Throughout
the writings of Western alchemy and esoterism, the royal marriage
of the two Great Lights (the Sun and Moon) has been bestowed with
honors of greatest import.
My
astrological studies have at times 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… and
I'll probably never get there... as there are marvelous mysteries
meant to defy normal everyday consciousness and explanation. I'm still
hip deep in working out and musing over many of the why's and how's...
I
realize admitting this is not a typical behavior and/or a typical
statement for an astrologer to make. We seldom admit we're still working
out the why's and how's of anything. 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 and share your superior wisdom on the matter.)
Anyway...
I'll share a small bit of what I do understand and briefly discuss
three astrological points and/or axes that reflect the Sun/Moon Conjunctio
in the astrological 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 here, 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 (Sun and Moon). 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."(Obscure referral to denote the concept
of "endless.")
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 speculative 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. It's not required. 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. In the end... it's all pure speculation!
Anyway...
Vedic astrologers 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 this simple idea 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... however,
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?
From
the alchemical writing "Theatrum Chemicum" (1613 AD)
Volume IV, XV Duodecim tractatus de lapide philosophorum, Anonymous
An excerpt as quoted by Carl Jung in his book Aion:
"the
aqua rosis nostri (water of our dew), whose "mother is the
midpoint of the heavenly and earthly Sun and Moon."
But
so what in the heck does this mean?
In
this tractatus (treatise) the anonymous alchemist has been discussing
the properties of the "philosopher's stone." The philosopher's
stone is the mysterious "magnet which draws all things to itself."
(Keep in mind that in 1613 AD, we were still somewhat in awe of the
"mysterious, magical" properties of magnets...)
The
philosopher's stone was the initial substance that the alchemist was
attempting to create through experimentation. With the philospher's
stone, one could then transform the base metal of lead into valuable
gold.
The
author has further (in this passage) now equated the much sought after
"philosopher's stone" with the "aqua rosis nostri"
(water of our dew).
In
Western alchemical writings, the royal marriage of the Sun (heavenly)
and Moon (earthly) was the final transformation stage whereby the
end product (i.e. gold) could be created. Out of the Sun/Moon conjunctio
(the philosopher's stone), the alchemist's work of transforming base
metals into gold can be finally be completed. The coming together
of the Sun (heavenly) and Moon (earthly) is the mother which gives
birth to the philosopher's stone.
If
you managed to get lost in this boring explanation (and I can't blame
you) - then here's the point:
The
marriage (conjunctio) of the Sun and Moon - the coming together of
heaven and earth - results in the philosopher's stone that in turn
gives one the ability to transform spiritual lead and give birth to
spiritual gold. Spiritual gold can potentially be created in our lives
by the alchemical "coming together" of the combined energies
(midpoint) of the Sun and the Moon.
To
be sure, there are many, much older alchemy (ancient Greek) text referrals
to the royal marriage of the Sun and Moon which I could have quoted
here.... but this passage caught my fancy due to its usage of the
word "midpoint." Obviously, the anonymous author is not
referring to our modern zodiacal calculations of the Sun/Moon midpoint
axis. Or then again maybe he/she is…
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...
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 (speculative)
theory that I won't go into here. If interested, you should fork out
some bucks and buy the book.
back
to the Deep 
