Looking Back ~ Recognizing Your Moon

Astrology’s highest purpose is to guide us toward being the very best person we can be. If we really want to become a better Me, we have to make some choices that don’t allow us to take the easy way out.

We may look back at a certain behavior ~ or be struggling with one now ~ and realize that we may have chosen to take the lower road. We might see our behavior listed in the negative column of a planet’s characteristics.

Aspects alter a planet’s behavior ~ the easy aspects acting as blessings of sorts and the hard aspects acting as hurdles we have to overcome. Both the blessings and the hurdles have positive and negative connotations. Picture yourself in this situation:

You have been given the opportunity to spend some time talking with a younger you. What advice would you give yourself about your Moon ~ the pitfalls to avoid and the way to use it to be a better you?

One of the duties of Cancer and the Moon is to remember the past ~ not to get lost in it, but to grow from it. If you were given this cosmic do-over, what would you tell yourself? What would be your best advice to yourself?

Mapping Your Moon

If you want to get up close and personal with your Moon, download this blank chart and place only your Moon and any planets it aspects into it. Also download this sheet to list the qualities of your Moon and any aspects it makes. Astrodienst offers a brief overview of aspects in their Introduction to Astrology if you need a refresher.

• Which aspects have been blessings?

  

  Mapped Moon

• Does a particular aspect indicate a negative behavior you fall into regularly?
• How can you enlist the help of the positive behaviors of this aspect?
• Can you cite specific examples of each behavior?

Remembering Your Moon

Transits to our Moon can indicate times when we felt fantastic ~ happy, content, and joyful ~ or times when we felt sad, lonely, or discontent.

• What was your most difficult transit to the Moon?
• What experiences were related to that transit?
• What did you learn?
• Are you better or bitter as a result of that experience?

This part of the exercise might bring up some painful memories. Set them aside if you aren’t ready to work on them now and work with the happier memories. They are both paths toward healing.

• What was your favorite transit to your Moon?
• What activities were you involved with at that time that made you feel so happy?
• How can you bring the qualities of that transit into your current everyday life even if you’re no longer involved with those activities?

For current transits, you might think about:

• Is my behavior positive or negative during this transiting aspect?
• Are people complaining about my behavior now?
• Am I short-sighted about this behavior?
• Do I see their complaints in the symbolism of transits to my Moon?

You can do this exercise with all the planets. Dissecting your chart like this can help you understand how one part of the cosmic machine works in your life. Of course, one part isn’t the whole machine. Think of yourself as a mechanic with your head under the hood of your chart running some diagnostics. Sometimes a little adjustment gives us a smoother ride.

Try not to say I hate so and so about my chart. If you hate it, it’s a flaw you need to overcome. You have the keys to do it.