Returning from school she was filled with elation. She had discovered a precious gem at school that day. She burst into the kitchen and said excitedly to her mother, “Do you know why that tomato is red? It’s because it’s absorbing all wavelengths from visible light except red.”
I was that school girl, and yes that was my precious gem of discovery at school that day. Mom did not say anything in response.
*
This is the fourth article of the series on Astrology. Here I share the importance of the Moon Sign. How finding my Moon Sign helped me and, how you may find yours and use it to your benefit.
We have heard of the Sun Sign. You probably know what yours is, and I am assuming that you’ve read about your Sun Sign – skeptically or interestedly. However to derive value from Astrology, your Sun Sign is not information enough. As with any data analysis, knowing just one data point is not enough.
The Zodiac signs are a circle of constellations around the Earth, as we look up at the sky (without city lights and smog). They are further away than the Sun. As the Earth rotates on its axis and around the Sun, this circle of constellations seems to go around the Earth. As seen from the Earth, against the background of these constellations, the Sun and planets were in sky at the time and location of a birth. Different constellations behind different planets. That is our birth chart — a snapshot of the sky as seen at the time and place of our birth. That determines our Sun Sign, Moon Sign, Rising Sign and position of other planets in our chart.
The Zodiac behind the Sun at the time of birth is the Sun Sign. It points us to our soul purpose in our present avataar, our life’s purpose. But how do we fulfill that life purpose? All other pieces of information on the birth chart are pointers to how we may fulfill that life purpose. Together they form a composite picture. Thus they bring further clarity to our life purpose too.
THE MOON SIGN AND MY STORY
The Zodiac behind the Moon at the time of birth is the Moon Sign. The Moon Sign points to our emotional needs. It shows our emotional makeup.
Whether our emotional needs were met or unmet in childhood and adolescence, as adults we have to attend to it ourself. Consciously. Purposefully. As we meet our needs we are automagically on the path to fulfilling our life purpose.
When I found the importance of the Moon Sign, I asked my mother my time of birth. Using an online chart calculation tool I found that my Moon Sign is Sagittarius. I also found that Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune are also in Sagittarius in my birth chart. Talk about overload. I have no option but to honor this configuration of my chart, for my own sake.
The keyphrase of Sagittarius is: “My need to explore and expand the horizons of my mind and world”. (ref. https://amzn.to/2LDDvCD)
That childhood memory, the joy of learning the reason why the tomato and any object looks the color it looks, is an epitome of my Sagittarian mind. My canvas of exploration is the Universe and what is behind the Universe. So I am interested in Physics, Art, Computer Science, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Neuroscience, Poetry, the languages, Astrology, how beautiful an insect or octopus is, and whatever else that may catch my fancy. Yet I am interested in none of these. I am interested in the underlying commonality between these. Even at times of being acutely unwell, while being sad and depleted, part of my brain is busy being fascinated at what is happening internally – watching what is happening, as one would watch a phenomena, and thereby understand the system better. Not only understand my system, but the system of all humans, individually and collectively, and the system of the Universe as a whole. When I have to bother about stuff like food and clothes, it makes me extremely impatient.
As I read more about Sagittarius, the influence of the Moon and other planets, it has been in consonance with how I experience myself. The first readings were a revelation, relief and tremendous validation.
Why was it a tremendous validation? Because it verbalized the basis for what I was struggling to convey to my parents since years: You are trying to keep this body safe, what about the spirit??? A squelched spirit is so damaging to the Sagittarian personality. When I was in my late teens and 20s, driven by their need to keep me safe, my parents forbade me from moving forward.
Finally at age 30 I moved out to Bangalore. My 30s and early 40s were spent doing what I, from my perspective, should’ve done in my 20s. In an IT company I delved into technically fascinating problems and architected solutions. I went to USA for higher studies and looked at areas of Computer Science that I had no exposure to earlier. In Iowa I did Masters in Computer Science. Then at age 41 I enrolled into the PhD in Computer Science program in North Carolina.
Research had beckoned me from an early age. When girls are getting attracted by boys in college and worrying about clothes, my highlights were this book and this letter. So finally I got an entry into the organized research world.
Then something started turning within. I felt beckoned to something far far larger than the tiny research topic my PhD advisor and I were working on. I had reached the mecca of the computer world – in Seattle I stood in front of Amazon headquarters and I walked past the Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation building. I had arrived! And I wanted to chuck it all! What was happening to me???
That’s when I found my Moon Sign.
It seemed as though I had broken the clutches of my parents, but I still needed guidance. I still needed to understand what my inner being wanted. That was 2013. The year when I first saw my birth chart. It is 2020 now. After 7 years, this year it feels I’m finally being able to honor all aspects of my personality. It takes time to look within, process our internal world, while we continue making choices and life unfolds externally.
In that, understanding our emotional needs is key, understanding how our emotional makeup can contribute to our life purpose – for we are largely emotional beings. Finding our Moon Sign can be a huge revelation, relief, and validation.
And I’ve found that every setting in our birth chart, including all challenges, can be converted into an advantage. They’re all in a perfect placement for fulfilling our life purpose.
POINTERS TO PITFALLS
Astrology also gives pointers to pitfalls — ways in which we might tend to express our personality unskillfully, as indicated by the signs and planets. It provides guidance to how that same personality trait and influence can be made skillful. The same weakness can be converted into strength. This is extremely helpful. And most of us trip and fall with our emotions don’t we?
Often when we turn to Astrology for guidance, we are probably struggling anyway. As the unskillful execution is verbalized, that also provides revelation. It generates clarity and guidance. So for example a weak and vulnerable expression of the Sagittarius Moon sign is feeling “scattered”
(ref. https://amzn.to/2LDDvCD)
I have often felt that way, and felt extremely dissatisfied with myself. I’ve pondered exasperatedly — what am I doing?? Sagittarius is depicted half horse, half man, galloping around, shooting arrows. If the Sagittarian mind is not aligned internally, you can see, arrows will go off haphazardly. With internal alignment, even if the arrows go off in all directions, now the well controlled circle of arrows will be pretty skillful and beautiful.
Another unskillful trait of Sagittarius I’ve been guilty of: condescending.
But Sagittarius is essentially geared to be wise, understanding, sage-like philosophical. Open minded and optimistic. So that’s what I’ll shoot for.
KNOWING YOUR MOON SIGN
At this link ( https://chart.chaninicholas.com/ ), enter your date of birth, time of birth, place of birth,. It is Chani Nicholas’s website. The lady who wrote “You Were Born For This”. I have no tie-up or association with her. I used this link, hence sharing it with you. You will get a full chart, with your Moon Sign and lots of other info.
You can study it all, gradually, over time. Right now focus on reading about your Moon Sign.
Read up your Moon Sign in the 12 Mysteries of Love ( PDF link). Search for “Moon in ______ (your Moon Sign)” on the internet and read some of the links that come up. Try to tune into the element of the Sign – fire/earth/air/water. Ask yourself what it feels like to be that element. Tune into the personality of the animal associated with your Moon Sign. If you wish, acquire You Were Born For This and read from there. It’s a very good and helpful starter book.
DON’T KNOW YOUR TIME OF BIRTH?
If you don’t know your time of birth, there is still a way out.
You can calculate charts for 2 times: start of your date of birth 00:01 am, and end of your date of birth 11:59 pm. The moon completes the zodiac cycle in about a month, changing signs every two and a half days or so. If your moon sign in the chart of both times turn out to be the same, cool. You know your Moon Sign now.
If the Moon Sign is different in the two charts, then you will have to study both signs and use your self-awareness a wee bit more to see which matches more truthfully with how you experience yourself, or whether there are shades of both in case you are at the border of two signs.
Something like that happened with me in knowing my Rising Sign. I had to choose from two. But what is the Rising Sign, what is its importance, how did I resolve the uncertainty of two pieces of information — dekheinge agle post mein hum log.
CLOSING
Our power is in our hearts – the seat of our emotions. We have to unleash the beauty of our heart and emotions, for our self, for the world.
If you want to know and understand your Moon sign and face any issues, you can comment below or send me message.
For me, its all plain fascinating. At a particular time, from a particular place, several planets were seen huddled together with the Moon. At that time a baby girl was born. And somehow the Moon, the planets and that constellation in the background seem to reflect the mental inclinations of this sweet, not-so-little-anymore, soon-to-be-wise, wonky woman. 😊
PREVIOUS ARTICLES IN THE SERIES
1: It Works
2: The 12 Mysteries of Love
3: Clues, Self-Awareness, Love
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