Birth Moon Phase Calculator
Enter your date of birth to find the phase of the Moon on the day you were born, and what astrologers read into it.
The moon phase you were born under is how much of the Moon's face was lit by the Sun on the day of your birth, which depends on how far the Moon had travelled round the Earth since the last New Moon. There are eight named phases, from New Moon through Full Moon and back, and the whole cycle takes 29.5 days. In astrology, your birth phase is read as a clue to your temperament, alongside your Sun and Moon signs.
The eight phases of the Moon
The phase is set by the angle between the Moon and the Sun as seen from Earth. At New Moon they line up; at Full Moon they are opposite. The calculator measures that angle for your birth moment and names the phase it falls in. Each phase covers 45 degrees of the cycle, about three and a half days.
| Phase | Angle | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| New Moon | 337.5–22.5° | The Moon is between Earth and the Sun and its lit side faces away from us. |
| Waxing crescent | 22.5–67.5° | A thin sliver grows on the right (seen from the northern hemisphere) in the evening sky. |
| First quarter | 67.5–112.5° | Half the disc is lit. The Moon is a quarter of the way round its orbit. |
| Waxing gibbous | 112.5–157.5° | More than half lit and still growing, rising in the afternoon. |
| Full Moon | 157.5–202.5° | The whole face is lit. The Moon rises at sunset, opposite the Sun. |
| Waning gibbous | 202.5–247.5° | Past full and shrinking, rising later each evening. |
| Last quarter | 247.5–292.5° | Half lit again, now the left half, visible in the morning. |
| Waning crescent | 292.5–337.5° | A thin sliver on the left before dawn, shrinking toward the next New Moon. |
The four main phases, New Moon, First quarter, Full Moon and Last quarter, are also exact moments. The calculator tells you if one of them happened on your birthday and at what time, so you can see whether you were born before or after it.
A worked example
Take a birth at 9:15 am on August 10, 1992 in New York. The Moon was 149 degrees ahead of the Sun, so it was waxing gibbous, 93% lit and 11.7 days old, counting from the New Moon on July 29. The Moon was in Capricorn. In the astrologer's lunation types, that is a Gibbous type.
Lunation types in astrology
Astrologers use a slightly different way of dividing the cycle, set out by Dane Rudhyar in the 1960s. His eight lunation types start at the exact New Moon and each runs for 45 degrees, so the Full Moon type covers the days just after the Full Moon rather than the days either side of it. Your astronomical phase and your lunation type can therefore have different names. The calculator gives both.
New Moon type
Born in the first three and a half days after the New Moon. Astrologers read this type as instinctive, eager and forward-looking: a self-starter who acts on impulse and projects themselves into the world, sometimes without seeing how they come across.
Crescent type
The Moon is a growing crescent. The type is described as determined to break away from the past and make a mark, with a struggle between new impulses and old habits. Self-assertion is the lesson.
First Quarter type
From the first quarter to about halfway to full. Astrologers read a person of action and decision, who builds structures, clears away what is outdated and thrives under pressure. Crisis tends to bring out their strength.
Gibbous type
The Moon is swelling toward full. The type is described as analytical and devoted to improving things: questioning, refining and searching for meaning. They want to get it right before they show it.
Full Moon type
Born around and after the Full Moon. Astrologers read a person whose life is lived through relationships and awareness of others, seeking fulfilment and clarity, and often pulled between opposites.
Disseminating type
The Moon has begun to wane. The type is described as a natural teacher or communicator who wants to share what they have learned and spread ideas they believe in.
Last Quarter type
From the last quarter toward the end of the cycle. Astrologers read a person who questions the values they were given and reorients their life around inner principles, sometimes through a crisis of belief.
Balsamic type
The thin waning crescent before the New Moon. The type is described as visionary and future-minded, finishing old business and preparing the ground for something new. Often felt as being out of step with their time.
Full moons and new moons in 2026
The exact moments of every Full Moon and New Moon this year, in Universal Time. Add or subtract your time zone's offset for local time; near midnight that can move the date by a day.
| Full Moon | New Moon |
|---|---|
| Jan 3, 10:03 | Jan 18, 19:52 |
| Feb 1, 22:09 | Feb 17, 12:01 |
| Mar 3, 11:38 | Mar 19, 01:24 |
| Apr 2, 02:12 | Apr 17, 11:52 |
| May 1, 17:23 | May 16, 20:01 |
| May 31, 08:45 | Jun 15, 02:54 |
| Jun 29, 23:57 | Jul 14, 09:44 |
| Jul 29, 14:36 | Aug 12, 17:37 |
| Aug 28, 04:19 | Sep 11, 03:27 |
| Sep 26, 16:49 | Oct 10, 15:50 |
| Oct 26, 04:12 | Nov 9, 07:02 |
| Nov 24, 14:54 | Dec 9, 00:52 |
| Dec 24, 01:28 |
Comparing two birthdays
A popular way to compare two people is to put their birth moons side by side. If one was born under a waxing crescent and the other under a waning crescent, the two lit parts face opposite ways and together look like a whole Moon. Some call these mirror phases a sign of a good match. Open "Compare with someone else's birthday" in the form to see both moons and whether they mirror or match each other. There is no astronomy behind the idea, but it is a pleasant thing to look at together.
Questions people ask
What moon phase was I born under?
Enter your date of birth above. You do not usually need a birth time, because the Moon spends about three and a half days in each phase. If your birthday was the day of a Full, New or quarter Moon, add your time to see which side of it you fall on.
Does the moon phase depend on where I was born?
The phase at a given moment is the same everywhere on Earth. What changes with place is the local date and time, so someone born at the same instant in Tokyo and New York has the same phase but a different birthday. Choosing your birthplace's time zone in the form takes care of this. From the southern hemisphere the Moon looks flipped, with the lit side on the left while waxing, but the phase name is the same.
Was I born on a full moon?
The exact Full Moon is a single moment, but the Moon looks full for about a day either side. The calculator shows the phase as Full Moon for births within about 22 degrees of that moment, roughly a day and three quarters, and gives the exact time if the Full Moon fell on your birthday.
What does it mean to be born on a new moon?
Astrologers read New Moon births as instinctive and forward-looking, people who start things. Astronomically, it means the Moon was between the Earth and the Sun and could not be seen.
How accurate is the calculator?
The Moon and Sun positions come from the same astronomy library used for every calculator on this site, and the Moon is checked against NASA's JPL Horizons on the How we calculate page. The phase angle is good to a fraction of a degree, far finer than the 45-degree width of a phase.
What is my moon sign?
The result shows the sign the Moon was in. For your Moon sign together with your Sun and rising signs, use the sun, moon and rising calculator.