New Moon: When It Is, What It Means and What to Do With It

New Moon at a Glance

Next new moon	Monday, November 9, 2026
Exact moment	2:02 AM Eastern, 1:02 AM Central, 12:02 AM Mountain, 11:02 PM Pacific on Sunday, November 8
Sign	Scorpio, at about 17 degrees, with the Sun
The one after	Tuesday, December 8, 2026, 7:52 PM Eastern, in Sagittarius
Next full moon	The Beaver Moon, Tuesday, November 24, 2026, 9:53 AM Eastern, in Gemini
Cycle length	About 29.5 days from one new moon to the next
What it is for	One to three written intentions and the first small step
What it is not for	Big launches, cutting ties or letting go: that is full moon work
Where it lands for you	The house of your chart that holds the new moon’s sign (the rule is below)

When Is the Next New Moon?

The next new moon falls on Monday, November 9, 2026, at 2:02 AM Eastern, in Scorpio.

The four after that: Tuesday, December 8 in Sagittarius (7:52 PM Eastern), Thursday, January 7, 2027 in Capricorn (3:24 PM Eastern), Saturday, February 6 in Aquarius (10:56 AM Eastern, with an annular solar eclipse) and Monday, March 8 in Pisces (4:29 AM Eastern).

The next 13 new moons

Every moment below comes from the US Naval Observatory’s phase tables, converted to Eastern time. Central is one hour earlier, Mountain two hours earlier and Pacific three. Eastern is daylight time from March 14 to November 7, 2027 and standard time outside that window, and the conversions already account for it.

Date (Eastern)	Sign	Eastern time
Mon, Nov 9, 2026	Scorpio	2:02 AM
Tue, Dec 8, 2026	Sagittarius	7:52 PM
Thu, Jan 7, 2027	Capricorn	3:24 PM
Sat, Feb 6, 2027	Aquarius	10:56 AM, annular solar eclipse
Mon, Mar 8, 2027	Pisces	4:29 AM
Tue, Apr 6, 2027	Aries	7:51 PM
Thu, May 6, 2027	Taurus	6:58 AM
Fri, Jun 4, 2027	Gemini	3:40 PM
Sat, Jul 3, 2027	Cancer	11:02 PM
Mon, Aug 2, 2027	Leo	6:05 AM, total solar eclipse
Tue, Aug 31, 2027	Virgo	1:41 PM
Wed, Sep 29, 2027	Libra	10:36 PM
Fri, Oct 29, 2027	Scorpio	9:36 AM

Yes, that is 13 new moons in 12 months. August 2027 gets two, on the 2nd and the 31st, which is why 2027 has 13 new moons while 2026 has 12. Measured from the first row to the last, the gap between one new moon and the next averages 29 days 12 hours 33 minutes across this table, which is where the “29.5 days” figure comes from.

Only one row changes its date on the West Coast: the November new moon falls at 11:02 PM Pacific on Sunday, November 8. The other 12 keep the same calendar date in all four US time zones.

Why some lists show a different date

The US Naval Observatory publishes phases in Universal Time, which runs five hours ahead of Eastern standard time and four ahead of Eastern daylight time. Three of the new moons above cross midnight in between: the December one is 00:52 UT on December 9, the July one is 03:02 UT on July 4, and the September one is 02:36 UT on September 30. If a list says December 9, July 4 or September 30, it is counting in Universal Time. The Moon didn’t move; the clock did.

What Is a New Moon?

Astronomically, a new moon is the instant the Moon and the Sun share the same ecliptic longitude as seen from Earth: they sit at the same point along the zodiac. The US Naval Observatory defines it exactly that way, and that same alignment is what astrologers call the conjunction of the Sun and Moon.

Because the Moon is in the same part of the sky as the Sun, it rises and sets with the Sun and is above the horizon during the day. Its lit half faces the Sun, and the half facing Earth is the Moon’s night side. So there is nothing to see: no sliver, no glow. NASA calls this “the invisible phase of the Moon.”

The Moon’s orbit is tilted compared with Earth’s path around the Sun, so at most new moons it passes a little above or below the Sun rather than straight across it. When it does cross directly in front, the result is a solar eclipse, which is why solar eclipses only ever happen at a new moon. Two of the 13 new moons in the table are eclipses: an annular one on February 6, 2027, visible across Chile, Argentina and the Atlantic, and a total one on August 2, 2027, tracking from Morocco and Spain across North Africa to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia.

Why the cycle is 29.5 days, not 27

NASA puts the Moon’s orbit around Earth at about 27 days. But Earth is also moving around the Sun, so after one orbit the Moon has to travel a bit further to line up with the Sun again. That catching up adds roughly two days, and the result is the 29.5 day cycle from new moon to new moon.

Dark moon and first crescent

The exact new moon lasts a moment. The darkness lasts longer. In the folk and astrological tradition, the day or so when no Moon can be seen is called the dark moon. The Naval Observatory notes that the thin crescent has been spotted with the naked eye as early as 15.5 hours after new moon, but it generally becomes visible to experienced observers about one day later, low in the west after sunset.

In the Islamic calendar the month begins at that first sliver. It starts each month not at the astronomical new moon but when the crescent is actually sighted, a day or so afterward. Astrology uses the exact conjunction; the sky uses the crescent.

What Does a New Moon Mean in Astrology?

A new moon is the Sun and Moon together in one sign: your conscious direction and your instincts pointing the same way for a moment. It is the seed point of the month. Nothing is visible yet, which is exactly why it suits intentions over announcements.

The sign gives each new moon its flavor, and because the Moon has joined the Sun, the new moon always takes the Sun’s sign. November 9 is a Scorpio new moon, so it asks about trust, intimacy and what you share with someone else: a bank account, a bed, a secret. Our Scorpio Moon guide has the texture of that sign. Compare it with the new moon in Virgo, which is about habits, health and tidying your systems, and you’ll see how different two new moons can feel.

Two new moons a year are personal:

• The new moon in your sun sign. The Sun is in your sign for the month around your birthday, and the new moon is always in the Sun’s sign, so your new moon comes once a year within that window. Treat it as your personal new year. Usually it comes once; occasionally a sign gets two, as Capricorn does in 2027, on January 7 and December 27.
• The new moon in your rising sign. This one lands in your first house, the house of your body, your name and how you show up. It is the month to change the way you walk into a room.

For the meaning of each stage that follows, from the first crescent to the full moon and back, read our spiritual meaning of the moon phases.

Which House Does the New Moon Hit in Your Chart?

Here is the part the date sites skip. In the whole sign house system, the sign on your ascendant is your first house, the next sign is your second house, and so on around the zodiac. So the house a new moon activates depends only on two things: its sign and your rising sign.

Number the signs Aries 1 through Pisces 12. Then:

House = (new moon sign number minus rising sign number), add 12 if the result is negative, then add 1.

Two worked examples for the Scorpio new moon on November 9 (Scorpio is sign 8):

• Leo rising (sign 5): 8 minus 5 is 3; 3 plus 1 is 4. The new moon lands in your 4th house: home, family and where you come from.
• Aquarius rising (sign 11): 8 minus 11 is minus 3; add 12 to get 9; 9 plus 1 is 10. The new moon lands in your 10th house: career and public standing.

The full set for November 9:

Rising sign	House	What the Scorpio new moon starts
Aries	8th	Shared money, debts, intimacy
Taurus	7th	A partnership, a contract, a commitment
Gemini	6th	Daily work, routines, health habits
Cancer	5th	A creative project, romance, children
Leo	4th	Home, family, where you live
Virgo	3rd	Writing, learning, siblings, short trips
Libra	2nd	Income, spending, what you own
Scorpio	1st	You: body, name, direction
Sagittarius	12th	Rest, retreat, what you’ve been avoiding
Capricorn	11th	Friends, groups, a long term hope
Aquarius	10th	Career, reputation, a public step
Pisces	9th	Travel, study, what you believe

The same rule works for every row in the 13 month table: swap in the new moon’s sign number. For the Aries new moon on April 6, 2027, a Leo rising gets 1 minus 5, which is minus 4, plus 12 is 8, plus 1 is the 9th house. Don’t know your rising sign? The birth chart calculator gives it from your birth time and place.

The New Moon in Your Sign

One line per sun sign: what your own new moon asks of you, and when the next one falls (Eastern dates from the table above).

• ♈︎AriesTuesday, April 6, 2027. Start the thing you keep saying you’ll start. One bold first step, not a plan.
• ♉︎TaurusThursday, May 6, 2027. Money, comfort, your body. Begin one habit that makes life steadier.
• ♊︎GeminiFriday, June 4, 2027. A new idea, a course, a conversation you’ve been circling. Open it.
• ♋︎CancerSaturday, July 3, 2027. Home and the people in it. Plant something that makes your space feel like yours.
• ♌︎LeoMonday, August 2, 2027, and it is a total solar eclipse. A big new beginning around identity and what you create. Expect it to be loud.
• ♍︎VirgoTuesday, August 31, 2027. Systems, health, the small fixes. Choose one routine and keep it.
• ♎︎LibraWednesday, September 29, 2027. Relationships and fairness. Start the honest conversation, gently.
• ♏︎ScorpioMonday, November 9, 2026, then Friday, October 29, 2027. Trust, intimacy and what you share. Decide who gets the real you.
• ♐︎SagittariusTuesday, December 8, 2026. Vision, travel, belief. Book the trip or sign up for the thing that stretches you.
• ♑︎CapricornThursday, January 7, 2027, and again on Monday, December 27, 2027. Goals and structure. Write the plan for the year, then do step one.
• ♒︎AquariusSaturday, February 6, 2027, with an annular solar eclipse. Friends, the future, your place in the group. A new circle may open.
• ♓︎PiscesMonday, March 8, 2027. Rest, imagination, closing a chapter quietly so a new one can start.

What to Do on a New Moon

Our rule of thumb for a new moon is small and specific. Three steps:

1. Write one to three intentions. Full sentences, present tense, things you can act on. “I am building a savings habit” beats “abundance.”
2. Take the smallest first step that day. Open the account. Send the one message. Buy the notebook. A new moon rewards a seed, not a harvest.
3. Go to bed early. The sky is dark for a reason. Rest is part of the ritual, not a break from it.

What not to do: big public launches, grand announcements and anything that needs an audience. That is the full moon’s job, two weeks on, when everything is lit. The same goes for releasing and cutting ties; our guide to full moon rituals covers that side of the cycle. If you time haircuts by the Moon, the waxing stretch that opens at the new moon is the traditional window for growth; see the best day to cut hair.

One caveat for November 9, 2026: Mercury is retrograde in Scorpio from October 24 to November 13, so this new moon falls inside it. Set your intentions, but reread anything you sign and give new plans until mid November to settle. Our Mercury retrograde guide has the full dates.

New Moon vs Full Moon

The two hinge points of the month, side by side.

	New moon	Full moon
Sun and Moon	Together in one sign	Opposite each other
In the sky	Invisible, up by day	Fully lit, rises around sunset
Eclipse type	Solar	Lunar
Astrology	Begin, plant, intend	Peak, see results, release
Next one	Nov 9, 2026, Scorpio	Nov 24, 2026, Gemini (Beaver Moon)

The full moon rises around sunset because it sits opposite the Sun: as one drops below the western horizon, the other comes up in the east. The next one is the Beaver Moon on November 24, 2026, at 9:53 AM Eastern in Gemini.

As of this writing (November 6, 2026) the Moon is a thin waning crescent, three days from new.

New Moon FAQ