Timing and cycles

First Quarter Moon

Direct answer

First Quarter Moon is the phase about a week after New Moon when the Moon appears half illuminated and the lunar cycle reaches its first turning point.

First Quarter Moon is a growth checkpoint that asks for action and adjustment.

Transits & CyclesThe Great Almanac DictionaryUpdated 2026-09-26

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At a glance

In astrology: The First Quarter Moon is a waxing square between the Moon and Sun.
Found in: Transits & Cycles
Related: Birth Chart, Zodiac, Transit

The planets on their engraved orbits before a brass armillary sphere — Celestial motion · visual guide **First Quarter Moon**
First Quarter Moon is a growth checkpoint that asks for action and adjustment.
The orbit map distinguishes physical bodies, calculated points, and symbolic cycles where possible.

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What sets First Quarter Moon apart

The word quarter counts the cycle, not the light: at this point the Moon has gone a quarter of the way around from the Sun, 90 degrees, and half her disc is lit. It falls about 7.4 days after the New Moon, and she is then highest in the south near sunset, rising around midday and setting near midnight. Ptolemy's moist stretch of the cycle, from New Moon to this quarter, ends here and the hot stretch begins.

Angle: 90 degrees ahead of the Sun, a waxing square
Timing: about 7.4 days after the New Moon
Disc: half lit, the right half as seen from the northern middle latitudes
In the sky: rises around midday, highest near sunset, sets near midnight
Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos I.8: New Moon to first quarter is moist, first quarter to Full is hot

Often mistaken for something else: First Quarter is the waxing square, a quarter of the way through the cycle. The Last Quarter is the same half-lit disc seen on the opposite side after the Full Moon.

A one-minute story

The Wandering Stars

How the moving planets were watched, named and found, and what a transit is.

The story behind First Quarter Moon

The quarter phases are astronomical turning points based on the Moon-Sun angle as seen from Earth.

The spiritual meaning of First Quarter Moon

Spiritually, First Quarter Moon asks what action proves the intention is real.

Why First Quarter Moon matters

First Quarter Moon matters because intention meets resistance. The seed now needs a decision, correction, or push.

How to read First Quarter Moon

First Quarter Moon timing speaks to problem-solving, committing to action, testing a plan, and making the first practical adjustment.

First Quarter Moon in practice: an example

A First Quarter Moon in the Tenth House may ask for visible effort toward a public or career goal.

Where readings of First Quarter Moon go wrong

A common error is to quit because resistance appears. This phase often reveals the first real work.

Sources and editorial method

This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.

Source: The Great Almanac Dictionary
Category: Transits & Cycles
Last updated: 2026-09-26

Act on the lunar checkpoint

First Quarter Moon in a book is one thing; First Quarter Moon in your own birth chart is your life. The Oracle casts your real chart and tells you what it means for your love, your work, and your year ahead, in conversation. It opens with the 7-day Seeker trial.

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The Cosmic Codex reads a whole year of transits against your own chart, First Quarter Moon included where it touches your love, your work, your timing. Open the Cosmic Codex

Birth ChartA Birth Chart is a personal astrology map built from birth date, time, and place. ZodiacThe Zodiac is the twelve-sign wheel used as astrology's core sign language. TransitTransit means current planetary movement activating a chart.

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