Sometimes You Learn from Being the "Bad Guy"

Programming.

The Moon is a planet that I don’t spend a lot of time talking about on print but have found myself devoting whole sessions to helping a client get better clarity on their own; but, with the eclipses just around the corner, it’s time to remedy that.

What is the moon? It’s the “hero” of the story! More so than the sun, it’s the planet that lies at the core of our embodied experience. The moon in one’s chart shows how someone perceives the events of their lives. It encapsulates that pre-language programming we received in the dynamic between child and primary caretaker — the algorithm that gets processed by our autonomous body systems and subconscious mind to signal whether or not we’re “safe” and, if we aren’t, then how to get our needs met to restore homeostasis.

One piece of neuroscience research I repeat during sessions with new clients is that they’ve found that the brain generates emotional states when the autonomous system’s homeostasis has been disrupted. These emotions will both often prompt action (even before the conscious mind decides to act) and create emotional wakes or environments conducive to getting back to balance, back to safety.

Astrologically, we look for a clue about what constitutes that algorithm in the moon placement. The position of the moon by house shows us in what area of life a person is most keyed into issues of safety, security, nourishment, connect and dependence on others. The moon’s sign will flesh out what we need to know about what the person needs to feel safe as well as how, emotionally, the register of imbalance expresses itself. Finally, we look to: Firstly, the planet(s) that rule the moon’s sign — this will not only bring clarity on who or what the person will look to first to restore their sense of well being, the tenor of that relationship, but also how easily or difficult it is for the moon to get these needs met. Secondly, the planets the moon is aspecting or being aspected by as these will show those who help, hinder, and overall trigger the moon.

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Even if that’s all you understand about your own chart, that’s enough to help you navigate a lot of life. Knowing what you need to feel safe and enough, even if there are issues getting there, is the key to developing agency over dysfunctional patterns that create repeated cycles in one’s life. It’s the key to cultivating presence in the moment, living in the reality in front of you rather than reacting to the echo of a previous experience. When we’re here, sure we may instinctively react before our conscious mind can step and be like “Count to ten.” Even then, you can realize that you’ve been triggered and consider what step to take next to ensure safety for present you and success for future you.

As I’ve found myself repeating recently, the goddess Lakshmi’s name means “she who knows her goal”. Lakshmi is the goddess of prosperity amongst other things.

Prosperity can only be experienced if it provides the well being the moon needs. So, knowing what that is very specifically, will enable you to make the decisions that will bring you prosperity.

The moon needs muscle.

Now, how does the moon get what it wants? In multiple astrological traditions, it is a soft watery planet. It needs muscle. It needs someone to do the dirty dirty business of interfacing with the manifest world.

Sure, we’d all love to get what we want and need from benefics and in benefic soft ways. We pray to Venus for pleasure, beauty, relationships or Jupiter for opportunities, financial gain, a lucky break. We could even pray to

Mercury for fast cash, easy conversation, swift resolutions to transactions. Wouldn’t it be nice if the moon could glide through life getting all its needs and wants met without a single conflict, seamlessly, and only ever surrounded by equally nice planets?

But, as the opening quote states: If you have never been called to be a villain at one point, you aren’t ever gonna be a hero. (Yes, I’m paraphrasing. LOL. I’m trying to push this out by an election.)

We need the muscle of the malefics, especially Mars, in order to restore the Moon’s homeostasis. We need to be willing to allow the planet that cuts to the chase, enforces our boundaries, asserts our courage, and won’t stop until it wins come to the fore everyone once a once and risk being the villain in someone else’s story.

This is the messiness of being a human being in this loka. How do you do this without incurring karma? How do you step into that role without losing your sense of self or self respect? Or disrespecting the fundamental dignity and humanity of someone else? Can you do that? Or are we operating under a win-lose paradigm?

These eclipses are setting us up to find out!

With the moon and Mars in each others signs for each of these eclipses, we may find ourselves having to overcome our own fears around rejection, taking up space, tearing away the facades we have erected to shore up the status quo to face fully some deeply seated fundamental truths, or going straight into the heart of the karmic fire that has been raging around our lives attempting to purify our understanding of our selves/Selves. We will learn what is a necessity for our moon to feel safe and what have been distractions that have brought the moon nothing but complication.

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Books are Open!

Lots of light,
Anak.

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