Ah, horoscopes. They’re a lot of fun, right? I myself have spent many a moment trawling through hilarious and also frighteningly accurate memes on Insta, nodding along, agreeing with just how very *Virgo* I am.
But splitting all of the people, in all of the world, into just 12 little categories? It feels, perhaps, a bit reductive... like, maybe there's something more going on (considering, you know, the literally infinite nature of the stars and planets and universe etcetera, etcetera...)
And look, I don't like to brag, but it turns out, I'm right! Love it when that happens.
As I’ve recently learnt, there is more – like, so much more – to our horoscopes than just the sign we associate with our birthday. Which, by the way, is actually called your ‘sun sign’, if you want to nail that planetary vocab.
“If you're only going by your sun sign, you're only seeing probably 98 per cent of the depth of the language that is astrology,” explains astrologer, psychic medium and author Hollie Azzopardi.
In fact, every single planet in our solar system (you know the crew – the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury aka that guy who constantly retrogrades, and so on) governs certain aspects of our personality, our energetic makeup, and our emotional state.
Me, for instance? I’ve spent my life believing I'm a Virgo (and I am, in part). But when I start to dive into the nitty-gritty, that's my sun sign and actually just a very small slice of my astrological pie. And while most of us focus solely on where our sun is placed, looking at where other planets were when we were born can give us a heck of a lot more insight into ourselves.
Side note: your 'natal chart' – which is what an astrologer looks at when you book in for a reading – shows you where every planet in our solar system was hanging out at the moment you were born.
I didn't dive into all the planets this time around because, holy guacamole, the depths that you can delve to with astrology are ha-UGE. But I did drill Hollie for the down-low on what the moon can tell us about ourselves and honestly, I'm feeling so seen it's scary.
“When looking just at your sun sign, you're looking at what the sun represents to us energetically as humans," says Hollie, explaining that it’s the personality we present to the outside world.
"The sun is your outward shining expression."
Our moon sign on the other hand?
“Your moon sign represents your inner world,” says Hollie. “It's the piece of you and your personality that you will personally feel the most connected to. But from the outside looking in – even potentially to the people closest to you – they may not see you through that lens.”
Moon signs govern three main areas: emotional state of being, intuitive abilities and how you relate to and see yourself. So off I go to google more info about my little Sagittarius soul – and while I’m everything that Virgo memes say I am, turns out I actually can relate to some of this Sag stuff, too. Like, hard.
“When I was told my moon sign, I was already an astrology convert, but everything made more sense to me,” Hollie says.
“I love reading for sceptics because I know that when I pull out their moon sign, I'm gonna blow their minds. It is the piece where people feel the most seen, because it’s the piece they keep most to themselves.”
“Our moon sign is like a mirror that legitimises your personal experience of processing emotion and why you move through your feelings the unique way that you do.”
Now, we’re not throwing our sun sign away completely. It’s still a very legitimate part of our natal charts. But it’s not the whole picture.
“Your sun sign is an outward expression. Your moon sign is how you process. It’s your inner world and inner work.”
Okay, that’s great, but how do I find out my moon sign?
It’s actually super simple. You need your date of birth (obvs), your time of birth – “down to ideally within two hours, you want to get a specific as possible” says Hols – and the location of birth down to the suburb.
Bang all of that info into any number of sites and apps and it will spit out a bunch of information about how the sky looked the moment you joined the world.
Hollie’s pick is astro.com, which delivers you an admittedly kind of frightening-looking image that may just bamboozle the heck out of you. This is your natal chart, BTW, which I mentioned before. But as well as looking crazy-confusing, it also provides a nifty little chart on the side, where you can find out your moon at a glance (plus a whole bunch of other planetary placements at your time of arrival).
Listen to Allira Potter talk all things astrological compatibility on Fill My Cup. Post continues after podcast.
You may’ve also heard of Co-Star, a popular app that can work out your chart, too (although keep in mind, the info offered is pretty surface-level).
“What I would say to something like Co-Star is that it doesn't offer the depth of awareness that actually getting your natal chart read by an astrologer will offer you,” adds Hollie.
“But for you to have surface-level understanding and to see which planets fall into which houses, it's a very easy way to have access to this information.”
So once you have the intel of your moon sign, what do you, um… do with it?
“The first thing would be to get to know the sign that your moon falls in and familiarise yourself with it,” Hollie suggests.
“Read more and take in more video content of people talking about that sign, so you can start to become more aware of the energy of the sign that your moon falls in.”
But for a super-quick and handy breakdown (we love those, right?), get familiar with which element your moon sign is.
“Each of the signs is in a certain element – earth, air, fire or water,” Hollie shares. “Find out what your moon sign’s corresponding element is and that is going to connect you deeply around the types of energy you're feeling.”
Explainer? Sure thing! Here you go:
“If you have a fire moon [Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius], for instance, your emotions are likely going to feel really hot and fiery, lending themselves more to anger or passion.
“Whereas, if you have an air moon [Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius], I would say that you process a lot in your head. An air moon could potentially lend itself to feelings of overwhelm and overthinking.
“Water moon [Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces] – you're a sensitive soul. You are processing through your tears and through deep, deep feeling.
“And then an earth moon [Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn], you're very pragmatic and solid, so grounding practices serve you.
Watch: Hollie Azzopardi breaks down north node and south node transits. Post continues after video.
If this all feels like a lot, a) don’t worry, you'll be fine, and b) know that this still only scratches the surface of what astrology’s all about – but once you know your moon sign, you’ve got a bigger slice of the up-in-the-sky pie and can tap further into the deeper parts of yourself.
“Once you know your moon sign, start to look at the ways that sign can express itself in both positive and shadow aspects,” explains Hollie. “And when you catch yourself in the shadow aspects of that sign internally, call yourself into the higher expression of that sign.
“Really, it is a deeper dive into awareness of all of the colours of that new sign. Now's the opportunity for you to bookmark memes about your moon sign, get a handle on its energy, and start to call yourself out on those behaviours.”
When it comes to a deeper dive and real exploration, Hollie recommends getting a full natal chart reading.
“The moon is just a small percentage of our charts, but it’s big intel.”
Hollie Azzopardi is an astrologer, an intuitive, a mentor, mother and author. Visit her website or check out her Instagram for astrological insights and heart-led insights.
Alix Nicholson is Mamamia's Managing Editor. Want to catch more of her adventures in travel, beauty and lifestyle? Head on over to her Instagram.
Feature image: Getty/Canva/Mamamia.
