Table 1. The Sun and Moon can be seen to correspond to two very different ways of relating to the world. We each use both. When either is overemphasized, there is an imbalance. When both are used together (see Table 2), we can become increasingly vital and creative.
GETTING IT TOGETHER – THE KEY TO CREATIVITY
When our conscious, masculine side is at war with our feeling, feminine side, our life can become an endless struggle between what we feel we need to do and what we think we ought to do – like a child living with constantly arguing parents. This can lead to a perplexing sort of self-sabotage which trips us up at the crucial moment. Indeed, we say of some people that ‘their left hand does not know what their right hand is doing’. As we have seen above, this is just another way of saying that our left-brain, conscious, Sun side does not know what our right-brain, unconscious, Moon side is on about.
But experience shows that the more these two sides can be brought into contact with each other to form an inner dialogue, the more whole, fulfilled and creative our life becomes. In fact, there are times when these two aspects of ourselves do come together. As we wake we may remember a dream we have had. Dreams speak from our lunar side. By training our solar side deliberately to remember our dreams, we can learn to listen consciously to our unconscious. Working with dreams in this way gradually brings the conscious and unconscious mind first into a recognition of, and eventually into a dialogue with, each other.
FALLING IN LOVE – WITH YOURSELF
The experience of falling in love is a good metaphor for what happens when the masculine and feminine, the Sun and the Moon, begin to work more harmoniously within us. As anyone who has ever been in love will know, when we are in love everything seems possible. The world is beautiful and life is good. The bliss of being released to life’s magic through falling in love can even become addictive. It makes us feel alive and, even more important, it makes us feel creative.
It is a notable fact that, even in puritanical periods of history, the affairs and infidelities of the creative artist tend to be accepted. In some way, we admit that strongly creative people, be they artists, musicians, poets, politicians, entrepreneurs, indeed philosophers, are in the business of finding their inner wholeness. As such, it is recognized by society, albeit unconsciously, that deep emotional experience and experimentation is for such people the essence of their life.
Everyone loves a lover. This is because their love reawakens our own capacity for love, and we are reminded that we, too, are alive and potentially creative. A loving relationship can be an immensely powerful outer trigger to our own inner creativity. This is because falling in love connects us with both our Sun and Moon energies and, at least temporarily, creates a state of inner ‘alchemical marriage’.
This inner fusion and creativity can, however, take place at any time if we encourage it and give both sides enough space to develop in conjunction with each other. It is probably no coincidence that Leonardo da Vinci, who was a great scientist as well as a great artist, was ambidextrous and could actually write different messages with each hand simultaneously. In other words, Leonardo had equal access to his conscious, purposeful, scientific-orientated left brain (through his right hand), and to his poetic, artistic right brain (through his left hand). Although very few of us are ambidextrous, this inner marriage is something that can happen to all of us. Having tasted it once, it gets easier and easier.
We hope the profiles in this book will help you to recognize some of the main qualities of the central Sun – Moon polarity within you, something of its conflicts and something of its creative magic. The more conscious you can become of the issues in your own Sun – Moon polarity, the more will your left hand be able to shake your right hand, and the more you will be able to get your act together and move towards a greater level of vital wholeness and harmony.
Table 2 offers some images for the resolution of the Sun and Moon, which show how much more valuable it is when we have the Sun and Moon working together. As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango, and this is also true for the individual personality. Happy dancing!
The Middle Way – Working with Both Sun and Moon
| SUN | MOON | SUN+MOON |
| Day | Night | Dawn, Dusk |
| Sunlight | Rain | Growth |
| Father | Mother | Child |
| Male | Female | Androgyne |
| King | Queen | Alchemical marriage |
| Active | Passive | Aware |
| Mind | Heart | Wisdom |
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