The luminaries are the Sun and the Moon.
Sun
Luminary
Malefic, especially by conjunction
Diurnal, Masculine, Hot & Dry
Rules: Leo
Joy: Ninth House
Retrograde period: The Sun is never retrograde
Links to Data and Sources
http://www.nineplanets.org/sol.html
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/sun.htm
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar/
Life force, ego, identity, authority, fathers, individuality, power, self determination, consciousness, the spirit, God.
Authentic power is built step by step, choice by choice. It cannot be mediated or prayed into being. It must be earned.
Gary Zukov
Like the Sun the sky, the Sun in our charts shows us where the root source of our energy comes from. It shows where we are vibrant and where our sense of authority, self and power are to be found. The strength of the placement of our Sun relates directly to the strength of our sense of identity. As we know where the Sun is in the zodiac more easily than any of the other planets – most of us know our birthdays – popular astrology has focused on Sun signs to the detriment of the rest of the chart.
It shows where we are able to break away from mediocrity, from our past baggage, where we are able to shine, to move from unconscious reaction to conscious choice. This describes the classical hero – that’s the Jason and the Golden Fleece hero, not James Bond. The Sun is a mature energy and few express it well before their thirtieth birthday; it is a path along which we grow. The Sun is a point of aspiration, something we strive towards.
If your Sun is afflicted – for instance by challenging aspects, then you may have problems in these areas.
The Sun joys in the 9th house of God in keeping with it’s signification of one of the faces of god.
In Mundane Astrology:
Character of the nation, a nations absolute ruler, monarch or supreme authority; aspects to the sun will show how a nation’s aspirations will be seen by other nations.
In the charts of organisations and countries it symbolises royalty, leaders, heads of state, chairmen and the like.
Difficult placements of the Sun can show lack of leadership or problems establishing leadership.
Moon
Luminary
Benefic as waxing, malefic as waning
Feminine, Nocturnal, Cold & Moist
Rules: Cancer
Joy: Third House
Retrograde period: Moon is never retrograde
Links to Data and Sources
http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/moon.htm
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/moonpage.html
Instincts, emotions, our default settings, security,how we deal with change, subconscious, routines, every day concerns, food, nurturing, women, water, the body, the physical matrix, non verbal communication, the soul.
Soul loss is regarded as the gravest diagnosis in shamanism, being seen as a cause of illness and death. Yet it is not referred to at all in modern western medical books.
Jeanne Achterberg
The Moon is a much more unconscious energy than the Sun. Babies and young children live through their Moon more than other parts of their chart. It describes our emotional default setting. It’s what happens when we don’t do anything conscious. Consequently, many more people are more like their Moon sign than their Sun sign and a sign finds a more unfettered expression though the Moon than through the Sun. If you want to see the archetype in as pure a form as possible – look to the Moon in that sign.
Nurture is a major keyword for the Moon and many other associations grow from this: food, home, breasts, comfort, safety; these all stem directly from this root association.
The Moon is symbolic of the underlying matrix on which everything is built, described by some as the etheric body. It is the vehicle through which the Sun achieves expression – the Moon has no light of its own, it reflects the light of the Sun and the fuel which enables the Sun to shine. It’s the physical body.
Traditional astrology places great importance on the Moon and views that the lunar sphere mediates between the celestial and terrestrial realms.
The Moon is an everyday energy, connected to domesticity and tasks which we repeat again and again. The Moon is constantly inconstant, forever changing but in a predictable manner. A strong Moon usually indicates the importance of the emotional world.
The Moon is also associated with communication but on a non-verbal level. People with well placed Moons can tap into the common mind and judge what will be popular
The Moon joys in the 3rd as they both symbolise changing circumstances.
In Mundane Astrology:
As the Moon is the opposite of the Sun and if the Sun is the King then the Moon must be the common people or the nation as a whole. As each cannot exist without the other; the relationship between the two bodies is crucial in understanding the support system between governed and governer. The aspect between the two will tell you much about this relationship. The UK has an opposition between the Sun and Moon and we have a constitutional monarchy and a two party political system- Moon in 10th in Cancer and Sun in 4th in Capricorn.
The more difficult aspects can indicate the lack of consent from the governed to the governing. A lack of aspect can reflect the lack of understanding between the two; in an organisation it can show up in the understanding between management and workforce.
The mood of the people; attitudes to women.
