Moon phase · 4 of 8
The Waxing Gibbous Moon
A waxing gibbous moon is the phase between first quarter and full moon, when the Moon is more than half lit, 50 to 99 percent, and growing brighter each night.
The facts
The waxing gibbous at a glance
| Order in the cycle | 4th of 8, after the first quarter, before the full moon |
| Illumination | 50 to 99 percent, increasing nightly |
| Days after the new moon | Roughly day 7 to day 15 of the 29.5 day cycle |
| Rises and sets | Rises in the afternoon, sets after midnight |
| Best viewing | Evening into late night, high in the sky after sunset |
| Lit side | Right side in the Northern Hemisphere, left in the Southern |
| How long it lasts | About 7.4 days on average |
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 waxing gibbous moon?
Gibbous means humped. After the first quarter, sunlight spills past the halfway line and the lit face bulges night by night until it closes into the full moon. The Moon is not growing, of course. You are watching the angle between the Moon, the Earth, and the Sun open wide enough to show you more of the day side. The same phase shows everywhere on Earth on the same night; only its tilt changes with your hemisphere.
The reading
What does a waxing gibbous moon mean?
This is the phase of almost. Whatever was seeded at the new moon and pushed at the first quarter now stands nearly complete, and the work changes character: less force, more refinement. The waxing gibbous favors editing over starting, patience over spectacle, the unglamorous middle of things. It is the moon of people who finish.
Your Primal Zodiac Animal is what we call your Zodi Animal, and each of the 144 carries this phase differently. 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 waxing gibbous belongs to the finishing stones. Citrine and green aventurine are the ones most often kept for a waxing moon, stones of steady increase rather than sudden luck. If you keep a stone, this is the week to carry it through the tedious middle of a task and let it hold the intention you set at the new moon. The full moon, next in the cycle, is when it gets charged.
The five elements
The waxing gibbous 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 waxing gibbous keeps company with Wood, the element of things mid-growth: rising sap, work in progress, the stretch before the bloom. Walk the element halls and see where your own animal stands.
Wood 木 mù · Water 水 shuǐ · Fire 火 huǒ · Earth 土 tǔ · Metal 金 jīn
Common questions
Questions about the waxing gibbous
How long does a waxing gibbous moon last?
About 7.4 days on average. The quarter and full moons are exact instants, so the four in-between phases each cover roughly a quarter of the 29.5 day cycle, a night or two more or less depending on the Moon's elliptical orbit.
How can I tell waxing gibbous from waning gibbous?
Check the lit side. In the Northern Hemisphere a waxing gibbous is lit on the right and stands in the evening sky. A waning gibbous is lit on the left and belongs to the late night and morning. South of the equator, swap the sides.
What does it mean to be born under a waxing gibbous moon?
In moon lore, people born in this phase are the refiners, given to finishing, perfecting, and carrying things the last mile. 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 waxing gibbous follows the first quarter moon and closes into the full moon. All eight phases live on the moon phases page, in order, and tonight's sky is read on the Moon tonight.