The Monthly Moon Cycle: 8 Phases

The Monthly Moon Cycle: Tuning in, building your goals and achieving results through the 8 phases.

Based on the Moon‘s orbital relation with the Sun, you can work with the Moon cycles to build on your goals and achieve results. The different phases tell us that everything has a time and place.

Its varied influence is set apart by each period.

For example, the New Moon period involves the Sun and Moon in the same sign. It’s an ideal time to start something new.

Another influence is the degree in aspect which tells you if it is harmonious or challenging. For example, a 90-degree angle or square between the Moon and the Sun is a challenging period and will require more effort to keep the ball rolling.

Each phase is broken down to help you pace out goals, showing what supports you and the potential challenges during the period. You can also break down the cycle into two parts: a waning and waxing cycle. The phases between the New Moon to the Full Moon are waxing cycles and a time to build and create form. From the Full Moon to the New Moon cycle are waning phases and a time for reflection and letting go.

Whether your schedule or goals are too rigid or all over the place, the Moon’s cycle helps you to understand when to take action, when to observe and be receptive to the flow of life. As a result, you can start to understand what you can control and what is out of your hands to achieve a more balanced process and reach satisfied results.

1. The New Moon Phase

A time to set new intentions, you can plant new seeds of desire during the New Moon cycle while being open to the energies around you. It’s a good time to observe and let things flow. The thing to watch out for is planting seeds of negativity, resentment, fear –just bad vibes in general. You don’t want the sticky energy to carry forward into the following cycles.

Below are videos on the following Moon phases:

2)The Crescent Moon

The Waxing Crescent Moon: 45°

After the New Moon, the Moon starts to gain light and opens at a semi-square to the Sun called a waxing crescent.

A time to focus on desires, new goals and ideas. There is more certainty at this point. It is a time to start building and give something form. 

Be aware that it is a tense phase for confronting personal issues.

The semi-square between the Moon and the Sun can decrease the excitement from the New Moon phase. You can quickly lose interest in what you set out to do now. Use your Sun’s will and your Moon’s receptivity to push through. 

3) First Quarter Moon Phase

Waxing Quarter Moon Phase 90°

When the Moon squares a 90° angle to the Sun, we are at the quarter moon phase.

Following a sense of certainty under the Crescent Phase, the tense period can turn into a crisis or turning point. You sense that a change is necessary but you can also feel resistant to the changes. The energy is similar to the planet Mars, making it a time of focused passion and action. It is a critical time to push through by evolving, doing things differently and finding your resilience.

4. Gibbous Moon Phase

The Moon and Sun are at 135° – 150° during a Waxing Gibbous Phase. In other words, a semi-square on top of a square. Yikes!

Your goals and plans can reach a challenging period during this cycle.

The tense period can be compared to almost reaching the mountain top, but you encounter an annoying obstacle just before the peak. There is no turning back as you look down. With constant seesawing without results ahead, the energies aren’t easy to coordinate.

This can be handled 1 one in 3 ways: Ignoring it, feeling helpless or getting creative. The best route is to be creative, seek alternate angles and change perception.

5. Full Moon Phase

With an opposition between the Sun and Moon, the two luminaries make a 180° angle.

Congratulations you’ve made it, or have you?
The Full Moon is the accumulation of the goals you’ve set, your work, and how well you went about it. You reap what you sow. But something can pull at you, unsettledness, cloudy layers waiting to dissipate from the balance between your desires and needs.

Resistance to the opposition can bring conflicts, instability, resentment, projection, and blame. The best way forward is to be open to insight, release and let go or take pride in your accomplishments.

6. Disseminating Moon Phase

Following the Full Lunar Phase is the Disseminating or Waning Gibbous Moon and a time to share your ideas and put them out there. The view starts to turn from outer focus to inner orientation. The messages or goals of the Full Moon phase can take on another unexpected meaning. Things can get exaggerated and distorted. The reflective period encourages you to stay open and allow things to bake in its evolution.

7. Last Quarter Moon Phase

The Moon is 90° ahead of the Sun. The orientation is a continued focus on your inner world. The tension between outer obligations and inner needs intensifies but can also feel exhilarating.

There are often evasive reasons for feeling stuck. Contemplation and adjustments are necessary to release tension. You start to feel a cycle coming to a close. What do you need to do to end it on a good note?

8. Balsamic Moon Phase 45°

Closing the monthly lunar cycle, the waning semi-square between the Moon and Sun is a time to rest and take stock of experiences. The Balsamic Moon period is also a time when psychic energy is high and physical energy is low. Ideally, you want to clear the path for the new cycle during the dormancy period.

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