Moon Phases

The phases of the Moon (new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, and the waning phases back to new), are among the oldest and most widely used timekeeping cycles in ritual and agricultural practice. The cycle from new to full and back takes about twenty-nine and a half days and is visible to everyone, which made it a natural clock long before written calendars.

Each phase carries associations: the waxing Moon with growth, increase and beginnings, the full Moon with culmination and power, the waning Moon with reduction, release and endings, and the dark Moon with rest and renewal.

The phases are used across many traditions to time planting and harvest, ritual and magic, fasting and festival, work of increase begun as the Moon waxes, work of banishing as it wanes, and the lunisolar calendars of Judaism, Islam, China and India all begin their months at a phase of the Moon. Full and new moons in particular anchor countless observances.

The atlas gives each phase its appearance, its place in the cycle, and its traditional associations and uses. The phases connect to the lunar calendars gathered under Calendars & Time and to the ritual and festival categories.