Astrologically, the Sun symbolizes the expression of pure energy. The Moon symbolizes the reception of that energy and its conversion into mass or forms. The Moon represents the total variety of appearances which can manifest out of the whole. From slender crescent to full circle, its phases designate all possible divisions of the circle. Solar energy is linear and lunar energy is curved.
The Sun symbolizes that part of consciousness which is eternal and changeless, burning forever like the Ner Tamid ("Everlasting Light") in a traditional Hebrew sanctuary. The Moon symbolizes the part of us which incarnates in this world, taking on an infinite variety of forms. The Sun is immortality: it never dies because it is never born. The Moon is mortality, always in one form of manifestation or another. Immortality and mortality are like two sides of a coin: we can't have one without the other. The two polarities symbolized by the Sun and the Moon are complementary. They arise together, define one another and complete one another.
In its original spiritual context, Hatha Yoga is the method by which we moderate the Solar and Lunar forces within the body. Ha stands for Sun, Tha stands for Moon. Attaining a stable posture or Asana is not the final aim of Yoga, but rather a preliminary stage. The ultimate goal is the attainment of mental, emotional and spiritual balance.
In Tibetan Buddhism, The Sun symbolizes prajna or wisdom. The Moon symbolizes karunaa or compassion. The union of wisdom and compassion is symbolized as vajra (tibetan: dorje) the thunderbolt of spiritual illumination.
The Sun is single. The Moon is multiple. The Sun is abstract. The Moon is concrete. The Sun symbolizes Satyam or truth. The Moon symbolizes Chitta or apprehension. When they come into balance - when Truth is experienced - we get Ananda or bliss. Together they make up a trinity known as Satchitananda, a term by which Hindus describe the nature of God Consciousness: truth, knowledge and bliss absolute.
Astrologers relate the Sun to the conjunction aspect (0 degrees) and the Moon to the opposition (180 degrees), by which a circle is divided in two. When mathematicians divide the circle, the relationship of the part to the whole (the diameter to the circumference) is expressed as PI.
That simple Greek letter represents something very profound: the relationship between a straight line (Solar) and a curve which encompasses it (Lunar).
PI is 3.14159... a number that keeps on going and going. The closer you look at it, the bigger it gets. It can never be expressed as a ratio or relationship between two integers. Such numbers are called irrational ("no ratio"). The relationship they express is real, but it cannot be defined, never pinned down: only stated approximately. Irrational numbers can only be estimated.
The relationship between that which is linear and that which is curved is like ananda or bliss: it knows no bounds. It can be experienced, but it cannot be explained.
The Sun is weak in the sidereal constellation Libra (Oct 17 - Nov 15), particularly at the end of October when it reaches 10 degrees of Libra, its point of deepest debility (see Meanderings 15 for details). Individuals born at that time are more likely to have health issues related to the Sun and Leo: cardiac and circulatory problems. There can be weakness of the heart, wrongly shaped heart or valves, valves which do not close, irregular pulse, etc. There can also be difficulties with one's father, early loss or separation from father. Solar afflictions correspond to problems with men, bosses, authority figures and representatives of the government.
The Sun is also harmed by aspects from malefic planets like Saturn. It is weak when located in weak positions: 0 or 29 degrees of the constellation.
It's especially weak when conjunct the South Node. The South Node or Ketu is said to swallow up planets that are near it, acting like a black hole. When the Sun is weak, there can be problems with the eyes, poor eyesight and even blindness.
Helen Keller is was one of the most famous and extraordinary figures of the 20th century. At the age of 19 months an illness took away her sight and hearing, but she went on to become, according to Wikepedia "an American author, political activist and lecturer."
In Helen Keller's chart, the Sun is closely conjunct the South Node Ketu. This is a major affliction to the Sun and provides sufficient astrological evidence to account for her blindness. Note that her Sun is otherwise unafflicted: there are no squares or even inconjunctions from any other planets.
Helen Keller's chart contains a paradox. Although she was drastically "shut in" by the circumstances of her impairment, there is a powerful emphasis in the upper quadrant: the sign of someone destined to play a role in the world at large. In her chart there are no planets below the horizon (the nodes aren't planets). Hers is a classic "Bowl" pattern with an emphasis at the Midheaven the Tenth House of position and notoriety and leadership.
"...She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film "The Miracle Worker"". Her birthday on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and was authorized at the federal level by presidential proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, her 100th birthday..."
"Keller went on to become a world-famous speaker and author. She is remembered as an advocate for people with disabilities, amid numerous other causes. She was a suffragist, a pacifist, an opponent of Woodrow Wilson, a radical socialist and a birth control supporter. In 1915 she and George Kessler founded the Helen Keller International (HKI) organization. This organization is devoted to research in vision, health and nutrition. In 1920 she helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Keller traveled to 40 some-odd countries with Sullivan, making several trips to Japan and becoming a favorite of the Japanese people. Keller met every U.S. President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson and was friends with many famous figures, including Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin and Mark Twain...Keller wrote a total of 12 published books and several articles."
A profoundly weak Moon - badly aspected - can also indicate problems with vision. It's weak in the constellation of the Scorpion and the 3rd degree is the deepest point of debility. It's weak when aspected by malefics, or in between houses or signs. It's also weak when found in a late degree. Like the Sun, it is seriously harmed by hard aspects from the North and South Node: conjunctions and squares. The Nodes are points in the sky where eclipses occur: they are inimical to the luminaries.
Italian singer song-writer and instrumentalist Andrea Bocelli is one of the most popular musicians in the world. According to Wikipedia:
"Bocelli has recorded fourteen solo studio albums, of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums and nine complete operas, selling over 80 million records worldwide. Thus, he is the biggest-selling artist in the history of classical music"
Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a football accident.
Note the Moon in his chart: at the very end of its sign and closely squared by the North and South Nodes. As with Helen Keller's chart, Rahu and Ketu are operating in full career. See Meanderings 3 for the Indian myth which portrays their "demonic" nature.
As with Helen Keller, Andrea Bocelli's disability has not forced him into a life of seclusion or solitude: the majority of his chart is very active. Note the Sun in the First House: he was born just before Sunrise, the portent of a prominent individual. The vast majority of planets in his horoscope are in the eastern hemisphere - the place where we are recognized and influence others. When the eastern hemisphere is accented, life depends on our own initiative and we take it.
Note the Mercury/Venus conjunction on his Ascendent. In Western astrology we don't always pay close attention to these "little" planets, but in Indian astrology, we do. For those with Leo rising, Mercury is lord of the 2nd house of speech and wealth and the Eleventh House of "hopes and dreams" and... more wealth. For Leo natives (Leo rising), Mercury tends to bring good fortune wherever it is found in the chart. Here it combines with Venus, which rules Libra (his 3rd house of communications) and Taurus (his 10th house of career). Venus is the planet of artists and in this horoscope it is very well connected.
A seemingly innocuous conjunction of inferior planets, it forms a Raja Yoga: a "royal" combination for success and fulfillment. When we add the placement of chart lord Sun in the same house, the effect is multiplied. Further strengthening the effect, we have an "exchange of sign" between the Sun and Mercury: the Sun is in Virgo (ruled by Mercury) and the Mercury is in Leo (ruled by the Sun). In Sanskrit this is called Parivartana Yoga. Each planet strengthens the other. These two planets were rising at birth: the most influential position of all.
Just as in Helen Keller's chart, there are no other bad aspects to the Moon and there are no wonderful aspects to indicate great fame. The simple Yoga or combination of planets is operational, blindness or not.
Jnana Yoga ("The Yoga of Knowledge") consists of softening our rigid identification with the personality - the small self - and gaining a clearer identification with the Whole - the big Self. One of the main techniques is vichara or enquiry: Who am I ? or rather: What am I ?
Another classical sadhana or spiritual exercise is the reflection on certain pithy analogies, called Nyaya. For example the Surya Bimba Nyaya, the analogy of the Sun and its reflections. Although the Sun appears in countless different reflections in ponds, rivers, mirrors, etc. we know that there is really only one Sun. In the same way, there is only one Reality, but we experience it as a multitude of apparently separate persons, places and things.
That we exist both as apparently separate individuals and are - at the same time - part of Life as a whole is a paradox, a marvel. See Meanderings 8 where we discuss the Sanskrit term Leela or divine play. The One manifests itself in such a way as to appear as separate things, separate individuals which persist for a while and then disappear, but according to spiritual teachers there is an important difference between how we conceive things to be - and how they really are when we have a direct experience beyond concepts. According to the Upanishads, when the eye of wisdom is opened we see the light by which the Sun and Moon are illumined.