The Moon

by Ron Bippus 1997

The Moon is associated with women, mothers, aunts, older sisters, and other female relatives. Although all these associations are at least partly true, the association with the physical mother is the strongest and is well documented. Along with this connection with mother are connotations of childhood, the past, memories, health and, most importantly, your own emotions and feelings. Physically, the Moon is associated with the stomach, digestion, and body fluids. Just as the Moon has a high orbital speed, there is a great deal of changeability no matter what the house or sign placement. Some positive lunar traits are: sensitivity; sympathy, good memory; a maternal, nurturing, receptive nature; patience; tenacity. Some negative traits are: moodiness; food addictions; unreliability; being narrow-minded; vengeful; or illogical.

Fire Moons

Fire likes and thrives on action and accomplishments, and the hierarchy and rank consciousness this brings with it. They all share the same need to be a part of a team, whether as leader or team member. This awareness of social position and structure permeates their entire lives, including their personal relationships. Fire instinctively needs to know the pecking order. They have a need for recognition and success, which they generally get by being very productive and obedient to the rules. They are the least likely of all the elements to put a high value on relationships, preferring instead the company of their team mates or coworkers. Their teams, organizations and employers become their surrogate families and receive their loyalty and allegiance. Fire signs like to band together in some way, and fight for a cause or goal. They will choose ideals and causes over relationships and families. They are very idealistic, enthusiastic and energetic in expressing their feelings, with a very positive attitude toward life. The biggest challenge may be in restraining these feelings within socially acceptable boundaries. Repression of these feelings is almost certain to result in depression, illness or at least severe stress. Their emotions come and go like flashes of light, both anger and joy will come and go with great rapidity. They have a powerful need for excitement and fun, and pleasure of one sort or another is always on their minds. They love with great passion and speed, but rarely forever, since the excitement of the chase is far more satisfying than the final catch. Fire Moons avoid confrontations and differences of opinions at all costs, and will pretend there are no problems in order to avoid escalation. They actively forget prior disagreements and will pretend that nothing has ever been amiss. However, they do not hold back once a confrontation is unavoidable - they give it their best shot. They are sometimes perceived to be bossy and domineering, but they have a sure sense and instinctive understanding as to who is the leader. They like to set goals, and tend to believe that everyone and everything will align with those goals.

Earth Moons

People with earth moons are very conscious of emotional and financial security, and they are pragmatic and logical in running their lives. They tend to be persevering and patient, and don't jump into things impulsively. Both males and females will accept the empty shell of a very dead marriage in order to maintain emotional and especially financial support. They just can't be bothered to start all over again, and are quite willing to accept the fact that people are less than perfect. They also accept differences in interests, wealth, education and status, and a lack of communication in the relationship. They are the least likely to starve for the sake of a principle or ideal, and prefer to have all the necessary financial support and physical comforts in place. They don't like playing games and tend to be very loyal and responsible. They are more likely than any other element to seek satisfaction of their needs, whether emotional or physical, outside the home and marriage. Their needs are met when their desire for financial security and safety are met, while their emotional needs are relegated to second place. They will work very hard, and accept tedious and boring work if it is important for their survival. They are good at handling money and negotiating business deals. Their love of luxury has a practical side, often resulting in shrewd investments in luxury goods. They are not likely to have much patience with stupid or emotionally confused people, and will not suffer fools gladly.

Air Moons

The key focus for air moons is communication with their peers or equals. This includes socializing and talking at great length. Their minds are very analytical, and their emotions are intellectualized and verbalized. The Air sign Moons are NOT about deep feelings and emotions. They are very good at technology, and excel at high tech professions, but should not get into healing or nurturing professions. They thrive in areas of equality, and really hate patronage and class structures. They love the world of ideas, whether they be intellectual, scientific or artistic. They are friendly, sociable, and love to talk. In relationships they prefer their social equals in age, education, and economic background. If the partner looks as if he is going to be too successful and pay too much attention to the career, air moon is likely to create discord to get attention, going as far as deliberately sabotaging the partner's career prospects. They rarely believe in a one and only relationship, and have some difficulties feeling lifelong commitment to anyone. Broken relationships are replaced with amazing alacrity, since air moons are dysfunctional without one. They have lots of patience but once it's over it's over. They are idealists who love social, political and economic ideals, with freedom, brotherhood and equality leading the list. Air moons are very active, and like to keep moving and socializing. They often focus on intellectual development, and the potential of the human mind. Their intellectual detachment and constant analysis of their feelings is a real turn off for some other Moon elements, and is the basis for most of their relationship problems. They talk about feelings rather than having them, and don't understand when a Moon in water turns away in disgust.

Water Moons

People with this Moon placement are very emotional, sensitive and intuitive. They hold their feelings inside rather than expressing them openly, because over the years they have learned to defend against getting hurt. They feel deeply, and are inclined to relive emotional experiences over and over in their minds long after they have come and gone. There is a tendency to remember emotional pain, and even if they forgive, they never forget. Their memory is good and their deep emotional interests drive them to understand as much as possible. The universe is a fascinating mystery, and they are drawn to dig down to the core. They should generally avoid highly technical career, since such a venture will not meet their considerable emotional needs. Without such emotional feedback and satisfaction from their work, they will run forever on a self sabotaging and self defeating track. When it comes to people they have a natural intuitive understanding of other people's motivations and feelings, and can very easily put themselves in their place. They definitely enjoy creative projects, but may never complete them before another interest snags their attention. They seek emotional security and a deep abiding sense of passion. If this sense of passion is missing in their relationships, they will sooner or later seek it elsewhere, whether it is an affair, work, or creative endeavour. They give themselves over to new experiences with an adolescent sense of expectation, getting deeper into their experiences than any other Moon element. This can be a limitation when they expect the same kind of response in mature romantic relationships. They enjoy the first thrill of a new experience or relationship, and may throw it away after the initial thrill is gone. The search for excitement and sensuality may become the sole goal in life, but it can also drive the quest for spiritual fulfilment and knowledge. This is the least likely of the Moon elements to abide by the rules and obey authority.

Moon Relationship Prospects

When it comes to relationships, it is best to stick to the same element, even more so than sun sign compatibility. Since the Moon represents your emotional needs, you will definitely not be happy if they are not met within the relationship, and will seek fulfilment outside it if this is true.

Fire / Fire

This is a very compatible placement. Both Moons are very energetic and passionate, and you will find each other very exciting playmates. You both share that endless craving for excitement, as long as you don't let your egos get in the way and ruin the relationship. This can be one of the most enduring of combinations.

Fire / Air

This is a stimulating, but perhaps just too challenging a combination to work in the long run. Air may feel that fire is too ego oriented, and somewhat self centred. Pride and temper tantrums may get in the way of a long lasting relationship. Fire may get jealous of Air's independence, emotional detachment and social butterfly behaviour patterns. Discussions of Air Moon's opinions and plans will be successful only if Fire's ego does not feel compromised or threatened. Air tends to analyse and verbalize emotions, and both try to maintain personal freedom while trying to control the freedom of the partner. Air especially tends to be highly skilled in the arts of verbal manipulation. The final solution depends very much on the maturity and commitment of the partners.

Fire / Earth

Fire tends to get impatient with earth, as well as being somewhat in awe of earth Moon's methodical, organized and practical ways. Earth may be shocked by Fire's impulsiveness, temper or sheer emotional energy, and the carefree spending of money. Earth may also get bent out of shape by Fire's lack of punctuality, and lack of perseverance in following through with promises. The security needs of earth may feel suffocating to Fire, so there will be eventually a battle of wills over whose needs are met. This can be overcome with patience, of which there won't be a lot in this relationship.

Fire / Water

Fire feels impatient and out of control with the way water broods and sulks and takes everything very personally. At the same time water may resent fire for a perceived insensitivity and selfishness. By the same token, fire may feel suddenly insecure should water withdraw its emotions as a means of self defence. Fire is perplexed by the many mood shifts, and takes them all too personally, little realizing that water Moon is simply processing its own emotional load. This combination can indicate a high degree of physical and emotional passion, with a deep enduring love provided the communication channels are kept open.

Earth / Earth

You are both pragmatic and security conscious, with a strong focus on financial and material security, and the career or business with provides them. You share similar emotional attitudes and expectations and similar emotional needs. In a serious romantic relationship, you dislike emotional games, you do like to know where you stand, and you need to be able to trust. Because you both seek emotional commitment instead of endless dating and game playing, you are good for each other, and can build a solid and stable relationship. The only limitation here is that you may both get too bogged down in security and materialism and not explore other aspects of life.

Earth / Air

While there are some areas of compatibility, in other areas there are some fairly strong personality conflicts. Unless Air has a lot of earth in their horoscope, they are not the most practical of people, as earth Moons tend to be. On the other hand, they can see beyond the physical limitations to try for something that may be impractical but not physically impossible. Earth Moon can help implement Air's ideas in a business like and realistic manner. On the other hand, Air can inspire earth to take a little lighter look at life, worry less about material and financial matters. Earth Moon might even acquire a sense of humour. While this can be an excellent business relationship, in a romantic relationship Air can help earth understand the need for analysis, communication and mutual understanding. The insecurities of earth may interfere with Air's need for freedom and independence, so it is up to air to make earth feel secure enough to grant your needs easily. While it is soon enough obvious that they relate to the world in a very different manner, this need not necessarily be an overwhelming obstacle to the continuation of the relationship.

Earth / Water

While the moods of the Water Moon may mystify Earth, if Earth shows patience and understanding, it will find the emotional security it are looking for. While Earth has a very matter of fact outlook on life, the Water Moon seldom feels that things are as they appear to be. Water keeps searching, and is seldom satisfied with anything tangible. Thus the Water Moon may get impatient with what is regarded as Earth Moon's narrow perspective of life. Water Moon seeks spiritual illumination, and pursues philosophical interests, while Earth pursues material and emotional security. On a deep emotional level, Water will empathize with Earth and try to provide the emotional reassurance and security it seeks. Earth may offer the practical support, the organizational structure and the pragmatic advice that will make Water Moon more productive and happier as well. In return, the kind of love that Water Moon is capable of offering is sensitive, giving and profound. In this relationship you may finally find the trust and security you both have been looking for. However, this kind of closeness does not come overnight. It takes time to dismantle the barriers and defences you have erected for the sake of emotional survival

Air / Air

Although this is not the most physical of relationships, it can be excellent for communication and intellectual stimulation, and therefore can be long lasting and happy. Both partners are objective, understanding and analytical. They have an intuitive understanding of each other's needs and desires. They both enjoy talking about their feelings and are patient enough to empathize with each other's point of view, even if they don't necessarily agree with it. It is highly likely that they will both gain a great deal of pleasure from the exchange of ideas, opinions, and stories. They will also respect each other's need for space, freedom, and independence, while still sharing similar intellectual interests. Unless either or both Moons are under heavy hard aspects, this could be a best friend relationship that could last for many years.

Air / Water

This is a difficult combination for a romantic relationship, although it is just fine for a friendship. Basically, the needs and complexity of the water moon are so deep that air may find itself baffled by them frequently. At times water's actions appear totally irrational, alternately passionate and detached. Air's most natural reaction would be to sort this behaviour out intellectually, but it is pointless losing a lot of sleep over it. Many water Moons do not understand themselves, although they usually have remarkable insight into other people. This means that they will understand you intuitively. But you will have only a lot of theories and conjectures about how they feel. These people are supersensitive, and their feelings dominate their behaviour. At first Air may find such passion refreshing, bur eventually finds it stifling and irritating. Their ultimate desire will be to control Air, while Air's desire will merely be to care for Water while sharing some lovely experiences. At times Air may feel that it simply can't communicate with this person because there is some type of barrier that it can't put its finger on. Some water Moons have a tendency to be self sacrificing, giving everything to make the relationship work. That is exactly what is required by this combination, since equality is never possible. Chances are that the Water Moon would never feel the deep emotional satisfaction desired from this relationship. However, Water Moon may be attracted to Air's levity, detachment and ability to function without being in a constant state of emotional crisis. For this relationship to work, the Water Moon can't look to Air to provide emotional security, and must learn to appreciate relationships less subjectively.

Water / Water

This is an ideal combination, whether the relationship be that of friends, spouses or business partners. Both of you are emotional, moody, sensitive, intuitive and deeply in need of loving and being loved. Here, there is an unspoken emotional understanding that can reach the level of psychic communication. You pick up on each other's feelings instinctively and sense safety in a kindred spirit. Whether or not it is openly expressed, your response to each other will be intense. With this combination, immediate ties are often made, and unless the moons are stressed, it is likely that these ties will last a long time.

The Moon Through the Signs

Aries

Your mother may have valued freedom and independence above all else. She had an aggressive and quick mind, as well as a quick temper. Probably resentful of the restrictions imposed by child rearing duties, she pushed you into early self-sufficiency and independence. She may have been a career woman, frustrated at having given up her independence to get married, and wishing she had stayed single and in the work force. There is usually a lot of open hostility between the parents, causing the child to become imprinted with aggressive behaviour patterns. The home may in fact be a battleground, and the child has no choice but to be a warrior. Mother probably took honesty to the point of brutally frank, and unfortunately you copy the maternal role model only too well. While aggressiveness and quick temper are part and parcel of this Moon sign, a more important one may be the need for independence. You may like the company of like minded companions, but have a disconcerting lack of need for people. You are your own best friend, and are not afraid to swim against the tide of humanity. Because of this, you have a true pioneering spirit, with an almost total disregard for other peoples' opinions. Your father encouraged you to be a true individualist who follows his own star. You are restless, energetic, and have a great deal of initiative and courage.

If you are a man, you tend to be very macho, tough and self centred, and you look for a fairly aggressive woman. The pattern is to get married in a rush of passion, and then spend years regretting it, finally ending the marriage in divorce. Women with the Moon in Aries distrust the institution of marriage, since it brought so much unhappiness to her mother and herself. Your father may have wanted a child of the opposite sex, and in cases of hard aspects to the Moon, he may have rejected the daughter entirely, demanding mother get pregnant again and present him with a male child. You may have been father's little pal, absorbing a lot his enjoyment of traditional male pastimes, such as sports, fishing and other outdoor activities. While Aries Moon is quick to anger, it is just as quick to forgive and forget. Along with the quick mind comes the tendency to get bored quickly, and conversations about diapers or soap operas are guaranteed to turn them off, even if you are female.

In relationships, you are likely very demanding of your mate, while at the same time demanding freedom from obligations for yourself. You have strong physical needs, and love to be challenged. New conquests are likely to be considered boring unless there is at least some token resistance, or you will look elsewhere for more exciting partners. You are perceived to be very lively and entertaining in social situations, but can be combative and confronting in relationships. When searching for a lover, you like to appear vivacious, sexy, and dynamic, and look for an open minded, admiring partner. You probably think of yourself as the best there is, and if you are male you may consider yourself as something of a bedroom athlete.

In career matters, you are again likely to follow the role model of a father who had a high regard for action and performance, not idle talk. So you are prone to drive yourself to the limits of endurance, and become quite successful at whatever goal you set for yourself. If you become bored or disenchanted with your goal, marriage or career, you are very likely to make a change without prior notice. You are very much are inclined to do what you want to do, and will not listen to advice. Arrogantly sure of yourself, you may jump impulsively into whatever strikes your fancy, in the same fearless manner father used to do. Although you have your share of failures, this doesn't prevent you from sticking your neck out the next time. This general attitude of recklessness and joyful zest for life pervades the whole lifestyle, and challenge may be more important to you than the eventual prize or goal.

Taurus

Positively aspected, this can be an indication of good emotional adjustment with very few problems. This is an indication that mother took her duties seriously, and provided you with love and nurturing. She was most likely a practical, no-nonsense person, and you have adopted her attitude. Mother possibly had many rules and regulations. Her approval had to be earned, rather than being given unconditionally, and was handed out very sparingly. You live life as if you are methodically working to some master plan. You can be patient, organized, well balanced and take great pains to get the job done right. This placement means you are usually highly responsible, and can drive oneself until the task is done. Perseverance in the face of adversity is one of the main strengths. There is a tendency to be very calm, cool, and collected, and panic does not set in easily. You can calmly consider alternate solutions even when beset by pressing problems. You prefer stability to excitement, and a bit of boredom is preferable to a jump into the unknown.

In relationships, the desire for stability outweighs all else. You believe in clearly defined roles, are usually traditional, and like having a secure home base. You are very practical when it comes to comfort, food, clothing and shelter. You love good food, and will probably have children, and admire green and growing things of all kinds. You are very committed to the relationship, and may prefer the shell of a dead marriage to the financial uncertainty of a new relationship. You are probably deeply sensuous, and have strong physical needs. The sense of touch is especially important, and any intimate relationship must have a lot of hugging, kissing, and touching.

Those with hard aspects to their Moon in Taurus are not quite so lucky. Here the theme may be one of outright rejection, or at the least severe problems between mother and child. Rather than developing a sense of emotional security, you are left with the feeling that you must justify your existence from day to day. You tend to cling to anyone who gives you love and affection, and have a major problem with self-confidence and security. You need constant reassurance, and rarely will try anything requiring courage and confidence. As adults, many of these childhood dilemmas remain unresolved. Your mother may have been highly critical and demanding, giving out love and affection only on the condition that tasks are completed or rules adhered to. This kind of conditional love produces a materialistic attitude, and a basic doubt about self-worth. This can show up in relationships with using or abusing partners, especially if the father was also not supportive or caring. This Moon usually has a well developed aesthetic sensibilities and often a talent for an artistic pursuit of some kind.

Gemini

People with the Moon in Gemini love to talk. You'll talk about anything and everything, important or trivial. The problem is that mother was NOT an emotionally warm and loving person, but instead substituted talk and communication for the physical and emotional nurturing and care our society expects from a mother. You are therefore left with the impression that talking is the most important thing in the world, and indeed people with the Moon in this sign talk as if their very lives depended on it. There usually was a good deal of verbal dispute and confrontation between you and your mother. When you are feeling emotional, whether upset or happy, you need to talk in order to find an outlet and inner balance. You lend your ear to listen to other people's problems, since you are curious and at least intellectually sympathetic.

Moon in a mutable sign is an indication of lack of stability and getting you to make up your mind is a major undertaking that could drive one to distraction. You vacillate between either extreme, and carefully consider a million possibilities in between. You make mountains out of molehills, and have a special talent for complicating even the simplest of issues. You often tend to look and act as if emotionally confused, and since feelings and thoughts are so closely linked, this is to be expected. Gemini Moons have very restless minds, and getting to sleep may be a problem. Socially restless in your habits, the men especially are famous for flirting. Since the emotions are so restless and unstable, worrying and irritability are also major features.

The changeability of this Moon extends to relationships, and others are better off judging you by your actions and not your promises. While long term relationships are not uncommon, your lack of emotional depth tends to leave your partners unsatisfied, and sooner or later they move on. You need a partner who is like you interested in many activities, and doesn't place a heavy demand on feelings and intimacy. Communication is absolutely essential for you, and a partner who can't carry on a conversation is not acceptable. The partner needs to respect your intelligence and your ideas, and must appreciate your mind. Someone intellectual, witty, and very articulate with a youthful attitude toward life is required to fill your emotional needs. You find it difficult to make lasting commitments, and should really avoid marriage unless it is to another air Moon. However, at your very best you are full of sparkling vitality, humour and laughter and have very quick, mercurial, mind. Unfortunately this can lead you to jump to conclusions. Rarely is the truth pursued along its tortuous and difficult path for in-depth analysis is alien to your personality. Persevering with an idea from concept to realization is just as rare. Shortly after a brilliant new idea emerges another one appears, and the first one is quickly filed at the back of your mind, never to see the light of day again and so it goes on. Unfortunately, this earns you a reputation for unreliability, one that is undeserved, since unreliability extends only to emotional matters. Practical matters are usually attended to with meticulous responsibility.

Cancer

When there are strong and positive aspects to the Moon in Cancer, mother may have been extremely caring, loving and nurturing, with the result that you may wish to recreate the childhood family home. You are likely to have children, pets, and a well-cared for home and spouse. That is the good news. The bad news is that with hard aspects, this can be an indication that the father had little to do with you and mother was forced to make up the difference by being extra caring. Your father may have died, or have been ill, or worked a long way from home. As often as not, mother was as emotionally distant as father, and you may have felt like an emotional orphan, albeit not actually a physical orphan.

The result is a that you don't believe in your own capacity to attract love. Because of the poor emotional role model, you attempt to form relationships with indifferent and uncaring partners. You often seem to adopt the usually mistaken attitude that, given enough time, the object of your affections can be brought to their senses. Cancer Moons are also known to hang on tenaciously to relationships, even when the relationships are less than perfect. Typically, you give more than you take, hoping through extra efforts to earn love and affection. Instead, you would be well advised to look for more caring relationship, rather than trying to cling on to one that is obviously not working. You may resign yourself to being lonely for the rest of you life, and give up any hope of finding someone to love. Or instead, you may busy yourself and pretend you are too strong and independent to need anyone. Unfortunately, even exceptional career success and the wealth and fame this may bring will not satisfy the need for genuine caring and affection.

In relationships, you may try to gain and keep security through home, children, and a loving partner. While your relationship is initially very important, it tends to be relegated to the back burner once the kids start to arrive. It is also very important to you to maintain your family ties, but you need to watch a tendency to focus only on the hard times and negative experiences. You look for guarantees of security and love in your relationship, but you may need to learn some nurturing tips from your partner. Watch your weight, since you have a tendency to eat to relieve romantic stress. What you need is an old fashioned home with a traditional family, where you can nurture others and especially be nurtured by them.

Because of a trying and austere childhood, you are super-sensitive, vulnerable, and controlled by your emotions. You tend to be very touchy and easily wounded, and can be very moody. You hold your emotions inside, and allow them to fester and ferment and cause problems for a very long time. You can change from being wildly exuberant one moment, to feeling depressed and melancholy the next. Feelings, moods and emotions are always on a roller coaster. Periodic withdrawal is necessary, in order to relax and regroup. You need to cultivate an ability to detach and take things in stride, since repression and control of your emotions is beyond your ability. If and when a suitable partner is found, life and happiness tend to flourish, due to your strong nurturing needs.

You may attempt to make up for a difficult childhood by giving your own children a better start in life. Because of the constant high emotional charge, you can be very creative. Your emotional drive can find satisfaction in domestic chores, or by being channelled into careers such as restaurateur, interior decorator, chef, or nurse. Intellectual careers are usually found not to be to your in personal satisfaction. Good memory is one of your assets, having been trained by remembering all the emotional hurts of childhood. Hanging on to these can often show a characteristic immaturity which should be discarded in adulthood. The development of a sense of perspective and proportion needs to be a priority for most people with this Moon sign.

Leo

You are born to a mother who expects you to behave in an exemplary fashion. You were moulded to your parents' ideal of what is right and proper, and were expected to abide by very strict rules. You were also given a sense of "I am the very best", and pride to the point of arrogance is one possible outcome. The opposite extreme, under hard aspects, is that you have no pride at all, and project all sense of accomplishment and self-esteem onto your partner or other people. You probably like to indulge in the finer things in life, believing it to be your absolute right to have great clothes, good food and pleasant company. A childlike sense of humour with an ability to see the funny side of ridiculous and even tragic events is a definite area of strength. You behave with great dignity, and possess a regal presence. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth both have Moon in Leo.

You may have a problem, however, with identifying too closely with the career or partner, and seeing both as extensions of yourself. This kind of inflated ego is likely to be a major source of problems, and relationships may be initiated or maintained solely because they make you look good, but are not necessarily emotionally rewarding. All personal pride can be projected onto the partner, especially in the case of women, who may invest much energy into displaying how great they feel their husbands are while leaving their own lives unrealised. Money, power and status play a large part in your value system, and an inordinate amount of importance can be placed on these factors.

You seem to have innate acting ability, always playing to impress an audience, whether this be the boss or the next sexual conquest. Your natural need here is for some kind of response, a very real and genuine need for recognition. However, there can also be an intense craving for attention, which appears to be due to the fact that mother's attention was excessive to the point of becoming overwhelming. Now, however, the need for it has become deeply ingrained in the subconscious. While this need for attention can result in a self-centred braggart, with positive aspects you can be a very good listener only too willing to help those less fortunate. It also can be an indication that you are very susceptible to flattery and compliments, thus awareness of this feature can avert what could turn out to be a major weakness.

You may need to learn detachment, rather than taking yourself so very seriously. Because you yourself are so prone to present a facade to others, you are likely to fall for someone who is presenting a false front. Obsession with status can cause you to ignore genuine emotional rewards, concentrating on the rich and powerful instead. This leaves you wide open and vulnerable to emotional blackmail, since you are unwilling to consider giving up the accoutrements of wealth, beauty, or power. If you have the Moon in Leo you can be warm, loving and romantic, but very rarely are you self-sacrificing. This is probably the rarest Moon position an astrologer is likely to see. Astrologers would hardly be ranked with a high enough status by that Leonine pride.

Women usually take their relationships quite seriously once the marriage is finalized, while the men often keep chasing other women. Their need for ego gratification makes them slaves to the flattery, compliments and admiration that usually come with any new relationship. They think of themselves as glamorous and generally conduct themselves in a regal fashion. While demanding the right to rove from lover to lover, they are really quite jealous and possessive when the tables are turned. This is more out of a concern for materialistic property rights and loss of face rather than a more genuine concern for loss of love and affection. You can be quite the romantic, showering your lover with gifts, telephone calls and cards. You love to socialize, and hate to be alone. You need to be treated with respect for your accomplishments and position, and your ego needs constant stroking. You love children, and usually have more than your share of them. Taking care of parental responsibilities becomes the number one priority, since the child is a reflection of yourself. Overall, you are likable, sociable, and a joy to have around. If your compulsive need for attention can be brought to awareness and thus overcome, you will get all the attention you deserve, not just the attention you demand. You make a good parent, manager or executive. You treat subordinates with kindness and consideration, and employees are looked upon more as family than as servants.

Virgo

Your mother was a woman who was very materialistic, and liked to complain a lot about lack of money, her husband, the children, and life in general. She expected perfection, and demanded that everyone cater to her needs. There was little in the way of love and affection for you, and emotions of any kind were seldom expressed. What little love you received was usually conditional on good behaviour, good marks, or tasks completed to her satisfaction. As a result, you are shy and cautious, and afraid to commit to any course of action without first analysing the situation thoroughly. You grew up with a need to have everything absolutely perfect, since anything less always brought an angry and highly critical tirade from mother. This has left a lingering sense of insecurity, and you can be very shy when it comes to starting new relationships. Emotions and feelings are replaced by logic and reason, so you can come across as cold and rational. Like mother, you may get more satisfaction from tearing someone down, rather than building them up. And also like mother, you are usually very organized. For everything there is a right time, place and manner in which it should be done. The tendency is for you to compartmentalize your mind, with a little niche for everything, including emotions. This allows for a great deal of persistence to be brought to bear on problem solving, since conflict in one area very rarely spills over into another. Conflict with other people, however, follows you like a little black cloud, since there are seemingly always numerous faults to be pointed out in everyone else's performance. Your attitudes are generally conservative, more often than not materialistic and somewhat prejudiced. As well, you can be a real worry wart, fussing over minor details, never satisfied or happy. Because of such insecurities, you may lose a lot of sleep, and insomnia and other stress related problems are common. Rules and regulations are adhered to rigidly, and you need to learn to chill out and. Because you take pride in doing and knowing everything perfectly, there can be intellectual arrogance. You greatly dislike being reviewed or judged by those you consider intellectually inferior. On a more positive note, you may have an interest in service or charity work. Your conscientious and industrious nature is appreciated by those who depend on you, especially since you seldom push for public recognition. Excellence in all things is very important, and career success is almost assured. Whether in a personally owned business, or working for someone else, work is always performed to the very best of your ability.

In love, you can be as picky as in other areas of your life. You search for perfection, only to be disappointed time and again. At last you finally settle for someone far less than perfect, but someone who can be dominated and controlled through those very imperfections. Since there is no possible competition or threat of domination from such a person, this makes you feel very superior and therefore secure about the relationship. You look for someone with a practical talent, who is faithful, productive, hard working and clean. Despite some preconceptions to the contrary, you are not at all prudish about sex, and enjoy it thoroughly. Virgo is after all an earth sign, and you certainly can be sensuous and skilled in body work, and you don't mind learning new skills. You can be very sensitive emotionally, and pick up intuitively what your partner enjoys. Your need for control is good for business, but in personal relationships it can be deadly. Your unwillingness to relax, to be emotional and vulnerable, makes relationships very difficult. You need to learn to take a chance and enjoy life. Not knowing what's planned ahead makes life much more exciting!

Libra

This Moon position, like the other Air Moons, is an indication that your emotional attitudes were formed in an atmosphere of confrontation and discord, primarily on the verbal level. Being used to dealing with such confrontations, you have developed diplomacy as a survival strategy. In fact, this is probably the most charming of all the Moon signs, but few people realize that there is so much sublimated hostility and aggression at the source of this charm. You can be as warlike as an Aries Moon, the difference being that sweet words, easy promises and emotional manipulation are used instead of verbal or physical aggression. Coming from such a turbulent background, you look for peace and tranquillity to rest your weary soul. You probably have a great deal of aesthetic appreciation, and an interest in all or some of the arts. You prefer an easy, comfortable and tranquil life, with as much beauty, wealth and status as can be acquired. Expensive clothes, a lavishly decorated and furnished home, and gourmet dinners are an everyday rule. It's as if there is a need to make up for an emotionally deprived childhood by overindulging as soon as the means exist.

You are a party person, but never a party animal. Proper conduct is all important, and elegant appearance runs a close second. Entertaining and being entertained are major pastimes, and you certainly are a very social creature. Too much drinking, eating, and changing partners are forms of self-indulgence that may be taken to excess. You avoid unpleasantness at all costs, whether it be unpleasant people or environments. You generally seek out people who are perceived to be as refined and gracious as you see yourself. You can see both sides of an issue, but to others this same quality can appear as vacillation, indecisiveness and procrastination.

Commitment is also difficult in relationships. Romantically you are far more logical and calculating than may seem at first. Good looks and refined manners, as well as an articulate mind generally head the list of your prerequisites, closely followed by money and social connections. In return for your exquisite company, you expect total devotion to your needs and fancies. This Moon placement has a reputation for having wandering interests, since a beautiful body or healthy bank account is not satisfying for very long. You keep on looking for the perfect mate, while finding faults in your current partner. While a stable marriage to an accommodating partner is possible, you are not likely to put all your emotional eggs in one basket by losing your identity in one person. You pursue work, friends and maybe even affairs with undiminished energy. Where the marriage works well, it can be a source of never ending satisfaction, since everything seems so much better when shared. You will probably have many arguments, which will give you the opportunity to practice your negotiating skills.

Under hard aspects, this can be a Moon sign of fickleness, unreliability and wanton pleasure seeking. Emotionally shallow, you take rather than give, and there is usually a long string of failed relationships. There is an emotional ambivalence shared with the other Air Moons, running away from any display of true intimacy, rather than welcoming it. In your late twenties or maybe thirties, you may finally settle into a comfortable but distant relationship with someone who offers emotional or financial support, but nothing more intimate. Security and companionship is far more important than emotional closeness, or intense sexual intimacy. Serenity is not allowed to be disturbed by such disrupting factors as frank communication and emotional openness. The marriage often fades to a mere false front, becoming a charade for the benefit of other people. This is not a Moon position which tries to answer profound questions from the very depth of the soul. Superficiality is the key word, and a plastic false front the order of the day. When it comes to careers, you will find law, politics, management or the arts very satisfying.

Scorpio

You probably arrived in the world at a time when mother was NOT particularly interested in having a child. Perhaps you are the oldest, and the parents are not married. Or maybe it is war time, and father is already dead. Sometimes the next child comes along too soon, and mother isn't ready to deal with two small children. Her fears, worries and resentments were all too clearly imprinted on you, her newborn child, driving you to control your emotions and repress them in order to prevent mother from taking out her frustrations on you. In all cases, this Moon Sign indicates very bad timing on your part, even if mother is simply not looking forward to diapers and midnight feeds. These vague feelings of unhappiness, fear, doubt and resentment then become focused on the father, resulting in denial of his physical needs and the subsequent hostility and confrontation this engenders. Both parents may then vent their frustration and anger on you. This is why fear of abandonment becomes the most powerful issue for people with the Moon in Scorpio.

In later years mother quite often relents and offers you the love and affection you need, leaving you with the impression that if only you can project your needs with enough emotional intensity, then people will eventually respond. By this time, it is too late to change, so you grow up to be an emotionally repressed adult, with the expectation of rejection and abandonment and an ensuing lack of confidence in your ability to attract love.

You have a greet need to be loved and wanted, yet on the surface you usually display an icy calm and control, as if you have no emotions or feelings. This is actually an indication that the feeling nature has been deeply repressed, as you have a very real fear of letting go of emotional control. This is due to the fact that mother was a very controlling person, who ruled you with an iron will. It is rare for you to be able to express either great joy or great sadness, and the dilemmas generated by the need to hang on to emotional control create problems everywhere. When eventually the emotional load becomes too heavy, the dam finally bursts and you are flooded by a tidal wave of feelings. This very intensity of feeling leaves you vulnerable to being hurt. Betrayals by lovers leave an especially deep wound, causing bitterness which eventually tends to change the attitudes toward other relationships and life in general permanently. Unless you are able to let go of the pain and feelings of injustice rather than collecting them along the way and holding onto them they become just so much excess baggage taking up valuable space. You may also have a tendency to escape emotional pain by drinking, drugs, or suicide. Another common response is to shut the emotions off entirely, responding to other people with dulled sensibilities and the spontaneity of a robot. The general stance you take is to see yourself as the tough warrior facing a hostile world, with a dire need to keep those defences up. This often results in other people seeing you as strong and confident, when in reality you have a deep fear of showing emotions. The depressions and extreme mood swings associated with this Moon Sign are just one way of coping with reality. What you need in relationships is a deeply passionate and intense romance with a commitment to death and possibly beyond.

Scorpio is associated with sexuality for good reason, for it is definitely one of the most passionate signs. However, it simultaneously carries the fear of succumbing to and being controlled by another human being, which often enough becomes reality. As well as the need for involvement in a secure and loving relationship, your emotional energy can be channelled into career, money or power pursuits. For you to really trust anyone is a major challenge, for the fear of abandonment acquired in childhood is never quite overcome. In extreme cases, there may be sexual perversions involving physical pain. The presence of emotional pain since childhood seems to create a need for pain as a way to stay in touch with your reality. You may unconsciously continue to create pain for yourself unless you learn to change ingrained habit patterns. You have a supreme need to remain in control of your life, and the challenge is to transform your life circumstances into something greater than the experiences of the past. You allow nothing to stand in the way once you have chosen a goal, but its attainment offers little in the way of lasting satisfaction. This Moon position indicates you are a person who forever seeks after perfection, and doesn't mind tearing things, ideas and people apart in order to achieve it. Since few people can live up to this ideal of perfection, relationships are discarded with great regularity. What is really required is a soul mate, not simply a marriage partner. Because of the tendency to hide feelings and emotions, most people find you very difficult to understand, and even long time partners fail to comprehend your attitudes. While it may be difficult for you to bare your own soul, getting a stranger's life story is easy. Your ability to concentrate on one task without allowing any distractions is truly phenomenal. Other people may see this as grim seriousness, while you perceive it as completely normal. The positive side of this dedication is that partners who are perceived as loving and giving are the beneficiaries of an utterly committed and loyal lover. Your need in relationships is a commitment until death do you part.

Sagittarius

With the Moon in Sagittarius it was probably father, not mother, who gave you the love and affection every child needs. It is likely that mother not only encouraged a great deal of freedom and independence, but maybe gave a push or two to get you out the door. Father was probably away from home a great deal, but whenever he got back he spent a lot of time with you. He was no doubt full of laughter and fun, a man of good humour and a love of life. He may have had a higher than average appreciation of the finer things in life, like good food, drink, and a party atmosphere. He was also very likely as generous with his money as with his time and affection.

You often have a boundless enthusiasm which sweeps others away and is extremely infectious. Unfortunately, the joy in a new project tends to fade with great rapidity, and perseverance with any mutable sign is a very rare trait. Depression and hopelessness seem to follow the outbursts of joy with great regularity. However, that too doesn't last for long, and a new outlook along with a new project, lover or hobby soon emerges.

In relationships you are very much like a butterfly, sampling the nectar from many flowers while constantly on the move. You are not willing to deal with confrontation and strife in the long term, but you don't mind assuming a challenging position. You can be very outspoken and militant when expounding your favourite viewpoint. You value intellectual equality in your lovers since a sharing of ideas holds the greater part of the enjoyment for you.

You can't stand stupid lovers, but expect them to have brains, and look for intellectual excitement and challenges. You are impulsive and spontaneous, falling in and out of love with equal speed. You can be capricious and inconstant, and have a reputation for lack of commitment. This lack of commitment and responsibility may cause you to look on lovers as a recreational resource, useful only for a moment's pleasure. You prefer to turn friends into lovers, rather than the other way round. You have a zest for sexuality and a stable home life has a low priority. You look for the silver lining in every cloud, no matter how black. If that silver lining is not there, you take off and go looking for a better situation and more congenial people.

On the highest level, you search for wisdom, not just facts. You are engaged in a perpetual search for enlightenment, and you are usually kind and generous. Under hard aspects, there can be a superficial search for excitement, hysteria and temper tantrums. You can be an overly generous spendthrift, lavishing money on friends and having a good time. The childlike enthusiasm for life in general seems to remain with you throughout life, so this can be a very creative Moon position for you if you are willing to discipline your ways.

Capricorn

Your mother probably had good cause to be concerned with material issues. Often, this Moon sign appears in the chart of the eldest child, an indication that your arrival caused material hardships, or the family was going through tough times financially. Whether mother is unaccustomed to child rearing, or the financial hardships give her a tough attitude, in most cases she gives only conditional love. If you behave yourself, if your room is neat and tidy, then, and only then will mother give you hugs and kisses. This kind of childhood results in a personality which is extremely disciplined and task oriented. You will work very hard for financial gain or career recognition, and are therefore highly likely to achieve career success. You find it natural to climb the corporate ladder, or to become an entrepreneur working twenty hour days. Moon in Capricorn implies that father enforced mother's rules and regulations, and may have been something of a harsh disciplinarian. Sometimes the discipline comes in the form of constant criticism and badgering, pushing you to increasingly better performances.

Because of your cool, businesslike and over controlled emotions, you may not achieve a great deal of happiness. Instead, you build your personal life the way a mason builds a house, brick by brick, slow and steady. Because of the chronic material insecurity of childhood, you concentrate all your emotions and energies into an all consuming climb to the top. Unfortunately, once the goal is achieved, you find no joy and emotional satisfaction, since such feelings were discouraged in childhood. Instead, you choose another goal almost immediately, perpetuating the push for the top until the end of your life. You have a chronic discontent which puts up with any kind of hardship in the present in order to reap the justly earned rewards in the future. This kind of single-minded pursuit of success or power has its costs. You take a great deal of pride in presenting people with business like plastic charm, while hiding your true feelings behind a pleasant mask. This performance is made easier by an excellent memory for names and faces, and is definitely an advantage in the business world. As well, you have a preference for things with fancy labels, and people with famous names or faces.

You are a pragmatist who might suffer a bit emotionally, but who almost always gains materially. You pursue fine possessions, titles, money and other status symbols. You probably ride an emotional roller coaster, since the deeper emotional needs are rarely addressed. Depression, hopelessness and brooding can take over. The remedy is to stop pandering to the superficial needs and develop the loving side of your personality.

You are most likely an over achiever in politics, business, law, or science. You have a strong desire for public recognition, generally through politics, show business, or achievement awards. This stems from an innate drive for power, which can vary from a barely conscious wish for praise to an obvious and conscious obsession with power. The basis for this personality trait is the lack of love and affection in your childhood which lacked love and affection but stressed the idea of emotional rewards in return for successful performance. This also breeds a fine sense for details, an ability to be and to stay organized, as well as a mind which is always working on deals which just can't be refused. In all cases life is taken very seriously, and you may in fact give more than you receive. With romantic partners at least, self-sacrifice and the emotional disappointments this brings are key elements on the road to wisdom.

Your relationships tend to be less than satisfactory, since your partner must suffer loneliness while you focus on your career. You may thrive in giving, hoping to get back from your partner just as much in an equal, fair and businesslike exchange. Unfortunately, this attitude can also degenerate into satisfying selfish needs, and to hell with the other person. You are cool and cautious in romantic relationships. It takes you a while to learn trust someone else with feelings and emotions. This apparent lack of emotion is merely repression and over-control, a personality trait that has always been associated with Capricorn. It is very difficult for you to openly express any strong emotion, whether it be joy or anger. Because of this inherent reserve, marriage often comes late, or with an older partner. Your partner must be educated and ambitious, otherwise you have no respect for him, which is essential. You expect quality in everything you own or have, including relationships. You may choose to forego marriage and family in favour of a career and the recognition that brings. However, once you are married or committed, you take your marital or parental duties very seriously. You may not be very nurturing emotionally, but you are very loyal and work very hard to make the relationship work. You are also organized enough to balance the demands of career and family, without neglecting one or the other. The same sort of pragmatic approach is evident in other relationships. Your friendships are few and chosen very carefully, but you have a multitude of acquaintances. You carry a businesslike attitude even into friendships, and anyone who deliberately betrays the trust you place in them will be crossed right off the list without hesitation. The main dilemma for you is balancing your need for success and the equally powerful need for someone to love and care for you.

Aquarius

You are born to a mother who may have taken good physical care of you, but offered very little real love and affection. Generally, there was good communication between you and your mother, and therefore she was perceived to be much more loving than in reality. Mother was full of all sorts of grand ideals, but there was an enormous gap between ideal and reality. This credibility gap between what mother said and what mother did to love and nurture you creates doubts about everything, resulting in very ambivalent emotions. This is the least emotional and most intellectual of all the Moon Signs, and you are probably articulate and well spoken. You intellectualize and analyse your feelings and emotions, instead of experiencing them the way the water signs do. You don't hesitate to shock or confront people if you think it necessary. You excel at high tech careers, but should avoid healing or nurturing professions.

In relationships, you have great difficulty sorting out what you think you want from what you really want, a condition which is aggravated by attractions to people as emotionally detached as mother was. You are very independent, and like to think of yourself as unique, intelligent, and having a social conscience. You need a lot of space in relationships, and require a friend perhaps more than a highly passionate lover. This results in disappointing love affairs, and unhappy marriages. Whenever lovers or spouses get too intimate, panic sets in, and you take some action which either wrecks the relationship, or puts a serious dent in it. Only when you consciously realize this pattern is there any hope for improvement. Running after the people who reject you and pushing away the ones who want you is no way to relate. You find it very hard to really commit yourself permanently to any one relationship, and are constantly beset by doubts. What you need in a romantic relationship is someone who is your best friend, open and honest about his feelings and intellectually stimulating. Someone who holds all his feelings inside can set off tremendous emotional upset and doubts about the wisdom of continuing the relationship. As soon as the realization sets in that your love interest is not the paragon of virtues that you thought, your interest switches to the next one in line. Eventually, this see-saw tendency is overcome, but a fair amount of freedom and space is still necessary. More than one marriage or serious relationship is virtually guaranteed.

One of your main problems is that you don't realize that other people are not as emotionally detached as you are, and may take your sometimes sarcastic wit as an attack with intent to maim, injure or kill. You can be highly diplomatic and charming, but when annoyed you can show the razor sharpness of your tongue. You are continually surprised that other people can take your comments so to heart. You are extremely people oriented, but prone to large mood swings and generally nervous and tense. Parties and intimate lunches are high on your list of desirability, since this allows brief moments of closeness, followed by long periods of detachment. You are generally very intelligent and love the unconventional. Many times this fascination is lived vicariously through your involvement with people who are different and strange, or who are ill, or alcohol or drug dependent.

The humanistic ideals of Aquarius are often satisfied by dispensing advice, whether it's appreciated by others or not. You have a strong tendency to be preoccupied with personal problems, with thoughts going round and round the same worn track. Friends who ask for advice often end up having their ears bent severely, since you are often more interested in talking then listening. You have a great deal of tolerance for other people's flaws, and you don't often bear grudges. However, you rarely forget insults and emotional injuries, and merely strip them of their emotional content and file them away in some mental compartment for later action. You see life as a slide show, and each episode is anticipated with equal delight. While your outgoing mannerisms makes you a good friend and easy to know, your lack of tolerance for close attachments and true intimacy is likely to cause trouble all your life.

Pisces

The Moon in Pisces is an indication that mother was a very timid and fearful person, and probably had good reason to be that way. Father may have been a violent man, and mother had good reason to be afraid of him, or he may have been chronically ill, and mother was afraid for him. Sometimes there may have been difficulties in the marriage because mother got pregnant against the express wishes or without the consent of the husband. Perhaps you arrived 10 or 11 months after your older sibling. Mother may also have required nurturing from her children instead of providing nurturing for them. Whatever the reason, you were quick to pick up on this fearful attitude and develop an extreme sensitivity to the emotions and feelings of other people in your environment. You are also likely to retain this negative view of your family origins, and may attempt to escape into emotional fantasies. Because you are so super sensitive emotionally, you are very impressionable and vulnerable to other peoples feelings and attitudes. You generally have a vivid imagination, as well as artistic inclination or at least aesthetic appreciation. You are kind and sympathetic because of the sensitivity to other people's emotional needs. Generally, you are deeply spiritual and mystical and quite possibly psychic. You can also be very entertaining in a bubbly and effervescent way.

You are a romantic idealist who is easily discouraged and unreliable in relationships, and may fail to follow through on plans or promises. There are usually many people problems due to your subjective outlook. Variety in everything is very important, as well as being happy and gay. Therefore, you are likely to have a long string of relationships and a somewhat hedonistic life-style. You are in love with falling in love, and absolutely thrive on the excitement of a new relationship. You need someone creative, compassionate, and spiritual, but be careful of your indiscriminate tastes. It's all very well to espouse an ideal of mystical equality and justice, but quite another when it comes to a practical choice for a mate. Because of your difficult childhood, you may look to marriage and relationships for an opportunity to be saved or to save someone else. This saviour mentality may get you involved with people who have emotional or chemical dependencies, or are emotionally abusive. The fantasy may be much better than the reality, and you may be better off worshipping the perfectionist ideal in your mind. What you need is a creative partner who has no addictions or need for self sacrificing rescue and salvation.

While a positively aspected Moon in Pisces can be highly intuitive and have many correct hunches, under negative aspects there is a great deal of illusion and delusion. You may be excessively shy and lack self-confidence, or may be prone to drug and alcohol abuse or food binges. There can be a lot of depression and feelings of hopelessness. Sometimes you become a dishonest con artist who manipulates other people out of their money, or try to get rich by controlling those who have money. Most of the time, these attempts at crime or swindling don't work, because you lack the killer instinct which is the hallmark of most criminals. This whole behaviour pattern stems from the fact that there is a very strong desire to escape reality, especially the pressures and madness of the working world. High power corporate careers do not appeal to you, and the quiet life of an artist or being otherwise self-employed is much more attractive. Illusion and delusion seem to rule your whole life, and escapist tendencies are difficult to overcome. This is why you are often blind to your own faults and other people's advice.

If the Moon conjoins the ascendant, your face will be round and full (moonfaced), with high and prominent cheekbones and deep-set eyes. The Moon in this house strengthens the emotional expression of the rising sign, with the emotions being frankly displayed. This is true even if the Moon is in the sign following the one on the Ascendant. There is often a very quick temper, and you have a tendency to remember other people's wrongdoings, but forget your own all too quickly. You follow your subconscious habit patterns and intuition rather than logic. Sensitivity to other people's emotions is extremely high, though your compliance with the demands and needs of other people is often very low. The relationship with your mother was very close, but there was a strong self interest in her attitude. This somewhat self-centred me-first viewpoint is copied by you, and you work very hard to ensure that your own emotional needs are met. So it is easy to see why you tend to follow mother's example even later in life, and follow society's rules as if your life depended on it. While you have a great deal of ambition, a lack of perseverance prevents accomplishing very much. You are very moody, with both the good and bad moods making an appearance for no discernible external reason. Family affairs and early childhood conditioning played a major part in shaping your personality and emotional attitudes. A need for recognition and approval from other people may make you susceptible to manipulation.

You have a strong need for financial and emotional security with the Moon in the second house. Your sense of emotional well being may depend very strongly on material security, and strictly following the family moral values and practices. Under hard aspects, there may be drastic fluctuations in financial fortunes, and a spendthrift attitude. Under positive aspects, you are capable of good financial management and a shrewd head for business. In either case, money and material well being are very high on your list of priorities, to the point that you may choose to abandon love and emotional security if forced to choose.

You had a strong verbal relationship with your mother, an older sister, aunt or grandmother with Moon in the third house. This relationship was not necessarily positive, unless confirmed by trines or sextiles. You have a tendency to think in very emotional terms, to confuse thoughts and emotions, and express all thoughts in a very emotional manner. A strong emotional need to communicate and be truly understood drives you to develop your abilities, and you probably have some writing talent and make a good teacher. Your memory is exceptional, but under hard aspects there can be a tendency to repeat questions endlessly, and get stuck in a rut. As well, you may not have much perseverance at all, or an inability to ever let go of a subject. You are prone to daydreaming and fantasy, and your thought and speech are influenced by an extremely active imagination.

This Moon placement indicates that the family relationships are extremely important to you, since they affect your whole emotional outlook. Under positive aspects, the strong emotional identification with home and family means you simply can't live without a happy and meaningful home life. Under negative aspects, this may indicate someone who can't form permanent relationships, since the childhood home was a living hell. In other cases, your home life may have been so perfect that no other place can ever quite equal it, so this also results in an endless search for perfection, and the failure to find it. Under positive aspects, you probably have a fondness for all domestic things, such as cooking, children, and running the home management. You care intensely about your roots and family history, whether or not this caring takes the form of love or hate. When you finally realize that you have to learn to nurture yourself, and that the emotional discontent is not caused by others but comes from within, life becomes a lot easier. You probably have a good head for money and real estate management.

You have a very romantic nature, and love affairs and romantic attractions are influenced by your imagination and emotional needs. You have a strong need to have fun and play games, and this need for pleasure drives your creativity. Creativity is instinctive, and may become a major theme in your life. High power corporate careers are usually out of the question, since your need for a creative or emotionally satisfying career takes precedence over the need for power. Procreativity is also highlighted, and you generally have a great love for children, and an ability to work with them. Your athletic, artistic and any other creative pursuits are emphasized by the Moon in the fifth. A love of gambling, speculation and other forms of games of chance is common, but any form of gambling can incur heavy losses under negative aspects. You may experience some emotional changeability, and dependence on the family, since mother may have smothered you in order to keep you from growing up and becoming independent. Marriage may be late or never, and there may be few or no children at all under negative aspects.

Your health is strongly affected by your emotional states, especially as influenced by conditions at work. Stress related illnesses are common here with negative aspects to the Moon. Harmonious relations with people at work is of paramount importance, and you frequently change jobs if this is not so. You need the chains of a fixed daily routine for emotional security. Personal moods and feelings also affect your performance at work, and this tendency may set up a vicious feedback cycle, with poor emotional states creating problems at work, which then further aggravate your emotional state. Food allergies and other dietary restrictions may occur, and allergies in general are common here. Because it is of such great emotional importance, emotionally satisfying working conditions result in great pride in your job, and you can be a very dedicated worker who will work till you drop.

You have a tendency to marry for emotional and domestic security, rather than mad, passionate love. Often you are looking for a father or mother figure in the partner, someone older, or someone who needs parenting. Often, you give the needs of the partner too high a priority, with all your personal aspirations and goals projected onto him, leaving no time or energy for yourself. Relationships are extremely important, and tend to be a source of great joy, or great sorrow and mutual dependency. As well, frequent changes in relationships are likely, since the constant change in moods and emotions may drive your spouse or partner away. Partnerships in business, especially with women, are very common here.

Preoccupation with sex, healing, death, or money are the most common expression if you have this Moon position. You were sensitized to your mother's material and emotional insecurity, which she attempted to hide from you. You may also have been the subject or excuse for battles over sex, or had an early exposure to sexual stimulation. With water on the cusp, this can be an indication of a sexual addict, or merely someone who talks about sex with air on the cusp. You pursue sex or intimacy primarily for emotional security, and as a way to forget about the pressures of the business world. There is likely a strong interest in spiritual healing, medicine, or therapy. You are usually very responsive to your partner's needs, since fulfilling those needs meets your own needs as well. Where sex and the occult do not apply, and you have an earth sign on the 8th house cusp, you may concentrate on acquiring wealth, especially with the help of a spouse or partner. Managing and taking care of other people's money can be a major talent for you, so connections with insurance brokers or other investment organizations is common. There may be an inheritance on the death of your mother or a female relative, and financial matters such as property taxes or insurance are important. The usual outcome is an obsession with either money or sex, and like all 8th house planets, the Moon here is at its most intense, and at its most secretive. Keeping a secret is very easy for you, since mother tended to be very secretive and tried to hide her true feelings from you.

This Moon position indicates that you may have a restless mind and personality. There is usually a love of travel, and you may enjoy living out of a suitcase. Sometimes you follow a desire to emigrate, or to marry a foreigner, or both. You probably have a very strong personal philosophy, and a moralistic bent. Be careful that your opinions and values don't change with every new book you read, since the Moon's position indicates the greatest possible changeability. This is also the reason that you rarely finish a course or degree, and are largely self taught. Perseverance is not very much in evidence here. You may have a need to put your personal viewpoint in writing, and have it published in order to reach more people. Under negative aspects, there can be a moralistic self-righteousness and bigotry. You may also indulge in mental wanderings in fantasy worlds instead of physical trips, and have a great imagination or psychic ability. This placement may also indicate that your mother was emotionally or physically distant, or emotionally unreliable. Maybe she had to go to work to help support the family, and relatives took care of you. This sort of upbringing also leaves a strong need for personal space, and you are not someone comfortable with continual intimacy. When faced with emotional conflict or responsibilities, you generally study the problem and then make an informed decision.

You have a strong need for public recognition and prominence. Your mother was ambitious and pushy on your behalf, and wanted to experience success vicariously through the achievements of her child. Ambition and the ability to motivate and manipulate people to obtain results are part of your natal skill set obtained courtesy of mother. You have a deep need be to liked, respected, or simply well-known or famous. Politics are very often a career goal, since the relationship with your mother roused an interest in mothering everyone. Public speaking and writing ability are also skills associated with this Moon position, since mother actively and publicly encouraged dramatic self-expression. Usually, the only emotional satisfaction and validation you work for is the approval and respect of other people. When the career is going well you're ecstatic, and when it's going poorly, you're downright miserable. You won't hesitate to change jobs and life styles if your career is not satisfying for you. This is a poor placement for family life, since your career will probably consume most of the available time, unless you consciously choose the family as your career.

The Moon in the eleventh house indicates your emotional needs are met by association with special interest groups, people who share the common need, vision or ideal. This Moon placement is NOT an indication of strong friendships, but shows instead that you have a strong need to seek emotional security through belonging to loose associations with an common goal. Because of this powerful need, you may show little discrimination in making acquaintances or forming associations and alliances. You may maintain contact with childhood friends, who may be mothered, or expected to mother you. Because of your emotional need to become knowledgeable about your favourite subject, there is a strong possibility you will become an expert in your chosen field. Often, you have abundant technical skills and ability, and you may gain expertise in computer hardware or software, or become a consultant in some other field. Under favourable aspects, you may have the opportunity to use personal creativity for the benefit of the group or corporation.

The Moon in the twelfth indicates your mother was too involved with her own needs and problems to take an active interest in you. This emotional indifference or emotional distance from your mother and lack of emotional bond with her has left its emotional scars on you. As an adult, you may become so totally involved with fulfilling your own emotional needs and pursuing your own pleasures that there is little time left for anyone else. Or you may totally sacrifice yourself for a spouse, partner, or some humanitarian ideal, and set yourself up for betrayal and disappointment. Your relationships are generally brief, and long term commitments are very difficult. The unhappy tie to the past is difficult to eradicate, and you remember your childhood all too clearly, and tend to nurse your emotional wounds for a long time. You rightly feel that no one understands you, since extreme emotional sensitivity results in shyness and easily hurt feelings. Sometimes there are neurotic tendencies and paranoia under hard aspects. Because mother wasn't actively supportive, you have the suspicion that the whole world is against you. This attitude can bring about secret love affairs, and emotional illness may result in eventual physical illness. You may decide to take refuge in repressing your childhood memories, or escaping into some cult or spiritual pursuit. You need to get away from the pressures of everyday life and look after your mental and emotional health with great diligence. Long vacations far from the madding crowd are the best solution, and what you really need is a very supportive partner.

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