Throughout
mythology and alchemy, the royal marriage of the two Great Lights (the
Sun and Moon) has been bestowed with honors of greatest import.
During
recent years, my personal astrological studies have been intensely
focused on gaining a deeper, fuller understanding of the Sun/Moon
Conjunctio
as
it relates to astrology and the birth chart.
Whatever
the reason for my interest - I'm not "there," yet… I'm
still hip deep in working out many of the why's and how's...
I
realize that admitting this is not a typical behavior and/or statement
for an astrologer to make. We never admit we're still working out many
of the why's and how's of something out. Heck, I'm already supposed to
know everything there is to know! Right? (And no... no matter how clever
and wise you might be... this is not your golden opportunity to
write in to Dr Z and share your superior wisdom on the matter.)
Anyway...
While I'm still in the midst of figuring things out - I'll share
a small
bit of what I do understand and briefly discuss three astrological
concepts that reflect the Sun/Moon Conjunctio in the birth chart.
Lunar
Nodes
Recent studies and discoveries reveal our ancient
Greek ancestors of Western Tropical Astrology knew all about Nodes - but
somewhere along the line, through the passing of time, the Lunar Nodes
got lost and forgotten in Tropical Astrology. Not
so long ago (when considering the "big picture" of centuries),
we Western Tropical astrologers adopted back (swiped) this significant
axis from Eastern Vedic astrologers in India (who'd never lost them in
the first place).
For
any beginners who might have snuck in, the Lunar nodes are not planets.
They are axis points that mark the intersection of the Moon's orbit with
the illusory orbit of the Sun as it "appears" to revolve around
the Earth. Unlike the planets, the Lunar nodes travel backwards through
the Zodiacal signs at a rate of 3 minutes a day, taking approximately
18 1/2 years to cycle through all 12 signs of the Zodiac.
And
what the Lunar Nodes "do" or "don't do" (according to Tropical Astrology) depends
pretty much on which of a dozen or more astrology books on written on
this subject you've chosen to read and "buy into." There are
more speculative ideas on what the Lunar Nodes are and do than "Carter's
has little pills."
One
of the more popular ideas currently in vogue (since the early 1900s) is
that the Lunar Nodes are somehow tied up with our Karma Destiny and Path.
If you're a reincarnationist (and a sucker for Karmic concepts), then
you'll love this particular take on the Lunar Nodes.
According
to this view, the North Node is where we're headed in this lifetime.
The South
Node is where we've come from. The energy contained in the
South Node is our path of least resistance (it's stuff we've already
mastered in
our past lives), and the energy in the North Node is the path
we should be endeavoring to struggle toward.
Don't
Go Into Shock
But suffice to say, among Tropical astrologers, there is very little true
and real consensus on the Lunar Nodes. Try not to go into shock, but not
every astrologer and/or person on the planet adheres to the metaphysical
theory of reincarnation. Even more importantly... if you happen to be
a "dyed-in-the-wool" reincarnationist, then it's important to
realize that it's downright unethical to shove your own personal metaphysical
beliefs on other people. Face it! Neither you or I are the fount of all
knowledge and wisdom.
Anyway...
those lucky Vedic astrologers whose tradition never lost sight of the
Nodal axis aren't plagued with our seeming lack of consensus and/or uncertainty
regarding the Nodes. Their mythology and ancient tradition knows the Lunar
Nodal axis (the dragon) as a hostile enemy to the great love union of
the Sun and Moon.
Core
Meaning
Here's my suggestion for personalizing the meaning of the Nodes and clearing
away a bit of the confusion... Boiled
all the way down to the core meaning - the Lunar Nodes seem to act
as "connections." We
primarily have the Ebertin studies (Cosmobiology) to thank for this quite
practical, very usable concept of the Lunar Nodes - with Ebertin
(The Combination of Stellar Influences) listing the main principle
of the "Dragon's Head" (the North Node) as an "association or alliance."
In
her wonderful Modern Textbook of Astrology, originally
published in the 1950s (and a prime example of why one should
never the words "Modern"
or "New" in a book title), Margaret E. Hone remarks that
one of the theories of the Lunar Nodes is:
"the
line the North and South Lunar Nodes form across the chart may be thought
of as receptive in the North and depleting in the South. It is as if
the person could receive and benefit by the 'head,' in the terms of
house and sign in question, but that he/she is called upon to give in
terms of the situation of the 'tail.'"
Now,
go back and add on these simple ideas of "connections" to whichever particular
metaphysical belief you happen to adhere to... but remember not to give
into the temptation of forcing your beliefs on others...
Part
of Fortune
Next is the Part of Fortune. The Part of Fortune is calculated by
combining the archetypal energies of the Sun, Moon and Ascendant.
Controversy
looms here, as well. Recent
translations of the astrologer, Ptolemy (2nd Century AD) have revealed
new light on the original method of calculation of the Part of Fortune.
According
to this ancient tradition - just where the Part of Fortune is located
depends upon whether one is born during daylight hours or in the nighttime
hours.
Astrologers
are still mixed (up) on this... Briefly,
according to Dane Rudhyar (from his book "Lunation Cycles") the Part of
Fortune denotes:
"the
focal point for the expression of power generated by the soli-lunar
relationship. This power manifests in various ways - as sex, as personal
magnetism, as radiant health; in short, as any and all kinds of personal
experience which pertain to the level of human activity where the dualism
of 'life' reigns supreme. And because it is also at this level that
we can discover the root of what men call 'happiness,' the connection
between the Part of Fortune and the individual's capacity for happiness
- and the special nature of his happiness - becomes explainable."
Sun/Moon
Midpoint
The third axis is the Sun/Moon midpoint.
The
concept of midpoints (see Halfway to Heaven) in astrology is a fairly
new concept. Fact
is, though, in mythology and alchemy - the Sun/Moon "midpoint" axis is
quite old. Don't believe me?
Click
on this - oh
ye, disbelieving scoffer...
And
of the three axes I've mentioned in this section - the Sun/Moon midpoint
axis is the one which interests me the most. I sometimes wonder if a big
part of my fascination is that nobody really "messes" with it much...
no one seems to be particularly interested... Oh, to be sure, we have
our stock
definitions of what the Sun/Moon midpoint is... However... it just
seems there is more... much more...
However,
I shouldn't make a blanket statement that absolutely no one is interested
in the Sun/Moon midpoint... In the fascinating writings of Helen Adams
Garrett, The Karmic Horoscope, she utilized the Sun/Moon midpoint
in a big way! She used it as what she called the "Karmic Degree"
and with it formed a totally new chart, placing the Sun/Moon midpoint
where the Ascendant degree normally goes. It's part and parcel of a very
fascinating theory that I won't go into here. If interested, you should
fork out some bucks and buy the book.
back
to the Deep 
