Understanding Your Moon Sign – AstroFriday

If you’ve had an astrology reading from me, you know that I start the reading by describing your chart as a layered cake. Your sun sign is the flavor of the cake. Your moon sign is the cake’s filling, and your rising sign – the sign that was ascending on the eastern horizon at the exact time of your birth – is the frosting.  (Traditional texts state that the rising sign is what people who don’t know you well will see; I say it’s like looking at your “cake” but never cutting into it to see what’s beneath.) The rest of the planetary bodies are the spices in your cake.

You may be a chocolate cake (sun) but have strawberry filling (moon) and caramel icing (ascendant). Or, chocolate cake with vanilla pudding as your filling and a fondant icing. Your filling may take up most of your cake, like one of those lava cakes. Or, you may be more like a jelly roll, with multiple layers of cake and filling and only a light dusting as “frosting.” No two people (or astrological signs) are exactly alike.

If we want to include our North Node, or life purpose, (If you know me, you know I always include the North Node!), we can say that one cake is meant for the family potluck, another as part of a bigger dessert bar, another as the main attraction at an event… Yeah, I have a lot of fun with this analogy!

Let’s focus on our filling

In most astrology books (at least the many I’ve read), personality is described as a combination of sun sign and rising sign. And… “The moon is your emotions.” So, our emotions are not part of our personality?

One highly respected book on astrology states that the moon’s energy is something you can often “work through” and leave behind.  Another astrologer claims that women express their personality through their moon sign, and men, through their sun sign.

Really, the moon isn’t that complicated. Your sun sign is the YANG part of your personality, and your moon sign is the YIN part of your personality. (Read this post for an understanding of you rising sign.)

Yang properties (represented by the light, with a dark dot) are: active, creative and extroverted. Daytime activities fall into its purveyance: work, creation and engagement with the world.

If you have a Taurus sun, you will do your yang activities in the manner of a Taurus – slow but methodical and with perseverance.

An Aquarian sun will yang (I can use “yang” as a verb, right?) in an offbeat way, and a Gemini sun will like to yang with a group.

Yin properties (represented by the dark, with a light dot) are: passivity and reception rather than delivery. It’s marked by intuition, sensitivity and a readiness to receive. Yin is a very quiet symbol, linked to thoughtfulness, resting and (in its darkest aspects) death.

Notice that this includes a lot more than just your feelings?

It’s quite easy to see how a Cancer moon is yin (all signs have a planetary “ruler,” and the moon is the ruler of Cancer). Cancer is nurturing and psychic and emotional. But, how do we interpret the cardinal, fire sign of Aries, when it’s expressed as yin energy?

An Aries moon may mean that you let your emotions take charge, or that you lead with your intuition. You may be quick to ask for what you wish to receive. And, yes, you can have a Cancer sun with an Aries moon.  Astrology is so beautifully complex!

One of the reasons, I suspect, we have trouble understanding our feelings and our intuition, is that we think of yin as basically, the traits of Cancer. While we’ve been exposed to sun signs for so long, and have a pretty good understanding of the myriad ways to express yang, we still think everyone should yin like the crab.

I have a Capricorn moon, which, in traditional astrology, is “in detriment.” Sounds lovely, right? Capricorn is the sign opposite Cancer; its characteristics are also the opposite of Cancer. So, having the planetary body that rules Cancer, in its opposite sign, is supposed to cause “problems.” It only causes problems is you have a very narrow view of what the moon/yin is all about! People often describe my intuition as “practical woo woo.” I’ve had more than one person tell me that previously, they didn’t believe in psychic abilities but knowing that I believe in it, as practical as I am, has won them over. See, there’s benefit to being both practical and intuitive! And yes, I’m reserved and disciplined with my emotions (unless I’m really angry – I do have Mars in Aries). But, just because I express my emotions differently than a Cancer, does not mean that I don’t have them.

Before I discovered astrology, I often felt “less than,” especially in relationships, because I’m reserved and self-disciplined about my emotions. It wasn’t until I read about Buddhist monks that I even began to suspect that there was a good reason for the way that I express yin. In the Buddhist tradition, a disciplined approach to emotions is a goal to be worked towards!

My belief about astrology is that nothing is DETRIMENTAL. Everything in your chart is there for a reason and is there to help you achieve your reason for being on this earth.  There is no one way to feel, and there is no way that is better than the rest. Got it?

So, you probably have a good idea of how you YANG (your sun sign).  How do you YIN?

If you have the moon in a water sign – Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces – it’s fairly easy to make the connection with yin and your moon. All of these signs are what we traditionally think of when we think of feelings and intuition. Their emotions flow freely and are readily recognized by others. They are often emotionally intuitive and many watery moon signs see spirits or ghosts.

But, it’s not just water signs that are yin. If you have the moon in a fire sign – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius – your yin may seem yang. One Sagittarius friend describes fire signs as “ready, FIRE, aim.” Fire signs can be impulsive. They are always action-oriented.

How does this work with feelings and intuition? You express your feelings, get in touch with your feelings, and probably have your strongest intuitive hits – when you are in motion. Yours is not the “sit around and wait for Spirit to guide you” or “journal about your feelings” variety of yin. When you act, you feel. When you act, you intuit. Remember when I quoted Alan Watts, who wrote, yin and yang are “are more like lovers wrestling than enemies fighting”? Definitely applies to the fiery moons!

Air signs get clarity on their emotions and intuition through communication. Many will have some degree of mental intuition. Journaling about emotions is perfect for these moon signs. The Geminis and Libras are social and should interact with others regularly to keep their yin in shape. Aquarians are great at observing other people’s emotions (great voyeurs, Aquarians) and at writing about them. Air signs intellectualize feelings but that’s ok. That’s how they yin!

If your moon is in an earth sign – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn – you probably have some degree of “physical intuition,” and connect with Spirit through animals and nature. My moon is in the earth sign of Capricorn but in the third house, which is ruled by Gemini (an air sign). My intuition is a mix of physical and mental. Earth signs can express emotions, and intuit, through ORGANIZING. Yes, organizing can be an intuitive exercise for the earth moon. (With my earth moon in a house ruled by an air sign, my intuition comes out best when I formally organize my thoughts. That’s why I write out my astrological readings. And why this website is therapeutic for me.) Living with a lot of unorganized people can be extremely upsetting for these moons!  Hiking and gardening are also great ways for the earthy ones to exercise their yin (and get away from dealing with the messy other moon signs).

Of course, remember that you can’t completely isolate one part of your chart from the rest. Your sun and rising sign, and the house in which your moon is located, will all influence your yin (and vice versa). But, I do suggest you read about the characteristics of the sign of your moon, and think about how you can use them to better understand your personal yin.

Have questions about your moon? Feel free to leave them below!