Life is full of cycles — pay cycles, seasonal cycles, hormonal cycles, even, dare we say it, women’s monthly cycles. Whether you’re aware of it or not, there’s a good chance your beauty regime follows some kind of cycle, too, which could be as simple as making a regular appointment at the hairdresser or beautician. You’ve probably also noticed that at different times of the day, month or year, your hair/skin responds differently to certain maintenance or grooming treatments.
Changing cycles and seasons throughout the calendar year are based on the Sun; changing cycles and rhythms throughout each month are based on the Moon. Modern women attuned to the rhythms of the Sun and Moon know that certain times in these cycles are favoured with fertile energy and other times with barren energy. This article explores the Moon’s monthly cycle, showing how the combination of different features of this cycle — such as sign and phase — helps determine peaks around fertility and barrenness. If you were to combine celestial insight with your regular beauty routines, you’d find you’d get even more out of each appointment.
Ancient astrologers considered the Moon to be the most significant planet in terms of health, fertility and physical wellbeing. In the oldest hierarchy of planetary spheres, the highest and furthest planetary sphere from Earth was Saturn, while the closest to Earth and therefore most attuned planetary sphere to the physical/natural world, was the Moon. Connections between the Moon and the physical world are still honoured today by farmers’ planting guides, natural gardening calendars and fishermen watching the Moon’s influence on tides and fish movements.
Growth, cycles, fertility
Everything that grows does so in a way that is influenced by external conditions. Sometimes those external conditions are ideal for the kind of growth required and other times they are not. Have you wondered why sometimes you can leave beautician visits up to six weeks, but at other times you need to return after just three?
Astrology is based on the premise that the energy present at the moment something begins or an action is taken will influence whatever “births” or starts at that moment. If you can find the right moment to reduce regrowth, beautician visits can regularly be scheduled up to six weeks apart. Or imagine being able to visit the hairdresser at a time of heightened fertility to get the thickest, lushest regrowth from your hair.
Fertile periods might be defined as periods in which ideal conditions exist to begin something with a specific outcome in mind. Astrology is one tool through which you can determine whether a particular time is best suited to your intended action. Rather than focussing on the emotional or psychological areas of astrology, this piece provides an introductory look at how the different parts of the Moon’s regular cycles can help you in practical areas such as grooming, beauty and fertility.
The relative closeness of the Moon to Earth, compared to other planets, highlights the importance of the cycles of the Moon as a foundation for natural planning regarding beauty and fertility rituals. In this piece you’ll learn about generally fertile or barren times throughout a given month and how to determine when these occur.
Moon phases
The first and most important factor to determine whether a specific time is generally fertile, that is, good for growth or barren and therefore good for discouraging or limiting growth, is the Moon phase. The Moon moves through eight different phases each month. They are:
- New
- Crescent
- First quarter
- Gibbous
- Full
- Disseminating
- Third quarter
- Balsamic
At both the new and balsamic phases, the Moon is so close to the Sun it’s considered to be swallowed up and unable to reflect the Sun’s light. These are known as dark Moon times, when the Moon is invisible. (Remember, the Moon has no light of its own but simply reflects, at various angles, the light of the Sun.) The Moon reaches a peak at the full moon, a time when emotions run high as well as when fluid/sap levels in plants rise. Many staff in hospitals, those working on police forces and even stockbrokers will confirm the extra “craziness” they experience in their workplaces as a result of the full moon each month.
From the new moon through to the full moon, the Moon is growing light. This is called waxing and incorporates the phases of new, crescent, first quarter and gibbous. This two-week period is considered the fertile time in the Moon’s cycle and is best for growth. If you cut or prune then, you have a better chance of getting thick, lush regrowth.
From the full moon through to the new moon, the Moon is shrinking in size and losing light. This is called waning and incorporates the phases of full, disseminating, third quarter and balsamic. This two-week period is considered the barren time in the Moon’s cycle and is best for beauty/hair treatments where your intention is to reduce or thin regrowth. If you cut or groom then, you have a better chance of minimising or slowing regrowth.
Considering how the desired outcomes of different beauty/hair treatments vary, it could be to your benefit to align waxing visits with the barren/waning phase and hairdressing appointments for the fertile/waxing phase.
Within this waxing and waning system there are, as always, a couple of exceptions. While the new moon is the beginning of the cycle and the start of the fertile period, since there is no moonlight in this phase, it can pay to wait until at least 12 hours after the new moon before launching into any beauty and grooming rituals where lush regrowth is desired. The full moon, being the peak of the Moon’s cycle, is considered quite fertile, even though technically the Moon is waxing then.
Waxing and waning Moon periods April to June 2010
Waxing: Groom for growth
10.28pm April 14 — 10.18pm April 28
11.04am May 14 — 9.07am May 28
9.14pm June 12 — 9.30pm June 26
Waning: Groom to reduce growth
12.25pm March 30 — 10.28pm April 14
10.18pm April 28 — 11.04am May 14
9.07am May 28 — 9.14pm June 12
9.30pm June 26 — 5.40am July 12
Within these waxing and waning periods there are some days that are super fertile (ideal for hairdresser visits/enhancing suppleness of skin) and other days that are super barren (ideal for waxing appointments/cleansing/detox treatments). You’ll need one more piece of information to determine these super fertile/barren days: the Moon signs.
Moon signs
Each zodiac sign falls somewhere on the fertile/barren spectrum. Water signs — Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces — being lush, wet and nourishing are considered the most fertile. The earth signs of Taurus and Capricorn, being moist, are considered to be somewhat fertile. The earth sign of Virgo and the air sign of Gemini, both being ruled by fickle Mercury, are considered barren, as is the fire sign of Leo, which, ruled by the Sun, is considered too hot for growth. The other two air signs — Libra and Aquarius — and the remaining fire signs — Sagittarius and Aries — are considered somewhat barren.
Fertile: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Somewhat fertiel:Taurus, Capricorn
Somewhat barren:Libra, Aquarius, Aries, Sagittarius
Barren:Gemini, Leo, Virgo
Remember, this quality of fertility or barrenness relates to something innate within the sign itself. You are not your sign — your whole birth chart counts when determining your physical fertility, so please don’t think, “I’m a Gemini therefore I’m infertile.” This would be incorrect. Astrology can and does indicate fertility in terms of conception/pregnancy, but there’s a lot more to determining your personal fertility levels than just your Sun sign.
Fertility in the birth chart is shown through a combination of factors, which include the moon phase at birth, the moon sign at birth and the condition of the planets and signs linked to the Fifth House of Children. Your sun sign has very little to do with it. A professional astrologer can work out what your personal fertility picture is using a combination of these and other factors.
Fertility in the birth chart
Your personal fertility rating is based on your entire birth chart. It is also affected by changing cycles throughout your life. Some of the techniques discussed here are used by astrologers when determining individual tendencies around fertility and conception.
The two tools mentioned above — moon phase and sign — are important when determining your personal place on the fertile/barren spectrum, according to your birth chart. Other factors such as aspects and planetary placement also come into play. As hard a reality as it may be to face, not everyone is destined to procreate biologically in this lifetime. For women for whom having a child is a deep inner ache, difficulties conceiving can be painful to navigate.
Sometimes there is a connection between a woman not wanting children and the amount of barren rather than fertile astro indicators in her chart. This is not always the case, though, and some women with high numbers of barren indicators still desperately want a child of their own. Regardless of your baseline place on the fertile-to-barren spectrum, throughout your life you will experience extremely high or low fertile periods due to constantly changing planetary cycles. In modern life, there are many medical options to help overcome inherent infertility, making conception, pregnancy and childbirth possible for women who might be otherwise unable to conceive.
Julia Child, of Mastering the Art of French Cooking fame, remained childless throughout her life. Whether this was by choice or not it’s hard to say (though if you’ve seen the movie Julie & Julia you may agree this was not by choice, noticing Julia’s sadness at the news her sister was pregnant). Julia’s birth details, as recorded in Astrodatabank, are August 15, 1912 at 11.30pm in Pasadena, CA. Looking at Julia’s birth chart you can see that she has the barren sign of Virgo on the Fifth House of Children. Mercury, the ruling planet of Virgo (and the one planet that is indisputably fickle/barren by nature) also fell in the sign of Virgo at the time of her birth. This would give Julia a double barren rating, indicating significant delays or difficulties with conception. The fact that Julia was a Leo doesn’t even come into her fertility picture. Julia was born under the crescent moon phase, known as a fertile indicator, but this alone was not enough to overcome the strong barren indicators already mentioned.
From my own client files there is one case that comes to mind. Let’s call the client Elaine (not her real name). Elaine has a mixed fertility profile — a somewhat barren sign (Libra) on the Fifth House cusp, but with the relevant ruling planet (Venus) in a fertile sign — Pisces. In her case, Venus also happens to be in positive aspect to Jupiter, also placed in fertile Pisces. An astrologer might predict that, while there may be some initial delays with pregnancy and conception, Elaine could expect ease and flow in the fertility department. In Elaine’s case, Jupiter greatly enhances the fertile potential of Venus, indicating abundance where children are concerned. This is a strongly fertile placement — and, in fact, she has recently given birth to her third child and is considering a fourth!
Modern use
In modern life there are many grooming and Beauty rituals, all with varying intentions. When you cut your hair, generally you’re hoping it’ll grow back thick, lush and long. When you shave or wax your legs, you’re usually hoping it’ll grow back slowly and thinly.
You can now combine days in each monthly moon cycle where the fertile waxing phase aligns with fertile zodiac signs or where the barren waning phase aligns with the barren zodiac signs. This highlights the maximum fertile or barren days in a given period. For instance, if the Moon was in a waxing phase and in the sign of Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces this would be high fertile energy. Or if the Moon was in a waning phase and in the signs of Gemini, Leo or Virgo, this would be strong barren energy.
Not all combinations occur every month. Some months have loads of high fertile days and no extreme barren days and other months the opposite applies. You’ll see this in effect when you explore the detailed calendar below. Try timing your beauty treatments to the cycles of the Moon and release your inner goddess!
| Super fertile | Somewhat fertile | Somewhat barren | Super barren | |
| April | Waxing moon in Cancer, April 19, 9.39am—April 22, 1.43am. Waxing/full moon in Scorpio, April 28, 8.29am—April 30, 12.37pm |
Waxing moon in Taurus, April 15, 8.55am—April 17, 4.09pm. | Waning moon in Sagittarius, April 3, 3.53am—April 5, 11.07am. Waning moon in Aquarius, April 7, 10.51pm—April 10, 11.58am. Waning moon in Aries, April 12, 11.31pm—April 14, 10.28pm. Waning moon in Sagittarius, April 30, 12.37am—May 2, 8pm |
None |
| May | Waxing moon in Cancer, May 17, 3.46am—May 19, 7.07am. Waxing moon in Scorpio May 25, 4.17pm—May 27, 9.16pm. |
Waxing moon in Taurus, May 14, 11.04am—11.19pm. | Waning moon in Aquarius, May 5, 6.52am—May 7, 7.34pm. Waning moon in Aries, May 10, 7.31am—May 12, 4.49pm. |
None |
| June | Waxing moon in Cancer June 13, 11.51am—June 15, 1.55pm. Waxing moon in Scorpio, June 21, 10.14pm—June 24, 4.10am. |
Waxing/full moon in Capricorn June 26, 12.22pm—June 28, 10.53pm. | Waning moon in Aquarius, June 1, 3.09pm—June 4, 3.34am. Waning moon in Aries, June 6, 3.50pm—June 9, 1.42am. Waning moon in Aquarius June 28, 10.53pm—July 1, 11.10am. |
Waning/new moon in Gemini June 11, 8.11am—June 13, 11.51am |
Kelly Surtees is an internationally published writer devoted to expanding her wellbeing through personal growth. He geographic home is in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
