Moon Phases Guide
The Moon passes through eight phases every 29.5 days – from the dark New Moon, through the Full Moon, back to the thin Waning Crescent. Each phase carries its own energy for beginnings, action, culmination or release, and shapes the tone of our emotions and dreams.
- New Moon0–1% lit · Intention · Beginnings · Stillness
- Waxing Crescent1–49% lit · Hope · First steps · Momentum
- First QuarterAbout 50% lit · Decision · Action · Challenge
- Waxing Gibbous51–99% lit · Refinement · Patience · Anticipation
- Full Moon100% lit · Culmination · Illumination · Release
- Waning Gibbous99–51% lit · Gratitude · Sharing · Reflection
- Last QuarterAbout 50% lit · Release · Forgiveness · Clearing
- Waning Crescent49–1% lit · Rest · Surrender · Renewal
How to use the Moon library
Start with tonight: the lunar calendar shows the phase, how much of the Moon is lit and the zodiac sign it is passing through for every day of the month, in your own time zone. If you want to know when to look up, the moonrise and moonset page gives today's times and the next week for your location.
Each phase guide explains what is happening in the sky, what research says about the Moon and sleep, and how people have used that part of the cycle – for beginnings at the new moon, effort while it waxes, release after the full moon and rest in the last quarter. The phase you were born under is a popular starting point: the moon phase calculator finds it for any birthday from 1900 to 2100.
For planning, the void-of-course page lists the pauses between the Moon's last aspect and its next sign, and the gardening calendar combines the traditional Moon rhythm with your season and a real local forecast. You can subscribe to every full and new moon in your own calendar from any monthly page.
A quick way to remember the cycle: the Moon is new when it sits close to the Sun and cannot be seen, it grows on the right side (in the Northern Hemisphere) for about two weeks until it is full and rises at sunset, then shrinks on the left side back toward the next new moon. One full round takes 29.5 days. In the Southern Hemisphere the lit side is mirrored, and our calendar flips the view for you automatically.