First Quarter
Half lit, and the point where commitment meets resistance. This is traditionally the phase where the first real obstacle appears and the decision is whether to push through.
What This Phase Suits
Making a decision, facing an obstacle, adjusting the plan
Where It Sits
At first quarter the moon is ninety degrees from the sun and exactly half its face is lit. It rises around noon and sets around midnight, so it is the phase most visible in the early evening.
The name causes confusion: the moon looks half full, and quarter refers to a quarter of the way through the cycle rather than to the illuminated fraction.
How It Is Read
The tension phase. The ninety-degree angle between moon and sun is a square, and squares are read as friction - so this is traditionally the point where a plan meets its first real resistance and has to be adjusted rather than abandoned.
It is internally consistent with how aspects are read elsewhere in astrology, which is worth noting as a point in the tradition's favour: the system is at least coherent with itself.