The moon also symbolizes motherhood and governs the realms of fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth. Women’s menstrual cycles are thought to be tied to the moon’s phases.
Your sun sign is the sign you look at when you read your horoscope. Your moon sign is also associated with a zodiac symbol. For example, you might be a Gemini Sun, Pisces Moon.
Your moon sign can shed light on your emotional personality and how you interact with others. For example, Leo moons are warm, friendly, and care a lot about how others perceive them. On the other hand, Scorpio moons are intensely private, stand-offish, and don’t need validation from others. You can learn more about how you approach conflict when emotions are running high. For example, an Aries moon can be confrontational in the heat of the moment. A Libra moon avoids conflict at all costs and tends to repress negative emotions. Moon signs can help you better understand how you view and treat yourself. For example, Virgo moons struggle with perfectionism and extreme self-criticism.
You could also check a moon chart, which delves more deeply into how you perceive events and how they make you feel as opposed to what the events are.
The New Moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon is positioned directly between the Earth and Sun. During the New Moon, the moon’s shadow side faces the earth (making the moon invisible). The New Moon is also called the Dark Moon.
The Waxing Crescent occurs right after the New Moon. “Waxing” means the Moon’s illumination is growing as it progresses toward the Full Moon. A “crescent” is when less than half of the Moon is illuminated.
During this phase, exactly half of the Moon is illuminated and the other half is in shadow. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the right half of the moon will be illuminated and the left half will be dark. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the opposite—the right half is dark and the left half is illuminated.
This phase occurs 2 weeks after the New Moon. During this phase, the moon continues to grow more illuminated as it nears the Full Moon. The word “gibbous” means over half of the Moon is illuminated.
During this phase, the earth is positioned directly between the sun and the moon. That means the Sun is illuminating the entire moon and the whole sphere lights up the night sky. The Full Moon is the mid-point of the lunar cycle.
This phase occurs right after the Full Moon, when the moon begins to grow dimmer. “Waning” means the moon’s illumination is decreasing. Because the moon is a gibbous, more than half of the moon is still illuminated at this point.
This phase is sometimes called the Last Quarter moon. During this time, exactly half of the moon is illuminated. It’s the opposite half from the First Quarter Moon, so in the Northern Hemisphere, the left half of the moon is lit up and the right half is dark.
Less than half the moon is illuminated at this point. The light continues to decrease as the moon’s cycle nears completion (starting over once again at the New Moon).
