Moon Mondays: Ride the mood swings  

Sometimes I’m stable, even-keeled, productive, balanced, steady. Miraculously, this can go on for days at a time now. Other times — and most of the time in my past — I swing wildly, emotionally all over the place: high, low, high, low — low, so low. That’s the moon for you. It influences our moods, the “feeling” waters within us. 

The moon changes astrological signs every two to three days, channeling the whole zodiac each month. 

When the moon is in an important sign on your astrology chart, you’re going to feel it more. As the moon swings by your sun, moon or rising sign, it’s stimulating your life lessons and teachings. Not easy but always activating. 

If we dig a little deeper, the moon is continually moving through the houses on your birth chart. Houses are the 12 pie slices circling your astrology wheel. They delineate different areas of your life, like family, relationships, work, health and more. 

Every few days, the traveling moon activates a specific area of your life, highlighting a shift in your emotional focus as well. This week alone, the moon will move through Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius. Which houses and themes do those four signs sit within your astrological blueprint?  

This morning, the moon moves from Virgo into Libra. How do you experience this adjustment in the moon’s tug on your heartstrings —shifting out of grounded, yet heady, Virgo into relationship-absorbed Libra? 

Wednesday night, the gibbous moon leaves Libra and enters the deepest feeling sign: Scorpio. On Saturday, our lunar love enters Sagittarius, opposing the Gemini sun, for the full moon late that night.  

Our little satellite is the fastest-moving celestial body in the solar system. It’s challenging to keep up with its fluctuating energy, without even getting into the waxing and waning parts. 

I’m usually not a fan of the idea that the planets are “doing” something to us, but the moon is an outlier. The solar system is a dynamic mirror that provides clues into what the heck is going on around and within us. When it comes to the moon, and the sun for that matter, one could make a cogent argument that these two impact us deeply.  

The sun directs our seasons. Well, the tilt of the earth does, which alters the angle of the sun, creating our seasonal experience. We are all well acquainted with the spring doldrums that come when it snows — yet again. Hopefully, this year, the boo-hoos have been tempered by appreciation for the needed moisture. We’re also aware of the visceral catalyst sunny, blue-bird days bring, when our hearts fling open with excitement. 

As for the moon, that gravitational orb literally pulls on the oceans and changes the tides. It’s naive to think the moon doesn’t lure us too. Women’s menstruation ebbs and flows with the lunar cycle. At least they used to, before we lit the world up with constant artificial light. Cudos to Old Snowmass for their dark skies. I’d love for my neighborhood to follow suit. What’s the obsession with all the nightlights? 

The moon draws on the waters of our bodies as well, in the form of our emotions. As the lunation switches signs every couple of days, notice how fluid your feelings can feel.  

Take note of what comes up for you emotionally, with the movement of the moon this week. What did Virgo feel like last weekend? How about Libra to start off this week? Where does Scorpio land for you midweek? And finally, how does Sagittarius register in your body with the full moon on Saturday night and early Sunday morning?  

I’m coming off a week at the beach with my family, so I have a feeling there will be plenty of emotional tides moving through me this week as well. 

Sheridan Semple is life coach who uses astrology to help midlife women untangle old conditioning, recognize unconscious patterns, and take practical steps to reclaim their lives. Explore her work at sheridansemple.com.