TonytheRainbowHealer

Today it is time for my final Astrology 101 post (part 1 is here, part 2 is here, and part 3 is here), and I want to discuss moon things and stuff and also chart compatibility and synastry.

Lunar Cycles

The moon affects us here on Earth in many ways such as with time, light, and tides. Our bodies are about 60% water so if the moon can move the oceans, it does make one wonder what all it is doing to the water inside of us! It has been well documented that people can become a little “loony” during new and full moon cycles, and the female menstrual cycle can also attune itself to coincide with the cycles of the moon. In the next few sections, I want to talk about some of the ways astrology can be used to look at how the moon affects us as humans.

Full Moon vs. New Moon

For every month of the zodiac, there is generally one full moon and one new moon. The new moon is when the moon is conjunct (or aligned in the same zodiac sign) as the sun in the sky. The full moon is when the moon is opposite the sign the sun is in. For example, during the month when the sun is in Taurus, there will be a new moon in Taurus and a full moon in Scorpio (the opposite sign of Taurus). When the sun is in Scorpio, this pattern will be reversed with the new moon being in Scorpio and the full moon being in Taurus. Every zodiac sign gets at least one full moon in their sign and one new moon in their sign each year.

• New Moon – The new moon is about new beginnings and renewal. This is a great time to set intentions, start new endeavors, initiate new plans, start new jobs, go on new dates, meet new people, go new places, etc. The key word here is new. While sometimes new is just something new from out of the blue, sometimes new means letting go of something to move forward into a new space or way of being.
• Full Moon – Approximately two weeks after the new moon comes the full moon. The full moon is symbolic with completion. It is a time to let go and release. This can be happy or somber such as celebrating or mourning endings, completing tasks, letting go of relationships that no longer serve us, reflecting, pausing, and going within. It can be a good time to purge, clean, cleanse, and heal. The full moon will often illuminate information we did not know that has been hiding. These shadows and secrets sometimes come to the surface to have the light shone on them to be revealed to us.

In astrology each new moon starts off a six-month cycle that is not completed until the full moon is in the same sign six months later. So, to use the example from above, the new moon in Taurus will start off a six-month cycle that won’t be completed until the full moon in Taurus six months later. During each full or new moon throughout the year, you can look at which zodiac signs they fall in and then it can hint at themes humanity as a whole will be working on, or you can look at your individual chart and see where the new and full moons fall to find out what in your life is starting anew or coming to completion in each cycle. This is a fantastic way to work with the energy of the moon and plan your life as a partner with the moon, rather than to be taken by surprise and be at the mercy of the moon’s energetic shifts.

Eclipses

Eclipses happen about four to six times a year, coming in two different timeframes during a year (astrologers will often say something like “It’s eclipse season this month!). Eclipses are basically supercharged new moon or full moons. It’s like a normal new moon or full moon times three.

• Solar Eclipses – Solar eclipses are new moons. They happen when the moon is conjunct the sun, and the moon moves in between the Earth and the sun so that it eclipses out the light from the sun here on Earth. All the same themes above for the new moon apply here but are significantly more intense. Often the Universe will use these opportunities to create dramatic unexpected shifts for us to see new ways forward in our lives. Solar eclipses force us to get unstuck and help us to find new pathways. They can illuminate areas we are lacking in our life and help spur us forward to create the lives we want and to receive the abundance we seek as souls creating lives here on Earth.
• Lunar Eclipses – Lunar eclipses are full moons. They happen when the moon is opposite the sun, and the Earth comes between the sun and the moon, creating a shadow over the face of the moon as it appears here on Earth. Again, these are extremely amplified full moons so the full moon description above applies here. Lunar eclipses tend to be extremely emotional times as we shed and let go of that which no longer serves us in our lives. Often these things can pertain to relationships with other humans and beings as new information comes to light about others in our family, friends, romantic partnerships, animal companionships, and workplaces. This is the Universe’s way of clearing out items in our life in order to move us forward.

Both solar and lunar eclipses can bring either pleasant and exciting changes or they can bring stressful and emotional Debbie Downer type events that must be dealt with. It really depends on what needs to enter or leave your life at any given time and what energies are at play with a particular eclipse and your chart. I personally find it helpful to deal with these energies by surrendering to the Universe and trusting that It knows better what I need for my life, my soul growth, and my soul lessons than what me and my personality or ego thinks is best. Another good rule of thumb is to try to avoid planning major events, activities, and new endeavors during an eclipse period because you won’t know what the eclipse period will bring in your life until it arrives. You might need to make space in your life to deal with the issues an eclipse brings up. Events brought on by eclipses can sometimes occur a month to the day before or a month to the day after an eclipse so that is more useful info to keep in mind. Finally, unless situations require it, I would let the dust settle for at least a week after an eclipse before making any major decisions or changes in your life. It is best to wait to gather your emotions, thoughts, and further information before making a rash and hasty decision.

Lunar Nodes

The lunar nodes are the points in the sky where the Moon and Sun cross paths, and this happens at both a south point and a north point. This is the area of the sky where the eclipses happen each year and the nodes change signs every 1.5 years or so. Using Scorpio and Taurus again, when the nodes are in Taurus and Scorpio (they are always in opposing signs at the same time), that means that for that 1.5 year period, the eclipses will be occurring when both the sun and moon are in the signs of Taurus and Scorpio. This tells us about the areas in our lives that we need to work on over the next one and a half years as well as what we need to release, and the subsequent eclipses in these signs will help bring that info forward to be addressed. These themes of the nodes at a given time refer both to us personally and our specific chart themes and to society as a whole and whatever lessons humanity is working on. Furthermore, the north and south nodes have even deeper meaning in an astrological birth chart.

• South Node – The south node is about karma and past lives. It is where we have come from and is the baggage and lessons we have brought with us into this current incarnation. Often times the themes of our south node by house and zodiac sign in our natal chart will feel easy, like we have been there done that before. That’s because we have!
• North Node – The north node is more about fate and destiny. It is where we are working towards going in our current lives and includes the lessons we came here to make progress on. It shows the way forward for our soul’s progression and growth in our lives.

Chart Compatibility

Ok, now that I’ve finished moon stuff, the last thing I would like to discuss is chart compatibility or synastry. This is probably a hot topic for people wondering “what sign should I date?!” and so forth. Contrary to popular belief, there are not certain Sun signs that each individual is only compatible with. It is very chart specific. In fact, I would never rule out dating someone based solely on a Sun sign. Most Sun signs can date most other Sun signs if there are other really good conditions indicated by the entire chart comparison. Obviously, there are different types of relationships too, so things vary based on whether the people are friends, dating, partners, parents, children, and so forth. Ultimately, chart compatibility comes down to energy, and one of the biggest energetic rules is that like energy attracts like energy. Taking the astrology out of it and just looking at energy…who are the people we are closest to in our lives? Those that have the same interests, needs, desires, hobbies, communication styles, etc. With dating and romantic partnerships as well a friendships and work relationships (and certainly with family relationships) other factors can come into play such as body chemistry and physical attraction for romantic dating or karmic and past life connections with pretty much anyone. Now if we take this same rule into astrology the same thing plays out. We tend to be more compatible with people who have charts that are more similar to ours. We also tend to be more compatible with people who have aspects that are more harmonious with our birth charts.

For example, if we are just looking at the Sun sign alone, say you are a Sagittarius Sun sign. You will probably be more compatible with other fire signs (Leo and Aries) because they are in your same element, and those signs will form a trine (a harmonious aspect) to your Sun sign. You might also be compatible with Libra and Aquarius (air signs but they are also masculine signs just like your fire sign). Libra and Aquarius are also sextile (another harmonious aspect) to Sagittarius bringing in more compatibility. Please look back at my previous astrology posts if this is confusing to you. Sagittarius might be drawn to other mutable signs like itself such as Pisces and Virgo (remember like attracts like), however these signs form squares to Sagittarius which is a more challenging aspect. Finally, compatibility with opposite signs (Gemini in this case) or the same sign (other Sagittarius people) can go either way. Oppositions tend to be less harmonious, but there is something to the opposites attract theory because opposites can provide each other with attributes the other person is lacking. The opposite sign will always be in the same gender so again there is more similarity. As for dating your own sign, that is a conjunction. Sometimes this is a match made in heaven and sometimes dating someone too similar is too boring or doesn’t provide the necessary soul growth we need in our lives. If you really want to dive deep into compatibility, I suggest always looking at the big three (Sun, Moon, Ascendant) and the personal planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars) in both charts and comparing them to each other.

In case this helps, here is a list of some positive tidbits to look for when comparing charts:

• Compare the Sun signs (signs of the same element or same gender are generally compatible).
• Compare the Moon signs (signs of the same element or same gender are generally compatible).
• Your Moon sign is the same as the other person’s Sun (or vice versa).
• Your Sun sign is the same as the other’s Ascendant (or vice versa).
• Your Sun sign is opposite the other’s Ascendant (or vice versa).
• Your Sun sign is the same sign as the other’s tenth house sign (or vice versa) as this means you both mix career and love well.
• Your Sun sign is trine or sextile (so the same element or gender) as your partner’s Ascendant (or vice versa).

And the following Mars and Venus attributes indicate a powerful sexual attraction:

• Your Venus and your partner’s Mars (or vice versa) are in the same sign.
• Your Venus is in the same sign as your partner’s Ascendant (or vice versa).
• Your Venus is in your partner’s Sun sign (or vice versa)
• Your Mars is in your partner’s Moon sign (or vice versa)

And this concludes my four-part mini astrology lesson!