Which is your real Zodiac sign?

In the original horoscope astrology from Greece, the Sun and the Moon were of equal importance.

by Douglas Noblehorse — 

Many astrologers will tell you that your Sun sign is the most important Zodiac sign in your horoscope. After all, the Sun makes life possible here on Earth. The Sun is the center of the solar system, right? True enough. But that is not really the point, nor the whole story.

Yes, the Sun is indeed the center of our solar system — but what about the Milky Way Galaxy? That has a different center — and somewhere even more distant than that must lie the center of the Universe. Besides, we do not live on the Sun, do we? We live on Earth — so it is Earth that is the center of our existence.

And yes, the Sun makes life possible here on Earth. But guess what? So does the Moon. Without the Moon, life would not exist on Earth because its daily rotation and orbit around the Sun would be too unstable.

Almost everyone knows their astrological Sun sign — it is easy to look up your birthday in the daily horoscope on many Web sites or in the newspapers. Many people, including many astrologers, assume that the Sun sign is the most important part of your horoscope and that it determines the major part of your personality. After all, if your Zodiac sign is Aries, you are supposed to be headstrong and fearless; if you are a Scorpio, you tend to be magnetic and emotionally intense; and so on.

Well, yes and no. In India, it is not your Sun sign which is of interest; rather, it is your Moon sign that is considered influential. And in the original horoscope astrology from Greece, the Sun and the Moon were of equal importance. Doesn’t it make more sense that there is ideally a balance between active/animus (Sun) and reactive/anima (Moon) energies in the Universe?

Everyone knows somebody who does not really fit the typical characteristics of their Sun sign. We have all met Aries people who are wallflowers, Tauruses who are flighty, messy Virgos or even Sagittarians who like to stay home. So what is happening with these individuals?

While the Sun can be the important starting point in one’s horoscope, that is only true if a person was born during the day — after the Sun had risen and before it set. For people who were born at night, it is the Moon that actually has more influence over their personalities.

And no matter which Sun Sign you were born under, your Moon Sign can be any one of the 12 Zodiac signs. So, while you might have an Aries Sun sign, if you were born at night and have the Moon in Pisces, you are more Pisces than Aries — which makes for the shy wallflower mentioned above. If you are a Taurus born at night under a Gemini Moon, you are probably more of a chatterbox than a normal Taurus.

Finding your Moon sign is a little more difficult than simply looking through the newspaper. Fortunately, with the Internet it is not all that challenging, as there are many Web sites that will calculate your entire horoscope for you. You will need to know the time of day you were born, as the Moon moves through the Zodiac pretty quickly — almost half a sign every day.

Take Britney Spears, for example. She has a Sagittarius Sun. Sagittarians like to be free to do whatever they want, get bored easily, and do not want to be fenced in by anything or anybody. They like to have fun and have a good sense of humor, even if they put their feet in their mouths sometimes. And yet Sagittarians, at heart, like to remain conventional and certainly would not tend to engage in shocking or extreme behavior.

Britney, however, was born at night, at 1:30 a.m. to be exact. Her Moon is in Aquarius, so her personality is much more Aquarian than Sagittarian (although the two signs get along pretty well, in that they do not fight with each other). Aquarians are even more freedom-loving than Sagittarians — but are willing to be more shocking and eccentric to demonstrate that they are not tied down by anyone. Aquarians sometimes do odd things just for the sake of being weird or unusual. They like lots and lots of friends — the more people they have in their lives, the happier they are. They do not ever want to be tied down to one person, and are not especially domestic, either.

Let’s look at another Sagittarius Sun who was born at night. Brad Pitt was born just before sunrise, giving him a night horoscope with a Capricorn Moon. Capricorn is a much more serious, down-to-earth, very conventional — even family-oriented (they are very good at supporting their families) — Zodiac energy. Although you can easily see that mischievous twinkle in his eyes, all you have to do is watch what Brad does with his life to know that he is much more serious than a normal Sagittarian would be. He is committed to social and political causes and has even dedicated himself to building a family with Angelina Jolie, adopting disadvantaged children.

Finally, consider Eric Clapton, a Sun sign Aries. Aries are famous for their interest in all things new, but they also get bored quickly, and so are soon off exploring other directions and new projects. Aries people are not especially noted for their stick-to-itiveness or their follow-through. Once again, though, Clapton was born at night, with his Moon sign in Scorpio. Scorpios are intense, passionate and obsessive about things that are important to them. When you think about Clapton’s fierce devotion to not only his guitar, but also to the Blues, you are seeing his Scorpio Moon, not his Aries Sun.

These are only brief examples, and I have explored only Sun signs and Moon signs; therefore, they are by no means complete horoscope interpretations. For those, you must read all the planets, Zodiac signs, houses and related horoscope information. But this does give you a good idea why, for some people, the Moon can be more important than the Sun in their horoscope.

If you were born at night and do not really identify with your Zodiac Sun sign — perhaps it is your Zodiac Moon sign that shines through much more brightly. After all, you cannot see the Sun at night, only the Moon.

For more information, to have your birthchart interpreted by an astrologer, or to attend a monthly class and lecture at the Arizona Society of Astrologers, visit www.azastrologers.org.

Douglas Noblehorse has studied astrology for more than 40 years. A member of the Arizona Society of Astrologers, he is ASA’s Web master and serves on their Board as Programs Director. www.quincunxastrology.com or qainfo@cox.net.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 27, Number 1, February/March 2008.