Born to be - the Moon sign

Try this out: if you think somebody is not very much like his/her Sun sign, ask what his/her Moon sign is (provided that the person knows). More often than not, you may find that his/her personality is far closer to the Moon sign.

Although the Sun sign is by far the most well-known and popular concept in astrology, the characteristics of one's Sun sign are not readily apparent unless s/he has put in efforts into developing them, especially for women, as the Sun represents a "masculine" energy (the "yang" principle as in the Chinese concept).

The Moon refers to a person's emotional style, the need for peace and quiet, nourishment and inner security. Its expression is inborn and instinctive for us. Since emotions are something subconscious, their origins, whys and wherefores cannot be easily analyzed. The Moon is therefore heavily influenced by the past and this explains why a person's emotional style is hard to alter.

Many astrologers would agree that together with the Ascendant, the Sun and the Moon are the most important components in a birth chart. The ideal situation is, the hero (i.e. you) is able to head towards his destination (as represented by the Sun sign) along a specially carved-out path (as indicated by the Ascendant sign), supported by a sense of inner security (as shown by the Moon sign).

What if the Sun and the Moon conflict with each other? If you have a friend who is often enthusiastic about a new attempt (like going to a new restaurant for dinner, a new city for holiday, a new career possibility, etc) one minute, but suddenly becomes discouraged, anxious and hesitant the next, your friend could have a Sun-Moon hard aspect (like square and opposition).

The need to develop the self (the Sun) goes against the need for security (the Moon) for these people. They often experience an inner see-saw struggle and life seems to be like "one step forward, two steps backward" for them. Understandably this is not very pleasant, especially when they experience this on a daily basis.

However, if they become aware of this push-pull in themselves, they could consciously look for ways to honour both needs, rather than swinging from one end to the other without feeling any control. The important lesson for these individuals is, this inner struggle is only a process on the hero's journey and does not necessarily mean the hero will fail in his quest.

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Your radiant self - the Sun sign

People commonly assume that if someone was born on, say, January 1, then s/he must possess a number of characteristics typical of a Capricorn, like hard-working, pragmatic, conservative, etc.

However, our assumptions very often turn out to be wrong. When we get to know the person better, we may find that s/he couldn't have been more unlike a Capricorn. Why? Is astrology “useless” or “inaccurate”?

The truth is, the Sun sign describes our “latent” characteristics that can only be developed through conscious efforts, like a pine seed can only grow into a pine tree unless given sufficient sunlight, water and nutrients – but no matter how favourable the conditions are, there is no way a pine seed could become a willow tree, for instance.

Astrologers often compare the Sun sign to "a hero's journey". The sign represents our ultimate destination or ideal and this journey takes a lifetime to complete. If we put in efforts, we are forever "becoming" more and more like our Sun sign which shows what we were "programmed" to be, but nobody can ever claim, for example, that they are 100% Scorpio or 100% Gemini.

So what is the "ultimate destination" for each sign?

Aries: "Life is a fight", "To be first"

Taurus: "Simple is best", "Maintaining the status quo"

Gemini: "To be well-informed about everything, without delving into the depths"

Cancer: "Home sweet home", "To be nurturing"

Leo: "The world is a stage"

Virgo: "Pure service", "Perfecting the details"

Libra: "Balancing the scales", "To be fair and just"

Scorpio: "Giving up total control to make way for re-birth"

Sagittarius: "Life is an adventure", "Leap of faith"

Capricorn: "Respect authority and become an authority step by step"

Aquarius: "Promoting social progress"

Pisces: "The dreamer", "All is one"

While the Sun sign represents our destination, the Ascendant sign indicates the route we take to reach our destination. Take Steve Jobs as an example. His Sun is in Pisces and his Ascendant is in Virgo. To follow his dreams, he had to seek perfection and pay attention to details.

Developing both the Sun and Ascendant signs require efforts. So what is the inborn and instinctive part in our chart? The answer is - the Moon sign! We will talk about that later.

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More on the Ascendant - Steve Jobs

The founder and chairman of Apple, Steve Jobs, was famous for his perfectionism and was a super demanding boss. Does his birth chart indicate anything along this line?

Jobs' Ascendant is in Virgo - a "no surprise" for anyone acquainted with a basic knowledge of the 12 zodiac signs, as Virgo is best known exactly for its pickiness and attention to details. His chart ruler, Mercury, which is the ruling planet of Virgo, tells us more about how he sought perfection.

Jobs' Mercury is in Aquarius in the fifth house. This shows he mostly sought perfection in his creative expression, either in his own children or his "brain children" like his creative products.

Aquarius, known for its avant-garde tendency and innovative streak, is very idealistic and insistent on its principles. It often measures the current situation against some pre-conceived ideal about how something "should be". No wonder it usually finds the current situation totally inadequate and needs constant improvement!

Meanwhile, Jobs' Mercury squares Saturn in the third house. This further indicates that he was rather unwilling to follow or accept other people's views. However, anyone having a Mercury-Saturn aspect also has the potential to study hard on his/her own and to eventually develop some unique insights into a certain subject, becoming an authority in his/her chosen field. This is no doubt true in Jobs' case.

Another thing is, his Mercury is trine his Mid-heaven in Gemini which is also ruled by Mercury. This means his intellectual ability and ideas, rather than, say, social network or family support, had facilitated him a great deal in his public image and getting him "a place in the sun" - and certainly he had earned himself a place in history too.

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The Descendant – Your other half

The Ascendant, which marks the beginning of the first house, describes the way we approach the world. Opposing the Ascendant direct is the Descendant which marks the start-off point of the seventh house. It indicates how we approach one-to-one relationships.

“One-to-one relationships” include our spouse, boy/girlfriend, business partner, contractual relations and any advisory scenario (e.g. when consulting or acting as a lawyer, doctor, psychotherapist) in which there are only one other person and ourselves. Competitors and even enemies, imagined or otherwise, are also included.

The Ascendant and the Descendant forms an axis in our birth chart. The signs they are in show the two faces of the same coin, and the 12 zodiac signs can be divided into six pairs: Aries-Libra, Taurus-Scorpio, Gemini-Sagittarius, Cancer-Capricorn, Leo-Aquarius and Virgo-Pisces. If your Ascendant is in a sign in a certain pair, then your Descendant will be in the other sign in the same pair.

However, the problem is, we often identify more strongly with one sign than the other, and that is usually our Ascendant sign. That is how problems often arise with our partner, as represented by our Descendant sign. That explains why our partner so often feels like “the complete opposite” to us.

For example, if your Ascendant is in Cancer, you tend to approach the world according to feelings and are keen on building emotional connections with others, but you may feel hurt by your “other half” who just seems to be somewhat cold and unsympathetic (Capricorn).

If your Ascendant sign is in Sagittarius, you tend to approach life according to the “big picture” and you often feel annoyed with your partner who seems to focus on the “nitty-gritty” details only.

The challenge is to acknowledge both and to strike a balance, rather than to identify so strongly with one sign (the Ascendant) that the other side is completely ignored and projected (attributed) to our partner.

For instance, if your Ascendant is in Virgo (and so your Descendant is in Pisces), your challenge is to honour the need to “go with the flow” rather than analyzing everything according to some pre-conceived notion or examining every single detail meticulously.

If you could handle the challenge, you may begin to appreciate more of your partner who used to seem so disorganized to you, or better still, you may realize s/he is not as impractical as you thought! This is because, congratulations, you have at last stopped projecting the Pisces characteristics which you used to ignore in yourself to your partner! And you will begin to appreciate him/her as a person more.

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