Getting to Know the Moon in Astrology

Astrology is a vast subject, but the doorway in is straightforward.  Once you cross the threshold, it can be like walking through the wardrobe from our world into Narnia, which makes astrology a rather amazing spiritual tool if you are willing to plumb its depths, either on your own or with the guidance of a professional astrologer. Come explore this subject with me. I want to show you how beautifully complex the subject is and how useful it can be in many different ways in your life journey.

This article is the second in a series that looks at the many points that make up your chart when cast by a professional astrologer.  The astrology chart is a two-dimensional representation of the layout of the solar system when you took your first breath, and each astronomical point relates to an aspect of consciousness.  Not only are you so much more than your Sun sign, but each point, including the Sun, is packed with an immense amount of information that you can only get with a fully rendered chart. This article looks at the Moon.

Most people do not know any other points in their chart outside of their Sun sign.  Each major point in our solar system is represented in an astrological chart.  Before the telescope, the chart consisted of points visible to the naked eye:  the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (the big 7).  With telescopes, we added:  Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (to make up the big 10).  Then we found Chiron, and a host of asteroids beginning with but not limited to Juno, Pallas Athene, Ceres, and Vesta.  We are going to look at all these points and many more in this ongoing monthly series.

What Does the Moon Represent in Your Astrology Chart?

The Moon is Earth’s satellite, and it represents how we give and receive love, our inner emotions, our soul path, how we care for others and want to be cared for, and how we feel our feelings. Its placement shows us where our personal mystery resides and what we hope to understand about ourselves emotionally and in emotional relationship to others, but especially our primary caregiver first, later our lovers, and, if we choose to have them, our children.  Traditionally our “emotions” first contact would be what we want and need from our mother, but in our current times, the primary caregiver can be the father, another family member, a foster parent, or employee of a state institution. The person responsible for or spending the most time and energy over our development will impact our emotional state the most and the most deeply.

When people consult with me about their relationship, whether it is parent and child, siblings, or romantic, it is the Moon signs that I look at first and foremost. Where the moon is and how it aligns with another person will determine how they feel and can feel about each other, or (mis)understand one another’s feelings.  The Moon, after all, is a feminine water point, and it rules the astrological sign of Cancer and the 4^th House of Family.  The sign of your Moon “flavors” your emotions and the house reveals where you experience and want to experience family.

A Full-On Moon Sign Interpretation

I was born with my Moon in Libra.  Since my Moon is in the opposite sign of my Sun and very close to the same degree as my Sun (Moon at 21 degrees of Libra, Sun at 23 degrees of Aries), I was born during a full moon, a blood moon to be exact.  There are many excellent books written about the Moon in astrology; some of my “go to” books in my office include:  Jan Spiller’s New Moon Astrology (ISBN-13: 978-0553380866), Amy Herring’s Astrology of the Moon – An Illuminating Journey through the Signs and Houses (ISBN-13: 978-0738718965), and Dane Ruhdyar’s The Lunation Cycle – A Key to the Understanding of Personality (ISBN-13: 978-0943358260).

The Meaning of Your Moon is in the Details

My Moon is at 21 degrees of Libra and merged with my South Node, which is at 18 degrees of Libra.  My Sun is opposite at 23 degrees and my North Node at 18 degrees, both in Aries.  My Moon is in the 3^rd Decan of Libra (each sign is divided by 10 degrees into Decans that shape the flavor of that point by degree position).  The first decan of Libra is Libra/Libra, the second is Libra/Aquarius, and the third decan is Libra/Gemini.  I have a Libra/Gemini Moon. In short, I get my emotional needs met by figuring out what other people need and finding a way to give them their sought-after emotional connection.  I can read people quite well and I love learning about their beliefs (the Gemini part of my Libra Moon).

Marc Edmund Jones, working with Elsie Wheeler, determined special meanings for each degree of the Zodiac called the Sabian Symbols.  My Moon is between the 21^st to 22^nd degree, thus the 22^nd Sabian Symbol, which is interpreted as “a child giving birds a drink at a fountain”, suggesting that my Moon has a giving nature.  I am willing to go out of my way to help others, and with my Moon so close to my South Node, I have to be careful not to give too much and actually risk my own well-being, a theme requiring constant work due to this combination (Moon/South Node).  The person with a Libra Moon one degree before or after me will have a very different symbol and thus express their Libra Moon energy distinctively from my own.

Where Does your Moon Reside?

Last but not least, with an exact birth time, we can determine which house or “domicile” your Moon resides in.  In the case of my chart, my Moon is my 12^th House of Spirituality.  The 4^th, 8^th, and 12^th Houses are water domiciles and relate to how we need to feel loved and protected growing up (4^th), what energy we seek in intimate relationships (8^th), and how we want to energetically experience our purpose and pursue our dreams (12^th).  With my Moon in Libra in the 12^th House, my “soul path manifests through my analytical and balanced quest for and attraction to harmonious and logical spirituality.” (Astrology Unlocked, page 83).  Part of my spiritual path took me down the road of atheism for about five years; I read all the big names: Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens.  I studied it, analyzed it, and lived it; eventually, it came up short for me and I started looking into another system of thought and belief, Zen Buddhism.

If you want to know about YOUR Moon, really know, then you need to get your chart cast and either do the study to learn about all the different pieces of information that make your Moon unique or pay a professional to help you really learn what it means to have the Moon you have.  Once you dig deep into your Moon sign, you will want to know the depth of all your other points.  With that in mind, please join me next month to learn about Mercury.