The ancient festivals of Yule and Eostra continued under another guise and polytheism still held its sway. The devil became one with the gloomy and terrible in Nature, with the malignant elves and dwarfs. Even with the warfare between the beneficent powers of sun and the fertility of Nature and the malignant powers of winter, the devil became associated. Nor did men cease to believe in the Wyrd, that dark, ultimate fate goddess who, though obscure, lies at the back of all Saxon belief. It was in vain that the Church preached against superstitions. Egbert, Archbishop of York, in his Penitential, strictly forbade the gathering of herbs with incantations and enjoined the use of Christian rites, but it is probable that even when these manuscripts were written, the majority at least of the common folk in these islands, though nominally Christian, had not deserted their ancient ways of thought.[35] When the Saxon peasant went to gather his healing herbs he may have used Christian prayers[36] and ceremonies, but he did not forget the goddess of the dawn. It is noteworthy how frequently we find the injunction that the herbs must be picked at sunrise or when day and night divide, how often stress is laid upon looking towards the east, and turning "as the sun goeth from east to south and west." In many there is the instruction that the herb is to be gathered "without use of iron" or "with gold and with hart's horn" (emblems of the sun's rays). It is curious how little there is of moon lore. In some cases the herbs are to be gathered in silence, in others the man who gathers them is not to look behind him--a prohibition which occurs frequently in ancient superstitions. The ceremonies are all mysterious and suggestive, but behind them always lies the ancient ineradicable worship of Nature. To what dim past does that cry, "Erce, Erce, Erce, Mother of Earth" carry us? "Erce, Erce, Erce, Mother of Earth! May the All-Wielder, Ever Lord grant thee Acres a-waxing, upwards a-growing Pregnant [with corn] and plenteous in strength; Hosts of [grain] shafts and of glittering plants! Of broad barley the blossoms And of white wheat ears waxing, Of the whole earth the harvest! Let be guarded the grain against all the ills That are sown o'er the land by the sorcery men, Nor let cunning women change it nor a crafty man." And that other ancient verse:-- "Hail be thou, Earth, Mother of men! In the lap of the God be thou a-growing! Be filled with fodder for fare-need of men!"