As the moon orbits around the earth, it has always been associated with the sun. The moon and sun are the primordial cosmic couple. This satellite of the earth, which mysteriously waxes and wanes, has been compared to the eternal feminine principle, the mother hovering over your infant’s cradle. Psychologically, the moon is thus symbolic of the mother and the mother image. This figure is a primordial element in the psyche of each individual. Depending on your nature, the mother figure may correspond to your biological mother, a grandmother, or a woman who cared for you in infancy and childhood. When you reach adulthood, this mother-figure and all the emotions and bonds associated with you may be transferred to something else: a spouse, a companion, an institution, a church, corporation, or political movement, a cult, etc. In short, any individual or structure likely to take on the mother’s duty of caring for and nurturing the vulnerable aspects of an individual. To be more down-to-earth, the mother figure corresponds to the habits which were learned and then definitively incorporated into the individual’s identity as you gradually became acculturated and progressed toward social independence. As a result, a strongly “lunar” personality often finds it difficult to adapt and is uncomfortable outside the secure setting of familiar routines. Closely tied to your past, you may be unwilling to detach yourself from it and embark on your life as an individual in the here and now. You still identify somewhat with your inner child and may display a child’s capricious behavior, indulging in moodiness and indecision. Your passivity may make you easily influenced, your sensitivity makes you subjective, and you hesitate to open up and lay your soul bare. In your daily life, psychic activity will rule. Your imagination, memory, sensitivity, sensation, and sentiment nearly overwhelm your psyche.

In traditional astrology, Jupiter has always been considered as the Great Benefactor, the planet of luck and success such as personal fortune, social prominence, professional prestige, high political position. The Jupiterian bounty is peerless! In psychological terms, this planet has a much vaster significance.

As the biggest planet in the solar system, it does preside over the process of personal expansion, interpreted to be fitting into society better and finding an appropriate match between one’s individual ambitions and the aspirations of the group. This growth is accompanied by a feeling of self-confidence, which, in turn, buoys up an even greater externalization and expansion of the ego – hence the planet’s flattering reputation. But this snowball effect (Jupiter smiles and the world smiles with you), in which social skills magnify confidence and boldness reaps many rewards, betrays the negative side of Jupiter: extreme and excess. Although grandeur was the characteristic of the “king of the gods,” errors of judgment, poor taste, and sometimes selfishness and pride are also likely to be part of the Jupiterian package.

It is important to note that the extension of the ego may be a form of escape; it is tempting to hide behind one’s popularity and social success, which are fairly easy to obtain, rather than be really demanding with oneself. The Jupiterian has a tendency to amplify qualities out of compensation, to avoid seeing weaknesses and flaws. As a result, you must be aware of the risk of over-identifying with your social mask, which would cause you to neglect your inner self and deep nature.

Brad Schultz gazed up at the sun. It was a beautiful sight, a perfect ball of fire in the sky. For centuries, people had worshipped it, seeing in it the source of all warmth and life. It had symbolized the absolute power kings and despots yearned for and emulated. Brad was a sun king himself, the nucleus of society. Various subordinates—aka planets—revolved around him. In terms of psychological symbolism, the sun corresponds to the center of an individual, the factor that rules your psyche. Its luminous aspects were usually associated with knowledge and consciousness. As a creator of life, it was related to the image of the mother and the influence of motherhood on an individual’s consciousness and ideals. As a result, the sun’s position in a birth chart always indicated the way in which an individual would relate to your goals and ideals, what your ambitions and aspirations might involve. A person whose chart was strongly “solar” usually identified very positively with motherhood. Brad had a personality that was friendly, energetic, and creative, with high ideals and a firm determination to accomplish them. He took his own superiority and authority over others for granted, and he had a natural ability to command the attention and admiration of an audience. He was a born leader who enjoyed being in the limelight and may behave somewhat theatrically or with dramatic exaggeration. He had definite artistic leanings. The sense of his ideals was evident to him and may lead him to be somewhat self-focused. If ill-directed, his deep aspirations may lead to such faults as egotism, selfishness, or greediness for power.

Brad Schultz reads the article on the third house in the sky.