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The story that of, how the Moon god ended up in Lord Shiva's hair, goes like this:

Moon god had to get relief from the disease that he got by his own fault. He came to know that the only remedy for his disease is to be in Lord Shiva's hair. So he prayed to Lord and received a great boon of staying on the Lord's head.

I want to know why in all temples, Moon in Lord Shiva's head is always in curve shape (crescent), not as a full moon or some other positions as we see regularly in the sky.

Is there any reason for this? Is there any place or temple that shows Lord Shiva having other moon shapes?

Image of Bhagwan Shiva with moon

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    The moon on Lord Shiva's head is just an embodiment of Chandra, not the actual satellite of the earth. Also the time when the Moon appealed to Shiva he was suffering from Daksha's curse so at that time he had only the power equivalent to a crescent moon. Hence the shape.
    – Surya
    Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 6:11
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    "The crescent moon is shown on the side of the Lord's head as an ornament. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end. Since the Lord is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time. Thus, the crescent moon is only one of His ornaments."The following one is as good as an answer-
    – Rickross
    Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 6:21
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    *"Shiva Tattva is where there is no mind and the moon signifies the mind. When there is no mind then how can this ‘no mindedness’ be expressed and how can anybody understand it? You need a little bit of the mind to understand, experience and to express. The no-mind, infinite consciousness requires that little bit of mind to express itself in the manifest world. So, to express that inexpressible, that little mind (crescent moon) is on the head. Wisdom is beyond the mind, but it needs to be expressed with a tinge of mind and this is symbolized by the crescent moon."
    – Rickross
    Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 6:22
  • @Surya If Chandra got cured why shouldn't he represented as a full moon. There is always a link between what we see and what we learn from Hinduism.For example, the full moon and dark moon days happened because of Lord Ganesha's curse on Chandra.This curse have a real proof and we have full moon day and Amavasai days.
    – Ponmari Subramanian
    Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 6:51
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    As explained here, The crescent moon indicates that He has controlled the mind perfectly. Also, Moon represents Mind/Maya/Ego and ofcourse crescent moon means very less ego, thats why Shiva is also called Bholay. No moon or no mind is not possible.
    – user3870
    Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 17:08

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The moon symbolizes the mind. Why only crescent shape and no other form is a very interesting question. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar explains the symbolic meaning behind this beautifully:

Shiva Tattva is where there is no mind and the moon signifies the mind. When there is no mind then how can this ‘no mindedness’ be expressed and how can anybody understand it? You need a little bit of the mind to understand, experience and to express. The no-mind, infinite consciousness requires that little bit of mind to express itself in the manifest world. So, to express that inexpressible, that little mind (crescent moon) is on the head. Wisdom is beyond the mind, but it needs to be expressed with a tinge of mind and this is symbolized by the crescent moon.

https://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/17184919/.../understandingshiva.pdf

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