US Elections, Sun & Moon Gender Clash

I have already commented on the elections in my last two articles, one on Trump and the other on the horoscope of the United States.  I  thought I would use this article as a teaching moment on the masculine and feminine energies of the Sun and Moon, the Yin and the Yang , and how they influence leadership and success.

First a Little Humor, We Need it

Obama, Hillary and Trump are standing at the entrance to heaven. God looks at them and says, "Before granting you a place at my side, I must ask you what you have learned, what you believe in."

God asks Obama first: “What do you believe?"
He thinks long and hard, looks God in the eye, and says, "I believe in hard work, and in staying true to family and friends. and doing right by my countrymen". God can’t help but see the essential goodness of Obama , and offers him a seat to his left.

Then God turns to Hillary and says, "What do you believe?" Hillary says, "I believe passion, discipline, courage and honor are the fundamentals of life". God is greatly moved by Hillary's eloquence, and he offers her a seat to his right.

Finally, God turns to Trump and says, "And you, Donald, what do you believe?"
Trump replies, "I believe you're in my seat".

God Complex

Truth is that there is some level of "God complex" in all of us. 

Just as the outer Sun is the lord of the Solar System, with all the planets revolving around his gravitational pull, reflecting his light and depending on his energy for survival, our inner Sun also craves respect and lordship. As such, a strong and prominent Sun in the horoscope is indispensable for attaining positions of power and leadership.

We all have a Sun, therefore this Father, King , Leader of the Pack,  Trailblazer, The Best, The Highest (and yes even most likes on Facebook) archetype and complex live in all of us.  Donald Trump is unique in that he wears his "Sun" on his sleeve unabashedly and seemingly without any awareness of the social ramifications of self aggrandizing.  

The personality's need for recognition and  respect is expressed in varying degrees and unique ways depending on the placement of the Sun and the current Dasha/bhukti. The inborn karma of a prominent Sun is something we are born with. Usually this leadership quality expresses itself pretty early in life, as even children tend to gravitate towards more Solar, self-confident individuals for new ideas and direction.

The Sun And Moon  - Is Yours Prominent or Evolved?

In Vedic Astrology, the Sun foretells much more than power and ego, on the deeper level, it is also our connection with the universal soul, Atma or Higher Self. As such, the more evolved the Sun, the more anchored we are to the One Universal Consciousness that in Vedic thought is believed to pervade all that exits in the Universe - the Paramatma or the Absolute. The negative traits we associate with the solar or masculine energy like ego, anger, domination, control, pride and power result from a prominent but immature Sun in the horoscope.

A prominent moon is also necessary for leadership. Both the Sun and Moon give different hues to the leadership style and path. The Moon is our individualized "I" consciousness and the soul's (Sun's) reflection on earth. How well placed the moon is shows how anchored we are in matter, reality or the physical world. A powerful moon in the horoscope, gives the ability to influence the masses, and make allies. An evolved moon on the other hand, will have these abilities but in addition, like the sun, it will have a deep understanding of the transient nature of the physical world. It will not get caught up in hyperbole, exaggerations and be over attached to feelings. The negative traits we associate with the feminine/lunar energy such as hyper emotions, hysteria and sentimentality result from an afflicted or immature Moon.

The Evolved Sun is The Hero

The ancient scriptures of Vedic Astrology,  Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, describe a fully evolved Sun in the horoscope as:

“Honey-yellow eyed is the Sun, square and radiantly pure, of Pitta nature, intelligent, masculine, with but of little hair"

The golden hue of the Sun’s eyes signifies a spiritual nature, and sweetness of honey symbolizes that evolved masculine energy is gentle and sees those whom he is charged with guarding and leading with compassion and caring.

The Sun has a square body, signifies steadfastness, consistency, reliability and also the "stay put" stubbornness of the masculine/yang energy. Physiologically, both male and females with a strong Sun in the chart will tend towards a more square built and wide shoulders (less curves like the moon). Exercise which raises our masculine or Pitta hormones, like testosterone, will also create a more square built.

The Sun, has a Pitta nature of the Fire Element. This give courage, valor, commanding presence and boldness. A strong Pitta constitution is usually required to take the "heat" needed to seek positions of power. The Sun is radiant or luminous because healthy pitta enlightens the personality to take principled action.  It should come as no surprise that another word for the Sun in Sanskrit is Shura, which means a Hero! The Hero Sun can sacrifice his personal desires (Sva Dharma) for the greater good (Societal Dharma).

Oh, I guess I should say something about the hair mentioned in the Sutra above.. in Ayurveda high Pitta is believed to thin out the hair on the head in both male and female, though men tend more towards baldness. So yes, in case you were wondering that is not Trumps natural hair.

Narcissist Dream Or A Hero's Burden

In Western Astrology, the Sun is generally seen as a benefic planet but Vedic Astrology the Sun is a malefic or hardship giving planet - leadership is not narcissist dream but a hero's burden. Sun's dasha/bhukti periods are challenging and require great sacrifice, as they give heavy responsibility with many people depending and counting on us. If the Sun is prominent but not yet fully evolved his periods can bring a crises of self-confidence, as part of the evolution of the Soul to let go the ego's false sense of pride and attachment to power and prestige.

Unfortunately, a corrupted but prominent Sun can catapult an individual to name and fame. False charisma and pride can be very alluring to the followers own desire for super stardom or special status through the leader. This is especially true when the Sun is in close conjunction with Rahu, who will eclipse out the Sun's purity and utilize the Sun's leadership quality to push forward his own agenda through radical and unacceptable behavior. If the Moon is also afflicted both emotionally driven action and pride will drive the leader. 

For a democratic society to survive it is important that the electorate dismantle the loud, forceful, archetype of the Sun and adapt the healthy qualities of a true Sun/Hero.

An All Knowing Evolved Moon

Furthermore, soft power or lunar power must also have an equal place for balanced leadership.
The ancient scriptures of Vedic Astrology describe a fully evolved Moon as:

"Abounding in Vata and Kapha and filled with knowing (intuition) is the Moon of round body, auspiciously eyed, of sweet speech and fluctuating.”

In contrast to the square Sun the  “round bodied” moon describes the feminine nature of our psyche, which is more flexible and movable. While, the Sun responds to permanence and by sticking to things, the moon responds to nuance, shades and hues, remaining open and receptive to change. Healthy feminine energy is depicted as having “sweet speech” because it brings solace and comfort through sensitive speech and understanding the other person's point of view. The Moon's eyes are auspicious, as it sees the good in all things. It is all knowing because it responds from instinct and intuition rather than the masculine preference for logic and action.

Clash of Genders - I don't think so

While it is true that Hilary Clinton's campaign seemed to emphasize lunar energies like "stronger together", personal relationships, collaboration and "sweet speech". It would be an over simplification to see Trump's forceful, divisive and in your face rhetoric as the age old clash of genders issue. There is an intriguing twist of complexity to the gender-based story of this election cycle. I tend to agree with many who have noted that the  candidate who wanted to project hyper masculinity (Sun/Rahu)  might really have been showing traits of hyper femininity.  Many who have studied Trump's speech say that his talking style in hyperbole, exaggerations and repetitions with its emotional rather than factual appeal is more feminine than masculine. I think that this combination of uncompromising boldness (Sun) coupled with saying what his supporters wanted to hear ("sweet speech" of the Moon), allowed him to be exempted for his mean spirited offensive remarks. 

Sun Moon Leaders

Interestingly, research shows that the electorate looks for bold leaders who also speak "sweetly". In other words a combination of Sun and Moon. Apparently, feminine style of speaking is more easy to feel safe with and masculine boldness easier to follow. One interesting study pointed out that emotional language is more effective in a political landscape where the public is lacking hope and need of healing and reassurance (moon) and the more measured masculine expression of a leader prevails in times of stability and prosperity (Sun). Even in our day to day relationships we use these same cues in our dealings with other people.
 
Remember we all have the Sun and Moon in our horoscope. Sun lights the day moon lights the night, one cools the other heats, one is active the other passive. No one is exempt from the need to be respected (sun) and nurtured (moon).

This yin yang dance of the universe and its perfect equilibrium is shattered by Rahu and Ketu, the eclipsers of the Sun and Moon - their disturbing energy especially conjunct the sun and moon create "shake ups" , dramatic change and entropy, which is also built into life on earth, as part of nature's evolutionary process.