The Virgo season of organizing, clearing away, cleaning up and sorting it out, transitions into the Libra season on September 22, 2023 (11:50 p.m. Pacific time), the day of the Fall Equinox for the Northern Hemisphere. The Fall Equinox, Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice are a part of the annual natural cycle of the waxing and waning of sunlight hours.
Many of our ancestors from various cultures around the world gather to celebrate during the seasonal gates of the equinoxes and solstices. Even in our modern times, it is good to intentionally mark these transitions from one season to another, with a simple ritual of taking stock of the past 3 months, or a more elaborate ritual of hosting a party with friends to bid farewell to the old season and to welcome the new season.
For me, the language of Western Tropical Astrology is symbolic. Learning the grammar of Astrology means learning the 4 main sets of symbolic keys:
The Planets including the Sun and the Moon
The Zodiac Signs
The Houses
The Aspects (angular relationship between 2 planets or points)
In this article which prepares the ground for other Astrology articles that I’ll be writing, I’ll focus on the Sun and Moon, the Zodiac Signs, and the relationship between the Sun and the Moon (Aspects).
Sun and Moon: The Luminaries of Our Sky
The Sun symbolizes the spirit, vital force, life purpose, radiance, personality, ego.
The Moon symbolizes the body, the physical daily tasks of living, home, habitual comforts, instincts, moods, mother, feeling safe, caring, nurturing, reflex actions.
Zodiac Signs
People get confused about the zodiac signs in Astrology and think that they refer to the constellations that bear the same names. In Western Tropical Astrology, the zodiac signs are not referring to those constellations.
Imagine that a hula hoop represents the path in the heavens that all the planets seem to travel on which is known as the ecliptic. You take a marker and tape measure to divide that hula hoop into 12 equal sections, of 30 degrees each. The first 30-degree section of the hoop starts with Aries, as the zodiac begins at 0 degrees of Aries, at what astrologers call the Aries Ingress Point, marking the Spring Equinox. The other zodiac signs follow in order.
Each zodiac sign is categorized
by whether its direction of energy is more inward (Yin/Feminine) or more outward (Yang/Masculine),
by modes (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable) and
by elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water).
Try to say the following descriptions aloud and notice if you can sense the order.
Aries is Yang Cardinal Fire.
Taurus is Yin Fixed Earth.
Gemini is Yang Mutable Air.
Cancer is Yin Cardinal Water.
Leo is Yang Fixed Fire.
Virgo is Yin Mutable Earth.
Libra is Yang Cardinal Air.
Scorpio is Yin Fixed Water.
Sagittarius is Yang Mutable Fire.
Capricorn is Yin Cardinal Earth.
Aquarius is Yang Fixed Air.
Pisces is Yin Mutable Water.
Did you notice the patterns? Yang, Yin, Yang, Yin etc. Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable, Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable etc. Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Water etc.
Elements
Let’s look at the elements:
Fire moves upward and outward so Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) are outgoing, spontaneous, spirited, enthusiastic, passionate, action-oriented. The shadow side of Fire signs is that they can be too bossy and forceful.
Earth is dense, stable and grounding so Earth signs (Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo) are practical, dependable and sensual. They enjoy the natural and material things of life. The shadow side of Earth signs is that they can be too staid and materialistic.
Air moves speedily and connects all that it touches so Air signs (Libra, Aquarius, Gemini) love to connect and communicate ideas, concepts and symbols. They are logical, objective and broad-minded. The shadow side of Air signs is that they can be cold and too intellectual.
Water has the ability to receive and dissolve things, and over time, it has the power to shift the shape and boundaries of things with its relentless, downward flow. Water can shape-shift into a rigid form like ice or be gaseous like steam. Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pieces) feel deep and primal emotions, the needs and longings of the soul, and tend to hold on to memories. The shadow side of Water signs is that they can be drawn into a spiral of negative emotions.
Modes
Another way to group the Zodiac signs are through their mode of operating in life:
Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) herald the beginning of the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. They are self-starters, initiators and ambitious. When unskillful with their energy, they can tend to leave projects incomplete.
Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) are fixed as the middle of the seasons. They are the stabilizers of the qualities of the season, determined and able to concentrate. When unskillful with their energy, they can tend to be stubborn and unreceptive to other people’s viewpoints.
Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) are wrapping up at the end of the seasons. They are adaptable, flexible and broadminded. When unskillful with their energy, they can tend to be undependable, keep changing their minds and not see something through.
Aspects of the Moon to the Sun (Moon Phases)
The changing angular relationship between the Sun and the Moon is shown by the Moon Phases over a cycle of 29.5 days.
New Moon: The inception, conception or seeding time when the Moon embraces the Sun
Waxing Quarter Moon: The critical growth period of what has been seeded at the New Moon
Full Moon: The illumination, flowering or realization of what has been seeded at the New Moon, when the Sun is opposite the Moon
Waning Quarter Moon: The dissemination or harvesting of what has been seeded at the New Moon
The cycle ends and begins again with a New Moon and the seeding of something new.
Our life on earth is illuminated by the seasonal sun cycle (highlighted by the equinoxes and solstices) and the monthly moon cycle (highlighted by the new moon and full moon). For women who are still menstruating regularly, they have their personal moon cycles that they naturally attune to. For menopausal women, it can be helpful to attune to the rhythm of the changing moonlight to naturally order our lives.
When we pay attention to the dance of moon with sun, by feeling how the quality and quantity of our bodies’ energy are dynamically flowing with the moon’s phases, we know when we’re likely to have very high levels of energy and when we need more rest.
When we add the zodiac signs to the moon phases, we can attune to another layer of energy expression for our daily activities. The flavor and color of an Aries New Moon day feels quite distinct from a Cancer New Moon day, even though both are days for seeding the new into our lives.
Aries is a Cardinal Fire Sign so during an Aries New Moon, people are more inclined to jump into taking action on new projects. “Just do it! Ready, Fire, Aim!”
Cancer is a Cardinal Water Sign so during a Cancer New Moon, people are more oriented towards starting new projects that make them or people they love, feel safe and nurtured, or focus on home improvement projects.
I hope this article is helpful in giving you a sense of how you can flow with the energies of the Sun and the Moon.
Very detailed elaboration on the sun moon rythme and seasonal signs. Love it very much.
That was pretty badass. Laid out plainly and sanely. The basics laid bare with flesh and bone all right there. A solid structure to build and "flesh out" the details and colors upon. I love it. Beautiful job. I love that it's the roots and skeleton upon which all of everything is dependent. Life and it's phases and stages and eras like the simple circles and cycles of any wheel the begins to end right at the start again. Basis of all basically. Badass. Bold and brave too. *Snaps*