"AND THE MOON,
FOR WHICH WE HAVE DETERMINED PHASES
[WHICH IT MUST TRAVERSE]
TILL IT BECOMES LIKE AN OLD DATE-STALK
DRIED UP AND CURVED."

THE PHASES OF THE MOON

The movement of the moon around the earth gives it different phases. As it moves, its shape changes gradually from a crescent to a full moon, and it wanes for the remainder of its course until it appears at the end of the month curved and pale like an old date-stalk from a palm tree..