โYours is the light by which my spirit’s born: – you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars.โ
โ E.E. Cummings
As “Eclipse Season” is upon us, I thought it might be time to take a look at what the two “Luminaries” The Sun & The Moon actually mean in our horoscopes, and what this may mean when we consider the nature of eclipses, and their effect, or indeed perhaps lack, on us. The word ECLIPSE is defined in the dictionary is as follows:
“an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination,” or “a loss of significance or power in relation to another person or thing”
The Sun: Our Inner Hero
The Sun in the horoscope represents the central core of our being โ our life force and vitality. It shows, by sign, how we need to shine, and by house, where we need to shine, to express our sense of being unique. Our inner authority and self-confidence are governed by the Sun, which represents the Father, the masculine principle, and our image of the hero.
Sunday is the Sun’s day, and the Sun rules the sign of Leo. Astronomically, the Sun sits at the centre of the Solar System, with all the planets revolving around it. There is no life without the Sun: it provides light and heat, orders our days through its rising and setting, and orders our years through the rhythm of the seasons in temperate climates.
A Universal Symbol
Most ancient cultures worshipped a solar deity โ though not all Sun gods were male. Solar goddesses appear across European mythology: the Baltic Saulฤ, the Germanic Sรณl/Sunna, the English Sun, the Slavic Solntse, and the Gaulish Sul. The shrine to the Romano-British goddess Sulis Minerva can still be seen today at Bath.
The Sun in the Birth Chart
Just as the Earth revolves around the Sun, we revolve around the central core of the Sun in our own birth chart. To develop our best potential, we need to centre ourselves and focus our energy in a particular direction โ and the position of the Sun in the chart offers a strong indication of what that focus and direction might be.
In the chart, the Sun describes:
- Our sense of identity
- Our purpose in life
- What we want to concentrate on
- Where we are headed โ our goals and what we are becoming
The Sun is our centre: the path to the expression of the self, corresponding to the divine spark, the individual creative spirit within us. It is the inner light of personal power, our essential vitality โ the voice that says “I am.”
The Moon: Our Inner Rhythm
Where the Sun governs identity, the Moon governs our instinctive reactions and feelings. It is intimately connected to the rhythm of our inner and domestic life โ what feels safe and familiar, and how we feed and nurture both ourselves and others.
The symbol for the Moon โ two or three backwards-curving semicircles โ represents the waxing Moon, and seems to reflect the Moon’s own reflective principle and its deep association with the past.
The Cycle of the Triple Goddess
The Moon’s cycle can be seen as two-fold: waxing and waning. But it has also long been understood in a triple aspect tied to Fate, as the Maiden, Mother, and Crone, or as the three Norns (Wyrd Sisters) of Norse mythology: the Spinner, the Weaver, and the Cutter of the thread of life.
| Phase | Mythic Figure | Life Stage | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waxing Moon | Artemis/Diana, the huntress | Youth โ the young woman, full of life | Spinner of the thread |
| Full Moon | Ceres/Demeter, Mother Earth | Maturity โ woman at her most fecund | The Mother/Weaver of the thread |
| Waning Moon | Hecate, the Crone | Old age โ the older woman | Cutter of the thread; healer, “witch,” or wise woman |
Monday is ruled by the Moon, as is the sign of Cancer. Astronomically, the Moon moves through a recognisable cycle, waxing from New Moon to Full and then waning again, presenting change within a predictable monthly rhythm. In the birth chart, it’s associated with mood and with the experience of flux and change.
The Moon’s Astronomical Rhythm
The Moon is Earth’s satellite. It has no light of its own, but reflects the light of the Sun. It moves through one astrological sign roughly every 2ยฝ days, and through all twelve signs in around 29ยฝ days โ giving us thirteen “lunations” in a solar year. The earliest calendars, some dating back to the Ice Age, were lunar ones, which tells us that time was originally reckoned by the Moon.
The Moon as Goddess and Body
In many ancient cultures, the Moon was associated with the Goddess, the primal deity ruling over the Wheel of Birth, Life, and Death. From this idea of the life cycle, the Moon became linked with fate, and through fate, with the body, our point of incarnation on the physical plane.
In the personal birth chart, the Moon represents the body: its physical nature and physical needs, what nourishment it requires, and its daily rhythms. There’s a parallel here with nurturing more broadly; the Moon shows how we care for ourselves and others, and what we need to feel safe, secure, held, and contained. There is often a connection between our relationship to our mother and the way we feel about our own bodies.
Sun and Moon Compared
Where the Sun engages us in a lifelong journey of heroic discovery, the Moon tells us what we are by nature, what we do well without trying. It symbolises the areas of life where things ebb, flow, and fluctuate, much as the Moon itself waxes and wanes. In both ancient and esoteric astrology, the Moon has been linked to the soul, and some traditions hold that it reveals what the soul has brought with it into this incarnation.
While the Sun looks forward, the Moon looks back, carrying our ancestral memories down through the generations. It represents our instinctive responses, our gut reactions: the response we have before we’ve had a chance to think “logically.” This can make the Moon appear irrational, though at heart it isn’t; our lunar reactions are rooted in deep needs and instincts that are powerful and cannot simply be ignored.
Eclipses and the Moon
At the time of eclipses, the strength of their connection to your natal chart may trigger actions and behaviours linked deeply to your soul path.
Even if an eclipse doesn’t contact your natal planets directly (a tight orb of around one degree is worth using here), you can look to the house of your horoscope where the eclipse falls, and consider what might be coming to an end there, what is being “eclipsed.” This may be the perfect time to look at how outdated, inherited behaviours can be released, making room for new, authentic ways of relating to ourselves and to others.
www.joannakategrant.com 
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