Live view of Moon's current phase
Diagram of Moon Phases
Lunar Phases Defined
Moon Phase Calculators, other astronomical resources
New and Full Moons in 200
Perpetual Lunar Religious Calendar (any month, any year)

   Diagram of Moon Phases

 

Lunar phases occur because our Moon revolves around the Earth and one side of the moon always
faces the Sun.  Everyone on earth sees the same phase of the moon.

The inner loop diagrams the Moon's orbit around the earth; the outer loop shows how the Moon
appears from Earth. 
 
 
New Moon - The Moon's dark side faces Earth, rendering the Moon invisible (except during a solar eclipse).  moderns call the
New Moon, sacred to Hecate.  For 3 days the Moon "descends" into invisibility, ending the complete phase cycle of 29.5 days
average duration.  Each complete cycle of phases is called a "lunation".Astrologically, the Moon is conjunct the Sun. The time
in days counted from the time of New Moon is called the Moon's "age".

Heliacle New Moon - The Moon's first visible crescent appears just above the setting Sun in the west. This may occur as early
as 18 hours after the astronomical "new moon." It is this first crescent which is counted as the "New Moon" in ancient Greece,
Rome, the Middle East and Celtic countries. Even today, the lunar calendars of Judaism and Islam use the first visible crescent
as the New Moon. See the NASA FAQ Crescent Moon Visibility and the Islamic Calendar.
Many times, reflected Earth shine will reveal the dark side of the Moon; in poetry and folksong, this is referred to as the "New
Moon with the Old Moon in Her arms."  The ancient Greeks called this day the Noumena, and in Athens it was so sacred that
no other festival could ever supercede it.  The ancient Romans called this day the Calends, from which we get the word
"calendar."

Waxing Crescent - The Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the
Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.

First Quarter - One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is
illuminated is increasing. 

Waxing Gibbous - The Moon appears to be more than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk
that is illuminated is increasing.

Full Moon - The Moon's illuminated side faces Earth. For 3 days Moon appears to be completely illuminated by direct sunlight.
The Moon is opposed to the Sun, and rises about sunset.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon appears to be more than one-half but less than fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of
t he Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.

Last Quarter - One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is
illuminated is decreasing.

Waning Crescent - Rising late at night, the Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The f
fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing. The Moon disappears in the brightness of the rising Sun and will be
unseen for 3 days.
 
Because the cycle of the phases (29.6 days long) is shorter than most calendar months, the phase of the Moon at the very
beginning of the month usually repeats at the very end of the month. When there are two Full Moons in a month (which occurs,
on average, every 2.7 years), the second one is called a "Blue Moon". See the article "Once in a Blue Moon" for the story of
how the usage of this term has evolved (Ref: Philip Hiscock, Sky & Telescope, March 1999, pp. 52-55.).

Although Full Moon occurs each month at a specific date and time, the Moon's disk may appear to be full for several nights in a row if it is clear. This is because the percentage of the Moon's disk that appears illuminated changes very slowly around the time of Full Moon (also around New Moon, but the Moon is not visible at all then). The Moon may appear 100% illuminated only on the night closest to the time of exact Full Moon, but on the night before and night after will appear 97-99% illuminated; most people would not notice the difference. Even two days from Full Moon the Moon's disk is 93-97% illuminated.

New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter phases are considered to be primary phases and their dates and times are published in almanacs and on calendars. (Click here for a list.) The two crescent and two gibbous phases are intermediate phases, each of which lasts for about a week between the primary phases, during which time the exact fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated gradually changes.

The phases of the Moon are related to (actually, caused by) the relative positions of the Moon and Sun in the sky. For example, New Moon occurs when the Sun and Moon are quite close together in the sky. Full Moon occurs when the Sun and Moon are at nearly opposite positions in the sky - which is why a Full Moon rises about the time of sunset, and sets about the time of sunrise, for most places on Earth. First and Last Quarters occur when the Sun and Moon are about 90 degrees apart in the sky. In fact, the two "half Moon" phases are called First Quarter and Last Quarter because they occur when the Moon is, respectively, one- and three-quarters of the way around the sky (i.e., along its orbit) from New Moon.

The relationship of the Moon's phase to its angular distance in the sky from the Sun allows us to establish very exact definitions of when the primary phases occur, independent of how they appear. Technically, the phases New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter are defined to occur when the excess of the apparent ecliptic (celestial) longitude of the Moon over that of the Sun is 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees, respectively. These definitions are used when the dates and times of the phases are computed for almanacs, calendars, etc. Because the difference between the ecliptic longitudes of the Moon and Sun is a monotonically and rapidly increasing quantity, the dates and times of the phases of the Moon computed this way are instantaneous and well defined.

The percent of the Moon's surface illuminated is a more refined, quantitative description of the Moon's appearance than is the phase. Considering the Moon as a circular disk, the ratio of the area illuminated by direct sunlight to its total area is the fraction of the Moon's surface illuminated; multiplied by 100, it is the percent illuminated. At New Moon the percent illuminated is 0; at First and Last Quarters it is 50%; and at Full Moon it is 100%. During the crescent phases the percent illuminated is between 0 and 50% and during gibbous phases it is between 50% and 100%.

For practical purposes, phases of the Moon and the percent of the Moon illuminated are independent of the location on the Earth from where the Moon is observed. That is, all the phases occur at the same time regardless of the observer's position.

Source:  http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html

  Click here f or Live view of current Lunar phase.

* The time shown here is for when the moon is utterly dark. The first light of the new moon is just before the first sunset 18 hours AFTER the New Moon date shown here.

Moon Phase Calculators
http://www.calculatorcat.com/moon_phases/daily_moon_phases.phtml
http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/lessons/html/moon.html
http://sprucefyre.tripod.com/phases.html
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html
http://www.seventhhouse.info/MoonPhases.htm 

Precise lunar phases:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.html#y2003

Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day from any location
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html
http://www.earthcalendar.net/
This last one was designed for elementary school children; it will calculate lunar phase throughout
history. 

See the moon phase on ANY DATE     http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/vphase.html

More lunar data:  http://www.calculatorcat.com/moon_phases/moon_phases.phtml

Good explanation of lunar phases and more at
http://starryskies.com/The_sky/events/lunar-2003/phases.html

New Moon

consecration, beginning, projection, seeding the new cycle.
Visualize your goal!

Waxing Crescent Moon 

First Quarter Moon 

Waxing Gibbous Moon

Waning Crescent Moon 

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Wolf, Old, Cold Moon

Chaste, Snow, Hunger, Wolf Moon

Crow, Sugar, Sap, Storm Moon 

Budding, Sprouting, Grass, Egg,  Moon

Flower, Milk, Planting, Mother's Moon

Strawberry, Rose, Hot, Mead Moon

Thunder, Hay, Honey, Herb Moon

Green Corn, Thunder, Barley Moon

Harvest, Corn, Barley, Grain, Fruit Moon

Hunter's, Travel, Blood Moon

Beaver, Frost, Mourning Moon

Cold, Long Nights, Oak  Moon

March

April

A Perpetual Religious Lunar Calendar

While the secular calendar uses fixed months, the Sacred Calendar  for Pagans remains lunar, with 29 1/2 days. The first day of the month (calends) is the heliacle rising of the moon, which occurs at the first sunset 18 hours after the astronomical new moon. Look for it just above the sun at sunset.

Selene

Aphrodite/Venus