The Moon: phases, signs and calendars
The Moon changes sign every two days or so and runs through its eight phases in about 29.5 days. This page explains what astrologers read into each; the monthly calendars list the exact times.
The next four phases
Times in Eastern Time (ET)
Void of course: the rule this site uses
Void of course, traditional rule: from the Moon's last exact major aspect (conjunction, sextile, square, trine or opposition) to the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn, until it enters the next sign. The modern rule also counts Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, so its voids can begin later and run shorter.
Put these dates in your calendar: Moon phases
The feed carries the four principal phases, each with its sign and exact time, from a month back to a year ahead. Sign changes and void-of-course times are on the monthly calendars only.
Your calendar keeps it up to date. No account, no email.
The interpretations on this page were drafted with software assistance and checked against our voice guidelines by an automated reviewer.
The eight phases
New Moon
At the new Moon, the Moon sits between Earth and Sun — the angle between them near 0° — so its lit side faces away and nothing is visible. In symbolic terms this dark point opens the roughly 29.5-day cycle, the span a phase takes to return. You might treat it as a prompt: what's still forming in you, unproven, that you'd like to name before anyone else sees it?
Waxing crescent
The waxing crescent sits about 45° ahead of the Sun — a phase is just that Sun–Moon angle seen from Earth — a thin, growing sliver visible after sunset, early in a cycle of roughly 29.5 days. The symbolism it carries is intention turning into tentative action. Worth considering: what you began at the new Moon, and what small next step it actually needs from you now.
First quarter
At first quarter, the Sun and Moon sit 90° apart — half the disc lit and growing, high in the evening sky. In the symbolic language of astrology, this point in the roughly 29.5-day cycle carries friction: what you intended earlier meets what it actually asks of you. A useful question is which part of a plan needs adjusting, and which part you'd rather hold steady.
Waxing gibbous
The waxing gibbous Moon sits 135° from the Sun, give or take 22.5° — a phase being just that angle between them as seen from Earth — more than half lit and still filling. In a cycle of about 29.5 days, this is the stretch before completion, and the symbolism points to refinement: something you began is visible, not finished. Worth noticing what it needs, and what you added out of habit.
Full Moon
At the full Moon, the Moon stands opposite the Sun — 180° apart, the whole face lit, rising around sunset. Roughly halfway through the 29.5-day cycle, this is the symbolic peak of visibility: what you began is now showing its shape. It's a good moment to notice what has come into focus since the new Moon, and what you want to do with seeing it.
Waning gibbous
The waning gibbous Moon sits about 225° from the Sun — more than half lit and shrinking, rising after dark. In a roughly 29.5-day cycle, it marks the turn from doing toward digesting. Astrologers associate it with reflection, and you might try that on: name one thing the full Moon showed you that's worth keeping, and one worth setting down.
Last quarter
At the last quarter Moon, the Sun and Moon sit 270° apart — half the disc lit and shrinking, visible in the morning sky. Roughly three weeks into a 29.5-day cycle, the symbolism here points toward release: a stretch of the arc for editing rather than starting. What have you learned since the new Moon, and what could you set down without regret?
Waning crescent
The waning crescent sits about 315° from the Sun — a thin, shrinking sliver rising before dawn, closing a cycle that takes roughly 29.5 days. Astrology reads that angle as the pause after effort: less building, more releasing. You might use it to notice what you've been carrying out of habit, and what you'd rather set down before the next month begins.
The Moon in each sign
The Moon in Aries
With the Moon in Aries — a fire sign of the cardinal kind, the group that initiates rather than sustains, and traditionally ruled by Mars — astrologers read a mood that moves first and reflects later. You might notice impatience with slow conversations, or a clean flash of knowing what you want. The Moon clears the sign in under three days: try it on, see what it catches.
The Moon in Taurus
With the Moon in Taurus — a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus, and the sign of the Moon's exaltation, where astrologers say it works unusually well — attention slows into the body: food, texture, familiar routines, what already feels steady. The transit runs a couple of days, and it's the same sky for all of us. A question to sit with: what would be enough right now?
The Moon in Gemini
With the Moon in Gemini — an air sign of words and ideas, and a mutable one, meaning built to change course — traditionally ruled by Mercury, your attention may prefer breadth to depth: tabs open, a question half-asked, a wish to talk something through before you feel it fully. The Moon spends a little over two days per sign, so this weather is shared. Does naming the restlessness ease it?
The Moon in Cancer
With the Moon in Cancer — the sign it rules, meaning the placement where it's considered most at home — feeling tends to arrive amplified rather than filtered. For the short stretch before the Moon moves on, memory, family, and the pull toward familiar comforts sit closer to the surface. Notice what your attention keeps returning to, and what tending it might look like.
The Moon in Leo
With the Moon in Leo — a fixed fire sign, steady in its burn, traditionally ruled by the Sun — astrologers link these two days or so with wanting to be seen doing something you care about. Warmth may come easily, and the sting sharper when it isn't returned. A question you might sit with: what would you make if applause weren't the point? This transit belongs to everybody at once.
The Moon in Virgo
With the Moon in Virgo — an earth sign in its mutable, adaptable mode, traditionally ruled by Mercury — attention narrows to the fixable: the inbox, the counter, the ache you've been ignoring. In this symbolic language, the Moon's roughly monthly pass here reads as a mood that soothes itself by tidying and refining. Notice whether care shows up today as usefulness rather than words.
The Moon in Libra
With the Moon in Libra — a cardinal air sign, meaning initiating and sociable, traditionally ruled by Venus — your attention may drift toward the space between people: who's comfortable, what's fair, what stays unsaid. Read it as a mood that weighs and balances. The Moon spends a little over two days per sign, and it sits over every chart at once — a description to test, not a ruling.
The Moon in Scorpio
With the Moon in Scorpio — a fixed water sign, steady and slow to shift, traditionally ruled by Mars — attention goes deep rather than wide: fewer conversations, more honest ones. Astrologers call the Moon here in fall, meaning less at ease in this sign, which can read as guardedness. A useful question: what are you protecting? It clears the sign in a little over two days.
The Moon in Sagittarius
While the Moon is in Sagittarius, a mutable fire sign traditionally ruled by Jupiter, astrologers link the mood to a restlessness for the wider view — the honest answer, the trip you haven't planned yet. Notice where your attention keeps reaching past what's in front of you. The Moon spends a little over two days per sign, so this mood is monthly and shared by everyone.
The Moon in Capricorn
With the Moon in Capricorn, a cardinal earth sign ruled by Saturn, feelings often want structure before comfort. Astrologers call the Moon in detriment here — in the sign least suited to its nature — so tenderness may arrive as competence instead. Notice what you quietly handle rather than name. The Moon takes a little over two days to cross the sign, and everyone is under it with you.
The Moon in Aquarius
With the Moon in Aquarius — a fixed air sign, steady in mode, mental in element — your feelings may arrive translated into ideas, easier to explain than to sit inside. Astrologers tie the Moon's two-day passage here to wanting perspective: you care from a slight, clarifying distance. If warmth feels cooler, it isn't absent, just thinking — a monthly condition everyone shares.
The Moon in Pisces
While the Moon is in Pisces — a mutable water sign, so adaptable and feeling-led — attention softens at the edges. Astrologers link these couple of days to moods that blur into music, sleep, other people's feelings. See what it turns up: where do your boundaries feel porous, and what does that tell you about what you need? The same sky is overhead for all of us.
New and full Moons in each sign
New Moon in Aries
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon share the same longitude in Aries, a cardinal fire sign ruled by Mars, and the Moon goes dark as a roughly 29.5-day cycle begins. In astrology's symbolism, that blank slate takes on Aries' appetite for initiative. You might ask what you'd begin if you didn't wait to feel ready, and what wants your nerve.
Full Moon in Aries
At this full Moon the Moon is in Aries — a cardinal fire sign traditionally ruled by Mars — opposite the Sun in Libra, fully lit and rising around sunset. Astrologers read that opposition as a tension between what you plainly want and your care for keeping things pleasant. You might ask where agreeableness has quietly outrun honesty.
New Moon in Taurus
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon share the same degree of Taurus, a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus, and the Moon goes dark as a roughly 29.5-day cycle begins. Astrologers read Taurus as steadiness, comfort, and what you actually value. You might ask what you want to build slowly, and what already feels like enough.
Full Moon in Taurus
At this full Moon the Moon sits in Taurus, opposite the Sun in Scorpio, its whole face lit and rising around sunset. Taurus is a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus, so astrologers read this one as a pull between what steadies you and what asks to be felt deeply. You might ask what enough actually looks like.
New Moon in Gemini
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon sit at the same point in Gemini, a mutable air sign ruled by Mercury, and the Moon goes dark as a roughly 29.5-day cycle begins. Astrologers link Gemini to curiosity, talking, and gathering information. You might ask what question you want to start carrying, and who you'd like to think out loud with.
Full Moon in Gemini
At this full Moon the Moon sits opposite the Sun — Moon in Gemini, a mutable air sign ruled by Mercury, Sun in Sagittarius — fully lit and rising near sunset. Astrologers read that opposition as a tension between the big picture and the small facts. You might notice which details you've been collecting, and which story they actually support.
New Moon in Cancer
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon sit at the same longitude in Cancer, a cardinal water sign — initiating, feeling-led — that the Moon itself rules, and the dark Moon is invisible to you. In symbolic terms, that's a beginning you can't see yet. You might ask what makes you feel at home, who you tend, and what you'd like the next cycle of roughly 29.5 days to shelter.
Full Moon in Cancer
At this full Moon the Moon sits in Cancer, a cardinal water sign it also rules, exactly opposite the Sun in Capricorn — fully lit, rising around sunset. Astrologers read that opposition as a tension you can feel: what you need for comfort and belonging on one side, what you owe your work and obligations on the other. Worth asking which has been going unfed.
New Moon in Leo
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon sit at the same longitude in Leo, a fixed fire sign ruled by the Sun, and the Moon goes dark as a roughly 29.5-day cycle begins. Astrologers read Leo as warmth, play, and the wish to be seen. You might ask what you'd make if no one were watching, and what you'd want witnessed.
Full Moon in Leo
At this full Moon the Moon sits opposite the Sun — fully lit, rising around sunset — with the Moon in Leo, a fixed fire sign ruled by the Sun, and the Sun in Aquarius. Astrologers read that axis as a pull between wanting to be seen as yourself and belonging to the group. You might ask where your warmth goes unacknowledged, and what you'd risk showing.
New Moon in Virgo
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon share the same longitude in Virgo, a mutable earth sign traditionally ruled by Mercury, and the Moon goes unseen as a cycle of about 29.5 days begins. Astrologers link Virgo with careful attention and useful work, so you might ask what small, repeatable change would genuinely help — and let the answer stay modest.
Full Moon in Virgo
At this full Moon the Moon in Virgo stands opposite the Sun in Pisces, fully lit and rising near sunset. Virgo, a mutable earth sign ruled by Mercury, thinks in details, repair, and usefulness. Astrologers read this opposition as a pull between tending the practical and letting things stay unfinished. You might ask where sorting helps you, and where it's a way of not feeling.
New Moon in Libra
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon sit at the same longitude in Libra, a cardinal air sign ruled by Venus, and the Moon goes dark as a roughly 29.5-day cycle begins. Astrologers link Libra to fairness, and to the pull between your needs and someone else's. You might ask where you've been keeping the peace at your own expense.
Full Moon in Libra
At this full Moon the Moon is in Libra, a cardinal air sign ruled by Venus, exactly opposite the Sun in Aries — fully lit, rising near sunset. Astrologers read that 180° opposition as the pull between what you want outright and what you want with someone. A prompt, if it fits: notice where fairness has quietly become self-erasure.
New Moon in Scorpio
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon share the same degree of Scorpio, a fixed water sign ruled by Mars in older systems and Pluto in modern ones. The Moon's lit side faces away, so nothing shows yet. Astrologers read that dark start as a place for honesty about what you want and what you've been guarding. A 29.5-day cycle begins; you choose what it holds.
Full Moon in Scorpio
At this full Moon the Moon sits in Scorpio, opposite the Sun in Taurus — the whole face lit, rising around sunset. Astrologers read Scorpio, a fixed water sign ruled by Mars and, in modern practice, Pluto, as the place where feeling runs deep. You might notice what you've held quietly, and what the Taurus side of you wants to keep steady.
New Moon in Sagittarius
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon sit at the same longitude in Sagittarius, a mutable fire sign ruled by Jupiter, and the Moon's lit side faces away, so nothing shows. Astrologers read that dark start as room to name a direction before it's provable. What belief or horizon are you ready to test? A roughly 29.5-day cycle begins here.
Full Moon in Sagittarius
At this full Moon the Moon sits in Sagittarius, opposite the Sun in Gemini — fully lit, rising around sunset. Astrologers read that opposition as a pull between gathering details and wanting the larger meaning. Sagittarius, a mutable fire sign traditionally ruled by Jupiter, leans toward the wide view. Which of your convictions could stand some honest airing?
New Moon in Capricorn
At this new Moon, Sun and Moon sit at the same point in Capricorn, a cardinal earth sign ruled by Saturn, and the Moon goes dark as a roughly 29.5-day cycle begins. In symbolic terms that's a quiet starting line for ambition: what structure would you build if no one were watching? Name one thing worth your patience.
Full Moon in Capricorn
At this full Moon the Moon sits in Capricorn, opposite the Sun in Cancer — fully lit, rising around sunset. Astrologers link Capricorn, a cardinal earth sign ruled by Saturn, to structure, ambition and responsibility. That opposition can surface a familiar pull between what you owe your work and what you owe your home. Worth noticing which side you've been feeding.
New Moon in Aquarius
At this new Moon, Sun and Moon sit at the same longitude in Aquarius, a fixed air sign ruled by Saturn and modern Uranus, and the Moon's lit side faces away, so nothing shows. Astrologers read that dark start as a place to set intentions. You might ask what group you belong to, what you'd rather invent than inherit, and which distance is honest.
Full Moon in Aquarius
At this full Moon the Moon sits in Aquarius, opposite the Sun in Leo — fully lit, rising around sunset. Astrologers read that opposition as a tension you can feel: your need to be seen as yourself against your place in the group. Aquarius, a fixed air sign ruled by Saturn and Uranus, asks what you'd keep and what you'd change.
New Moon in Pisces
At this new Moon, the Sun and Moon share the same degree of Pisces, a mutable water sign ruled by Jupiter in traditional astrology and Neptune in modern. The Moon's lit side faces away, so nothing shows yet. Astrologers read that darkness as room for something unformed: what are you ready to begin before you can describe it clearly?
Full Moon in Pisces
At this full Moon the Moon sits in Pisces, opposite the Sun in Virgo — fully lit, rising around sunset. Astrologers read that opposition as a tension between Virgo's sorting and fixing and Pisces' wide, permeable feeling. You might notice where tidiness stops helping, and what grief, art, or rest has been waiting. Mutable water forgives loose ends; see what that's worth to you.
Monthly Moon calendars
How these times are computed
Every time here comes from our own engine, built on astronomy-engine, an open-source ephemeris, and checked against independent references: the U.S. Naval Observatory's Moon phases, NASA's eclipse canon and a second, independent ephemeris. The page is written in Eastern Time (ET); your browser shows the times in the zone you pick.
Astrology is a symbolic language, not a science: the positions are exact, and what they mean is interpretation.