The Moon - The path of life

The interpretation of the Moon as an archetype is a vast subject. I would like to examine it from a particular angle.

After reading Liz Greene on the multiple faces of the Moon, I wanted to compare this vision with that which appears in humanistic astrology and especially in evolutionary astrology.

For Jeff Green, the Moon is in direct correlation with the Ego. He associates the Moon with our identity, our self-image and how we perceive ourselves.

How can we reconcile Jeff Green's approach and a vision of the Moon associated with our instincts, our dependencies, our sense of belonging, our vulnerability, etc.?

I will follow Rudhyar's approach in one of his first books “New mansions for new men”. In the chapter “The song of Life”, he compares the mother's womb to the human psyche, the womb being at the physiological level what the psyche is at the psycho-mental level. The womb is the place where an alchemical transformation takes place coming from a call of light to give birth to a human being. About the psyche, Rudhyar states: “It is the womb of the Self, the "place" where the inherited ancestral soul-energies are churned by the rhythm of the psychic life, and whence, perhaps, a god-like Individual will be born”.

The mind can be considered the alchemical cauldron where the process of individuation takes place. Just as the fetus goes through different stages inside the womb, the formation of individuality takes place in the conscious self.

Rudhyar placed great emphasis on the fact that the size of the Moon is equivalent to the size of the Sun, when viewed from Earth. There is a powerful symbolic correspondence here. All energy and light on earth comes from the Sun but we cannot assimilate this energy directly. We cannot look at the Sun in the face, it would burn our eyes. But we can look at the Moon which reflects the light of the Sun.

The Moon represents part of the total light from the Sun that we can assimilate. We cannot welcome all the light, it would destroy us. But the portion of light represented by the Moon is that which we can transform into living form, that which we can infuse into matter. The Moon represents the container in which the formation of the physical body takes place, i.e. the womb and also the container in which individuality develops, i.e. the conscious ego.

The portion of light we receive through the Moon contains our life path. This path is actualized through the cycles of the Moon. With the nodes of the Moon, this path is described in a dynamic tension between past and future.

There are correlations between this description and the concepts of the I and the Higher Self in PsychoSynthesis. The I corresponds to the Moon and the Higher Self to the Sun. The I is the vehicle in which the light from the higher Self is consciously perceived. The Act of Will is the response by which we can drive our vehicle in the direction of our highest potential.

What are the similarities between the birth process and the individuation process?

The first aspect is fragility and vulnerability. The fetus is sheltered by the womb which is very protective of the vulnerability of the being in the making. In the same way, we can speak of vulnerability of the soul.

I had a recent experience that helped me understand this. I recently had the pleasure of seeing two magnificent eggs on the edge of my window, which a dove had laid in a nest. As I approached the nest, I saw the bird arriving to defend its offspring, crying with its beak open, ready to attack in case I had the audacity to touch one of its eggs. I felt the intensity of his protection coming from a deep survival instinct for unborn babies.

The same day, on speaking to a friend about my site The Soul Astrology he made a remark, which even if it was not related to my site, seemed inappropriate to me. His lack of attention to what I was developing annoyed me and I realized that this site, which was not yet published, was like eggs in the nest. Through this site, I convey what I am today, which is the reflection of my soul. I felt and expressed anger the same way the bird had done with its cry. I was able to better perceive that there is an instinct to protect the soul, just as there is a survival defense of the mother for her offspring.

On a more extreme level, this is what happens during traumatic events. The soul takes refuge in the recesses of the psyche in a reaction of survival. It then becomes very difficult for the soul to re-emerge into the conscious expression of being.

Vulnerability and protectiveness are two sides of the same coin and are corresponding aspects of the Moon. It is obvious that a baby depends on its mother for its survival. It is less obvious that we depend on someone else in the process of individuation. In Psychosynthesis, the role of the therapist is described as an External Unifying Center. But it is far from being widely accepted that an external figure is necessary for our psycho/spiritual growth.

The young child is raised by the mother but also by the whole family which is the protective framework in which the child feels safe to build his personality. On another level, this explains the importance of spiritual or personal development groups for people seeking a structure for their psycho/spiritual development. There is a need to belong to a community or group of people who share the same aspiration to become a fuller version of themselves than was possible in the context of their upbringing.

The Moon is the ruler of Cancer which is opposed to Capricorn whose ruler is Saturn. The structure and discipline associated with Saturn is complementary to the Moon and is necessary to achieve maturity and autonomy.

Jupiter is exalted in Cancer and shows the importance of following a vision and a “Purpose” while building our interior or exterior home. Without a clear collective purpose and direction, this house could become meaningless.

The Moon is connected to the past. A fetus and then a baby are not born from nothing. From a physical point of view, a new being is made up of many characteristics that come mainly from parents and ancestors. On a psycho/spiritual level, we arrive on earth with the psycho/spiritual heritage of our family, our ancestors and our soul memories. The Moon represents the raw elements inherited from our past, from which life can be renewed in the light of our higher Self represented by the Sun. Rudhyar says: “The Moon is the song of the resurrected past.”

How this inner transformation can occur today is a major question for anyone interested in psycho/spiritual development?

In the East and perhaps particularly in India, the relationship between master and disciple favored the feminine attitude of receptivity of the disciple who abandons himself to the Master. The disciple is supposed to obey his Guru and absorb the qualities that emanate from Him. There is a process of impregnation in which the mind is considered an obstacle. The transmission goes directly from being to being without interference from the intellect.

This type of transmission has certainly been very powerful for many people, particularly for many Orientals, but today no longer corresponds to the needs of many beings who seek psycho/spiritual change. The inner vessel where transformation occurs is represented by the Moon and this vessel, inspired by the Higher Self, must be shaped by a conscious process of integration of inner experience. The I is no longer seen as an obstacle but as a powerful tool with which the precision of the understanding of what is experienced is a key to dis-identification. The I becomes the pilot of the entire psyche in an increasingly clear awareness of its content.

Humanistic astrology and evolutionary astrology draw a different conception of the Moon. This renewed perspective is necessary to help people in their individuation process. It is reflected in the way of defining the ego.

In Indian teachings, the ego must be erased in order to identify with the Self. In the West, the ego can be seen more as a tool that can be shaped, strengthened and purified to become a receiver of light as well as a vessel leading a being towards their Higher Self.

The spiritual group I was part of for many years was based on a form of master/disciple relationship in which the disciple becomes receptive to the master's energy to follow in his wake. The work is mainly done by impregnating the presence of the master, by letting go of everything that can obstruct it and especially the mind, assimilated to the ego. Individuality disappears, the objective is to become a devotee for whom nothing is any longer an obstacle to the presence of the Guru.

I understood that this form of teaching no longer allowed me to evolve and I made the decision to leave. I felt the need to balance openness to a transcendent truth and the development of individuality (Aquarius-Leo Axis). For this, an inner centre must be developed and consolidated, comparable to a conductor integrating and harmonizing the different parts of the psyche. This evolution leads to a different conception of the ego and the lunar archetype.

The vision of the Moon as described by Dane Rudhyar and Jeff Green corresponds to this conception of the ego or the mind which becomes "The formative instrumentality of the soul" as Rudhyar expressed it.

I also believe that C.G. Jung and Roberto Assaglioli were the pioneers of a new path aimed at the integration of all the components of being around a central core. Both practiced astrology, which shows the key role that this discipline can play in helping everyone build new mansions for new men.

Pierre Mével