Other Fourth Chakra Patterns
November 2016
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Moon – Mars
When Moon and Mars come together in a 4th chakra pattern, the task is also often about integrating the 1st and 2nd chakras, but in a slightly different way. In the 4th chakra, this aspect relates to the idea I introduced earlier in this series of the hero returning to the tribe, bearing gifts for the betterment of the community. This is a process of transformation and spiritual maturation in which the Moon becomes the initiating force.
The Moon is the planet that harbors the awareness that we are all interconnected, and that family, community, humanity as a whole, and the biosphere in which humans play a part, are all of equal importance to each individual within the whole. Mars, on the other hand, is by nature, a lone wolf, and at the beginning of the hero’s journey, it is all about self-aggrandizement, guts and glory. Of course, from a psychological perspective, the hero’s journey is also a process of self-actualization – which necessarily entails discovering who you are as an individual, cultivating your individual strengths and talents, and accomplishing something of value that embodies these strengths and talents – and this is important. But what the Moon teaches Mars within the context of a 4th chakra pattern is that self-actualization means nothing if it is not an act of service to the tribe.
So, although the stories are likely to be very different, a common theme for many of us with a 4th chakra pattern with Moon-Mars as its base is how to make a meaningful contribution to the whole that transcends our individual lives. To the extent that we are able to do this, it can potentially lead us into an involvement in life that is heart-opening; and conversely, to the extent that we can open our hearts, because we have these patterns, we will be compelled out of a sense of spontaneously arising compassion to give something back to the betterment of the world.
Another tricky issue in any 4th chakra pattern involving Mars and the Moon is how to deal with the emotional dimensions of fire. Mars is good at anger and outrage, and these feelings definitely have their place, but unless these feelings are tempered by compassion and a deep sense of caring – which obviously come from the Moon – Mars is not going to be effective in addressing the large and complicated issues a Moon-Mars soul generally wants to address. Mars on fire can also become destructive, and at times, self-destructive. So learning how to transmute fire into a creative force for good can be part of the challenge in some sense for all those with Moon-Mars as part of a 4th chakra pattern. It is also part of the inner alchemy that must take place before Mars can act from a place of balance between Masculine and Feminine as a spiritual warrior, instead of just another angry soul, acting out of a wounded Masculine impulse toward retaliation, or toward bombing the crap out of some perceived enemy.
Venus – Mars
Lastly, we come to Venus-Mars as a base upon which to build a 4th chakra pattern. This is also an initiation of the hero by the Feminine – but of a very different kind than a Moon-Mars initiation. This is where the hero becomes a lover of the world, and an artist – rather than a spiritual warrior. This is essentially an integration of the 2nd and 3rd chakras.
It is also potentially where one falls in love with one’s work in the world, or where one gravitates toward that lucky place where the line between work and play dissolves. The motivation here for doing what one does shifts from learning how to function within the world to skillfully immersing oneself in pursuit of the soul’s creative passion. This is to not say that a soul with a 4th chakra pattern built on Venus-Mars is excused from having to develop a functional ego or from learning how to function in the world, but the motivation is more inner-directed, more value-driven, more immediate. This is where the process becomes its own reward – more important than whatever is achieved.
The next post in this series is Outer Planets and the Fourth Chakra.
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