Welcome to my Astro Advice Column! If you subscribe to my Astro-Kats or Star Kids Club groups you are able to ask me questions about astrology for this advice column.
I am curious about a very tight conjunction (same degree!) I have with my Moon and my Venus in my eighth house in Pisces. As I read more about it the indications are that this would show up in a connection between my physical body (Moon) and my values/desires (Venus), but I don't really feel any specific influence or connection. For other folks with Moon conjunctions in their charts, how do you see that affect their experiences? Curious about mine with Venus, but the Moon conjunct other planets as well. Thanks for doing this, it's super cool!!!
–What a Moon Wants, What a Moon Needs
Hello What a Moon Wants, What a Moon Needs!
Sorry it took me this long to process your question. There are reasons for it! I think that the beauty of your question is that it seems very simple—a question about an aspect is something that people often throw in at the end of a consultation thinking that it will be very simple—but it’s not.
Let me show you a bit of what I mean. Here are the factors to consider when asking ourselves “what does a Moon conjunction mean?”:
• The first to consider is what houses these planets rule and how this might show up in the larger story of the chart—if Pisces is your eighth house by whole sign then you’re a Leo rising. The Moon-Venus conjunction brings together issues of the tenth and third houses with twelfth house things in the eighth house. Are there any planets in these houses that are impacted by the conjunction?
• Next, we have to consider how old you are. It is much, much easier to talk about certain houses with certain ages. The eighth house is quite a mature house. The planets contained often don’t show up until we are very old.
• Then, we have to see if the aspect is separating or departing to see if the faster planet is making an impact on the slower one. Is Venus retrograde and departing from the Moon? Has the Moon already passed Venus or is it getting closer?
• What happened when this conjunction last went through a major transit? How did it change in meaning for you, the chart holder?
• In what context is the significance of the conjunction being explored in? This question is very important. It is not possible to make meaning from a conjunction if we don’t have a context.
So, if you were asking this question to me in person I think I would think about the following: perhaps your age (does the tenth house mean mother or mature motivations?), whether you have any siblings (third house), and whether you are financially independent or share income, debts, or expenses with anyone else (eighth house). Remember—we have the same natal chart when we are five years old as when we are sixty years old and the patterns within it can mean vastly different things at those ages.
I think you can look at all of these things. What was it like to be twenty three and in a Lunar profection year? Did it impact Venus at all with the conjunction? What was it like at twenty four when you had a Venus return on your birthday? Did that pull to Venus impact your Moon at all? This is, assuming that you have lived those ages already.
I do often see questions on social media and the astrology subreddits where folks look for meaning with nothing but a technical description. With the whole chart, you can see a bit more because you can see how old the person is. But beware the person who assumes that they know the interaction of your private physical body and desires or values. That person doesn’t know anything about you.
What can I tell you without knowing anything about you besides the Moon conjunction with an exalted Venus and a possible rising sign? I can tell you that you must know beauty intimately. Maybe you are an artist. Maybe your mother is very beautiful. Hearing your question, I wish I knew these things but I don’t. I don’t know whether you love Venus or despise it, just that it is strong and with your Moon and contained in the eighth. I do not know whether beauty has put you together or if it has torn you apart or both. I don’t know the context in which the conjunction may be relevant.
And, so—what does a Moon-Venus conjunction mean? I don’t know. You might know when you interpret this in the context of your life. Interpretation is an activity that changes your perspective on something.
I think that there is something that can be quite confusing that happens with delineations. When we astrologers delineate things in writing or by video or in art form and share that, this is for ourselves! Like all forms of art, that sharing can create something new when it is witnessed. But an astrologer who delineates doesn’t know anything about you yet. Making meaning from your chart takes something else—it takes context.
A delineation of an aspect? That may mean something but interpretation is not a series of signs. Interpretation is change.
I apologize if I have not been much help in analyzing and interpreting the conjunction. I hope that you find the other people with Moon conjunctions who you are seeking—it’s likely that this search is significant and I can’t begin to imagine the conversations you might have with the people you bring towards yourself. I hope that my small technical questions jog something up for you and that it in some way can help support the interpretation you are already living through of this conjunction.