Follow the Sun
Transforming our Unconscious
Habit Patterns and Past Conditioning
by Jef Bartow
Within astrology, there's not just one indicator of our instinctual nature. Each of the inner planets represents a part of our instinctual past. Having said that, the Moon is a primary indicator of how we express our past both unconsciously and superficially. It is even said to indicate the superficial expression of our personality.Specifically, the Moon in our natal astrology chart represents how we respond and behave based on our past, whether conditioned from childhood or past lives. This instinctual part of ourselves helps us to better adapt to life experiences and those we meet in life. Therefore, it represents a major part of ourselves we must transform on the Spiritual Path.The reason for this is that transformed, the Moon becomes the "reflector of our true self" in physical embodiment. This is best represented by how the moon is the reflector of the sun's light. It has no light of its own. Another way to look at this is based on the metaphysical idea that the earth was ejected from the moon during the moon chain. In our present earth chain, all of life evolves today while the moon represents the residue from all of life and evolution during the past moon chain of existence.Our articles are available for reproduction for all members. Please give credit to the author.
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The power of our Moon is that it can bring to light what we must transmute while providing us a means to create new automatic spiritualizing habits and responses in life. Since the Moon completes its cycle every 28 days, it is a great place to start in understanding the totality of our natal chart configuration.First, we need to look at and evaluate the natal position of our Moon. What areas of life (house position) is my habitual past most powerfully expressed? In addition, what areas am I more sensitive and responsive to my early relationship with my mother?Images provided by NASA
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Next, what natural tendencies describe my emotional responses and unconscious habit patterns in life? This is described by the element of our Moon’s sign. The four elements are earth, water, air and fire. For example, if our Moon resides in an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), many of our unconscious habit patterns involve being practical, material oriented, detailed, persistent and dependable (all natural tendencies of the earth element). As an aside, do not hesitate to use our astrology appendixes for keywords for every astrological symbol.The qualities of the signs are also powerful descriptors regarding the nature of the sign. The quality of the sign reflects the qualities that we need to express regarding the sign. The Moon’s quality by the sign in its natal position also demonstrates positive aspects that we've gained from our past. If our Moon is in Taurus, then we need to be stable, dependable, determined, reliable and consistent (all descriptors of the fixed quality) in how we habitually express each day. By the way, the fixed signs include Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.We can use the characteristics of each sign’s element and quality to help understand the unique energies of each sign. In our example, combining the earth’s natural tendencies with the fixed qualities helps us understand the energies of Taurus. Taurus becomes described by being productive, resourceful, practical, realistically determined, persistent, dependable, materialistic, fixed and stubborn. With Moon in Taurus, one will naturally be able to get things done and seen as a rock of Gibraltar. On the negative side, one will also be seen as a real stick in the mud or immovable obstruction to those who are spontaneous, versatile, adaptable or progressive.The dispositor of our Moon’s natal sign shows additional help we can get in transforming our unconscious habit patterns and responses based on past conditioning. This is the ruling planet of the Moon’s natal sign. For example, the ruler of Taurus is Venus. Finding Venus in this natal chart helps us to get a handle on the Taurus Moon. If Venus, let’s say, is in Gemini in the third house, then expressing Gemini’s mutability (quality) and Gemini’s natural tendencies (element) in communicating, thinking, approaching community involvement and education (third house areas of life) will help transform this person’s Moon's instinctual nature. Since Venus represents our emotional nature, our values, how we give and love, and how we attract and appreciate others, our example suggests that by being adaptable, versatile, responsive and sociable (descriptors of mutable) and balanced, detached, thoughtful and flexible (tendencies of the air element) while communicating feelings, thinking about values and giving love to those in the community will accelerate the transformation of the unconscious habitual Moon tendencies to be fixed, stubborn, overly practical, materialistic and persistent to the point of unchangeability.What this means is that not only by expressing the positive qualities and tendencies of our Moon's position in the areas of life it resides in our natal chart and looking at and transforming the negative characteristics of our Moon’s sign, we can accelerate our transformation through the positive expression of our Moon's ruling planet in the areas of life where it resides in our natal chart. This is described by our above example where Venus rules the natal Taurus Moon.Another help in the transformation of our Moon is to express the positive characteristics of the sign on our fourth house cusp in fourth house areas of our life. This is because the Moon is the natural ruler of Cancer and its natural home of the fourth house. In our example with Gemini in the third house, Cancer would normally be on the fourth house cusp. Therefore, being nurturing, warm, protective and intuitive (positive characteristics of Cancer) regarding home, family matters in internal emotional structures (fourth house areas of life) will also contribute to transforming unconscious habit patterns and behaviors represented by the Moon in TauAn example in my life relates to my wife, Tanya. Her natal Moon is in Pisces in the fifth house. Simply, her unconscious habit patterns and conditioned attitudes from childhood were mostly powerfully developed through creativity, involvement with children and through her romantic and leisure activities (fifth house activities). Her natural tendencies are to be nurturing, empathetic, highly sensitive, protective and responsive (water tendencies) in these areas. On the other hand, through these same activities she needs to be adaptable, versatile, observing, flexible and sociable (mutable qualities).
In her life, she's had three children, one as a teenager and two later in her 30s. As I came into her life, it was obvious that her two girls who live with her were the most important thing in her life. Beyond that, her current commitment was to take her natural artistic ability to receive a Master's degree in art. She was very much living her water tendencies in these areas. But her Moon needs were not being fulfilled yet. Her commitment to spiritual growth had been intensifying through the 1990s with no realization of what it would mean in transformation of her past conditioning and habitual tendencies. Creating our spiritual partnership and moving to her next phase of growth necessitated her leaving the South and redirecting her creativity to support her spiritual growth rather than financial security. As mentioned in a previous article, she fulfilled her next step in spiritual growth by allowing her two children to remain in the South and live with their father while giving up her art education to pursue an entirely new course in life with her spiritual partner.With Neptune as the ruler (dispositor) of Pisces residing in Scorpio in the first house, filling her Moon needs are helped by using her psychic powers, idealist one-pointedness an urge to transcend herself into a larger system (functions of Neptune) in developing her self-image, identity and basic approach to life (first house activities). This is best fulfilled by her approaching these activities in a determined, patient, consistent and methodical way (fixed qualities). This is exactly what she did through the drastic change of her life circumstances and willingness to leave much of her past behind in pursuit of fulfilling her spiritual destiny and service.
Finally, with the Moon as the natural ruler of the fourth house, transforming her conditioned past and habitual responses are assisted by her being progressive, initiating, resourceful, dynamic and energetic (Cardinal qualities) and organized, responsible, and successful (positive characteristics of Capricorn) while dealing with matters concerning the home and family and her own internal emotional structures in life (fourth house activities). This is because she has Capricorn on her fourth house cusp. She's accomplished this through focusing her creative abilities in transforming our house and property in southwest Colorado while taking a whole new approach to her children as their friend and confidant, not traditional mother.
The transiting Moon around our astrology chart mandala each month provides an important opportunity for us to see how our unconscious habit patterns and behaviors affect all areas of our life. The transiting Moon will spend about 2 1/3 days within each house. Conscious meditation and reflection of each day's life experiences relating to the transiting Moon's position will "bring to light" some aspect of that area in our life that is still unconscious and based on habitual conditioning. As the Moon transits a planet in that house, it will also unveil something unconscious or habitual about that planet’s part of our makeup.In our example, let's say the Sun in Leo in the fifth house. The Moon in Taurus in the third house suggests that normally Leo would be on the fifth house cusp. Each month the transiting Moon will spend 2 1/3 days in the fifth house. During this period the opportunity exists to reflect upon and unveil some aspect of how this person unconsciously or habitually creatively expresses, deals with children and romantic and leisure activities (fifth house areas of life). With Leo here, insight into how this person positively expresses generously, kindly and dramatically and negatively expresses egotistically, dominating, or overly proud and showy will be shown.In addition, when the Moon transits the natal Sun in Leo, the opportunity to see some aspect of self-consciousness and need to shine will be unveiled. It may also reveal some way that the personal character and identity demonstrates the negative characteristics of Leo described above. In effect, the short cycle transits of the Moon become an excellent focus for a daily meditative orientation to life.All in all, the Moon in our astrology chart is a powerful way to begin transforming our daily life on the Spiritual Path. It goes to the core of our unconscious habits, behaviors and conditioning that we must transmute to become who we really are in preparation to becoming who we potentially will be as a spiritual being.
