The Moon through the Places in a Natal Chart | and a bonus haiku

The Moon (sometimes called Selene, Chandra, Luna, luminary, light, Lady of the Night) moves swiftly through the zodiac, passing through each sign in approximately two-and-a-half days. She is the sect light in a night chart, and in some models of Traditional astrology, indicates the life path (as opposed to the Sun in both day and night charts). She is the fortune of all, meaning she represents the common people and circumstances of life. The Moon represents our enviroment and the lot we’re dealt — the ups and downs of fortune in the material world, reflective of her serpentine path through the sky, along with her waxing and waning of light, from new to full to dark, then new once again. She is the transmitter of light, transferring the energies of her connections from one planet to the next and passing that fate onto the sublunary sphere, the earthly realm, below. She is the flow of life.

The Moon is feminine and mainly wet, and one of the planets that represents fertility. She is a general significator for the body, of mothers and mother figures, older sisters, women of nobility, pregnant women, runaways, marriage, home, family, and the public. Because of her swiftness, she indicates messengers, communication, and the local environment. The Moon holds memory, guides intuition and premonition, and represents common sense. The Moon is adaptable, changeable, and as such, indicates instability. She shows how we nurture and express our emotional nature and gives indications for our early childhood upbringing.

The Moon is responsible for the sign of Cancer and is an honored guest in Taurus. She rejoices in the third place: The Goddess. She is in detriment in Capricorn and in fall in Scorpio — houses where she struggles to express her true nature and fights for recognition and status. 

When she is with the Sun, we experience the New Moon phase. The New Moon is dark and unseen until she’s about 15 degrees ahead of the Sun, in her early waxing crescent phase. It is here we begin to experience the effort required for the promise of the seed planted at the New Moon. When the Moon is opposite the Sun, we have a Full Moon and experience the peak of the seed’s promise — when the Sun rises, the Moon sets; when the Moon rises, the Sun sets. The burgeoning Moon in opposition to the Sun is a reflection of Saturnian tension, and is often felt in our relationships and day-to-day lives. When the Moon is waning, toward her Balsamic phase, she goes dark when nearing 15 degrees behind the Sun. This is a time of shedding and letting go. Often, we feel less energetic and enter into a period of contemplation, preparing for her death, rebirth, and the new cycle just ahead.

Eclipses are when the New and Full Moons are within 15 degrees of the South and North Nodes of the Moon. The Nodes are calculated points identifying the shadows and mystery degrees where eclipses occur. The Nodes move through each axis in about 18 months. Eclipses bring change: doors open, doors close. New opportunities and circumstances unexpectedly enter our lives, while others may suddenly leave or fade away (related to the topics of the places they are transiting in your natal chart).

If you’re familiar with astrology, you’ll know that a natal chart has 12 places (or houses), and each place contains topics related to life in the material world. In the modern era, places are called houses but, historically, houses referred to the zodiacal sign in the numbered place.

Briefly, the strongest are the angular places (or pivots), which are

1: life, the native, health, vitality
4: parents, home, property
7: relationships, enemies
10: repuation, profession, honors.

The good places are

5: pleasure, children, entertainment
11: alliances, hopes, wishes for the future.

The most difficult places are

6: illness, injury, labor, drudgery
8: death, inheritance; entanglements with others
12: isolation, suffering, hidden enemies, self-defeat.

That leaves those that fall in the middle of the spectrum (9 is best, then 3, then 2).

2: money earned and spent, lifestyle
3: local environment, communication, siblings
9: religion, spirituality, foreign travel

Of course, that’s a snapshot of the topics. There’s actually quite a bit more to them, but that should be enough to understand the haiku in relation to topics of the 12 places.

This haiku is a generic, minimal representation of the Moon through the twelve places of a natal chart, and was written just for fun. The significations do not account for sect, signs, aspects, or condition of the planets, and are severely limited to syllables. (I may have broken haiku rules using punctuation, but the syllables conform to 5–7–5.)

First place, lunar type
changeable, intuitive
nurturing, moody

second, ups and downs
suffers disruption and change
income oscillates

third, lunar siblings
daily ritual, travel
goddess religions

fourth, troubled mother*
caring, nurturing family
successful mother**

*day chart; indicates low status
** night chart

fifth, many children
cheerful, game-playing, fertile
children are lunar

sixth, moisture illness
works with pets and animals
life’s ups and downs bad

seventh, spouse lunar
wife motherly, nurturing
ups and downs with health

eighth, anxious, fearful
depressive, inheritance
accumulating

ninth, good for studies
lunar religions, travels
moral qualities

tenth, authority
good reputation, image
lunar profession

eleventh, good luck
plans work out, successful friends
decent connections

twelfth, struggles in life
longevity harmed, poor health
lacks recognition

I am a traditional astrologer in contemporary times. I use a combination of traditional and modern techniques in practice and consultation. If you’d like to learn more about the Moon in your own natal chart, schedule an astrology consultation at astrologyrhapsody.com. I help my clients understand their charts beyond impersonal apps and social media forecasts and offer individualized examination and explanations specific to their unique charts and timing periods.