How to Ascertain the Moon Phase
Can't tell whether the moon is waxing or waning? Is it going to be a Full Moon next week, or Dark Moon?
The Moon's phases grow from right to left, backwards to how we - in the West - read. So the Waxing Moon begins on the right side of the moon. And the Waning Moon ends on the left side.
But how can you remember this easily?
Here's a simple way to determine whether the moon is waxing or waning.
[edit] Steps
- Flatten your right hand, with your fingers together and your thumb sticking out.
- Hold your hand out at arm's length in front of you. Tilt your thumb towards the ground.
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See how the line along your thumb and first finger makes a curve, roughly like a backwards letter "'C'"? It actually looks sort of like this: ) This is the shape of the Waxing Moon. If the Moon's curve fits along this right-hand curve, it is a Waxing Moon.
Waxing Moon
- Commit it to memory. One way to remember this is to think of drawing in wax. Most people are right-handed, and if they were to draw in wax, they'd use their right hand. So if the Moon fits in your right-hand curve, it is waxing.
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Do the same with the left hand. This makes a shape like: ( This is the shape of the Waning Moon. If the moon fits in this curve, you know it is getting smaller every day, going toward the new moon / dark moon.
Waning Moon
[edit] Tips
- If you have difficulty remembering that waning means getting smaller, you can think that waning means weakening. Weakening has the word waning inside it: W-e-A-k-e-N-I-N-G.
- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is a vast storehouse of knowledge about celestial phenomena. If you want to know anything at all about the moon, including when the next eclipse is going to be, check their website.
[edit] Sources and Citations
Moon Phases & Wicca - Original source of information, used with permission by author.
