Crescent to the nursery

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Crescent From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search For other uses, see Crescent (disambiguation). An example of a crescent. In this case, part of a small circle has been removed from part of a large circle, leaving a crescent. A crescent shape is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter, also known as the "sickle moon," or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. It is used as the astrological symbol for the Moon and therefore as the alchemical symbol for silver. It was also the emblem of Diana/Artemis, and hence represented virginity. In Roman Catholic Marian veneration, it is associated with the Virgin Mary. From its use as a roof finial in Ottoman-era mosques, it has also become associated with Islam. The crescent was introduced as a chaplain badge for Muslim chaplains in the US military in 1993. Crescent depicted in the shape of a lighted sign Contents 1 Symbolism 2 Shape 3 History 3.1 Early history 3.2 Classical antiquity 3.3 Middle ages 3.4 Early modern and modern 4 Heraldry 5 Contemporary use 6 Other things called "crescent" 7 See also Symbolism Sun and Moon with faces (1493 woodcut) Hierosgamos of Sun and Moon in a 16th-century alchemical manuscript The crescent symbol is primarily used to represent the Moon, not necessarily in a particular lunar phase. When used to represent a waxing or waning lunar phase, "crescent" or "increscent" refers to the waxing first quarter, while the symbol representing the waning final quarter is called "decrescent". The crescent symbol was long used as a symbol of the Moon in astrology and by extension of Silver (as the corresponding metal) in alchemy. The astrological use of the symbol is attested in early Greek papyri containing horoscopes. In the 2nd-century Bianchini's planisphere, the personification of the Moon is shown with a crescent attached to her headdress. Its ancient association with Ishtar/Astarte and Diana is preserved in the Moon (as symbolized by a crescent) representing the female principle (as juxtaposed with the Sun representing the male principle), and especially virginity and female chastity. In Roman Catholic tradition, the crescent entered Marian iconography by the association of Mary with the Woman of the Apocalypse (described with "the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" in Revelation). The most well-known representation of Mary as the Woman of the Apocalypse is the Virgin of Guadalupe. Shape Luno ebena geom 1.png Luno ebena geom 3.png Luno ebena geom 5.png Luno ebena geom 2.png Luno ebena geom 4.png Luno ebena geom 6.png The tapered regions towards the points of intersection of the two arcs are known as the "horns" of the crescent. The classical crescent shape has its horns pointing upward and is often worn as horns when worn as a crown or diadem, e.g., in depictions of the lunar goddess, or in the headdress of Persian kings. The word crescent is derived etymologically from the present participle of the Latin verb crescere "to grow," technically denoting the waxing moon (luna crescens). As seen from the northern hemisphere, the waxing Moon tends to appear with its horns pointing towards the left, and conversely the waning Moon with its horns pointing towards the right; the English word crescent may however refer to the shape regardless of its orientation. The shape of the lit side of a spherical body (most notably the Moon) that appears to be less than half illuminated by the Sun as seen by the viewer appears in a different shape from what is generally termed a crescent in planar geometry: Assuming the terminator lies on a great circle, the crescent Moon will actually appear as the figure bounded by a half-ellipse and a half-circle, with the major axis of the ellipse coinciding with a diameter of the semicircle. Unicode encodes a crescent (increscent) at U+263D (☽) and a decrescent at U+263E (☾). The Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block provides variants with faces: U+1F31B