Sunday, 13 September 2026

Waxing Crescent

2% illuminated, 1.31 days into the cycle, travelling through Libra at 0.2°.

PhaseWaxing Crescent
Illumination2%
Age of the Moon1.31 days
Moon signLibra
Ecliptic longitude180.2°

The lunar cycle runs 29.53 days from new moon to new moon. The figures above are computed from a known new moon and the length of that cycle, so they update themselves and can be checked against any astronomical almanac.

The Moon's sign uses mean motion, accurate to roughly half a day at sign boundaries. Fine for a calendar, not precise enough for a natal chart.

Next 30 days

DatePhaseLitMoon in
Sun 13 Sep · today Waxing Crescent 2% Libra
Mon 14 Sep Waxing Crescent 6% Libra
Tue 15 Sep Waxing Crescent 12% Libra
Wed 16 Sep Waxing Crescent 20% Scorpio
Thu 17 Sep Waxing Crescent 29% Scorpio
Fri 18 Sep Waxing Crescent 39% Sagittarius
Sat 19 Sep First Quarter 49% Sagittarius
Sun 20 Sep First Quarter 60% Capricorn
Mon 21 Sep Waxing Gibbous 70% Capricorn
Tue 22 Sep Waxing Gibbous 79% Capricorn
Wed 23 Sep Waxing Gibbous 87% Aquarius
Thu 24 Sep Waxing Gibbous 93% Aquarius
Fri 25 Sep Waxing Gibbous 98% Pisces
Sat 26 Sep Full Moon 100% Pisces
Sun 27 Sep Full Moon 100% Aries
Mon 28 Sep Waning Gibbous 97% Aries
Tue 29 Sep Waning Gibbous 93% Taurus
Wed 30 Sep Waning Gibbous 86% Taurus
Thu 1 Oct Waning Gibbous 78% Taurus
Fri 2 Oct Waning Gibbous 69% Gemini
Sat 3 Oct Last Quarter 59% Gemini
Sun 4 Oct Last Quarter 48% Cancer
Mon 5 Oct Waning Crescent 38% Cancer
Tue 6 Oct Waning Crescent 28% Leo
Wed 7 Oct Waning Crescent 19% Leo
Thu 8 Oct Waning Crescent 11% Leo
Fri 9 Oct Waning Crescent 5% Virgo
Sat 10 Oct Waning Crescent 2% Virgo
Sun 11 Oct New Moon 0% Libra
Mon 12 Oct New Moon 1% Libra

Timing by phase

Haircut There is no evidence that lunar phase affects hair growth. Hair grows roughly 1.25 cm a mo… Gardening This is the one lunar practice with a plausible mechanism — moonlight does affect some pla… Beauty treatments Folk practice. The logic is symbolic — adding while the Moon fills, removing while it empt… Weddings Widely observed across European folk custom, and echoed in the Hindu and Chinese calendars… Business and money The new moon is conventionally used for setting intentions and the full moon for reviewing… Surgery and healing Studies looking for a lunar effect on surgical bleeding and complications have found none.…

The eight phases

New moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent. The quarters are the halfway points — a "quarter moon" looks half lit, because it is a quarter of the way through the cycle rather than a quarter illuminated.

Two different months

The synodic month — new moon to new moon — is 29.53 days. The sidereal month, the time the Moon takes to return to the same position against the stars, is 27.32. The difference exists because the Earth moves around the Sun while the Moon circles the Earth, so the Moon has to travel slightly further to catch up with the same phase.

Both numbers are used here: the phase comes from the synodic month, the Moon's sign from the sidereal one.