Moon
The moon as an image of femininity, of the lunar cycle, and of the night sky's central body. It carries a long association with female deities (the moon goddesses Selene, Astarte and Isis) and the in-between meaning of its phases: waxing for growth, new life and hope; waning for decline, sadness, even a warning of death. It is kept distinct from Stars (dazzle held at a distance) and Darkness (night as state and limit of sight) by centring on the moon itself, whose phase decides its meaning.
The moon means two things at once: a feminine figure, and time held in the balance. Its meaning depends on whether it is growing or fading, and the song often refuses to say which phase is in view. That refusal is the point - it leaves the question of renewal or decline deliberately open.
Appears in 5 songs
“But I howl like a wolf at the moon”
The moon here operates as both the tarot card (The Moon, a symbol of error, danger, and lurking unseen threats) and the celestial body the speaker howls at in desperation. The wolf howling at the moon marks the speaker's loss of composure and her alignment with wild, uncontrolled grief.
“Crescent moon, coast is clear”
The crescent moon operates as a triple symbol: femininity (associated with female gods like Astarte, Selene, Isis), new birth if waxing (growing toward fullness), or death/sadness if waning (going toward darkness). In the sapphic reading, the crescent moon as a symbol of womanhood 'works for both pairs of lovers.' Uncle Jerry cannot resolve which meaning applies.
“We both did the best we could do underneath the same moon In different galaxies”
The moon is the one thing the two of them still share. It is the familiar term in the image, the object of the film convention about separated people looking up at the same sky, and its job is to establish that they occupy one world a moment before the line takes that back. This moon is a reference point rather than a phase. Nothing about it waxes or wanes, and what it means comes from being common to both of them.
“Half moonshine, a full eclipse”
The moon imagery operates on multiple levels: literal moonshine (alcohol, getting the crowd drunk), the moonlight/celestial-body register (Stevie Nicks's witchy persona, her moon-and-star costumes), and the eclipse as both a spectacle and a 'lights out' moment signaling the end of celebrity's glow.
“Love you to the Moon and to Saturn”
The moon is the familiar endpoint of the childhood idiom ('I love you to the moon and back'), but here it is extended past the moon to Saturn, expanding the child's love beyond the cliché into something immeasurably vast.