After I've had a few drinks, it isn't uncommon for me to bring up my dead grandparents (or, for that matter, the inevitability of death for everyone and their grandparents, to boot). My significant other has compared talking to "drunk me" to chatting with one of the jaded characters profiled in Billy Joel's "Piano Man" — I just sit at the bar, mulling over grave matters, wondering why the DJ won't play my Pearl Jam request.
To some extent, this is who I am all the time. But, with drinking comes lowered inhibitions. And, according to one astrological theory, one too many cocktails can prompt us to express our moon sign more openly than usual. In my case, that means my serious, critical Virgo moon can't hide behind my go-with-the-flow Pisces rising so easily.
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If you're only familiar with your sun sign (the sign you look up when reading your horoscope), you may have never heard of your moon sign and rising sign. But, they're just as important to who you are. As astrologer Janelle Belgrave previously told Refinery29, your sun, moon, and rising signs are the three pillars of your astrological DNA — there are other planetary signs that matter a whole lot, too, but these three are where you should start.
Where your sun sign indicates your most consistent and essential personality traits and your rising sign reflects how you present yourself to strangers, your moon sign reveals your inner self, how you express emotions, and the personality quirks you may hide from people you aren't already close to. Acquaintances might be able to guess your sun or rising signs, but your moon sign isn't that obvious on first glance.
Astrology aside for a moment, you're probably aware that drinking affects your moods and behavior. You don't morph into a totally different person when you're drunk, but certain personality traits might be more pronounced than they are when you're sober. Even if you're completely unfamiliar with your moon sign (and aren't planning on researching it any time soon) you may have noticed that you're chattier or more emotional, for example, after a few rounds. After all, anyone who's ended a night of drinking by swapping secrets with someone they just met or sobbing over a years-old fight knows that it's hard to maintain a first impression-ready persona when tipsy.
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Now, back to astrology. If you do look into your moon sign, you're likely to find that it reflects who you are when your guard is down and, thus, how you may behave when you're buzzed (remember what I said about alcohol being an inhibitions-buster?).
If you have a Cancer or Pisces moon, you might sink deeper and deeper into your feelings when you drink, like the friend who turns off the party playlist in exchange for Frank Ocean. On the flip side, having a gregarious fire sign moon like Leo suggests you're the one leading the charge to the next bar. A Libra moon (or Gemini for that matter) could prompt you to be more talkative when you're drunk, the friend who disappears from the group only to be found off in a corner getting a stranger's life story. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, I have a Virgo moon, so a beer or three only accentuates my straight-faced, even solemn earth sign tendencies (roughly translated: I am not a "hit" in large groups).
That said, if you overdo it one night and end up acting like a jerk, you can't blame the moon on your behavior. Your planetary placements never "make" you do something. They're merely subtle influences on your personality overall. So, if you've always wondered why you're so friendly and easily distracted when you drink, you probably have your air sign moon to thank in part, but it's only you who lost your phone for the fifth time.