February's Full Moon, the Snow ( 'Candles' in Europe ) Moon has just passed Her peak as I begin to write on this beautiful Day on which we pay our due worship to the Sun, or in some cases, 'the Son'! The Moon, as we have learned, from Day One, you might say, has no light of her own, but merely reflects the light from our solar system's greatest star, the Sun. As the saying goes, "As Above, So Below"; so one might see this as metaphorical of our own situation. In this sense, particularly as Christians, we are taught that we are mere reflectors of the glory of 'God', but, as we have come to know; this Glory is not something that shines upon us, like the relationship of the Moon to the Sun, but rather; a Light that shines from Within, as We will It, consciously or unconsciously ( some haven't learned yet, what a Light they ARE )!
In the West, even in the Near East, religiously speaking, the Moon is perceived as Female while the Sun is perceived as Male. Perhaps this is one reason for the ascendancy of the patriarchy, since the female is viewed as receptive, while the male is viewed as proceptive. In matter of fact, the male & female sexual organs seem to bear this out. As such then, the female has been supposed to be the submissive one, 'the weaker vessel', as She has often been called. This, as any man who has ever had the good fortune to come face to face with a woman should know, could not be further from the Truth!
The Divine is Within every living Creature, both Male & Female! Some have even proposed that It exists within ALL Creation, even what we often refer to as 'inanimate'! As such, we may know that upon whomever we happen to rest out gaze, we are looking into a Mirror; Divinity stares back at us, even into our very soul, as some have said. In this sense, we may be seen as reflectors, though certainly not 'merely'. I must give this caveat, however; the Divinity is easier to detect in some than in others, in fact, It might seem nearly impossible to perceive in certain people!
No matter how deeply buried under the human psyche It might be, however, this Spark of Divinity, as it is often termed, DOES exist in ALL of humanity! Again, It is buried deeper, under more layers, in a manner of speaking, in some more than others, One may be assured though; It IS there! All that we must do is patiently coax it out of hiding. Whether we're speaking professionally, as is growing ever more popular, of therapy, or simply of meditational practices, which is therapy in itself, there's nothing better than self-therapy, much like self-medication. Along those lines, professional therapy could be likened to institutional religion, in that it seeks for healing from an outside source, rather than, as with meditation, searching Within for the Answer. This is not to say that either of these, institutional religion or professional therapy, are without worth, just that both of these tend to detract, or distract from our own Worth. This, of course, depends largely on the practitioner!
One of my favorite lines from the move 'The Matrix', is "I can only show you the door; you must walk through it". Note how similar this is to the old adage, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink". Come to think of it, along with the ascendancy of the patriarchy, maybe trying to force the horse, so to speak, has been one of the major societal issues we have to recover from! However one chooses to perceive it, much less act on it, Divinity, like righteousness, cannot be forced, or legislated. We must go within ourselves first, to find our own Divinity, before we can ever hope to see it within the other, much less reveal it to them as the Reflector we are. To some of us, these words might sound almost familiar, as "first remove the beam from your own eye, then you may see clearly to remove the speck from the other's". ( yes, I purposely removed the patriarchal reference )
As Reflectors then, We function both as Receptive & Proceptive, Male & Female. First, We act out both the Male & Female aspect, proceptively searching out our own Divinity, then birthing, or revealings ( receptively ) within ourselves said Divinity, after which we may be receptive to the Divinity of the other ( for until we recognize It within ourselves, how will we recognize It in the other? ). If I may borrow from something I just read, we are, in this sense if no other, both 'the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning & the End ( Goal )'!
To unbury the Divinity within ourselves is both as easy ( 'simple' might be a better way of putting it ) & more difficult than it might seem at first glance! Depending, of course, on the level of instruction that one has received over the course of their lifetime, or even lifetimes, with the layers that any one of us has to dig through, carefully sifting out what is useful from what no longer serves us can be a very painful process. For those of who feel the pain of others as well as our own, this process can feel almost unbearable at times!
"As Above, So Below", the Spark of Divinity resides within All Creation! We may not force this Divinity to reveal Itself ( though we may gently coax It ); no, the best we can do is just BE. In our role as Reflector ( Moon ), we may be able to alert them to their own Divinity. As a warning, our Reflection can be a double-edged sword, so we must take great care how we exercise It, for, "Let's face it; everyone has their moments!"
In our Roles as Reflectors, We must remember that as Receptors of the Light, We are no less than the Light ourselves. The old saying, "this town isn't big enough for the both of us" surely doesn't fit here! The Light, like the Energy from which It emanates, indeed, which It IS, is Infinite. In order for the Other to perceive the Light within themselves, it must have a Reflection, so that they can see this Light & recognize it as coming from themselves. On the other hand, if we do not reflect It back to them, or reflect it wrongly, with the Ego, they may never perceive their Light for what It is.
As such then, it might be truthfully said that we signify both the Sun & the Moon, being the embodiment of both the Female & Male Principle! "As Above, So Below"; we have been given to understand that the Moon simply reflects the light from the Sun when She shines, however brightly ( or not ) at night, but are we to understand this to be Her ONLY Power, that of a Receptor? The Answer should be more than obvious, just as any man who has had the good fortune to meet a woman face to face knows that they are most definitely NOT the weaker vessel!
Namaste' & Blessed Be,
Sage Charles
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