Wow. I found this description of a waning crescent moon on a university website.
“John the Baptist is sometimes connected with the waning moon (Baptisry of Östr Hoby, Sweden, 12c) to explicate his role as the last prophet of the waning Old Testament which is regarded, simultaneously, as a promise of the New Testament. The moon contrasts here the sun as symbol of fulfillment, in other words, the New Testament, more specifically Jesus Christ himself, the sol invictus. The same contrast is used to signify ecclesia and synagoga. The latter is identified with the symbol of the waning moon.”
That oughta make you look at a waning crescent moon a little differently.
But the most interesting part of that description is, as I said, that I found it on a university website. And, as far as I can tell, it’s not a Christian university. So, pretty incredible.
Anyway…
People write about the crescent moon. And they use it as a logo. It has a lot of symbolic meaning for a lot of different people. But it’s technically just the sliver of light you can see on the moon as it goes through a certain monthly phase. Waxing and waning. And half and whole. You get the idea.
But poets, philosophers, and those wacky songwriters, down through the centuries don’t see it from such a technical perspective. No, they’re always trying to transform that sliver of light into something magical. Something mystical. Something almost alive and with its own personality.
And I’ve been guilty of it, too.
About 40 years ago I wrote a little song called “Crescent Moon”, and it was about that same sliver of light. Only that time I was describing a common feeling I shared with someone else, and the moon was a good way to tie it together. After all…no matter where you are in the world, you see the same moon I see. Right?
Well, here are the lyrics about that waning
Crescent Moon
I know how well you love the crescent moon.
I remember things like that,
Yes, I do remember things that make you happy.
For if anyone can say the magic words
To draw a smile on your face…
I hope that you say I can.
I know how much you love to swim in the ocean.
And I can almost see the surf splashing on your back
Making you look so dizzy.
We think so much alike, we surely must be one…
Inseparable as the sun and the dawn.
I know how well you love to plant roses
And watch them grow, and see them bloom,
And see them glow under the crescent moon.
© 1974 Tony Funderburk (July 1)
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