Cosmos · Lunar calendar
Lunar calendar 2026, read with care.
Phases, named full moons, eclipses and the wheel of the year, calculated to the degree, written without alarmism.
The calendar · recalculated every night
The next full and new moons
The next full moon falls on Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 14:54 (London time), in Gemini. 2026 has 13 full moons, including a blue moon on May 31, 2026.
| Date | Time (London) | Lunation | Sign | Traditional name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, November 9 | 07:02 | New moon | Scorpio | |
| Tue, November 24 | 14:54 | Full moon | Gemini | Beaver Moon |
| Wed, December 9 | 00:52 | New moon | Sagittarius | |
| Thu, December 24 | 01:28 | Full moon | Cancer | Cold Moon |
| Thu, January 7 | 20:25 | New moon | Capricorn | |
| Fri, January 22 | 12:17 | Full moon | Leo | Wolf Moon |
| Sat, February 6 | 15:56 | New moon | Aquarius | |
| Sat, February 20 | 23:24 | Full moon | Virgo | Snow Moon |
The pieces
To read in this practice
Series · 5 reads
Living by the moon: hair, garden, sleep, rituals Cut your hair, sow the garden, read your nights, set your rituals: a gentle, honest guide to syncing everyday life with the moon’s whole 29.5-day cycle. Open the series →Series · 5 reads
Moon phases: the 8 phases of the Moon and what they mean The Moon’s eight phases made simple: what each one is and why it happens, the 29.5-day cycle, the named full moons, so you can read your own sky night after night. Open the series →The vocabulary
Words worth knowing
- Lunar phase A lunar phase is one of the shapes the Moon takes across a roughly 29.5-day cycle, as the angle between the Sun, Earth and Moon shifts.
- New moon The new moon is the phase when the Sun and Moon are aligned on the same side of Earth (in conjunction).
- Full moon The full moon is the phase when the Sun and Moon sit on opposite sides of Earth, in opposition.
- First quarter The first quarter is the waxing half-moon, seen about a week after the new moon.
- Last quarter The last quarter is the waning half-moon, seen about a week after the full moon.
- Waxing moon The waxing moon refers to the whole half of the cycle running from the new moon to the full moon.
- Waning moon The waning moon refers to the whole half of the cycle running from the full moon to the new moon.
- Eclipse An eclipse happens when a new moon or full moon falls near the lunar nodes, the two points where the Moon’s orbit crosses Earth’s path around the Sun.
- Lunar nodes The lunar nodes are the two points where the Moon’s orbit crosses the ecliptic, the plane of the Sun’s apparent path.
- Black Moon Lilith Black Moon Lilith is a calculated point in the birth chart, not a body: it corresponds to the apogee of the Moon’s orbit, the spot where the Moon swings farthest from Earth.
- Eclipse season An eclipse season is the window of about thirty-five days during which the Sun travels close to a lunar node.
- Void-of-course Moon A void-of-course Moon is the stretch when the Moon, before it leaves a zodiac sign, has already made its last major aspect to the other planets.
- Lunar return A lunar return is the moment the Moon comes back to the exact position it held in the natal chart, which happens roughly every 27.3 days, the length of the sidereal month.
- Lunar gardening Lunar gardening is the practice of timing garden work, sowing, transplanting, pruning, harvesting, to the Moon’s cycle: waxing and waning phases, ascending and descending moon, sometimes the zodiac sign it is crossing.
- Ascending moon The ascending moon is the roughly thirteen-day stretch when the Moon rises a little higher in the sky each day, its declination climbing along the zodiac.
- Descending moon The descending moon is the roughly thirteen-day stretch when the Moon rises a little lower in the sky each day, its height falling along the zodiac.
- Red moon (lune rousse) The lune rousse is, in French rural tradition, the lunation that begins just after Easter, roughly between late April and late May.
- Blue moon A blue moon is, in the modern popular sense, the second full moon in a single calendar month; in the older almanac sense, the third full moon in a season that has four.
Explore further
The moon through the signs
- Full moon calendar Every date and exact time of the year, recalculated every night.
- The moon today Today’s phase, how much of it is lit and the sign it crosses.
- The moon phases The eight phases explained, and why the Moon changes shape.
- The full moon in each sign Twelve moods of culmination; start with Aries, then wander.
- The new moon in each sign Twelve fresh starts, to read on the evening of the thin crescent.
- The moon journal Writing with the eight phases, across one whole cycle.
- Your birth moon phase The light of your first night, placed in the cycle from your birth date.
The questions people ask
Short answers, straight to the point.
- When is the next full moon?
- The next full moon falls on Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 14:54 (London time), in Gemini: it is the Beaver Moon. The one after comes on December 24, 2026, in Cancer. The Moon is full roughly every 29.5 days; every date of the year, to the minute, is in the full moon calendar. See the full moon calendar →
- How many full moons are there in 2026?
- 2026 has 13 full moons. A lunation lasts about 29.5 days, so a calendar year holds twelve, sometimes thirteen. This year, the full moon of May 31, 2026 is the second of the month, which is what tradition calls a blue moon.
- What's the difference between the new moon and the full moon?
- The new moon is the cycle's point zero: the moon rises with the sun, invisible, and tradition lays its intentions there. The full moon is the high point: everything that has grown since becomes visible, emotions included. Two thresholds that answer each other, about a fortnight apart. The moment for intentions →
- What should you do at the full moon?
- It's the point in the cycle for harvesting and releasing: rereading the intentions set at the new moon, naming what came to fruition, letting go of what clutters. A notebook is enough; the full moon loves pages written at night. If you want a frame, the full moon journal hands you five questions ready to open. Open the full moon journal →
- Does the full moon keep you from sleeping?
- Chronobiology researchers have measured, in the lab, slightly shorter and lighter sleep on full moon nights; other studies found nothing, and the scientific debate is still open. Tradition simply says those nights run over, and plenty of people feel them pass. If that's you, note it across a few cycles: your own record will be worth more than any study.
- What's an eclipse, within the lunar cycle?
- An eclipse is a lunation that falls right on the axis of the lunar nodes: the new moon then masks the sun, or the earth casts its shadow over the full moon. Astronomy sees precision machinery in it; tradition sees a sharper threshold than the others, where things tip over rather than ripen. Understand eclipses →