LAST QUARTER MOON

WHAT IS THE LAST QUARTER MOON PHASE?

The Moon is waning (decreasing in light), and 50% to 25% illuminated.  This phase usually begins the 7th day after Full Moon, and continues until the 10th or 11th.  It will be about 7.5 days until New Moon (from the beginning of this phase).  This is the 6th in the 8 phases of the Lunar month. The Last Quarter Phase begins when the Sun/Moon angle reaches 270º, and continues until the angle reaches 315º (when the Disseminating Moon Phase will begin). This phase is the first half of the 3rd Quarter (when the cycle is divided into 4 quarters rather than 8 phases).  The Last Quarter Moon rises around midnight, and sets mid-day.  She is visible from Moonrise, until Moonset.  Both astrology/magick and astronomy may use either Last Quarter, Waning Last Quarter, or Third Quarter for this phase.  Third Quarter is used more often in astronomy than in astrology/magick.

HOW IT EFFECTS YOUR LIFE

Once again we have reached the balance of light.  The Moon begins this phase exactly half illuminated, but waning.  She is slipping into the darkness, slowly but surely.  Each night we see another sliver of light gone.  She still illuminates the night, but gradually the shadows grow stronger and the light grows weaker.  It is a time of transition, transformation, and evolution.  There is a restless, sometimes uneasy feeling.  Instinctively we feel that something is happening, something is changing.

In the First Quarter Phase we feel the energy of waxing and growing become quite potent at the light overtakes the dark.  We have now reached the opposite point, as the dark overtakes the light and we feel the energy of waning and decreasing with equal potency.  However, the darkness is the quiet, the internal, the letting go, the understanding - it is a more subtle energy.  The mysteries of the shadows are now more alluring than the discoveries of the light.  The energy is deep and powerful, but not so easy to decipher as the extroverted and illuminating energy we felt in the First Quarter.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS PHASE

Half light, half dark.  We are looking back, and looking ahead.  Often we find ourselves at a cross-roads during the Last Quarter Phase, sometimes trying to (or needing to) take both roads at once.  Things began early in the phase are coming to fruition.  There are things that still need to be done, perhaps another big push to finish up.  Maybe they should be continued, or revived.  It's decision time.  Then, there is the question of where to from here.  What will replace things that have been finished?  What will be started in the next phase?  Again, decision time.

Look back: where have you been, and what have you done?  Look ahead:  where are you going, and what will you do?  This is a time of change, as we are beginning to form plans for the future, realizing the repercussions of the past, and deciding what we will (or must) continue, and bring with us.  This isn't a time to dodge responsibility and avoid decisions.  We often find ourselves facing mistakes we have made, and receiving credit for what we have archived.  We become aware of what is finished, or needs to be.  We've been gathering wisdom, contemplating change.  Now we begin to figure out what to do with what we have, and don't have.

IN DAILY LIFE

The Quarter Moon Phases, both first and last, are times of balance followed by direction.  This one is vastly different from the First Quarter, however.  This is a good time to break bad habits and change routines.  Sometimes the more stubborn habits are easier to break now than in the Disseminating Phase.  There is sometimes a vague feeling of chaos in our lives around this time.  Be careful not to let things spin out of control, but don't be too concerned.  It's natural, this is a turning point and there are probably many things going on simultaneously.   Don't let yourself slip into bad habits, and not do what has to be done.  However, don't push yourself too hard either.  Rest and contemplation is integral to the entire waning phase.

The Last Quarter Phase is a good time for taking care of details.  Do things you've been putting off.  Clean out the closet, finish up some paperwork.  Work on wrapping things up, and deal with those 'odds and ends' you've been neglecting.  It's a good time to organize, prioritize, streamline, and weed out.  Clean up clutter, throw away things you don't need and make room for those 'homeless' things laying around.

IN THE LONG RUN

This can be an important point in long-term projects and goals.  This is a time for making the hard decisions, and implementing serious change.  What needs to be eliminated?  If you are have come to a point where you must choose one of two (or more) directions, this is a good time to make your choice.  Now is the time for re-structuring, and re-considering plans.  Take a hard look at what has and hasn't worked, make use of information you've gathered.  This is a time of endings, but not always eliminating things.  This is a good time for finishing, or beginning the final stage of something.  If you have a project near completion, it can be a good time to take the necessary steps to finish it; make time and room for something new.  

Mistakes made along the way may, and problems you've encountered be catching up with you.  Don't ignore them, or give up on what you've been trying to do.  See what there is to be learned, and how they may be avoided in the future.  Implement change where needed, or use this time to figure out what change is needed.  Take an hones look at projects, or things in your life that seem to be going downhill.  Decide if it's worth pursuing or not.  There is a difference in giving up, depressed, frustrated, and illogical or thinking it through and deciding that it's not worth continuing with.  Decide weather you're ending the goal or the plan.  If you're ending the plan, but the goal is still worth striving for, consider a new start, a different approach, in the coming Lunar Cycle.  If you're ending the goal, do what is needed to wrap it up, and start thinking ahead.  Consider the possibilities opened up by the time and resources you're freeing up.