I am an Aries with Virgo Rising and Moon. Isn’t this like a contradiction?? Aries is said to be aggressive and impulsive, while Virgo is over critical and conservative. Aries is impatient and Virgo is the perfectionist. Since both my Rising and Moon is Virgo, am I like a Virgo with Aries traits or vice versa?
— ArianVirgo
Hi Arian Virgo—
I am Aries with Libra rising, also two very different signs, so I can relate to your question. And my teacher explained it to me this way: Your chart is like a patchwork quilt. There are no but’s in astrology, only and’s. You are Aries, and you are Virgo.
I agree it’s confusing when you’re looking up your birth chart placements and you find seemingly contradicting information. But if you think about it, humans are complex beings. Most of us have contradictory or conflicting parts of self. It’s part of the human condition!
In a birth chart, conflict generates energy. Your art of living is about blending these two sides of yourself in a way that creates energy that supports you, rather than energy that drains you.
Play with the keywords a bit. Can you not be an impatient perfectionist? Impulsive, irritable + also worried, anxious? A cranky curmudgeon? Can’t you have a fearless, independent streak and be a detail-oriented, efficient, nature loving sensitive soul as well?
I see it this way: your Aries Sun is your basic character, your heart, your essence, the “model of car” you are, if you will. Some of us are Fords, others are Volkswagens, some are Hondas. Let’s say you’re a Dodge Ram. Your Virgo Moon and rising are the tools and talents you have in order to keep your big, powerful truck on the road.
The Moon is your fuel tank, as it represents the kind of nurturing that enables you to get moving. Virgo needs gentleness, something or someone to serve, and a sense of order. Virgo would be a Honda tank. To run a Ram truck on a Honda tank, you need to fill the tank carefully and often, and keep it maintained meticulously and with discrimination. (Virgo Moon people do tend to have delicate digestive systems, both physically and energetically. You have to be mindful of what you let in.)
In my car metaphor, I guess the ascendant would be your steering wheel. What do you think?
2 Responses
Hi Molly, Guessing that the Ascendant would be the steering wheel is very close to how the Hellenistic astrologers saw it: the chart is the “Celestial Ship” and the ascendant is the “helm” where the steering mechanism or the rudder is located. The steersman issues the commands that guide the ship is likened to the Ascendant ruler or domicile ruler or lord of the Ascendant. “Like the helmsman’s rudder that steers the vessel through the waters of existence, the masters and lords of the nativity provide the overarching principles that guide the native’s path through life.” (quote from Demetra George’s Volume Two preview of her new book , “Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice”. See https://rubedo.press/ancient-astrology and her other book “Astrology and the Authentic Self” and/or Chris Brennan’s “Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune”.)
Julie, thanks so much for visiting, and for elucidating the issue with these wonderful tidbits from the Hellenistic tradition. Good stuff!!