What Does the Lunar Calendar Show
The calendar counts the position of the Moon for each day of the chosen month: lunar day, phase, zodiac sign, and moment of transition to the next. Positions are taken from Swiss Ephemeris, so the time of phases and ingresses is accurate to the minute, not rounded to a day. The lunar day begins from the Moon's sunrise, not midnight, so sometimes two lunar days fall into one calendar day.
Eight Phases of the Cycle
The full cycle lasts approximately 29.5 days and is divided into eight phases: new Moon, young, first quarter, growing, full, waning, last quarter, and old. New moon and full Moon are highlighted separately along with the zodiac degree: it is near them that eclipses occur when the light body is close to the lunar orbit nodes.
Void of Course Moon
The period without course begins after the last exact aspect of the Moon in the current sign and lasts until entry into the next: from several minutes to a whole day. In tradition, such an interval is considered unsuitable for matters with irreversible consequences. The calendar shows the start and end of each period in advance for the entire month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does the Lunar Day Not Coincide with the Calendar Day?
The lunar day is counted from the Moon's sunrise, and the sunrise shifts approximately 50 minutes each day. Therefore, the first lunar day is the shortest, and sometimes two lunar days fall into one calendar day.
What does Void of Course mean?
This is the interval between the last exact aspect of the Moon in the current sign and its entry into the next. It lasts from several minutes to a day; traditionally, this time is not used for starting matters with irreversible consequences.
Where Do the Calendar Data Come From?
The Moon's positions are calculated by Swiss Ephemeris directly in your browser for the chosen month. This is the same ephemeris used by professional astrological programs: the accuracy of positions to a second of arc.
How the lunar calendar is built
A lunar day starts at moonrise rather than at midnight, so its boundaries shift daily and depend on latitude. The calendar computes those boundaries for the city you choose instead of using an averaged table, which is why Kyiv, Warsaw and Madrid can sit in different lunar days on the same calendar date.
Beyond the day number the calendar shows the sign the Moon is travelling through, the phase, the time of the next new or full Moon, and the void of course windows. Together that is a full picture of the day rather than a single number.
- •Lunar day number with its start and end times
- •The Moon's sign and the moment it changes
- •Phase, new and full Moon, both quarters
- •Void of course Moon periods
The phases and what they are used for
From new to full the Moon grows, and that stretch traditionally goes to beginnings and accumulation: new projects, introductions, study. From full to new it wanes, and the period suits finishing, sorting out and letting go of what is no longer needed.
New and full Moons are exact moments, not whole days. The calendar gives the time to the minute, and the effect is felt roughly a day before and a day after. Eclipses are new and full Moons close to the lunar nodes, and their influence stretches over months.
The Moon's sign matters more than the day number
In daily practice the sign of the Moon tells you more than the lunar day number. The Moon in Taurus holds money and the body well, in Gemini it scatters attention across ten tasks, in Scorpio it sharpens everything that touches depth and control.
Haircuts, planting and household matters are traditionally tied to the sign: earth signs for what should last, water signs for growth, air signs for quick and reversible actions.
Void of course Moon in plain terms
It is the gap between the Moon's last major aspect in its current sign and its entry into the next one. It lasts from a few minutes to almost a full day. The classical rule says nothing begun in that window turns out the way it was planned.
In practice that means not signing contracts, not making large purchases and not launching new projects. Routine, cleaning, rest and finishing what is already running all go through such periods without trouble.
Another city, another month
The city switches in one click and every lunar day boundary is recomputed for its latitude and time zone. Above the Arctic Circle there are days when the Moon never rises at all, and the calendar states that plainly instead of substituting a made up value.
You can page through any month forward or back, so the calendar works both for planning a holiday and for checking a date in the past.
