Full Moons and Integration of the Polarities

by Guru Rattana, Ph.D. - Issue #70, July 10th, 2003

Sunday July 13th is the Full Moon in Capricorn at 12:21pm PST. The Moon is in Capricorn from 1:21am PST Saturday July 12th through 3:38am PST Monday July 14. At each Full Moon, the Moon is in direct opposition to the Sun. This time the Sun is in Cancer. Oppositions invite us to seek equilibrium by integrating two forces or universal energies. Sometimes we experience internal and external conflict during the period of the Full Moon. In an attempt to find resolution, compromise and give and take are required.

If we penetrate beyond the surface events and misunderstandings, we discover that astrological oppositions are actually energetic complements, which offer us bridges to wider perceptions and richer realities. Although we often perceive oppositions as challenging, the two energies are ultimately very supportive of each other. In fact, one without the other creates an imbalance. Alone, an important dynamic is absent and an essential energy that is needed to establish and maintain balance is missing.

The question is HOW do we achieve the required balance and integration? First, we must understand the basic nature of both energies. Oppositions form a complementary relationship between two signs of the same polarity. Water and Earth signs are complementary feminine energies. Fire and Air signs are complementary masculine energies. Oppositions also create a relationship between two signs that share the same modality of expression. There are three modalities:

1. Cardinal or initiating energy
2. Fixed or stable energy
3. Mutable or changing energy

Cancer and Capricorn being Cardinal signs, the nature of both energies is to initiate or take action to begin activity. So for the Cancer/Capricorn Full Moon, we have a relationship between two complementary receptive/feminine/initiatory energies.

Dealing with Masculine and Feminine Polarities

The real polarities are masculine (fire and air) and feminine (water and earth.) Masculine (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius) and feminine signs (Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces) interact at 90° angles (squares) and 30 or 150° angles (quincunxes). More serious adjustments need to be made to accommodate these interactions. Not only are the polarities (masculine and feminine) different, the modalities are always different.

The above is particularity relevant during this Full Moon because the Moon and Sun form four quincunxes at this time. Energetically this means that we will be obliged to make significant adjustments in the way we think, act and interact. We will need to let go of some of our firmly held beliefs in order to change and grow. We will have to take a more realistic view, and act more responsibly regarding individual and collective resources. To achieve consensus, we will have to be more cooperative and considerate of others, their needs and viewpoints. We are going to have to jump up an octave in consciousness to find viable solutions. Innovation and imagination are required.

In sum, this Full Moon may impact us more intensely than meets the Cancer/Capricorn eye. Synthesizing complementary energies simply obliges us to accept a missing piece and allow it to support us. We build an alliance between two parts of ourselves that inherently assist and nurture each other. Building alliances between complementary energies greatly enhances our ability to work with masculine and feminine polarities.

Integrating masculine and feminine polarities is not as simple or easy. It requires relinquishing cherished belief systems, walking in someone else's shoes, and ultimately being willing and able to shift realities. The latter demands a lot more guts, determination and discipline. However, the effort is ultimately really worth it.

There are a lot of dynamic interplays during this Full Moon. Lovingly and neutrally embraced, we can elevate ourselves to another level of contentment, peace, aliveness and power.

Internal and External Dynamics

Each astrological pair has a particular dynamic. The Capricorn/Cancer dynamic is between our external lives and internal selves. We often think of Capricorn as our worldly career and how we, step by step, learn how to succeed in the world. Cancer is our home and family that support us being in the world. Cancer represents a safe haven to come back to after a busy day, and a resting place for our weary bones.

In the past, this dynamic has often been thought of in terms of Cancer supporting Capricorn, the woman supporting the man, the home creating a base for the career. We have operated under the assumption that our external success determines our inner satisfaction, i.e. if we succeed in the world, accomplish socially valildated goals, accumulate things and money, and receive external recognition, we achieve and earn satisfaction. Although this model still impacts our unconscious and weighs heavily in our collective unconscious, more and more it exists only at a fantasy level. Job satisfaction and status in the traditional corporate environment hardly lure us like they once did; and this is not just because people feel betrayed when their job security and retirement disappears after decades of loyalty.

These external situations are a reflection of internal awakenings. Many people are beginning to realize that something external to themselves has been driving their decision-making, and guiding their life path. Deep inside themselves, they are experiencing, that what they once thought would earn them satisfaction has instead produced emptiness and discontent. Realizing that some external norm, social, and economic structure and authority are silently dictating your fate is a rude and poignant wake-up call. Stress, confusion, discontentment and financial distress make sure that the message from our soul does not escape our attention.

A Time for Re-Evaluation

Every Capricorn Full Moon is a time to re-evaluate the relationship between our internal and external lives. Does our internal being define and direct our external choices and expressions? Does our soul's desire determine our destiny? It is an auspicious time to use the Capricorn archetype, to get in touch with and examine our soul's destiny path. What have we sacrificed at the altar of social status and success? What price have we paid for our ego-driven triumphs? What was worth it and what was not? What have we learned and where do we want to go from here?

It is an equally powerful time to use Cancer energy to connect inside our fragile shell. The Sun in Cancer opposing the Moon, obliges us to examine the extent to which our internal state supports a graceful and impactful presence in the world. The state of our heart is what we project into the world. Is our heart cold, insensitive, broken or closed? If we feel insecure, we project insecurity into the world. We may try to cover up our fears and emptiness with façades and fakeness, but our lives invariably reflect our internal emotional state, whether we like it or not. What do we really want to offer to the world? What shines deep inside, below the wounds and the protective shields?

If we want a better and happier life, we have to start inside our own skin. Sun in Cancer is the time to do this inner mending and nurturing. It is a time to access and cultivate the permanent qualities of the heart - kindness, bravery, warmth, truth, purity, compassion, caring and unconditional love. These are the qualities that give us confidence in the world. These are the qualities that protect us by creating a vibrant force field of light around us. These are the energies that attract appropriate opportunities, rewarding circumstances and loving relationships.

These are the expressions of universal forces that make it possible to connect with our soul, to follow our soul's guidance, and to surrender to divine will.

As we nurture our own heart and lovingly care for our body, we no longer squeeze ourselves into an emotionally protective state. We relax more. We think less. We feel more. Our intuition and our instincts begin to work full time for us. We transmit a different message to the world.

The Capricorn/Cancer Full Moon is an appropriate time to shift our center from outside to inside ourselves. Instead of focusing on our status, family, job, activities and relationships, it is a time to find our security inside ourselves, to anchor our stability in our own heart and to root our identity in our own unique presence.

Breathe to Feed Your Heart

Here is a simple, general technique to feed the heart. Use this in your daily life and in your Kundalini Yoga and meditation practice.

1. Notice your posture. Is your chest, heart closed or open? Is your solar plexus open or caved in?
2. Pull a gentle Root Lock and make sure that your sit bones are anchored on the ground, creating a stable base.
3. Tuck your chin and very slightly pull your neck back over your spine. Notice the effects on your chest. Your chest should open up and your posture becomes straighter. Notice how your shoulders and related muscles relax when your head is comfortably over the spine. Work with the base and the head until you experience a direct line of communication between your navel and your heart along the spine.
4. Do Breath of Fire, pumping the energy from the navel point up to the7 heart. Do this as a simple breathing meditation or in Kundalini Yoga postures. Make the pumping a gentle motion. Do not use it to beat yourself up. Use it to create fire energy at the navel and move it up to the heart. Be very present to the energy in your spine. The area between the navel and the heart should become warm or even hot. Continue 2-5 minutes (or more.)
5. Sit quietly afterwards and be very aware of your heart. Simply be present to the sensations at your heart, in your chest, and in the spine at the level of the heart. Listen inside your heart. Feel the rhythm of your breath and your pulse. Simply listen and feel.

My Kundalini Yoga manual Transitions to a Heart-Centered World contains a comprehensive collection of navel and heart opening kryas and meditations.

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