Moon

The Moon represents the fluid capacity of the cell and is vital for the correct function of cellular exchange.  The combination of Sun and Moon represents the cell where the Sun is the energetic principle and the Moon is the fluid component.   Together they determine cellular integrity and inter cellular exchange as governed by the day / night cycle.  The Moon, as ruler of Cancer, concerns all feminine matters as well as governing the Thymus gland.  Hereditary conditions also fall under the power of the Moon due to Cancer’s natural rulership of the 4th house.  Because the Moon is receptive to the contents of the sub-conscious, disharmony manifested by the Moon often reflects deep seated psychological issues that can be difficult to ascertain.

The Moon has complex associations.  It represents the seat of the Ego and the development of the personality (the shield with which we protect ourselves from, and interact with, the outer world); relates to the past, to parental conditioning and through the action of the subconscious, to habit formation; it governs the hormones of the thymus gland which influence sexual development; and is the vehicle of the Soul as represented by Pluto. 

Because the Moon accepts the impressions of conditioning, it can be likened to the astral light that conveys the pattern of the universe from the source to manifestation.   This conditioning is through the impressions of our mental thought forms / images (Mercury) and the feeling nature (Venus) which become mechanical in nature through the force of habit.  This is another important concept in that our habits based upon past actions hold us to ransom on the wheel of samsara, the endless revolutions of the wheel of suffering.  We are slaves to the mechanical subconscious nature of the Moon.  At its best, the Moon acts as the focusing lens of the Soul but to most this will be imperceptible because of the accumulation of psychic aggregates that cloud our perception and colour every thought, feeling and action. 

With the Moon corresponding to subconscious memory it can be seen that beyond the remembering of past lives, it is through the memory of the Moon that we remember our original face, that of our Soul.  This is the secret of the higher meaning of the Moon and why we must venture through the subconscious processes to arrive at a fully conscious and individuated self (the Sun) from which we can remember (experience) the light of our Soul (Pluto).  It is through a process of remembering that awakening occurs. 

There is also a connection between the Thymus/Moon and the nurturing mother’s breast milk which activates the new born child’s own thymus gland and immune system.  Dairy based milk substitutes contain casein and lactose and are high in protein and lack the delicate proportion of essential vitamins and minerals that the mother’s body naturally produces, not to mention the subtle immeasurable etheric and energetic qualities that are essential in producing a healthy and ‘connected’ human being.  It is this disconnect between our minds and the energetic principles underlying manifestation which continue to produce disease and dysfunction.  Man only creates dry sterile alternatives to nature’s rich and balanced enlivened nutrients because we have yet to fully grasp the laws of manifestation.  The best that we can do is to interpret nature.

In addition, learning how to breath correctly also stimulates the function of the thymus and explains why focusing on the breath has so many beneficial side effects in addition to focusing the mind and nourishing the nervous system.

Cancer, the crab, dwells both in the water and on land and it is the Moons gravitational pull that exerts control over the oceans of the earth.  Thus the Moon also exerts a push and pull effect upon our physical bodies which has consequences for the movement of electrolytes across the permeable cell membrane.  This is also the basis for the day night cycle in which cellular metabolites that accumulate during the day are expelled from the cell during the night/sleep cycle and processed by the organs ready for expulsion the following morning.  From a nutritional perspective, day time activity results in the acidification of the cell through the action of sodium and calcium entering the cell pushing out Magnesium and potassium. Even though Cancer is considered a water sign it is correct to think of it as both water and Earth, the crab inhabits both elements.  The Moon, although considered primarily from a watery perspective is more neutral in that it is receptive to the impressions made upon it by the mind/Mercury/Hod and the emotional/feeling body ruled by Venus/Netzach And the solar principle of Will via Tiphareth.   Thus, in the stages of development of a child it is through the Fourth house Cancer archetype that it receives the imprint of the mass consciousness and family blueprint that becomes its foundation for socio-cultural and psychological exchange and understanding.  And it is through this same mechanism that we can, through consistent effort with various practices un-learn dysfunctional patterns and re-connect with our true spiritual heritage.  Because the Moon accepts patterns and is likened to the Astral light that conveys the pattern of the universe from the source to manifestation it also accepts our mental thought forms and hence is also related to the past.  This is another important concept in that our past actions hold us to ransom on the wheel of samsara, the endless revolutions of the wheel of suffering.  At its best, the Moon acts as the focusing lens of the Soul but to most this will be imperceptible because of the accumulation of psychic aggregates that cloud our perception and colour every thought, feeing and action.