Moon phase · 3 of 8
The First Quarter Moon
A first quarter moon is the phase one quarter of the way through the cycle, when the Moon stands exactly half lit and still growing toward full.
The facts
The first quarter at a glance
| Order in the cycle | 3rd of 8, after the waxing crescent, before the waxing gibbous |
| Illumination | 50 percent, an exact instant, then increasing |
| Days after the new moon | About day 7.4 of the 29.5 day cycle |
| Rises and sets | Rises around noon, sets around midnight |
| Best viewing | Evening sky, high at sunset |
| Lit side | Right side in the Northern Hemisphere, left in the Southern |
| How long it lasts | The moment is an instant; the half moon look lasts a night or two |
Timing figures follow the U.S. Naval Observatory and NASA. The four quarter moments are instants; the phases between them are spans of nights.
The science
What is a first quarter moon?
The name confuses people: the Moon looks half full, not quarter full. The quarter is distance, not light. The Moon has traveled one quarter of its orbit, and from that right angle we see exactly half of its day side. It rises around noon and sets around midnight, which is why the half moon owns the evening sky. From here the light keeps spilling past the line until the disc closes full.
The reading
What does a first quarter moon mean?
The first quarter is the phase of friction. A week in, the easy energy of the start has run out and the first real obstacles arrive on schedule. In moon lore this is the moon of decisions: act, adjust, or abandon. It favors the hard call made cleanly over another week of waiting.
Your Primal Zodiac Animal is what we call your Zodi Animal, and each of the 144 meets resistance in its own style. Reveal your animal for the version keyed to your nature, or see which sign the Moon is in tonight.
Keeper stones
Your keeper stone in this phase
In the stone rooms, the first quarter belongs to the deciding stones. Tourmalinated quartz and carnelian are the ones most often kept for decisions and follow-through, by convention the stones of clear cuts and kept promises. If you keep one, this is the week to carry it into the conversations you have been putting off. The full moon, a week on, is when it gets charged.
The five elements
The first quarter among the elements
Chinese tradition maps the five elements to planets and seasons, not to moon phases, so we will not pretend otherwise. In the Zodi reading, ours alone, the first quarter keeps company with Fire, the element of the decisive push: heat applied at the exact moment resistance shows up. Walk the element halls and see where your own animal stands.
Fire 火 huǒ · Wood 木 mù · Water 水 shuǐ · Earth 土 tǔ · Metal 金 jīn
Common questions
Questions about the first quarter
How long does a first quarter moon last?
The quarter itself is an exact instant, the moment the Moon stands exactly half lit, one quarter of the way through its cycle. To the eye it looks like a half moon for a night or two before the gibbous bulge begins to show.
Why is it called a first quarter moon when it looks half full?
The quarter counts distance, not light. At this phase the Moon has completed one quarter of its orbit around Earth, and from that right angle we see exactly half of its sunlit side. The last quarter, three quarters of the way around, shows the other half.
What does it mean to be born under a first quarter moon?
In moon lore, people born at the first quarter are the deciders, at their best when something pushes back. Cross that with your birth date and you get something more specific: your Zodi Animal, one creature out of 144.
The cycle
Before and after
The first quarter follows the waxing crescent moon and leads into the waxing gibbous moon. All eight phases live on the moon phases page, in order, and tonight's sky is read on the Moon tonight.