What Is a Moon Sign?
Categories: Metaphysics & Unexplained Phenomena
The Moon
Influence & Symbolism
The moon changes signs every two and a half days, making it a bit trickier to calculate. However, since our moon sign is almost as important as our sun sign, it’s important to look it up! In the same way that the solar influence of the sun carries a yang energy, lunar influences offer a yin counterbalance.
While sun signs determine what we create and can offer the world, moon signs determine how we respond to our surroundings and what we need in return.
The moon rules the realm of emotion. Understanding its energy allows you to better understand the path to happiness and fulfillment most relevant to you. (For more on this, find your lunar nodes and read about them here.)
Moon Sign Keywords
emotion • instinctive reaction • nourishment • security • receptivity • habit • memory • sensitivity • cycles
Symbolism
A receptive and adaptable feature of the night sky, the moon also appears in the folklore of cultures all over the world, playing maternal, sisterly, and romantic roles. It symbolizes both the womb—a habitat for creation—and cycles—its own 28-day cycle, the cycles of women, and the daily cycles of the tides.
One of more than 150 satellites in our solar system, our moon is believed to be the result of a collision between Earth and another mass about the size of Mars. Not only does our moon help keep the rotational tilt of our planet constant, it also stabilizes the location of the north and south pole and generally makes life as we know it possible.
Summary
The rhythms of the moon keep us linked to cycles, and our moon sign connects us to the receptive, yin aspects of ourselves. Ellias Lonsdale writes: “Each soul living on the Earth is beating to the pulse of the lunar timings. These cycles are shifting by the month, by the week, by the day, by the hour. Inside the human body, the subtle fluids move with the tide of lunar influence.”
And just as we are living subtly in sync with the moon, astrology shows that we are also in sync with the sun and the seasons, as well as many other forces at work in our solar system. For a more complete foundation in this art, consider reading one of our astrology books or learn about your Venus and Mars signs here. Also stay tuned for more posts about the planets all this month!
References:
- Ellias Lonsdale, Inside Planets (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1995), 25.
- Alan Oken, Alan Oken’s Complete Astrology: The Classic Guide to Modern Astrology, Revised Edition (New York: Bantam, 1988), 176 – 186.
- VerDarLuz, Codex of the Soul: Astrology, Archetypes & Your Sacred Blueprint (Berkeley: Evolver Editions, 2012), 84 – 90.
About the Author
Marina Snyder
Marina is the Marketing & Digital Programs Coordinator at North Atlantic Books. After living in New Orleans and Amsterdam, and exploring a couple of continents, she returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to work at NAB. She's passionate about astrology, nonfiction books, and sustainable living, as well as all things metaphysical.
