Chapter XI. THE MOON, THE PLANET OF FECUNDATION

FROM the Bible we learn that Jehovah made man in His image. We are also told that angels visited Sarah and proclaimed the birth of Isaac. They also foretold the birth of Samson and Samuel and the angel (not archangel) Gabriel came to Mary of Bethlehem to announce the birth of Jesus. According to occult science also, Jehovah and His angels are the guardians of the seed atoms which are the basic factors in fertilization, and their activities are directed to the maintenance of plant, animal and human life upon our earth. To this end their forces are focused by the wandering Moon through the twelve signs of the zodiac ; they impinge upon the foetus in a creative manner during the period of gestation from the time of conception to birth.

Thus as the Moon measures the tides of the earth so also does she measure the soul's passage from the shores of eternity through the waters of the womb to the world of time. According to astrology Cancer is the home of the Moon and the ancient Egyptians pictured this sign as a scarab or beetle which was their emblem of the soul and they called Cancer the sphere of the soul, for it is said that through this moist

watery sign fertilized by the lunar ray the seed atoms are projected into the womb of the prospective parent who is thus prepared for the period of gestation and occult science adds to this that the seed atoms of the animal kingdom, which is still mindless and therefore not amenable to lunar influences in that direction, are projected through the watery martial sign Scorpio while the seed atom of the inert plant are poured in through the Jupiterian sign Pisces just before the Sun enters Aries at the vernal equinox to awaken the millions of plant seeds thus fertilized which have been sleeping in Mother Earth. Thus the human family has the longest period of gestation, the animal a somewhat shorter and the plant the shortest of all.

The Moon also measures the period of postnatal growth so that the period of childhood, measured by the change of teeth is complete at about seven years of age when the Moon is square to her place at birth. The period of puberty is ushered in at about fourteen years of age when the Moon is in opposition to her /)lace at birth and is marked by the cnange of voice in the boy and the commencement of the menses in the girl. At twenty-one years of age the Moon by progression has traveled three quarters of the circle of the horoscope from its place at birth. This finishes the period of incubation and the human being is considered to be full-grown, capable of exercising a franchise and taking care of his own affairs. Thus the distance traveled by the New Moon during the prenatal period of gestation in the mother's womb and the

distance traveled by the progressed Moon during the twenty-one years of post-natal development in the womb of Mother Nature correspond exactly.

The Moon, like Mercury has no basic nature of its own but serves to focus the qualities of the other planets and signs upon the human mind. She governs the tidal air in the lungs and the colorless lymph in the body, also the digestive activity and the sympathetic nervous system which automatically takes care of the process of digestion. She also governs the cerebellum, the mammae, the feminine functions and parturition as already explained.

People who are strongly under the influence of the lunar rays are of an easy-going, dreamy, indolent nature, adepts as architects of air castles which never materialize or assume concrete shape, Otherwise they are very sociable and easy to get along with. They succeed best as cooks, housekeepers or in some domestic occupation or in one which has to do writh liquids or a seafaring life,

The Moon being female indicates the marriage partner for a man so that in a male horoscope affliction of the Moon would not be so apt to cause trouble in health as in married life and the horoscopes of the two sexes should therefore be read differently with respect to the Sun and Moon. If Saturn afflicts the Moon in a woman 's horoscope it will affect her health, but the same aspects occurring in a man's horoscope will cause him trouble in married life. If the Sun is afflicted in a man's horoscope it will affect his health

but in a woman's horoscope it would indicate trouble with her husband. At the same time however it should not be forgotten that both the Sun and Moon are vital factors in the health of both sexes but one sex is more affected by the Sun, the other by the Moon.

The Moon is the great time-marker of the universe. Without her our lives would be barren of events for although the Sun and the planets by their travel through the signs and houses indicate the years when certain tendencies shown in the horoscope may culminate in action, it invariably requires an aspect of the Moon to fertilize the aspect and make it bloom into physical manifestation. The Sun and the planets may therefore be likened to the hour-hand on the clock of destiny which shows the year when each phase of our destiny is ripe for- the harvest and the Moon may be likened to the minute-hand which shows the month when the influences are due to culminate into action. In order to become fully conversant with the influences of the Moon we would advise students to read carefully the article on eclipses and new Moon in our Simplified Scientific Astrology.

}) I The Moon in the First House. When the Moon is rising in the First House at birth and particularly in a common or cardinal sign she gives the person then born a very restless nature ; he is constantly endeavoring to change his position,

environment and occupation, ensouled by an ininsatiable wanderlust and always ready to roam. When the Moon is rising in a fixed sign there is a little more stability to the nature but even then the person will probably spend at least part of his life in a roving existence. People with the Moon in the First House are usually sensitives, especially if the Moon is in the psychic signs Cancer or Pisces. They have a very vivid imagination and are quite intuitive. This position of the Moon has a powerful influence upon health ^specially in the female horoscope and the aspects which the Moon receives determine the strength of the constitution. It is also a sign of success in such occupations as bring the person in close touch with the public.

D 2 The Moon in fhe Second House signifies fluctuating finances unless fortified by good aspects from Jupiter the planet of opulence or Venus the planet of attraction. The Sun also helps to make matters more settled in that respect.

D 3 Tlie Moon in fhe Third House makes the mina extremely fertile in imagination with a strong liking for mental occupations, especially such as do not require continuity but are subject to constant change, like editors and reporters on newspapers who must always be on the alert for news and roam hither and thither for the purpose of gathering it. These people love the lime-light of

publicity and if the Moon is strengthened by good aspects to Mercury they may reach a position of prominence.

D 4 The Moon in the Fourth House well-aspected indicates fortunate home conditions, especially, toward the close of life but if the Moon is afflicted we may judge the reverse. This position also gives a tendency toward psychic experiences especially if the Moon is in its own sign Cancer or the other watery sign Pisces. It also shows many changes of residence which will be fortunate or otherwise according to the other aspects of the Moon.

D 5 The Moon in the Fifth House in cardinal or common signs indicates a person of very changeable affections, fond of pleasure and gambling. It is a sign of a fruitful marriage particularly when in Scorpio. Even in a barren sign like Leo the Moon will give children when she is placed in the Fifth House. This question however, should always be judged from both horoscopes of the prospective parents, for should one be entirely barren, the Moon in the Fifth House in Leo or Virgo in the other horoscope, would not be sufficient help to mend the matter.