WANING GIBBOUS (FUTURE)

"There followed the period of nothing-to-do-but-wait."

—Ivan Doig, This House of Sky (1980)

FULL (CONTINUOUS)

"A lovely beach, punctuated at low tide."

—Jack Jackson, Trekking Atlas of the World (2006)

FULL

The semicolon's illuminated side is facing the reader. The semicolon appears to be completely illuminated by the reading lamp. The lighted side of the semicolon faces the reader, still and proud, like a young goddess. This means that the reader, reading lamp, and semicolon are nearly in a straight line, with the reader in the middle. The semicolon that we see is very bright from the reading lamp reflecting off it.

FULL (PROGRESSIVE)

"Semicolon, or semi-lunar in shape."

—Thomas Wright Moir Cameron, The Parasites of Man in Temperate Climates (1960)

FULL (FUTURE)

"The craters of the moon. Semicolon."

—W. W. Pasko, American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking (1894)

WAXING GIBBOUS (PRESENT PERFECT)

"The phases, the semicolon."

—Byung Chan Eu, Generalized Thermodynamics (2002)

WAXING GIBBOUS

The semicolon appears to be more than one-half but not fully illuminated by the reading lamp. The fraction of the semicolon's dot that is illuminated is increasing, like a visibly waxing moon. This semicolon appears before the Full Semicolon and after the First Quarter Semicolon. The amount of the semicolon that we can see will grow larger and larger every day, "like a comet to the eye of the astronomer."

WAXING GIBBOUS (PROGRESSIVE)

"The semicolon corresponds to a rising."

—Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963)

WAXING GIBBOUS (FUTURE)

"Consequently, as the semicolon suggests, their stars are recreated from numbers."

—Morse Peckman, Word, Meaning, Poem (1961)

FIRST QUARTER (CONTINUOUS)

"Punctuated by many pockmarks and craters."

—Tammy Plotner, The Night Sky Companion (2007)

FIRST QUARTER

One-half of the semicolon appears to be illuminated by the reading lamp. The fraction of the semicolon's dot that is illuminated is increasing. The right half of the semicolon appears lighted and the left side appears dark and cryptic. During the time between the New Semicolon and the First Quarter Semicolon, the part of the semicolon that appears lighted gets larger and larger every day, like an island rising from the depths. It will continue to grow until the Full Semicolon.

FIRST QUARTER (PROGRESSIVE)

"A semicolon of twinkling starlight against a uniform background glow."

—Stephen James O'Meara, Steve O'Meara's Herschel 400 Observing Guide (2007)

FIRST QUARTER (FUTURE)

"The day is again punctuated."

—Tony Banham, Not the Slightest Chance (2003)

WAXING CRESCENT (PRESENT PERFECT)

"semicolon [;], star [*]"

—Roget's International Thesaurus (1962)

WAXING CRESCENT

The semicolon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by the reading lamp. The fraction of the semicolon's dot that is illuminated is increasing like a snowball that grows as it rolls. This semicolon appears before the First Quarter Semicolon and after the New Semicolon. The crescent will grow larger and larger every day, until the semicolon looks like the First Quarter Semicolon.

WAXING CRESCENT (PROGRESSIVE)

"How long can this punctuated phase be maintained?"

—Aat Brakel, People and Organizations Interacting

WAXING CRESCENT (FUTURE)

"A tiny rounding crescent turns into a semicolon."

—Eva Müller-Zettelmann, Theory Into Poetry (2005)

NEW

The semicolon's inky side is facing the reader. The semicolon is not visible, except during thick clouds of ignorance which eclipse literature. The illuminated side of the semicolon faces away from the reader, like a moody child. This means that the reading lamp, reader, and semicolon are almost in a straight line, with the semicolon in between the reading lamp and the reader. The semicolon that we see looks very dark, like holes in the face of a mask.