By Natori Moore

Whether during the warm, expansive summer months or in the colder days of winter, children come home from school eager to engage in fulfilling activities.  If you have children, the Moon sign in your child’s astrological chart is a good clue to the kinds of activities he or she is most likely to enjoy.  As adults, our Moon sign signifies how we can contact our “inner child” and thus feel most emotionally satisfied.

The Moon sign in the astrological chart represents our day-to-day habit patterns, our security needs, and our family history.  It represents the predominant energy of our early environment and, in particular, the energy we became accustomed to in our interactions with our mother.  Often, the Moon in the chart is placed in the sign position of our mother’s Sun sign.  For example, a person born with an Aries moon may have a mother born under the Sun sign of Aries.  Even when this Sun-Moon linkage does not exist between a mother and child, the Moon sign will symbolize an energy with which we feel familiar.

If you don’t already know your Moon sign, it’s best to have an astrological chart cast for the precise time, date and place of your birth.  The time of birth is important because the Moon moves very quickly in relation to the planets, and sometimes even an hour or two can make a difference in the sign position of the Moon.  The Moon gives a kind of “emotional weather report” for the conditions present at birth.  The days on which the Moon travels through our birth Moon sign each month may be especially good times to nurture ourselves in the ways that feel best to us.

Here are some suggestions for satisfying children and the “inner child” through the various types of Moon signs.

The FIRE SIGN Moons (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) are physically active and outgoing, and thrive on adventure, risk and creativity.  Don’t keep these Moon signs home for long!  Typically generous and gregarious, these Moon signs can also be self-centered and need some arena in which they can lead the pack, run the show, or be the star.  Leadership training, athletic activities, nature hikes, activities involving metals and machinery, drama classes and travel can be nurturing for these self-reliant Moons.

ARIES MOON

Strengths:  Positive, enthusiastic, celebrates life.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to listen to others.
Compelling personal need:  To make new beginnings.
Recommended activities:  Martial arts, auto racing, competitions.

LEO MOON

Strengths:  Glamorous, magnetic, regal.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to ask for help.
Compelling personal need:  To be admired.
Recommended activities:  Acting, modeling, outdoor activities.

SAGITTARIUS MOON

Strengths:  Broad-minded, has friends from many cultures.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to notice details.
Compelling personal need:  To have adventures.
Recommended activities:  Hiking, canoeing, geography.

The EARTH SIGN Moons (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) are practical, stable and reliable.  They prefer predictable conditions and measurable results.  Children with these Moon placements respond well to structure tasks and knowing what is expected of them.  These Moons enjoy nature and the outdoors, money management (even the young entrepreneur at the lemonade stand is probably a Capricorn), and developing skills that will improve their ability to master the physical world.  Their senses are usually highly developed, and they value what they can see, taste and touch.  Work, career and money issues often play a major role in their experience of emotional security.

TAURUS MOON

Strengths:  Reliable, stable, sensual.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to be flexible.
Compelling personal need:  To build something lasting.
Recommended activities:  Stocks and bonds, pottery, gardening.

VIRGO MOON

Strengths:  Discriminating, hard-working, health-conscious.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to relax.
Compelling personal need:  To be productive.
Recommended activities:  Nutrition, puzzles, repair work.

CAPRICORN MOON

Strengths:  Ambitious, responsible, determined.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to relinquish control.
Compelling personal need:  To be recognized through work.
Recommended activities:  Camping, politics, rock climbing.

The AIR SIGN Moons (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) are the social directors or “Chatty Cathys” of the zodiac.  These Moon signs thrive on social interaction and exchange of ideas.  They like to join groups, form partnerships, and explore anything new that piques their interest.  Verbal exchange (fax, phone, Internet) makes their world go around.  They thrive on good conversation.  Bookstores, libraries, academic pursuits, games and puzzles, short trips to local places, and interactions with friends and neighbors give them the emotional familiarity they need.

GEMINI MOON

Strengths:  Versatile, curious, quick-witted.
Weakness:  World’s shortest attention span.
Compelling personal need:  To experience variety.
Recommended activities:  Writing, radio, auto mechanics.

LIBRA MOON

Strengths:  Romantic, refined, harmonious.
Weakness:  Needs to see beyond appearances.
Compelling personal need:  To enjoy beauty.
Recommended activities:  Music, dancing, art.

AQUARIUS MOON

Strengths:  Open-minded and friendly to everyone.
Weakness:  Needs to develop emotional depth.
Compelling personal need:  To experience freedom.
Recommended activities:  Groups, television production, science.

The WATER SIGN Moons (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) are nurturing, introspective and deeply emotional.  Like the fire signs, they can be self-absorbed and subjective in their view of the world.  They need plenty of private time to dream and enter their inner experience, perhaps bringing out what they find through art, poetry, photography, and other expressive media.  These Moon signs enjoy nurturing others through gardening, cooking, counseling, health care, and parenting.  Activities such as swimming, bathing and water sports help bring the water Moon signs emotional equilibrium.

CANCER MOON

Strengths:  Protective, family-oriented, loving.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to master emotions.
Compelling personal need:  To be close with loved ones.
Recommended activities:  Swimming, compiling family or city histories, collecting things.

SCORPIO MOON

Strengths:  Psychic, regenerative, creative.
Weakness:  Needs to learn to let go.
Compelling personal need:  To investigate the depths.
Recommended activities:  Photography, scuba diving, mystery stories.

PISCES MOON

Strengths:  Compassionate, intuitive, kind.
Weakness:  Needs to learn discipline.
Compelling personal need:  To daydream.
Recommended activities:  Fishing, painting, meditation.

Because the Moon sign indicates our hunger for life experience and the way we feed our “inner child,” Moon sign compatibility between two charts is an important indicator of potential domestic and relational harmony.  Fire and Air sign Moons tend to relate well to each other; Earth and Water sign Moons find sympathy in each other’s natural day-to-day way of being.  Yet sometimes we learn the most from those whose Moon sign is not naturally compatible with our own.  Knowing and appreciating our own Moon sign and that of our children and those we interact with on a regular basis can contribute, one relationship at a time, to a more satisfied and peaceful world.