D.I.Y. Astrology
How To Use The Moon
The lunar cycle is the birthright of every earthling. Earth’s Moon is unique in our solar system. Earth has the largest of all the Moons, and Earth is the only planet in the solar system to only have one Moon. It’s interesting, yes?
I think being aware of the Moon can really help us in our day-to-day lives. I have found that tuning into the Moon phases assists me with regulating my emotions. By relating my moods to the amount of lunar energy available, I know when to rest and be easy on myself, and when it’s time to get some things done. Becoming aware of the monthly Moon cycle invites magic into my life.
I think the most useful thing is to just become aware of the Moon’s whole cycle. It’s pretty easy to notice a Full Moon, but do you ever take note of the other phases of the Moon? Doing so might be more enjoyable and useful than you think.
The Moon seems to affect the level of our psychic fluid. During the Full Moon, our souls are bathed in energy. We sleep like babies and have the most luminous dreams. We get caught staring out the window at work, and then go have the best time ever with our friends.
From the beginning of second quarter, through the Full Moon to the end of the Third Quarter, the tides are running strong and the stream of energy that our souls feed on is plentiful. Our little boats are floating. The emotional world flows along nicely when there’s a big moon up there.
At the beginning of the Fourth Quarter until well after the next New Moon, the waters of the soul seem to drain away, leaving us on dry land. After years of observing, I have come to appreciate how difficult this phase can be. It seems to correlate with bouts of insomnia for many people. Everyone seems overstrained, and brittle. It’s easy to get into little quarrels all day and everything seems so pointless yet endlessly necessary. This in fact is how I noticed what a positive affect the moon’s energy seems to have. You might not notice when the Moon’s energy strong, but you sure notice when it’s not around!
It has become more popular to know what your Moon sign is, in recent years. Used to be that only real astrology nerds, and their unfortunate friends and family, knew their Moon signs. The Moon changes signs every three days, so it can be a very individualizing piece of astrological information. It’s super easy to look up your chart online and find out what sign the Moon was in when you were born. The Moon represents a substantial portion of our psyche. In an astrology chart, the Moon represents our emotional body and our subconscious mind. It also shows how we self-comfort and how we family. You can find out when the Moon will be in the same sign as your own. Observing the vibe on these days can be an interesting way to learn about yourself.
Now-a-days, it’s pretty easy to find out what phase the Moon is in. You can get a calendar that shows the phases, or put a widget on your phone. You’ll get into the rhythm of the Moon’s movements are you’ll just know. Each phases lasts a week.
Maybe next time you’re in a foul mood, instead of looking around at your family and friends to see who’s causing it, try taking a glance at the moon’s phases and sign. It takes a while of observation to figure out how you personally relate to these energies and their changing tides. But if every month you start to notice that you’re super upbeat after Second Quarter, but run from the world on the Fourth Quarter, you have developed a valuable timing tool for getting the most out of life. You know when to save up for the next time you’re going to need extra treats. Best of all the moon phases will tell you when, and when not to, party.
The Moon In The Signs
Each month, the Sun changes signs.
The New Moon will always be in the same sign that the sun is in that month. And the Full Moon will then be in the opposite sign of the current Sun sign. The Moon goes through the entire zodiac of signs each month, meeting with and parting from the Sun. The Sun and Moon, dancing in a measured step, keep the order of life.
The sign of the Full Moon is always the opposite sign of the Sun sign. The Sun and Moon weave a dance throughout the year, coming together as one, and then holding each other at arms length as opposites. In December, when the Sun is in the sign of Sagittarius, the Full Moon will inevitably be in Gemini. In March, when the Sun will be in Pisces, the full Moon will be in Virgo. And so on.
The opposites stabilize each other. The planets are trapped by the sun, their powerful weights balanced in stabilizing curves. This centrifugal force makes a basket of safety to hold life in.
In fact, science has learned that our solar system is enwrapped in a dense field of energy that shields our solar system from strange and disturbing cosmic rays. It’s hard to face bare reality without the solar system’s soothing rounds to hold everything together in the protected cell. Being conscious is hard! We need these rhythms.
Tuning into the round of the seasons, and the different moon signs of the year can be very grounding. Every “pagan” religion, every original religion around the globe celebrated the turning of the seasons, and the changes of the sky that signaled and accompanied these changes. All of nature reacts to these events. During the spring new and full moon, the strong tides sparkle with reproductive fluids, new bees launch into the air. In the fall, the tall Full Moon shines through the bare branches onto the dull piles of dead leaves the little animals burrow in to stay the cold. It’s still. We are a part of these cycles too.
The Moon seems to effect our world, and the Otherworld as well. The strong moonlight plows through the earth, chasing up fairies and demons.
The Moon is the only body that goes through the whole zodiac in one month, revolving completely around us. Each day it rises and sets at a slightly different time. After a few days it is rising in front of a different portion of the sky, and therefore considered to be in a new sign. The Moon spends about two and a half days in each sign.
If you know what the sun sign is, you will automatically know the sign of the Full Moon that month. It’s interesting to know the sign of the Full Moon. I feel like when the Moon is more visible, I am more easily able to tune into its energies. The darker and briefer phases of the Moon are still beautiful to observe and I do feel effects from them, but it’s not as easy to feel the more subtle nuances of the energies that seem to emanate.
When I study an astrology sign in a human being, I see all the different ways the patterns of a sign can manifest. When I’m looking at the moon sign for today, I tend to be more effected by what element the moon is in. There are four magical elements, and that means three signs for every element. Look at the chart above to observe this.
You can figure out how the moon in different elements effects you. Fire signs are really fun. I have a lot of water in my chart, I love water sign Moons, but sometimes they kind of drown me with too much of a good thing. I can never put my finger on those air signs Moons, I can’t tell they’re happening. The Moon in an earth sign has me flopping around like a fish out of water, too dry, too harsh! I’m lost without some imaginary frills. These are subtle energies, but you might enjoy starting to notice them and finding out how you personally react to the different energies the universe is producing.
Once a month the Moon will be in your Sun sign and also your Moon sign, about two and half days each. I enjoy these times as it seems the whole world is in the same mood as me. These are easy days. I guess it might not feel that way if my signs were more difficult?
Although the Moon returns to the same stations over and over, it can never be exactly the same, ever.
Every May, when the Sun is in Taurus, the Full Moon will be in the sign of Scorpio. But each year, all the other planets will be in different places than they were last year. Our solar system will be in a different part of the universe. Imagine the difference of a Full Moon in Scorpio with the Moon conjunct Mars! That’s a Scorpio Full Moon with henchmen. Then think of a Scorpio Full Moon that’s exactly opposite Venus. Then Her powers seep into our underpants and makes a false compelling nimbus around every stranger.
Not to mention the affects of the big dangerous outer planets! A Full Moon conjunct Pluto or Uranus will blaze with power, and the effects can be strong for those connected to the energies.
You can use the reoccurrence of Moon signs to strengthen affirmations, spells or long-term projects you’re doing. You can begin the affirmation or spell when the Moon is in a certain sign, and then revisit the spell or topic next month when the Moon is in that sign once again. The start can be timed to when the Moon is new in a sign that corresponds to your topic or goal. That sign will then travel backwards through all the moon phases until it’s time for it to be the New Moon Sign again next year. So, let’s take New Moon in Aries, always a great time to start something new. New Moon in Aries will be in April most likely. The next month, the sign Aries will appear at the end of the fourth quarter right before this month’s New Moon in Taurus. The sign Aries will travel backwards through the moon cycle until three months later, it’s will be the sign of the Fourth Quarter Moon. Six months after the New Moon in Aries, in September thereabouts, Aries will be the sign of the Full Moon. After that the sign Aries will move through the Second Quarter and into the First Quarter where it will be April, and Aries will be the New Moon sign once again.
Every station of the Moon is unique. We tend to think of the Moon as being laced in traction, connecting us to our past… but it’s moving through time just like we are. Every moment of time is whirling through us, our whole solar system is turning like a top. The Sun also rotates. Someday it will loose it’s cohesion and spin madly to pieces, the Moon and Earth and Sun are as beautiful and mortal and as doomed as we are and no lunation will be exactly like any other.
Maybe this is why lunar effects are hard to find with statistics. No one’s been able to “prove” the Full Moon has an effect on people. I think of each moon station as a unique, living little god or goddess. Our universe is a hologram, when the beams of the Sun, Earth and the Moon touch, a little god or goddess appears for a time. Full Moon in Scorpio will appear many times, but she will evolve each time, she will be in a different mood each time, she will reveal different secrets and awake different urges. The Moon is alive and we’re more alive if we walk with them
The Rising of the Moon
You should also understand how the Moon moves through the month. It is some of the most ancient knowledge, and it’s simple. At the New Moon, the Sun and Moon are rising and traveling in our sky together, and you cannot see the Moon, for the light of the Sun is too bright. Each day after the New Moon, the Moon rises a little later in the day than the Sun. Soon we begin to see it in the evening sky as a fresh young crescent. The crescent is an evening Moon, it’s still following the Sun closely, and it sets mid-evening. As the month progresses, the Moon is coming up later and later in the afternoon, and spending more time in the night sky. Soon it is a bright Quarter Moon that doesn’t set until late evening. As the Moon becomes waxing gibbous, you begin to see it rising in the later afternoon sky a ghost Moon. The gibbous Moon dominates the night sky and doesn’t set till late at night.
On the Full Moon, the Moon rises exactly as the Sun is setting. They are in perfect balance. The Full Moon stays out all night and is setting as the Sun is rising in the morning.
After the full, the Moon will rise later and later in the sky. During the waning gibbous the fat lurid lopsided Moon is rising late at night, with a somehow sleazy vibe. These Moons are for adults only.
The Moon rises later and later during the two weeks after the Full Moon. Eventually it will be the crescent again, only visible during the very, very early hours of the morning. Finally it is once again rising as the same time as the Sun, the invisible New Moon.
And this is how the Moon changes signs so frequently. If if comes up two hours later a week later, it’s coming up in front of a different part of the sky. Each part of the sky around the earth’s elliptic is labeled with a different sign. The New Moon is always in the same sign as the Sun, because it’s on the Sun side of Earth, in front of the same portion of the sky. The Full Moon is in the opposite sign because it’s come around behind the earth, perfectly opposite the sun, in front of the the other side of our stellar nest.
I figure each moon event to last three days, three days for the period of influence of the Full Moon, three days for the New Moon
Your Personal Moon Phase
You also have your own personal Moon phase. Of course the Moon was doing its thing when you were born. The Moon was Full or New or Second Quarter… You can look at your birth chart to see what phase the moon was in the day when you were born. By paying special attention to the your own Moon phases you can gain more insight into your character.
New Moon people don’t seem very self reflective. They’re surprised when you notice something about their habits, they are an element they just live in, like fish in the water. Full Moon people seem to have a tragic or doomed quality somehow. I am a waning gibbous Moon and I notice I have a sophisticated, maybe decadent quality to how I take the world. People born on the Quarter Moon have the Sun and Moon square, and they have a lot of energy they have to get rid of all the time, arising from their inner tensions.
Full Moon
Over the years, people have tried to quantify the Moon’s effects. It is told that there is no statistically significant effects of the Full Moon’s light. There are centuries of lore associated with the Full Moon. Ask a bartender or someone who works in a hospital, they’ll tell you people get bonkers on the Full Moon. My good friend Eve, who bartends, explained it like this. She says the nights before the full moon and after, everyone’s all going monkey bananas, but the night of the full moon, they’re staring off into space. “They’re drinking like this”, and she mimed, eyes wide and drinks coming up to faces all slow and stunned like. Hungry but vacant.
There was a time I was sitting in the NICU with my premature infant in Swedish hospital, Seattle. There was this one night when the NICU just started filling up with babies. They were flying in the door! The nurses where like, what’s happening? I commented that it was the Full Moon, actually in the sign of Cancer, and the nurses all said, ohhhh, well that makes sense. It was December, the Sun was in Capricorn, and the Moon in Cancer. I spent a total of three months in the NICU, and I never saw anything like that one night, as far as volume of babies was concerned.
People have been fascinated by the affects of the Full Moon forever, and yet it’s hard to put a finger to it. There is no statistically measurable effects of the Full Moon, scientist, surgeons and phycologists stand firm on this. Never-the-less, you can talk to bartenders, emergency workers and police officers who firmly believe in the power of the Full Moon to derange humans.
I think the reason for the dissonance is that every lunation is different. Some of them are angry powerhouses that make people crazy, others are mild and tender. The lunar cycle is going to hit every differently depending on how it react with their charts. A certain Full Moon might only make a handful of people extra crazy, but that’s still enough to make it a memorable night for the city police and the people who work in the emergency room.
People say it’s crazy to think that the planets “control” us, and I agree. I don’t think the planets control our behavior in any way, I think the planets supply us with different kinds and amounts of energy. How you react to these energies is entirely up to you. If you can handle it, then, there’s not much effect. If you react to the energies provided by the Full Moon like you just took a giant hit of crack, well that’s on you for whatever happens next.
Oddly, the only verifiable effect is on our sleep. Studies show that people have a slightly harder time falling asleep on the Full Moon, and tend to sleep more lightly and get less rest. It’s the opposite for me, I can fall asleep like a normal person around the Full Moon, it’s the Forth Quarter and New Moon that have me pacing the nights. Follow along with the Moon phases for a bit, and see if you notice any of these sleep effects for yourself.
The Full Moon can be a sweet time. I feel like around the Full Moon is the absolute best time to throw any kind of party. There’s plenty of energy around, and things seem to be able to peak.
I also use the Full Moon to have the most success at mediating. I don’t do it the right way, all the mediation books from the 70’s I had when I was a kid said to sit up, unsupported and cross-legged, and be still, and I can’t do it. My boobs are too big, it hurts my back to sit like that. I meditated right before I sleep, laying in bed, when the whole house is finally quiet and the dark is all around. Meditation is hard but I think it’s one of the most magical things you can do. If I try for twenty minutes, and only manage thirty seconds, I consider that success. Somehow if feels so powerful to quiet the chattering mind and spent a moment in contact with the nonverbal parts of ourselves.
Over the years, I began to notice that I struggled sometimes, wresting with my mind, I just didn’t have the energy to control it. Other times I can easily drop into a fantasy or trance. I realized that mediating is much easier when there was a visible Moon that spent a lot of time in the night sky. I would love to know if this is the case for other people. Please leave a comment if you notice this effect in yourself too.
There are different types of meditation. An interesting one is called active imagination. Jung invented it…or rediscovered it. You get into your mediative state, and then imagine something of your choice. Then you watch it to see how it changes. This is a way to communicate with other parts of yourself. You just go on a little magical journey in your mind. That can be an interesting exercise for a quiet Full Moon night.
The other good thing to use the Full Moon is for, is fortune telling. It’s very traditional. I think it’s respectful to the powers that be to do a little divination now and then. The mysteries are towering, it’s not bad to give them a nod and let them know, that you know, that they are there.
Divination is a traditional way to honor the full moon. I find that I can do some divination directly with the Moon. This seems to work best when the moon is large in the sky. I find I actually have to take the trouble to go outside and look up, it won’t work for me through a glass window pane. Try and choose a spot where you can see the moon unobstructed by branches or lines. Clear your mind like you would if you were going to meditate, or where trying to read a tarot card. Let yourself be blank. Unobstructed by running chatter, you may be able to tune into the powerful energies of a full or almost Full Moon with a bit of practice. The Moon will tell you something about your life, and maybe how it feels about our little human world. Every time I try this I learn something.
Everyone should own a pack of tarot cards. Why not? It’s twenty dollars for a pack and you get 78 little pieces of art? There’s so many ways to try and divine the future. Runes, cards, tea leaves, wax in water, fire gazing, crystal or mirror gazing, the observance of birds. Even if you’re not good at it, I think it’s good luck to try and guess once and awhile. Pull a card and leave it out where you can see it for a for days, or draw a picture based on the pattern the leaves left on the bottom of the cup. A useful message will work it’s way into your mind.
I find the pleasant effects of the Full Moon seem to last until the Fourth Quarter.
Fourth Quarter
I have found the actually three day period around the exact Fourth Quarter to be one of those times I can get a lot done. This might be the last time in the cycle to tackle a big complicated project, maybe one where you get to throw a bunch of stuff away. Get things done before the energy gets too low to enjoy using it up, and focusing on things seems too annoying.
In general, I find the fourth quarter and new moon period of the moon cycle to be difficult. These are the times when I’m just doing my best to survive, and simply doing my tasks and waiting for things to ease up.
In the winter, especially, during an earth sign Fourth Quarter, Capricorn, this period seems to dominate. I think people don’t appreciate how hard it can be to be an earth sign sometimes. The tide is way out, and the barren mud flats stretch on forever. Sleep can be hard to find. In fact I often find that I suffer from wakefulness. I can’t sleep during the night, and can’t catch up on sleep with a nap later. My dry eyes just keep popping open.
People are strained, their emotions are brittle and nagging little quarrels flare up here and there like brush fires.
Trying to party now can be dangerous. Not always a great time to push your luck with strong inebriants and voltile people. Our protections are down and evil spirits can come right up to us.
Trying to meditate now seems pointless. Maybe you’ll get good at it by practicing when it’s most difficult?
It even seems harder to reach deeply creative spaces. It seems at this time that the flow of energy that we’re getting from the Moon is at it’s lowest ebb. I didn’t even realize I was getting energy from the Moon, but you sure notice when it’s gone.
This is the time we need most to offer ourselves rest and patience. I find it hard to truly rest well, suffering from wakefulness and stubbornly drifting through the days like a zombie.
Give your partner some space. Lay on the couch in your old undies and grouch. This is the time to give in and allow yourself to day drink.
Great time to move the bodies.
New Moon
I usually notice a nice little flush of energy a day or two before the new moon. Finally the tide is getting ready to turn, and the heavy dominance of the Fourth Quarter conditions are starting to fade. But things don’t just change like someone flipped the Moon On switch. This is a time of waiting around for something to happen.
The New Moon doesn’t speak to me the way a Full Moon does. I find this is a better time to focus on the sign the Moon is in. If you can align some life purpose with the energies of a particular astrological sign, this is good time to dedicate yourself to that purpose or goal. The astrologer Jan Spiller says the New Moon is a great time to make wishes. For example, it I wanted to become more practiced at valuing luxury items, procuring gourmet snacks and welcoming plenty and fertility into my life, I might begin an affirmation or create an altar to that effect on a New Moon in Taurus.
Nice time to keep to yourself and keep busy with some work of your own. Speculation begins to be possible. It may be fun to do something a little out of the ordinary, but innocuous, like visiting a museum, going for a walk or trying a new coffee spot. Go the ocean and see how big the tides are. Good time for detailed revisions of previous work and hanging out with just your one good friend… or your one good pet if you don’t have a friend.
Second Quarter
This is the time to set out on an adventure! Things will start to go good if you like some action. This whole phase is a great time to throw a party. Everyone will be up and fun and things can come together quickly and strongly.
Also a good time for creative work. This is a time for forging into new territory, launching a grand beginning.
Good time for a big complicated project with a lot of work, like deep cleaning the whole kitchen or painting the house. It’s when that pot of coffee really seems to work the way it should. This energy high seems to last through the full moon and into the third quarter. So basically it amounts to two weeks to have fun, and two weeks to be anxious and grouchy. That’s not too bad.
I like to observe my “astrological birthday” as well. For a few days during the month of your birthday, the moon will be in the same sign it is in your birth chart. This means that the sun and the moon will be in the same signs they are in your chart. I kind of take it like the whole world is in the most “me” mood it’s going to be all year. This is a nice time to do something related to yourself, maybe get or give yourself a good tarot reading, or seek some other new insight or magical experience in the world.
With the planets always rolling in their grooves, in their songs of holiness, every moment is unique. Where we live is amazing. Our solar system is beautiful. When you take in the power of this monthly and ongoing adventure, as all of our ancestors did, then you move closer into ease with your own soul and being in partnership and flow with life.
Books!
Here’s a few of the books I read to learn about the Moon and it’s phases, back in the day, before the internet. Now information about the moon is very easy to get, but I still think the deepest learning comes from books. Here’s a few of my favorites.
New Moon Astrology by Jan Spiller is a nice book. She talks about her idea of creating lists of wishes for the New Moon every month. She goes through each New Moon sign and talks about the energy and the symbolism of each sign. It’s a nice book and a good introduction.
The Witches Circle, by Maria Kay Simms is a witch’s bible. It is 500 pages long. She gives whole ceremonies for all the Full Moons throughout the year. This is the one that stuck the signs of the Full Moon in my head. If you’re into witchcraft ceremonies, you’ll probably enjoy it.
There are lots and lots of other books about the Full Moon cycle, it should be easy to find one that you like.
Moon Phase Astrology is an excellent astrology book by Raven Kuldera. He goes through all the possible Sun Moon combinations and relates them each to a god or goddess. He uses the pantheons of seemingly every “pagan” religion and expertly illuminates each sign combination. This is some of the first information I share with people when I’m doing their charts. If you have figured out your Moon sign you can use this book to track down your Sun and Moon combination. He gives a magical description of that Sun and Moon combination, and also useful information about the different moon phases and what sort of traits they might impart to their natives.
Heaven Knows What is an old book, published early in the 20th century. Grant Lewi was an astrological pioneer at a time when astrology was heavily frowned upon. His was the first generation of astrologers who were absorbing the new ideas about our personalities generated by psychology. Heaven Knows What is set up so that you can look up a lot of aspects you might have in your chart, which is kind of a pain in the ass to do with the book. But the beginning of the book is just descriptions of people’s Sun and Moon sign combinations, and I have found them to be wonderfully accurate and entertaining. Oh yes, and its title was recently stolen by a horrifying and amazing druggy film, so you might see that popping up in a search.
Both of these astrology book are the type that are fun to play with and share with friends. Everybody can look up their moon sign and then use your book to read a fun little description of their character. People enjoy it.
Liz Greene is a favorite astrologer. She is a trained Jungian psychologist and I learned so much about people and life from reading her many books. She is truly filled with wisdom. Her Astrology for Lovers is a beautiful introduction to the astrological signs. In this books she talks about the signs, and also how they behave as a boyfriend or girlfriend. Fun to read, but also so in-depth, this is the one that taught me all I needed to know about the twelve astrology signs.
If you are interested in magic, I would like recommend a few books that I’ve always liked. My absolute favorite beginners magic book is How to Improve Your Psychic Power, by Carl Rider. The title does sound silly I know, but this author introduces a whole other way of thinking about the world. A unique and original guide to magic thinking. Another author I like is Edain McCoy. She is fluffy bunny it’s true, but her introduction to witchcraft and magic are down to earth and reasonable. One of my most favorite magic books is Twelve Wild Swans by Starhawk and friends.
New Moon Astrology: The Secret of Astrological Timing to Make All Your Dreams Come True Jan Spiller Bantam Books 2001
The Witches Circle: Rituals and Craft of the Cosmic Muse Maria Kay Simms Llewellyn Publications 1996
Moon Phase Astrology: The Lunar Key to Your Destiny Raven Kuldera Destiny Books 2011
Heaven Knows What Grant Lewi Llewellyn 1976
Astrology For Lovers Liz Greene Weiser Books 2009
How to Improve Your Psychic Power: A Practical Guide for Developing Your Natural Clairvoyant Abilities Carl Rider
Kensington Publishing Corporation 1998
Lady of the Night: A Handbook of Moon Magic & Rituals Edain McCoy Llewellyn 1990
The Twelve Wild Swans: A Journey to the Realm of Magic, Healing and Action Hillary Valentien, Starhawk Harper 2001
