Last Quarter
Half dark, and traditionally the release point — where what did not work gets dropped instead of forced.
What This Phase Is Good For
Letting go, clearing out, settling accounts
What Is Actually Happening
At last quarter half the disc is lit again, on the opposite side from first quarter, and the Moon is three quarters of the way through its cycle.
It rises around midnight and sets around midday, which puts it high in the sky at dawn. It is the phase most often seen in a bright morning sky and mistaken for something unusual.
As at first quarter, the low sun angle along the terminator makes this one of the two best phases for looking at surface detail.
How The Tradition Reads It
The last quarter is read as a turning point in the same way as the first, but toward release rather than commitment: the phase where something is actively let go rather than pushed through.
The tradition associates it with reassessment — deciding what was worth the cycle and what was not, with enough distance to answer honestly.
The half-lit disc carries the same image as at first quarter, reversed: equal parts kept and released, with the balance still open.
Using It Without Overreaching
A reasonable prompt for clearing rather than starting — finishing what is nearly done, and dropping what is not going to be.
That is a useful recurring habit and it does not depend on the Moon doing anything at all.
It predicts nothing and is no basis for any decision of consequence.
The Moon In A Daylight Sky
Seeing the Moon in broad daylight surprises people and is entirely ordinary. It is above the horizon during daylight hours for roughly half of every month.
The last quarter is the phase where it is most noticeable, because it is high in the sky through the morning while the sky is bright.
It is visible for the straightforward reason that it is bright enough to show against a lit sky — nothing unusual, and worth looking for once you know when.
Phase Is Not Sign
Every phase page on this site reports two separate facts, and they run on different clocks. The phase is the angle between Moon, Earth and Sun, on a 29.5-day cycle. The sign is the Moon's position along the zodiac, on a 27.3-day cycle.
Because those numbers differ, any phase can occur in any sign. There is no fixed pairing, and this month's full moon in one sign will next year fall in another.
The phase says what kind of moment the tradition considers this to be; the sign says what flavour it carries. Reading them as one statement is the commonest error in lunar material.
Questions At Last Quarter
Why is it called last quarter? It marks three quarters of the way through the cycle. As with first quarter, the name describes the position, not the lit fraction.
Why can I see the Moon during the day? It is above the horizon in daylight about half the time. This phase makes it most obvious.
Is this a good phase for binoculars? Yes — as good as first quarter, with the opposite half lit.