Aspects in Astrology: Sun Opposite Moon

The Meaning of an Opposition Between Sun and Moon

You may live with a sense of “see-sawing” between one type of behaviour and another. You may feel like you can be a walking contradiction at times – inclined to say one thing then do the exact opposite, before then doing vice versa when different circumstances arise.

For example, you may have been born under a Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon. You may have a deep urge to make your life as stable and secure as possible, yet unconsciously attract people and experiences that generate crisis or force you to relinquish control. 

You may need to learn to let go when the time is right, and hold on when required. 

Because the Sun and Moon are in the same Mode, you will have a marked tendency to respond in a specific way. If Cardinal you will be action-oriented. If Fixed you will be security-oriented. If Mutable, you will be change-oriented. 

While you tend to respond in predictable ways you may find yourself balancing contradiction. If you were born under an Aries/Libra Full Moon you may fluctuate between periods of single-minded independence and times when you have a deep need to partner up with others.  

The choices you make can seem contradictory, but this is the essence of the journey you are on. You are learning to blend apparently disparate points of view, so that in the end you learn synthesis – how to find the midpoint between opposite ways of being.  

Being born under a Full Moon can make you indecisive. You know you have competing desires and sometimes get confused about which way to go. 

If your Sun and Moon are in Cardinal signs you may be very action-oriented, but get stuck in a rut when you overthink things. 

In Fixed signs you may be very reliable and capable but can also be very slow to change. 

In Mutable signs you may love change and variety, but become easily scattered and lose track of what you want. 

Put simply, what you are learning to become in life (as symbolised by your Sun Sign) needs to blend with your instinctive reactions (described by your Moon sign). Your head and heart are on the same page but like to approach things from opposite points of view. 

You may find yourself compelled to act in ways that can go from one extreme to the next. 

The trick here is to find synthesis through self-awareness – not by favouring one side of your personality over the other, but in fact by learning to recognise where common ground lies. 

To do this you need to differentiate between your individual will (Sun sign) and your emotional needs (Moon sign). Learn to compromise between your urge to grow (shown by Sun sign) and your emotional needs (Moon sign). 

For example, if you have the Sun in Sagittarius but Moon in Gemini you need the freedom to learn and explore but may need to pay more attention to the facts at hand. You may need to learn the difference between an opinion and a belief. You need to question  (Sun in Sagittarius) whilst acknowledging that real knowledge is often drawn from accurate data – not just loose concepts (Gemini Moon).

Some astrologers have described the opposition aspect between the Sun and Moon as challenging. This aspect is often interpreted as representing a kind of internal division within the personality which may bring conflicts, especially in close relationships.  

Haydn Paul described it like this:

This indicates that there are likely to be two main challenging areas in your life. One involves your relationship with social and intimate partnerships, and your ability to adjust to the demands of the external world; and the second is concerned with inner tensions associated with conflict and contradiction between your conscious egoic will and your unconscious mind, feelings and emotions. Studying the nature of the specific houses of this planetary opposition can offer valuable indications as to the spheres of life that are likely to be especially influenced.

Whilst in some cases this might be true, remember focussing on only one aspect in your birth chart fails to account for other equally important (and therefore balancing) qualities within the chart. 

It is essential that you do not try to interpret each aspect in your chart on its own, but instead consider them as a whole 

More broadly, it can be said that if you are born with the Sun and Moon in opposition aspect then you will need to recognise that the inner voice which is urging you toward progress (Your Sun sign and house) can be at odds with your emotional needs (Moon sign and house) 

The trick is coming to understand that rather than do one or the other, you should do both!

Spend time getting to know who you are and beware your tendency to swing from one pole to the next. You may live this tension out in your relationships, so that you believe others are preventing you from doing want you need to do. As you find greater peace within yourself you will find the same level of harmony with those you love. 

The source of many of your struggles is likely to be your internal battle with yourself. Become more connected with the areas of yourself that you perceive to be at odds with each other and find common ground. Inner peace comes from letting yourself meet disparate needs.

Pay attention to your overall health and level of vitality. Continual tension may lead you to experience ill health. If the tension gets too much you may lose your mojo somehow

You may experience restlessness, nervous agitation and psychosomatic illness. Mood swings can occur that see you ranging from great hope and a sense of purpose to deep depression. You may feel unloved and unstable, unsure of how to galvanise your internal forces. 

If this is happening then you need to take stock. Stop polarising and notice the tension you feel. Is it really necessary to be one thing OR the other? Is there any real reason why you can’t be both?

More significantly, you may struggle maintaining a stable relationship because you are away dissatisfied with your partner somehow. This may be a reflection of your inner struggle, and have nothing at all to do with them as an objective individual. 

Seek the advice of a good friend or therapist. You might discover that the things you “don’t like” about your partner are in actual fact the things you have not fully expressed in yourself.  

In time your inner struggles can become a source of great strength. You learn to connect the parts of yourself that seem to be contradictory and so achieve much greater personal synthesis. 

Great accomplishments can be made when combine your ability to focus your idea of what progress looks like (Cardinal, Fixed or Mutable) with your willingness to acknowledge your emotional and unconscious needs. 

The Sun, Moon and Family Story.

One of the greatest and most fascinating mysteries in astrology involves how the relationship between the Sun and Moon at the time of your birth can reflect the nature of the relationship between your parents. 

Maybe not so much who they were as an objective couple, but more who you understood them to be. 

How and why this works is beyond anyone’s knowledge. The simple fact is – it very often does. The way you saw your parents when you were young is often accurately described by the position of the Sun and Moon in your birth chart. 

“Easy” or flowing aspects (like the trine, conjunction and sextile) are often found in the charts of people who see their parents as pretty much on the same page. 

“Hard” or challenging aspects (like the square, quincunx or opposition) are often found in the charts of people who sensed a level of tension between their parents, or who see their parents as very different people somehow. 

The fact that this occurs with such constancy and repetition is one of the features of astrology which suggests the universe is far more complex than we currently imagine. 

Because you were born under a Full Moon, you may have grown up seeing your parents as very different people. You either saw them as somehow mismatched, or they gave you very different experiences and permissions from a psychological point of view. 

As a child you may have internalised this “external contradiction” so that you naturally favour one side of your personality over the other. 

The parent you connected with most will be reflected in the qualities of the Sun or Moon that are now dominant in your personality. If you connected more with your mother then your Moon sign will be prominent. If your father, your Sun sign. 

In time you are likely to see the relationship with your parents evolve as you yourself grow. In most cases parents do the best they can with the knowledge they have available. Let yourself learn from the different perspectives they offered you.

It does not need to be an “Either/Or” lifetime. In fact , it can be a “Both/And” experience for you.

Through learning to compromise when your feelings are triggered and accepting the need for self-enquiry you can accomplish many things. Partners are not the source of your inner conflict so much as your relationship with yourself. 

When you accept this you can work on finding common ground, and the ultimate goal which is synthesis on a personality level. Learning to see the midpoints stimulates wisdom. Over time you become a relationship specialist because you have no problem appreciating apparently different points of view. 

More Sun Moon Aspects

Sun Square Moon

Sun Sextile Moon

Sun Trine Moon

Sun Conjunct Moon

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