Waxing vs Waning Moon: How to Tell Which One You Are Looking At

You step outside and see a half-lit moon. Is it on its way to full, or fading towards new? Telling waxing from waning is easier than it sounds once you know a few simple clues.

What the words mean

Waxing is an old word for growing. A waxing moon gets a little brighter every night between the New Moon and the Full Moon. Waning means shrinking: the moon gets a little darker every night from the Full Moon back to the New Moon.

Clue 1: Which side is lit

In the Northern Hemisphere, a waxing moon is lit on the right and a waning moon is lit on the left. A popular memory trick is the word “DOC”: a waxing crescent looks like a D, the full moon like an O and a waning crescent like a C.

In the Southern Hemisphere everything is flipped, because you are viewing the moon “upside down” compared with the north. There, a waxing moon is lit on the left. Near the equator the crescent often appears to lie on its back, like a smile or a boat.

Clue 2: When you see it

A waxing moon is visible in the evening, after sunset. A waning moon rises late at night and is often still visible in the morning sky after sunrise. If you see a moon in daylight in the morning, it is almost certainly waning; in the afternoon, it is waxing.

Clue 3: Where it sits at sunset

At sunset, a waxing crescent hangs low in the west, close to where the sun went down. A First Quarter moon is high in the south (in the north) at sunset. A Full Moon is rising in the east just as the sun sets.

Why it matters for moon lovers

Many lunar traditions treat waxing time as a period for starting and building, and waning time as a period for finishing and releasing. If you like to plan intentions or reflections with the moon, knowing which direction it is moving is the first step.

Not sure what you are seeing tonight? Our Moon Phase Today page shows whether the moon is waxing or waning right now.