Female bodies, forever cycling through the ebb and flow of natural rhythms, refuse to let us forget the profound interweaving of the physical, mental and emotional selves. Most health problems stem from the body’s instinctive urge to restore a healthy equilibrium between these three, through any means. Symptoms of ill health are the warning lights of a very wise inner guidance system. These red lights of early dysfunction, often shown through exhaustion or emotional distress, signal to us an imbalance that may precede more serious problems.

Modern medicine is slow to recognize the profound impact of emotional and mental well-being on body function. Women tend to be more aware of and impacted by emotions, yet are caught in a culture that programs us to ignore the emotional instinct and to put the needs of others before our own.

The astrological chart can step beyond current cultural attitudes to reveal the interweavings of the physical, mental and emotional selves. We have considered Mercury’s position in the chart and its influence on the mental body and the nervous system. Now let’s look at the Moon.

The Moon and Support

The Moon in an individual’s horoscope is indicative of the ways in which we receive support and get what we need to feel healthy and happy. In a woman’s chart, the Moon is particularly indicative of how she responds to emotional and hormonal tides, and it tends to be a more significant part of a woman’s awareness than it is for a man.

If we did not receive appropriate nourishment in our early years, and were not encouraged to learn appropriate ways to care for ourselves as we transitioned out of childhood, we are likely to revert to primitive subconscious patterns when stressed. These may no longer be appropriate or healthy, though when we are under stress, we need increased emotional support.

Lunar Reflex Action

Medical astrology has identified a tendency for a reflex action into the opposite sign when the needs of the natal Moon are not being met. The Moon is a reflector of light, not a generator, and uses this reflective effect to project ignored or misplaced emotions onto body parts and functions associated with the opposite sign. For example, a client with a natal Moon in Pisces, swamped by emotions due to her Piscean Moon’s instinctive, subconscious tendency/gift for empathizing, developed a hyperacidity of the digestion (reflex into the opposite sign of Virgo, which is linked to digestion). This was her constitution attempting to digest and assimilate the floods of experience she had absorbed, spongelike, from her environment.

Treatment of the hyperacidity was unsuccessful with conventional antacids, and more successful when healing modalities were used for the emotional overwhelm. Journaling to process the emotions (Virgo response) was less successful than turning to poetry (Pisces response) to clear the emotional backlog. Her body was highlighting an imbalance by reflex symptom to the opposite sign, though the most effective treatment occurred through application to the originating cause—the natal Moon in Pisces.

A client with Moon in Scorpio, a configuration suggestive of a high capacity for emotional intensity and a destructive predisposition toward creating emotional crisis, developed debilitating neck pain (reflex into Taurus—Scorpio’s opposite) which was unresponsive to chiropractic adjustment or acupuncture. The client's eventual willingness to redirect her obsessiveness into a tactile art form—sculpture in clay—fed her Scorpionic need for passion and devotion, and slowly resolved the neck pain.

These two examples are similar in that the root cause had to do with a water sign Moon (Scorpio and Pisces) projecting emotional intensity through an earthy opposite (Taurus and Virgo). Consider another example: Moon in fiery Aries, under stress reflexing into airy Libra, manifesting in serious skin eruptions and weight gain. In one Aries Moon client of mine, the diet was found to be very high in sugars and carbohydrates, cravings that were difficult for this person to curb. The pancreas (ruled by Libra) regulates blood sugar in the system, and was overstimulated into hypoglycemic fluctuation by excessive sugar ingestion. This condition could eventually develop into pancreatic exhaustion or diabetes.

Effective treatment in this case required support for the Moon in Aries through challenging physical activity, herbal stimulants to overcome inertia and homeopathic/essence supports to overcome indulgent habits and bring more fire to the system.

The sign opposite to the Moon often acts as a warning light of emotional distress, and does this through physical symptoms associated with that sign that are not responsive to conventional allopathic treatment. If neglected, the unresolved emotional backlog eventually affects the natal Moon sign, often with more serious afflictions.

Conclusion

Our bodies will manifest a physical symptom as a last-ditch effort to have us respond to life's challenges and opportunities. If instead we get to know our own style of emotional responsiveness, as represented by the sign our Moon is found in, we can perceive and respond to impulses while they are still in the subtle dimensions. Here they can be adjusted, worked with and resolved with greater ease.

Once the body has taken on a symptom, it becomes harder to shift, though certainly not impossible. As we have seen, be alert to symptoms associated with the sign opposite your own Moon (Aries to Libra, Taurus to Scorpio, Gemini to Sagittarius, Cancer to Capricorn, Leo to Aquarius and Virgo to Pisces). They are mirroring or reflecting an emotional imbalance that will respond best through treatment directed toward your own Moon sign. Homeopathic medicines, vibrational medicines such as flower essences and some herbs are particularly effective in treatment of lunar disorders. We will discuss treatments for each of the twelve lunar signs in the next article.

Editor's Note: To learn what your Moon sign is, register as a StarIQ Member, go to your member's page and click on "View current PlanetForecasts."