The moon phases in order are new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter (also called last quarter) and waning crescent, after which the cycle starts again with the next new moon. One complete round takes about 29.5 days, so the Moon spends roughly three and a half to four days in each of the eight phases. In the first half of the cycle the lit part grows, which is called waxing; in the second half it shrinks, which is called waning.
The eight moon phases at a glance
Here's the full sequence, with what you'll see from the Northern Hemisphere and when the Moon is up. The times are rough: they shift with the season and your latitude.
| # | Phase | What you see (Northern Hemisphere) | Days after new moon | Rises and sets, roughly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New moon | Nothing. The Moon is near the Sun and its dark side faces us | 0 | Rises and sets with the Sun |
| 2 | Waxing crescent | A thin sliver, lit on the right, low in the west after sunset | 1 to 6 | Rises mid-morning, sets mid-evening |
| 3 | First quarter | The right half lit | about 7 | Rises around noon, sets around midnight |
| 4 | Waxing gibbous | More than half lit, still growing on the right | 8 to 14 | Rises mid-afternoon, sets before dawn |
| 5 | Full moon | The whole face lit | about 15 | Rises around sunset, sets around sunrise |
| 6 | Waning gibbous | More than half lit, shrinking from the right | 16 to 21 | Rises mid-evening, sets mid-morning |
| 7 | Third quarter | The left half lit | about 22 | Rises around midnight, sets around noon |
| 8 | Waning crescent | A thin sliver, lit on the left, low in the east before dawn | 23 to 29 | Rises before dawn, sets mid-afternoon |
Four of these, the new moon, first quarter, full moon and third quarter, are technically single moments, calculated to the minute in astronomical tables such as the U.S. Naval Observatory's. The other four are the stretches between them. In everyday use, people say "it's a full moon" for a night or two either side of the exact instant, and that's fine.
To see which phase the Moon is in right now, and how much of it is lit, check our moon phase today page.
Why "quarter" means half a moon
The names confuse almost everyone at first, so it's worth decoding them:
- Waxing means growing, an old English word you still hear in "waxing and waning." The waxing phases run from new moon to full.
- Waning means shrinking. The waning phases run from full back to new.
- Crescent describes a lit part smaller than half: a curved sliver.
- Gibbous describes a lit part larger than half but not full. It comes from the Latin for "hump," for the bulging shape. There's more on it in what is a gibbous moon.
- Quarter refers to the timing, not the shape. At first quarter the Moon is a quarter of the way through its cycle, and at third quarter it's three-quarters through. In both cases you see a half-lit disc, which is why people also call them half moons.
How to remember the order
The simplest trick for the Northern Hemisphere is the word DOC. A Moon shaped like the curve of a capital D, lit on the right, is growing toward full. O is the full moon. A Moon shaped like a C, lit on the left, is shrinking toward new. Put another way: in the north, the light grows from the right and leaves from the right.
A second check is the clock. An evening Moon you see soon after sunset is always in its waxing half, because a waxing Moon trails the Sun across the sky and is still up after the Sun sets. A Moon that's high in the morning, after sunrise, is in its waning half. Our guide to waxing vs waning moons has more ways to tell them apart.
South of the equator, everything is mirrored. The same waxing crescent is lit on the left, and the mnemonic flips. Near the equator, crescents lie almost flat, like a bowl or a smile, and DOC doesn't help much at all. The order of the phases is the same everywhere on Earth; only the orientation changes.
What drives the sequence
The order comes from the Moon's orbit. The Moon travels eastward around Earth, and the Sun always lights the half of it facing the Sun. At new moon, the Moon sits roughly between Earth and the Sun, so its lit side faces away from us. Each day it moves about twelve or thirteen degrees farther east along its orbit, so we see a little more of its sunlit half, and it rises about fifty minutes later than the day before. By full moon it's on the far side of Earth from the Sun, fully lit from our point of view, and then the process runs in reverse.
The 29.5-day cycle is a little longer than the 27.3 days the Moon takes to orbit Earth, because Earth is also moving around the Sun and the Moon has to travel a bit extra to line up with the Sun again. We explain the geometry, and why it doesn't produce an eclipse every month, in the Moon's phases explained.
What each phase means in moon practice
Astrologers and people who keep moon rituals give each phase a traditional theme, based on the growing and shrinking light. These are reflective customs, not astronomy, and they work best as a loose rhythm for the month:
- New moon: beginnings. A time to choose one intention or plan.
- Waxing crescent: first steps. Small, practical action on whatever you chose.
- First quarter: decisions. The first obstacle usually shows up here; you adjust or push on.
- Waxing gibbous: refining. Editing, practicing, improving before the result.
- Full moon: culmination. Taking stock of what's come to light, and gratitude.
- Waning gibbous: sharing. Passing on what you learned, thanking people.
- Third quarter: release. Clearing out what isn't working.
- Waning crescent: rest. Recovering before the next cycle.
If you'd like something to do at the two big turning points, our new moon ritual and full moon ritual each take about ten minutes. Astrologers also read the phase you were born under as part of a birth chart, which is covered in what moon phase were you born under. In the tarot, the Moon itself is linked with The High Priestess, the card of intuition and the hidden half of things.
Questions readers ask
How long does each moon phase last?
On average a little over three and a half days, since the full cycle of about 29.5 days is split into eight phases. In practice the four main phases are single moments, and the crescent and gibbous phases between them each last about a week.
Is the third quarter the same as the last quarter?
Yes. "Third quarter" and "last quarter" are two names for the same phase, when the Moon is three-quarters of the way through its cycle and the left half is lit as seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
What is the order of the moon phases in the Southern Hemisphere?
Exactly the same order: new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent. What changes is the view. In the south, the waxing Moon is lit on the left and the waning Moon on the right.
Which moon phase is best for starting something new?
By tradition, the new moon and the waxing phases that follow are linked with beginnings and growth, and the waning phases with finishing and letting go. That's a custom rather than a rule, and the best time to start something worthwhile is usually when you're ready.
