Astrology can do a lot of positive things for us. One of them is to boost our mental and emotional health – and two very basic parts of astrology are responsible for that: the Sun and the Moon.
So, in this series of articles, we’ll jump into the 12 signs of the zodiac and how your Sun and your Moon operate in them. Then, we’ll go over the 12 houses (mathematical portions of the sky derived from your exact birth time, each portion signifies an area of life) to show you where you need to put your focus for optimal happiness and mental health. We also look at the zodiac sign (e.g. Leo, Cancer, Scorpio, etc.), which shows how they operate.
But first, what is the Moon in astrology?
The Moon in the nutshell is our bodies, our emotions, our unconscious, our hearts, souls, and happiness. When we live into our moons, we feel healthy. Even if we have a broken leg or other types of injury, we feel like there’s nothing wrong with us and manage life’s ups and downs beautifully. We also feel whole, like there’s nothing missing in our lives or ourselves.
Living into your Moon gives us a sense of life being joyful like we have something to get up for in the morning. We can enjoy things again and have healthy relationships with our emotions, our loved ones, and ourselves. While the sun helps reduce depression, the Moon helps prevent it entirely.
This leads me then to the sign of the Moon. First of all, knowing your Moon’s sign is just part of the puzzle. The house and her aspects also play a key role in how this astrological body functions – but the sign is one of the major parts, and the easiest to look up. Just google! Knowing your date of birth is usually enough, though in some cases, you’ll also need your exact time of birth.
The sign of the Moon shows how your emotions and
Living in Tune with Your Heart: The Moon in the Signs
Shortcuts:
Aries
With the Moon in Aries, you’re built for combat. Don’t worry – this doesn’t mean you literally have to go out there and fight the next person who takes that one perfect apple you’ve been eyeing at the supermarket. But it does mean that there’s a huge part of you that likes to fight for something. That feels healthier and enlivened when you get to fight for something, too.
Fighting for something can look like standing up to that high school bully and verbally smashing ‘em to pieces. It can also look like joining a self-defense class or martial arts training. It can be becoming a lawyer or social justice activist. And it can mean working in corporate and competing against other businesses or becoming a professional athlete who’s trying for gold. There are literally so many ways that “fighting” can look like, so many goals, so many “hows.” This isn’t a comprehensive list by far.
But fact is, with the Moon here, you need to stand up and find something to stand up for and fight for. If you don’t, the result is unhappiness and trapped energy, trapped rage that can come up in a lot of different ways. Living into our Moon is the key to feeling happy and healthy no matter the life circumstance or “objective” health of our bodies. So, no matter where you’re at: find something productive to fight about. Or become an unproductive Karen, the world may not like it but you’re happy at least.
Now, let’s talk about anger.
In general, the Moon talks about your emotions and how you emotionally react to the world at large. With the Moon in Aries, your first reaction is action. It can be impulsive or somewhat strategic, but you feel something and you immediately want to do something about it. Great! But what if you can’t? Helplessness is the worst state of being for this combination… which brings a problem with it.
With the Moon in Aries, you are quick to get angry. And (especially if your societal conditioning reinforces this), anger can feel better to you than a lot of other emotions like helplessness, sadness, fear, etc. The thing is, we’re often angry because of an underlying emotion. With the Moon in Aries, there is a bit of a tendency to focus so much on the anger (as anger is a productive emotion that allows us to feel powerful), that we forget the root cause of the anger. Which can lead to us lashing out while ignoring the actual problem, which can create more problems or more resentments. That’s not fun, so, if you know this is you: look beneath the anger and get in touch with the emotion that’s feeding it. This helps you keep perspective – and also calm down faster, as you can now attack the problem more efficiently.
That being said, anger is not a bad thing at all. Anger keeps you moving in situations that could paralyze you. Anger can be the will to survive. Anger can give you courage. All of those things are inherently Aries: with the Moon here, you are a courageous survivalist with a strong will who keeps moving. And that’s an awesome thing to have, so go you!
Part of what you can do to keep healthy mentally and physically is to continue challenging yourself here. Do things that scare you – that helps you grow your courage and puts things into perspective. Do things that put you in touch with your strength of will and inner survivalist – that makes you feel alive. Keep moving (literally!!!) that helps you build up your health and make you feel energized way beyond your age.
People with this combination can be young even at eighty if they play their cards right, in body, mind, and spirit, so: train yourself and keep standing up for things that are actually important for you. And that’s also the secret to health and happiness!
(Please remember that the Moon in the sign is just one piece of a puzzle – the natal chart is complex and every facet brings something to a personality and a person’s mental and physical health. Also, this is not intended as professional medical advice (which you should probably know already). If you’d like more information about your astrology, consider booking a reading.)
Taurus
For a person with a Moon in Taurus, deep and true happiness comes from the simplest of sources and the easiest pleasures, first and foremost: from listening to your body. Let me demonstrate.
Do you know those types of people who can skip meals and sleep and are just happy, happy people? Yeah, that’s the quickest way for you to become unhappy and also ruin your health real fast. In order to be healthy, and not just healthy but happy, you need your regular needs taken care of. Let me repeat, what you need to feel content is what makes your body feel good and healthy.
And that’s regular meals, sleep, some exercise (doesn’t have to be much, but some), and things that feel pleasurable. Soft things to wear, the occasional slice of cake maybe, a safe environment where you can let your hair down and relax, enough resources to not worry about tomorrow. When you have those things, you’re truly happy and healthy.
Some people need therapy to get to the innate contentedness that you get from having a good relationship to your body, a full belly, and enough rest. Some people will never get to your level of emotional stability that comes from these easy things, ever.
So, here’s what you need to remind yourself of: while there are people who are happiest with one backpack full of the necessities, traveling without knowing where they’ll sleep at night or where their food comes from in the morning, and while this sounds really romantic... you would not thrive like this, you weren’t meant to. And while there are people who need very little food or sleep or can skip them to use their time “more productively,” doing so would ruin your health in the long run.
So, please don’t feel bad for needing food, rest, and stability as deeply as you do. It’s a gift. And it makes your life a lot easier than theirs.
Now, this leads me to something else: stability. With the Moon in Taurus, stability and a sense of peaceful existence is a key to your happiness. This means financial security, a stable and safe home environment, and hopefully peace in the world – or at least the area you live in. Obviously, you can do a lot to create these things (and you should as this is a key to your happiness and health, not doing so creates diseases in your body). But you can’t control the world. Change comes to everyone, and it can be hard to deal with for a person with their Moon in Taurus.
With this combination, it can make sense to learn tools to stay calm when changes come and to learn how to let go and flow with change. I don’t have the space in this article to go over many of them, but one key thing I’d like to give you is this: If you’re in the midst of chaos, find three things you feel will never change and hold on to them. And these things should better be objectively hard to alter/lose/etc. It can be stuff like, “no matter how bad the world is, the sky always looks beautiful.” Or your connection to God/Spirit/…, or how music feels in your body, or some really, really secure relationships (make it more than one relationship, just in case). Let them be your fix points. Whenever you get scared or don’t know how to cope, remember that these things won’t change. This helps soothe your nervous system and gives you courage.
With the Moon in Taurus, there are three things that also boost your health and happiness, if you want to engage with them. One is nature. Essentially, just being in nature is really good for you and very healing. The next is animals. People with the Moon in Taurus relate to animals in a way that’s instinctive and very, very soothing. If you have a pet, great, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, maybe getting one or spending time with other animals helps. Third, people with the Moon in Taurus are very in touch with the non-verbal. Music moves you deeply. Silence can speak in a thousand meanings and connect hearts deeply. Touch is a blessing and something that reignites your joy of life and makes you happy.
So, hug a friend (or dog, or tree), listen to some music in nature, and enjoy the silence while you fill yourself with whatever it is your body most needs, right now. And that’s the secret to happiness for you.
(Please remember that the Moon in the sign is just one piece of a puzzle – the natal chart is complex and every facet brings something to a personality and a person’s mental and physical health. Also, this is not intended as professional medical advice (which you should probably know already). If you’d like more information about your astrology, consider booking a reading.)
Gemini
People with the Moon in Gemini need 3 things:
1) Novelty
2) Variety
3) Exchange with others.
With the Moon in the sign of learning, you’re likely extremely drawn to always learning something new, always shedding light on a new facet of something you’ve already learned, something you hadn’t thought of before. And that’s great because this sort of mental challenge keeps you happy and healthy. You’re literally happier and healthier if you keep learning new stuff, and the more variety in subjects, the better.
This is a Moon that craves connection with others to know itself. Essentially, you need to talk things out with other people, especially emotions. What you feel may sometimes only become completely clear after you’ve put it in words, be it with someone else in conversation, or in written form. Please remember here that your emotions don’t have to be logical and are to some extent physical and convoluted. Sometimes, people with this combination can forget that and get frustrated, but that’s a normal part of the human experience.
You like to learn about your body and your emotions too, as well as anything regarding the unconscious (like dreams). You also thrive if you can talk about nothing and everything under the sun every day and have enough different-type people around that it never gets boring.
You also need a bit of a fast-paced life full of different sorts of stimuli. Just staying on the mental plane may be too boring for you, just talking and learning all day may still make you feel like you’re lacking something. Putting yourself in situations where you get to take up a lot of different (related or unrelated) sensory input brings you happiness and feeds your soul.
One of the things that could really drain you emotionally is not being able to question things. This sounds odd at first glance, but if put in a situation where “things just are what they are and you don’t get to ask ‘why’” can break someone with this placement… unless they break free of it. Your mind needs to be allowed to wander everywhere. Curiosity needs to have a place in your environment (obviously, people’s privacy needs to be protected). Sometimes, things just need to be done for no reason just to see if they can be done. If none of that is possible, part of you shrivels up and dies.
So, feed that part! Find people who will discuss and question the taboo with you! (Obviously, stay safe). Break out, break free, and fly.
(Please remember that the Moon in the sign is just one piece of a puzzle – the natal chart is complex and every facet brings something to a personality and a person’s mental and physical health. Also, this is not intended as professional medical advice (which you should probably know already). If you’d like more information about your astrology, consider booking a reading.)
Cancer
The Moon in Cancer is all about protection, safety, and caretaking. What you need in order to feel happy and be healthy is a safe baseline. A home, a safe haven, and a safe group of loved ones that feel like they’ll always have you. Something to anchor in when the world becomes too much and you just need a break.
Regardless of whether you need that sort of safety, having it is what brings you a lot of happiness and health. So does a beautiful, good home that makes you proud. With this combination, you may need more safety and protection from the outside world than most people. You may also be naturally more introverted than some other people, though that may be modified by other chart placements.
But fact is, you need some you-time to explore your inner world every once in a while. Another fact is that you love very, very, very deeply and in a lot of cases, unconditionally. Opening your heart may feel like a risk, but once you do that love gives you so much joy, pleasure, and a sense of aliveness. You were meant to love.
But because you feel so deeply, you may need to shut down and remove people in your life who don’t treat you well. That may be painful, but necessary.
Another part of this placement is a natural drive to be protective. You like to not just love someone, but to also take care of them. This especially goes for the vulnerable spots in people, or for people/other beings you see as more vulnerable than others. Children, people with disabilities, pets, etc. Your natural drive is to make sure they’re alright and to make sure they’re well taken care of.
Many people with this placement find themselves drawn to parenting or adopting an animal into their family, and those people often find a lot of joy in taking care of the beings around them, including friends and family. You’re highly empathic, which makes your job easier. But, because you feel so much, you may also have to be careful to set boundaries and not take on everyone’s pain or responsibility. People need to be responsible for themselves, or they don’t grow.
With this placement, you’re highly intuitive. Many people here are moon sensitive, going so far as to know where the Moon is in the zodiac without tracking it or losing sleep/changing moods with the season. Tracking the Moon – and the menstrual cycle if applicable – can help you manage those sensitivities and plan for them. There can be a sensitivity to hormones from outside sources (medication, food, etc.) so being mindful of what you put in your body can help.
Note for (cis-)men: mid-forties, the testosterone production in men shifts. Specific types of exercise can help you re-regulate, as can specific diets and eight hours of sleep every night. If this is something that you’re going through, then the Cancer Moon placement can make something every man goes through more pronounced for you… but that doesn’t mean its effects aren’t reversible. I suggest talking to a medical provider of your choice and seeking further education if you’re struggling. (Also, not everybody with this placement struggles at all, it depends on the rest of the natal chart).
Note for (cis-)women: some women with this placement are prone to mood swings, especially on their period and in PMS plus transition into menopause and pregnancy. If this is you, then tracking the moon and your cycle (if applicable) in unison can help lower the severity of the symptoms and also give you clues as to when/why your mood shifts. When it comes to mood stabilizers or hormonal birth control, I’ve noticed that most women with this placement don’t always cope as well as people with different Moon placements. (note: we’re talking about potentiality here, potentiality equals that it may or may not be applicable to you, please refer to your medical provider of choice and common sense). Your body and psyche are made for fluctuation to some extent – take that away, and there can be side effects (can be = doesn’t have to be). If you have health issues or mental health issues severe enough to warrant that kind of interference, then please do what’s necessary to stay safe and healthy including this type of medication. But if it’s a non-necessary option, then please do your own research so you can recognize and respond to potential negative side-effects early on, with help of your medical practitioner.
Note for non-cis-men/-women: The Cancer Moon natally can make people more vulnerable to hormones and hormonal fluxes. This may or may not be relevant for you – I, unfortunately, don’t have any expertise on how this would affect you. Please refer to your medical practitioner of choice, but keep this sensitivity in mind.
(Please remember that the Moon in the sign is just one piece of a puzzle – the natal chart is complex and every facet brings something to a personality and a person’s mental and physical health. Also, this is not intended as professional medical advice (which you should probably know already). If you’d like more information about your astrology, consider booking a reading.)
Leo
The Moon in Leo – what you need in order to be happy and healthy is authentic self-expression and following your heart. The Moon in Leo is a beautiful combination. You are likely very generous, fun-loving, passionate, and a big cheerleader for other people. Good, living into those qualities creates happiness and health for you.
First of all, with this combination generosity is something that creates as much joy in you as it does in the people who benefit from your generosity – sometimes more. Because of this, it’s important to safeguard against over-giving to people who can’t appreciate your offerings or you as a person. Being rejected, taken for granted, or people just having no real emotional reaction over something that mattered to you is the quickest way to really hurt you… and spending too much time with people like that breaks your heart and erodes your happiness on a very deep level.
But if you are with people who genuinely appreciate your gifts to them – and you as a person – then it’s like there’s a never-ending multiplication effect. You give, feeling joy at giving something. They receive, feeling joy at the gift. You again feel joy because the other person’s joy is a gift to you. Annnd then they’re probably happy because you’re so happy – and so on. It’s beautiful to have that.
In the same vein, the Moon in Leo brings a need to gift people your heart. Not in the sense that you desperately fall in love with everyone and their mama, though lucky them if you do. But it’s more about you wanting to share your authentic self, your feelings, and your soul with other people. Now, here’s the caveat. There are appropriate and not-so-appropriate ways to share yourself with others and part of your learning curve is to find ones that are appropriate and feel good and honest, rather than forced to get a reaction. The latter would seriously hurt you, as “faking” something to get attention drains you even as you receive a short burst of adrenaline.
The former of course is difficult to learn and depends on your culture and situation: what and how you share yourself, and with whom, is a moment-to-moment decision that takes serious consideration and good social skills. You are gifted with knowing how sharing a personal story can connect people and help relieve shame – and pain. “There’s nothing new under the sun: here is how I am like you,” is one of the most powerful things people can hear when they’re hurting. But, depending on individual and circumstance, it can be insulting and seen as “making it all about you.” Of course, that could be your intention – you may want to make it about you at that moment – but if it wasn’t your intention, if your intention was to help the person feel not as alone, here’s something I want to tell you.
Your personal stories are a gift. Sometimes, the timing sucks and sometimes you need a different audience. Not everyone’s always going to relate to stories the same way you do, or art. Learn different ways that are authentic to you with which you can connect. And also, never devalue the gift you hold that wasn’t received well.
Creating art can be a way to let your gift speak, to give an outlet to your generosity. And, with the Moon in Leo, creativity is already the language of your soul! Creating art, the kind of raw, vulnerable art that is fun to create, that serves no apparent purpose other than to be and to show what’s there… that feeds your heart and feeds your soul.
It also allows you to say things others don’t want to hear and shed light on facets of your personality you don’t know how to show to others and let them be received. Just be careful with whom you share that kind of art – and when. Pick a circle of people who love you as you are, with your rough edges and beautiful parts, and who understand and respect your brand of creativity, rather than belittling it or trying to talk you out of it. That, in and of itself, is the road to happiness. And also, pick a time to share your art where you are resourced enough to handle it if someone doesn’t react the way you want them to.
With this placement, you need to dance with vulnerability, and you need to do the brave thing on occasion. And at the same time, you still get to protect your beautiful art and the part of you that matters so much. Thank you for creating it and sharing it with the world.
(Please remember that the Moon in the sign is just one piece of a puzzle – the natal chart is complex and every facet brings something to a personality and a person’s mental and physical health. Also, this is not intended as professional medical advice (which you should probably know already). If you’d like more information about your astrology, consider booking a reading.)
Virgo
Welcome to the Moon in Virgo, one of the most complex, yet straight-seeming, combinations of the Moon’s astrology. At first glance, it’s pretty simple. The Moon deals with the body, emotions, and the unconscious. So all these things will be impacted by – wait, Virgo’s the neat-freak, so… cleanliness?
It’s true that with this combination, order or rather lack of order will impact you if it gets too bad or goes on for too long. Anyone has some tolerance for chaos in their environment before it promotes things like anxiety and depression, or even physical diseases brought on by bacteria, etc. But with the Moon in Virgo, you’re likely a bit more sensitive than most. Physically cleaning your space and removing clutter can also be highly cathartic emotionally speaking.
But… let’s be real. This isn’t all there is to this combination, by far. Virgo is the archetype of the High Priestess, which means a very devoted, very pure person who strives to tend to something. Essentially speaking, with the Moon in Virgo, your happiness depends on your actions in the world. Do you have a job? Now, a “job” doesn’t necessarily mean 9-to-5 and you get paid. It can be taking care of somebody who needs it or tending to your garden. But it has to be something you do that allows you to be responsible and that requires some consistency and commitment from you. So, let’s say you have that: do you think you’re actually doing good by doing it? You don’t have to be Superman or Wonder Woman or the next Malala or whatever – you just have to have the feeling you’re making a difference. Even if that difference is small to other people if it matters to you? Then that’s the key to your happiness.
If you don’t have the feeling that you’re making a difference – or are taking actionable steps that will lead to you doing good one day – then something inside of you will feel hungry and very unfulfilled. It’s the easiest recipe for both depression and anxiety, as the part of you that wants to do things turns on your own body and mind. It’s not a fun feeling and it can lead to physical sickness.
This is no joke. Virgo is the sign connected to the body and physical health. People with the Moon in Virgo tend to have very natural healing abilities of the body – they may often get into healing professions, too – but the flip side of this is a high sensitivity that manifests in physical health. So, for one, the body-mind connection is stronger than in any other Moon combination. That means that the way you feel about your body emotionally can lead to physical sensations that are unpleasant. It can also mean that any emotion manifests physically to a lesser or greater extent. Not fun, but a holistic approach to health and life (which comes naturally to someone with a Virgo Moon) can fix that.
ATTENTION: people with Virgo Moons aren’t hypochondriacs. Physical issues that you may have are physical and they are real. They have to be treated as such. And at the same time, the body-mind connection can make those issues worse or better depending on circumstance, which means that it’s a healing tool. Also, whenever someone with a Virgo Moon has a chronic issue, there’s usually more going on than “just” something physical (like: environmental factors, suppressed emotion, toxic relationships, etc. that take their toll on how the immune system can function.)
People with a Virgo Moon are natural healers and natural caretakers of others/the Earth/whatever else they choose to care for. Part of this is the inherent gift of seeing the natural, raw potential and honoring it – and, at the same time, knowing how to hone it and make it better. Essentially, Virgo is attuned to what’s already there and aware of the fact that everything needs to grow and that everything can become better, purer, more. And there’s a high drive to facilitate that process.
Because of this, people who have Virgo in this placement need to keep engaging in growth work of some kind. That can be physical, like moving their bodies and always trying to become better, while still keeping healthy limitations to not over-burden themselves. And it can be psychological and mental. It can also mean that you are attuned to what your loved ones need to grow and that you have a high desire to help them get there.
Here's a potential problem: if and when people with Virgo moons get out of touch with the part of themselves that honors what’s already there and knows that it’s enough, then they can quickly turn overly perfectionist and see problems and “not enoughness” in themselves, everyone else, and everything they encounter. That’s not good for anyone’s mental health. Not yours and not your loved ones. So, be sure to connect back to the part of you that knows you are enough already, and so is everything else around you. Working on worthiness is a key concept of this placement.
Also, please learn to communicate constructive criticism in a way that shows your loved ones that you wanna help and that you love them anyway. And also, surround yourself with people who want to keep growing and appreciate your input – and help you be a better person, too.
Lastly, someone with the Moon in Virgo tends to want to understand, dissect, and analyze their emotions and unconscious. That’s great! It can be a powerful tool that promotes happiness and health. But again, if it runs amok with you, it can create more damage than good: don’t get to the place where you judge your emotions or unconscious so they fit the “ideal” you have in your head or the “rules of logic.” Emotions aren’t supposed to be rational. But there’s still wisdom and relevance to them. Hear their message and listen to their core: you’ll find real beauty here. And then you can engage your mind in figuring out how to best respond to them :)
(Please remember that the Moon in the sign is just one piece of a puzzle – the natal chart is complex and every facet brings something to a personality and a person’s mental and physical health. Also, this is not intended as professional medical advice (which you should probably know already). If you’d like more information about your astrology, consider booking a reading.)
Further Reading:
So, that was it for this article! If you wanna learn more and work with me directly, you can do so here.
Also, here are some follow-up links that may interest you like the Moon in the other signs, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces; the Moon in the Houses; and Your Sun Sign. Also, other astrological topics I recommend are: How Astrology Really Works as well as Twin Flames, Psyche, and Astrology.
Until then,
Alexandra
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