Solar Self, Lunar Psyche: Exploring Cosmological Functions in Personal Myth

Abstract

A cosmological view of the Jungian Self and psyche clarifies the ways that the symbolic language of astrology translates elements of one’s personal myth. This hermeneutic inquiry aims to offer a deeper understanding of the process of individuation by understanding nebulous archetypes of the unconscious through the framework of astrology. A Jungian methodology, close reading as active imagination, further amplifies the archetypal and mythological forces at play. Through the continual endeavor of consciousness relating to and integrating elements of the unconscious, the teleological goal of individuation is, according to Jung, to become the (microcosmic) Self. In this process, I argue that complementary solar and lunar functions illustrate the narratives of spirit and soul. Whereas the Sun symbolizes increasing levels of consciousness from the individual ego to the Self, the Moon represents phases of the unconscious from the inner child to the collective psyche. Additionally, pairing these symbols of the bright solar drive toward wholeness and the receptive lunar desire for the coniunctio illuminates the significance of the astrological lunar axis and the designation of its north node as the soul’s mission. By attending to archetypal images and themes through astrological symbolism, the conscious ego participates in the personal myth with lunar imagination while the solar function creates meaning. The profound congruence between the interior psyche and external world materializes as a microcosmic consciousness increases. Ultimately, each individual iteration transforms the macrocosm of humanity.