Lilan Laishley, Ph.D.

by Bernie Lopez

The Moon represents our unconscious, feelings, and intuition. It is the part of ourselves that is in the dark and hidden from our conscious mind, which is represented by the bright and penetrating Sun. During a full moon the Sun and Moon are opposite each other in the sky, and the bright light of the Sun is reflected off the surface of the Moon, creating a luminous glow that is bright enough that it illuminates the depths of night so we can see what lies within our psyche and stirs within our soul.

With the Moon in Scorpio, (opposite the Sun in Taurus) we have the opportunity to illuminate the darkest and most hidden depths of ourselves, the part that Carl Jung called the Shadow. The Shadow is made up from the parts that we don’t want to acknowledge. It is our failure, our fears, our insecurities, our mistakes, injuries, illness. and pain. It is everything that the Ego doesn’t think belongs in the more perfect world of its creation. So, the unwanted garbage of the Ego gets buried, deep, hidden and out of sight; it becomes the Shadow. We can even forget the Shadow exists, just like the US did with Bin Laden. It was too damaging to acknowledge that he could still be out there, so we downgraded him to a symbolic threat, a powerless fugitive on the run. But the truth with Bin Laden, as the truth in us, is that just because we want to pretend the Shadow doesn’t exist and has no power, doesn’t mean it’s true. If we don’t acknowledge that the Shadow exists we tend to project it outward, and put our fear and shame onto other people. Instead of acknowledging our fear of the elusive Bin Laden, we put fear on Muslims in general, or dark skinned foreigners. But the fear really lives within ourselves, always under the surface, waiting.

This Full Moon in Scorpio on Tuesday May 17th at 7:09 am EDT is an opportunity to illuminate that which would normally be left unseen. This stark and powerful image represents to me the meaning of this Full Moon in Scorpio.  Striped bare, it hold just the essentials. Everything is clear in the light, the raven watches over a landscape of red, a color that eludes to the battles that have gone before. An intelligent scavenger and carrion bird, it senses where the bodies are buried. It is fearless in uncovering them. The pure truth of our hidden fears is exposed. It is brought up to the light, to be dealt with and healed. Our Shadow might even be sent into the watery depths of the ocean to be reabsorbed by the collective psyche for regeneration and renewal.

This Full Moon in Scorpio is a perfect time to face your fears and acknowledge your hidden Shadow. Take some time to really ponder what it is that you fear; what it is that you avoid; what do you hate; how do you hold yourself back; what inner messages keep you paralyzed; what makes your anger explode; what causes you to shut down and withdraw.  Ask yourself, or those close enough to you to tell you the truth, what part of yourself you have buried. Realize that those are the part of your Shadow that are holding you captive, keeping you from being fully free.

Often people don’t really want to discover their Shadow, and avoid dealing with it at all. But, that is really impossible, since it is always creeping around in the psyche, causing trouble in your life. This wonderful image is by Carl Jung as he was exploring his inner life and finding his Shadow. He used a process he called Active Imagination, which is like dreaming while awake. He would talk to the different parts of himself and try to understand the workings of his mind and soul. I often find my Shadow in dreams, sometimes as a figure clothed in a dark cape, just on the edge of darkness. You can work with your dreams to find out about your Shadow. I also love film, and so many good movies deal with facing and overcoming the Shadow, including Star Wars (Darth Vader) and Lord of the Rings (Sauron). Even just watching those movies can be cathartic and illuminating. Take time to journal and be honest with what is hidden within yourself. For in doing so, you will find a hidden jewel that can be acknowledged, brought into consciousness, and reintegrated.