Though I attach no magic to the performance, the Gibbous moon marked the commencement of the alternate phase of the upcoming American presidential election as Joe Biden stood down from the race.
gibbous adjective (of the moon) having the observable illuminated part greater than a semicircle and less than a circle. • convex or protuberant: gibbous eyes
But the passage of the moon is known by both quarters and phases; that is, the transitions are both temporal and observable.
The term waxing is used for an intermediate phase when the Moon’s apparent shape is thickening, from new to a full moon; and waning when the shape is thinning.
wax (v.)
“grow bigger or greater,” Old English weaxan “to increase, grow”, from Proto-Germanic *wahsan (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German wahsan, Old Norse vaxa, Old Frisian waxa, Dutch wassen, German wachsen, Gothic wahsjan “to grow, increase”
wane (v.)
“make or become smaller gradually, diminish, decline, fade,” from Proto-Germanic *wanōnan (source also of Old Saxon wanon, Old Norse vana, Old Frisian wania, Middle Dutch waenen, Old High German wanon “to wane, to grow less”
The astronomic event of the brilliant full moon is a convenient metaphor for the hopes of many Americans to dissolve themselves from the uphill battle against aging and immobility in favour of what should be a healthy sign of progress and vigour. While it is universally acknowledged that the inner circle of the Democratic Party has yet to clarify its choice of replacement candidate, there is a strong sense that Kamala Harris will succeed to the task. This significantly is its own prominence of femininity, an ambition which was strangely sidelined by Hilary Clinton following Trump’s appearance on the national scene and subsequent daily Howdy Doody show that he has since perpetuated to the commercial delight of popular media and news outlets.
Howdy Doody is an American children’s television program (with circus and Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell and E. Roger Muir. It was broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States from December 27, 1947, until September 24, 1960. It was a pioneer of children’s programming and set the pattern for many similar shows.
But the time has come for serious business. The intermingled status of quarters and phases has wrought renewed visibility with pointed removal and swelling from darkness. Given Trump’s repeated message of doom and gloom and his uncommonly transparent inability to achieve any of his nostalgic promises, the doors have suddenly opened wide for elemental considerations of education, health care, infrastructure and economy. Trump will naturally drift into the wings of the stage not only because of his own political inadequacy but sadly also because of the shallowness of the Republican Party which, in the hands of the daemonic ingenues such as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz whose collective greatest achievement is being called a conspiracy theorist, has declined to the pretence and deceit of representing the poisonously wary “deplorables” predicted years ago. While it is not unacceptable to fear for one’s employment and legacy, it is an indisputable error to hand the government of the nation to those who are aroused only by indefinable isolation and regress.