Lunar calendar · updated every day
Today’s phase, how much of the Moon is lit, the sign it is passing through and the dates of the next new and full Moon — with a lunar calendar of the whole month.
Times are given for the Europe/London time zone.
The phase of each day at noon, with the exact time of the new Moon, the quarters and the full Moon.
The Moon gives no light of its own: we see the half lit by the Sun. As the Moon circles the Earth, the angle between the Sun, the Earth and the Moon changes, and so does the part of the lit half that faces us. One full cycle from new Moon to new Moon — the synodic month — lasts on average 29.53 days.
At the new Moon the Moon stands between the Earth and the Sun and its lit side faces away from us. Then it waxes: a crescent, the first quarter (half the disk), a gibbous Moon and the full Moon, when it stands opposite the Sun. After the full Moon it wanes through the gibbous phase, the last quarter and a thin crescent back to the new Moon.
The Moon’s sign is the zodiac sign it is passing through on the ecliptic; it changes about every two and a half days. In astrology the new Moon is traditionally a time for beginnings and intentions, the full Moon for culmination and review — a symbolic rhythm for reflection, not a rule for decisions.
Calculated from the astronomical ephemeris (edulazaro/astronomy), the same one used for the birth charts.
The card at the top of this page shows today’s phase, the lit part of the disk and the Moon’s sign. They are calculated from the ephemeris for the current moment and the page is refreshed every day.
From the angle between the Sun and the Earth as seen from the Moon, using the same astronomical ephemeris that calculates the birth charts in AstroSensus. A full Moon is close to 100 %, a new Moon close to 0 %.
Their dates and times are in the “Next new and full Moon” box, given for the time zone noted under it. The whole year’s list is on the full Moon and new Moon pages of the almanac.
The new Moon, the quarters and the full Moon are exact moments; in common use the name is kept for about a day around them. The crescent and gibbous phases in between last about a week each.
It is the zodiac sign the Moon is passing through. Astrology links it with the mood of the day — for example a Moon in a fire sign with more energy, in a water sign with more feeling. It is a symbolic language, not a forecast.
Many traditions do so, and the calendar gives you the dates. There is no scientific evidence that the Moon’s phase changes how plants or hair grow — treat it as a custom and a rhythm, not a rule.
In the app the daily forecast reads the Moon’s path against your own birth chart — the sign of your natal Moon, the houses it passes through and the lunations that touch your planets.
Create a free accountAstronomical data with a symbolic astrological reading — not a prediction and not advice.