Lunar Phases in Natal Chart
On this Page:
- Lunar Phases: Overview
- Lunar Phases in the Natal Chart: Interpretations
Lunar Phases: Overview
The two most fundamental energies in our birth chart are the Sun and the Moon. While the Sun is the most yang, projective, giving us our sense of individual self and purpose, the Moon is the most yin, receptive, providing us with the application of our purpose. The Sun is the light and life of our system. The Moon being the closest heavenly body to us controls the rhythm of the sea and all its creatures as well as the flow of blood in the human body. As the Moon distributes the light of the Sun each night, we experience this partnership and are able to understand their relationship in forming the personality of the human being.
Each night a different amount of light is given off by the Moon according to its changing relationship with the Sun. Within an approximate twenty-eight day cycle the Moon will have passed through eight phases, each phase lasting about forty-five degrees or three and a half days. These phases each have their own unique characteristics which influence all life on the planet. The first phase is the New Moon at which time no light is emanating from its surface. Beginning at zero degrees it will have completed its cycle at three hundred and sixty degrees.
One way to describe these phases is to use the analogy of the plant.
At the New Moon the seed is in the ground preparing for germination. It is implanted in a new beginning.
In the early degrees of the Crescent Phase, the sprout is drawn up from the earth by the initial impulses of light. During the remaining stages of the Crescent Phase the plant goes through a strengthening process, mobilizing its energies against the elements of nature.
When the First Quarter comes about, the plant has passed the initial stages of survival and is now sending down roots. By firmly anchoring its life force, the plant is able to concentrate its energies in the growth of stems and leaves with the tiny buds appearing by the beginning of the Gibbous Phase.
During the Gibbous Phase the plant is focusing on the reason for its existence. By ridding itself of everything superfluous, the culmination of its entire past from its beginning is brought to the moment of its achievement by coming into bloom.
The phase of the Full Moon is the completion. The work has been done and the gardener can stand back and assess his efforts. As the Full Moon progresses through its forty-five degrees the flower becomes the fruit.
The Disseminating phase is the harvest. The purpose of the plant is to now give back to the earth, to those who brought it into being and to nurture others.
By the time the Third Quarter comes around, the harvest is over, the abundance has been shared and what is left in the fields begins to decompose. The cycle is beginning to end.
During the Balsamic Phase the seed capsule is buried underground. It is clear that what was, no longer exists in its original form. This is the time of transition. The light of the Moon has grown very dim and by the end of this phase will have disappeared into darkness.
Lunar Phases: Descriptions
When we are born we come in under the influence of one of the Moon’s phases. The degree will pinpoint its intensity.
NEW MOON
When a person is born under the influence of the New Moon it is thought that in terms of reincarnation, this person has been born into the first incarnation of an eight fold sequence. This person possesses a quality of spontaneity, thus, planning ahead is not always met with success. They view life as a grand adventure with unlimited possibilities. Living in the moment, the past is not important to them. Being born when the Moon sheds no light, they have come to learn to respond instinctually and to act on intuition. They are able to navigate without maps and arrive at their destination with time to spare. They are often criticized for being overly self involved, but there is a need for them to learn about who they are and to project it into the world.
Keywords: Initial urge; Instinct; Projection
CRESCENT
A key word for the Crescent Phase is breakthrough. It is a time when what was begun during the New Moon is carried forward. It is a time of struggle because it often has to wrestle with the ghosts of the past which were in effect before the new cycle began. This new identity needs to overcome old standards, attitudes and structures in order to become fully functional as a whole and free individual. People born during a Crescent Moon often find themselves emotionally tied to the past. They may be drawn to habitual behaviors, wanting to stay within their comfort zones, feeling the need for security. They can be vulnerable to emotional blackmail, falling victim to those who want to “keep them the way they are”, not supportive of their growth. Crescent Moon types may find it difficult to leave home until well into adulthood. It is imperative that they establish their life force in independence. It is important for them to understand that the first step is the hardest, but that once it is taken new opportunities will open up. Their final challenge is to take those opportunities and act on them.
Keywords: Activation; Striving; Future
FIRST QUARTER
The First Quarter Moon can be referred to as “crisis in action”. It is a time in which the challenge is to manage the energy which is released by crisis and then to restructure it into its new form. People born during this phase are able to rise to the occasion of any emergency. They are able to make split second decisions and act on them. They have the ability to tear down old structures and to recreate new ones. They are the pioneers, the trail blazers, the hero and the heroine. It is important not to unconsciously create havoc in their lives just for the sake of excitement even though the crazier it gets, the better they get. It is likely they will create conflict in the lives of those entrenched in the status quo. You may find them working in emergency rooms and driving ambulances.
Keywords: Clearing; Action; Building
GIBBOUS
Those born during the Gibbous Phase have an innate desire for perfection. Having sharp, analytical minds, they have a need to understand. Looking at a subject from all angles, they experience sheer joy when delving into the core of the matter. Bringing things to the essence of their being, the truth will be revealed. They live their lives in anxious expectation augmented by the breath of the coming revelation. Children born at this time will not be happy with the answers, they will want to know why and how the answer came about. Gibbous Moon people make good apprentices as their goal is to learn all they can and become as good as they can get.
Keywords: Perfecting; Analysis; Interpret
FULL MOON
The Full Moon brings about the completion of all the hard work that came before it. It is the time in which the structure having attained perfection experiences the urge to become infused with meaning and purpose, the breath of life. It is time when all that was instinctual becomes deliberate action, all that was felt before will now be made visible. The ideals are to be realized, brought forth into the world for all to have. It is the debut. People born under the Full Moon are idealists. They may spend a lot of time searching for belief systems that they can relate to. Relationships are important to them and they need to be fully conscious of the effects their words and actions have on others. It is hard for them to find the ideal relationship in this material world and they will often turn to religion or an ideal cause. In looking for the right relationship, one needs to proceed through the clarity of the light of consciousness and not get caught up in the emotional bog of sheer desire.
Keywords: Perfection; Completion Conscious; Illumination
DISSEMINATING
The Disseminating Phase of the Moon is the second phase of conscious operation. That which came into completion at the Full Moon is ready to be distributed now. People born during this phase are natural communicators. They are what they believe and their purpose is to spread it to the world. They share and communicate information acquired from their own experience. They are the teachers and philosophers. If they have no message to share they can become despondent. It is their lesson to realize that they are not responsible as to whether the message is received or not. It is not the role of everyone else to act on what they say, but it is the role of the person born in the Disseminating Phase to say it. They make good publicists and reporters as long as they believe in what they are saying.
Keywords: Imparting; Convey Awareness
LAST QUARTER
The key word for the Last Quarter is readjustment. It is the hardest to identify as many of its characteristics are hidden. As the First Quarter experiences “crisis in action”, the Third Quarter experiences “crisis in consciousness”. Old systems and values are becoming useless. It is hard for people born at this time to relate to life in the here and now. They often appear to be living in a world of their own, when in actuality they are going through an internal process of reorientation. They will present to the world an acceptable face as they are quietly developing on the inside. At the point when their own internal self has been completed, a brand new, fully developed person emerges. This butterfly is quite different from the caterpillar it had been, and is quite the surprise to those who thought they “knew” them. These people need the time and space to find themselves. If pressured to conform, they may revolt causing others to regard them as uncooperative and rebellious. As children, they require a lot of “alone” time and may need more rest than others as they process much in their sleep and in meditative states.
Keywords: Readjustment; Correcting; Disillusionment; Elimination
BALSAMIC
The Balsamic Phase is the last phase of the Moon’s cycle. This is the time of adjustment from one cycle to another. It is the bridge between the past and the future. People born at this time are finishing an eight phase cycle of lifetimes. Therefore, this lifetime is a very karmic one. There is a pattern of very intense, all-consuming although short term relationships with people from the past including other lifetimes. These karmic ties are in need of resolution before continuing on into the next new cycle. These people often have pronounced psychic abilities. They are the visionaries seeing years ahead of their times. As children they often feel apart from their peers; they are loners. Balsamic Moon people are able to take the true meaning of a situation, distill it into its wisdom essence and plant it into the awareness of others. They are the gurus. Their job is the transmission of essential knowledge which will germinate at the next level during the next Lunation Cycle.
Keywords: Incubation; Preparation; Closure; Surrender
Lunar Phase at Birth
NEW MOON NATAL PHASE 0 deg – 45 deg
If you were born into the New Moon Phase of the Lunar Cycle…
You have been born to project yourself into humanity. Because you respond to life more instinctually, you are one who truly lives in the moment, the past having little to do with the decisions you make today. Your intuitive abilities will give you more direction as opposed to conscious, rational reasoning. Because you need total spontaneity, planning ahead is not your best method of operation and may meet with obstacles. Working best without pre-thinking or an elaborate, organized approach, you can totally plunge into new experiences as long as you have the freedom to explore. You may become confused in complex situations where a specific technique or action is expected of you.
Because you were born when there was no light emanating from the Moon, your lesson is to learn your identity, who you are, and how to project it into the world. You may feel that you need to make your mark somewhere this lifetime. Magnetic and shining with personality, many actors and actresses are New Moon people working to project themselves into the spotlight as a career, having the ability to act on impulse and meeting the challenge of the moment. Self centeredness is a necessity for self development. Although the New Moon person needs a certain amount of attention, as the actor needs the audience to project to, the danger that might occur is that this projection is merely the ego bringing itself into view by casting a shadow over everything or everyone else around it. This can cause the alienation of others. It is important to remember your associations are more than the drama or symbology in which that person is involved. In a more refined approach, this projection can take the form of a purpose, or goal, an involvement that is more far reaching than the personal ego.
CRESCENT NATAL PHASE, 45 deg – 90 deg
If you were born during the Crescent Moon Phase of the Lunar Cycle…
Having passed through the darkness of the new Moon, a sliver of light has just begun to illuminate the path as the Moon embarks on it’s new cycle.
Your greatest challenge is to become independent of belief systems and concepts that are part of the past. This is necessary in order to fully realize selfhood and individuality. Be aware of comfortable ruts and habitual behavior. They represent the chains of the past. As you break free, opportunities will open up to you. The first is the hardest. It may feel as though you are going against the grain. In many ways you are. As you take the initiative to make changes you may find a lot of resistance in those who are used to relating to you in a certain way. They may feel threatened by your breaking from the status quo. By asserting your will and determination you will foster belief in yourself and develop creative new vision.
FIRST QUARTER NATAL PHASE 90 deg – 135 deg
If you were born during the First Quarter Phase of the Lunar Cycle…
This is the third phase of Instinctive Action. Action is the essence of this phase, whether it is to clear the way for the idea to manifest, or to bring the essence of the idea into actualized being. You are the one that can always be expected to do the unexpected. Able to arise to the occasion, your innate impulsivity and creative ability thrive in situations that require, simultaneously, quick thinking and action.
You may feel your life is characterized by crises that you either find yourself in, or that become crises by the way you handle situations. Constant mental and/or physical movement is a natural state for you to be in as it is necessary in your instinctual approach to tearing down the old to make way for the new. This energy can be applied to the physical world as well as to ideas and concepts i.e. antiquated ways of doing things. Getting the old out of the way is more important to you than the actual building of the new. You know that progress cannot continue by living in or holding onto the past. Because you push in order to keep things moving, you may invite crisis. You can handle it. Survival is something you learn early on. Managerial skills come naturally to you, because you handle crisis so well moment to moment, you can be trusted to manage the new into existence even if there is barely a vague outline of what the new actually is. Your lesson is to manage energy which has been released by crisis and then restructure it into new form in order to get on with business.
GIBBOUS NATAL PHASE 135 deg – 180 deg
If you were born during the Gibbous Moon Phase of the Lunar Cycle…
The Gibbous Phase is a transitional Phase, with the first three phases before it operating at a more instinctual, projective and experiential approach. During the Gibbous Phase, one is growing from instinctual, spontaneous movement, to conscious, deliberate action. This is why “Analysis” and “Growth” are key words describing this phase.
You have a continual urge to make your life something of “value”. Your constant analysis of how you are growing, where you are going and what you are doing helps you to create meaning in your life promoting a sense of purpose, thus, value. Self growth is important for the purpose of having an efficient operating system with which to be able to contribute to something of a more universal nature. Self revelation is one of the results of your constant questioning and evaluation of your own growth.
As a personality, analyzing yourself helps to define yourself. This allows the perfecting and refining of techniques for projecting your identity into the world.
When you went into the “why” stage of childhood you felt right at home and decided to stay there. You are likely to stand out in any group as you will need to question and understand the structure of any operation you are a part of.
Functioning efficiently is of great importance to you, perfecting what has been created. By understanding the structure of how something works, you are able to identify its working elements and can then implement them into new working patterns, promoting growth for yourself and for others. This is how you perform best. Once you have decided on some plan or course of action, it is hard for you to understand why everyone else doesn’t do the same.
FULL MOON NATAL PHASE 180 deg – 225 deg
If you were born during the Full Moon Phase of the Lunar Cycle…
It is possible that in the development of your personality there may have been a pull between the mother and father functions in your life and that until you came to a “conscious realization” of what you were projecting as an individual, your identity could have been somewhat unstable. It is apparent in your direct and concise manner of speech that you communicate clearly and openly with others. Your interest in astrology goes deeper than most people and this shows your need for meaning in your life.
“Anything in the Full Moon phase implies an inherent instability in that function UNTIL the person integrates the opposing pulls of the “parts” of his personality that make up that total function. He may be torn between two ways of handling things in that part of himself. This happens so that he can come to SOME NEW AWARENESS. The phase also implies that the function is, of itself, perfected as a function. It merely needs a purpose, a meaning, a CONTENT, outside of itself, that the ILLUMINATION the opposing pulls can bring could provide. Instability is the result of NOT integrating two polar forces. When one DOES integrate opposites he has reached a culmination of perfecting complimentary forces, ability to operate for a common goal”.
DISSEMINATING NATAL PHASE, 225 deg – 270 deg
If you were born during the Disseminating Phase of the Lunar Cycle…
You are a person who will leave a lasting mental impression on those you make contact with. Spreading ideas and information will be successful for you as long as you think before you act. Being born in the second stage of “conscious operation” you possess an innate objectivity with an ability to keep your eye on the big picture. It is easy for you to bypass your own ego when communicating with others so that the true essence behind the subject is able to come through. You may have a tendency to get caught up in causes. You may also tend to feel responsible to those you are attempting to enlighten. Remember , you can lead a horse to water, be careful you don’t end up drinking it for them also. Once you have given the message, let go and know that you have planted the seed and passed the torch. It is now up to the receiver to take the responsibility for the gift of knowledge that has been imparted to them.
LAST QUARTER NATAL PHASE 270 deg – 315 deg
If you were born during the Third, or the Last Quarter Phase of the Lunar Cycle…
Just as it sounds, this is a time of endings, when the energy of the Moon is winding down towards the Balsamic Phase. This Phase has been characterized as a “crisis in consciousness.” As the First Quarter Phase is described as a “crisis in action,” the external organization of energy, creating a strong foundation to build upon, the “crisis in consciousness” is an internalized re-organization of energy.
It is a time of turning away from what has been, reflecting feelings of discontent towards those passions characteristic of the times you found it hard to relate to the status quo as a child. Perhaps you found yourself responding to the enthusiasm of the status quo with a not enthusiastic “this is it?” attitude. Always standing a little apart from your peers, you had your own internal processes at work guiding and directing you in life. You may have needed a lot of alone time. Perhaps you needed more rest as a child. Your way of processing is through the unconscious state. Naps as a child would have helped you sort life out, and meditation as an adult will give you the internal clarity needed to separate from the day to day hectic-ness so prevalent in the physical world.
You can be a master of the game, wearing the appropriate mask of participation. But what others may see isn’t necessarily what they get. All the time, you are undergoing ideological transformation. As the butterfly suddenly appears from its chrysalis, you to will emerge entirely new, much to the amazement of all who thought they new you quite well.
Dreams are a vehicle for understand your internal process. Keeping a dream journal and reading your story as it unfolds can bring what is unconscious, to the light of understanding.
BALSAMIC NATAL PHASE, 315 deg – 360 deg.
If you were born during the Lunar Cycle of the Balsamic Phase…
This is a very karmic lifetime in which you are meeting all those with which you have unfinished business from the previous seven lifetimes before this one. Therefore, you may encounter many brief, but intense relationships. There is a need for completion, a sense of closure to occur concerning these individuals. This can be confusing at times. It may be helpful to ask the question either to the person or to yourself, “Is there anything I’ve ever needed to say, do or give to you, let me do it now. If there is anything you’ve needed to say, do or give to me let’s not put it off any longer, let us complete it now.” If you cannot finish something in person, you need to ask in meditation to be released, possibly to forgive or to be forgiven. Having a full past of prior lifetimes to reflect upon, you are a born visionary, a natural psychic with a bridge to the future.
You realized at an early age that you were different and may have pretended to be like everyone else to fend off alienation from peers. You may have been described as an unusual child, and may have even been regarded as the black sheep of the family. Others will recognize your special-ness. One of your unique qualities is to be able to take the key meaning of all situations and distill it into its wisdom essence. You can then transfer this awareness and consciousness in others to live beyond this physical life. Your commitment is to the future. By reckoning with the past, you can consciously make a break with it. You sense that something larger than yourself can manifest through you if you make the commitment to allow it to do so. For one to understand you at all one needs to look at what is happening THROUGH you. The transmission of essential knowledge is your purpose.
Interpretations from the excellent Kepler program.
See the Current Lunar Phase
