Moon

moon

greek: Σελήνη (Selene) · latin: Luna · sanskrit: Chandra

Definition

The Moon is Earth's natural satellite and the fastest-moving body astrology tracks. It travels through all twelve zodiac signs in about 27.3 days (its sidereal period), spending roughly 2.3 days in each. Astrology counts it as the second luminary, alongside the Sun, and gives it a home (domicile) in Cancer, its strongest placement (exaltation) in Taurus, its weakest (fall) in Scorpio, and a difficult placement (detriment) in Capricorn. Its cycle from one New Moon to the next averages about 29.5 days.

In Tradition

Western astrologers read the Moon as your emotional life — your feelings, your instinctive reactions, your habits, and the part of you that runs below conscious awareness. In Hellenistic practice the Moon leads the night-born "sect" (whether you were born by day or by night) and stands for the body, for fortune, and for your material circumstances.

In Practice

After the Sun, the Moon is the next thing astrologers look at. Its sign and house point to your emotional temperament and your instinctive needs, and the Moon's phase at birth — waxing, full, waning, or new — adds further detail. In Hellenistic work, a night-born chart is judged first through the Moon, and the aspects it is moving toward (its applying aspects) show the immediate direction of your fortune. Because the Moon moves so quickly, it is the most frequent timing trigger: New and Full Moons (lunations) are watched to time events, and the slow-moving progressed Moon marks developmental stages as it changes house and sign over roughly 27-year cycles. In electional astrology — choosing a good moment to begin something — the Moon's condition and applying aspects are checked first. In horary, where a chart answers a question, the Moon often co-represents the person asking.

Historical Origin

The Moon's astrological meanings appear in the earliest Hellenistic literature. Dorotheus (1st century CE) placed particular weight on the Moon's condition in night charts — especially its phase relationship with the Sun and its applying aspects. Its role as leader of the nocturnal sect is a foundational idea in Hellenistic practice.

Etymology

Origin: Old English. Meaning: From Old English mona, from Proto-Germanic *menon, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh1ns, meaning "month" or "moon".

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Etymology

Further Reading