What Is Black Moon Lilith In Astrology? Here's How This Point Affects Your Zodiac Chart

If you're into astrology, it's a ton of fun to learn about your moon zodiac sign, rising zodiac sign, and explore the ins and outs of your birth chart. But one of the most fascinating and mysterious placements in our zodiac charts is a bit lesser known and more enigmatic: it's called Black Moon Lilith. Lilith isn't a planet in your chart, but rather a mathematical point in space (similar to the way the north and south nodes don't represent actual celestial bodies, either). Wherever Lilith is in your chart signifies the point exactly between the moon and the Earth at the time you were born.

But symbolically, what is Black Moon Lilith in astrology? Simply put, the point's placement on our birth chart represents the power and desire that's hidden within us but wants (or maybe needs) to be released — our deep arousals, deep instincts, and deep truths. "In an astrology chart, Black Moon Lilith represents a person’s primitive impulses and behavior in their rawest form," wrote astrologer Valerie Mesa for VICE. "It reveals our repressed sexuality, together with what makes us feel most vulnerable; it expresses the dark side of one’s personality, buried deep in the subconscious realms of our psyche."

But, before we dive further into the astro significance of Black Moon Lilith, let's chat about Lilith the mythical figure, who the astrological point was named for — as she's truly an icon and can tell us a lot about what this point represents in our birth charts. As you may know, many of the planets and points in astrology are named after gods, goddesses, and other mythical figures — and Lilith is no exception. "Lilith was Adam’s first wife," astrologer Lisa Stardust tells Bustle. And yep, we're talkin' about Garden of Eden's Adam. According to the myth, both Adam and Lilith were created from the soil (in contrast to Adam's future wife, Eve, who was made from one of Adam's ribs.)

But there was trouble in paradise, quite literally. As the story goes, when it was time to get down to business, Lilith wanted to take on a more dominant role sexually — in other words, she didn't want to have sex in the missionary position. "Lilith refuses to lie underneath Adam during sex, but he insists that the bottom is her rightful place," explained author Janet Howe Gaines on the Biblical Archaeology Society. "He apparently believes that Lilith should submissively perform wifely duties. Lilith, on the other hand, is attempting to rule over no one. She is simply asserting her personal freedom."

And for that, Lilith was cast away. "She was exiled from the Garden of Eden because she wouldn’t be subservient to Adam," explains Stardust to Bustle. "She was the OG feminist." That she was. And while now we see Lilith's refusal to submit to male dominance as powerful, historically Lilith has actually been viewed as a seductive-yet-demonic figure. Thankfully now, we can appreciate her feminine power and raw sexuality instead of fearing it.

So given that Lilith herself is such a badass, you can assume that the astrological point named for her has a similar dark n' mysterious intrigue. "In astrology, [Black Moon Lilith] represents the part of ourselves that we cannot repress. The part of us that is yearning to be released. The part that doesn’t take B.S. from anyone," Stardust tells Bustle. We have have dark sides to our personalities — this doesn't mean bad, just dark. Lilith represents the pieces within that darkness. Just as the point itself is simply a black spot in the void of outer space, floating near the moon, our Lilith-ruled qualities are also hidden in the darkness, only occasionally lit by the light of the night, still shrouded in shadows but waiting to be seen. These qualities are deep in our subconscious selves, and likely longing to be acknowledged.

This point's meaning is also sexual in nature — it can represent fetishes, kinks, and our deepest (and perhaps most repressed) desires. "Lilith is best known for her role as the sexual liberator," wrote Amelia Quint for The Hoodwitch. For most people, Lilith may show up when you're tapping into your wiles, your visionary creativity, and your raw power — in other words, when you're embracing the darker sides of yourself and being unafraid to upset the status quo, speak your truths, and own your sexual power.

And, just as we love to track the movement of the moon and other planets in astrology to gauge how it might affect our lives, Lilith's movement through the skies affects all of us, too. "Currently, Black Moon Lilith is in Pisces," shares Stardust, "which explains the power currently associated with mysticism and understanding the unknown." If you've found yourself reading this article, I'm sure you've noticed that astrology, crystal healing, witchcraft, and other mystical and spiritual practices have become much more mainstream and popular recently. Lilith's current placement in ethereal, dreamy, spiritual-seeking Pisces may offer some astrological explanations.

If you want to find out where in your natal chart your Black Moon Lilith resides, grab your birth date, time, and location and pop it into an online calculator like this one — or hit up your nearest professional astrologer and have them give you the full lowdown on how your Black Moon Lilith might manifest.