The waning moon is entering its last quarter today, October 30th. The crescent moon is quite an important symbol in Mallorcan life by way of Mallorcan heraldry. Over the centuries, coats of arms and other armorial bearings have frequently made use of the crescent moon. Ramon Llull may have been the first nobleman to utilise the half moon shape in his crest (one crescent) here on this island, but other Mallorcan families of nobility followed suite, such as the Verí family (three crescents), the Berga family (five crescents, see photo), the Zaforteza family (nine crescents), the Burgues family (twelve crescents) and many others more. Before the crescent moon was used in Mallorcan family coats of arms, it had been used in heraldry of the kingdom of Aragón.

A very nice book on heraldry, family crests and matters of nobility in Mallorca has been re-published by La Foradada (Nobiliario Mallorquín, Joaquin María Bover, Castellano only). If you are more into the Internet than books, you might want to consult this website (Castellano only).

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: October 14th, 2010. The time was 13:1:27.