Where’s the Moon? A Story of Waiting, Wondering, and Dark Moon Energy

23 hours ago
4 min read

A starry night sky with no visible moon, framed by tall gumtrees reaching into the dark. The scene is quiet, still, and full of subtle magic.

Last night around 8 o’clock, I was out walking the dog, breathing in the cool spring air, when I noticed something strange. The streetlights weren’t on. It was darker than usual… that kind of darkness that makes you pause and instinctively look up.

And I did.

The sky was breathtaking. Full of stars. Dozens and dozens, scattered across the sky like sugar crystals. A deep indigo canopy, glittering. But something was missing.

There was no moon.

No crescent. No glow. No quiet lunar presence keeping watch.

And for a moment, I truly wondered, am I losing it?

I always know what phase the moon is in. I live by it. Breathe by it. Work with it. But even I had a moment of second guessing. I stood there in the shadows, scanning the sky like something had gone wrong.

🌘 Understanding Dark Moon Energy and the Waning Crescent

Here’s the thing most people don’t realise. The moon doesn’t rise at the same time every day. It shifts… usually by about 45 to 60 minutes… as she moves through her cycle.

Last night, she didn’t rise until 9:51 PM.

And I was out walking around 8 PM, under that star filled sky, wondering where she’d gone.

So she wasn’t gone. She just hadn’t arrived yet.

That’s part of the rhythm I sometimes forget… and maybe we all do. The moon doesn’t operate on our schedule. She moves in her own time. And sometimes, we have to simply wait for her light to return.

🌑 Approaching the Dark Moon

For a moment, I thought we might already be in the Dark Moon. That final, sacred sliver of time at the end of the lunar cycle when the moon disappears entirely. I stood there under the stars, trying to recalibrate. To feel into it.

The energy was quiet and strange enough to fool me.

But no… the Dark Moon hasn’t arrived just yet.

We’re still in the waning crescent. Those mysterious few days where the moon becomes elusive, rising later each night and growing thinner and softer. These are the days that lead into the Dark Moon — a time often associated with powerful energetic shifts, sometimes called Dark Moon energy.

And while she’s not visible during the evening hours anymore, she’s still with us… just in the quieter hours, showing up when most of us are already dreaming.

Tonight, 12 September, she’ll rise even later… around 11:05 PM… her last quiet offerings before retreating completely.

The true Dark Moon, that liminal space when the moon is no longer visible but not yet reborn, will arrive around 20 to 21 September.

The New Moon will be born on 22 September at 5:54 AM AEST.

Some say this is when the veil is thinnest between what is seen and what is sensed… a sacred pause where the moon slips into her cloaked form and stirs our deeper knowing.

🌌 I Knew Before I Knew

What struck me most is that I felt her absence. Not with my head… with my body.

I didn’t need to check an app or a lunar calendar. I just knew something was different. My whole being noticed the silence where she would usually be.

That’s the power of being tuned in to the cycles. Even when they shift beneath us, something ancient inside us still knows.

Even if you don’t track the moon regularly, you might have moments like this too. A soft confusion. A pause. A sense that the sky feels off. And more often than not, it’s the moon calling in her own mysterious way… from a different part of the sky, at a different hour, in a different form.

🌘 The Waning Crescent Threshold

These last few days of the moon’s visible journey are powerful in their own right. This is the threshold energy. The in between. The moment when the moon is still technically there… but hiding.

You may feel foggy, forgetful, overly emotional.

You may crave quiet, sleep, or simplicity.

You might feel called to tidy, sort, reflect, and release.

This isn’t quite the time for setting intentions. That comes with the New Moon. But it is the time to listen for what’s ready to dissolve. The old stories, the worn out habits, the parts of you that feel tired.

The moon is showing us how to quietly disappear. Not because we’re broken… but because we’re allowed to rest.

🌙 A Little Moonrise Magic

If you’re someone who tracks the moon… or wants to… here’s a little moonrise magic to remember:

🌕 Full Moon: Rises around sunset. Lights up the entire night
🌗 Waning Gibbous: Rises later in the evening
🌘 Last Quarter: Rises around midnight
🌙 Waning Crescent: Rises closer to morning or in the very late evening
🌑 Dark Moon: Often no visible rise. She is hidden, between one cycle and the next
🌑 New Moon: Rises with the sun. Invisible in the sky
🌒 Waxing Crescent: Rises mid morning, sets in the evening
🌓 First Quarter: Rises around noon
🌔 Waxing Gibbous: Rises in the afternoon and brightens as night falls

She doesn’t belong to just the night.

She has her own rhythm… sometimes sharing space with sunrise, sometimes slipping in while we sleep.

✍🏼 Journaling Prompts for the Waning Crescent

What am I sensing, even if it hasn’t fully revealed itself yet?
Where am I being asked to trust timing I don’t control?
What part of me is quietly waiting to become… or to let go?

🕯️ With love from me to you…

I’m so glad you’ve wandered through this little moment with me. Whether you’re moon watching too, or simply feeling a shift you can’t quite name… know that you’re not alone. These quiet thresholds are part of our rhythm too.

I’ll be here… walking the dog under starlit skies, lighting a candle when I get home, and listening to whatever the moon is whispering next.

See you under the next moon.

Blessed Be

Angela 🌙

Moonrise times in this post were verified using TimeandDate.com, which is a helpful site if you’re ever curious to check what the sky is doing where you live.