These strings of beads copy the lunar calendar in the sky, for ease-of-use when the Moon is not visible. Their ancient wisdom was stamped out by the Julian and Gregorian calendars, where traditionalists using the lunar calendar were ridiculed as ‘lunatics’.
Ideally, your lunatic beads should hang on 1, 2 or 4 hooks, somewhere the Moon might be seen- perhaps beside a door or window. If on a southern wall, beads are moved from east to west.
Move one bead on the long string each night. When moving a New Moon bead, also move one bead on the short string to show the new lunar month.
Yule is a special time of midwinter when the calendar resets. As the Sky Disk nears the top, an ancient procedure, ending with a party, decides if the upcoming year gets an extra lunar leap-month. If so, the Hey Diddle Diddle bead shows where it will be inserted.