Are You Looking After Your Moon?

How are you feeling at the moment? Are your emotional needs being met? The Moon in astrology is the ruler of the crab Cancer and represents the maternal archetype and so, in order to understand how we must best nurture ourselves we turn our attention to the Moon.

Having been increasingly cranky, restless, irritable and fighting the urge to quit my job and run away to join the circus I realised just in the nick of time that I had been neglecting my poor Sagittarian Moon. My poor Moon had spent the last month or so locked up in a cage with no fun, he had been sadly neglected, and I had not been taking him out for his regular exercise!

I often think of a person’s Moon representing their animal nature, some may call it the Id, whatever way you want to look at it the messy fact remains that the emotional side of our nature is ever present and not always rational. To think that we can ignore it, repress it or simply beat and/or starve it in to submission is mere folly.

I like to look upon my Sagittarius Moon as a playful mostly benign beast who demands constant attention, play, exercise and the occasional live kill in order to keep him happy. He is also a 5th house Moon, so, as Leo is associated with the 5th house, again, he demands attention and an outlet for his creativity and really does believe that the world revolves around him. Why am I referring to my Sagittarian 5th house Moon as a male entity and in the third person – simply because these astrological shenanigans are symbolic archetypes and this seems to fit.

In order to feel ok with life I need to look after my Moon, Sagittarius loves exercise and the outdoors, so getting out for regular runs around the forest trails where I live is a top priority. He is a sociable Moon, so he needs to get out and see old friends and meet new people. He is also a restless Moon, so gets bored very easily so he needs me to shake things up for him once in a while.

When his needs are not being met he gets short tempered, fidgety and however hard I try to lock him in the naughty closet in the back of my subconscious mind he will find a way out and start causing trouble of some sort!

So, the lesson here is to honour your Moon sign and indulge them with what makes them feel good, because, guess what – this also what feels good to you! How do you look after your Moon?

Astrology and the Art of Romance

Many folk seem to want to know about matters of astrology pertaining to romance, love and the exchange of bodily fluids; this is only natural of course, seeing as we are all in possession of bestial urges as well as a higher mind. It is totally fair to assume that a large proportion of you at any one time might be obsessed with getting your object d'amour in to some situation where:

- They cannot struggle too much

- Their cries for help cannot be heard

- They cannot run away

I like to peruse astrology sites and see what they have to say about astrological love matches. Most of these should be taken with more than a pinch of salt. These are based on the compatibility of two peoples Sun Signs and such a one dimensional interpretation simply doesn't give you any idea of the potential forces at play within a relationship.

If you know your time and date of birth you can look up your rising sign, Moon sign, Venus sign and Mars sign. You might then notice a pattern emerge. You might be a Taurus, but if you have the Moon in Leo and Venus in Gemini then Aquarians, Sagittarians or those of an Aries persuasion may rock your world and for good reason. Yet, if you were to read and believe some of the Sun Sign compatibility interpretations, a Sagittarian, Leo or Aries may be the devil in disguise for a sensual, stead fast Taurean.

A word of advice; collecting birth times and the like from people who catch your fancy is tantamount to stalking and if that’s your thing I can recommend an excellent site for that sort of malarkey and it’s called Facebook.

If you would like to learn more about your Venus, Moon and Mars sign then Cafe Astrology has some charts to look this up as well as lots of other useful information.

Super mutable Pisces Sun with Gemini Moon!

Natal charts can look daunting to the astrological novice, but in my experience a good rule of thumb is to start with some basic points when interpreting a natal chart. This is a good solid foundation before analysing the aspects or other more intricate factors.

• What is the Sun sign?


• What sign is the Ascendant in?


• What is the Moon sign?


• What is the predominant element and mode for the chart?


• What houses do the Sun and Moon reside in?


• What are the Venus and Mars signs?

This is a chart of a pal of mine, a fellow Piscean who has his Ascendant in the sign of Cancer, for the purposes of this post I shall call him Apekteina - I'm sorry, but I'm not going to explain the odd choice of pseudonym as I like to retain an air of mystery.

As a Piscean I am all to aware of the highly sensitive, changeable and evasive qualities of this sign, the Sun sign represents the essence and energy of a person. However, this is filtered through the Cancer Ascendant which shows us many things including how a person first approaches a situation, how others may first perceive him or her and from a soul centred perspective, the nature of our purpose in this current incarnation.

Cancer is another water sign along with Pisces, but being a cardinal sign it has a much more direct, confrontational energy. I am always surprised at the cuddly Cancer stereotype that abounds, as the Cancerians I have met are more than nurturing, deep, sensitive folk, they are also very feisty and not the sort of people you would want to mess with!

So, already we can see a strong water influence in this chart. But what about the Moon sign? Here we have a Gemini Moon, I personally find that I relate very strongly to my Moon sign which is Sagittarius. In the case of Apekteina this mutable Gemini Moon will add a restlessness and duality to the already restless and dual nature of mutable Pisces.

Boredom will be a real killer for this person! To nurture themselves they need to keep intellectually stimulated, have plenty of interesting things to read and interesting places to visit. Furthermore, with a sociable Gemini Moon they need to be able to relay all the information they have gathered through reading, fact finding and generally gadding about to a variety of interesting folk who can push their intellectual buttons.

So, this Moon sign adds a keen intellect, breeziness and sociable nature that goes hand in hand with any air sign, though as the Moon signifies our emotional nature, the objective and inquisitive Gemini Moon may be at odds with the emotional depths of the Piscean Sun from time to time.

As the Sun resides in the ninth house which is associated with Sagittarius there is a distinctive need for exploration and travel whether in material terms or simply travel of the mind, an expansive philosophical bent is added to the Piscean Sun. Interestingly, the Moon resides in the twelfth house which is associated with Pisces adding further Piscean qualities to the character and emotional nature, this placement can also represent suppression of the emotions.

There is a distinctly mutable influence at play here, giving a flexibility and inherent curiosity to the native, mutable signs are like the reeds in the wind and unlike the large solid old oak trees they bend in the storm and do not break. Mutable folk are adaptable and highly resilient and are bound to change course in life when it suits them without the upset that other folks may experience from sudden upheavals.

And now to the Venus and Mars signs, we find the first of these inner planets in the eccentric unconventional sign of Aquarius, When a Piscean has their Venus in Aquarius they will be far more independent in relationships, they will need plenty of space. Apekteina may find himself attracted to unconventional Aquarian type women or that he may need an element of mental attraction to actually want a relationship with the fairer sex.

With Mars in Sagittarius I would suggest a bit of a temper, sorry Saggies, but this is just my experience, I have a Sagittarian friends and they can go off with a crack, but in all honesty I prefer this to the brooding and enduring nature of a Scorpio who once scorned is unable to let go of their bitter vengefulness as their little pincers won't let them!

Apekteina may find that patience is not his strong point and may find that he is quite blunt in his dealings with people, although he is generally optimistic, passionate and a good laugh. Sexually speaking he probably has little in the way of airs and graces and just likes a good romp as often as possible and possibly al fresco. He may also find that he gets bored of partners quite quickly and gets turned off when people mention marriage or children!

So, we can see that this is the chart of an extremely inquisitive, mentally astute and changeable individual who may be sensitive, kind and caring, but doesn't want to get too involved with the messy business of emotional entanglements. I would also say that this is the chart of someone who is a good laugh to boot. While you might not appreciate being on the wrong end of his explosive temper, thankfully it is short lived as his mind is so active.

Astrology Basics, an Introduction

The weather over the last few days has been so fabulous that I have been unable to sit in front of my computer. As someone who has a lot of fire in my chart it is imperative ( and that text has been bolded for added theatrical impact) that I get out, have some adventures and get plenty of sunshine! However, a dire consequence of this is that my blog has been sadly neglected. So, I have decided to whip myself with bunches of stinging nettles while wearing an itchy jumper and I am writing another blog post to alleviate the gnawing guilt! ( What can I say, you tend to be a little hard on yourself when you have Saturn conjunct your Ascendant!)

This post shall be dealing with a question that was recently posed to me by a friend on a forum that I frequent.

"please could you explain the basic mechanics of astrology aka the info you require to create a reading" (if that is the right way of putting it), the tools you use to create a framework (sorry if that sounds a bit corporate nobcheese-speak) and how do you astrologer gals and guys maintain impartiality aka if you were having tea with Russell Grant would the mechanics of astrology see each of you writing similar conclusions about the same person?"

Well, here goes. To do an in depth chart you need an exact time and the place of birth.

One of the main benefits of having the exact birth time is that you or the astrologer will be able to find out the Ascendant or rising sign for the chart which is important as this is the lens through which the rest of the chart is filtered. It symbolises how you relate to the world and how the world relates to you and in Esoteric Astrology it represents the highest development that can be achieved by your soul in this incarnation.

An accurate birth time will help you calculate other factors in the chart; for example as the Moon changes sign every 2 to 2.5 days it could help you decide if your moon sign is easy going, romantic and sociable Libra or dynamic, intense, charismatic Scorpio! If you were born on a day when the Moon changed sign and you don't know the time of your birth you may have to use a certain amount of guess work.

However, even without an exact time of birth it is still possible to find out your Moon sign and you can also find your Venus sign and Mars sign. Information like this can provide you with valuable insights into your emotional responses and how you relate to others. And yes, this can be used in the context of relations with the opposite gender which is something a lot of people want to know more about.

Some great free charts can be obtained from the Venus Group and Astrodienst and tables of Moon, Venus and Mars signs can be found at Cafe Astrology, this site also has some great articles for curious bods who wish to learn more about the fascinating art of astrology.

Pictured on the right is the birth chart and I will be writing a series of posts shortly to talk beginners through how this works.

But back to the task at hand; there are questions to be answered. The chart is based on where the planets were in relation to you at the exact moment you exited your mother and made your entrance in to the world.

As this is very real and very concrete information, the whereabouts of the planets will not change; the information the astrologer uses is the same whether they are dining with Mystic Meg or your Auntie Dorris.

This is why I like Astrology, because things mean what they mean, a good Astrologer will have studied Astrology for years and they will give you a reading based on the data that you have presented.

If that sounds easy do not be decieved, Astrology is an occult science, if you want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes you will have to do some research and read up on the subject, you could also follow my blog!