The sextile between Moon and Mercury brings together two fundamental drives: Moon's concern with the luminary of feeling, instinct, and the inner emotional world — the night-light of the chart, and Mercury's concern with the planet of communication, thought, and the movement of the mind — the messenger of the chart.
The Nature of the Sextile
60° — an easy, opportunity-bringing angle between compatible energies. Harmonious but requiring action to activate.
How This Combination Works
When Moon and Mercury are in sextile, their energies cannot be understood in isolation. They interact, modify, and shape each other. Moon's drive is conditioned by Mercury's influence, and vice versa. The sextile describes the quality of this interaction: in productive cooperation, offering opportunity.
The result is a consistent pattern in the native's life — a characteristic way of handling the domains governed by Moon and Mercury that reflects the quality of the aspect between them.
In Practice
This aspect shapes how the native feel and respond emotionally in relation to think and communicate. When the aspect is harmonious (sextile, trine), the two energies cooperate easily, producing talent and flow. When it is challenging (square, opposition), the two energies conflict, producing tension that must be consciously worked with. When it is a conjunction, the two energies are fused, operating as a single combined force.
The houses occupied by Moon and Mercury indicate the areas of life where this pattern expresses itself most consistently.
Further Reading
See the full articles on Moon, Mercury, and Sextile for a deeper understanding of the forces at work in this combination.