October Full Moon: The Power To Choose

At the seed moment of the current lunar cycle (the new Moon), Mars, the red planet, was in a tight conjunction with the Sun & Moon in Libra. I wrote a post- The Rebirth of the Sacred Masculine.

Today with Mars at 23° Libra conjunct the Sun at 27° Libra, the masculine remains in the spotlight.

The new Moon on 6 October heralded the first Moon, Myth, & Magic women’s circle in Edinburgh, an adaptation of the Moon Lodge previously hosted in Canterbury. Now home in Scotland I am delighted to continue in this work.

The theme of the first circle was focused on the masculine, a curious choice for the start of a women’s circle. While much of the Moon Lodge has been rooted in the feminine, I had the dawning realisation that in order to facilitate an embodied enquiry into the feminine, a strong masculine container was needed. In the Moon Lodge, the circle itself as well as ritual creates structure, however strengthening our own masculine holding was the invitation.

As these things go, the timing was perfect- I am journeying through the Chiron return which for me is inextricably linked with Mars- I have a tight Chiron Mars conjunction- in other words I have a wounded masculine which means my own holding container has been weak. The journey into my personal masculine wound has been both challenging and enlightening and has also offered insights into the collective masculine wound.

One insight is the realisation that the power “to choose” is an inherently masculine condition (I am talking archetypally here, not saying that women cannot choose). The feminine principle is naturally more yielding and receptive and, with a desire to include, may be over accommodating or lack discernment (excepting the virgin/Virgo archetype).

It occurred to me that one of the reasons we do shadow work is to learn how to choose rather than be compelled by forces outwith our control. Driven by unconscious forces, we act out of motivations that can possess us- I am thinking of addiction or any behaviour that we cannot stop even while knowing it damages ourselves or others.

As our consciousness increases, we become aware that we are in fact choosing everything in our lives (I realise this statement deserves more investigation than a short post can offer). Upon becoming aware that we are creating the dynamics of our lives we discover that there are things which although we know are detrimental and even destructive to our wellbeing, we are nevertheless drawn to them like months to a flame… these are our dark desires and sabotaging behaviours.

I am not saying dark desires are bad however if we are at the mercy of them or are unable to prevent ourselves from acting them out we are under a spell.

Learning to choose consciously sets us free.

For today’s full Moon, the position of the Sun- the masculine – is at 27°Libra – the Sabian symbol is:

“Every individualized organism is part of a larger organized whole, whether or not it is aware of this or of the sustaining power of the whole. A man, however, can deliberately choose to follow the dark path of ego-isolation which sooner or later always leads to destruction and self-loss in “matter.” At the animal level, the whole biosphere is the community; for the ordinary human being, it is the tribe or family, the village community, the nation. As the individual expands his consciousness, he may become aware of a spiritual community, even beyond the “noosphere” (the one Mind of humanity), i.e. the realm of the pure light of the “Supermind,” which is what the concept of the “White Lodge” suggests.”

On the opposite polarity is the “Black Lodge,” seductive and compelling though the danger is that somewhere along the line we lose our soul.

A strong masculine chooses, makes decisions, and has the focus and discipline to execute those decisions- to commit to a plan of action and see it through.

Reinstating a strong masculine is necessary in both men and women- in women we can get a sense of the condition of our inner man (our animus) through our significant relationships with men. For everybody, a good place to begin reviewing our relationship with the masculine is to reflect on the masculine blueprint that was installed during our formative experiences, and also in our ancestral field.

With the light of the full moon consider if you can identify something that has a hold over you- something you have up until now seemingly been unable to control- and see if you can break the spell… that is of course if you want to.