Moon phase jewelry shows the whole lunar cycle in a row: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent. Where the triple moon is a symbol of the goddess, the moon phases are a calendar, and wearing one says you keep time by the moon rather than the clock. Here is what each of the eight phases is for in practice, how to read the cycle on a piece, and why I carved it around a black onyx.
The eight phases, and what each one is for
The moon takes about twenty-nine and a half days to go from dark to full and back to dark. Astronomers divide that into eight named phases. The system below is the one we use in the studio. It is a practice, not a rulebook. If your month runs differently, trust your month.
New moon. The moon sits between the earth and the sun and we cannot see her. The dark. This is the beginning: the seed, the blank page, the intention you write down and tell no one.
Waxing crescent. The first sliver of light comes back. Hope, momentum, the first small step. Traditionally the phase for starting what you planned in the dark.
First quarter. Half lit, half dark. This is the phase of friction: the first obstacle shows up and you decide whether you meant it. The practice here is action and decision. Keep going.
Waxing gibbous. More than half full, almost there. Refinement. Adjust the plan, trust the process, be patient with the last stretch. This is the phase where most people quit, which is exactly why we name it.
Full moon. Fully lit, rising as the sun sets. Culmination, clarity, harvest, release. The full moon lights up what was hidden, which is why full moon work so often turns out to be about gratitude and about letting go. It is also when we cleanse and charge our stones.
Waning gibbous. The light begins to leave. The phase of gratitude and sharing: what did the cycle teach you, and who needs to hear it?
Last quarter. Half lit again, the other half this time. Release and forgiveness. Clear out what did not work, cut what you have outgrown, and do it without drama. This is the phase I reach for when a boundary needs drawing.
Waning crescent. The last sliver before the dark. Surrender, rest, recovery. The old moon, the crone's moon. Nothing new starts here. You close your eyes and let the cycle finish.
Then it goes dark, and you begin again. That is the whole teaching: no phase is permanent, including the one you are standing in.
Moon phases or triple moon?
The triple moon is three moons: a waxing crescent, a full moon and a waning crescent, horns facing outward. It is a symbol of the goddess in her three faces, maiden, mother and crone, and its modern form comes out of twentieth-century witchcraft. We wrote about it in full in The Triple Moon Symbol: What It Means and How to Wear It.
Moon phase jewelry is the astronomical cycle itself, usually all eight phases, sometimes fewer when the designer runs out of room. It is not tied to any one tradition. A moon phase piece says "I live by cycles." A triple moon says "I belong to her." One is the calendar and the other is the reason you keep it.
How to read the cycle on a piece
Three things to look for, on ours or anyone's.
Direction. On most moon phase designs the cycle reads left to right, new to full to new, the way we read a line of text. On a ring it wraps, which I love, because a ring has no beginning and the cycle does not either.
Where the full moon sits. Designers put the full moon at the center or at the top for a reason: it is the point of culmination, and whatever sits there is the heart of the piece. On ours, it is a stone.
Whether the new moon is there at all. An empty circle is hard to render in metal, and some designs leave it out. We keep it. The dark phase is the point.
Why I carved the cycle around black onyx
The Moon Phase Shield Ring is one of the pieces we make most and the one I would hand to anyone starting a lunar practice. The phases run around a shield form, hand carved in wax and cast in sterling silver or brass, and in the center sits a smooth natural black onyx.
Onyx was the obvious stone and also the only one. It is a banded chalcedony, dark, dense and protective, the stone we reach for when we need to hold our ground. A ring that promises every phase turns needs a stone that can sit in the dark one without flinching. The oxidized finish does the rest: the phases are dark in their recesses and bright on their edges, so the waxing and waning actually read as light leaving and returning.
If the three faces speak to you more than the eight phases, the Triple Moon Goddess Necklace carries the goddess form with an amethyst at the full moon. Both live in the same place. Browse the Lunar collection for the whole cycle and the goddesses who keep it.
Wearing the cycle
A moon phase piece works as a quiet reminder on its own. If you want to use it:
- Put it on at the new moon with one intention for the month. Say it out loud. The new moon in Scorpio falls on Monday, November 9, which is a good one to start with.
- Touch the full moon on the piece when you need to remember where you are headed.
- Take it off at the waning crescent for a night, cleanse it (moonlight, smoke, sound or breath), and start again.
The moon does not care whether you did it perfectly.
Questions we get about moon phase jewelry
What does moon phase jewelry symbolize? It symbolizes the cycle: beginning, growth, fullness, release and rest, repeating without end. People wear it as a reminder that whatever phase they are in will change, and as a way of keeping time by the moon. Some moon phase pieces are set to a single meaningful night; ours show the whole cycle rather than one date.
Is moon phase jewelry only for witches? No. The phases are astronomy before they are anything else, and the cycle belongs to everyone who has looked up. Witches, pagans and modern mystics use the phases in ritual, and plenty of people simply like being reminded that nothing stays dark for long. You do not need a practice to wear it.
What is the difference between a moon phase ring and a triple moon necklace? A moon phase ring shows the full lunar cycle, usually eight phases, wrapping the band. A triple moon shows three, waxing, full and waning, as the maiden, mother and crone of the goddess. One is a calendar and the other is a symbol. We make both, and the Moon Phase Shield Ring and the Triple Moon Goddess Necklace are the two we would point you to first.
Every phase turns. Wear the whole cycle and you will not forget that the dark one does too.
From the studio
The pieces we built around the cycle, from the whole wheel to a single pair of moons.
- Moon Phase Shield Ring: the eight phases around a smooth black onyx, in sterling silver
- Moon Phase Shield Ring: the same shield ring cast in brass
- Triple Moon Goddess Necklace: the goddess's three moons in sterling silver with an amethyst at the full
- Two Moons Ring: two rainbow moonstones in sterling, a one-of-a-kind
