The quintessential feminine archetype. The symbol of the great goddess of life and death. The moon represents fertility, resurrection, intuition, the archetype of the mother, the subconscious mind, & the collective unconscious. The moon governs the realm of intuitive thinking and symbolizes emotional maturity and security.

She is seen as the intuitive intelligence as opposed to rational intelligence. The moon is pure yin energy. The moon phases mirror the essence of the feminine principle moving in cycles every 28 days, reflecting the female reproductive cycle. A woman’s biology can also be seen as a mirror of the moon by the phases being reflected in the cycles of menstruation, conception, pregnancy, birth (full moon), nursing(waning), & the separation of the child from the mother. The phases & cycles of the moon keep us balanced by teaching us the cyclical nature of our physiology and psychology. The essence of the emblem of the moon can be comprehended by its motions and how it affects the ebb and flow of life. The moon is constantly changing similarly to the fluctuation of our moods and emotions. The moon is receptive, passive, & magnetic. It is the motivating factor in how someone makes decisions based upon their feelings and how people go about living their lives.

The moon plays the maternal role as the nurturer of all life. The moon is associated with feelings because the moon has a strong influence over the tides and waters, therefore corresponding it to the water element and tieing its association to the feminine. The queen’s role is to react and respond with an empty cup and open perspective by waiting to receive. In essence, she balances out the dynamic nature of the king (the sun). The moon reflects the sun’s light, she does not emanate or produce her own light, therefore she reaches a stronger potential when she is in union with the sun. She is the receptive force to devotion and surrender. The darker periods of the moon phases are also considered the unmanifested realm where infinite potential resides. The moon represents unconscious feelings and corresponds to cancer in the 4th house seen as the (Nadir) the lowest point in the chart. Considered to be the darkest part of the self mirroring the darkest part of the night. The 4th house also represents our home and family life the foundations we stand upon. In medical astrology, the moon corresponds to the stomach, bladder, kidneys, & brain. the stomach is a receptacle that receives nourishment the primary ruler of the moon, the bladder holds the fluids of the body, the womb carries, nourishes, and protects life. The brain also has an affinity for the moon in how it becomes affected by psychic disturbances. 

“everything we experience is channeled into the womb of the moon. Everything we remember, everything we have experienced is stored within the cauldron of the goddess. Thus the moon represents our feelings, our habitual patterns, in short, the personal unconscious. The way in which we have been nurtured in early life, the love we receive or fail to receive, plays a major role in forming the unconscious instincts that govern our behavior.” 

- Mythic astrology

When we have developed a harmonious and well-integrated relationship with the moon it is exemplified as someone who displays emotional stability, an ability to make mature and healthy decisions and responses, and an ability to discern self from nonself. When the moon is undeveloped and poorly integrated it may manifest psychologically as someone with anxiety, lacking boundaries, depression, taking things personally, psychosis, lacking connection with feelings, emotional instability, an inability to be direct or face things, lacking self-reflection, picks up on other peoples feelings easily, timid, nervous, indulgent, lazy,  antisocial, & operates on things based on their emotions. These people with an imbalanced moon tend to react based on unconscious patterns on the conditioned part of the self and react towards instinctual feelings.  On a physical level, people with an imbalanced moon may have insomnia, high sensitivity, slow, food sensitivities, weak digestion, excess, stagnation, or heavy menses. The moon teaches us the importance of self-reflection and contemplation by turning inward. Other negative aspects and expressions of the moon when in imbalance are emotional outbursts & lack of control over emotions. It teaches us how to develop emotional maturity by seeking wholeness. When the moon descends into darkness after the full moon this exemplifies a representation of the dark parts of the self or the unconscious patterns of the self hidden in the shadows of the darkness. During the waning phases the “descent” phases of the moon into darkness, we learn to engage in a space of self-reflection in order to separate the impure from the pure. It is a very alchemical process. It is said that the veils are very thin during the darker periods of the moon phases and we can learn a lot about ourselves and how we think about ourselves based on where our moon is in our charts and what phase the moon was in when we were born. When we have an imbalanced moon we can often become susceptible to perceiving our reality through delusions.

Part of attainment of abundance is also the necessity of letting go and the strength to go through the dark. Following the Moon principle means accepting the processes of growth that one cannot willfully guide and direct but that one can follow attentively. Just as on earth the oceans flow and ebb through the moons power of attraction, so likewise in the psychic realm the moods or the hues of our feeling states rise and fall.

- Gods and Planets

Selene 

Selene is a titan Goddess & daughter of Hyperion & Thea. Both were also considered Titans and children of Uranus & Gaia. Helios and Eos were her siblings. She was born on the Greek isle of Rhodes and was considered the Goddess of all women and Goddess of the night. It was depicted that she wore a lunar crescent headdress. There are many goddesses associated with the moon but Selene was said to be the moon incarnated or the moon personified into an immortal being. It is said that Selene was described to be a beautiful goddess with long white wings, a full round face, clothed in a long robe, & who wore a golden crown as a symbol that represented sovereignty. She was seen riding the heavens in a moon chariot just like her brother Helios drives the sun chariot across the sky with two white horses providing the night with illumination. Selene had the power to induce sleep, had control over time, & gave light to the night. The story goes that Selene was madly in love with a mortal being named Endymion & united with him in his dreams and gave him fifty daughters. Every night she visited him in his sleep when she came down from the sky. The story follows she was so in love with him that she couldn’t bear his inevitable death being a mortal so she cast him into an eternal sleep.

Artemis

Was considered the Virgin huntress Goddess of the moon, animals, & chasity. She was always armed with a bow and arrow. She is associated with the waxing moon. Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto & the twin sister of Apollo. When Artemis was still a young maiden she requested of her father that she remain in maidenhood forever so she could continue to remain innocent & chaste for all of eternity. She was the protector of young children. It is said that Artemis was born a day before Apollo so she assisted her mother as a midwife serving as a guardian for him which is what drew her interest in protecting and nurturing. In this myth of this aspect of the moon goddess, we see Artemis portraying the nurturing and protective aspects of the feminine psyche.

Hecate

Hecate was considered The goddess of the dark moon, mystery, sorcery, magic, poison, necromancy, the underworld, & patron of the witches corresponding to the waning crescent phase. Hecate is traditionally associated with witchcraft & the occult. She is also seen as the goddess of “boundaries” the in-between liminal spaces. She is the final waning phase as the goddess manifests into the crone or the wise old woman. It was said that Hecate had knowledge of magic potions, the poison path, herbs, folk healing, and control over the weather. She was also known as a goddess of the crossroads often seen holding two torches, found beside the thresholds or gates to the underworld to allow her to illuminate both sides of each world of life and death. She was often depicted as a goddess of both the living and the underworld also typically seen holding a pair of keys in her hands signifying that she held the power to open the portal to other realms. She held the power to conduct the passage between souls across thresholds & through transitions. She also held the ability to move between both realms & to let things in and keep them out. She can support one soul as well as hinder, wherever she appeared you knew the dark was close by. She watches over rites of passage and assists with the ascension out of the darkness. Where she resided was said to be where the witches would perform their rituals. She was the daughter of Perses & Asteria ( the astral). She was also associated as a goddess of protection or seen as a guardian for she watched over the places that allowed passage into other realms. Those who failed to win the goddess’s favor were cast with misfortune & eternal suffering. Hecate is also considered a triple goddess or goddess of the three paths & three roads. sacrifices for her were found at forks in the road. Triple goddesses are often referred to as the maiden, mother or matron, & crone. corresponding to the three stages of a woman’s life and seen as goddesses that straddled between both the living and the afterlife.