The key to feeding your emotional and physical body may be in your sign

Rachael Middleton

Jan 30, 2019·6 min read

If you want to know how to take care of someone, you might look to their moon sign. A person’s moon sign, the zodiac position of the moon at birth, can reveal how they like to be nourished, what kind of self-care they need, and what their emotional tenor is like. The moon in an astrological chart can tell how a person feels about their mother and their own role as a nurturer as well as the way they give care and the way they receive it.

The moon also represents a person’s relationship with food and shows what feels familiar to them and what they unconsciously gravitate toward. It can denote the vibe of the person, indicating how they are at home or in their most inner resting place. The type of comfort we want and what kind of energy makes us feel safe and at ease can be shown by the moon’s placement.

Moon signs are associated with the elements of fire, earth, water, and air. Because the moon rules our emotional body and unconscious ways of being, it can be a hard thing to change. Some moon sign energies are more naturally compatible than others, and people who share an element will often get along. It’s not the only way to have compatibility in an astrological chart, but it helps. If you can accommodate your own or someone else’s lunar tendencies, it can make life much easier.

Fire moon signs: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius

Fire moons are the most resilient and insulated emotionally. They are much more affected by their inner feeling and emotional tenor than by the outer environment, and they burn a lot of emotional energy. Where they get their emotional fuel from differs, but all fire moon signs need freedom—to move, to express, and to be themselves. Attitude is key for a fire sign. They have strong constitutions but can exhaust their less energetic counterparts and, for that reason, may need to develop self-soothing mechanisms. Being physically laid up by injuries or confined in general is harder for them than people with other moon signs. A fire sign needs spiritual sustenance to be revived; if they feel burned out, all else will follow.

Food and eating habits are important to earth signs, and diet or body issues are more likely.

Fire moons, especially Aries, usually like spicy, robust, and interesting food. Food that is hot in temperature is also preferred; flame-broiled might be great. Fire moons can be into the social act of eating and dining out: An Aries moon can be pretty basic in their eating habits, but Leo moons like lavish meals. A Sagittarius moon will want to eat with a sense of adventure and try a variety of ethnic foods—even better if while traveling abroad.

Earth moon signs: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn

Earth moons respond to the physical environment strongly, and they need to feel physically secure. They are comforted by tangible things and the natural world. Earth moons, especially Taurus, may enjoy touch and massage and can be very tuned into their bodies. If you want to respond to their needs, it has to manifest through comfort, help, or support on the material plane. Show up for real for them, and they will appreciate it.

Food and eating habits are important to earth signs, and diet or body issues are more likely. The Taurus moon has the best relationship with food of the earth trio; they are good eaters as babies and can be foodies as adults. The Virgo moon is picky and can manufacture emotions into somatic symptoms, such as making themselves physically sick with emotionally fueled thoughts (Virgo is a Mercury-ruled earth sign). They tend toward clean and organic eating, vegetarianism, and balanced diets and can be great cooks and even better helpers in the kitchen. A Capricorn moon can have a heavy relationship with food, including problems finding pleasure in food without guilt, although they can improve on this as they get older. They may enjoy fine foods or, alternately, just eat to live.

Air moon signs: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius

Air moons sometimes have picky or light appetites and tend to like snacks. They prefer chatting more than eating during lunch because they need to talk and get their heads around something to emotionally accept it. To give an air moon sign a feeling of security, talk to them and have a real conversation, one where you both listen and share in understanding. Other moon signs can find it difficult, tedious, or impossible to talk about their feelings sometimes, but air moons need a social outlet or they will feel very low.

Water moons are sensitive to impurities in food and water and need to be choosy about what they consume.

Air moons are some of the hardest moon signs to feed. They like snacky, light, and interesting fare and are much less hungry for food than the social connection around it. Because of this, they may like to think, talk, or read about food or watch it be prepared on TV more than actually eat it. They may even forget to eat, especially if they are mentally engaged. Like all of us, they need to follow their own wisdom around food. The Gemini moon can like eating like a kid—small and simple meals or, even better, grazing snacks—but they want to have a choice in what to eat. A Libra moon loves sweets and can be enticed by the look of the food, so presentation and plating are important to them. Aquarius moons are social eaters and can have a routine meal schedule that may be open to deviation if something interesting comes up. They sometimes enjoy experimenting with supplements or trending food products.

Water moon signs: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces

Water moons are all very emotional, but they are less likely to want to talk about their feelings than be allowed to just feel their feelings. If they feel safe to express themselves, they will, but you may have to have a water element of your own to be able to get them to open up. They don’t always want to be understood; they just want to be and be let be. If a water moon asks you for space or privacy, try to give it to them. All water moons are more empathic than most and may use actual water—baths, showers, or swimming—when they need to wash away the emotional dross of other people or their own bad moods.

Comfort foods are a no-brainer for a Cancer moon. They want what they want how they want it. They can be particular about what they eat—they may have a go-to meal or snack they always eat—but food is very nourishing for them. The Scorpio moon can exercise control over food but then intermittently abandon it when it comes to diet. They often experiment with more than one way of eating and can be somewhat extreme in their tastes. With a sweet tooth, the Pisces moon may like to indulge and escape through the pleasures of food, for better or worse. All water moons are sensitive to impurities in food and water and need to be choosy about what they consume—especially Pisces with the loosest food boundaries of the trio.

Make your own observations

The moon and its daily placement is known to rule the public and food. I have worked in the food industry for years as a waitress and have tracked how the moon and moon signs influence people’s food choices and experiences. I often shared my predictions for the night before the shift, both so that other servers could be in the know and to test with observation.

A few things stood out over the years. The worst moons for doing food business are Capricorn and Scorpio. It’s no surprise people were much harder to please when the moon was in a sign where it was “unhappy.” The Cancer and Taurus moons—signs when the moon is in rulership or exalted and “comfortable”—are much better for pleasant dining experiences and food in general. In particular, a Pisces moon is great for a party, but look out for overindulgences.

To find out where the moon is at any time, there are a number of great astrological calendars and calculators free online. My favorite is Lunarium. When it comes to subjects as personal as food and the moon, firsthand reporting is usually very valuable.