We can’t look directly at the Sun, because it’s light would blind us. We can feel its warmth, and its life giving energy, but the light itself can be only be seen via its reflection by the Moon. So the Moon becomes the reflecting luminary, the translator of the Sun’s energy. And in the life, the Moon symbol channels the Sun’s spirit into manifestation, in our day to day existence.
In a post on the Ephemeris, we saw that while the Sun takes a whole year to get through one entire sweep of the zodiac, the Moon only take 28 to 29 days, or just under a month.
This remarkable difference in speed of motion is very telling in the human experience: the longer duration of the Sun’s sweep relates to the big picture, purpose-driven journey through life, while the much quicker Moon relates to the our reaction and handling of the warp and woof of daily existence.
The Moon is our instinctive, in-the-moment reaction to people and circumstances. It’s the knee-jerk response that most accurately and honestly shows how we feel about a stimulus, before any rationalization.
In handling the ongoing barrage of stimuli through the day, the Moon function shapes our moods. Unstable or exaggerated states of mind as hysteria or manic episodes are expressions of the Moon function run amuck.
The Moon symbolizes what we need to feel secure. It’s where we go when we feel threatened, or out of sorts. It’s our place of comfort. Metaphorically it’s the lap of the great mother.
The Moon is the mother figure, the source of caring, that which tends to our emotional needs. The Moon is the embryo, the ultimate place of retreat from the world. It’s the vessel into which we might retreat, and literally or metaphorically curl into a fetal position, when circumstances get harsh or threatening.
While the Sun’s energy can be deployed – or held back – consciously, the Moon’s energy cannot be consciously channeled. You may be aware of the manner in which you instinctively react to things, but by its very nature, instinct does not lend itself to modulation or change.
The cyclical nature of stimuli and our instinctual response to them gets codified into habit, a way of doing things that gives us comfort.
Depending on its sign, and interaction with the other planets, the need of the Moon can cross the line into compulsion. Extreme insatiable need or compulsive behavior can pull a person in a very different direction than pointed by the Sun sign, setting up an internal tug or war without easy resolution.
The Sun and Moon energies are inextricably tied together as yin and yang: the Sun’s life giving energy must be channeled through the Moon’s manifesting need. And this blend of Sun and Moon energies expressed in a particular manner via their respective zodiac signs, is our essential personality.
Keywords: Daily Life, Instinctive Reaction, Knee-Jerk Response, Moods, Security Need, Refuge, Comfort, Mother Figure, Source of Caring, Emotional Needs, Embryo, Place of Retreat, Habit, Compulsive Behavior