Moon Phases and the Lunar Cycle

Why track the Moon?

The Moon completes its cycle of phases in about 29.5 days, from dark new moon to full and back. Nearly every tradition that watched the sky built its timing around this circuit: sowing and harvesting by the waxing and waning, fasting by the crescent's return, setting intentions at the new moon, and releasing at the full. The tracker shows the current phase, the exact moments of the coming new and full moons, and any eclipses ahead.

Phases, eclipses, and the older lunar reckoning

The phase is the coarse grain of lunar time. The older traditions kept a finer one: the 28 lunar mansions, which name the Moon's station among the stars for each day of its circuit. For planning by the sky rather than the wall calendar, the two together are the complete instrument. The seasonal counterpart is the Wheel of the Year, the solar gates the lunar months move through.