Waxing Crescent ◔

In the sky

A thin crescent appears in the western sky after sunset and grows a little each evening. The light is returning. This phase is often linked with gentle momentum: turning an intention into its first practical steps.

What does waxing crescent mean?

Waxing means growing, from the Old English weaxan, and crescent comes from the Latin crescere, also “to grow”. A waxing crescent is a growing sliver of Moon. It is the phase between the new moon and the first quarter, lasting about a week, while the lit part grows from nothing to just under half.

How to spot a waxing crescent

• Look west in the early evening; it follows the Sun down and sets a few hours after it
• In the northern hemisphere the lit edge is on the right; in the southern hemisphere it is on the left
• Near the equator the crescent lies on its back, like a bowl or a smile
• Each evening it sits higher in the sky, looks a little fatter and sets about 50 minutes later

Waxing or waning crescent?

The easiest check is the time of day. A crescent in the western sky in the evening is waxing; a crescent in the east before dawn is waning. In the northern hemisphere there is also an old rule of thumb: if the lit edge curves like the bulge of a D, the Moon is developing (waxing); if it curves like a C, it is ceasing (waning). South of the equator the rule is reversed.

Earthshine: the faint full disc

For the first few evenings you can often see the dark part of the Moon glowing a faint ash-grey. This is earthshine: sunlight reflected off the Earth onto the Moon and back to us. Leonardo da Vinci gave the first correct explanation of it in his notebooks around 1510. In English folklore it is called “the old moon in the new moon’s arms”.

Spiritual meaning of the waxing crescent

If the new moon is the seed, the waxing crescent is the first green shoot. It is linked with hope, courage and turning an intention into its first practical steps. Astrologer Dane Rudhyar called this the crescent phase and described it as a push forward against the pull of old habits. In practice, it is a good week to take one small, concrete step rather than wait for perfect conditions.

In the Hindu calendar

The waxing crescent opens Shukla Paksha, the “bright fortnight” of the Hindu lunar month. Chaturthi, the fourth lunar day, falls in this phase, and Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival of Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and patron of new beginnings, is celebrated on the Chaturthi of the bright fortnight in August or September.

Bring it into your practice

Add a little energy to your practice. Short standing sequences and steady breathing help build momentum without forcing it.

A pose for this phase

Low Lunge

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A practice for this phase

Morning mobility

A short, waking practice for the returning light.

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Questions to sit with

• What support would make that step easier?

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Questions