Moon phase · 1 of 8
The New Moon
A new moon is the phase when the Moon sits between the Earth and the Sun, its dark side facing us, invisible at 0 percent illumination as the cycle begins.
The facts
The new moon at a glance
| Order in the cycle | 1st of 8, the start of the cycle, after the waning crescent, before the waxing crescent |
| Illumination | 0 percent, an exact instant |
| Days after the new moon | Day 0 of the 29.5 day cycle |
| Rises and sets | Rises around sunrise, sets around sunset |
| Best viewing | Not visible, except during a solar eclipse |
| Lit side | The lit side faces away from Earth entirely |
| How long it lasts | The moment is an instant; the Moon stays effectively invisible for about a day either side |
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 new moon?
At new moon the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, so the sunlit half faces away from us and the near side sits in shadow. It crosses the sky with the Sun, rising around sunrise and setting around sunset, lost in the glare. You cannot see it at all unless it passes exactly in front of the Sun, which is a solar eclipse. The cycle's day count starts here, at day zero.
The reading
What does a new moon mean?
The new moon is the dark page at the start of the cycle. Nothing shows yet, and nothing has to. In moon lore this is the night for setting intentions: naming the one thing you want the coming month to grow, privately, before there is anything to show. Starts made here are quiet by design.
Your Primal Zodiac Animal is what we call your Zodi Animal, and each of the 144 begins the cycle in its own way. 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 new moon belongs to the dark stones. Black moonstone and labradorite are the ones most often kept for intention setting, by convention rather than any property of the rock. This is also the night many keepers cleanse their stones, clearing the old month before the new one is named. What you set now is what the full moon, two weeks on, will charge.
The five elements
The new moon 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 new moon keeps company with Water, the element of stillness: deep water, held breath, the seed in the dark. Walk the element halls and see where your own animal stands.
Water 水 shuǐ · Wood 木 mù · Fire 火 huǒ · Earth 土 tǔ · Metal 金 jīn
The Chinese calendar
This moon in the Chinese calendar
Every month of the Chinese calendar begins on the day of the new moon. The first day of the month is, by definition, the new moon day, which keeps the calendar tied to the actual sky rather than to a fixed count.
Chinese New Year itself begins on a new moon: the festival opens on the first day of the first lunar month, and its date moves each year because the new moon does. A dark sky, in that tradition, is not an absence. It is a beginning.
Common questions
Questions about the new moon
How long does a new moon last?
The new moon itself is an exact instant, the moment the Moon and the Sun align. The moment passes in an instant, but the Moon stays effectively invisible for about a day either side of it, until the first thin crescent appears.
Can you see a new moon?
No. The dark side faces Earth and the Moon travels with the Sun across the daytime sky, lost in its glare. The one exception is a solar eclipse, when the new moon crosses directly in front of the Sun.
What does it mean to be born under a new moon?
In moon lore, people born at the new moon are the beginners, drawn to fresh starts and private ambitions. 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 new moon follows the waning crescent moon and leads into the waxing crescent moon. All eight phases live on the moon phases page, in order, and tonight's sky is read on the Moon tonight.