photo by Bill Bridge

The Sun and the Moon are opposite in many ways: The Sun is visible in the daylight, the Moon at night. The Sun is hot, the Moon is cool. The Sun is predictable and rises every morning in the same place and with the same shape; the Moon is changeable, rising at different times and shapeshifting throughout its cycle. The Sun is masculine, the Moon feminine.

Oddly, from Earth the Sun and Moon appear to be virtually the same size despite the fact that in physical reality the Sun is vastly larger than the Moon. Astrologically, however, the Sun and Moon (both called “luminaries” or “lights”) are similar in power and influence. The Sun is the conscious Mind and Spirit, illuminating the day with the spirit of conscious awareness. The Moon is the instinctive emotional realm, ever changing and deepening our need for security and safety. The Moon changes in response to the light of the Sun, waxing and waning as the Sun alternately obscures and reveals her.

During the New Moon, when the light of the Moon is hidden by the Sun and emotions and instincts are tamed by the Sun’s lights, the conscious Mind is strong and focused. When the Moon is fully revealed by the Sun’s light at the Full Moon, there is an opening of the subconscious and a power arises that is beyond the realm of space and time. Alice Bailey writes, “the fully-lighted orb of the moon indicates a free and unimpeded alignment between our planet and the sun, the solar centre, the energy source for all life on Earth.”

In many ways, the Sun represents that which is obvious, and the Moon shows the potential, the inner workings of life, the mysteries. During the period when the Moon is full, we have an opportunity to contact the Mystery and secrets of life in a way that is not available to us during other times. The Mystery of each particular Full Moon is described by the signs that the Sun and Moon fall in, always a polarity because the Sun in one sign opposes the Moon in the opposite sign. Signs in opposition each possess something that the other lacks; they represent a polarity of experience.

The Full Moon today is in Capricorn and the Sun is in Cancer; both are responsible and action oriented but Capricorn is responsible to the collective and the Self, and Cancer is responsible to the family. Capricorn needs to leave the home and build something that is meaningful; For Cancer meaning is IN the home, the deep inner world of the emotional realm. The journey of discovery for the Capricorn Full Moon involves an exploration of the balance between our inner and outer worlds; learning to nurture ourselves and our loved ones while earning a place in the material world.