Is »the moon« feminine or masculine?

In view of the two original principles »feminine« and »masculine«, it is tempting to attribute the feminine, receiving principle to the moon and the masculine, creative principle to the sun. And most languages, where nouns posess articles, do reflect this, like for example the Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian). However, there are a number of languages, for example German, Norwegian, Polish, Slovenian, Serbian or Czech, where the moon is masculine.

So, does the moon contain more masculine quality, after all, than originally assumed?

For this purpose, it is revealing to take a look at the mythology of different cultures, where we encounter so called moon deities that are assigned to and embody the moon. You will find a large number of goddesses, for example the Roman goddess Luna (see image right), the Greek Selene, the Chinese Chang’e or Mama Killa, the mother moon from the Incas.

But there is an equal amount of male representatives like the god Mani in the Nordic mythology, the moon god Anningan of the Inuit or the ancient Egyptian moon god Toth (see image below). We have not counted them all, but the feminine and masculine representation is more or less in balance. Amazing!

Meanwhile, we all know that the feminine and masculine aspects of life show and express themselves in many areas and that every woman carries and likewise demonstrates masculine principles, just like a man has and experiences feminine sides.

Ancient teachings of wisdom have been teaching this for a long time – like the Greek Hermeticism: »… everything contains masculine and feminine elements, gender manifests on all levels.« or the Chinese philosophy with the interplay between the Yin and Yang principles. Would it not be natural, to also find both in the moon?

We like the idea that the moon unites feminine and masculine elements. It makes it even more likeable. Maybe this is why both men and women are drawn to the full moon light?

7 Comments

  1. Lovelen Sunil | 27 October 2014

    is moon really feminine??????????????

  2. Awais Shaikh | 2 April 2014

    in my point of view moon should feminine because it is attractive and shine and sun should be masculine because in interior regions of Pakistan sun emit a large heat .

    • Physlissa | 25 August 2023

      Yesss

  3. Fitheia | 20 August 2013

    Personally, I think the balance is found in the Sun’s masculinity and the Moon’s femininity.

  4. raerae | 28 November 2012

    im sooooooooo into astrologoy, celestial bodies, and all things related to the sun/moon(especially the MOON!!maybe cos ima cancer??) and i do believe each has a mix of feminine and masculine like people but if most of us dont have both genders then wouldnt the sun and moon have or represent a single gender despite their characteristics?i believe the moon:fem sun:masc…i also believe theyre lover <3!!X)

  5. kimberly bator | 28 June 2011

    in this life we must strive for balance. this requires our acceptance of all that is given to us. we must open our minds and hearts to all possibilities that include things that seem impoosible.

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