Long before the invention of the zodiac - or even calendars - humans were planting and harvesting crops in relationship to the phases of the Moon. Some of the oldest known written records (found on Summerian clay tablets which date ca. 4,000 BC) describe this process. Also, the characteristics which are associated with each star sign first originated in descriptions that came from agriculture!
Even though astrology developed separately over thousands of years in each part of the world, amazingly, the 'astro-farmers' in each culture independently found when the best time to plant, and harvest their crops. The common rule discovered was to plant crops that produce above the ground during the increase phase of the Moon (1st and 2nd quarters), while plants that produce below ground are best planted during the decrease light phases (3rd and 4th quarters).
Modern science has also produced data to validate these ancient findings. In experiments on the response of various organisms to lunar cycles by the American Biologist Frank Brown, seeds from various plants were shown to absorb water more during certain phases of the Moon.
The general guidelines for planting during the Moon phase are:
NEW MOON - gradual increase in growing activity
Seeds that germinate rapidly (less that 8 days) do best when sown a few days BEFORE the new Moon. Their quick growth allows them to sprout in time to enjoy the increased growth energies as the cycle moves towards the full Moon. Seeds that germinate slowly do best at the time of the new Moon. In this way seeds that take over 21 days to sprout have almost a full lunar cycle to soak up water before their peak growth period.
FIRST QUARTER - peak time of leaf growth
This is considered the best time to germinate seeds. Both plants and seeds have an increased rate of water absorption during this period.
FULL MOON - peak time for root growth
Sow seeds with medium length of germination time (8 - 21 days) just before the full Moon. Sprouting will then occur near the new Moon so the new life can take advantage of the increase in growth activity. Also, a good time to transplant is just AFTER the full Moon - the decrease in lunar pull and increase of the earth's will stimulate root growth.
THIRD QUARTER - gradual decrease in growing activity
This is a good time to fertilize, mix soils, as well as to till. Also an excellent time to destroy weeds and other pests.
Besides considering the phase of the Moon, the sign that the Moon is in has a set of suggested practices. They are:
ARIES: Tends to be barren and dry. Fairly good for cultivating, spraying and weeding. Good for harvesting fruit and root crops.
TAURUS: Fairly productive - good for planting root crops, especially potatoes and bulbous plants.
GEMINI: Time to kill unwanted growths, weed and mow lawns to retards growth. Good for harvesting fruit and root crops.
CANCER: The most fruitful sign. Plant seeds, graft, bud, and irrigate. A good time to plant corn, clover, berries, oats, wheat, and roses.
LEO: Most barren time. Use to kill weeds, destroy roots and deaden trees. Good time to harvest fruit and root crops.
VIRGO: Moist, but barren. Good for cultivating, but not transplanting. Good results in planting iris, vines, daffodils, honeysuckle.
LIBRA: Fairly fruitful. Seed for hay, corn, and barley. Good time to plant flowers for fragrance along with beans, beets, cereals, and peas.
SCORPION: Next to Cancer in productivity. Good for irrigation and the planting of chard, cauliflower, eggplant, pumpkins, and rutabagas.
SAGITTARIUS: Considered barren, however, good for planting onions, leeks, garlic, potatoes and radishes. Also good for seeding hay.
CAPRICORN: Fairly productive. Plant bulbs, cabbage, turnips, hay and beans. Most hardy flowers do well when planted now.
AQUARIUS: Somewhat barren. Good for harvesting root crops, cultivation, and extermination of pests.
PISCES: Similar to Cancer, very productive. Plant broccoli, celery, cucumbers, deciduous trees, parsley and peanuts.
Finding the Moon position and phase If your almanac does not publish what sign the Moon is in, or it's phase, the best source is an Ephemeris. This is a book astrologers use to see the position of all the planets, on any given day, many years in advance. The dates of the Moon's phases are simply printed in Moon description box, which includes eclipses (if any) and other aspects. This is usually found on the bottom of the page.
To find the sign that the Moon is in on any given day, you will need to use the tables, which is grouped by each month. Figure 1 is a sample of such a table, showing the position of the Sun and Moon for November 1984. Most Ephemeris books (as this example) show the positions at midnight, however some show these positions at noon, so check in the front of the book to see what kind of Ephemeris you have first.
For an example, we will find the Moon position on the 17th. Look under the "DAY" column down to the 17 (which also tells us it was a Saturday). Move to the right so that you see what numbers and zodiac sign are under the column with the symbol for the Moon.
The "4 * 1 29" means that midnight, the Moon was 4 degrees 1 minute and 29 seconds in the sign of Virgo. The Moon does move at different speeds on any given day, but on the average it travels about 1 degree every two hours. So if you were to plant at 6 am on this day, divide 6 hours by 2, and you will get 3 degrees. This means the Moon will actually be around 7�* at 6 in the morning
There are 30 degrees in each starsign, so be careful if a midnight reading shows a number higher than 26� or so. If so, by the time the Sun comes up, the Moon may have moved into another sign! For example, on the 25th (Sunday) in this table, the Moon at midnight was 29 degrees in the sign of Sagittarius. A movement of 3� from this position would put the Moon at around 2 degrees Capricorn by the time you planted that morning.
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