The Waxing and Waning of the Moon

“Nothing that is can pause or stay The moon will wax, the moon will wane, The mist and cloud will turn to rain, The rain to mist and cloud again, Tomorrow be today.”-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Waxing and waning are terms that astrologers use to describe the brightness of the Moon. The waxing Moon begins on the New Moon...the Moon is becoming brighter, stronger and more pronounced.  We say that the rising of the waxing Moon inaugurates a new cycle, a new beginning so to speak.  It sets the pace for the month ahead.  Basically, the waxing moon is for increase, growth, building, and gain.Therefore anything you wish to increase should be blessed or started at this time.  To our ancestors, this was a time of optimism and hope. Magickally, the waxing moon allows us to increase something or draw in positive energies.  

O fair full moon! that did'st embay the dark
With slender horns, when first my vow was made;
1 saw thee grow, half-trustful, half-afraid,
But still prest onward to my goal and mark;
Hard task was mine! the true prayer to be prayed—
The bidding back of all my coward fears—
The ointment to be bought, the homage paid—

--Charles Tennyson Turner--

The waning Moon begins on approximately the third day of the Full Moon and ends on the New Moon and is diminishing from full to dark.   The Waning Moon brings about a decrease of energy. This is more of a resting and reflection period. It signals a time to practice releasing and letting go.
This is a good time to end anything that isn't working, which allows something new to enter your life and for evaluating and completing work begun in the first half of the cycle.  Magickally, the vibrations of the waning moon allows us to let go of negative energy and cleanse our souls. 

And like a dying lady, lean and pale,
Who totters forth, wrapt in a gauzy veil,
Out of her chamber, led by the insane
And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,
The moon arose up in the murky East, 

A white and shapeless mass.

--Percy Blythe Shelley--

Simply put, the cycles of the Moon asks us what we are we calling into our lives, and what are we letting go of.  The beauty in the waxing and waning Moon is a reminder to all of us that change and constancy are something we can all depend on.

 O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the east:
Shine, be increased;
O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the west:
Wane, be at rest.

--Christina Rosetti--