Waning Crescent Moon Emoji
U+1F318:waning_crescent_moon:About Waning Crescent Moon 🌘
Waning Crescent Moon () is part of the Travel & Places group in Unicode. Added in Unicode E1.0. Type on GitHub and Slack to use it. Click copy above to grab it, paste it anywhere.
Works in iMessage, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Instagram, Twitter, Gmail, and every app that supports Unicode.
Often associated with crescent, moon, space, and 1 more keywords.
Meaning varies across cultures, see cultural notes below.
Scroll down for the full story: meaning, trends, combos, and more.
How it looks
What does it mean?
🌘 is the waning crescent moon: a thin sliver of light on the left side of an otherwise dark circle. Eighth and final of the astronomical phase emojis. Between 1% and about 49% of the visible disc is illuminated, and the cycle is ending. Roughly days 25-29 of the 29.5-day synodic month.
Approved in Unicode 6.0 (2010) as WANING CRESCENT MOON SYMBOL. The mirror image of 🌒. If 🌒 is 'the first sliver, hope is growing,' 🌘 is 'the last sliver, the cycle is closing.'
In astrology, this phase gets the dramatic name 'balsamic moon.' Balsamic is the Latin-derived word for balsam resin, an ancient healing ointment. The metaphor: this is when you rest, heal, and close the old cycle before the new moon resets everything. Wellness and astrology content treats 🌘 as the ultimate 'rest and surrender' emoji.
It's also the moon of early risers. 🌘 is only visible in the predawn eastern sky, rising 1-3 hours before the sun. If you're awake for sunrise, this is the moon you see. Pair it with Venus (the morning star) and you get one of the most photographed celestial scenes in amateur astronomy.
🌘 lives in three corners of the internet. First, astrology and moon-magic content: 'waning crescent 🌘, rest and surrender,' 'balsamic moon rituals,' 'time to release and reset.' Second, predawn photography: amateur astronomers and landscape photographers post it with dawn-sky photos, often with Venus nearby. Third, insomnia and late-night-early-morning content: the 'only me and the moon awake' aesthetic.
Like 🌒, this emoji gets mixed up constantly. People reach for whichever direction feels more 'moon-shaped' and pick wrong half the time. The Northern Hemisphere rule: a crescent lit on the left (🌘) is waning. A crescent lit on the right (🌒) is waxing. Or: evening sky = waxing, morning sky = waning.
The waning crescent moon: the last sliver of light before the cycle restarts. In astrology, the 'balsamic' rest-and-heal phase. In astronomy, the thin crescent visible in the predawn eastern sky. Metaphor for closure, surrender, and endings.
🌘 usage by context
The Complete Lunar Cycle
| Illumination | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 🌑 New Moon | 0% | Invisible. New beginnings, intentions, void. |
| 🌒 Waxing Crescent | 1-49% | First sliver. Growth starting, hope emerging. |
| 🌓 First Quarter | 50% | Half lit (right). Decision point, action. |
| 🌔 Waxing Gibbous | 51-99% | Almost full. Refinement, patience. |
| 🌕 Full Moon | 100% | Fully lit. Completion, intensity, werewolves. |
| 🌖 Waning Gibbous | 99-51% | Starting to shrink. Gratitude, sharing. |
| 🌗 Last Quarter | 50% | Half lit (left). Release, forgiveness. |
| 🌘 Waning Crescent | 49-1% | Final sliver. Rest, surrender, closure. |
Emoji combos
Origin story
The waning crescent is the final visible phase of the cycle before the moon disappears into the new-moon darkness. Because it rises just before the sun, it's up for a short window in the eastern sky each morning. Many people have seen it without realizing which phase it is: the thin moon hanging over a pink horizon at 5am is almost always waning.
In astrology, the 'balsamic moon' term traces to Dane Rudhyar's 1967 book The Lunation Cycle, which borrowed the name from traditional herbalism. Balsam is a resin that comes from several tree species (including Balm of Gilead) and has been used as a healing ointment for thousands of years. Rudhyar's metaphor: the last three to four days of the lunar cycle are a healing and closing phase, when the psyche winds down before the next new moon.
Amateur astronomers love the waning crescent because it pairs so often with planets. Mercury and Venus are inner planets, so they appear near the sun and only become visible near dawn or dusk. When a waning crescent moon meets Venus in the morning sky, you get the conjunction shot: a thin lit crescent, the bright 'morning star,' and usually a pink or amber horizon. It's one of the most-reliably photogenic setups in the entire night sky, and it happens several times a year.
Approved in Unicode 6.0 (October 2010) as WANING CRESCENT MOON SYMBOL. Mirror counterpart is 🌒 (waxing crescent). Both represent roughly the same amount of illumination, lit from opposite sides.
Around the world
Western astrology
The 'balsamic moon' is treated as a rest-and-heal phase. Wellness accounts, witchy Instagram, and therapist TikTok all post 🌘 with 'surrender' or 'close the cycle' language.
East Asian lunar calendars
The waning crescent phase is traditionally the last few days of the lunar month. In the Chinese lunar calendar, some observances (such as certain memorial rituals) are tied to this window.
Amateur astronomy (global)
The waning crescent is prized for Venus-moon conjunctions and early-morning photography. Astro-Twitter lights up with 🌘 any time a planetary conjunction falls in this phase.
From balsam, an ancient healing resin. The term comes from Dane Rudhyar's The Lunation Cycle (1967). Rudhyar used balsam's healing association to describe this phase's psychological theme: rest, healing, and closure before the next cycle.
Often confused with
Mirror image. 🌒 is lit on the right (waxing, evening sky). 🌘 is lit on the left (waning, morning sky). Same illumination percentage, opposite half, opposite meaning.
Mirror image. 🌒 is lit on the right (waxing, evening sky). 🌘 is lit on the left (waning, morning sky). Same illumination percentage, opposite half, opposite meaning.
Mirror images. 🌒 (waxing crescent) is lit on the right, visible at sunset, and represents the cycle beginning. 🌘 (waning crescent) is lit on the left, visible before sunrise, and represents the cycle ending. Same illumination level, opposite meaning.
Caption ideas
Fun facts
- •The waning crescent is called the 'balsamic moon' in astrology, after balsam resin, an ancient healing ointment. The phrase comes from Dane Rudhyar's 1967 book The Lunation Cycle.
- •🌘 is only visible in the predawn eastern sky. It rises 1-3 hours before the sun. A crescent in the evening is waxing (🌒); a crescent in the morning is waning (🌘).
- •The waning crescent and Venus (the 'morning star') frequently appear together. Their conjunctions are among the most photographed events in amateur astronomy.
- •Each crescent phase (waxing and waning) lasts about 3.7 days. The crescent phases are the shortest-lived, which is why catching them means knowing exactly when and where to look.
- •In the Chinese lunisolar calendar, the waning crescent days are the final days of the lunar month. Some traditional rituals and observances are scheduled for this window.
- •In the Southern Hemisphere, the waning crescent appears lit on the right side, the mirror-flipped version of the Northern Hemisphere view. Unicode renders the Northern view.
- •Earthshine is often visible on the waning crescent too, just before sunrise. Its faint glow on the dark portion of the disc is sunlight bouncing off the day-side of Earth.
Trivia
For developers
- •🌘 is . UTF-8: . HTML entity: .
- •Shortcodes: (Slack, Discord, GitHub).
- •Unicode name: WANING CRESCENT MOON SYMBOL. Mirror of U+1F312 (🌒 waxing crescent).
Only in the predawn eastern sky. It rises 1-3 hours before the sun. Best viewing: 30-60 minutes before sunrise on the last 3-4 days of a lunar cycle. Often appears near Venus.
See the full Emoji Developer Tools guide for regex patterns, encoding helpers, and more.
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