Sun-Moon
Overview: Sun-Moon in tense alignments brings the central identity, and our conscious will and mission, all of which are associated the archetype of the Sun, into a dynamic tension with the lunar side of ourselves associated with the Moon: the emotions and the aspect of our identity that is associated with emotional bonding, family, home and the body.
The challenges: a feeling that our life mission (Sun) gets periodically highjacked by our emotions or emotional outbursts (Moon).
The Strengths: the mission and identity (Sun) that is linked with care and nurturing (Moon), and the emotional conviction (Moon) behind our life’s mission (Sun).
Below are examples of well-known individuals born with this combination in their natal charts (an astrological birth chart is a symbolic map of the sky at the moment of birth). Observing how this combination appears in their lives can help us recognize it in our own. The more consciously we engage with these astrological alignments—or “aspects”—the more their underlying tensions can be integrated, allowing their strengths to emerge.
Please note: the expression of this archetypal tension, as seen in the lives and work of the people below, may reflect varying levels of integration.
Where the Sun and Moon were on the moment you were born reflects the relationship between your will (Sun) and your emotions (Moon). If you were born on a new or full Moon, for instance, your will and emotions are combined in a tense relationship. You may set out to consciously accomplish something through your will (Sun) and find that your emotions (Moon) side-track you. The lesson here is that people born with the Sun and Moon in a tense alignment actually need to integrate the caring, nurturing emotion-focused quality of the Moon into their conscious will. An example would involve setting out to achieve an important life goal and finding that a tantrum-like emotional state gets in the way of you achieving the goal. That tantrum-like state is actually the lunar side of you asking for more emotional self-care and self-nurturing. A wonderful upside of being born with this combination is that people with the Sun and Moon in tense alignments have the strength of the “nurturing will,” that is the will to care for and nurture themselves and others. A celebrity example of this is Conor McGregor, the Ultimate Fighting Champion. He often acts out emotionally, upending his goals and getting himself in trouble. Though this clip reveals how he is integrating his ability to care and nurture into his will.
A comical look at the Sun-Moon combination in the chart of actress Natalie Portman can be seen in a skit entitled “Natalie’s Rap” in which Portman’s identity (Sun) is revealed as having an emotionally-oriented (Moon) tendency toward violent tantrums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A0iftflme4 Natalie Portman’s identification (Sun) with woman and children (Moon) and her identification (Sun) with caring and nurturing (Moon) can be seen in her extensive involvement with the charities FINCA and Free the Children.
The Sun-Moon combination in the natal chart of musician Jim Adkins can be seen in his song The Middle by his band “Jimmy Eat World.” The lyrics of the song are portrayed as a comforting and guiding message from the masculine singer (Sun) to a young girl in need of comfort and emotional support (Moon). The chorus in particular reflects this:
“It just takes some time
little girl
in the middle
of the ride
everything, everything
will be just fine
everything, everything
will be alright, alright”