You probably know about the manifestation powers of the New Moon and the transformative powers of the Full Moon, but how much do you know about the Quarter Moon phases?
The First Quarter Moon is halfway between the New Moon and the Full Moon, while the Last Quarter Moon is halfway between the Full Moon and the New Moon.
Both of these Quarter Moons provide powerful opportunities to grow each month.
The New Moon and Full Moon often mark the beginning and climax of our spiritual growth each month, but the Quarter Moons provide insight into how we make this journey.
As they say, the journey matters just as much as the destination itself.
What Are the Moon Phases?
- New Moon – where the Moon is just a sliver, representing the beginning of the Moon cycle. It also represents new beginnings in our lives.
- First Quarter Moon – This looks like the brighter version of a half Moon. The reason it is bright is that it is closer to the Sun to achieve its full light.
- Full Moon – This comes exactly two weeks after a New Moon and brings this cycle of new beginnings to completion or fulfillment. You’ll see endings and closures in your life around the Full Moon, but unless it is an eclipse or Super Moon, they aren’t likely to be major life changes.
- Last Quarter Moon – This is, once again, a Moon that looks like a half shell, but it is darker than the First Quarter Moon. You are a week away from the darker New Moon, and this Last Quarter Moon is your warning bell. Time to begin wrapping up some business!
The First Quarter Moon Phase
The First Quarter Moon phase is a time that represents challenge. We’ve set our intentions during the New Moon, but every goal will meet its share of challenges and obstacles eventually.
During the First Quarter Moon phase, the universe will often send us the obstacles we face to reach our destination. It’s a time for pushing through obstacles, for being brave, and for believing in yourself.
A Ritual for the First Quarter Moon
For this phase, a Moon ritual focusing on your own personal strength and self-empowerment is a fabulous idea as it helps to reconnect you with your ideals and goals.
It’s easy to feel disheartened when coming up against challenges. So during this phase, take a walk among nature or spend time alone in a quiet room with soothing meditation music in the background.
The crystals tiger’s eye and bloodstone are great to hold in your palms as they promote strength and self-belief. Repeat the following affirmation to yourself:
I will overcome any obstacle that stands in my way. I believe in myself.
Repeat this for as long as you feel is necessary. Afterward, a sense of renewed strength will inspire you to keep going!
The Last Quarter Moon
The Last Quarter Moon phase is a time for achieving balance and setting boundaries. This occurs before the start of the next New Moon.
The magic and mayhem of the Full Moon have passed, and now that the dust has settled, the Last Quarter Moon provides the opportunity to recognize areas of our lives that require balance.
It is also a great opportunity to look at our relationships and recognize where boundaries need to be set in order to help us grow spiritually.
A Ritual for the Last Quarter Moon
A ritual for the Last Quarter Moon phase can be accompanied by nature bathing, which helps to rebalance your energies, and by submerging yourself in water – so a warm bath and shower are highly recommended for this ritual!
Water is cleansing and naturally rebalances us on a spiritual level. While in the water or among nature, repeat to yourself the following affirmation:
I balance myself within and let go of tensions and imbalance inside of me.
Then, take a look at areas of your life that require greater boundaries, whether in your relationship, career or within yourself. Write down how you will achieve these boundaries in the coming days and the methods you will take to get there.
The Waxing & Waning Gibbous Moon
Waxing Gibbous and Waning Gibbous are two Moon phases that occur just before and after the Full Moon.
The Waxing Gibbous takes place just before the Full Moon, and the Waning Gibbous takes place just after. They deserve a special mention because they, too, possess their own unique energy that can help us during our spiritual journey!
The Waxing Gibbous phase is a time of refinement and celebration! It is during this time, just before the Full Moon, that you can give yourself a pat on the back and take a look at your goals and accomplishments with an optimistic and strategic eye.
This is a time that is perfect for planning and reassessing your goals if necessary.
During the Waxing Gibbous phase, you sit down and have a meeting with yourself to see how things are progressing.
A Ritual for the Waxing Gibbous Moon
For the Waxing Gibbous, imagine you are taking minutes for your meeting with your soul. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I have to be proud of so far?
- Are my ideas realistic?
- What kind of support do I need?
- What obstacles stand in my way?
These questions will help you assess your situation and prepare you for the upcoming magic of the Full Moon.
On the other hand, the Waning Gibbous Moon is about letting go, forgiveness, and creating balance
This Moon phase occurs after the Full Moon and prepares you for the New Moon phase. To move forward into new beginnings, it is important to let go of anything that may be holding you back.
Anything in your life that is holding you back from your true potential is ready to be released during this phase.
A Ritual for the Waning Gibbous Moon
A ritual of release is wonderful for this phase. For this ritual, write down aspects of your life that you feel need releasing. Write down what they are, the way they have served you in the past, and the way they no longer serve you now.
After, tear up the paper and repeat the following affirmation:
I release what no longer serves me.
How Do the Moon Phases Affect Your Zodiac Sign?
To be better equipped on a Quarter Moon, you want to understand, first of all, how the Moon affects us all.
It is our emotions that are most strongly affected by the Moon. The Moon is the closest to us, so it travels faster relative to the other planets and affects us more potently.
The reason our emotions are always changing is that every two and a half days, the Moon moves into another zodiac sign and beams us the qualities of that sign emotionally. The Quarter Moon energy will highlight the very energy of the sign that it is visiting in our own psyche.
This means if we know the elements of signs, we will also know what things to expect when the lunar energies radiate them!
The Moon in Earth Signs
Earth signs – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn – often focus on the home, jobs, money, plans, family, and fixing things.
You could expect your boss to call a meeting to address organization and efficiency, or perhaps you’d get an interview scheduled for a potential new job.
Earth-Moon days encourage you to get cracking with the practical stuff.
- Virgo Moons are especially good for cleaning and tidying the home/garage.
- The Moon in Capricorn is great for focusing on work tasks and projects.
- A Taurus Moon is fantastic for concentrating on your health and well-being, as well as money matters.
The Moon in Water Signs
Water signs – Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio – often focus on emotions, healing, intuition, spiritual pursuits, and artistic expression.
This could mean we are extra emotional and that people around us may also be bursting into tears or talking about some past memory seemingly out of nowhere.
It could also mean you get stronger intuitive insights about how to achieve or tweak your goals.
Water Moon days encourage you to focus on your emotions, relationships, and creative goals.
- Pisces Moons are a good time to embrace your creative spirit and contemplate things at a spiritual level.
- The Moon in Scorpio is the time to focus on what is hidden deep within, whether within yourself or your relationships.
- A Cancer Moon brings concentration to the home and your emotional well-being, as well as practicing intuitive and psychic abilities.
The Moon in Fire Signs
A Moon in a Fire sign – Leo, Sagittarius, Aries – will often bring out anger, or we can transmute it into a passion to drive us forward. Still, it is also a fabulous time for focusing on your ambitions.
We also would want to be aware that everyone around us was getting blasted with Fire energy, so we wouldn’t want to not enter into altercations.
The confidence of the Fire element could push you to really hit the ground running towards your goal or to finally draft your letter of resignation.
Fire Moon days bring the opportunity to focus on our passions, energy, and sex lives.
- Aries Moons are a great time to focus on your sex life and take risks in your life that require you to be bold and brave.
- The Moon in Leo is great for progressing with creative projects.
- A Sagittarius Moon enables you to expand your horizons – in other words, the sky is the limit!
The Moon in Air Signs
A Quarter Moon in an Air sign – Gemini, Aquarius, Libra – could have people feeling a bit all over the place.
It could also bring new ideas, help you feel more outgoing and ready to branch out, or bring some anxiety because of the boost to our mental sphere.
Air Moon days bring greater focus on intellectual matters, conversations, and networking.
- Gemini Moons are a great time to build your social network and have discussions with others.
- The Moon in Libra is good for balancing yourself within, beautifying yourself and your environment, and focusing on social justice causes.
- An Aquarius Moon enables you to think more outside the box and step outside your comfort zone.
Prepare for Emotional Times
The lunar phases during each Moon cycle are emotional times, and that’s because the Moon is an emotional body.
So, expect these times to be emotional. Any time we are dealing with our life goals and plans, we are emotional. But you can use these emotions to your advantage, and that’s how you grow spiritually and transform your life.
Your intuition will be most powerful these days.
The next time the Quarter Moon phase is in the sky, refer to this article and try out the suggested rituals. You will be amazed at how conscious you become of the changes you experience as the month progresses!
Related article: How to Understand Transit Periods of the Outer Planets