The term "moon cycle" (or "lunar cycle") is referring to the moon's continuous orbit around the earth. As the moon orbits the earth, it's appearance (the "phase") changes and thus gives us an indication of the moon's progress in the cycle (the "age").
The sun always illuminates exactly one-half of the moon, but we see it at different angles as it rotates around the earth. With the naked eye, we can only see the part of the moon that the sun is illuminating. For instance, a crescent moon is when we only see a small portion of the illuminated portion of the moon.
New Moon - Sun conjunct MoonWaxing Crescent - Sun semisextile Moon or Sun semisquare Moon
First Quarter - Sun square Moon
Waxing Gibbous - Sun trine Moon or Sun sesquisquare Moon
Full Moon - Sun opposition Moon
Waning Gibbous - Sun trine Moon or Sun sesquisquare Moon
Third Quarter - Sun square Moon
Waning Crescent - Sun semisextile Moon or Sun semisquare Moon
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