The Moon
West. If we celebrate your birthday in Nepal, we
celebrate that phase of the moon (the lunar day, solunar
angle) you were born in. Moreover, due to the fact that
lunar months do not fit nicely within the solar year, a
birthday in the East, for any given individual, can be up
to a month away (during some years) from the actual
date of birth—from the solar return—our Western-style
birthday.
This simple fact makes it clear how important the moon
and the lunar cycle are in these countries. A study of the
existing literature on the meaning and use of the moon
in astrology (East and West), shows much similarity, but
also considerable difference.
The Cycle of the Sun and Moon
There is general agreement (East and West) about the
nature of the lunation cycle: that it somehow proceeds
from a seed time at the new moon to a fruition time at