The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need

by Joanna Martine Woolfold

  The sign of Taurus also brings out the quiet, reflective qualities of the Moon: you carefully ponder the sense-impressions you receive from the world around you before you reach a conclusion. With a Moon in Taurus you do not form opinions quickly and are quite the opposite of impressionable. It takes a while for you to come to a decision—you must be sure of all the facts—but when you do there is no way to make you change your mind. One can’t change a Moon-Arien’s mind either, but the difference here is that Aries Moon quickly reaches its decision. With a Taurus Moon you take your time assimilating information. Once you have done that, you will purposefully, relentlessly, and unchangeably follow your course.

  Taurus is the astrological sign of earthly possessions, and a Moon in Taurus indicates a person who is resourceful, someone who gathers material things. As a Moon-in-Taurus person, you are also blessed in that you seem to have the least emotional problems of any Moon sign. This may be because Taurus is practical and positive in its outlook, as well as methodical, patient, and responsible. Small wonder that history is dotted with the achievements of lunar Taureans. A few among many are William Shakespeare, Karl Marx, and John Milton.

  The sign of Taurus is ruled by Venus, planet of romance and the arts, and a Moon in this beauty-loving sign endows you with a keen artistic sense. You are romantic, have elegant manners, and usually display a distinctive style of dressing. The Moon is a sensual influence and in Taurus indicates a great love of creature comforts. You enjoy serene surroundings, the pleasures of a luxurious home, the joys of good dining. Although socially adept, you dislike big parties and large, noisy groups. Your idea of a wonderful evening is a small, candlelit dinner party at home with four close friends.

  In love, lunar Taureans are the one-man/one-woman type, and are happiest in a close, committed union. Sometimes it may seem otherwise (especially if the Sun is in a flirtatious or highly sexed sign), but at heart Taurus-Moon wants the comfort of a committed relationship. Your security is heightened by sharing your home and pleasures with the person you love and who, in turn, is devoted to you. You look for a true soulmate, and when you find him or her you happily and faithfully settle down.

  The other side of the coin is that a Moon-Taurean has a tendency to stay too long in an unhappy love affair or marriage. Because of your need for security and resistance to change, you shut yourself off from new experiences and settle for what you have.

  No matter what your Sun sign may be, the Taurus-Moon qualities of patience and determination run through your character. If your Sun is in an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), your remarkable endurance is underlined by the stability and persistence of a Taurus Moon; this is an excellent combination to achieve success and material wealth. If your Sun is in a water sign (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), a Taurus Moon heightens your personal magnetism and gives strength and perseverance to your creative imagination. If your Sun is in an air sign (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), a Taurus Moon gives you firm resolve and inclines your intellectual powers toward practical, moneymaking pursuits. If your Sun is in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), a Taurus Moon adds to your physical strength and your fiery exuberance, and gives your personality great force and the ability to win popularity with the public.

  Whatever your Sun sign, a Taurus Moon gives you endurance, a conservative outlook, and a sensitive, sensual personality that needs love and security.

  MOON IN GEMINI

  A Moon in Gemini modifies your Sun sign in this way:

  THE BRIGHT SIDE OF GEMINI MOON You are more versatile, witty, charming, lively, amusing.

  THE DARK SIDE OF GEMINI MOON You are more disorganized, inconsistent, superficial, cunning, manipulative.

  IN THE LIVELY, RESTLESS SIGN of Gemini the Moon’s sway becomes more mutable and erratic. This does not make all Moon-in-Gemini children flighty, frivolous, and frenetic, but almost always indicates an active mind, an imaginative and creative personality, and someone who is inclined toward intellectual pursuits. If you have a Moon in this position you are extraordinarily quick to receive sensory impressions from the outside world. You rapidly sift through information and make your judgments. Because Gemini is a mental sign, your snap decisions tend to be more intellectual than emotional. It is not that you are unfeeling, simply that your immediate reaction to stimuli is on a mental plane.

  You are a fast learner, probably have a high IQ, and are an excellent critic, for you have an ability both to analyze and to verbalize. A Moon in the communicative sign of Gemini inclines you toward loquaciousness and endows you with great personal charm. You have enchanting vivacity that draws others to you. Conversations with you tend to run off on unexpected tangents and take sudden turns and reverses. At heart, a lunar Gemini is essentially restless and needs constant stimulation. If forced to be indoors or solitary or inactive, you are unhappy and should try to set aside a part of the day to get out and be among people.

  A Moon in Gemini makes you extremely impressionable to the changing scene around you. Skill in speaking and writing predisposes many lunar Geminis to become writers, teachers, and journalists. John Keats, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, and George Bernard Shaw are only a few famous Moon-Geminis of the past.

  As a Moon-in-Gemini person you are always mentally assessing what you are feeling. You tend to dissect your feelings and emotions to analyze why you think this way or behave that way. The most famous lunar Gemini who possessed this quality is Sigmund Freud. Freud also had his Sun in Taurus and Scorpio Rising, giving him extraordinary tenacity and depth of insight.

  You are quick-witted and vibrant, and when you come across a new fact or a different way of looking at something, you are likely to undergo a change of mind. One can’t count on your firm convictions, but your openness to life makes you a fascinating companion.

  In emotional relationships lunar Geminis display a certain free spirit. Here is where you are most intensely restless. You resent being subject to the whims and vagaries of other people’s emotions, and struggle to retain independence. At the same time, you search for the “perfect” love, which of course does not exist. If your would-be lover is elusive or hard to figure out, this especially piques your interest. The Moon-in-Gemini personality is high-strung. You have a streak of discontent that sometimes shows up as irritability and snappishness. On the other hand, you are amusing, witty, and have a wonderful sense of humor. When you are in the right mood you are a delight to be with.

  At times your talent can be stymied by the fact that you lose interest in things so quickly and drop what you so eagerly began. You thrive on travel, change, and meeting different kinds of personalities. In business, your best qualities are versatility and a winning way with people. You perform very well when linked in partnership with someone practical and hardheaded. Having to make a final decision is torture for you; you need a strong, decisive partner.

  No matter what your Sun sign may be, the Gemini-Moon qualities of versatility and intellectualism can be discerned in your personality. If your Sun is in an air sign (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), your keen intelligence is accentuated by a Gemini Moon and you have a superb gift of self-expression. If your Sun is in a water sign (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), your emotional nature is sharpened by the Gemini-Moon mental acumen; you have strong creative instincts and a talent for research. If your Sun is in an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), a Gemini Moon gives you quickness of mind that you can use in a practical way in combination with your Sun sign persistency. If your Sun is in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), a Gemini Moon bestows high mentality that combined with your passion and adventurism indicates superior leadership ability.

  Whatever your Sun sign, a Moon in Gemini imparts a witty intellect, an independent spirit, and an imaginative sparkle to your personality.

  MOON IN CANCER

  A Moon in Cancer modifies your Sun sign in this way:

  THE BRIGHT SIDE OF CANCER MOON You are more imaginative, sympathetic, protective, tenacious, loyal.

  THE DARK SIDE OF CANCER M
OON You are more possessive, moody, critical, self-pitying, a nag.

  THE MOON IS IN ITS NATURAL HOME in Cancer, for this is the sign that the Moon rules. Here the best qualities of the Moon—devotion, patience, sensitivity—are brought out. The romantic, intuitive sign of Cancer and the sensuous, receptive Moon are in harmony with each other. If you have the Moon in Cancer you have strong emotions and perceive the world around you through your feelings rather than your intellect. However, because you do not openly show your feelings, it is sometimes difficult for others to figure out where they stand with you.

  In general, you are more receptive than active. You store away impressions, reactions, and information until the time comes when you can use them. Lunar Cancerians often excel in an artistic or literary way. Jean-Paul Sartre, Lord Byron, and Ethel Barrymore are famous and typical Moon-Cancerians. Imaginative and creative, you work best when you set your own pace and are not subject to the tyranny of time clocks.

  Any impression that sinks into your mind makes an indelible mark. You have an extremely retentive memory. Lunar Cancerians are often found in professions where memory plays an important role: historians, teachers, actors, writers. Famous Moon-Cancerians in these walks of life are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Benjamin Spock, Humphrey Bogart, and Harrison Ford.

  At heart, you are refined, delicate, and gentle. You may appear to be aggressive and forceful, especially if your Sun or Mars is in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), but underneath you are vulnerable and easily hurt. You tend to let your feelings fester, and indeed, touchiness, moodiness, and a kind of quiet self-pity always lie near the surface. Though you are subject to greater mood swings than other Moon signs, your ups and downs don’t last long. If you are left alone for a while, the dark clouds will soon blow away. One of the most striking characteristics of Cancer is the continual ebb and flow of emotions, which combined with the waxing and waning influence of the Moon produces quick shifts in temperament and at times makes you emotionally exhausted.

  You are at your best in a deep and committed love relationship. Unfortunately, you often have to go through an unhappy love affair before you find the contentment and security you seek. Even though you are motivated strongly by your feelings, in a curious way you are also afraid of them. It is your nature to mistrust love, to feel you are somehow unworthy of someone else’s devotion. You will hold on too long to a relationship that’s destructive because deep in your psyche you don’t believe you’ll ever find another love. You also believe that to be alone is a fate worse than death. Very often early in life a Moon-in-Cancer person must go through an emotional trial. But when at last you find love that feeds your soul and you feel secure, your personality blossoms.

  You have a tendency to hold on possessively to a loved one, and a knack for subtly instilling guilt in someone you love, usually to test the person’s depth of feeling. However, among your most endearing traits are intense loyalty and dedication.

  No matter what your Sun sign may be, the Cancer-Moon qualities of creativity and emotionalism will be evident in your personality. If your Sun is in a water sign (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), your intensity and depth of feeling are accentuated by a Cancer Moon; you have superb intuition and almost hypnotic power in creative work. If your Sun is in an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), you have unshakable loyalty and strong passions under the influence of a Cancer Moon; this combination gives you an ability to capture the imagination of the public. If your Sun is in an air sign (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), a Cancer Moon gives your intellectualism a magnetic, daring quality; you have the ability to touch other people’s feelings. If your Sun is in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), a Cancer Moon directs your enthusiasm and energy into creative channels; you have a flair for drama and the theater.

  Whatever your Sun sign, a Moon in Cancer gives you sensitivity and imagination, enormous personal charisma, and a warmhearted, romantic nature.

  MOON IN LEO

  A Moon in Leo modifies your Sun sign in this way:

  THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LEO MOON You are more exuberant, creative, broad-minded, colorful, fun-loving.

  THE DARK SIDE OF LEO MOON You are more self-indulgent, self-centered, conceited, overbearing, bullying.

  IN THE MAGNETIC, flamboyant sign of Leo the Moon’s power is positive and robust, and even its dark side is less dark than in other signs. Leo is a wonderful placement for the Moon because it gives great warmth and stability to the Moon’s influence; it also imparts an idealistic quality.

  If you have the Moon in Leo you have strong emotions and can be reached through your heart rather than your head. You are a quick and accurate learner when your feelings are involved. But if a subject does not arouse your affections, you have no interest in exploring it further. The sensory impressions you receive from the world around you come to you on an emotional level. In order to make you change your mind, someone first has to change how you feel.

  One of your most striking characteristics is a refusal to be hampered by other people’s rules. You tend to be extremely intelligent and are hospitable to new ideas, but you have little sympathy for petty or narrow thinking. You like to be the center of attention and enjoy taking on public roles. You are highly expressive, and are especially drawn to the world of theater, music, painting, and the arts. In a way, it might be said that you, like all lunar Leos, have a “show biz” personality.

  You possess a wonderful sense of humor and great personal charm, which makes you fun to be with. There is a sense of excitement about you. If nothing is happening that is interesting or amusing, you’ll try to create it. Sincere, open, very sociable, you have a way of lifting the spirits of people around you.

  Moon-in-Leo people work very well in group enterprises because they have a talent for inspiring people to do their best. Your immediate reaction to a problem is to confront it rather than sit around moping about it. A natural leader, you often feel you have a mission in life. Sometimes you may become bossy and overbearing—you are an order-giver rather than an order-taker—but at heart you are so cheerful and enthusiastic that people find it easy to forgive you. You have a fund of optimism and energy that others draw upon.

  Vanity is a chief weakness; you are a sucker for anyone who can deliver an artful compliment. You always need an audience and are inordinately fond of attention. It must also be said that you will probably get more than your share of attention because the Moon in Leo imparts a lovable quality to your personality.

  You are drawn to the luxuries of life—good food, fine wines, striking clothes. You are an excellent host or hostess who delights in giving glittering parties. Unless Taurus or Capricorn is prominent in the horoscope, a Moon-Leo will always pick up the check. Fortunately, you usually are able to pay for your extravagant tastes.

  In love, you are a great romantic, yet your flamboyant romanticism would never be sparked by someone who won’t make you look good. You need a partner who sets you off to best advantage and keeps up your image to the world. Your tendency is to put the object of your affection on a pedestal, to credit a lover with superlative virtues that may have no basis in reality. When a lover does not live up to your expectations you are disappointed—not only because you take love seriously but because your lover always becomes an extension of yourself, and his or her failure to be wonderful is very wounding to your pride and ego. Also, though you are jealous and possessive toward your loved ones, you yourself are flirtatious and a bit of a rover because you need everyone to admire you. You are an attention addict.

  No matter what your Sun sign may be, the Leo-Moon qualities of warmth, vitality, and charisma will appear in your personality. If your Sun is in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), a Leo Moon accentuates your creativity and leadership abilities. If your Sun is in an air sign (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), a Leo Moon lends a dynamic, compelling quality to your people-oriented personality. If your Sun is in an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), a Leo Moon gives you an even stronger passionate nature and good moneymaking s
kills. If your Sun is in a water sign (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), a Leo Moon heightens your already powerful emotional impact on others.

  Whatever your Sun sign, a Moon in Leo gives you dignity, an affectionate, outgoing nature, and an instinct for leadership.

  MOON IN VIRGO

  A Moon in Virgo modifies your Sun sign in this way:

  THE BRIGHT SIDE OF VIRGO MOON You are more intellectual, meticulous, industrious, steadfast, responsible.

  THE DARK SIDE OF VIRGO MOON You are more critical, high-strung, standoffish, argumentative, hypochron-driac.

  THE SIGN OF VIRGO stabilizes the shifting effect of the Moon. Virgo is the sign of intelligence and practicality, which gives a sharp analytical bent to the Moon’s influence. If you have the Moon in Virgo you have a fine, discriminating mind. You do not pursue knowledge merely for the sake of learning; you figure out how to use what you learn. Your immediate reaction to the sense-impressions you receive from the world around you is to analyze what you have just seen and heard. You are meticulous in sifting through information and you tend to question whatever is told to you. Moon-Virgos are sometimes so skeptical they don’t even believe in what they see with their own eyes. You love to discuss ideas and probe into opinions held by others, though you yourself hold fast to preconceived notions. You are not so stubborn, though, that you will hold on to a theory once the facts prove you wrong. You are a seeker of truth, and you believe truth is what is left after falsehoods have been exposed.