I am of a growing suspicion that our beloved Moon has more to do with Virgo than it does with Cancer.

In all of the charts I have analyzed over the years, the Moon position appears to have more to do with one's job, efficacity, health, or services, than it does with one's emotional qualities or domestic tendencies.

Cancer and Virgo do share some basic traits or qualities(both are feminine signs), which is why perhaps the Cancer rulership is a plausible one. Both have to do with providing basic needs or services, except that in Virgo's case those needs are more tangible(food, clothing, shelter, etc.), whereas with Cancer, the needs are more emotional(feelings of comfort, familliarity, acceptance, etc).

While Cancer has rulership over water and fluids in general, Virgo has rulership over agriculture and the weather. The Moon, more than any other body, except perhaps the Sun, has a major influence on our weather and crops, primarily due to its proximity to the Earth. Virgo also rules health, which is intimately linked to our weather or climate, as well as the workforce, the economy, and the armed forces. Lunar transits have shown to correspond closely to movements in these areas.

The Moon body itself is quite a mystery or enigma. It is 2100 miles in diameter and about 240,000 miles distant from us. It revolves around our Earth in a period of 29.5 days and always faces the same side to us. It also appears roughly the same size as our Sun so that when the two cross each other(eclipses) it is a spectacular event.

Why doesn't the moon rotate or have abundant water? It appears arid and lifeless and pocked with craters. It no doubt underwent some tragic cosmic accident or bombardment and is now crippled, just like the mythical or legendary Vulcan.

Theosophists refer to the Moon as "veiling" Vulcan. What does this mean exactly? Is it symbolic, or is it actually hiding a body called Vulcan? Perhaps, this is why it does not rotate? If it is hiding Vulcan, it would explain the Moon's strong Virgoan influence. If not, then the Moon IS Vulcan!

If one were to place the Moon's present 29.5 day orbit between Mercury and the Sun, it would fit nicely as Vulcan. Also, why do all ephemeris or planetary tables place the Moon between the Sun and Mercury? Was it actually there in some forgotten past?

In "The Shaver Mystery and the Inner Earth" by Inner Light Publications, Shaver says that our Moon once orbited the Sun, and that when it got caught around Earth's orbit it dumped all its air, water, and lifeforms here(page 18).

Why doesn't the Moon(along with Earth and the Sun) have a proper name after one of the Gods as all the other planets do? Is this because it's rulership has not been permanently determined? Ptolemy assigned the Moon to Cancer because it rivaled the Sun in apparent size and luminosity, but is there a greater light(Earth's inner sun or our Sun's binary) which can replace this? Virgo is, by the way, neighbouring Leo like Cancer -only on the other side.

Why, also, is the Moon often associated with Isis or the Virgin Mary which are clearly linked to Virgo? Finally, why is an apparently barren and dry planet such as the Moon linked to a fruitful and watery sign such as Cancer?

When grouping the planets, the scheme is usually as follows..the luminaries or lights(Sun and Moon), the benefics(Venus and Jupiter), the malefics(Mars and Saturn), and the trancendentals(Uranus and Neptune). Mercury and Pluto are the oddballs with no particular partners.

Of the four groups just mentioned, ALL are either Fire/Earth or Water/Air pairings by element. That is, Uranus(Aquarius) is Air and Neptune(Pisces) is Water. Mars(Aries) is Fire and Saturn(Capricorn) is Earth, Venus(Taurus) is Earth and Jupiter(Sagittarius) is Fire, and even when Jupiter and Saturn are paired the result is still the same(Fire/Earth). If we continue the pattern, then even Sun and Moon should be either Fire/Earth or Water/Air. I do not believe the Sun is Air-ruled so it can only be Sun(Leo)-Fire and Moon(Virgo)-Earth.

Finally, there is a corresponding ratio in size between planets linked by dual rulership. In such a scheme, the masculine-ruled planet is nearly always larger than the feminine-ruled planet, usually by a ratio of 1000, 10,000, or 100,000 miles of diameter. Jupiter, for example, a masculine planet(ruling Sagittarius), is at least 10,000 miles larger than Neptune, its feminine or night counterpart(ruling Pisces). Mars(Aries/masculine) is larger than Pluto(Scorpio/feminine) by at least 1000 miles. Earth(Libra/masculine) is 1000 miles larger than Venus(feminine/Taurus). Mercury(Gemini/masculine) is 1000 miles larger than the Moon(feminine/Virgo). The Sun(Leo/masculine)is at least 100,000 miles larger than its binary(Cancer/feminine). The only exception may be Saturn(Capicorn/feminine) which is larger than Uranus(Aquarius/masculine) -unless the astronomers are wrong and Uranus is bigger in size than Saturn.

Is the Moon actually Vulcan, and does it rule Virgo? I can only speculate, but there are a lot of indications in favour of this. If this is so, then either the Midheaven(a planet's inner sun), the Sun's binary, or even the Galactic Center itself, would have to be linked to Cancer.