Waning Gibbous
Share what you have learned
Next Waning Gibbous: Mon, October 26 to Sun, November 1 (UTC)
Light begins to shrink. The waning gibbous is for gratitude, generosity and passing on what the cycle taught you.
The meaning of the waning gibbous
After the full moon, the lit part of the Moon slowly shrinks and it rises later each night. The energy turns outward and generous.
This phase is about digesting the lessons of the full moon and sharing them: teaching, helping and giving back.
The full moon showed you a result. Now you can ask what it taught you while the details are still fresh. Write the lesson down in a sentence or two. A lesson you can explain to someone else is one you are likely to keep.
Astrologers sometimes call this the disseminating moon, because it spreads what the cycle produced. It suits conversations, writing and mentoring, any way of putting what you know into other people’s hands.
The waning gibbous in the sky
- Disc lit
- 99 to 51%, shrinking each night
- Angle from the Sun
- Between 180° and 270°
- Rises
- In the evening, after sunset
- Sets
- In the morning, after sunrise
- Northern Hemisphere
- Lit on the left, with the shadow growing on the right
- Southern Hemisphere
- Lit on the right, with the shadow growing on the left
The angle is measured from the Sun eastward to the Moon. Rise and set times are local and shift with the season and your latitude.
Waning Gibbous rituals
- ✦Share one lesson from this month with a friend or in writing.
- ✦Do something generous without being asked.
- ✦Thank someone who helped you during this cycle.
In love
Show appreciation. Tell the people close to you what they have taught you. If the full moon brought a hard talk, follow up calmly this week and say what you understood from it.
In work and money
Mentor, document, hand over. Make what you learned useful to others. Write the short guide you wish you had at the start, or walk a colleague through what worked.
What to avoid during the waning gibbous
- ×Lecturing. Share what you learned when someone asks or when it plainly helps.
- ×Taking on a big new commitment while you are still digesting the last one.
- ×Rushing past the lesson to get to the next goal.
Journal prompts
- “What did this cycle teach me, and who could it help?”
- “What am I grateful for that I did not notice at the time?”
- “What would I tell myself at the last new moon if I could?”
Dane Rudhyar’s lunation type: Disseminating
Born under the waning gibbous
Rudhyar called a Moon 225° to 270° from the Sun the Disseminating type. It is linked with people who want to share an idea, a cause or a way of life, and who often make natural teachers, writers or organizers. The phase is read as mature and outward facing. You find meaning by spreading what you believe in.
In natal astrology the phase comes from the Sun-Moon angle in eight bands of 45°, so it can differ slightly from the phase you would have seen that night. Since the band begins 45° after the full moon, people born in the first days of the visible waning gibbous are counted as the Full Moon type. Your free birth chart shows where your Sun and Moon were when you were born.
Upcoming waning gibbous dates
The waning gibbous runs from the full moon to the last quarter. The next windows:
- Mon, October 26 to Sun, November 1
- Tue, November 24 to Tue, December 1
- Thu, December 24 to Wed, December 30
- Fri, January 22, 2027 to Fri, January 29, 2027
- Sat, February 20, 2027 to Sun, February 28, 2027
- Mon, March 22, 2027 to Tue, March 30, 2027
Dates in UTC.
Common questions
When is the next waning gibbous?
The next waning gibbous is Mon, October 26 to Sun, November 1 (UTC). The one after that is Tue, November 24 to Tue, December 1.
How long does the waning gibbous phase last?
About seven days, from the full moon to the last quarter. It happens once every lunar cycle of about 29.5 days.
Where do I look for the waning gibbous?
It rises in the evening, an hour or so later each night, and is still up in the west after sunrise.
How is the waning gibbous different from the full moon?
The full moon is the moment the whole face is lit. In the week after it, the waning gibbous keeps most of its light but loses a little more each night, and it rises later in the evening. Astrologically, the full moon reveals a result and the waning gibbous is for sharing what it taught you.
What comes after the waning gibbous?
The last quarter, about three weeks into the cycle, when the Moon is half lit again on the opposite side from the first quarter. It is a phase for clearing and letting go.
How do I tell a waning gibbous from a waxing gibbous?
In the Northern Hemisphere, a waxing gibbous is lit on the right and a waning gibbous on the left. Timing helps too. The waxing gibbous is already up at sunset, while the waning gibbous rises later in the evening and is still visible in the morning.
What does it mean to be born under the waning gibbous?
It means the Moon was 225° to 270° ahead of the Sun, counting forward, when you were born. Rudhyar called this the Disseminating type and associated it with teaching and spreading ideas.
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