The Moon – planet of emotion, intuition, and connection. In modern astrology, Luna is associated with Cancer and the fourth house. This makes sense when we consider the connection between the fourth house and family, comfort, and roots. All of that surely fits the Moon. But in traditional astrology, the Moon rejoices in the third house. It might seem like an odd combo, but understanding this connection can help you learn more about the Moon, the third house, and even a little about our shared humanity.
The House
The third house can seem like a strange grab-bag of interpretations. It is communication, short trips, and siblings. In traditional astrology, it is known as the house of the goddess, and is concerned with the small cycles and rituals that make up daily life in a community. It is how we relate to our peers. It is how we move through the world as a person among other people. So why does the Moon rejoice here?
The Connection
For most of human history, people lived in small tribes and communities. In order to keep these groups cohesive, each community would develop rituals both large and small. Whether these were as small as daily devotions or as large as monthly or yearly celebrations, these routines are what brought people together. In fact, many were based directly on the lunar calendar! Congregating around the bonfire, telling stories, dancing and singing – these are all the foundations of communal life. In this way, we see that the Moon’s role of bringing people together is a perfect match for the third house.
The moment we enter the world, we are part of a community. Each group, whether it be a tribe, small town, congregation, or anything else, has rules, values, and other important information to communicate that helps us learn to belong. The Moon, being the fastest planet, gathers this information and quickly transmits it directly to our innermost world, allowing those values to become part of who we are. In that way, the Moon is the bridge between our community and our emotional world.
When we think of gathering and transmitting information, Mercury might be the first planet to come to mind. As I mentioned in the article about Mercury in the first house, Mercury helps us rationally categorize information to understand the world, and does so best through direct information from the senses. But what happens when there is no clear category or no direct outside stimulus? It’s then that we rely on an even deeper, more powerful kind of knowing: intuition.
When we connect with our intuition, we are connecting with the deepest truth we have. We’re also able to make decisions very quickly. This is reflected in how much more quickly the Moon moves than Mercury. If we’re stuck in the woods and see two glowing eyes staring at us in the darkness, its intuition that wins the day. Intuition tells us to RUN. The Moon and its intuition has already gathered the information and made the decision while Mercury is still trying to identify exactly which predator those eyes belonged to. The Moon is knowledge without analysis. It just knows.
The Natal Chart
In the natal chart, the Moon in the third house functions beautifully no matter what sign it’s in. A dignified Moon in Cancer will be amazing at bringing people together, providing a real sense of kinship and affinity, and intuiting other people’s needs. But even a fallen Moon in Scorpio will be a powerhouse, creating community based on shared resources and expertly intuiting motives and protecting themselves and others from danger. However the Moon expresses itself in its sign, it will do it damn well.
Bringing It Together
The third house is about information and communication. The Moon gathers and transmits info at lightning speed. The third house is about daily life, and the Moon gives us the rhythms that have defined it for generations. The third house is about community, and the Moon connects all things. When they come together in the natal chart, you know you’ve got a powerful, intuitive community builder who can see through a brick wall, regardless of what sign the Moon is in. And by understanding the connection between the third house and the Moon, we understand that their deepest functions are essentially the same – to help us learn to belong.
Do you have the Moon in the third house? What is it like?
Not quite. My husband has Chiron in the 3rd and he communicates as well as a brick wall.
I’ve queried him on this subject, and he doesn’t remember being hurt or humiliated in any way concerning his communication, except that time he was reading out loud in 3rd grade and said shi* instead of sit. He was sent to the Principal’s office and got 3 whacks on the hind end, and his mother had to pick him up.
I still get shivers when I remember hearing the screams of young students receiving swats from a sadistic principal in my elementary school. And this is fifty years later! CV, your husband didn’t deserve corporal punishment for such an innocent misspeak and, frankly, a funny one! Sadly, he still bears the emotional scars. Words can literally hurt.
CV – It also occurred to me that the 3 House and Gemini rule over primary and secondary educational experiences. With your husband’s natal Chiron in his 3H, it’s not surprising that he experienced a deep hurt in a school setting. He “learned” (3H) that speaking has physical consequences (Chiron) so it’s best to simply clam up (Cancer-ruled Moon).
That explains it perfectly. He’s a Gemini sun, Scorpio rising and Cancer moon. He has Jupiter, Mercury, Moon, Venus and Uranus in Cancer, all from 2-20 degrees. Extremely emotional.
He’s chatty at home and with people he knows well, but mute in social settings where he doesn’t know them or doesn’t know them well. Sort of like our dog LOL
The moon is exalted in Cancer
Somehow, my husband thought he deserved it. His dad paddled him as well for that error in speech. This was 1960 when teachers could humiliate and beat students. He has great difficulty communicating what he really means. I have to cross-examine him so I don’t misunderstand what he wants or means.
I have Moon in Taurus in the 3rd under the Placidus house system, which makes sense to me. My greatest achievement and joy in life is to have built a community garden 20 years ago in my neighborhood. My garden is my passion, raison d’etre, and social life.
However, under the equal house system, which Elsa and Midara rely on, my moon is in the 4th, which only makes sense to me if the 4th house represents our Earth home. I am child-free by choice and am estranged from my family.
Still confused about house systems!
Fallen Scorpio moon in the third here and this description feels right 🙂
I know someone who has their moon in the third. It is joined with Jupiter and Chiron. To say the person is highly sensitive of his environment and the community that makes it up, is an understatement. He can “feel” the vibes of a neighbor. I don’t have a chance in hell of trying to sway him to relax as our community is getting more and more compact with families coming in from the nearest Urban areas which makes it so people are always around or passing by. His Moon is in Pisces. I can say though he is a fine poet and artist and would do well in a more rural, country relaxed environment. He calls himself a “Boy Scout” snd loves being alone in nature.
I have a stellium of Aquarian planets in the 3rd: Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter.
I love jaunts around my city of 8-10 miles daily and read tons of newspapers and magazines. I seem to pick up fads before they become fads.
Moon in the third house in LEO is very impressive, it gives LEO’s to create more connection, however, LEOs are already very emotional and soft-hearted. But the ruling star in LEO is the sun which has more influence as compared to the Moon.
I do! ? Moon in Cancer.
For me it expressed itself in my need to move a lot. Where I lived was always super important to me. It had to be interesting and energizing. If it was, I learned the land easily and happily and integrated into the culture and community with ease. It just felt right.
Unfortunately where I live now is somewhere I never would have chosen, which has broken my heart more than once. Place is that important to me. But it’s home now anyway and I have no intuition telling me to try to leave. Maybe one day. (I moved here for love of a man, not a place.)
I’m also addicted to reading and information. All kinds of material. And I like to chat and talk and figure out what makes the world work the way it does. Deep conversations and superficial ones too. Doesn’t matter – all of this communication makes me feel warm and cozy and then it doesn’t matter where I am. I could be sitting on a trash heap, but good company would make all the difference.
Wow, Dolce, what you said resonates with me. I have a Capricorn moon in the 3rd house, opposite Uranus, and Venus in Sag is there as well (square Saturn). I never wanted to live where I do now, but I’m here in the country because of my husband. There’s more space but I miss my friends and life in the city, where everything seemed “interesting and energizing!” I’m also “addicted to reading and gathering information” and love all kinds of communication but am picky about proper writing and grammar. I do like doing volunteer work, which in my case involves literacy training and working in a nonprofit bookstore.
I love to hear it! I relate to everything you said 🙂
Dolce, I just learned that my husband’s ex-wife and her disabled sister may be moving to this state to be near her only grandchildren during her retirement. Now I’m afraid that my husband’s low-no achieving kids will be following her here because, hey, they’ve lived with or across the street from mom all their lifes. Maybe my husband will wind up in this big house in the country with his kids, and he’ll visit me and the pets back in the city. Fortunately, I never gave up my own place! Nothing stays stagnant but it is important to always have your own means and sense of security.
My Pisces moon is in my 3rd house. I absorb the feelings of those around me to the point where I once considered myself one of those “highly sensitive people.”
People yelling at each other around me sometimes sends me into another room crying – just happened today.
I used to need to be careful about what movies I watched, and would take on the mood of a gloomy or depressing film for the next day or so.
Indeed, you are right on Pisces moon in the 3rd house. Pisces people are really sensitive, I have one of my friends, who has the same issue as you have mentioned. But another thing I also want to tell you about Pisces is that they are introverted personality-wise because they do not like to make more friends as compared to the Leo’s and Aries etc. This is only for your knowledge, I am sure you must aware of it as well.
Interesting joy ride. Took me to house rulers and house where they reside. Life may not have been smooth but gosh darn I have some good tools in the toolbox to work with. They are baked in so I did not acknowledge them before. Just never know where info will take me.