This is the first in a series exploring correlations between the physical properties of celestial bodies and their astrological significations. This post focuses on the Sun and the Moon, which have a high correlation with the symbolism, probably because the lights are so central to life here on earth.
The Sun and the Moon give us the rhythm of life – night and day, the tides, the seasons and so much more. In addition, the gravity of the Sun holds the solar system together and the gravity of the moon stabilizes Earth’s wobble on its axis. Our world would not be the same without them. Our world would not be our world without them.
Sun
An interesting thing to think about for the Sun is that it has “different spins”. At the equator, one rotation takes about 25 days. At the poles, one rotation takes about 35 days.
I’m not sure how they determine the spin rate for a ball of gases, but I feel like this says something to me about centering and slowing down.
In astrology, the Sun represents how we shine in the world. It is who we are. It’s our ego. It’s our self confidence. So this slower rotation in the center could represent the quiet stillness that people have when they know who they are and they have the confidence to just be.
Whereas the faster rotation on the edges could represent the times when we are just spinning out and losing our vitality.
The other correlations I noticed for the sun have to do with solar wind and sunspots. Solar wind is always blowing electrically charged gas off the surface of the sun and throughout the solar system in every direction. Sunspots are areas of intensity in the magnetic field that sometimes lead to solar explosions. I feel like these correspond to opposite results of lack of centering in the Sun. The solar wind correlates with influence scattered and also with a need to send out dramas in search of attention. The sunspots make me think of times when we’re stuck or have intense blowups because we don’t understand who we are or what we want.
Moon
An interesting thing to think about for the Moon is that it always shows us the same face. This is because the Moon takes the same amount of time to rotate on its axis as it takes to orbit the Earth. Because of this “synchronous rotation”, some parts of the lunar polar crater are never exposed to sunlight.
In astrology, the Moon represents our emotional life. It is our needs, how we were nurtured and how we nurture others. Part of being human is not being able to see and know the full depth and breadth of our emotional lives
There are many aspects to our behavior and motivations that we are aware of. Whether we are proud of them or not, we can see them all of the time, like the face of the moon that always orients towards our planet. Other parts of what we do or how we think are so hidden and rejected that all we can do is see them in other people. Even if we know we’re doing something we don’t want to do, we often don’t know why.
What we call the “dark side of the moon” is the face that always points away from us. Sometimes it truly is dark, but other times the “dark side of the moon” is fully exposed to the sun even though we can’t see it. I feel like that is some correlation with growth from working on our unconscious patterns and defense mechanisms, including the fact that we will never be “done” because some motivations are permanently hidden from the sunlight.
References:
NASA Sun Overview
NASA Sun In Depth
NASA Moon Overview
NASA Moon In Depth
