The History Of The Meaningful Moon

In the vast history of mankind, there are perhaps two symbols that have been seen by more people and have been ascribed more meaning than perhaps any other. Both of these are connected to each other and are often represented in meaningful pieces of jewellery.

The first is the Sun, quite clearly a symbol of light, warmth and light given that without the sun nothing and nobody on this planet would possibly exist. This is something that has been intuited for as long as life has existed.

The other, enigmatic, mysterious and also exceptionally important, is the Moon, the celestial body that orbits the earth and reflects the light of the sun. 

Because it had the unusual trait of being the brightest object in the sky at night, it has from the start of human existence been a source of fascination and wonder, and every civilisation has garnered some special significance from it in one way or another.

Here are some of the earliest known depictions of the moon and how their significance carries over into the modern lunar symbols we cherish today, even after humanity has unveiled many of its secrets.

The Secret Of The Crescent

Given that there are multiple lunar phases, one of the most interesting aspects of the history of the moon is that from the very start of writing and art depicting it, the crescent and the moon have been interconnected, as opposed to the quarter or the gibbous.

Arguably the very earliest known depiction of the moon as a crescent shape was during the Akkadian Empire era of the early civilisation of Mesopotamia.

In a cylinder seal dated to around 2300 BCE, the deity Suen/Nanna was depicted as a crescent with each of its points aimed at the sky, as would have been visible to the people of Mesopotamia at the time. 

However, unlike other moon gods and goddesses, often he is only depicted as the moon and both the god and the celestial body are treated as one and the same. Because of the mystery of the moon and night in general, Suen was associated with healing and other supernatural properties.

In Ancient Egypt, around the same time, a downward crescent was also used to depict the moon and its associated deity Iah, although Egypt had multiple gods that would all be represented by the moon such as Khonshu.

Most famously, the Ancient Greek goddess Selene is where a lot of the concepts associated with the moon, such as being depicted with a crescent horn, the idea of the moon being connected to cycles in the body and the Roman name for Selene, Luna, is still often used today.

As well as this, much as gold is often related to the sun, silver is typically the metal of the moon, with its cold, mysterious light providing fascination and beauty.

Because it is the brightest light at night, except during a new moon or an eclipse, it still captivates people to this day as a beacon of light shining down during particularly dark times, and phases of the moon are still fascinating to people interested in crystals and symbols.