Traditional, Western Astrology shows that the Moon represents or “rules” the emotions, instincts, feelings and family of these walking and talking bipeds called human beings. It is a tradition taken for granted and assumed through its symbolism of the Mother archetype projected upon the Moon.
As Daniel Giamario writes in the Shamanic Astrology Handbook, “it is easy to understand why these traits have been traditionally attributed to the Moon position.” (2012/14 Ed pg 90) Through thousands of readings and countless hours of research, it has been found that the Moon represents more directly our Lineage, what we mastered coming into this world, our family and genetic encoding, past life themes, including the addictions, behaviors, emotions and all. Emotions and feelings don’t just come from the Moon, but can open up from various places on a person’s chart depending on the signs and planetary complexes involved.
Prior to the 1800s, Sun sign astrology was not used as prevalently as it is in modern times in Western culture. Before the 1800s and the farther you back in time, like in ancient Greece and Rome, most identified themselves through their Moon sign more than the Sun sign. The reason being is that more of us are like our Moon sign more than the Sun sign (except in cases where a person has multiple inner planets in the same sign as the natal Sun).
The Moon serves as our foundation in life and a launching point to later move into our Soul’s Intent. It is not the goal of life, but a starting point. The soul comes into a lifetime having already mastered something, not as a blank slate. Since it is our past, in a sense, it is not a place or area of life that is our liberation. It provides the beginning of a story that is about to unfold through the other planets and especially the Ascendant or Rising Sign. In addition, the Moon is neither feminine nor masculine (nor is the Sun) in its essence (there have been as many Moon ‘gods’ as there have been Moon ‘goddesses’ throughout history).
The Moon represents the foundation of something within us to start our exploration of a new path in a lifetime. We already have a story before even taking our first breath. James Hillman writes about this story in his book (without using the term, Moon), The Soul’s Code (Chapter 1), which is in alignment with the essence of our paths in life and the paradigm of Shamanic Astrology. On page 39, Hillman quotes Wallace Stevens, a Connecticut poet, that encapsulates the essence and beauty of the above:
“…The clouds preceeded us
There was a muddy centre before we breathed.
There was a myth before the myth began,
Venerable and articulate and complete.”
– Erik M Roth, Shamanic Astrologer 1/28/2015