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The Planets and Awakening is Volume 5 in a series of astrological essays from some of astrology's leading lights. In this essay, astrologer Eric Meyers embraces a spiritual perspective of each of the planets in the horoscope and offers insight into becoming more conscious of these individual and collective energies.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
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CONTENTS
THE PLANETS AND AWAKENING
Eric Meyers
In my book, The Astrology of Awakening: Eclipse of the Ego, I argue that the mindset which primarily drives astrological inquiry and discourse is motivated by self-gain. Most of us would like greater self-knowledge, to have an inside peek into what’s going to happen, or to know if ‘the stars’ will be kind. These needs are understandable, but they place several demands on astrology. It postulates that astrology is focused strictly on personal information, that it can reveal specifics, and that the universe doles out rewards and punishments. This perspective may compromise what astrology is capable of, while also keeping us orbiting around the ego instead of moving beyond it.
In this essay, I’ll explore the idea that astrology can be used to clarify a path of awakening, which moves beyond a personal orientation and towards soul realization. Instead of astrology being able to provide us with specifics about what will happen, it is the chart owner who has control over the manifestation of the chart. The astrology chart is analogous to a car, while the chart owner is the driver – and we can all learn to drive competently or not.
The ability to drive capably results from the development of awareness. There is a wide spectrum of consciousness, from the darkness of being unconscious to the vibrancy of spiritual awakening. Our position on this range is the determining factor for whether our life turns out to run smoothly or not (what the ego often defines as ‘good’ or ‘bad’).
The focus here is specifically on the planets, how each of them can be either in service to the ego and its hunger for self-gain, or in partnership with soul realization. I believe the planets are energy for us to utilize as we learn spiritual lessons. Planets are not forces that deliver our fate. When we change the focus of our astrological inquiry and discourse, we can have a renewed sense of partnering with the universe to co-create a more awakened civilization.
The Sun and Moon: A Spiritual View
The Sun: awareness, vitality, soul realization, radiance, energy The Moon: unconscious, instinct, ego, heart foundation, basic humanness
The shift in consciousness from the ego to the soul can be understood in how we view the Sun and Moon. The ego tends to look at life in terms of its own experience. Since gender and parental influences play such a large role in one’s development and identity, it’s natural to see the Sun, which radiates energy out, as masculine, and the Moon, which is thought of as a receptive energy, as feminine.
This is certainly one way to see it, but is it the only way? The amazing developments in the twentieth century teach us that there is no objective reality – everything is relative to the consciousness of the observer. There are many ways to approach life, many possible meanings. We can look at the Sun and Moon through the lens of gender, and we might also look at them through the lens of developing consciousness. There might be additional lenses too, but the focus here will be on how the Sun and Moon relate to the process of spiritual awakening.
The Sun’s light is paired with awareness, while the Moon exists in the darkness of unconsciousness. The Moon is classically considered a ‘luminary’, but this designation belies our understanding that the Moon only reflects the light of the Sun. The Sun’s light (and heat) promotes growth and sustains 3life – the Sun signifies being present and vital in the moment, awake. In contrast, very little grows where it is dark and cold. The various degrees of illumination of the Moon are analogous to the varying degrees of awareness we might have of our ‘well’ of accumulated experiences that are held in the unconscious.
From our vantage point on Earth, the Sun and Moon appear to be equal in size. This goes along with the truth that the masculine and feminine represent complementary and equal energies. However, astronomical reality provides a reason to have another view. We know the Moon reflects the light of the Sun. Would that suggest that the feminine is a reflection of the masculine? A transpersonal view suggests that the human condition (Moon) is a reflection of Spirit (Sun). Adopting this view, we can learn to see life anew and connect our energy with a broader reality.
Another example of inequality is found in the fact that 64 million Moons would fit inside the Sun. From the spiritual lens, the enormous difference in size illustrates how the Sun pertains to our ‘bigger self’, our soul connection to the radiance of Spirit, while the Moon goes with our smaller, egoic self which operates from instinct and ego.
There is an evolutionary movement from resolving the past (Moon) to the realization of the present (Sun), but this doesn’t mean that the Sun is better or more important than the Moon. We are growing from the unconsciousness in the Moon to awakening and honoring the sacred marriage by fully being in both worlds. Though the Moon ‘holds’ our lunacy or madness – the regressive parts of our nature, it’s also full of beauty. Instead of any negative judgments about the Moon, it’s more gentle and accurate to see it as a less conscious version of ourself. There is nothing wrong with being four years old, and our inner child remains with us too. The point is to move beyond the limitations of being like a four-year-old. We assist the Moon in maturing, so Moon seeds can sprout into Sun flowers. Plants continually need water – the Moon (seed) requires love (water), not abandonment
We see that the light of Spirit (Sun) does not need individual human consciousness (Moon) for its existence; rather, individuals are enveloped in the broader spiritual sustenance of the Sun. Sri Ramana Maharshi says, ‘The body cannot exist without the Self [his term for Spirit], whereas the Self can exist without the body.’1 In our spiritual growth we integrate the broader awareness and presence of the Sun into the vehicle of the separate self (Moon). The Sun and Moon are in a sacred marriage to bridge the metaphysical (Sun) with the physical (Moon).
The Moon is associated with our humanness, the requirement to eat, sleep, exercise and perform all bodily functions. The Moon is our well of emotion, urges, attachments and memories that are unconscious, which become activated in various ways. In our vulnerable position, our reaction to life is extremely subjective and changeable, all stemming from the past, which colors our experience of the present. Many spiritual teachers call this state of subjectivity the ego dream, which is continually projected upon the world.
Most of us exist in this dreamlike state and spend our lifetime seeing to our personal needs for maintenance and contentment. From this perspective of separation consciousness, there is little (or no) awareness that our energy is connected to everything. Broader transpersonal issues are not relevant for our base level of functioning, and certainly do not appear to be urgent, so the focus remains on more mundane matters.
The Moon stores our experience in the unconscious; we hold on to the energy which impacts us most strongly. There are many degrees of awareness in understanding why we hold on to what is past. All of us are unresolved about various experiences and we hold on to the memory. The Moon ideally 4wants love and security, which is not usually available in our most trying moments. Eventually we might find self-love and acceptance, to make peace with the past and let it go. We can release the impact of the past by moving the energy through emotional catharsis, breath work, exercise or any other means to free what has been pent up. When we empty the proverbial cup, we naturally open to the dynamism and possibilities of the present.
