When the Moon is in the first house of the native and it is not afflicted in any manner, the person will be exceedingly beautiful due to lunar qualities being in their appearance. To some extent, being a Cancer ascendant (the zodiac sign of the Moon) also bestows those qualities upon the person. However, such individuals are likely to be quite emotional by nature, and it will be easy to upset them if someone does not conduct themselves according to their wishes.
Due to the overly emotional nature of Moon, such individuals tend to be less logical at times. However, they are pure-hearted. If the ascendant house is that of a zodiac sign that is friendly for the Moon (zodiac signs of Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus) or where it is exalted in (Taurus, which is owned by Venus), the person will also have excellent wealth and shall never lack money and material comforts*. Additionally, Moon will also provide good results in watery signs including Scorpio, Pisces, and Cancer. Scorpio is good for the Moon even though it is ruled by Mars, which is a malefic planet. However, Moon in Scorpio will cause the person to have more mental anxieties to some extent. This is because the only enemies of the Moon are Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu.
*There is an alternative viewpoint here that if Moon is exalted in the first house, the ascendant or native may end up being way too emotional due to which their financial condition may fluctuate as well. However, from my knowledge, an exalted Moon in the ascendant house without any malefic aspects or conjunctions will give decent wealth to the person regardless even if their emotions about it keep changing.
The benefic effects of the Moon are further heightened if the Moon is aspected by Jupiter, Mercury, or Venus. If aspected by a malefic, then the Moon will get afflicted and result in issues for the native.
Since the first house also governs the overall health of the native, a strong Moon will give the native excellent health and they will have a very good constitution (means, they will have strong hands, legs, internal organs unless some other planet governing them is affected) and they will not fall sick easily.
Such people are more likely to enjoy being near watery places; for example, they would like fountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, etc.
Some things to note here are:
- Moon in Cancer – Moon will be in Her own sign, and in some texts such as Brihat Jataka, it is implied that Moon in Cancer is even more powerful than an exalted Moon because of the emotional fluctuations being less than if it were in exaltation.
- Moon in Taurus – Moon here will be exalted and give excellent wealth to the native, and the person is also likely to be an enjoyer of finer things of life (thanks to Venusian qualities).
- Moon conjunct Ketu – this is a bad combination for wealth because Ketu in the first house will cause detachment to Moon’s qualities; the person will still be good looking, but the abilities of the Moon to give wealth to the native will be affected if Ketu afflicts Moon. However, this combination can help the person be the foremost of leaders in religious leaders.
- Moon conjunct Rahu – extremely bad combination for mental health; the benefic qualities of Moon will likely be neutralized by Rahu, so the person will end up being sickly and prone to diseases as well as suffer more mental anxiety. However, there is one exception – if Rahu is conjunct in Taurus; Rahu performs well in Taurus while Moon exalts in the same sign, so in this situation, then in some cases, I have seen the person to be quite successful if they can embody the qualities of Rahu, meaning they use their mind, intellect, and wits to achieve what they want. However, the mental anxiety part remains because a Moon-Rahu in Taurus person will always crave validation from the world, even if they may achieve the same.
- Moon conjunct Mars – although Mars is a malefic planet, the conjunction of Moon and Mars is known as Chandra Mangal Yoga and it can give excellent wealth to the person because Mars is not an enemy of Moon, so it furthers Moon’s capabilities.
- Moon conjunct Jupiter – this gives rise to the most powerful Yog possibly achievable with Moon, the Gajkesari Yog. When Moon is conjunct Jupiter in the ascendant, the person will have excellent health, very good longevity, strong physical constitution, wealth and luxuries, and they shall also be well-learned in religious scriptures and be very intelligent.
The reason why I would say Gajakesari Yoga is more powerful than Chandra Mangal Yoga is because Mars, even though not an enemy of Moon, is a malefic planet regardless, but Jupiter and Moon are the two most powerful benefic planets, so their combined results will always give the person more benefits.
Note that if the Moon is:
- Not placed in its own sign or exaltation sign
- Not aspected by any benefic planets
- Not conjunct with any benefic planets
- Not conjunct with Mars
It causes the emotional powers of the Moon to spiral out of control, thereby causing the person to feel emotionally depressed and restless.
Additionally, if Moon is afflicted, it will cause the person to suffer in terms of physical appearance and mental instability primarily, since the first house usually governs those two things.