Relief carved 8 x 8 Sun man and Moon woman tiles
The skies, for ancient peoples, were a screen on which they projected their most profound speculations and spiritual needs. As the prime source of light and heat, the sun combined with rain to bring forth and sustain life. It's active, creative energy was considered to be a male attribute, and because of its high position in the heavens and the clarity of its light, the sun was reguarded as all-seeing, and was worshipped as a ( mainly masculine) god in a number of civilizations.
The moon is generally seen as feminine, partly owing to the correspondence of the lunar month with the menstrual cycle. Constantly changing from phase to phase and varying its position in the sky, the moon is fickle in character, but at the same time symbolizes resurrection, immortality and the cyclical nature of all things. It stands for the power of the dark, mysterious side of nature, and the moon goddess was almost universally perceived as the weaver of fate and controller of destinies, in the same way she controlled the tides, the weather, rainfall and seasons.
While the sun and moon symbolized the principal gods, the stars embodied those of lesser importance, whose influence on human fate was more remote. The moon as queen of the heavens is often shown haloed with stars to symbolize the obeisance paid to her by the other forces of nature.
