Welcome to your inner world
Just as the moon in the sky travels travels the dark heavens at night, The Moon in Astrology leads the explorer into the misty, mysterious interior of the inner world. In many ways, this is the region of your personality where you really live.
The Moon in Astrology describes the sometimes quiet, sometimes roiling, interior realm of feelings and emotions -- an active and fascinating place where things are rarely orderly ... and not easily controlled. For this reason, some people try to avoid it completely, which is a sad and ultimately futile choice. Moon territory is endlessly fascinating.
Where your Inner Child and memories live
The Moon gives back information on issues of comfort and safety. It speaks to your deep security needs. It reflects your basic habits, instincts and automatic reactions. It speaks to issues from your history, including your family background, your childhood home, your upbringing and specifically your relationship with your mother -- or major mother figure(s) from the past.
The Inner Self fueled by your Moon energy wants you to feel safe, protected, emotionally supported and "at home." It is associated with female energy in general ... and how we all express the feminine side of our nature. (The Moon is very influential in this, but Venus has a hand in it, too.)
Positively, our Moon energy is responsive and reflective, tender and protective. Negatively, it is complaining, self-pitying, fretful and moody. All these are virtues and character problems conventionally associated with women.
Where you're among family and friends
The Moon describes the kind of nurturing parent we are to those we "mother" -- which includes our own children, but isn't exclusive to them. We also show this side to our family members, our close partners and friends, our pets and anyone who needs an extra measure of TLC.
The Moon shows how we react to our environment and its situations ... instinctively, automatically, emotionally. When we describe how we "feel" about something, we're revealing the contents of our Moon energy. Too often, we're taught to discount our feelings in favor of "logic," which is a Mercury function -- and not always our best tool to use in a situation that contains a lot of hidden information ... things going on under the surface.
And where you need to feel safe
Moon energy reacts sharply to outside stimuli, especially anything that might indicate threat or danger. It is also involved in our reactions to other people ... and is the side of ourselves we show the people we consider "members of the family." These may or may not be our actual blood-kin, but they will be people we know intimately ... to whom we show our vulnerable inner self.
Moon energy is also connected to memories and "the past," especially events with a lot of emotional content ... good and bad. Thus the Moon's placement by house and sign will give information about your memory itself, and the kinds of things you're apt to remember when you wander back in time.
The Moon's position by sign and house reveals where you "feel at home" -- for better or worse, the conditions that are familiar, even if not comfortable, when building a home or base of operations. It shows what you need to feel content ... safe and settled. And yet it will also show where conditions are constantly changing ... which keeps this from ever being as stable as you'd like.
For more, here are other essays in this series
The Sun in Astrology -- the central symbol of you
Mercury in Astrology -- exploring the territory of your mind
Venus in Astrology -- money and love and so much more
Mars in Astrology -- looking out for Number One
Questions about any of this? Talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.
Photo Credits
Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomshanti/16000371978/
Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevepj2009/16203736732/
Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/blachswan/20191820806/
Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/sis/63014217/
Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.