The Encyclopedia of World Religions

300 S Mormon, Mormonism

giver of rain, and on a deeper, more symbolic level to be an emblem of rebirth and immortality, for in its monthly cycle it seems to die and then return to life. All this, together with its complex path in the sky and its association with the night and its mys teries, make the moon seem mystical and strange. Yet the Moon can also be a steady and reliable governor of the social order and RITUAL patterns, for its phases can be calculated precisely. Indeed, the phases of the Moon were probably the origin of the calendar. Our word month is related to moon . So is an old word for “meetings,” moot , for before artificial lighting tribal meetings and religious fes tivals would often be held at night, at the time of the full moon. Sometimes the waxing moon was considered benign, pouring out increased blessing, and the waning moon dangerous. The full moon was often a symbol of full divine inpouring. In B UDDHISM it is a sign of NIRVANA and full enlighten ment, and the B UDDHA was said to have attained enlightenment on the night of the full moon. (But too much full moon can also be unsettling, making one a “lunatic” or “moon person.” Many religious celebrations are still set by the moon. I SLAM follows a lunar calendar, and the Jewish P ASSOVER and Christian E ASTER are set by the moon; they come after the paschal full moon, which is the first full moon after the spring equi nox on the 21st of March. Traditional H INDUISM , Buddhism, and S HINTO have major services set by the new and full moon. Though human beings have now set foot on the physical moon and know it to be a dead, rocky sphere, the spiritual moon continues to exercise its enigmatic influence on the religious world. See also S UN AND RELIGION , THE .

significance and an identification with divine beings. But the significance of the two has been different. The Sun has tended to be steady, jovial, life-giving, but the moon is more mysterious in tone. The moon deity can be either a god or GODDESS , usually the opposite gender from what ever the sun is in that mythology, the Greek and Roman, it is female, the Greek Artemis and Roman Diana ( see MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY ). She is a strong, independent woman, a hunter and wanderer in wild places, but the protector of all her sex. Male or female, the moon is divine ruler of women and the female cycle, and is associated with water and the sea. The Moon is often thought to be the divine

Mormon, Mormonism See L ATTER - DAY S AINTS .

Moses ( c. 1300 B . C . E .) a central figure in the Hebrew B IBLE (Old Testament) He led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and received G OD ’s instructions on Mount Sinai, also called Mount Horeb.

This is an abbreviated example of artistically re-created tablets that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. (Getty Images)