Depth Astrology: An Astrological Handbook - Volume 4: Planets in Aspect

DEPTH ASTROLOGY

An Astrological Handbook

Volume 4

Planets in Aspect

By

Gargatholil

Corrected and Revised © 2020

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Aspects of the Sun

of the Sun to the Moon

of the Sun to Mercury

of the Sun to Venus

of the Sun to Mars

of the Sun to Jupiter

of the Sun to Saturn

of the Sun to Uranus

of the Sun to Neptune

of the Sun to Pluto

of the Sun to the Moon’s Nodes

of the Sun to Part of Fortune

of the Sun to Ascendant

of the Sun to Midheaven

Aspects of the Moon

of the Moon to Mercury

of the Moon to Venus

of the Moon to Mars

of the Moon to Jupiter

of the Moon to Saturn

of the Moon to Uranus

of the Moon to Neptune

of the Moon to Pluto

of the Moon to the Moon’s Nodes

of the Moon to Part of Fortune

of the Moon to Ascendant

of the Moon to Midheaven

Aspects of Mercury

of Mercury to Venus

of Mercury to Mars

of Mercury to Jupiter

of Mercury to Saturn

of Mercury to Uranus

of Mercury to Neptune

of Mercury to Pluto

of Mercury to the Moon’s Nodes

of Mercury to Part of Fortune

of Mercury to Ascendant

of Mercury to Midheaven

Aspects of Venus

of Venus to Mars

of Venus to Jupiter

of Venus to Saturn

of Venus to Uranus

of Venus to Neptune

of Venus to Pluto

of Venus to the Moon’s Nodes

of Venus to Part of Fortune

of Venus to Ascendant

of Venus to Midheaven

Aspects of Mars

of Mars to Jupiter

of Mars to Saturn

of Mars to Uranus

of Mars to Neptune

of Mars to Pluto

of Mars to the Moon’s Nodes

of Mars to Part of Fortune

of Mars to Ascendant

of Mars to Midheaven

Aspects of Jupiter

of Jupiter to Saturn

of Jupiter to Uranus

of Jupiter to Neptune

of Jupiter to Pluto

of Jupiter to the Moon’s Nodes

of Jupiter to Part of Fortune

of Jupiter to Ascendant

of Jupiter to Midheaven

Aspects of Saturn

of Saturn to Uranus

of Saturn to Neptune

of Saturn to Pluto

of Saturn to the Moon’s Nodes

of Saturn to Part of Fortune

of Saturn to Ascendant

of Saturn to Midheaven

Aspects of Uranus

of Uranus to Neptune

of Uranus to Pluto

of Uranus to the Moon’s Nodes

of Uranus to Part of Fortune

of Uranus to Ascendant

of Uranus to Midheaven

Aspects of Neptune

of Neptune to Pluto

of Neptune to the Moon’s Nodes

of Neptune to Part of Fortune

of Neptune to Ascendant

of Neptune to Midheaven

Aspects of Pluto

of Pluto to the Moon’s Nodes

of Pluto to Part of Fortune

of Pluto to Ascendant

of Pluto to Midheaven

Aspects of the Moon’s Nodes

of the Moon’s Nodes to Part of Fortune

of the Moon’s Nodes to Ascendant

of the Moon’s Nodes to Midheaven

Aspects of Part of Fortune

of Part of Fortune to Ascendant

of Part of Fortune to Midheaven

Note

Aspects are permutated. For aspects of one planet to prior planets, see that aspect under the prior planet. For aspects of the Ascendant or Midheaven, see under the relevant planet. This method avoids duplication of aspect descriptions.

ASPECTS OF THE SUN

Sun and Moon Contacts

The Sun aspecting Moon brings the self-identity function (symbolized by the Sun) in contact with the emotional/subconscious function (symbolized by the Moon). The Sun and the Moon are the two luminaries in the astrological chart. They represent the two most important and dominant functions of the psyche—functions that are opposed in many ways. In fact, the Sun and Moon symbolize the inherent duality of the psyche and the cosmos, in many ways similar to the symbol of the Tao (Yin-Yang). Like the Moon, the Tao itself is dual—having a light side and a dark side. The Sun is all brightness and unity. But, this unity is contained within the duality, as well as encompassing the duality. Thus, consciousness of self and identity, symbolized by the Sun, both is juxtaposed against and is contained within the subconscious world, symbolized by the Moon. Therefore, any Sun-Moon contact represents, at some level, the mediation between consciousness and the unconscious.

This mediation between consciousness and the subconscious plays out in the relationship between the self and all of the impinging and conditioning influences received from its environment (the unconscious other), as well as from its personal subconscious. A subset of this is the affect of the emotional and the irrational on the conscious and rational self-identity. Another subset is comprised of the conditioned habits and behaviors that define the self’s identity.

The Sun symbolizes an inherent need to define and validate self-identity. A Sun-Moon contact suggests the importance of the emotional base, subconscious conditioning and those other functions and qualities that are symbolized by the Moon in defining the self’s identity. The aspect existing between the Sun and the Moon suggests the ease or difficulty with which the Lunar functions and qualities affect the self and define its identity. It also suggests the ease or difficulty with which the conscious self establishes its relationship with the unconscious, the emotional and the irrational.

The Sun is associated with the Sky-Father archetype (to be distinguished from the Old Man/Father archetype symbolized by Saturn). This archetype conveys creativity, vigor and lordship. The Moon is associated with the archetype of the Cosmic Mother, from whom all things are born and out of whom all Becoming takes place. From this archetype springs the Moon’s association with mothering, family, security, rootedness and the past. Thus, a Sun-Moon contact suggests some relationship between the polarized cosmic masculine and cosmic feminine energies of the universe. Another side of this polarization is that between Being (the Sun) and Becoming (the Moon).

As in any oppositional relationship, positive potential exists for the Sun and Moon functions and qualities to complement and balance each other. A positive Sun-Moon contact (or a difficult one that has been worked through) can suggest a well-rounded individual who has brought their conscious/rational and subconscious/emotional sides into balance. A positive contact can also indicate the potential to exercise your sense of self to control your habits and behavior.

If a difficult aspect is present, or if your psyche is operating at a lower, ego-bound level of consciousness, dysfunctionality between the conscious and subconscious states of mind is likely to occur. This often involves conflict or confusion involving self-identity and your emotions. Other manifestations of the Moon—particularly subconscious conditioning and the influence of your mother and family—also may play into the dysfunctional dynamic.

The transcendent potential of the Sun-Moon contact occurs involves the positive actualization of the polarity between the states of Being and Becoming, and the archetypal masculine and feminine. In order to accomplish this, the subconscious must be entered consciously and transformed into super-consciousness. Personal self-identity must be abandoned and you must realize the mystery of the essential unity that overcomes duality, while circumscribing and preserving duality.

Sun conjunct Moon

Sense of Self Strongly Identified with the Emotional/Subconscious Function

This aspect is associated with the new Moon and, in its most extreme, with the eclipse of the Sun. In many respects, your identity may be said to be weak. You tend to be captive to unconscious forces--your emotions, your background, your subconscious motivations. Another dimension of this weakness is the disappearance of the self through merging your personal consciousness into the sea of the Divine Unconscious. Both states are symbolized by the Sun’s eclipse.

To a certain extent, a distinction may be made between the waning and the waxing new Moon as signifying the end of an old cycle or the beginning of a new cycle. For a waning phase conjunction, it may be that your identity is burdened down by a load of heritage and conditioning. For a waxing phase conjunction, it may be that your identity is so fragilely established that, like a new vessel, you take your color from sources other than yourself. At the new Moon, also, most of the Moon is hidden or only dimly visible. Thus, your emotions and other conditioning influences may remain hidden, though deeply affecting your personality.

An alternative manifestation of this conjunction is that the primal masculine and feminine energies within the psyche are merged and united so that each absorbs the strengths of the other, producing a powerful and whole personality. As likely as not, in order to achieve this stage, you have had to work through an earlier stage of being dominated by unconscious forces. The waning stage challenge would involve throwing off the bonds of tradition, emotional conditioning, family influence or parental dominance. The waxing stage challenge would involve the discovery that there is a self, independent of your conditioning influences, and the nurturing and development of that nascent self into a mature being.

It is likely also that you will have to transcend cultural sex-role stereotypes if the feminine and masculine energies within your psyche are to be fully integrated. If you fail to overcome these stereotypes, then the likely result will be, if you are a woman, a personality with low self-esteem and a weak identity. If you are male, the result of persisting in the culturally defined role is likely to be a personality that is out of touch with your feminine side. You are conditioned to play a dominant role, but you have little depth of self behind the conditioned persona. If you integrate the feminine and masculine energies, you are likely to become strong, not only in your will but also in your intuition. You will be independent of spirit, sensitive, nurturing, balanced and whole.

Whether role-bound or liberated, you are likely to have an affinity for home, family and domestic matters. The question is the extent to which you are conditioned by these facets of life. You are likely to have a strong emotional side to your personality. The question is whether you are controlled by your emotions or whether you use and enjoy them. You are also likely to be attracted to the past. The question is whether you will be bound by traditions or will be able to learn from the past, taking what is good.

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun conjunct the Moon is realized when you delve to the roots of your identity to find yourself, and in doing so discover the unity of all duality. You have realized that dualities, such as masculine and feminine, active and passive, are different expressions of the same energy. Knowing that all is One, you have striven to incorporate this realization into your life and character. You have discovered and brought out your opposite gender nature. If you are male, then you have balanced your psyche by developing your nurturing, intuitive energies. If you are female, then you have balanced your psyche by developing your objective, active energies.

You have loosened the attachments of your identity to unconscious complexes and conditioned patterns of response. You have freed your emotions so that they can be purely and positively felt and expressed. You have learned to recognized each thing in its opposite and to see the good in everyone and every event. You have tuned the balance of your heart and mind and have released a flow of positive energy. In, thus, being reborn, you have embarked on a new beginning and a cosmic journey of the soul.

You have explored the depths of the subconscious mind and have found it to open out into superconsciousness. You have died to your ego and, in doing so, all has become conscious and illuminated. In realizing the unity of opposites, you have solved the puzzle of the self and the Self.

Insecurity

You strongly identify your ego-self with your conditioned psyche and its persona. You, thus, see the preservation of that persona as fundamental to your personhood. You feel secure in your persona, and this security may create an illusion of self-confidence. However, you are only secure when you are protected by the armor of tradition and conformity. If the persona or the external conditions supporting the persona were to be stripped away, one would find a terrified ego.

Attached to your conditioning, you are totally controlled by the unconscious force of your cultural environment and the conditioned behavioral response that it creates. You are a slave—to your emotions, family/mother, routine and habit, traditions and/or societal expectation. Externally, you may function competently, but if your support systems are disrupted, you will break down and become dysfunctional.

Your personality may possess undertones of Sun in Cancer and Sun in the 4th house.

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Sun sextile Moon

Opportunities Exist for Mutual Interaction Between the Emotional/Subconscious Function and Self-Identity

Opportunities abound for positive energy exchange involving the masculine and feminine poles of your psyche. Your family background and upbringing, your emotional development and your sense of security and being nurtured lay a firm foundation for the development of a competent and genuine self-identity. You have resources associated with a stable and nurturing environment, positive behavioral conditioning and emotional health, which you can access, to support your sense of self and to further your self-development. These resources are usually ostensibly positive. Sometimes—particularly depending upon the placement and aspects of the Moon (and of course your karmic circumstances)--these influences may be ostensibly negative, but produce a positive reaction response, resulting in a stronger self-identity.

Your self-esteem will generally be strong and positive, reflecting a well-balanced and integrated personality. The security that you feel in your identity provides you with opportunities to develop your emotional, intuitive, creative and nurturing side more fully and with great confidence. This often results in a personality that is emotionally warm, intuitively creative and adaptable. You are likely to be responsive to others and to often find yourself in situations where sensitive response and nurturing is called for. You will also be given opportunities for emotional expression. Other likely manifestations of this aspect include an ability to handle routine and recurring matters, a firm grounding in tradition and the culture of the society, and opportunities to benefit from family connections. There may also be opportunities to draw strength from the past.

If either the Sun or the Moon has a difficult aspect from another planet, the sextile suggests that you have opportunities to relieve the stress that is associated with the difficult aspect. Emotional or family support or your intuition may be available to you (when the difficult aspect is to the Sun) or inner strength, strong will power or illuminating insight may come to your aid (when the difficult aspect is to the Moon).

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun sextile the Moon is realized when you take advantage of your intuitive perceptions to delve into your subconscious, finding the essential connections between the opposites of Yin and Yang. Realizing that both the masculine and feminine energies flow ultimately from the same Force, you make use of this knowledge to become balanced in your heart, body and mind. You use your masculine energy to activate the feminine and your feminine energy to nurture and allow creativity to be expressed through the masculine.

Insecurity

You find and take the easy path, remaining secure in your ego-existence. By following the well-worn paths of tradition and what has been behaviorally conditioned, you succeed in life, creating a persona that is harmonious with your cultural environment. You profitably accept your family’s nurturing and nurture your own family in turn, deriving much of your identity there from. You never look behind the screen of the unconscious, however, and so you never really grow as an authentic person. Remaining spiritually lazy, you never realize the opportunities that you have lost.

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Sun square Moon

The Emotional/Subconscious Function Conflicts with Self-Identity

Sun squaring the Moon symbolizes a fundamental conflict between the nurturing womb and the drive for independence, the conscious ego and the unconscious, connectedness and individuality and the masculine and feminine sides of the psyche. This conflict may be a source of anxiety, difficulty or dysfunction for you, or it may provide a creative tension that causes you to rise above and overcome the conflict.

At one level, you may feel that your identity and individuality are compromised by forces that are trying to control and contain you. These forces are represented by your family (particularly your mother), by the traditions and behavioral expectations of your culture and society and/or by the mundane and routine pattern of your life. You may feel the need to fight against and break free of conditioned responses, emotions, habits and behavior patterns. This can lead to rejection of those symbols of the ever-present unconscious—family, the past, social rules of conformity, etc.

Particularly if you are male, a poor relationship with your mother may be generalized to affect your relationships with [other] women and with the feminine side of your own psyche. This may psychologically force you to break new ground, seeking authenticity as an individual by freeing yourself from the irrational stereotypes that are held by the majority of people.

Nevertheless, you will find it very difficult to completely cast off the bonds of family, the past and your culture and you may carry a lifelong feeling of being haunted by these ghosts. You may feel that you are constantly fighting a battle for your own independence against those forces that have conditioned you in the past. Alternatively, those forces may be so strong as to overwhelm any independence of spirit on the part of you.

You may remain a creature of your conditioning and fail to develop an authentic personality. In this case, you may secretly wish to throw off the bondage of your conditioning and may inwardly experience guilt and shame at your weakness in not asserting your identity rather than conforming to what is expected of you. Dysfunctional manifestations of this frustration will surely erupt, including pettiness, emotional problems and backbiting.

At another level, this aspect symbolizes a conflict between your emotions and your rational sense of being. How you have conceptualized your identity is foreign to and in conflict with your emotional make-up. Emotions may be disturbing or may interfere with the way in which you wish to think about yourself. You may feel isolated from your emotions, as if they are not really a part of you, and when they occur (or as likely as not, erupt) they are problematic.

One response to this is that you may build a psychological wall around your emotions and not recognize them. Another response is that you may see your emotions as object, something to be controlled. Inner or open emotional turmoil is another possible manifestation, with you being constantly at war with yourself in a struggle between head and heart or between the stout heart (the Sun) and the secret heart (the Moon).

Another dynamic that may be associated with your rejection of emotion could be that you feel that you have been (or are) unnurtured, particularly as a child. Feelings of rejection may have been experienced, and these feelings may have been so painful that you shut down your emotions. The challenge for you is for you to reclaim your emotions. You must realize that emotions are a part of your identity, restructuring your self-concept to incorporate them. At the same time, you must nurture your neglected emotional body, which provides an opportunity to recast your emotional patterns in a more positive mode.

Finally, the square sometimes symbolizes the phenomenon of being blindsided. With Sun square the Moon, you may experience the sudden negative consequences of your emotions (or the emotional outburst of another). You may also be blindsided by family members or by your past. Such incidents are generally a symptom of your having ignored or suppressed the conflict that is symbolized by the Sun squaring the Moon.

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun square the Moon is realized when, as part of the process of authenticating your self-identity, you address the conflicts symbolized by the Sun-Moon square. You have nourished your emotional body and you have become a strong, loving emotional being. You have rediscovered what is beneficial and wholesome about the past, traditions and family life. Realizing that your personality contains the sum of multiple cultural and family influences, you have recognized your Real identity as being independent of and beyond such conditionings. Nevertheless, you value and cherish your heritage. Through long and hard struggle, you have freed yourself from response-conditioning, yet humbly walk along the pathways of routine and conformity. You have ended the conflict within yourself between the masculine and feminine polarities by rising above duality into unity.

Insecurity

You have isolated your ego-identity from your greater self. In particular, you have divorced yourself from your feminine/emotional side and feel threatened by its energies. You feel that there are forces that would control you and these need to be opposed and controlled themselves. Thus, in constantly being focused on your conflict with the feminine/unconscious or its manifestations, you are indeed controlled. Your insecurity enslaves you. You are chained to your fear of emotion, so that you are always trying to control your emotions or are simply blocking them out.

You live in an emotional straightjacket. You are constantly trying to free yourself from the influence of your mother or family in general. Your actions and attitudes are dictated by this rebellion. You are constantly fighting routine and conformist behavior-conditioning and consequently do not settle down and cannot stabilize your life. You may be prone to impulsive and obsessive behavior as you passionately try to prove your independence. The subconscious power that is being suppressed within you will almost certainly manifest in negative ways, such as open conflict with family, tradition, societal expectations or domestic duties and as emotional outbursts, excessive moodiness, compulsive fears or obsessive behavior.

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Sun trine Moon

Sense of Self in Harmony with the Emotional/Subconscious Function

This is a particularly fortunate or benefic aspect since the two Lights are in a harmonious relationship. The archetypical masculine principle (the Sun) and the archetypical feminine principle (the Moon) exist in harmony, allowing the balance between the male and female energies within you to be more easily attained. The active and self-aware side of the personality enlivens and brightens the emotional body. The emotions and your prior conditioning and/or rootedness in your community or culture bring sensitivity to your being. It is easy for you to be responsive to others without losing any of your own integrity.

To the extent that you are in touch with your feelings, this will help you to act out of a positive sense of your own identity. You are able to feel secure about who you are as an individual, being supported in that individuality by your relationship to your culture, family and other ties to the past. You are free to explore and develop your active-identity nature and your passive-feeling nature, and strengths in one area will aid you in the other.

With Sun trine the Moon, we generally find a personality whose emotions are warmer, more open and acknowledged. It is not unusual for there to have been a stable and harmonious parental relationship that provided support for you in your formative years. There is likely to be a strong and pleasant connection between you and your family, especially your mother. Also, you will generally not feel that your identity is threatened by members of the opposite sex. Neither will you feel a need to separate yourself from your up-bringing and background in order for you to feel that your identity maintains its integrity.

You are also likely to have an affinity for domestic matters and to be in tune with the rhythms of life. You will generally feel secure and nurtured, both by the individuals around you and by your overall environment.

If either the Sun or the Moon has a difficult aspect from another planet, the trine suggests a way for you to relieve the stress that is associated with the difficult aspect. Emotional or family support or your intuition can usually help you deal with the stress associated with a difficult aspect (if it is to the Sun) and you can usually turn to your inner strength, strong will power or illuminating insight to help you deal with the stress associated with a difficult aspect is to the Moon

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun trine the Moon is realized when you fully develop and integrate your active and passive, masculine and feminine, rational and emotional qualities. While recognizing the essential unity behind duality, you have allowed duality to find expression through your personality. The Ying and the Yang exist in balance and harmony, neither one achieving or seeking dominance over the other. You allow your selfhood to float upon the sea of your subconscious like a lily—gaining nourishment from your depths, but living in the world of action and consciousness.

Realizing the illusion of a separate identity, you respond gently and sensitively to all, as you respond gently and sensitively to your own inner disturbances. You allow that which is in the unconscious to find expression through the personality in the active world. Thus the concept of a whole and harmonious self is fulfilled.

Insecurity

You cannot rise above your ego-centeredness and you identify yourself with masculine or feminine qualities and with the conditioning that you have received through your background influences. You coexist harmoniously with the opposite sex and with the influences and qualities they bring, but the opposite polarity remains other to you. You are easily subjected to your emotions, whether positive or negative. Although you experience little emotional conflict, there is not much emotional growth that takes place either. Your actions and personality are heavily conditioned by the expectations of others— whether these others are collective or individual, present or past. You do not even recognize the extent of your conditioning and, so, you do not retract from it nor feel yourself any less of an individual because of your conditioning. You, therefore, remain stuck in the same old psycho-developmental rut and remain content, as long as nothing disturbs your sense of ego-security.

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Sun quincunx Moon

Self-Identity and the Emotional/Subconscious Function in Critical Relationship

The identity and behavior/emotion functions operate more or less independently within your psyche. It is likely that you have developed your sense of identity with little reference to or dependence on your emotions or behavioral characteristics and vice versa. Therefore, you do not establish an easy connection to your emotions, unless you have learned to do so, and you may experience some difficulty identifying with your emotions. When the natural connection with the emotions is disabled or disconnected, you may either exhibit an emotional aloofness or you may lack control over your emotions.

The quincunx may also manifest in your feeling disconnected from your family, home and/or traditions. You may not recognize or admit to yourself that your self-identity and behavior has been influenced by these factors. This may leave you even more vulnerable than most people to your behavior being conditioned by the collective consciousness. Even if no problems exist, the quincunx suggests that there is a need to purify or transform at least one of these functions, with the other function being critical to the process of purification and transformation. Generally, it will be your behavior or your emotional patterns that must undergo a change, but often, in order to accomplish this, your self-identity must develop and change, as well.

From time to time, crisis will occur in your life, brought about by a failure to integrate, balance or take into account these two sides of your personality and the consequent disturbance due to the impurity or lower level of operation of one or both of the functions. Your behavior may, for instance, be dissonant with your self-image and this may go unrecognized by you until a crisis erupts. Or, because of your self-image and the effect that this has upon your attitudes, you may fail to properly nurture yourself or others in your life until the consequences become too negative. You may fail to recognize various factors that condition your behavior, and which you would disavow if you were conscious of them. In fact, this aspect suggests much potential for what Jungians would term a confrontation with the Shadow.

When unrecognized dissonance does produce a crisis, the general pattern is for you to see no way out of it and to have very limited options beyond simply suffering the consequences. There may be a moment of opportunity, demanding courage to grasp, during which you can resolve the crisis. The action that must be taken will usually require or bring about a purification or transformation of either your self-image or your emotional/behavioral complex. If the crisis is resolved, personal and emotional growth occurs. If the crisis is not resolved, emotional pain and/or personal humiliation may result and you will likely have to repeat the painful lesson again. Hopefully, you will have learned a lesson that can motivate future purification and transformation of your self-identity and/or emotional/behavioral complex.

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun quincunx the Moon is realized when you learn to appropriately integrate your emotions, as well as your heritage, habits and behavior, with your self-identity. Both have been purified and transformed in the process. You now understand that you cannot behave or display your emotions in a vacuum without consideration for others or, more importantly, for your true self. You have realized that your behavior is a reflection of your inner state and you have learned how to control your behavior by controlling your emotions and acting consciously, rather than reacting through conditioned and habitual behavior patterns. Therefore, your emotions and behavior patterns have been brought under control and made consistent with your heightened consciousness of who you are. Your behavior is now, therefore, deliberate and reflective of a high level of consciousness and, as a result, your consciousness is aware of and open to your intuitive subconscious, which now functions on a higher plane, free of unconscious conditioning.

Insecurity

You have chosen to protect your ego rather than nobly sacrifice yourself and thus transform. Consequently, you continue to get into serious difficulties with others resulting from your uncontrolled display of emotion or your conditioned and reactive behavior. When your behavior results in self-created trouble and dilemma, it is often your selfish or inappropriate emotions that are to blame. Nevertheless, when you suffer the consequences of your behavior, you blame others for your difficulties and refuse to learn from your lessons.

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Sun opposed Moon

Sense of Self and the Emotional/ Subconscious Function at Polar Extremes

In a sense, this placement of Sun and Moon is very natural, in that the archetypical masculine principle (the Sun) and the archetypical feminine principle (the Moon) are opposed, posing the problem of reconciliation or creating harmony between the two sexes. While there is potential for integration and resolution, the initial stage of the Sun-Moon relationship is generally conflict and combat. During this phase, the way in which this conflict is manifested runs the gamut from complete domination of one side by the other, to constant battle between two equally strong forces.

When the function symbolized by one planet dominates the personality, the function represented by the other planet is likely to be expressed through the projection mechanism. You may be either Moon-dominated, projecting your identity needs onto others, or you may be Sun-dominated, projecting your need to nurture and be nurtured onto others.

Unresolved conflict between the two functions often involves the confusion of two voices within you. There is the voice of conditioning, telling you what you should do, and the voice of independence, asserting what you want to do to express your self-identity. Whichever voice wins out, there is likely to be guilt or misgiving over the path chosen. Sun-Moon opposition natives typically have a difficult time remaining objective. You tend to see yourself mirrored in others (the Moon reflecting the Sun’s image) and, thus, may automatically assume that others think, feel and hold the same values as yourself.

The resolution of this aspect can produce a very strong character. When resolved, the active and passive, masculine and feminine sides of the psyche are integrated and in balance. The Full Moon (which occurs at this aspect) symbolizes fulfillment and the release of energy. If the psyche is whole, this energy release will be positive and constructive. If the psyche is divided, the energy release may be irrational, confused and ineffective.

Transcendent Potential

The Tao (Ying/Yang) is an apt symbol for you if you have integrated your Sun-Moon opposition. Your feminine and masculine natures are in balance, as are all the dualities. Balance is achieved through mutual strength, rather than compromise, of the two natures. You have become a whole person. If male, you have fully formed and integrated your anima and other feminine psychological symbols. You have maintained your masculinity while becoming a strong, nurturing, caring and responsive person with a strong appreciation of the feminine, the past and the subconscious. If female, you have retained your femininity while becoming a confident and active woman with a strong self-identity and an appreciation for the masculine, acting in the present, individuality and conscious reason. It must be emphasized that these traits have been developed by you through struggle to resolve the opposites within you. Through this struggle, strong linkages have been developed between the conscious and the subconscious mind, so that now you can tap into the strengths of each at will.

Insecurity

You are unwilling to undertake the sacrifices needed in the struggle to resolve the internal opposition between active and passive, conscious and subconscious, masculine and feminine that the Sun-Moon opposition symbolizes. Consequently, you are both torn and destroyed by inner conflict and contradictions. You fear to assert your identity against the family, social and cultural conformities that have conditioned your psyche. At the same time, a part of you wants to separate your identity from being dominated by other. The result can be confusion about who you are and passive-aggression directed at those to whom you are most attached and dependent on.

The ego will generally try to protect itself from the internal confusion and conflict represented by the opposition by erecting defense mechanisms. Three defense mechanisms are commonly employed: confrontation, suppression and projection. If confrontation is employed, you will identify with either your Sun-side or your Moon-side and conceptualize the other as the enemy. This may be expressed as the classic battle of the sexes, in which subconscious parental conflict is often entwined. You may also crusade against rampant individualism or against tradition and conformity.

If the suppression defense mechanism is employed, you allow yourself to be dominated by either your Sun-side or your Moon-side, suppressing the opposite function. If you have suppressed your Moon-side, you are likely to be intensely individualistic or ego-centric. You will generally be out of touch with your emotions and are likely to be seen as insensitive by others. You are dominated by masculine-associated traits and your feminine-associated traits will be atrophied. If you have suppressed your Sun-side, you are likely to be extremely attached to and dependent on your family. You live through your emotions, but you have a very weak sense of your own identity. You may simply be acting out a role that has been behaviorally conditioned and may gain whatever sense of self you have from the responses of those around you. You are apt to be conditioned by the internal voice of your mother, although there may be inner conflict and guilt about following that voice. This may lead to personality contradictions or to sudden reversals in behavior or to misgivings. Co-dependency may be a vulnerability.

When a projection defense mechanism is used, you will be dominated by one of the opposing functions and project the other onto others. If the Moon function (subconscious, responsive, feminine) is dominant, you will often have a weak or submissive personality (sense of self) and project your identity onto others. This may involve living life unconsciously and through others. When the Sun function (rational, active, masculine) is dominant, you block out your feminine (Moon) nature, but subconsciously allow others to carry this function for you. Thus, you may present a front of independence, self-reliance and an aggressive attitude, but may secretly or unawares rely upon the support and nurturing of another. Your behavior may also dysfunctionally send signals that plead for nurturing. However, you will consciously deny any need for comfort and nurturing, or even the need for response from others.

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Sun and Mercury Contacts

The Sun aspecting Mercury brings the self-identity function (symbolized by the Sun) in contact with the mental/communicative function (symbolized by Mercury). There is only one possible aspect between the Sun and Mercury—the conjunction, which is described below. There is general compatibility between the Sun and Mercury, since both are oriented toward the rational and objective side of the psyche. However, the power of the Sun dwarfs and may overwhelm that of Mercury.

Sun conjunct Mercury

Sense of Self Strongly Identified with Mental-Communicative Function

It is often said of this aspect that the Sun either illumines Mercury or hides it under its effulgence. Thus, this aspect is sometimes associated with a strong intellect and sometimes with weak mental capacity. In any event, your sense of identity is likely to be strongly tied to your mental and/or communication skills. If the Mercury function in you is well developed, you will tend to see yourself as an intellectual and/or social being. Unless otherwise blocked, you will likely focus on the development of your mental abilities and communication skills, deeming them to be an important and integral part of your identity.

You may have a tendency for being overly mental or overly talkative. This is especially likely if there are aspects to Mercury from either Jupiter (signifying excess) or Pluto (signifying obsession). If you develop strong intellectual and/or communication skills, you will appear to shine in these areas and these skills may become an emblem of your self-worth. If these skills are not developed (symbolized by the state of the planet Mercury being invisible due to its close proximity to the Sun and its overwhelming light), your self-esteem may be affected negatively and you may view yourself as a dunce.

Sun-conjunct-Mercury natives will tend to be objective and analytical, unless these traits are overwhelmed by a strongly emotional personality or they are never properly developed. You are likely to be alert, quick and precise. If Sun and Mercury are difficultly aspected, you may experience problems involving mental balance, nervousness or objectivity.

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun conjunct Mercury is realized when, through clear thinking and discernment, you achieve a rational understanding of your place in the world and the purpose of your being. You have used the intellect to pierce the intellect to transcend the boundaries of ordinary reason and perceive as much spiritual truth as the mind, at this level, can comprehend. You have also realized, with Socrates, that I know nothing, that the mind can only operate within illusion (Maya) and that real Truth lies beyond the realm of mind and matter. This illumination of the intellect, so that it sees itself for what it is, then allows you to utilize the intellect in your quest for spiritual progress. The mind discerns and discriminates between reality and illusion, providing the self with correct information and the clarity of thought to make those decisions that will be of real benefit to the soul. Thus, real objectivity is achieved and the mind becomes a servant rather than a master of the self.

Insecurity

If you lack confidence in your mental abilities and/or communication skills, you will feel the glare of the Sun as intrusive and seek to hide from it. You recognize the degree to which your intellect is associated with your identity and, finding the former wanting in yourself or dysfunctional in some respect, you withdraw from mental and/or communicative activities in order to save yourself embarrassment. Thus, it is said by some astrologers that Mercury too close to the Sun is dimmed by the Sun’s brilliance. If you withdraw from mental pursuits out of insecurity, you may attempt to overcompensate in some other way. Thus, it would not be unusual for you to overly develop or exaggerate some other function of the personality.

Your personality may possess undertones of Sun in Gemini or Sun in Virgo and Sun in the 3rd or 6th house.

Mercury conjunct Sun is the only major aspect possible.

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Sun and Venus Contacts

The Sun aspecting Venus brings the self-identity function (symbolized by the Sun) in contact with the evaluative/relationship function (symbolized by Venus). Only three aspects are possible between Venus and the Sun—the conjunction, the sextile and the semi-square. The latter is a minor aspect and is not discussed below. The function symbolized by Venus is subordinate to that symbolized by the Sun, as is the case with most of the astrological planets. Nevertheless, the planets represent a major component of the psychological mechanism that governs the ego’s relationship to the external world.

As a mediator of the ego to the outside world, the Venusian function and energy color the self’s identity. It attaches the identity to what the psyche evaluates as pleasing and attractive (unless the psyche’s evaluation mechanism is functioning perversely). It forms relationships that reflect on and become absorbed into the self’s identity. Through self-reflection, it forms a subjective image of the self and becomes a mirror through which the self perceives its own identity. It also forms the value system to which the self attaches a portion of its identity. Of course, the self’s own identity, symbolized by the Sun’s sign and house placements, affect the nature and operation of those functions symbolized by Venus, as well.

Venus symbolizes inter-personal relationship and, thus, the primary mode through which the self expresses its identity to and with others. Whether your self-identity is affected positively or negatively by your relationships depends a good deal upon your level of consciousness and the psychological stressors that you experience in life. Traditionally, there has been a tendency to classify Venus as a benefic planet and the Sun as predominately benefic. Thus, Sun-Venus contacts tend to be viewed as positive. If there is any difficulty in the dynamics between the two functions, usually symbolized by a semi-square, then negative behavior and attitudes, particularly in interpersonal relationships, and negative self-esteem associated with these problems could arise, though the effect is likely to be mild.

In some respects, the Sun may be seen as representing the stronger energy, since Venus symbolizes functions that are subordinate to identity. However, because the self is—to a large extent—a product of its environment, the Venusian function may be seen to have a dominating influence to the extent that your self-identity is defined by your relationships and shaped by your likes and dislikes and how you are able to attract pleasure and avoid pain. Thus, a positive dynamic between the Sun and Venus, as suggested by their aspect, can be associated with positive self-esteem.

The transcendental potential symbolized by the Sun and Venus contacts necessarily involves a reorientation of your value system toward the spiritual and the transcendent. This process is identified with the transformation of your identity and the transcendence of the personal in your identity. Your primary relationship ceases to be that between your ego and other, but becomes that between your true self and the Divine, which you recognize as residing within the self.

Venus symbolizes the psychological feminine archetype, the anima. Thus, the aspect between the Sun and Venus suggests a relationship between your anima and your identity. This relationship may find expression externally through the involvement of a woman/women as integral to your identity. Your sense of femininity and/or your attitude toward women is also likely to be bound to your identity.

Sun conjunct Venus

Sense of Self Strongly Identified with the Evaluative and Relationship Functions

The evaluative and relationship function assumes major importance in your life and psyche, as the Sun tends to magnify anything with which it comes in contact. You likely see yourself as a people person and generally will be skilled in interpersonal matters. You have made it a priority to develop these skills because your self-identity and self-esteem are, to a great extent tied to your proficiency in relating to others. In fact, you may tend to see yourself most clearly as a partner in a relationship. You may have issues with your identity and your role as a partner. While relationships can enhance your identity, dependence on others can also weaken your sense of identity.

Your likes and dislikes are also highlighted, and you may define yourself, at least in part, in terms of your tastes. It is a good assumption that you are constantly engaged in the process of evaluating your environment and that what you value determines much of your self-image. You will tend to identify with what you like and negatively identify with what you dislike. To the extent that your tastes may be influenced by others, you may lose some of your independent self-identity.

Sun conjunct Venus may also signify that you closely identity with your anima. If you are female, this will generally enhance your femininity. If your anima is afflicted or dysfunctional, however, you are likely to have self-esteem or self-identity issues that are connected to your concepts of femininity and/or how well you exemplify the feminine ideal. If you are male, you are likely to be more in touch with your anima than most males. If you have a macho concept of masculinity, this could produce some insecurities. This could also symbolize an intense attraction to women, even to the point of dependency on a relationship with the opposite sex to validate your identity.

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun conjunct Venus is realized when you fully incorporate the adage that No man is an island and realize the interdependence of which you are a part and the responsibilities to others that this entails. While possessing an assured self-identity, you nevertheless realize that you are not complete as a singularity and you value the complementarities of a relationship. This sense of sharedness and mutual responsibility extends to your evaluative function, which is not focused on your ego-needs, but exemplifies an enlightened approach that takes into consideration the welfare of others with whom you are involved.

This awareness that we are all of the One same Essence and your acting in accordance with this realization results in your having achieved a profound balance in your life. Your psyche sits in equipoise. As you promote harmony, you see harmony existing all around you. Blessed with this vision of Harmony and Balance, you see that all is right with the world and, through a deep understanding, you rise above the duality of good and evil. You now see Beauty everywhere, for you see the Balance in all things.

Insecurity

If you have a poorly developed identity, you will generally seek to take on the identity of a partner or in some way substitute a relationship for a sense of identity. You will be dependent for your self-esteem on the reactions of others and will constantly seek the approval of others, particularly your partner. Less seriousness, though still profound in its implications, may be a tendency for you to define yourself in terms of your likes and dislikes. This not only makes you vulnerable to other people’s criticisms of your taste, but sets up a barrier to discovering your true self-identity. How can you find your Real self, when you believe that you are what you like (and dislike)?

This aspect also has undertones of Sun in Libra and Sun in the 7th house or possibly Sun in Taurus or Sun in the 2nd house.

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Sun sextile Venus

Opportunities Exist for Mutual Interaction Between the Evaluative and Relationship Functions and Self-Identity

The evaluative and relationship functions may assume an importance in your life and psyche, as there is ample opportunity for you to take advantage of your judgment and relationship skills to enhance your self-image and to positively construct your personality. By judgment is meant the ability to discriminate form and beauty and what is pleasurable and not so, the ability to appreciate, and the ability to clarify values. You may often find yourself placed in social situations and, unless Venus is afflicted, you should be able to exercise your social skills and benefit thereby. You are likely to receive much personal satisfaction and identity validation by using your social skills. You are apt to see yourself as a social animal.

Of course, if Venus is afflicted, the experience of finding yourself called upon so much to be in the social limelight can prove frustrating. However, you can always draw upon your natural self-confidence and positive self-image to aid you in the social arena. Even for the more socially accomplished, this aspect suggests that there are still opportunities to learn and improve your relationship skills.

Long-term personal relationships may play an even larger role in developing your self-esteem and self-identity. There is much opportunity for the self to grow through close relationships and for the relationship itself to grow and allow you to express more of your individuality. You also have abundant opportunities to define yourself through your value system. Thus, what you like and dislike, what you appreciate, your concepts of beauty, harmony and proportion, and the things or ideas that you value are all likely to play a role in determining your self-identity.

Inherent in this is the opportunity to examine and evaluate your value system, your tastes, etc. Such an examination can help you overcome insecurities or faults or can allow you to change your values to more accurately reflect your self-identity, especially after you have grown personally. You always have the choice to focus on a positive evaluation of your circumstances, and therefore, you are often contented, feeling in harmony with yourself, your relationships and your surroundings. Such a disposition makes for a pleasing personality, and others often find you to be sociable and to have a peaceful outlook on life. If Venus is afflicted, however, it may be easy for you to express dissatisfaction and to appear overly critical. If your self-image and self-esteem are basically positive, however, you have the opportunity to overcome any such negativity by focusing on your positive sense of being, or feeling good about oneself.

If either the Sun or Venus has a difficult aspect from another planet, the sextile suggests that you have opportunities to relieve the stress that is associated with the difficult aspect. Support from your partner(s) may be available to you or clarifying your values may assist you (when the difficult aspect is to the Sun). Inner strength, a strong sense of your own identity or illuminating insight may come to your aid (when the difficult aspect is to Venus).

Sun sextile Venus also suggests that you have opportunities to express your femininity (if you are female) or to get in touch with your feminine side (if you are male). It may be easy for you to meet and form relationships with (other) women. Women in your life may also be helpful, particularly in relieving stress or helping you out of a difficulty if the Sun has a challenging aspect or position.

Transcendent Potential

The transcendent potential of Sun sextile Venus is realized when you take advantage of the opportunities to judge the world and yourself from a transcendent perspective. You see the world as a place of essential beauty and harmony and you recognize that you are a part of that world and a part of that harmony. It has been revealed to you that God pervades the entire Creation and that His beauty and Her design can be seen everywhere. The entire world is a balance, and even what appears to be evil is necessary for that balance to occur and, thus, needs to be accepted. You then see your own self in balance since, in being content with God’s Plan, you are in harmony with the world and in harmony with yourself.

Insecurity

You have no security in you self and, therefore, you rely overly much upon your social skills and/or upon your perceptions and judgment to create a persona with which you can defend your ego. This may lead you to become dependent upon relationships or upon maintaining a stress-free and harmonious environment. Thus, you may often seek out opportunities to turn relationships to your advantage and/or to manipulate people and situations so that your own environment is pleasant and harmonious. Your need to feel secure may prompt you to accept relationships and environments that are false and superficial, but that provide security, comfort and self-esteem.

The sextile is the outermost aspect possible for the Sun and Venus.

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Sun and Mars Contacts

The Sun aspecting Mars brings the self-identity function (symbolized by the Sun) in contact with the desire/action function (symbolized by Mars). The function symbolized by Mars is subordinate to that symbolized by the Sun, as is the case with most of the astrological planets. Nevertheless, the planets represent a major component of the psychological mechanism that governs the ego’s relationship to the external world (the other components of this mechanism being symbolized by Mercury, Venus and the Moon).

The Sun and Mars share much common ground, as they are both fire planets. They are both associated with the active-positive-conscious-masculine dimension of the psychological spectrum. Mars acts as a mediator for the ego in the outside world, transforming the sensory and evaluative data the psyche receives into desires for the objects of the world (which include intangible as well as concrete phenomena). Mars also symbolizes the function that motivates the self to move toward (or away from) these objects. More importantly, the Mars functions in an agent mode for the identity. It is through action that the self affects the external world and relates to it in time and space, as opposed to relation in idea (which is symbolized by Venus)

The Martian function and energy also color the self’s identity. It attaches the identity to desire and to the actions you take in the world. The aspect formed by Mars to the Sun also suggests the extent and the nature of your identity’s absorption of those qualities and energies that are associated with Mars—assertiveness, enthusiasm, leadership and positivism. A Mars-Sun contact tends to amplify the fiery nature that both planets represent. Of course, the self’s own identity, symbolized by the Sun’s sign and house placements, affect the nature and operation of those functions symbolized by Mars, as well.

The interaction between the Solar and Martian functions itself is neutral on a positive-negative continuum. Either set of functions, however, can operate either positively or negatively, depending upon your maturity, level of consciousness and the psychological stressors that you experience in life. The relationship between these two sets of functions, symbolized by the aspect, also is a determinant of whether they will tend to manifest positively or negatively. If the interaction is positive, then you are likely to have healthy desires and be motivated to act by a healthy self-esteem. If the dynamic is difficult, your desires and actions are likely to be complicated by your need to affirm your identity and/or by low self-esteem.

The transcendental potential symbolized by Sun-Mars contacts requires a reorientation of your desires and mode of action toward the spiritual and the transcendent. This process is identified with the transformation of your identity and the transcendence of the personal in your identity. You shed the ego’s desires in favor of the desire of the self for a return to its Divine Origin. Your actions are now all bent in this direction. Thus, Martian passion and enthusiasm becomes directed toward spiritual ends and becomes devotion that expresses itself through right-action and action taken to walk on the spiritual path.

Mars also symbolizes the animus, the masculine psychological archetypes. Thus, the aspect between the Sun and Mars suggests a relationship between your animus and your identity. This relationship may find expression externally through the involvement of a man/men as integral to your identity. Your sense of masculinity and/or your attitude toward men is also likely to be bound to your identity.

Sun conjunct Mars

Sense of Self Strongly Identified with the Action/Desire Function

The conjunction of two fire planets produces an intense amount of energy in the personality. Your mode of action and your motivations and desires are an integral part of your basic nature and sense of identity. Therefore, your personality tends to be aggressive and energetic. You usually have a clear idea of what you want and of how to go about getting it. You tend to be highly motivated and to see yourself as a goal-oriented individual who is sure of your path in life.

You identify very closely with what you desire. Thus, your identity and personality can be seen as a reflection of your desires. In other words, it can be said of you that you are what you desire. This close identity between self and the object of desire may create internal pressures to succeed (in obtaining the desired goal). If you fail to act or fail to obtain what you desire, the integrity of your identity may be compromised. Actualizing motivation is therefore very important for you.

You may experience anxiety over the possibility of failing to achieve your goals. This anxiety, if positively channeled, becomes creative and action-oriented energy. If you use this energy, you are able to solve problems and overcome obstacles in order to achieve your goals. Actualizing this energy often leads to assertiveness and even aggressiveness. You are propelled to go forward and carry out your plans. Self-confidence and the willingness to take risks are instilled, and when you experience success in achieving the object of you desires, this breeds greater self-confidence. Self-confidence, in turn, can liberate energy from your psyche’s internal reserves, making you capable of great courage and heroic deeds.

While your desires may shape your self-identity, your actions provide an immediate sense of self-definition and identification. I am what I do could be your motto. You can be ceaselessly engaged in activity. Your willingness and ability to act assertively frequently places you in a leadership position. You may see yourself as someone who can get things done and, therefore, take on that role.

Sun conjunct Mars may also signify a close identification by you with your animus. If you are male, this will generally enhance your masculinity. If your animus is afflicted or dysfunctional, however, you are likely to have self-esteem or self-identity issues that are connected to your concepts of masculinity and/or how well you exemplify the masculine ideal. If you are female, you are likely to be more in touch with your animus than most females. This could cause you to be seen as too pushy and aggressive for a woman by those who are wedded to traditional gender roles or who are insecure about their own