The eight moon phase emojis, in order, are 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘.
That’s new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent. Copy the strip above, or jump to the part you need:
- Full list with names and codes
- How to copy or type them
- Waxing vs waning, and the hemisphere catch
- Why the moon has phases, and what the names mean
- Which emoji matches today’s moon
- What they mean in texts
- 🌙, ☽ and the moon faces
- Moon emoji combinations
The 8 Moon Phase Emojis in Order
Read this table top to bottom and you’ve followed one full lunar cycle, which takes about 29.5 days.
| Emoji | Official name | Unicode | Lit side (default emoji view) | Roughly when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌑 | New moon | U+1F311 | None | Day 0 |
| 🌒 | Waxing crescent moon | U+1F312 | Thin sliver, right | Days 1–6 |
| 🌓 | First quarter moon | U+1F313 | Right half | About day 7 |
| 🌔 | Waxing gibbous moon | U+1F314 | Mostly lit, dark edge on left | Days 8–14 |
| 🌕 | Full moon | U+1F315 | All of it | About day 15 |
| 🌖 | Waning gibbous moon | U+1F316 | Mostly lit, dark edge on right | Days 16–21 |
| 🌗 | Last quarter moon | U+1F317 | Left half | About day 22 |
| 🌘 | Waning crescent moon | U+1F318 | Thin sliver, left | Days 23–29 |
The day numbers are approximate. The real cycle isn’t exactly even, so a phase can land a day earlier or later.
How to Copy or Type Moon Phase Emojis
Copy and paste: select the strip here, or use these one by one: 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘
On a computer:
- Windows: press the Windows key and the period key, then search “moon.”
- Mac: press Control + Command + Space, then search “moon.”
In Slack, Discord and similar apps, type a shortcode and the app swaps it for the emoji. Names can differ slightly between apps, so check the suggestion that pops up.
| Emoji | Common shortcode |
|---|---|
| 🌑 | :new_moon: |
| 🌒 | :waxing_crescent_moon: |
| 🌓 | :first_quarter_moon: |
| 🌔 | :waxing_gibbous_moon: |
| 🌕 | :full_moon: |
| 🌖 | :waning_gibbous_moon: |
| 🌗 | :last_quarter_moon: |
| 🌘 | :waning_crescent_moon: |
How to Tell Waxing from Waning
Waxing means growing. Waning means shrinking. Gibbous means more than half lit but not full. Crescent means less than half lit.
The DOC trick (Northern Hemisphere)
Follow the lit shape as the moon goes from growing to shrinking and it spells D-O-C:
- 🌓 looks like a D: the moon is growing.
- 🌕 is the O: full.
- 🌘 looks like a C: the moon is shrinking.
In the Southern Hemisphere it flips to COD: a growing moon looks like a C, and a shrinking one looks like a D. Use this as a rule of thumb for the quarter and crescent shapes.
The Northern vs Southern Hemisphere catch
Standard moon emojis follow the Northern Hemisphere view. In the Southern Hemisphere the real moon looks mirrored, so a growing moon lights up from the left. Order and names stay the same. Only the direction flips. For example, the same waxing gibbous moon looks like 🌔 in the north but like 🌖 in the south, so in the south, match the emoji by its name, not by its shape. Both hemispheres still see the moon waxing or waning at the same time. If you live in the south, your sky may not match the emoji, and that’s normal.
Why the Moon Has Phases
The moon doesn’t change shape, and it doesn’t make its own light. Moonlight is reflected sunlight, and the sun always lights up half of the moon. As the moon circles Earth, we see different amounts of that lit half. At new moon the lit half faces away from us. At full moon it faces us. In between, we see part of it. The time from one new moon to the next is called a lunation, and it lasts about 29.5 days.
A common mix-up: phases are not caused by Earth’s shadow. Earth’s shadow on the moon is a lunar eclipse, which is a separate and much rarer event.
What the Names Mean
| Word | Meaning | Emojis |
|---|---|---|
| Waxing | Growing | 🌒 🌓 🌔 |
| Waning | Shrinking | 🌖 🌗 🌘 |
| Crescent | Less than half lit, from the Latin crescere, “to grow” | 🌒 🌘 |
| Quarter | A quarter of the way around the orbit (half the disc is lit) | 🌓 🌗 |
| Gibbous | More than half lit, from the Latin gibbus, “hump” | 🌔 🌖 |
Some sources call 🌗 the “third quarter” moon. NASA’s Space Place does too. In emoji pickers, the standard name is last quarter moon.
Waxing or Waning in the Real Sky
You don’t need a calendar to guess. A waxing moon is up in the evening, after sunset. A waning moon rises late at night and is often still visible in the morning sky.
Which Emoji Matches Today’s Moon?
An emoji can’t tell you the current phase. It’s just a picture. To pick the right one:
- Look up today’s phase on any moon calendar or almanac site.
- Match the phase name to the table above.
- If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, match by name, not by which side is lit.
This comes up a lot because of The Password Game, a browser game with a rule that asks for the current moon phase as an emoji. If you’re stuck on it, check the real phase first. If you’d rather guess, there are only eight options.
Moon emojis also don’t update themselves. A 🌕 you posted last week stays a 🌕, even though the real moon has moved on.
What Moon Phase Emojis Mean in Texts
Unicode gives these emojis names, not moods. Everything below is how people tend to use them, and it varies by person and community.
🌑 New moon
Most often literal: a dark night, or no moon visible. In astrology and self-improvement circles it’s also used for fresh starts and setting intentions.
🌒 🌓 🌔 Growing moon
These three are the “building” phases. People use them for something that’s started, is halfway, or is nearly done. 🌓 often fits a decision point or the middle of a project. 🌔 fits “almost there.”
🌕 Full moon
The most-used phase, and the most flexible. It can be the literal moon, a big night out, a peak of energy or emotion, or a joke about strange behavior. It also carries a spooky side: Emojipedia notes it’s commonly used around Halloween and is associated with werewolves and Friday the 13th. Context decides.
🌖 🌗 🌘 Shrinking moon
The “winding down” phases. People use them for wrapping up, reflecting, resting or letting go before something new begins. They also get used literally in captions about the night sky.
Examples in conversation
Tara: Halfway through the course already 🌓
Zoe: Look at you go. Keep it up.
What it suggests: Tara is using the half-lit moon as a symbol for “midpoint.” The emoji only works this way because the words explain it.
Hasan: Can’t sleep, the moon is unreal tonight 🌕
Imran: Same. Just stepped outside to look at it.
What it suggests: A plain, literal use. Nothing symbolic is going on.
Dana: Final week of the project 🌘
Lee: Nearly there. Don’t burn out.
What it suggests: A late-cycle phase to signal “winding down.” It fits because the waning crescent comes right before the cycle resets.
Maya: Starting my new routine tomorrow 🌑
Ali: A fresh start. Good luck.
What it suggests: The new moon as a “beginning.” Without the caption, it would just read as night.
Moon Emojis That Look Like Phases but Aren’t
🌙 Crescent moon
It looks like a phase but it isn’t one of the eight. It’s a general “moon” or “night” emoji and is common in good night messages. If you specifically mean the waxing crescent, use 🌒 instead.
☽ and ☾ text symbols
These are plain text symbols, not color emojis. They work in more places than emoji do, so they’re popular in bios and captions. Their official names are first quarter moon and last quarter moon, but people mostly use them as simple crescent decorations.
Moon faces: 🌚 🌝 🌛 🌜
These are smileys, not phase trackers.
- 🌚 New moon face: often used for shade, awkward moments, or a sly or suggestive tone.
- 🌝 Full moon face: usually cheerful or smug, and sometimes ironic.
- 🌛 🌜 Quarter moon faces: mostly decorative, often in night or goodnight messages.
The faces look different on each platform, so tone can shift. On some devices the eyes glance sideways, on others they look straight ahead. Don’t read too much into a single face.
Why Moon Emojis Look Different on Different Devices
The eight phases are standard characters, but Apple, Google, Samsung and others each draw their own art. Colors, craters and glow vary. The phase and name stay the same, and the lit side should still follow the table above on any modern device.
Moon Emoji Combinations and What They Usually Say
Moon emojis rarely travel alone. These pairings are common, but none has an official meaning. Treat the column on the right as the usual reading, not a rule.
| Combination | Usual reading |
|---|---|
| 🌙✨ | Night, calm or dreamy mood. Often a goodnight message. |
| 🌙💤 | Going to sleep, or a pointed “goodnight.” |
| 🌕🐺 | A werewolf or “full moon” joke, usually around Halloween or when people are acting strange. |
| 🌕🎃 | Halloween night. |
| 🌚👀 | Side-eye. Something shady or awkward is going on. |
| 🌝🌚 | Playful “two sides” or light-and-dark joke. Tone depends on the chat. |
| 🌕🚀 | “To the moon,” meaning big hopes or hype. Common in finance and meme talk. |
| 🌙❤️ or 🌕💕 | Affection, usually with a caption like “you’re my moon.” Without words it’s vague. |
| 🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘 | The full cycle. Used for “phases,” the passing of time, or an aesthetic bio line. |
Example
Sana: Lights out. Early flight tomorrow 🌙💤
Rida: Safe travels. Text me when you land.
What it suggests: Here 🌙 means night and sleep. It isn’t a phase. Swap in 🌗 and the message would suddenly sound like it’s about the sky.
FAQ
What order are the moon phase emojis in?
🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent.
How many moon phase emojis are there?
Eight. There’s also the separate 🌙 crescent and four moon face emojis, but those aren’t part of the eight-step sequence.
Which emoji is the half moon?
There are two: 🌓 (first quarter, right side lit) and 🌗 (last quarter, left side lit).
Is 🌚 the new moon?
It’s the new moon with a face. 🌑 is the plain new moon. 🌚 is mostly used for humor or shade.
Do moon emojis have official meanings?
Only names. Moods and symbolism come from how people use them.
Why does the moon have phases?
Because the sun lights half of the moon and, as it orbits Earth, we see different parts of that lit half over about 29.5 days.
Are moon phases caused by Earth’s shadow?
No. Earth’s shadow causes a lunar eclipse, not the monthly phases.
What does gibbous mean?
More than half lit but not full. It comes from a Latin word for “hump.” 🌔 is waxing gibbous and 🌖 is waning gibbous.
Does the emoji change with the real moon?
No. It’s a fixed picture. You have to choose the one that matches the phase you mean.
Shahzad is a digital communication writer at Emjivo.com, passionate about emoji meanings, texting slang, and online expressions. Alex creates simple, helpful guides to help readers understand emojis and communicate better in everyday conversations.
