27/05/2016 Moon Sign Formula: Calculate Your Astrological Moon Sign by Hand

Moon Sign Formula: Calculate Your Astrological

Moon Sign by Hand
Updated on May 4, 2014

When people talk about their zodiac sign, e.g., "I'm an Aquarius," what they're usually referring to is their astrological sun sign. Your sun
sign is the constellation the sun was passing through (from the vantage point of Earth) on the day you were born. But astrologers also
calculate where other heavenly bodies are in relation to the 12 zodiac constellations. This means everyone has, among other things, a
moon sign.

Whether or not you believe in astrology and the prediction of personal traits based on planetary position at time of birth, you may still find
some fun in calculating your moon sign. The equation for finding your moon sign is more complicated than that of finding your sun sign
since the moon revolves around the Earth as the Earth spins on its axis while revolving around the sun. Not only is its period much shorter,
but the speed of its movement through the zodiac is not constant.

Nevertheless, if you know your birth date and time of birth, you can estimate your moon sign in several simple steps.

Basic Idea Behind the Moon Sign Formula

Sun Signs
The basic astronomical principle behind calculating your moon sign
Modern horoscopes are based on sun signs, given by these
is that the moon makes one full cycle through the zodiac belt once
birthday ranges.
every 27.322 days on average. However, the moon does not move
at a constant rate through all 360 degrees of the zodiac belt. Some Aries: Mar 21 - Apr 20
days it moves as much as 15.3 and other days it moves as little as
Taurus: Apr 21 - May 21
11.8 from the vantage point of Earth.
Gemini: May 22 - Jun 21
In Astrology, the moon is the quickest of the heavenly bodies. In
Cancer: Jun 22 - Jul 22
comparison, the sun completes the cycle once a year and Jupiter
cycles through the zodiac every 12 years. Leo: Jul 23 - Aug 23

In the long run, all the planets and sun, and moon spend will spend Virgo: Aug 24 - Sep 22
an equal amount of time in each of the twelve zodiac signs -- Aries, Libra: Sep 23 - Oct 23
Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius,
Scorpio: Oct 24 - Nov 22
Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces -- thus the amount of time they
spend in a particular zodiac sign is 1/12 of the cycle length. The Sagittarius: Nov 23 - Dec 21
moon spends between 1.96 and 2.54 days in a sign, 2.27 days on Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 20

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27/05/2016 Moon Sign Formula: Calculate Your Astrological Moon Sign by Hand
average. This means it changes signs in the middle of day roughly Aquarius: Jan 21 - Feb 18
every other day, so it's important to know the exact time of your
Pisces: Feb 19 - Mar 19
birth, not just the date.

To calculate a person's moon sign, astrologers use an

ephemeris, a table of the planetary positions for dates in the past and future. Ephemerides are calculated with complicated formulas from
astronomy and celestial mechanics formulas, which we will not delve into here. Instead, we will use a simplified formula that still gives a
pretty accurate moon sign.

Step 1
Convert your date and time of birth to the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), also known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). To do this, you
need to know your time zone in relation to GMT standard time and account for daylight savings time if it was in effect at your local time of
birth.

For example, consider a person who was born July 6, 1980 at 3:00 PM local time in Washington DC. Since daylight savings time was in
effect for this location, the real local time was 2:00 PM. Next we need to account for the fact that Washington DC is in a time zone 5 hours
behind GMT, so the GMT time of birth was 7:00 PM July 6, 1980. Note that if a person was born around Midnight, the calendar day of birth
can change when converting to GMT.

Step 2
Free Date Calculators
Calculate the number of days between your date of birth (GMT)
Day Duration Calculator
and January 23, 1921. This date has no particular significance
other than the motion of the moon through the zodiac was at a high Days Between Dates
point at this time.
Wolfram|Alpha Date Calc
To count the number of days between two dates, you can use an
online calculator, Excel spread sheet program, or an equation you
can work out with a hand calculator. Some resources are linked on the left. For a person born July 6, 1980, the number of days between
this birth date and January 23, 1921 is 21714 days.

Step 3
Convert your time of birth to the equivalent fraction of a day, and then add this number to the number of days you calculated in Step 2.
Using the same example, a person born at 7:00 PM adds 19/24 = 0.71967, so the total number of days is 21714.71967. Call this number
D. Keep at least 5 decimal places for better accuracy.

Step 4
Take the number you obtained in Step 3 and plug it into the expression

13.1762D + 12.0947cos(0.11403D)sin(0.11403(D+1)) - 6.627

where the cosine and sine functions are computed in radians. This equation is a simplified moon position formula adapted from ephemeris
entries between 1921 and 1990. Plugging D = 21714.71967 into the formula above gives us 286117.23562.

Step 5
Take the number you obtained in Step 4 and divide by 360, but keep only the decimal part. Continuing with the example, we have
286117.23562 360 = 794.77010. The decimal part is 0.7701.

Step 6
Multiply the decimal part you calculated above by 360. You will end up with a number between 0 and 359.999. Use the table below to
convert that number to your moon sign. For example, 0.7701*360 277.2, so our example person's moon sign is just barely in Taurus.

You can confirm with an astrological ephemeris that the moon sign of a person born on this date is actually on the cusp between Aries and
Taurus. When the moon falls on the transition from one sign to another, the person is said to exhibit traits of both signs.

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27/05/2016 Moon Sign Formula: Calculate Your Astrological Moon Sign by Hand
Value Obtained in Step 5 Your M oon Sign

0 - 29.999 Leo

30 - 59.999 Virgo

60 - 89.999 Libra

90 - 119.999 Scorpio

120 - 149.999 Sagittarius

150 - 179.999 Capricorn

180 - 209.999 Aquarius

210 - 239.999 Pisces

240 - 269.999 Aries

270 - 299.999 Taurus

300 - 329.999 Gemini

330 - 359.999 Cancer

Because the lunar cycle has a short period, and because the moon can pass from one zodiac sign to another in the middle of the day, your
moon sign given by this approximation formula may differ by one sign. To get the most accurate moon positions, you should consult an
ephemeris. For example, this approximation formula might say you are a Libra, while an ephemeris chart says you're a Virgo. This is more
likely to happen when you are born at a time when the moon is near transition.

What if I don't know my time of birth?

Not everyone knows their time of birth, but that shouldn't stop you from getting something out of the formula. If your not sure about the time
of day, or even the time zone, test the formula using your birthday at 12:00 AM GMT, and the following day at 12:00 AM at GMT. This will
give you at most two zodiac signs, so you can narrow the range.

Interpreting Your Moon Sign

Now for the fun part! Whether or not you believe astrology can explain your fate, or consider it pseudoscience, it is nevertheless fun to see
7
what your moon sign says about you. Here are the classic moon sign traits according to several astrology guides

M oon in Aries: You are a quick thinker but also have a quick temper. You are good in a crisis when it comes to taking fast action, but you
have trouble remaining calm. You are impulsive and sometimes resort to insults, but at the same time you are an encouraging and
supportive friend who believes in others abilities.

M oon in Taurus: You have a strong need for financial stability and do whatever it takes to secure your family's finance. This can manifest
as being an honest workaholic on one extreme, to cheating on the other. You can be possessive, but are always faithful. You like to make
people comfortable and comfort them.

M oon in Gemini: You are verbally expressive and tend to talk fast. You tend to embrace confrontation and are impatient with people who
are not as smart as you. You get stressed out more easily than other signs, but you do not cave under the stress as badly as other signs.
You are a skeptic and not particularly religious.

M oon in Cancer: You are emotional, but intuitive and sensitive to the needs of others. You are hard to fool. You have trouble letting go of
the past and are less likely to move away from your hometown than other signs. People may describe you as moody and unpredictable, but
really you just have a lot going on in your head.

M oon in Leo: You are good at acting confident even when you are not, and you like to encourage others and boost their confidence. You
often feel alone and misunderstood. You have a penchant for the fine arts and dramatic arts. You worry about being liked and how many
friends you have.

M oon in Virgo: You have a talent for the spoken and written word, and are good at making casual friends. You have a tendency to gossip
and start fights with people close to you. Though you excel in school, you do not particularly like school. You prefer to experience life and
learn first-hand.

M oon in Libra: You are diplomatic, but decisive. You have a flair for handling aggressive people and diffusing tension in situations. You
tend to rationalize other people's bad actions and are prone to cognitive dissonance. People admire you for your steady character, but you
may find yourself criticized for being superficial.

M oon in Scorpio: You have a lot of physical and mental energy, but tend to become jealous quickly over minor incidents. Yet you are
good at putting on a smile and acting laid back. Your bottled emotions can spill out, confusing loved ones. You are easily provoked, but
you are the first to stick up for the little guy.

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27/05/2016 Moon Sign Formula: Calculate Your Astrological Moon Sign by Hand
M oon in Sagittarius: You maintain a positive outlook on life and bounce back quickly from hardship. People have difficulty relating to you.
You are often conflicted by your needs for stability and adventure, and you get extremely impatient when situations do not make sufficient
progress toward a resolution. You like intellectual challenges.

M oon in Capricorn: You react calmly in stressful situations. Some might say you are stone cold. You are ambitious and work hard to meet
your goals, but you look down on people who fail to achieve their goals, or who don't set lofty goals for themselves. You prefer to be
friends with the wealthy. You are generous with your money.

M oon in Aquarius: You tend to be a pushover and will accept any compromise in order to end a dispute. Because you are gentle, your
friends and family behave gently toward you. Strangers may see you as an easy mark. You are intellectually curious, quick-witted, and
inventive. You love learning and helping others learn.

M oon in Pisces: You are easily moved and have a penchant for literary writing and music. You give in to your vices too easily and have
trouble resisting your impulses. You are creative, but not generous with your time. You are a loyal friend who keeps her judgments to
herself. You prefer to let people discover their mistakes on their own.

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