The Munchies and the Moon

Astrologically, the Moon shows how we relate to food, the home, our mothers, emotions, and security, and because of losses and disruptions in various areas of life connected with the Moon in this century, many people have become extremely insecure and oral. We have something in our mouths all the time--food, cigarettes, coffee, soda, or alcohol--anything to fill us up when we feel empty and deprived. We are profoundly emotional about food, a substance that is our first ongoing experience of the outer world. Through being fed as infants, we experience relief of tension. We form a primary attachment to the one who feeds us--she becomes our mother. Eating is our first conscious act, our first dim awareness that we can take action to get our needs met. By eating, we take in the outside world and decide whether we can trust other people. Any breach of trust can lead to problems with food and digestion--many abuse victims develop eating disorders. The stomach, which is ruled by the sign Cancer, is the seat of our earliest, most primitive emotions and needs. The public makes an intuitive connection between the stomach and emotions. We talk of gut-level feelings, and when something is disgusting, we say we can't stomach it. Under emotional stress or lunar deprivation, depending on our basic nature, we may either overeat or lose our appetites. When people sense you're upset and don't know what to do, they try to feed you. "Eat something. It'll make you feel better." The difficulty--the addictive hook--is that we often DO feel better when we eat. The reason is a chemical in the brain called serotonin that profoundly affects behavior, emotions, and consciousness. A high-carbohydrate and low-protein meal sharply increases the serotonin level, so we feel drowsy after a starchy meal or a rich dessert. The family we grew up in shaped our food preferences and eating habits. Most habits and feelings about food are unconscious--Moon areas often are. Any suggested change in diet meets great resistance because of the emotional associations and the sense of security connected with food. Some family therapists even observe family meals to diagnose family problems. What goes on at supper is a microcosm of the relationships and conflicts within the family. At this near-ritual meal, children learn age and sex roles, what is expected of family members, what emotional expressions are permitted, and other values.