Lilith: The Moon's Far Point and Your Wild Side

What is Black Moon Lilith?

Black Moon Lilith is not an object but a calculated point: the Moon’s apogee, the point of its oval orbit farthest from Earth. Astrology uses the mean apogee, an average position that moves smoothly, rather than the true apogee, which swings back and forth by up to about 30° within weeks as the Sun tugs on the Moon’s orbit. There is no moon or planet called Lilith in this sense (an asteroid named 1181 Lilith exists, but it is unrelated).

Where Black Moon Lilith is in the sky

The ecliptic is the path the Sun appears to follow across our sky over a year, the plane of Earth’s orbit seen from Earth. Positions along it are measured in degrees, from 0° at the March equinox to 360°. The zodiac divides it into twelve equal 30° parts named after signs: Aries covers 0° to 30°, Taurus 30° to 60°, and so on. The signs are counted from the equinox, not from the star patterns they were named after; those constellations now sit about 24° further along, because Earth’s axis slowly wobbles (precession).

The Moon’s orbit slowly turns, so its apogee moves forward around the ecliptic, once around in about 8.85 years: about nine months in each sign, always forward (never retrograde). It lies on the Moon’s orbit, so it can sit up to about 5° north or south of the ecliptic. It has no distance of its own, so the section on space above shows only its coordinates.

Black Moon Lilith in astrology

In astrology Black Moon Lilith stands for your wild side, the raw, untamed and rejected parts of the self: independence, desire and what we are told to hide. It is named after Lilith of Jewish folklore. It rules no sign.