Dancing with the Moon – Part 3 – The Crescent Moon

“The green shoot is healthy and alive. The pressure of life expanding within the seed builds against the hard shell, the product of an earlier time when protection was necessary against the cold, hard winter. If the plant is to live, this shell must go. The shoot must leave the safety of the shell and begin making its way in the world.” The Lunar Report by Phillip Levine, M.A.

Let’s Review

• Part 1: Dancing with the Moon Introduction
• Part 2: The New Moon

At the New Moon, a conception occurred. At the Crescent, the new life quickens in the womb. The sliver of light at the Crescent Moon represents our tentative beginnings. The dark Moon barely visible behind the thin Crescent is our capacity to envision the whole but not see it clearly. The Crescent phase is sometimes called the “old Moon in the new Moon’s arms.”

The Quickening of New Life

During the Crescent phase, the new life quickens. You must overcome your fears and commit to opening yourself to information and resources as you plan for action. The questions to ask yourself are: “What do I fear?” “What do I need to guarantee the survival of my vision?”

New Job Example

Continuing with the example used in the New Moon Phase article, your dream of a new job became a goal during the New Moon Phase. In the Crescent Phase, you doubt yourself and your abilities – your resolve is tested.

As you begin the incremental steps toward seeking your new job, old habits and patterns of limiting behavior set in, and these can hold you back. Yet, within the Crescent is the opportunity (60 degrees waxing sextile) to draw in what you require to move forward.

Change can be frightening, and realizing that something is struggling to be born can seem like a sudden imposition on your sense of security. The new direction still needs to be fully formed. It’s young, immature, and dependent upon you making a commitment without any clear understanding of where it all could lead. The opportunity offered during the Crescent phase can only be received if you can push aside all your doubts.

Resistance is internal during the Crescent Phase, and you can become your own stumbling block. This phase is where many dreams become buried in self-doubt. Using the intention at the New Moon to find a new job, this can be the time when you complete your resume, only to put it in your desk drawer and never take it on an interview.

Breaking Through the Inertia of Old Habits

The Crescent is about breaking through the inertia of old habits and ideas that can prevent you from successfully moving forward into the 1st Quarter Phase, where you’ll take action with activities that will build a better future.

Each of the 8 phases lasts just under four days. During the Crescent phase, the Moon moves from 45 – 90 degrees ahead of the Sun and waxes (increases) from a thin sliver of light visible in the western sky following sunset to the half-light of the 1st Quarter Moon.

Born During the Crescent Phase

Those born during a Crescent Moon are often rebels or reformers. They know what they want to do and have big goals and dreams, but they are also frequently victims of self-doubt. They’re cautious, do their research, and make preparations, but often resist moving forward. They live their lives with a sense of expectation. Although they look to the future and want to move forward, their feet often seem firmly planted in the past. The challenge for those born during the Crescent Moon phase is to channel their anticipation into action.

Example: Britney Spears was born in Kentwood, Louisiana on 12/2/1981 at 1:30 am – Sun 10 degrees Sagittarius, Moon 12 degrees Aquarius.

Secondary Progressed Crescent Moon Phase

What was begun at the SP New Moon will be tested during the SP Crescent Moon. You feel stuck but have an inner urge to push forward and expand. This is the time to be courageous, have faith in yourself, commit to the future, get a clearer idea of where you’re going, and put firmer foundations in place.

Example: John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, at 6:30 pm (birthtime accuracy: excellent) in Liverpool, England. His SP Crescent Moon phase lasted from April 1, 1965, to December 4, 1968. It was the height of the Beatle’s popularity when he met Yoko Ono on November 9, 1966. When he met Yoko, perhaps unknowingly, Lennon began putting down a firmer foundation for his future.

Note: The lunation cycle is a dynamic relationship between the moving Sun and the moving Moon. Instead of calculating the phases from the fixed point of the New Moon, the 45-degree aspects are calculated in terms of the evolving relationship between the Sun and Moon – the synodic cycle.