singsang, is iambic like Shakespeare's verse, giving the rhythm of a heartbeat. Compare with two Shakespearean examples below and see!

„Grüß dich, Zachiel,

wenn's Möndel ins Körbel scheint,

bind los Zachiel,

zu guter Stund.“

To be or not to be, that is the question...

That Cassio loves her, I do well believe...

This heartbeat effect may be the reason why we prefer iambic to trochaic verses (example, Poe: Once upon a midnight dreary), which strike us as being far more sinister and unfamiliar (again, Poe uses trochaic lines so often because they sound so eerie and uncanny). 

If broken down verse by verse, we can see the following structure:

Verse I: Salutation to Zachiel (=Zadkiel)

Verse II: Conditions necessary for the incantation (when the young moon shines into the basket [reflected in a well bucket?])

Verse III: wished-for effect (releasing the paralysed)

Verse IV: blessing, wish for the spell to be efficient (in the right time, in the precise moment)

According to Magyar aristocrat Árpád von Nahodyl, Zachiel ("think of GOD"archangel corresponding to Zeus-Jupiter) is the name of the ward in the fairytale, this ward being the region where tresspassing causes paralysis in the first place. He reiterates the Zeus-Zadkiel connection and stresses the power thereof, also adding that the name "Zachiel" of the magic ward warns trespassers to think of the heavens, both Abrahamic and pagan, in a masterful tour of syncretism (I am thinking of Lorca: "Acuérdate de la Virgen, porque te vas a morir"), establishing the status of this land as sacred ground.

He furthermore alludes to Friedel Lenz and her mention of the offering in a basket in which the moon has to shine.

Laut der Anthroposophin Friedel Lenz wurde bei den Eleusinischen Mysterien eine Opfergabe in einem Korb dargebracht, wobei der Mond in den Korb scheinen musste. Sie vermutet, dass in Zachiel der Erzengel Zachariel anklingt, also eine eigentlich gute, aber hier verstümmelte Göttlichkeit. Zachariel (Zadkiel) kommt in apokryphen Schriften vor. Gefallene Engel gibt es sowohl im Alten Testament als auch im Gnostizismus.