✦ ✦ ✦

Moon Astrology Symbol - Characteristics, Planet Energy and More

By Tina Gong

Published January 22

In astrology, the moon represents our deepest feelings and needs, as well as our habits and instinctual reactions. Being associated with night and darkness, the moon has also come to represent our unconscious - all that is not seen but drives our actions.

Moon Astrology Symbol Keywords

Unconsciousness
Emotions
Instincts
Habits
Moods
Creativity

Moon as a Ruling Planet: Characteristics of the Moon in Astrology

The moon is Cancer's planetary ruler - a sign that is known for being intuitive, emotional and sensitive. Cancer craves security and consistency; those ruled by this heavenly body are fiercely loyal to family and deeply motivated by matters of the home.

Download Printable Zodiac Cheat Sheets

A black and white list of zodiac sign characteristics formatted for printers. Includes keywords, planetary rulers, symbols, elements and modalities.

How Does the Moon Symbol Affect Personality in the Zodiac?

If the sun symbol in astrology represents our actions, the moon can be said to represent our instinctual reactions - the immediate, unthinking responses to anything that we encounter. What the sun shines, the moon reflects - and as such, the moon may also be considered to reflect the more passive, but contemplative parts of our personalities.

As the moon rules the rhythmic tides on earth, so does it rule our emotions. Long have our emotions been compared to the sea, whether they give us gentle waves or a flood of overwhelming feeling.

Where the sun gives you your personality and your reasoning, the moon gives you soul. It is not rational, but irrational and unexplainable. It can symbolize the gut reactions we have to the things that happen to us - which can sometimes be censored by the sun's more forceful energy. We can feel things that our sun sign will feel is inappropriate. The moon tells us what we feel - the sun tells us how we may deal with those feelings.

The moon answers the following questions about you:

What do I need to feel secure? How do I instinctively respond to problems?

Symbolizing the receptive feminine nature, it contrasts with the sun, which represents the masculine principle. Therefore, the moon can represent our wives, female lovers, mother figures as well as our inner child. It symbolizes the part of ourselves that is nurturing, but also dictates our cravings, our emotional needs.