While most people are familiar with their sun signs, moon signs often get paid less attention. It makes sense: our sun sign reflects how we present ourselves to the world, our personalities and basic nature, while our moon sign reflects our internal desires, emotions, childhoods, and memories. Our moon sign is who we are in private and how we might perceive ourselves away from the gaze of others.
Ritual is a powerful way to strengthen intentions, invite clarity, and communicate with Spirit (which can include your higher self, ancestors, guides, angels, and so much more). The moon has inspired rituals for centuries and crafting rituals according to your moon sign can be a nurturing way to deepen your practice.
If you don’t know your moon sign, you can find it by entering your birth information at Astro.com.
Moon in Aries
The moon’s usual ebbs and flows become a towering tsunami in the cardinal fire sign of Aries. As the sign that begins the zodiacal wheel, Aries is an initiator, most often inspired when leading a charge or taking direct action somehow. The moon in Aries can be a frustrating placement, one that can become emotionally impulsive or self-righteous when threatened.
High-energy, exertive rituals might be best for someone with a moon in Aries. That could include rapid-fire journal prompts that catch you off guard and encourage deep honesty. Another option might be to stew over an intention during a cardio routine. Being in motion will make you feel like you’re making progress towards your intention or inquiry, while the exertion will lower your defenses and release some of the emotional resistance. You can adapt your cardio routine based on the planetary energies at work, for example, if it’s a full moon in a water sign, you might try swimming laps or treading water in place. For a new moon in an earth sign, you might try cycling or jumping jacks.
Moon in Taurus
The moon is exalted in Taurus, meaning that it has everything it needs to feel comfortable in this sign. Those with their natal moon in Taurus might feel intuitively led by the moon, so being open to receiving lunar wisdom and adapting to the moon’s energies is a good way to approach ritual.
Rituals that evoke the senses will be most attractive to those with Moon in Taurus. Taurus can become somewhat complacent when it settles in somewhere, so restorative and energizing rituals are ideal. When creating a ritual, consider where your energy feels compromised and how you can bring it back into alignment. For example, if you’re burning the candle at both ends, a ritual where you slow down and mindfully enjoy a meal, meditation, or self-pleasure might help you readjust your priorities moving forward.
Moon in Gemini
The moon is curious and inquisitive in the mutable air sign of Gemini and it will be important for those with this placement to keep their rituals interesting and fresh. Those with this placement might have a tendency to intellectualize their feelings and at times might feel overwhelmed by mental chatter that rarely takes a break. Learning to quiet the anxious voice and recenter will be essential for those with their natal moon in Gemini.
It’s recommended to begin your rituals with activities that slow down the mind and help you relax, like a long shower or meditation. Afterwards, you’ll be in a more receptive place to communicate with Spirit without your mind getting in the way. Rituals that have a conversational aspect, like journaling, tarot or oracle spreads, or communication with spirit guides, will be ideal for folks with their moon in Gemini.
Moon in Cancer
The cardinal water sign of Cancer is ruled by the moon, meaning that its power is most accessible here. The moon in Cancer is protective, nurturing, and incredibly sensitive. People with this placement are likely to feel very sensitive to their environments and other people’s energies. It’s important for folks with moon in Cancer to occasionally withdraw from external stimuli and release any unwanted energies that they’ve absorbed.
People with their natal moon in Cancer are ultra-sensitive to lunar energies, so new and full moons can be powerful times for ritual and recalibration. The moon in Cancer can be wary (remember, this is a sign symbolized by the crab) and rituals that prioritize comfort and relaxation will help draw you out of your shell. Some suggestions include a long, relaxing bath, bathing under the moon to absorb its energies, and preparing a nourishing meal.
Moon in Leo
Moon in Leo can feel like an awkward placement. After all, Leo’s natural ruler is the sun, which infuses it with confidence and courage to express itself boldly and authentically. Conversely, the moon’s domain is our internal landscapes, including our memories, instincts, emotions, and how we process them. Those with their natal moon in Leo wear their heart on their sleeve, which can feel vulnerable and is not always the best way to reconcile our emotions.
Rituals that involve glamour and performance are ideal for those with their natal moon in Leo. This might include incorporating items like flowers, scents, dressing up prior to ritual, and intentionally setting your scene for ritual. Expressive rituals where you spend time laughing, crying, or shouting could be good for helping bring buried emotions to the surface.
Moon in Virgo
The moon in Virgo is nurturing and trustworthy, with acts of service as its love language. Because those with this placement tend to prioritize other people’s needs over their own, ritual can be a powerful way to recenter and restore when running low on energy.
This is a placement that appreciates simple pleasures and supportive routines. Rituals that can be easily incorporated into existing schedules will be most attractive to folks with their natal moon in Virgo. That might be as simple as drinking a large glass of water and setting the intention to remain in flow. It might mean setting aside 15 minutes of your morning to journal about how you can support yourself that day. While you might prefer performing the same rituals over and over (don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, right?), challenge yourself to occasionally switch it up so that you don’t get stuck in a rut.
Moon in Libra
Venus is the natural ruler of Libra, which reflects this cardinal air sign’s penchant for harmony, beauty, and justice. The moon in Libra is measured, compassionate, and sensitive to conflict. Those with this natal placement are natural peacemakers and might occasionally sacrifice personal peace for collective harmony.
Rituals can be a great way for this placement to check in and restore inner balance. One can invite Venusian energy into their rituals by incorporating glamour or being intentional about aesthetics. That might include dressing up in order to reflect the intention you hope to manifest or redecorating your space as part of your ritual. Because Libra is an air sign, rituals that involve an element of communication are likely to resonate with this placement. That might include journaling, drawing, or forming a group that one can be in regular ritual with.
Moon in Scorpio
The moon is in fall in Scorpio, meaning that it’s opposite the sign of its exaltation, which is Taurus. A sign in fall has difficulty functioning normally. The moon is a planet that ebbs and flows, that seeks to feel nurtured and safe with all of its needs met. Conversely, Scorpio is a fixed water sign that pushes boundaries without warning and can be immovable once it settles on a perspective.
Rituals that are probing and deep, that push past one’s own defenses to unearth hidden beliefs or feelings will be ideal for those with their natal moon in Scorpio. That might include a guided meditation or hypnosis, stream of consciousness journaling, tarot or oracle spreads, a detox bath, or sex magic.
Moon in Sagittarius
The moon in Sagittarius is impulsive, enthusiastic, and endlessly curious. It’s easy for this placement to dismiss an emotional event without realizing its full impact. The challenge for this placement will be to slow down enough to understand and process their emotions, as they have a tendency to constantly be on the move.
Movement can be a powerful form of ritual for those with their natal moon in Sagittarius, a way of physicalizing inner work. A walking meditation, floating in a pool, or a yoga flow can help you feel like you’re physically working towards your intention, which might make it feel more accessible or real. Fire magic, such as burning items to symbolize release or scrying by staring into a flame, can be powerful rituals for this placement.
Moon in Capricorn
The moon is in detriment in Capricorn, meaning that it is opposite the sign of its rulership, which is Cancer. While the moon in Cancer is cautious, nurturing, and intuitive, the moon in the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn can be single-minded and disconnected from the more subtle emotional realms. This is a placement that values the material and has a tendency to dismiss feelings (either their own or others’) as not entirely real.
In typical Capricorn fashion, those with this placement might enjoy rituals that have an element of goal setting. Rituals can be a great way to check in with your recent progress and better understand how you can support your external goals by taking care of your internal needs. Rituals that involve the body — and especially those that involve physical release, such as sex magic — can be a powerful way to recenter.
Moon in Aquarius
The moon in Aquarius is imaginative, compassionate, and worldly, best able to understand and express its emotions when they’re channeled through creativity. Because Aquarius is a fixed air sign, this is a placement that has a tendency to get lost in its own thoughts, that can be stubborn about its ideas or hold onto emotions long past their expiration date.
Rituals will be an auspicious way for this placement to check in with their emotions. Because their tendency is to process through mental analysis, rituals that allow them to disconnect from the mind and be fully present will be ideal. That might mean doing a relaxing meditation to quiet the mind and prepare for ritual. Rituals that involve a creative element, like bibliomancy, free drawing, or building with clay will be attractive to this placement.
Moon in Pisces
The moon in Pisces is dreamy, romantic, and deeply spiritual. This is a placement that is incredibly sensitive and might mistake other people’s strong emotions as their own. Because of its dreamy nature, this placement might have trouble following through on their intentions or creating a plan for actualizing them.
Rituals that allow for the release of unwanted energies and that involve grounding will be ideal for this placement. Try taking a shower or a bath with epsom salt and stating an intention to release anything that is not yours and that no longer serves you. You might favor grounding rituals where you call your energy back to you and focus on a connection with the earth. You might also treat your dreams as a ritual space, which could involve sipping on an herbal tea before bed or doing a visual meditation that encourages lucid dreaming and astral travel.
Feature image:
from Brazil: Paradise of Gemstones
Photography by Erica & Harold Van Pelt