This artwork probably represents an aspect of the Moon’s appearance. It could be illustrating a lunar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon passes directly behind Earth and into its shadow. Lunar eclipses occur only on the night of a full moon and when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned, with Earth between the other two.

Eclipse might also represent phases of the moon, which cause changes in the shape of the sunlit portion of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar phases gradually and cyclically change over the period of a lunar month, as the orbital positions of the Moon around the Earth and of Earth around the Sun shift.

Rings around the Moon are caused when moonlight passes through thin clouds of ice crystals high in Earth's atmosphere. As moonlight passes through the ice crystals, it is bent in a way similar to light passing through a lens. The shape of the ice crystals causes the moonlight to be focused into a ring.  Folk lore holds that a ring around the moon means precipitation is on its way.