I suggest that the capacity to transcend duality is part of an ultimate state of health. Since change is the only constant in life, and we are always in the position of having to make a choice, it is important to ask: What is our ground, how are we rooted, where are we safe? By hanging out in that moment of stillness between cycles, we begin to open to a multidimensional knowingness that sees beyond the duality of self/other. We no longer feel isolated or alienated because we are aware of being actively linked to All That Is. We then make choices based on this broad view rather than from the limited, dualistic vision of ego and personality. Connecting consciously, and habitually, with the root of Oneness, we begin to generate self-certainty. No matter what the tides of change bring us, we know we will be safe because we are rooted in belonging. 

Many people ignore the Moon as she whispers, "Watch this, transcend duality" at the end of each cycle. Do you ever overhear the statement "I am so tired and I don't know why" during the Dark of the Moon, those three days before each New Moon? We are often blood-and-bone tired as one cycle dissolves and another begins. Yet most people do not connect this sky/earth event with their physical experience of tiredness. 

It was through awareness of the Collective Lunar Cycle (1) that I uncovered another, equally reliable cycle of the Moon, which I call the Personal Lunar Cycle.

Your Personal Lunar Cycle

The Personal Lunar Cycle is based on the return of a person's natal Sun-Moon phase angle. As an echoed vibration of the Collective Lunar Cycle, the Personal Cycle contains the same four components: New, First Quarter, Full, and Last Quarter Moons. The vibration of the Personal Lunar Cycle can be perceived as subtler than the Collective Cycle because the potency of the Personal Cycle relates to the fulfillment of individual destiny. 

In a fairly recent TMA interview, Michael Erlewine mentioned that the natal Sun-Moon phase angle is very important in Tibetan astrology. (2) Although I've been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist for many years, I have not studied Tibetan astrology. Instead, I came to awareness of the Personal Lunar Cycle through a kinesthetic experience I had in 1993. 

At the time, I was in the middle of a transition to home-based self-employment, and was no longer battling Boston traffic or the stress of an organizational environment. Living in the country, working creatively, I was making my own schedule, so there was no reason to feel a familiar tiredness I had always related to job burnout. I began to track these periods of inordinate tiredness and discovered, to my amazement, that they came with unfailing regularity during the three days before my Sun-Moon phase-angle return. (3) I have come to refer to this time as the Personal Dark of the Moon.

During these periods I experience a pulling downward and in. Just as in the Collective Lunar Cycle's Dark of the Moon, the Personal Dark of the Moon is a time for observing the void, in absolute stillness, as one cycle dissolves and the next begins. It is a time for reviewing the goals of past cycles and seeding intention for future cycles, although this is often a subconscious process.

The Personal Lunar Cycle phases are identical to those of the Collective Cycle. During the first few days of the Personal New Moon phase, just as with the Collective New Moon phase, we find ourselves moving through a nebulous, formless state and back into a more corporeal, formed state again. Then, during the Personal First Quarter phase, we meet with an outer resistance to our life or work. This sensation of external resistance is similar to the work that occurs both at age two and during the teen years, when we feel the pressure to individuate in order to mature and grow. The true work of this First Quarter phase is to push beyond others' expectations and manifest our singular selves.

The Personal Full Moon phase presents us with a crisis of yes or no proportions. We must choose either to say yes to life and the opportunity for mind/body integration, or to say no to life and remain in the shadow lands of our potential, frustrated and self-thwarted. Then, during each Personal Last Quarter phase, we meet with inner resistance to our life and our work. Here, we resist the eventual dissolution that occurs as we move from the formed state back into the formless state as we approach the end of the cycle. We may be playing out a mini fear of death here, although this experience is often largely subconscious. We can use the Personal Last Quarter phase as a practice session for learning how to let go.

How to Calculate Your Personal Lunar Cycle

To begin, you need to know the degree of your natal Sun-Moon phase angle (the phase of the Moon during which you were born). Many astrological software programs provide this information, as do web sites like lunaroutreach or tycho.usno. Once you have determined your Sun-Moon phase angle, it is easy to track your Personal Lunar Cycle. Both Win*Star 2 and Solar Fire 4 offer phase-angle return options, and other software programs may have this option as well. If you do not have access to a phase-angle return program, you can figure out your Personal Lunar Cycle for yourself. Many general calendars list the four phases of the Moon. In the 360° cycle, the New Moon = 0°, the First Quarter Moon = 90°, the Full Moon = 180°, the Last Quarter Moon = 270°, and the Dark of the Moon Phase = approximately 324°. Determine which phase of the Moon is closest to your Sun-Moon phase angle. 

Using the example of a Sun-Moon phase of 165°, we see that this Sun-Moon angle is closest to the Full Moon phase, or 180°. We then subtract 165° from 180°, which gives us a 15° difference. The Moon travels approximately 12° in one 24-hour period, or 1/2° per hour. (4) Therefore, the Personal Lunar Cycle, or phase-angle return, for the person with a 165° Sun-Moon angle would be about 30 hours before each Full Moon in the Collective Lunar Cycle. (See Table 1.) 

To determine the entire four quarters of the Personal Lunar Cycle, start with the Sun-Moon phase-angle return and add 90° for each subsequent quarter. Using the example of a Sun-Moon phase angle of 165°, add 90° to get the First Quarter phase of the Personal Lunar Cycle at 255°. Add 90° to this First Quarter phase to get the Personal Full Moon phase at 345°. Add 90° to this Full Moon phase to get the Personal Last Quarter phase at 75°. To determine the Personal Dark of the Moon phase, subtract 36° from the New Moon phase of 165°. (5) In this example, the Personal Dark of the Moon phase will occur at 129°. (See Table 2.)  >> CONTINUED: Personal and Collective Lunar Cycles...