What Does "Live by the Sun, Love by the Moon" Mean?

• “Live by the sun, love by the moon” is a spiritual phrase about balancing logic and practical responsibilities with intuition, emotions, and love.
• To live by the sun, practice thinking logically in your everyday life. Make informed decisions and thorough plans for the future!
• To love by the moon, practice feeling and verbalizing your emotions. Let your heart guide you, and be flexible rather than analyzing or planning everything.

“Live by the Sun, Love by the Moon” Meaning

The saying refers to living in a way that balances logic and emotion. It’s a spiritual saying, and it means that, within everyone, there’s an innate dichotomy: your responsibilities or professional obligations, and what you choose to do based on love and emotions. The sun is associated with power, energy, and clarity, while the moon has long been a symbol of change, mystery, and emotions. During the day, while the sun is out, it’s believed that you’re guided by reality—everything from your job to the necessities you need to survive. Then, when night falls, and the moon rises, it’s believed that you’re guided by the moon, along with your innermost emotions and romantic desires. Thus, the saying advocates separating each mentality and using whichever one fits the situation. You can’t handle business deals with emotions, and you can’t navigate relationships with logic. This phrase could simply be boiled down to: “Work hard and love with all your heart.”

How to Live by the Sun

Think logically about practical matters like work and finances. Living by the sun means separating your emotions from the needs of the day. Approach work, business, and money management rationally and practice compartmentalizing the different areas of your life and cutting emotions out of the equation when logic would be more useful. The ultimate goal is to be more logical when you’re doing things like creating budgets, making business presentations, or planning your work schedule for the week.

Be cautious and consider the risks before making a practical decision. While it certainly isn’t necessary to live in fear or avoid risks altogether, living by the sun means using caution to help you make smarter and more informed decisions. So, practice considering the consequences before making a decision rather than operating on instinct alone. Some areas of your life (like romance) are perfect for risk and spur-of-the-moment choices. However, measured thinking and careful decision-making are often ideal when it comes to practical areas like work and finances.

Plan ahead for your future and set goals. Living by the sun means using the analytical side of your mind to make a plan—whether you’re planning the upcoming week or goals for the next decade of your life. The idea is to be prepared! After all, achieving your dreams is hard if you don’t have goals or a plan for the best way to accomplish them. For example, consider your finances. Do you have any expenses to save up for or financial goals to create a rainy day fund? Similarly, do you have any career goals—like achieving a promotion in the next year? Sometimes things happen, and life throws curveballs, but if you have a plan in place, it’ll be easier to adapt!

Treat those around you with courtesy and respect. This might seem like a given—but in the real world, manners are an important part of navigating everyday life. And, since living with the sun is all about being grounded in reality, it’s important to remember to treat everyone with respect (even the people you don’t necessarily like). Courtesy and kindness can help you make connections in the workplace, which can facilitate better performance at work. At the end of the day, you’ll always have to collaborate (and compromise) with people here and there—and showing respect makes it easier to get along.

Use communication skills to express your needs. Communication is an important part of getting things done—whether that means telling other people when there’s a problem, explaining your thought process (or abilities) at work, or assigning tasks to ensure a project gets done. Practice good communication skills and speaking up when you have something vital to say. If you can’t speak up, things can get chaotic and confusing very quickly—which is why it’s so important to learn how to communicate.

Follow the rules of society to the best of your abilities. Living by the sun is all about reality, and reality is defined by rules. You may not think about it consciously, but society has rules that dictate your conduct, how you learn and work, and more. So, to keep society running smoothly, it’s important to follow the rules in place. For example, there are rules of professionalism in many businesses and rules stating that employees need to get paid. There are also rules of common courtesy (mentioned above). So, by showing up to work on time or finishing a project by its deadline, you’re also playing by the rules.

How to Love by the Moon

Feel your emotions and verbalize them. Loving by the moon means embracing your emotions and letting them flow instead of trying to suppress or intellectualize them. You can’t always think logically, especially in relationships—so just enjoy the feeling of being in love rather than trying to find a purpose for it or analyze it. Practice discussing your feelings out loud, too. If you don’t talk about your emotions openly, you might bottle them up and cause them to build inside you. The healthiest way to process is to vent! Remind yourself that emotions are nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. Don’t let others tell you your feelings are “too much”—it’s okay to be an emotional person.

Let go of your fears instead of letting them control you. It’s normal to be afraid of things like rejection, betrayal, or getting hurt like you were in a previous relationship—but the key to loving by the moon is learning to embrace relationships despite those fears. Don’t hold back or shy away from partners; keep moving forward and open your heart to the possibility of true love. Remember: sometimes, taking risks is necessary to help you overcome your fears. What’s life without a little risk and excitement?

Think with your heart, and let your intuition guide your actions. Before doing something, don’t get too analytical or try to make a pro and con list; instead, just listen to your heart. What is it telling you to do? This is especially important when it comes to love and relationships, but it’s applicable in other areas of life, too. For example, you might ask yourself if you really love your job. If the answer is “yes,” that’s wonderful! But if it’s “no,” what does your heart say you’d rather do?

Be flexible and see where life takes you. No matter how much you plan, it’s impossible to know what’ll happen in the future—so, sometimes, it’s best to go with the flow. This is especially true when it comes to love; you can’t necessarily know when you’ll meet “the one,” which is why the best course of action is often to keep an open mind without trying to plan things out in too much detail. Life is full of surprises and unexpected opportunities—so let yourself be surprised every now and again! You don’t have to pre-plan everything.

Let go of social norms or rules and listen to your gut instead. Rules and social norms can be important, but they shouldn't always dictate your behavior. Being authentic and true to yourself is also important, especially in relationships. There’s no “proper” time to move in with someone, propose, or even send a sweet “thinking of you” text—so follow your own path. For example, say you’ve been dating someone for 2 months and want to say, “I love you.” Congrats! That’s your choice—so don’t waste time worrying that it’s too soon. Do what you feel is right, regardless of what social norms say. It’s okay if you make mistakes along the way. That’s also a part of life!

Make your own decisions without worrying about outside opinions. It’s not really your life if you let other people tell you what you should be doing or how you should do it—so don’t let anyone else dictate your path. You can make your own decisions and follow your heart. For example, say you fall in love, but your parents don’t like what your partner does for a living, or the fact that you both decided not to have kids for the time being. Don’t let their opinions dictate the future of your relationship; take the opportunity to be with the person you love!

Key Takeaways

Separating logic and emotions can help you navigate life. Generally, those who follow the ideals of “Live by the sun, love by the moon” feel that both mentalities have their place in daily life. Sometimes you’ll live by the sun, and other times you’ll love by the moon! In other words, there are times when rationality can help you more, and other times when following your heart will help you solve your problems. Thus, “Live by the sun, love by the moon” is a reminder that finding a balance between logic and emotions can help you find the most satisfaction in life.