iVillage

Now we have looked a little bit at the mystery of the Moon, but really we have only presented one half of the equation. If you remember, it is always Moon-Earth-Sun, and we need to bring the Sun into this discussion.

Just as we pointed out that our life here on Earth needs to keep an appropriate distance from our Moon, less we fall backward, the same is true with the Sun. We cannot get too close to the Sun or, like Icarus, we will be burnt by the solar rays. The Earth is always somewhere between the Moon on one side, and the Sun on the other, located at just enough distance from the Moon to remain an individual, and just enough distance from the Sun to feel its warmth, but not be burnt up by the solar rays.

If the Moon represents, our mother and where we came from, then the Sun represents the father principle and where we are going, what we will become. In the tradition of astrology, the Sun represents the father, the mentor, the one in authority, what we look up to, what we hope to become, and, in general, our future. We come forth from the Moon and we go toward the Sun.

The Sun is also said to represent the Self, and everything about us that is future oriented, what we will become when all is said and done, how we will turn out. When we have finished taking all the changes possible to us, the Sun (our Self) is what remains, our potential realized.

By this point, you should have the idea that this Moon-Earth-Sun relationship is all about how we are balanced between our past (the Moon) and our future (the Sun), not too far and not too close. We are strung out between the past and the future, the Moon and the Sun. Our life on Earth is always somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. We keep our distance from each one. That distance makes life possible.

When the Moon is strong, we remember and are pulled toward our past, perhaps getting caught up in reverie and old habits. If the Moon is too strong, we lose out on our future, and remained mired in the past. When the Sun is strong, we put all that behind us and surge toward the future, coming ever more into our own, but perhaps risking burnout, if we move too far, too fast. The balanced or middle way is the way of even growth.

As astrologers, you already know how to examine the positions of the Sun and the Moon in the chart, their angular separation or phase angle, and measure how strong or weak these two bodies are in the nativity. Is the Moon so strong that it keeps one from the future? Is the client drowning in their past? Or is the Sun too strong and scorching the every attempt to get ahead before it can amount to anything? These are examples of how this esoteric knowledge of the Sun and Moon can be used to advantage. For those interested in more information on the Lights, I hope to have a separate book or monograph available soon.