The illuminated part continues to grow into a Waxing Gibbous Moon, until 14 to 15 days into the cycle, we see the entire face of the Moon lit up at Full Moon.
The illuminated part then gradually shrinks into a Waning Gibbous Moon, and when it reaches the Third Quarter, the opposite half from the First Quarter is illuminated. From there, it fades into a Waning Crescent Moon. Finally, the Moon disappears entirely from view into another New Moon phase, only to reemerge and repeat this cycle.
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There is no symbol for the Waning Gibbous Moon in calendars as it is an intermediate Moon phase. Only the four primary phases are shown in calendars with the following symbols:
= New Moon
= First Quarter
= Full Moon
= Third Quarter
The Moon illustration on our Moon phase pages changes as time passes and indicates more accurately, although not perfectly, the orientation of the illuminated part of the Moon.