Waxing Crescent vs Waning Crescent

The Waxing Crescent is when the Moon has just started to appear after the New Moon starts heading towards the Full Moon, and the Waning Crescent is when the Moon is heading towards another New Moon!

The term Crescent has one definition that implies that Crescent means the Crescent moon stages in both Waxing and Waning and it is important to note that Crescent is also defined as “growing, increasing, or developing.”

Because of this slight issue in information, It is important to seperate both Crescent phases and this has been done by referring to the Waning Crescent as the Balsamic Moon.

Balsamic means “residue, healing, restoring, or yielding” and this shows that the Waning Crescent Moon or Balsamic Moon is the Moon where we renew and yield to the Moon cycles after a lot of effort – which is a perfect term for the end of the Moon Phases in that specific Moon Cycle before the New Moon reveals itself!

With Crescent Moon Phases, it is also important to note that the Moon appears differently depending on what side of the equator you are on and it still follows a similar trajectory/path, just flipped!

So in the North Hemisphere the Moon phases move from right to left, and the South Hemisphere phases move left to right, so for us in the Southern Hemisphere the Moon moves from Left to Right when going from New Moon to Full Moon!

How incredible is this, almost like a mirror image!