Balsamic Moon

The Balsamic Moon is the astrological name for the final stretch of the waning crescent — the last few days before New Moon, when only a thin sliver of light remains and shrinks toward nothing. The term comes from the eight-phase lunar system popularized by astrologer Dane Rudhyar; "balsamic" evokes a soothing balm, fitting for the quiet close of the cycle. In the Northern Hemisphere the sliver is lit on the left and thins night by night. Because it rises shortly before the Sun, it is only visible low on the eastern horizon in the pre-dawn sky, and it is lost in the Sun’s glare a day or two before exact New Moon — the window some traditions call the "Dark Moon." It is the least-observed phase, since most sky-watchers look for the Moon in the evening. Sitting right before the reset of New Moon, it marks the very end of the lunar month. MOONX counts down the days remaining to your next New Moon.