The Moon to Sun Journey ~ Why You React the Way You Do ~ with Pam Gallagher✨

If you’ve ever wondered why you react the way you do — or how to better understand yourself (and your kids) on a deeper emotional level — this episode is for you✨

I’m joined by my teacher and mentor, Pam Gallagher, founder of the Midwest School of Astrology, to explore one of the most powerful foundations in astrology: the journey from your Moon to your Sun.

We talk about emotional patterns, parenting through the Moon, soul growth through Moon phases, and how tools like the Saturn return and lunar nodes help guide your path forward.

Pam shares real-life stories from decades of chart readings — including how people from the same family can experience life completely differently.

This is a grounded, insightful conversation that will help you understand yourself (and the people you love) with more clarity and compassion 🤍

✨ CONNECT with Pam!
Founder of The Midwest School of Astrology
Website: MWSA - Home
Author of the Book: Becoming Your Sun Sign – The Journey from Your Moon to Your Sun
Get your copy here on Amazon: Becoming Your Sun Sign: The Journey from Your Moon to Your Sun: Gallagher, Pamela: 9780578512754: Amazon.com: Books

🎧 And if you’re ready to understand your emotional patterns and your path forward in a deeper way… this episode is a beautiful place to start.

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Transcript

Alisa:
Hi everyone, this is Alisa Dixon and this is Astrology with Alisa. And I am joined today by a very special guest. This is my astrology teacher, Pam Gallagher.

Hi Pam.

Pam:
Hi, Alisa. How are you?

Alisa:
I'm good. I'm very excited you're here. Pam has been a practicing astrologer for 57 years. Pam has been teaching since 1998, and she is the founder of the Midwest School of Astrology, which was formed in 2009. And this is where I studied astrology. Pam is the first astrologer ever to give me a reading. I rabbit hold from there. She's very gifted at what she does. And she's also an author. She wrote a book, Becoming Your Sun Sign right here, which is available on Amazon, and I highly recommend it. And the whole premise of this book is the journey from your Moon to your Sun sign.

So Pam, without further ado, I don't know if you have anything else to add about you and your background and your passion around astrology before we dive in.

Pam:
No, I think that pretty much explains who I am. The school is in Cincinnati, Ohio, and we are the only brick and mortar certified school in North America. There are some other online, but we actually have a school room, a classroom, which is really nice for those who live close. We do weekend workshops so people can come and have community, and there aren't many places left where people get together for community.

Alisa:
Yeah, it's a really special place. It was a very special experience for me over the three years coming weekly.

Pam:
I always encourage people, even when they live out of town, to try to come for a weekend. We invite speakers from around the country four times a year for each level. We have three levels. So there are a lot of weekend events. I want the students to have exposure to other professional astrologers too, because they use different language and they use different techniques.

And so astrology's a language, it's a symbolism, it's part of God's plan and it's part of the system, God's geometry. So it's not in conflict with anything. And so I want people to hear other opinions.

Alisa:
I love it. Well, we are here to hear from you today. So maybe start right here with this journey from the Moon to the Sun. You are the first person that ever saw me as I truly was from my Moon sign or described me as such. So maybe let's get oriented around the Moon and the energy of the Moon and we can go from there.

Pam:
Okay, so the Moon is our satellite of Earth, obviously. Earth goes around the Sun. I think everybody knows that. However, tropical astrology, which is a system that's the most used around the world, is geocentric, it's Earth based. So we look from Earth out at the planets against the zodiac.

And our calendar's based on that zodiac, by the way. So we start, actually the zodiac starts on March 20th at zero Aries. We have 12 signs, 30 degrees in each sign. So you have 12 signs, 12 months.

But the Moon goes around Earth. And so the Moon, if you go back metaphysically, metaphorically, mythically to the ancient studies, the Moon has always been the indicator of feeling, emotion, water.

The Earth is 75% water, and so are we. The Moon has the power, its gravity has the power to control the tides. We know that we have the highest tides on the full Moon. So it also impacts the individual.

It's really gravity and math. It's not suspenseful or unexplainable.

So the Moon then also holds that emotion and that feeling. So when you look at the Moon in the chart, you understand how a person's going to respond, react, feel. And the Moon is our daily timer.

The Moon goes around every month, 27 and a half days to be precise. It's two and a half days basically to a sign. So knowing the sign that your Moon is in helps you understand how you or your children or someone that you love is emotionally built and how they're going to respond.

So it allows you to allow them to be who they are, which I think is what it's all about anyway, isn't it? For us to love and accept the people in our lives, including ourselves.

So if you understand the Moon, you understand the instinct and the feeling and the daily routine. But the Moon is more about our soul instinct and how we respond to life, how we feel, how we show our feelings.

So then if you understand your Sun sign, then you're becoming the Sun sign. Everything on this planet is growing toward the light. And so are we as a soul. So we're becoming that Sun energy.

On a good day we express our sunshine, and on an emotional day back comes the Moon.

So understanding that Moon-Sun journey helps people understand where they're coming from, but what they're trying to add to that.

Alisa:
One thing that really made a big impact on me when I first came to see you that first time was when you were talking about how kids are going to display more their Moon sign than their Sun sign. And I think I scheduled with you the following week and sent you my kids' birthdays, and we dove into them.

And it's funny because both of my kids have earth signs as Sun signs, but they both have fire Moons. And it's a very different energy. And understanding that helped me kind of look at them differently and even adjust some of my parenting.

Pam:
It should. And that's what I tell parents. If you'd really like to be a better parent, then know the child's Moon-Sun energy shift, because children are responding to life. They are not initiating action.

So you're going to get their feeling, their emotion, their senses.

And so if you understand your child's Moon sign, you're going to understand them better and how they feel and how to talk to them about their feelings, to validate them.

So knowing that helps you be, I believe, helps you be a better parent. I think every parent should do their children's charts, but that's me.

I've seen it make a big difference over the last 50 years.

Alisa:
So how is it best to relate to, like, fire Moon children versus earth Moon children versus water and air?

Pam:
There are four elements — fire, air, earth, and water.

The fire Moon children — fire is action. Fire does not stand still. It's constantly moving. So if you've got a child with a fire Moon, you have to understand that they need activity, they need movement. There's a lot more spontaneity and a lot more instant response from a fire child.

The three fire signs are Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius.

Now the earth signs need grounding, need stability. They tend to be a little more literal and practical. So if you've got a child and their Moon is in an earth sign, you're going to find that they want to understand — give them a reason, show them. Earth says, “Show me. Let me see it.”

That's the Moon energy as a child.

Now you have air. Air children are social and mental, talkative. They're curious, they ask questions, and they talk, and then they get busy. It's all about people and communication.

And then water — Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces — are sensitive. They feel more. They can get their feelings hurt more easily. They tend to want to stay closer to home. They need that emotional security.

So when you know that, you don't treat them all the same. You respond to them based on what they need.

Alisa:
And even as they grow up, when you talk about the Moon as being more reactive energy, which makes sense because it reflects the light of the Sun — I remember you also said that in times of stress, we revert back and behave the way our Moon dictates.

Pam:
Exactly. That's your feeling.

You're going to react from instinct and feeling. In a crisis, people respond from their Moon.

It was very interesting to me during the COVID season that people reverted to their Moon sign. They were responding, not initiating action.

Alisa:
I definitely could see that in myself, looking back. With my Capricorn Moon, I was just work, work, work — organize this, organize that. It was fascinating to observe.

Pam:
It is fascinating. It's one thing to know it, it's another to observe it in real life.

Alisa:
So going a little deeper into the Moon — another nuance is the Moon phase. You were the first person that really broke down the importance of Moon phases in a natal chart and what that shows about the soul’s message.

Can you talk about that a little bit?

Pam:
Sure.

The Moon phases represent the development of the soul.

If you think of a group of lifetimes — where am I in this cycle? The soul pattern is like a canvas. Some areas are developed, some are unfinished, some need refinement.

The Moon phase shows where you are in that process.

From New Moon to Full Moon is waxing — growth, pushing forward. From Full Moon back to New Moon is integrating, sharing, completing.

There are eight phases total — New Moon, Crescent, First Quarter, Gibbous, Full, Disseminating, Last Quarter, and Balsamic.

The New Moon is like a seed — it's just beginning. Crescent is struggling to grow. First Quarter is action. Gibbous is gathering. Full Moon is full expression.

Then Disseminating is sharing knowledge. Last Quarter is letting go. Balsamic is completion.

So knowing your Moon phase helps you understand your purpose at a soul level.

Alisa:
So what are some markers of, for example, I think I've heard that if you're born under a New Moon, that's your natal Moon phase, it's the type of person that will try anything once. Is that kind of a good marker?

Pam:
Yeah, because it's new and it's instigating. It's like, “Okay, let's just do it.” Very Aries in its energy.

Alisa:
What about a Crescent Moon? What's a characteristic of that?

Pam:
There was a very famous astrologer, Dane Rudhyar, who wrote a book called The Lunar Cycles. He used the analogy of a seed growing.

The New Moon is the seed — it has to break loose at all costs.

The Crescent Moon says, “I'm struggling. I have to grow, but I can't see where I'm going yet.”

First Quarter says, “Now I’ve got to push forward. I've broken through, now I need to rise.”

Gibbous says, “I'm gathering everything I need so that I can fully bloom.”

Full Moon is full bloom — interaction, relationship, expression.

Disseminating is sharing what you've learned.

Last Quarter is letting go — “What do I not need anymore?”

And Balsamic is completion — finishing things up.

It's a full cycle of development.

Alisa:
So it almost feels like each phase has its own personality or energy.

Like the New Moon feels very Aries, Crescent feels like pushing through challenges, Gibbous feels like gathering information, Full Moon is that big expression.

Am I reading that right?

Pam:
You're doing fine. You're just using a different analogy, but it works.

People need to understand what they’re doing here — what their purpose is at a soul level.

Alisa:
And then when you get to Disseminating, it feels like sharing knowledge — almost like Aquarian energy.

Last Quarter, letting go — I relate to that. I'm constantly decluttering.

Pam:
That’s exactly it. Get rid of what you don’t need.

Alisa:
And then Balsamic feels more introspective, like wrapping things up.

Pam:
It is a completing energy.

Alisa:
And this is something you always look at in a chart.

Pam:
Always. I talk about the Moon-Sun journey, the Rising sign, and then the Moon phase — because at a soul level, that's what’s driving you.

Alisa:
So what are some checkpoints along the way? Like Saturn returns — are there points where we’re expected to step more into our Sun?

Pam:
You hope.

I've met people in their 60s still responding from their Moon.

But around age 14 to 15, you start to see a shift. That's when Saturn begins to influence maturity.

Then around 28–29, you get your Saturn return. That’s adulthood — “What am I here for?”

People make major life decisions then — marriage, career changes, buying homes.

Then again around 58–59 — another Saturn return. And even later in life now, since people are living longer.

These are checkpoints of growth and maturity.

Alisa:
And even through all of that, you're still blending your Sun, Moon, and Rising — it's never just one or the other.

Pam:
Exactly. And it depends on the situation.

At work, you're more in your Sun. At home or with family, your Moon comes out more.

Alisa:
That makes so much sense.

It reminds me of a story you told about the sisters — how they all experienced the same family completely differently.

Pam:
Yes, there were five sisters. Same house, same parents, same upbringing — but each one had a completely different experience of their parents.

One adored them. Another saw them differently. One couldn’t stand them. Another was detached. Another was the peacekeeper.

Same environment — completely different perceptions.

That’s the chart. It shows your perception of reality.

Alisa:
That’s so powerful.

Because it means our chart isn’t just “what happens” — it’s how we experience it.

Pam:
Exactly.

And that’s why you can’t judge someone else’s experience.

Alisa:
So let’s bring in the lunar nodes — because that adds another layer to the soul journey.

Pam:
The nodes are where the Moon’s orbit intersects the Sun’s path.

The South Node is what you've already done — your past patterns.

The North Node is where you're growing.

If you understand that, you can make better choices when you hit crossroads in life.

Alisa:
And what happens when the Moon or Sun is connected to the nodes?

Pam:
If the Moon is with the North Node, it's like a redo — something you're refining.

If the Sun is with the South Node, you're picking up something you’ve already done and finishing it.

It’s not bad — it’s just information.

Alisa:
And what about aspects between the Sun and Moon — like squares or trines?

Pam:
If they’re in harmony, it tends to feel easier.

If they’re in tension, it can feel like conflict — but that’s where growth happens.

Again, it’s your perception.

Alisa:
Before we wrap up, any final advice?

Pam:
Don’t think your chart is fixed. It’s not.

We need challenges — that’s how we grow.

Be kind to yourself.

Don’t run from change — breathe into it.

And remember, energy follows intent. What you focus on grows.

So choose what you’re feeding.

Alisa:
I love that.

And one last thing — you mentioned Uranus moving into Gemini, and Venus being there too, which adds a softer influence.

Pam:
Yes. Venus and Jupiter are considered benefics — they bring light.

So even with change, there are blessings.

Don’t feed the fear. Things will settle.

Alisa:
That’s such a good reminder.

Pam, thank you so much. This was amazing. I’ve grown so much from studying with you.

One thing you do that’s so special is teaching through students’ charts — it made everything come alive.

Pam:
Each class has its own personality. It’s always interesting to see what comes together.

We start in September, break in June — it’s a three-year, 500-hour program.

Midwest School of Astrology — that’s how you find me.

Alisa:
I’ll put links in the show notes. I can’t recommend it enough.

Thank you so much for being here.

Pam:
Thank you. We have fun.

Alisa:
And to everyone listening — thank you so much. I’ll see you next time.

Bye.