There are only two very obvious astronomical phenomena that could be easily remembered about the birth of a child, even in non-technological times: (1) the time of year someone was born, such as the season, and (2) the phase of the Moon someone was born under. This should prove how important one's natal lunar cycle is. Essentially, one's Sun Sign and one's lunar phase are the only completely obvious things about one's birth, and the lunar phase is even more evident than the Sun Sign, since the Sun Signs are based on a mental conception related to the division of a circle into twelve parts, and this twelve-fold division does not exist organically, but intellectually. Twelve is composed of 3 and 4, and while the 4 actually occurs frequently in nature, the 3 depends primarily on creative speculation. The eight-fold division, which occurs in the lunar phases, is produced by the numbers 2 and 4, both of which exist in organic reality (night and day, male and female, 4 seasons, 4 major lunar phases, etc.).

The eight lunar phases are: (1) New Moon (dark Moon, or no Moon), (2) Crescent Moon, (3) First Quarter Moon (half-Moon), (4) Gibbous Moon (mainly lit, but not fully), (5) Full Moon, (6) Disseminating Moon (mainly lit, but not fully, in the reverse direction from the Gibbous Moon), (7) Third Quarter Moon (half-Moon, the other half from the First Quarter), and (8) Balsamic Moon (a crescent, in the opposite direction from the Crescent Moon). Each of these phases can actually be seen (or not seen, in the case of the New Moon) and experienced.

Looking at the lunar phase one is born under is an excellent way to see the purpose of one's life as a whole. It's like the big picture of a soul's mission for one lifetime. It is as if we incarnate in these phases one after another, and then start over again. Of course, this is probably more a symbol than an actual fact. But still, very important information about how any one life fits in with a larger cycle of a soul's evolution can be symbolically inferred from one's birth lunar phase.

Other than studying the lunar phase one was born under, we can also study these cycles unfolding throughout our lives through the study of 'progressions.' I will not go into this deeply here, but I will say that studying these progressing lunar phases is one of the most accurate, meaningful, and profound aspects of studying life cycles in Western astrology. One important note: one always has two lunar phases by progressions, although they can be the same, especially earlier on in life. The most common technique is to look at the lunar phase from the perspective of one's progressed Moon and progressed Sun. It is also JUST AS IMPORTANT to look at one's progressed lunar phase from the perspective of one's progressed Moon and natal Sun.

Determining the lunar phase of your birth is one of the harder things to do just by looking at a chart. It is based on the relationship between the Sun's position and the Moon's position. The phases go in 45 degree increments, so that if the Moon is in the first 45 degrees after the Sun, that is the New Moon phase, and so on.

For example, take someone with a Sun at 17 degrees Scorpio. The following diagram shows what lunar phases this person would be born under if his/her moon were in the following degrees:
17 Scorpio - 2 Capricorn: New Moon
2 Capricorn -  17 Aquarius: Crescent
17 Aquarius - 2 Aries: First Quarter
2 Aries - 17 Taurus: Gibbous
17 Taurus - 2 Cancer: Full Moon
2 Cancer - 17 Leo: Disseminating
17 Leo - 2 Libra: Third Quarter
2 Libra - 17 Scorpio: Balsamic

To read more about the lunation cycle in astrology, Dane Rudhyar's, The Lunation Cycle, is the clear classic on the subject. Demetra George, is a contemporary astrologer carrying on the mission of disseminating this information, and she has written, Finding Our Way Through the Dark, another good book on the same subject.

The Lunar Phases

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