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The
beneficent, ever-beautiful female deity of the Navaho and closely related
Apache Indian tribes of the southwestern United States is Changing Woman.
Her name derives from the fact that she can change at will from baby,
to girl, to woman, to old woman, and back again. She is the changing
Moon. Information from the June, 1996 Issue of Mountain Astrologer
The Sun and the Moon teach
us about the natural cycles of life. The Moon cycles in and out of light,
represented by the illumination of the full Moon, the balance of light
and dark at the quarter Moons, and the darkness of the pre-new and new
Moon. At the dark of the Moon, the Sun and Moon conjoin to conceive
a new process together. Watching and participating with the phases of
the Moon is a way for us to tune into the most basic mysteries of As
Above, So Below. Each person is coded with their own special phase of
the Moon determined at birth. Knowing our own personal Moon phase, working
with it, and honoring it, is a way to align with and discover a deeper
understanding of our own personal mysteries.
There is much evidence
that supports the idea that from ancient times the many faces of the
Great Goddess were closely linked to the many phases of the Moon. The
Moon's phases guided many ancient cultures. They looked to the Moon
to align with the natural rhythms of life. The Moon phases guided them
in knowing when to plant, hunt, and perform ceremonial rites, including
fertility rites. It was natural for these cultures to have a magical
connection with the environment. The phases of the Moon helped them
join their inner world of dreams and visions with their outer world
that co-existed in resonant harmony with the forces of nature.
I have found that modern
astrology has inherited eight defined phases of the Moon: the New Moon,
Crescent Moon, First Quarter Moon, Gibbous Moon, Full Moon, Disseminating
Moon, Last Quarter Moon, and Balsamic Moon. These phases correspond
to the equinox and solstice seasons as well as the cross quarter seasons
such as Beltane.
The Sun and Moon begin
and complete their dance approximately every 28 days. Typically, the
Moon's cycle is believed to begin when the Sun and the Moon are exactly
conjunct (together in the sky). The "New Moon" is not seen, however
a day or two later a tiny crescent becomes visible in the evening sky.
Some calendars such as the Jewish and Muslim have their lunar months
beginning with the evening when the Moon first appears and not with
the exact conjunction of the Sun and Moon. In the ancient temples, the
Priestesses did their most powerful ceremonies at the "dark of the Moon"
or near the exact conjunction, when the Moon was invisible from naked
eye observation. The ceremonies performed for the community were then
done when the tiny crescent first appeared.
Some cultures see the
Sun as representing the masculine mysteries and the Moon as representing
the feminine mysteries. However, their are other cultures that saw the
Sun and Moon in reverse roles (some still do). That is one reason why
in Shamanic Astrology the Sun and the Moon do not represent the feminine
and masculine mysteries. Venus and Mars are more specifically suited
to that role. However, the cycle of the Sun and the Moon works as a
prototype for the cycles of the initiation planets, or outer planets,
from Jupiter on out. Mercury, Venus, and Mars have cycles that are uniquely
different due to how closely they orbit the Sun. The Sun and the Moon
do represent co-creative principles, each with specific functions. So,
when we understand the Sun/Moon cycle we have a framework for understanding
our own personal cycles.
At the conjunction of
the Sun and the Moon something is conceived; a thought, an idea, a project,
etc. The Sun is fiery, luminous light, representing conscious awareness.
Without the Sun to reflect on her surface, the Moon is dark, containing
the deep mysteries of the unseen, of the unconscious. At the conjunction,
the Moon is invisible, obscured by the brilliance of the Sun's light,
so what is conceived occurs deep within the unconscious. The Sun then
assists in bringing into our conscious awareness the mysteries of the
Moon. These luminaries dance together, the Moon unseen, for about three
of four days, and then separate. We first notice the tiny crescent Moon
in the evening sky a day or two after the exact New Moon. Thus, the
Moon begins her process of waxing or gestating what was conceived. The
Sun provides the increasing light of awareness and fuel for the process.
The quarter Moons signal the balance between light and dark. The first
quarter Moon is waxing or continuing to gain light, to gain awareness.
The last quarter Moon is waning or decreasing in light, diving into
the darkness to prepare for a new process. For those of you interested
in watching the Moon's phases, the crescent Moon appears in the west
just after sunset. It appears higher in the sky each evening, until
the Full Moon rises in the east sometime after sunset. The waning Moon
rises later and later in the east, until it is rising in the early morning
hours and is visible after sunrise.
The
Sun assists the Moon by illuminating her path. Each day the Moon gains
more light, more awareness. The Sun is the activating support,
the fuel, the illumination for what is incubating with the Moon. As
the Sun and Moon move into opposition (the Full Moon), the fullness
of what was conceived at the New Moon comes to fruition, and is now
birthed into the full light of our conscious minds. (It is interesting
to note that the greatest number of babies are typically born on or
near the Full Moon.) After spending a few days basking in her fullness
the Moon then begins her descent into darkness, into the unconscious,
in preparation for the next meeting with the Sun where something new
is conceived.
The Solstice and Equinox
points correspond to the cycle of the Sun and the Moon. We can also
shrink the cycle of the Moon to correspond to the time of day. These
times are not always exact as the seasons change the length of days
and nights, but they are close. Midnight, 12 am, the time of day representing
greatest darkness associates with the New Moon or Winter Solstice, the
longest night (when the Sun reaches 0 degrees Capricorn). Six o'clock
in the morning, daybreak, the balance of light and dark, represents
the first quarter Moon, or Spring Equinox, when the days and nights
are equal in length (when the Sun reaches 0 degrees Aries). High Noon,
12 pm, is the time when the Sun is near the zenith and casting the greatest
amount of light everywhere, corresponds to the Full Moon or Summer Solstice,
the longest day (when the Sun reaches 0 degrees Cancer). 6 o'clock in
the evening, is dusk, the setting sun when the world again balances
between light and shadow. This is the last quarter Moon, or the Autumnal
Equinox when once again the days and nights are equal in length (when
the Sun reaches 0 degrees Libra). We can also include the other four
phases of the Moon--Crescent, Gibbous, Disseminating, and Balsamic--into
this model. The Crescent Moon is the first sliver of light that emerges
and with it more awareness. This corresponds to 3 AM. the cross quarter
point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. It is the time of
Candlemass in February (when the Sun reaches 15 degrees Aquarius). The
Gibbous Moon has waxed past half full and corresponds to 9 am and the
cross quarter season of Beltane in May (when the Sun reaches 15 degrees
Taurus). The Disseminating Moon is beginning its journey back to darkness,
corresponding to 3 pm, the August cross quarter season of Lammas (when
the Sun reaches 15 degrees Leo). The Balsamic Moon is referred to as
the "dark of the Moon." This corresponds to 9 pm and the November cross
quarter season of the Dead (when the Sun reaches 15 degrees Scorpio).
The Moon moves approximately
12 degrees a day and spends about 2 and 1/2 days in a sign. From the
perspective of the twelve archetypes or signs the Moon journeys through
each month, it seems appropriate to honor the twelve phases of the Moon.
There are four phases in this proposed system that do not have a name.
Interestingly these phases are the mutable signs of Pisces, Gemini,
Virgo and Sagittarius, and they are the signs that complete each season,
thus suggesting a transitional quality to these phases. Pisces is the
last sign before spring equinox, Gemini is the last sign before summer
solstice, Virgo is the last sign before the autumnal equinox, and Sagittarius
is the last sign before the Winter Solstice. I am open to any ideas
others might have about this. It is important to remember that what
I am suggesting here are archetypal possibilities and not the actual
sign the Moon is in during those phases. Due to the Sun's movement through
the zodiac or ecliptic, the New Moon and Full Moon point each month
are found in different signs. For example, the New Moon in November
is either in Scorpio or Sagittarius and the Full Moon is either in Taurus
or Gemini. In December the New Moon is either in Sagittarius or Capricorn
and the Full Moon is either in Gemini or Cancer. Another example, is
that the sign the Moon is in when a person is born may not be the archetypal
phase of the Moon. For example, I was born one day past the last quarter
Moon corresponding to the Libra archetype by phase, but the sign my
Moon was in was Sagittarius. These archetypal associations may help
to offer clues that can assist our understanding of how best to work
with our own special phase of the Moon.
THE SUN/MOON ANGLE
We are each born somewhere
within the Sun and Moon's monthly dance. This is called the Sun/Moon
angle and it simply refers to the phase the Moon was in at a person's
birth. This information can be determined by figuring the number of
degrees between the natal Sun and the natal Moon. The ephemeris gives
the dates of the four phases of the Moon or for more precise information
computer charts are available with this information.
Understanding the collective
cycle of the Sun and the Moon helps us understand the significance of
our own Sun/Moon angle, or personal new Moon point, that may or may
not coincide with the collective Moon cycle. Everyone has there own
personal power point they can utilize to conceive new ideas, projects,
answers to questions, dreams, goals and so on.
The potency of this point
astonished me as I conceived this information in my own personal Sun/Moon
angle. Back in August of 1996, on the exact day of my Sun/Moon angle,
I was wondering where to begin tuning others into the mysteries of "As
Above, So Below." Early that morning I sat gazing at my Moon (which
is the day after the last quarter Moon) and suddenly I knew. The Moon
is the most visible and easy to track of the celestial bodies. It's
cycle is the prototype for so many other cycles. Understanding the Moon
cycle is a way of understanding ourselves. Teaching others to tune into
their Sun/Moon angle gives them a potent and powerful personal timing
for doing personal ceremony and for tuning into their own personal cycles
and rhythms. It provides a personally coded timing to conceive any new
ideas, new dreams, or new realities a person might want to birth into
their experience.
Several Native American
traditions understood the Sun/Moon angle as a woman's personal fertility
cycle. In these traditions, the angle of the Sun and Moon at birth represents
the conception point or fertility point in a woman's cycle during child
bearing years. The opposite point, if her body is in alignment with
her specialized coding, is when the Moontime or menstrual cycle is coded
to begin. For example, the timing coded for my Moontime is the day after
the first quarter Moon (opposite my Sun/Moon angle). As of now I have
not experience alignment with this cycle in my own biological cycle
except a couple of times a year. For women whose cycle is out
of sync with their Sun/Moon angle this provides useful information about
an additional fertility cycle that can happen outside of their normal
biological cycle. I happen to have first hand experience, as my first
child was conceived way past my normal ovulation cycle, but exactly
in my Sun/Moon angle. An additional benefit to realigning with our original
coding is that it restores the intended balance and power of our feminine
cycle, it empowers our fertility cycle, and provides the knowledge of
when to consciously choose to conceive a child. Knowledge of this
cycle is also useful for anyone desiring to align consciously with this
personal power point for conceiving ideas, answers, dreams, and so on.
The Sky Mysteries are
our soul's mysteries. The Sun/Moon angle is a perfect place to begin
to work with these mysteries. A good way to start is by knowing your
Sun/Moon angle, learn what it looks like in the sky, learn to recognize
all the phases of the Moon and especially your own special phase and
it's opposite point. Notice what comes through for you during your Sun/Moon
angle. Ask questions during that time and open to receive the answers,
begin projects, ceremonialize something personal to you. This is your
personal conception point, limited only by your own imagination.
It is also useful to work
with the other phases of the Moon. The literal New Moon and Full Moon
are important times to work with collectively. The Moon moves and changes
shapes throughout her cycle, and teaches us about the pattern of time.
It is a pattern that repeats itself continuously, daily, monthly, yearly.
It teaches us about the pattern of our own internal rhythms.
Sun/Moon angle charts
are available through JCA Unlimited for $8.00
for one year and $12.00 for two years. These
charts provide the day and exact time each month the Sun and Moon return
to the same angle, or phase, present at a person's birth. The conception
window to attune to is a three day window. It begins the day before
the exact angle and lasts through the day after the exact angle.
The June, 1996 issue of
the Mountain Astrologer was dedicated to the Moon. The following are
passages from an article by French astrologer Danick Jawer. The first
is on questions you might ask yourself at the four main phases of the
Moon.
"...New Moon: What marking
event is taking place? What is being conceived inside of you at this
time? (This is also a good question to ask at your Sun/Moon angle.)
First Quarter: What's growing inside of you? Where do you want it to
go? Full Moon: Do you see more clearly? What's the vision at this point
and its relationship with the seed that was planted at the New Moon?
(This can also be asked at the opposite point of your Sun/Moon angle.)
Last Quarter Moon: How can you consciously go further, share with the
world what you've discovered and prepare for a new cycle?"
This next passage is self-explanatory:
"To be aware of the cycles
of the Moon is to feel the waves of changing energy within ourselves,
as well as outside. The energy that is developed from the point of conception,
the New Moon, ascends toward clarity and vision at the Full Moon, and
spreads the seeds of comprehension and action as the Moon returns to
a new conception. This observation alone teaches us the relentless capacity
of the Moon to raise energy for the purpose of bringing things to life.
And so can we."
� Carolyn Brent
October, 1996
JCA Unlimited, L.L.C. PO Box 91498, Tucson, AZ 520-744-0506
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