The ascending and descending Moon

Many people think that an ascending Moon is the same as a waxing one when in fact they are

totally different. The Moon can, for example, wax and descend at the same time. The path of

the ascending and descending Moon is similar to the progress of the Sun during the course of

the year. In the northern hemisphere, the Sun rises in the south-east and sets in the southwest

at the winter solstice, toward the end of December. The arc that it describes in the sky is

very short and at noon it is very low on the southern horizon. The closer we are to the summer solstice at the end of June, the nearer to the north-east the Sun rises and the nearer to the north-west it sets. Its arc is much longer at this time and at noon the Sun is very close to its zenith. The sun is therefore ascending during the six months between the winter and summer solstices and descending during the six months between the summer and winter solstices. The Moon also ascends and descends, but over a period of 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes, known as the periodic lunar cycle. In the northern hemisphere, the Moon ascends in the sky and then descends again, while in the southern hemisphere the reverse takes place.

To resume, the ascending and descending moon is linked to the movings the moon has in the sky.