How to Type the Moon Symbol ☾, ☽, 🌔, 🌑, and More: A Comprehensive Guide

The moon, a celestial body that has captivated humanity for millennia, holds deep symbolic meaning in various cultures, astrology, and spirituality. If you’re looking to incorporate moon symbols into your writing, social media posts, designs, or coding projects, you’ve come to the right place. This comprehensive guide will provide you with numerous methods for typing and inserting various moon symbols, including the crescent moons (☾ and ☽), the full moon (🌕), the new moon (🌑), and other lunar phases (such as 🌔, 🌖, etc.). We will cover techniques for different operating systems, devices, and applications.

Understanding Moon Symbols

Before diving into the how-to, let’s briefly discuss the common moon symbols you might encounter:

• ☾ First Quarter Moon (Waxing Crescent): Often represents new beginnings, growth, and intention setting.
• ☽ Last Quarter Moon (Waning Crescent): Symbolizes releasing, letting go, and reflection.
• 🌕 Full Moon: Embodies culmination, clarity, and illumination.
• 🌑 New Moon: Represents potential, new cycles, and inner work.
• 🌔 Waxing Gibbous: Signifies refinement and adjustment.
• 🌖 Waning Gibbous: Associated with gratitude and integration.

Each symbol holds unique energetic significance, making their proper representation crucial. Let’s explore the different ways you can type or insert these symbols.

Methods for Typing Moon Symbols

1. Using Alt Codes (Windows)

Alt codes are a handy way to type special characters on Windows computers. Here’s how to use them to input moon symbols:

1. Make sure Num Lock is enabled: The Num Lock key on your keyboard must be activated for this method to work. The indicator light on the keyboard will usually show if it is enabled.
2. Hold down the Alt Key: Press and hold the ‘Alt’ key on your keyboard (typically located to the left of the spacebar).
3. Type the Alt Code: While holding down the ‘Alt’ key, type the corresponding numeric code for the moon symbol you want to insert on the numeric keypad (on the right side of your keyboard).
4. Release the Alt Key: Once you have typed the numeric code, release the ‘Alt’ key. The moon symbol should appear in your document or text field.

Here are the Alt codes for the most common moon symbols:

• ☾ First Quarter Moon (Waxing Crescent): Alt + 9789
• ☽ Last Quarter Moon (Waning Crescent): Alt + 9790
• 🌑 New Moon: Alt + 127769
• 🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon: Alt + 127762
• 🌓 First Quarter Moon: Alt + 127763
• 🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon: Alt + 127764
• 🌕 Full Moon: Alt + 127765
• 🌖 Waning Gibbous Moon: Alt + 127766
• 🌗 Last Quarter Moon: Alt + 127767
• 🌘 Waning Crescent Moon: Alt + 127768

Note: This method will only work if your keyboard has a dedicated numeric keypad. Laptops that do not have a separate number pad might require a different method or may emulate numpad on specific keys when pressing a function key (e.g. Fn). Consult your laptop manual.

2. Using Character Map (Windows)

The Character Map application on Windows allows you to browse all characters available in a selected font. Here’s how to use it:

1. Open Character Map: Click on the Start menu, type ‘Character Map’, and press Enter.
2. Select your font: Choose the font you are using in your document or text editor from the ‘Font’ dropdown list. A good choice is Arial or Times New Roman as they typically contain most characters.
3. Search for the moon symbol: Use the search box or scroll through the list to find the moon symbols you want. You can usually find them under the “Miscellaneous Symbols” category or by typing “moon” or “crescent” in the “Search” box.
4. Select and copy: Click on the moon symbol you want, click ‘Select’, and then ‘Copy’.
5. Paste: Paste the copied symbol into your document, email, or social media post.

The Character Map also shows the Alt code equivalent, allowing you to see if the Alt code method above is available for the specific symbol you have selected.

3. Using the Emoji Keyboard (Windows 10/11)

Windows 10 and 11 have an integrated emoji keyboard that includes various moon symbols. This is an easy way to access and insert them:

1. Open the Emoji Panel: Press the ‘Windows Key + .’ (period) or ‘Windows Key + ;’ (semicolon).
2. Search for the moon symbol: In the search bar of the emoji panel, type ‘moon’ or “crescent”.
3. Insert the symbol: Click on the moon symbol you want to insert.

This is one of the easiest ways to access many moon symbols, especially for newer Windows versions.

4. Using the Character Viewer (macOS)

macOS has its own Character Viewer for accessing special symbols:

1. Open Character Viewer: Go to ‘System Preferences’ -> ‘Keyboard’. Select the ‘Input Sources’ tab. Check the ‘Show Input menu in menu bar’ box. A small flag icon will appear at the top right of the screen. Click on this flag and select ‘Show Emoji & Symbols’ or ‘Show Character Viewer’ based on macOS version.
2. Search for moon symbols: In the search bar, type ‘moon’ or “crescent”.
3. Insert the symbol: Select the moon symbol you want, and double-click it to insert it into your text field. You can also drag-and-drop the character directly into your document.

The Character Viewer also allows you to add symbols to favorites for easy access. You can also explore the categories to discover different symbols.

5. Using Copy and Paste

Perhaps the simplest method of all is to copy the moon symbols from this article or from another source (like an online character map) and paste them into your desired location. Here are the symbols you can copy:

☾ ☽ 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘

Just select any symbol and copy it (Ctrl+C on Windows or Cmd+C on macOS), then paste it where needed (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V). You can also copy this entire section to have access to all symbols.

6. Using HTML Codes

If you’re working with HTML (e.g., on a website or blog), you can use HTML entities or Unicode codes to display the moon symbols correctly. Here are some common ones:

• ☾ (First Quarter Moon): ☽ or ℘
• ☽ (Last Quarter Moon): ☾ or &wierp;
• 🌑 (New Moon): 🌙
• 🌒 (Waxing Crescent Moon): 🌒
• 🌓 (First Quarter Moon): 🌓
• 🌔 (Waxing Gibbous Moon): 🌔
• 🌕 (Full Moon): 🌕
• 🌖 (Waning Gibbous Moon): 🌖
• 🌗 (Last Quarter Moon): 🌗
• 🌘 (Waning Crescent Moon): 🌘

You would use these codes inside HTML elements like this: <p>The moon is &#127765;</p> which will show “The moon is 🌕”.

7. Using CSS Codes

You can also use CSS codes in conjunction with HTML to display the moon symbols. Here is how:

1. Create an HTML element in which to display the symbol. For example, a <span> tag. <span class=”moon-symbol”></span>
2. Create a css class to add a content property that displays the moon symbol. You must use the unicode format. .moon-symbol:before { content: “\263D”;}

Here are the unicode characters for the moon symbols:

• ☾ (First Quarter Moon): \263D
• ☽ (Last Quarter Moon): \263E
• 🌑 (New Moon): \1F311
• 🌒 (Waxing Crescent Moon): \1F312
• 🌓 (First Quarter Moon): \1F313
• 🌔 (Waxing Gibbous Moon): \1F314
• 🌕 (Full Moon): \1F315
• 🌖 (Waning Gibbous Moon): \1F316
• 🌗 (Last Quarter Moon): \1F317
• 🌘 (Waning Crescent Moon): \1F318

8. Using Mobile Devices (iOS and Android)

Typing moon symbols on mobile devices is quite similar to using the emoji keyboard on Windows or the Character Viewer on Mac:

1. Open your keyboard: Bring up your keyboard on your mobile device.
2. Access the emoji keyboard: Tap on the emoji icon (usually a smiley face).
3. Search for the moon symbol: Use the search bar and type ‘moon’ or “crescent”
4. Insert the symbol: Select the desired symbol by tapping it.

Some keyboards may also have a symbols section where the moon symbols might be located. If you can’t find it, using search is more reliable.

9. Using Third-Party Applications or Extensions

Various applications and browser extensions can also help you type special characters including moon symbols. These can offer more advanced features, such as creating custom keyboard shortcuts or providing more comprehensive symbol libraries. Search app stores or your browsers extension store for options.

Conclusion

Typing and inserting moon symbols can enhance your writing, designs, or code with a touch of symbolism and visual appeal. Whether you are working on a Windows PC, a macOS machine, or a mobile device, the various methods described above will enable you to incorporate these fascinating lunar phases into your work. By mastering these techniques you can easily access all variations from first crescent to full moon. By practicing the method you prefer best, you will be able to express yourself using a wide range of moon symbols. Choose whichever method is most convenient for your specific situation and application, and enjoy the process of incorporating these symbols into your creations.