Pluto in the Underworld
Introduction to the Moon: A Love Story with the Self
The inner life is arguably the most human, frightening, changeable, and unruly. In astrology, it is our moon sign that most deeply shows the way we encounter this inner experience. It also shows what is normal for us, what comforts us, and what drives our unconscious behavior.
Heavily aspected, the moon has tremendous say in more than just the inner facets of our lives. It affects the areas of life represented by the planets it touches. For instance, if your Moon is aspected by Venus, your inner experience both influences and is influenced by the relationships you have in your life and whether they provide apparent friction or ease. With Venus aspecting, all that we value, find attractive, and love (Venus) depends on its relation to our instinctual inner needs, the emotions, and our past, in order to be a satisfying (Venus) experience. When these two unite in aspect, we see a symbiotic relationship wherein whatever inner experience we are signified to have by the sign and house placement of the Moon is intertwined (in concert or conflict) with the love nature and the sign and house placement of Venus. This makes for a concentration of energies, a synergy in which Venus' love and beauty is flavored by the emotions, fears, and changeableness of the Moon and the Moon's emotive power is subject to the current state of love relationships and the presence of beauty in one's life. In a sense, even without Venus attached, the Moon is representative of our initial experience with love, but it is love of a maternal sort. It's a love that comes to us unconditionally, seeks to shelter and overpower us with its deep force. Incidentally, this Moon force is typically the soft spot in each of us that yearns to be unconditionally appreciated, cherished, and cared for, and by and through this soft spot can we generate a bond of love. This is familiar love, love born from closeness and intimacy. But contrary to the idea that this experience of familiar, comfortable love inherently drives us closer to each other, it seems this inner experience of love through the Moon is actually a force that drives us much closer to ourselves. With the provisions of another person's caring, the inner depths of our instinctive needs and our constantly changing emotions are plumbed and we are left to enjoy the peace and quiet of inner love beneath the wave. The other person reflects back the love we see as outside ourselves, just like water reflects the form of the Moon. But who really gives that love, and who can really receive it? Without the water's reflection, the love we receive is inside us, nurturing us even when the well is dry. |
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