Many people believe that astrology only concerns the sun. This is due to the Western world view of astrology, which has taken on the form of Zodiac horoscopes. However, in truth the study of astrology goes well beyond sun signs.
In the Eastern world, such as in China and India, the moon is actually the primary consideration in studies of astrology. The moon signs and cycles are used to determine the best time for activities, and is a part of daily life. This may seem backward to some, but actually results in more accurate predictions in many cases than Western astrology can ascertain.
The moon plays a large role in astrology and astrological phenomena. The position and phase of the moon influences the other aspects of astrology, including sun signs and planetary movements. In fact, the moon influences other aspects of astrology as a whole.
Envision that astrology is made up of the study of all of the planets and the sun. The astrological birth chart and the study of how planetary alignments affect sun signs are based on these aspects of astrology. The moon actually influences this overall picture, and can cause certain aspects of astrological phenomena to influence our lives differently than was otherwise predicted.
The moon, for the most part, influences our emotions. In certain phases of the moon, the predictions made through the study of astrological phenomena that would otherwise occur fail to happen, because our emotions do not produce the reactions to the astrological phenomena that would normally be expected. In other phases of the moon, astrological phenomena of planetary alignments and their effect on the Zodiac sun signs are not altered from their original reading.
The influence of the moon on the Zodiac is a study in and of itself. When you are aware of your sun sign, you can use information about the cycles of the moon and the moon signs to determine the best time to make decisions or avoid certain activities. The moon signs are named the same as the Zodiac, but do not coincide with them.
The signs of the moon cycle each month rather than each year. Each sign has three phases: ascending, true, and descending. Each sign influences our emotions differently, depending on our sun sign and natural tendencies. The phases of the moon also affect our emotions and other aspects of astrology.
When we learn these influences that the moon holds over us and astrological phenomena, we can use this information to our advantage. For example, during the new moon most people are not capable of rational thought. Knowing this can help you to avoid major decision making during the time of the full moon.
There are many books and websites that provide detailed explanations of the moon and its effects on the study of astrology. There are also many books that explain the signs of the moon and their effects on sun signs and our emotions. You can generally find these books by searching your local book store, new age shop, or Amazon.com.
The Moon relates to the unconscious, all things emotional and feminine, or yin, and often, along with the Ascendant, tells us a great deal about the physical body as it represents what we put into it in the form of nourishment.
The Moon in the Signs
The Moon in the signs tells us about how life’s situations tend to affect us on the emotional level, about family and early childhood and how those formative experiences color our emotional outlook.
The Moon in Aries
Those with the Moon in Aries are likely to be emotionally volatile and impulsive. They may experience sudden flare-ups of temper that quickly pass and a tendency to act precipitously without any regard for consequences. These individuals are extremely willful and independent. They have a tendency to dominate others emotionally and are prone to take things personally.
The Moon in Taurus
The Moon in Taurus indicates that emotional well-being is based primarily on financial and material security. The Moon in this sign attracts wealth. The individual will have a fondness for good food and comfortable surroundings, but will also show great common sense in handling financial and domestic affairs. His or her emotions are generally steady and placid. When the Moon is afflicted, the person can be rigid and stubborn and may show a tendency toward laziness and an excessive attachment to material comforts.
The Moon in Gemini
Here we will find a temperament that is highly emotional and vacillating, although quick-witted and resourceful, with the ability to come up with solutions to practical problems through rational analysis. The Moon in Gemini can make for an incessant talker. These individuals are highly mental and inclined to rationalize their emotions to the point of not really knowing what they feel. They are extremely restless, likely to travel a great deal, and change their homes often or even have more than one home. When the Moon is
afflicted, emotions can distort reason, and they may experience both mental and emotional confusion.
The Moon in Cancer
The Moon in Cancer indicates strong ties to the mother, the family, and the home. Here, marriage and domestic security are important to emotional well- being. These individuals are extremely sensitive to the moods of others, often to the point of being psychic. They make good homemakers, parents, and cooks. When the Moon is afflicted, they can be manipulative and domineering, especially with their children, and even emotionally unstable.
The Moon in Leo
Here there is a strong unconscious need to be appreciated and admired, coupled with an equally strong need for romance and affection. These individuals are especially fond and protective of their children and love entertainment in all its forms. They are extremely proud and can be self-centered, stubborn, and also highly susceptible to flattery. Self-dramatization is a common characteristic with the Moon in Leo, along with a tendency to dominate others. However, their need to love and be loved is the fundamental driving force that mitigates this dramatic energy.
The Moon in Virgo
An exacting and hardworking personality is indicated by the Moon in Virgo. Neatness and hygiene are of particular concern to these individuals, along with diet and health. They tend to be shy and retiring, preferring to work quietly behind the scenes, and happy to serve as dedicated and thorough workers. If the Moon is afflicted, there can be an obsession with cleanliness, order, and inconsequential details along with a quarrelsome and highly critical attitude.
The Moon in Libra
Those born with the Moon in Libra will be distinguished by their personal elegance and good manners. They are courteous and gracious to everyone, as their self-esteem is in large part dependent on the approval of others. Coarseness and vulgarity in any form are upsetting to them, as are any conflicts in their relationships, which can actually have an adverse effect on their health. When the Moon is afflicted here, they can be too easily influenced by and subservient to the opinions and approval of others—especially their marriage partners—and depend too much on others for their emotional security. Often, the Moon in
Libra indicates a strong link to the mother. With their charm and grace, these individuals can shine in areas concerned with public relations.
The Moon in Scorpio
The Moon in Scorpio indicates a sensual nature and the strong pursuit of personal pleasures, along with a proclivity for sexual adventures. However, strong and biased emotions based on willful desire and a tendency to take personal affairs extremely seriously—often leading to possessiveness and jealously— can also arise from the Moon in Scorpio. These people don’t easily forget or forgive personal affronts, and they may have a tendency to brood and become obsessed with revenge. Given their strong desires, they can be stubborn and unyielding. However, when positively aspected, the Moon in Scorpio sees no sacrifice as too great in achieving a worthwhile objective.
The Moon in Sagittarius
Those with the Moon in Sagittarius are by nature idealistic. They have high aspirations but often lack a realistic sense of how to achieve them. They adhere strongly to the religious and philosophical beliefs instilled in them by their parents. As a result, when afflicted, they can be narrow-minded, dogmatic, and judgmental, lacking in compassion and objectivity. On the bright side, they can be optimistic, cheerful, adventurous, and curious about the world, with a love of travel and meeting new people. Often, they will take up residence in a foreign country or somewhere far from their original home.
The Moon in Capricorn
Capricorn Moon individuals are highly ambitious and hardworking, active seekers of wealth and status both for themselves as well as for their family. Often they are late bloomers, with success finally being achieved as a result of the many lessons learned during the long climb to the top. The Moon shows our emotions, and Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn, places a kind of cold efficiency on the Moon’s feelings. However, due to Capricorn being a feminine sign, the Moon here can be as emotional as in any other sign. Capricorn is also the sign of ambition and organization. Washington, Lincoln, Bismarck, Thomas Edison, Ayn Rand, and Robert Kennedy all had Capricorn Moons. With the Moon in Capricorn there is an emotional need to be organized and get the job done. These individuals may be insecure about their own worth and overly sensitive to real or imagined criticisms and slights. Their life is based on personal dignity and ambition. With an afflicted Moon, they can be calculating and ruthless in
their drive to succeed, with little or no respect for the feelings and desires of others.
The Moon in Aquarius
Here we see a direct concern for and ability to sympathize with the needs of humanity. Freedom of expression, both intellectual and emotional, and freedom within relationships are of utmost importance to persons born with the Moon in Aquarius. They are most likely to have unusual or nonconformist marriages. Their homes are gathering places for friends and group activities. When negative, there can be an irrational need for freedom at any cost, a fear of close personal relationships, and even a tendency to emotional perversity.
The Moon in Pisces
These individuals can be highly sensitive and psychic, able to absorb the thoughts and feelings of others, at times to the point of being mediumistic. They have vivid imaginations and are often poetically, musically, or artistically gifted. Generally, they are kind and sympathetic owing to their sensitivity to others. Their extreme impressionability on the unconscious or intuitive level, however, can make them psychologically vulnerable if they do not know how to protect themselves emotionally. If the Moon is afflicted, they can be highly neurotic and even suffer from psychotic conditions.
The Moon in the Houses
The Moon in the houses reflects the unconscious habits of the past and the department of life in which we react unconsciously to environmental stimuli as well as to other people. The Moon’s house position can also indicate the types of activities that are likely to occur in our homes.
The Moon in the 1st House
Here, the individual’s self-awareness and expression are strongly colored by his or her emotions and childhood conditioning. These persons’ moods and responses can be highly changeable, and they can lack a clear sense of direction and purpose. Often, other people have a strong influence on personal identity and can become involved in their personal affairs.
The Moon in the 2nd House
Here, a strong need for financial security and a stable home and family are indicated. Emotional well-being in general is dependent on material comfort.
The individual is likely to have good business sense, especially in matters of real estate and property. If the Moon is in a fixed sign or an earth sign, there will be a strong ability to make and hold onto money.
The Moon in the 3rd House
Those with the Moon in the 3rd House have insatiable curiosity and are constantly on the move. They have a tendency to daydream and fantasize, and their thoughts and speech are strongly influenced by emotional factors arising from early childhood and family relationships. In fact, their familial relationships influence their entire outlook and much of their activity is likely to involve brothers and sisters.
The Moon in the 4th House
As the 4th House relates to the sign Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon, this position indicates a strong emotional attachment to home and family. Parents, especially the mother, represent a strong influence. These individuals will almost always be especially fond of cooking and housekeeping, and they can also prosper in businesses related to food, domestic products, and real estate. If the Moon is afflicted, they may experience a lack of domestic harmony and stability. If well situated, financial prospects are more likely to be better in the second half of life.
The Moon in the 5th House
The Moon in this house can indicate fertility and child bearing, especially if it is in a water sign. These individuals are often very fond of children. Their romantic attractions are based on emotional needs, making them emotionally dependent on their partners. Their affections may be changeable or capricious if there is emotional instability.
The Moon in the 6th House
The Moon in the 6th House can mean that the individual’s health is strongly influenced by emotional states, making him or her inclined to hypochondria or psychosomatic illness. Emotional states can also have a positive or negative effect on work and business relationships. Those with an afflicted Moon here may change jobs often, and employers with this Moon may find it difficult to retain reliable or permanent employees. Diet is of major importance to health and well-being, and these individuals can be skilled at food preparation.
The Moon in the 7th House
With the Moon in the 7th House, there is a strong likelihood of marrying for emotional and domestic security rather than for purely romantic concerns. These individuals seek emotional fulfillment through their relationships and are therefore heavily influenced by them. Frequently, they seek a mother or father figure in their partner.
The Moon in the 8th House
The Moon in this position often indicates a concern with inheritance, insurance, and property taxes, and these matters may also involve an important woman in the individual’s life. Financial affairs are greatly affected through marriage or partnerships. These individuals may also have a highly developed psychic sensitivity and an awareness of invisible forces that may lead to an interest in the occult. The 8th House is ruled by Pluto and related to the sign Scorpio, which rules the sex organs. Scorpio and the 8th House are also ruled by Mars, the planet of desire. If the Moon is afflicted here, emotional desires can lead to an overemphasis on sex and sensuality.
The Moon in the 9th House
Those with the Moon in the 9th House will place great value on the social, religious, and ethical values instilled in them from early childhood. If the Moon is afflicted, a narrow and dogmatic social and religious bias can be the result, with the individual’s convictions based more on emotion than reason. When positive, this is the house of the higher mind, of reason and understanding. These people will travel often and are inclined to take up residence far from their place of birth.
The Moon in the 10th House
The need to achieve prominence and recognition is the driving factor for those born with the Moon in this position. Often they come from families of high social standing and inherited ambition. The influence of the mother is especially dominant, and their careers tend to be assisted or enhanced by women. If positively aspected, it is a particularly good position for those with political ambitions.
The Moon in the 11th House
The Moon in this house provides a strong desire for friendship and group acceptance and activities. Many friendships are made through family
associations, and there will also be many friendships of a purely platonic nature with members of the opposite sex. Emotional states are influenced by the opinions and reactions of others, and companionship is essential for emotional well-being.
The Moon in the 12th House
With the Moon in the 12th House, moods and emotions are strongly affected by the unconscious and the memories of past experiences. These individuals can be highly psychic and intuitive. If the Moon is afflicted here, they may experience extreme emotional sensitivity, neurotic tendencies, shyness, and loneliness. If the Moon rules the 5th, 7th, or 8th Houses (i.e., if Cancer is found on these house cusps), or strongly aspects Venus or the ruler of the 5th House, these individuals may find themselves involved in clandestine love affairs.
Aspects of the Moon
The Moon represents the passive feminine principle, that aspect of consciousness which is receptive to outside influences. It is a strong indicator of how we react to other people. Aspects of the Moon are all reflections of the unconscious mind, behavior patterns formed by the past, and automatic reactions. The Moon is connected to memory, especially regarding emotional experiences, and the Moon’s aspects are a strong indicator of our ability to store information. In a man’s horoscope, lunar aspects indicate the way he reacts to women. In a woman’s horoscope, the Moon represents the way basic feminine and maternal qualities are expressed, including female physical and emotional health (the Moon being related to the female menstrual cycle). In both male and female horoscopes, the Moon represents the influence of the mother.
Moon Conjunctions
Moon conjunctions point to intense feelings and emotions regarding the affairs ruled by the planet or planets involved and the signs and houses they occupy and rule. Domestic life, parents, and even food will be strongly influenced by the affairs governed by these planets. In these areas, the individual will be prone to acting out of unconscious impulse and early childhood conditioning. Women will exert a strong influence on the individual in the affairs ruled by the conjunction.
Moon Sextiles
Moon sextiles indicate an opportunity for growth and development in the affairs
ruled by the planet or planets forming the sextile and the signs and houses the Moon and the planet(s) occupy and rule. Often, women play a significant role in furthering the individual’s progress. Moon sextiles mean good emotional communication and friendship with women in general and especially the mother.
Moon Squares
Squares of the Moon point to emotional blockages and frustrations that are the product of early childhood and heredity. Often there is an unconscious resentment of women resulting from conflicts with the mother, along with racial and social prejudices, all of which greatly hinder the individual’s capacity for emotional freedom and happiness.
Moon Trines
Trines of the Moon indicate unconscious conditioning and behavioral patterns that work to the benefit of the individual’s social progress, especially regarding women. These benefits come through the affairs ruled by the planet or planets that form the trine and the houses and signs occupied and ruled by the Moon and the planet(s) involved. These trines generally indicate a happy childhood and harmonious family life.
Moon Oppositions
Oppositions of the Moon indicate emotional problems in relationships. The individual may tend to project his or her own emotional problems and faults onto others. Objectivity and emotional detachment must be exercised regarding the affairs ruled by the planet or planets forming the opposition and the signs and houses occupied and ruled by the planet(s).
