A thought for Aries month, March 21st – April 19th:
Definitely some truth in that!
And my card for this Aries month turned out to be:
The Queen of Wands – All Will Be Well – a very positive signal at this difficult and frightening time. And notice the black cat protecting her – and us.
Taurus is a Fixed Earth Sign, its number is 5, it is associated with the planet Venus, and its opposite Sign is Scorpio: wherever it is a factor in the horoscope it will always involve steadiness and an appreciation of physical sensations.
People born when the Moon was in Taurus all suffer from harrowing feelings of insecurity, they are all extremely sensual, possessive, and doggedly tenacious. They react slowly to any experience, and feel secure in predictable situations.
The three key words here are: Insecurity, Sensuality, Stubbornness.
People born under this Moon Sign worry about the future and have a tendency (stemming no doubt from past life experiences) to attribute too much importance to house and job, money and status: the material as opposed to the spiritual. Though they are occasionally extravagant (they are by nature aquisitive), they are predictably good at managing money.
They also tend to feel insecure in their personal relationships, with a great need for stability and constancy and unwavering affection in their love life, demanding and giving loyalty and trust – though that does not necessarily mean they will always be one hundred percent faithful themselves as they secretly satisfy their sexual needs. But then they tend to separate love and sex in their minds, perhaps because of that innate feeling of insecurity. They love and live with the person they feel safe with.
They prefer a life-style which, if not outright luxurious, at least reflects their love of beauty. They have impeccable taste and will, so far as possible, surround themselves with beautiful things. They love beautiful clothes, adornments and perfumes (on themselves or on their partner) and they enjoy cordon bleu cuisine. This love of, and need of, beauty extends to the world around them and their way of attaining inner contentment is through spending time in natural surroundings – sea coasts, forests, hills – wherever there are trees and flowers and beautiful scenery.
They are slow to anger, it is true, but they are even slower to forgive and forget – all part of the famous stubbornness and resistance to change that you also find in those born when the Sun was in Taurus, along with a tendency to blame everyone else when they find themselves stuck in a rut. Actually, they find it so hard to forgive and forget that grudges and resentment are even carried over from other lives – along with chips on the shoulder!
People born when the Moon is in Taurus are not usually ambitious in a conventional sense but their need to prove themselves does sometimes shoot them into the spotlight. They are sometimes healers, or psychic – given to meaningful dreams or premonitions, or good with Tarot cards or whatever. In fact, they all have this talent but tend to repress it because anything that smacks of the occult makes them nervous. Which is a pity: if you are reading this then you were quite likely born when the Moon was in Taurus, so ask yourself if this is true of you, because in their past lives Taurus Moons will at various times have been just that: the shaman, the psychic, the sorcerer, the witch, the wizard. They “know” without knowing how they know, and dismiss this knowing as “gut feelings”, animal instinct, but it is in fact part of their ability to access their Superconscious, their Higher Self, and also to channel (healing) energy down to Earth. Mostly now though, in this life, they are too worried about their material security to allow this fundamental part of themselves to come to the fore – which is what they should be doing. But I’ll come back to that.
The Moon Signs and compatibility
Taurus is an Earth Sign and while it would be compatible with another Earth Sign (another Taurus, or a Virgo or Capricorn), Taurus Moons match best with people born when the Moon was in one of the Water Signs – Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces. However, Taurus Moons have a negative effect on people born when the Moon was in one of the Fire Signs (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius); like the effect of the Water Signs, they quite simply put the Fire out!
Health and diet for different Moon Signs
Understanding the peculiarities of your particular Moon Sign can help you decide on what constitutes a good diet for you. Remember, ONE MAN’S MEAT IS ANOTHER MAN’S POISON, and generalisations about what constitutes “healthy food” for everyone are not only unhelpful but downright dangerous.
For those born when the Moon was in Taurus, diet is not usually a problem. They can eat almost anything. However, they do tend to indulge in comfort eating when they feel either the body or the soul lacking something they need – most commonly, affection. However, their concern with bodily fitness and beauty means that this will normally be only a passing phase that they soon snap out of. It also encourages them to buy good quality beauty products.
What to avoid? As far as diet is concerned, nothing in particular stands out. However, Taurus Moons should certainly avoid too much sitting around. A sedentary life-style is not for them.
And so finally we come to:
The Tarot Trump which represents and symbolises this Moon sign:-
First, though, let’s look at the number – 5 – which in numerology indicates the odd, the discordant, or the insecure, and at the same time signifies the attempt to control, to overcome, the odd and discordant, or to make safe and secure; which is what we find in The Pope (the number 5 Trump Card of Taurus Suns) and also here in Trump Card number XIV (14 = 5) Temperance.
The Pope represents the attempt by organised religion, the Church, Orthodoxy, to bring the mystical and the psychic and the magical to heel.
And that is very similar to what Taurus Moons do. In a series of Past Lives they have been seers, sorcerers, witches, or whatever, and have been hounded by the established religion in different epochs and various parts of the world. Then, perhaps in their last life, they were born when the Sun was in Taurus, and joined the establishment in search of security and stability. Now, in this current life, that fear of their innate psychic abilities is a Moon feature, subconscious, but always there, and it horrifies them to see those psychic abilities emerging once again. But their search for security needs to move beyond the material and the tangible (house, money, status and lip service to the prevalent organised religion) and open up to the spiritual, the eternal soul, the Self that exists beyond physical death.
The angel in Trump Card No. XIV, Temperance, is the angel of safety, one foot in the water one on land while diluting the wine of life, but behind his back, ignored, lies the path that leads to the golden crown – a path where the wine is not watered.
That is what the Taurus Moon is all about.
Aries is a Cardinal Fire Sign, its number is 4, it is associated with the planet Mars, and its opposite Sign is Libra: wherever it is a factor in the horoscope it will always involve the urge for self-assertion and for immediate action, for focussing energy on the new experience.
People born when the Sun is in Aries radiate confidence and vitality. In Aries Moons, this confidence and vitality tends to take on a more negative colour; they are born with an inflated ego. They also lack patience, with situations, with people, and even with themselves, and this inability to tolerate frustration, can come over as childish, especially to other people who are anxious about something and find themselves faced with bad-tempered Aries Moons who have absolutely no patience with them and their concerns.
Indeed, the three Key Words here are Emotion, Passion and (Bad) Temper.
But though outbursts of passion, and indeed of filthy temper, are characteristic of those born under this Moon Sign, they soon get over it. They just can’t repress their feelings.
As one might expect, they fall in love (passionately, of course!) at first sight, but need a partner who reciprocates on the same level, otherwise they quickly become disillusioned.
They are strong under pressure, they are brave, and they are loyal, so at their best they make good partners and good friends, but they continuously antagonise those who do not know and understand them.
As they are impatient with anyone slower or more cautious than themselves (which means most people!) and have no sympathy with normal preoccupations and anxieties, they do not make good bosses. Or good subordinates – they need to feel in control.
Ideally, then, they should be their own boss, but as they are impatient with details they need a partner or manager to handle that side of things for them while they do the dramatic bit – performing as singers or actors on stage or as surgeons in the operating theatre, for example.
The archetype for Aries Moons is the hero, the knight errant, riding off to right another wrong, for there is always a new wrong to be righted. And in their past lives, too, they will at various times have done just that, as a warrior, a soldier, a crusader, a defender of the defenceless and the disinherited. But for this and their other achievements, they demand recognition and admiration – a weakness which frequently results in them lapping up flattery like thirsty sponges.
This dependence on ego-boosting relationships, along with the desire for immediate gratification of every emotional need, is something those born under this Moon Sign need to grow out of and leave behind them during this present life – or failing that, during a future one. But more on that below, when we come to the Tarot Trump card for this Moon Sign.
The Moon Signs and compatibility
Aries is a Fire Sign and is hot with another Aries Moon, or one of the other two Fire Moons, Leo or Sagittarius, but there is a risk of burn-out. Many early marriages followed by divorces are the result of two Fire Moons getting together. In the long run, an Aries Moon gets on best with an Air Moon – Virgo or Aquarius, or even Gemini, though a Gemini Moon might try what little patience the Aries Moon possesses.
Health and diet for different Moon Signs
Aries Moons tend to suffer from tension headaches when under pressure (and especially when the moon is currently in Aries, as it is, of course, for two and a half days each month) but they can get relief by means of vigorous exercise or brisk walking – letting off steam is, for them, the only way to relax. (People born under this Sign were definitely not born to be yogis!)
Understanding the peculiarities of your particular Moon Sign can help you decide on what constitutes a good diet for you. Remember, ONE MAN’S MEAT IS ANOTHER MAN’S POISON, and generalisations about what constitutes “healthy food” for everyone are not only unhelpful but downright dangerous.
For those born when the Moon was in Aries, colorful, live foods such as beets and carrots will purify the blood, and foods rich in protein such as fish, and rich in folic acid and Vitamin B12 such as (wholegrain) bread and rice, suit them best. Spices are good when they feel low but they should steer clear of spicy foods when they are emotionally disturbed.
What to avoid? One thing stands out: caffeine – in coffee, black tea, coke and chocolate.
And so finally we come to:
The Tarot Trump which represents and symbolises this Moon sign
Why that card? you might ask, shocked. Well, first, let’s look at the number: XIII – that is to say 13, which, OK, traditionally is an omen of ill luck but in numerology reduces to the number 4. Four, the number of Aries, is the first number to produce a solid figure, a tatrahedron, and is therefore the number of solidity, of earth. But is also made up of two twos, making it a double dither and, at least on occasion, a number of evil and ill-luck.
Look at the other Fours – things go wrong, things change, there is always something new:
Wands – Marriage; marriages can and very often do break up
Cups – Cup drunk, mission accomplished; there’s always another cup to be drunk, another mission to be accomplished
Swords –Life completed, death comes; the next generation takes over the mission – or takes revenge
Pentacles – We’re rich. Markets crash – and anyway, you can’t take it with you
And look at the Queens (the number of the Queen cards is also 13 (=4)):
All the Queens are mothers of grown-up children. All are mature and wise and firm in their purpose. But they are far from finished: in each case there are hidden fires that could break out at any time in their respective elements, seasons and spheres of interest. All four are, in short, still dominated by their egos and their lust for life – this life.
In life things go wrong: Death comes, literally or metaphorically. It is incumbent upon Aries Moons in this life to recognise their inflated ego, their self-importance, for what it is: not their real Self but something they must leave behind, either before they die (and that should be their aim in this life) or, unavoidably, when they do. Otherwise they will live their lives with a greater horror and dread of death than those born under any other Moon Sign.
When I do a Tarot Reading I always like to know the Querant’s Moon Sign. This is not always possible because many people do not know the exact time and place of their birth, but if they do then I find it really helps.
But first a word or two (or three!) about Moon Signs and why they are important.
The sun, the moon and the planets all move (or at least appear to move) through the sky following a circular route, a route which takes them at varying speeds through the twelve sections of the sky known to astrologers as the signs of the zodiac. So at the moment when we were born, not just the sun, but the moon and the planets were all located in one of those sections, one of those signs. Basically, that is what your birth chart or horoscope is: it charts the position of the sun, the moon and the planets at that moment, and indicates how they relate to each other uniquely for you.
So when you were born, the Sun might have been in Taurus, the Moon in Libra, Mars in Gemini, Venus in Cancer, and so on.
Moon sign astrology is a very old form of astrology, possibly older than Sun sign astrology. Certainly it was practised by the Babylonians hundreds if not thousands of years before Christ.
Some say that the Sun sign shows the yang, masculine, outgoing, active and perhaps more superficial aspects of our nature, while the Moon sign shows our yin, feminine, introspective, passive, deeper and more private side.
Certainly the Moon is about feelings, about aspects of your personality governed by the emotions – parts of you that the rational mind cannot reach, may not even be aware of. To put it another way, the Moon sign relates to the sub-conscious, or unconscious. It shows how one reacts according to subconscious disposition.
All of which means, for those who believe in reincarnation, that the Moon Sign relates to past lives. The features characteristic of the Sun Sign are analogous to the body – you as you are in this incarnation – while the features characteristic of your Moon Sign are analogous to the soul: they came with you from your past lives, they are there in your unconscious, and they will keep influencing your feelings, your thoughts, and your actions. Another way of putting it is to see the features as conditioned rresponses – conditioned by past lives.
If you are not in touch with your Moon Self then you are in a sense lost, not at home with yourself – living the life of a stranger, a fish out of water.
However, it is very important to remember that the significance of the Sign as a Moon Sign will not be the same as its significance when it is a Sun Sign. People often make the mistake of assuming that being born when the Moon was in, say, Leo is the same as being born when the Sun was in Leo; that it somehow makes you a kind of covert Leo person. But what Moon-in-Leo means is NOT the same as what Sun-in-Leo means. For a start, the Moon in a particular Sign tends to emphasise the dark, the negative, aspects of that Sign.
In future posts, I will talk about each Moon Sign individually.
Swimming in the Sea of Time 