An
Introduction
to
Archetypal Astrological Analysis
Richard Tarnas,
Ph.D.
A birth chart or natal chart is a
portrait of the heavens at the moment of one’s birth. The Sun,
Moon, and planets are positioned around the chart to reflect their
positions around the Earth when one was born. For example, where
the symbol for the Sun ( ) is located in the chart reflects the
time of day one was born: thus if one was born at noon, the Sun
would be at the top of the chart (called the Midheaven), while if
one was born at dawn the Sun would be shown rising on the left side
of the chart near the eastern horizon (called the
Ascendant).
The main difference between the
natal chart and the astronomical reality it portrays is that the
natal chart has two dimensions rather than three, and it does not
reflect the varying distances of the planets from the Earth. What
the birth chart does convey is the exact pattern of angular
relationships existing between the planets and the Earth at the
time and place of one’s birth.
The basic principle of astrology
is that the planets have a fundamental, cosmically based connection
to specific archetypal forces or principles which influence human
existence, and that the patterns formed by the planets in the
heavens bear a meaningful correspondence to the patterns of human
affairs on the Earth. In terms of individuals, the positions of the
planets at the time and place of a person’s birth are regarded as
corresponding to the basic archetypal patterns of that person’s
life and character.
Astrology makes possible a
further understanding of one’s life– its cycles, its ups and
downs, the crises and the breakthroughs, the periods of major
change and transformation–through the study of transits. Transits
occur when the planets currently in the sky form certain
geometrical patterns with respect to the planetary positions at
one’s birth. The nature of those patterns–which planets are
involved and how they are positioned–appears to correlate in a
strikingly consistent way with the archetypal character of the
experiences one tends to have at that time.
Three
Preliminary Issues
To begin, I would like to address
three important matters that people usually need discussed when
approaching astrology. The first concerns the nature of archetypes,
the second involves the question of determinism vs. free will, and
the third concerns the nature of astrology’s causal mechanism, or
why it works. These three issues are closely
interrelated.
First, what is an
archetype? Archetypes can be understood and described in
many ways, and in fact much of the history of Western thought from
Plato and Aristotle onward has been concerned with this very
question. But for our present purposes, we can define an archetype
as a universal principle or force that affects–impels, structures,
permeates–the human psyche and human behavior on many levels. One
can think of them as primordial instincts, as Freud did, or as
transcendent first principles as Plato did, or as gods of the
psyche as James Hillman does. Archetypes (for example, Venus or
Mars) seem to have a transcendent, mythic quality, yet they also
have very specific psychological expressions–as in the desire for
love and the experience of beauty (Venus), or the impulse toward
forceful activity and aggression (Mars). Moreover, archetypes seem
to work from both within and without, for they can express
themselves as impulses and images from the interior psyche, yet
also as events and situations in the external world.
Jung thought of archetypes as the
basic constituents of the human psyche, shared cross-culturally by
all human beings, and he regarded them as universal expressions of
a collective unconscious. Much earlier, the Platonic tradition
considered archetypes to be not only psychological but also cosmic
and objective, as primordial forms of a Universal Mind that
transcended the human psyche. Astrology would appear to support the
Platonic view as well as the Jungian, since it gives evidence that
Jungian archetypes are not only visible in human psychology, in
human experience and behavior, but are also linked to the macrocosm
itself–to the planets and their movements in the heavens.
Astrology thus supports the ancient idea of an anima mundi,
or world soul, in which the human psyche participates. From this
perspective, what Jung called the collective unconscious can be
viewed as being ultimately embedded within the cosmos
itself.
The issue of free will vs.
determinism: It used to be believed that astrology revealed a
person’s destined fate, that the birth chart was rigidly
deterministic. Properly understood, however, astrology can serve to
greatly increase personal freedom, rather than limit it. Partly
this is because awareness of the basic archetypal structures and
patterns of meaning in one’s birth chart allows one to bring
considerably more consciousness to the task of fulfilling one’s
deepest potential, one’s authentic nature. But astrology’s
emancipatory character also derives from the fact that the more
deeply we understand the archetypal forces that affect our lives,
the more free we can be in our dealings with them. If we are
altogether unconscious of these potent forces, we are like puppets
of the archetypes: we then act according to unconscious motivations
without any possibility of our being intelligent agents interacting
with those forces. To the exact extent that we are conscious of the
archetypes, we can respond with greater autonomy and
self-awareness. This is of course the whole rationale for depth
psychology, from Freud and Jung onward–to become conscious of the
unconscious, to release ourselves from the bondage of blind action,
to explore and experience the hidden forces in the human psyche.
Astrology’s great merit is that it seems to reveal very precisely
which archetypes are especially important for each person, how they
interact with each other, and when and how they are most likely to
be expressed in the course of each life.
Related to this issue is the
question of our birth, and how random is the fate by which we are
assigned something as weighty as the birth chart with its specific
configuration of planets. I personally believe that the
circumstances of our birth are not accidental, but are in some
sense a consequence of our spiritual and karmic character. Like
many others, I have come to believe that we choose the
circumstances of our lives, we choose the family and culture and
age into which we are born, and that this choice is somehow made
from a higher level of our spiritual being than that of which we
are usually conscious.
From this point of view, the
birth chart is not the randomly allotted prison-structure of our
inexorable fate, but can be seen rather as defining the basic
structure of our potential unfolding–suggesting the personal gifts
and trials that we have chosen for this lifetime to work with and
evolve through. Astrology illuminates the fundamental archetypal
dynamics that profoundly condition our lives, which is not
to say they absolutely determine our lives. Because our
personal response to life always contains an element of
unpredictability and potential freedom, and because astrology gives
a greater understanding of our basic archetypal complexes and their
timing, then a knowledge of our birth chart and transits can
significantly increase the range of options, flexibility, and
intelligence with which we approach life. The study of astrology
can be extraordinarily liberating.
Finally, the issue of causal
mechanism, or why astrology works: It seems unlikely to me that
the planets send out some kind of physical emanations that causally
influence events in human life in a mechanistic way. The range of
coincidences between planetary positions and human existence is
just too vast, too experientially complex, too aesthetically subtle
and endlessly creative to be explained by physical factors alone.
I believe that a more plausible and
comprehensive explanation is that the universe is informed and
pervaded by a fundamental holistic patterning which extends through
every level, so that a constant synchronicity or meaningful
correlation exists between astronomical events and human events.
This is represented in the basic esoteric axiom, “as
above, so below,” which reflects a universe all of whose parts are
integrated into an intelligible whole.
From this perspective, the
planets themselves are not “causing” anything to be happening in
our lives, any more than the hands on a clock are now causing it to
be 7:30 PM. Rather, the planetary positions are indicative
of the cosmic state of the archetypal forces at that time. The fact
that the planets constantly seem to indicate these things with such
accuracy simply suggests that the cosmic order is much more
profound and pervasive than our conventional beliefs have assumed.
But the relationship between a specific planetary pattern and a
human experience is best seen as one of meaningful correlation or
correspondence, not one of simple linear causality.
There is, however, a sense in
which causality does enter into the astrological perspective, and
this is in the sense of archetypal causation (comparable to
Aristotle’s concepts of formal and final causes). While the
physical planets themselves may bear only a synchronistic
connection with a given human experience, that experience is
nevertheless being affected or caused–influenced, patterned,
impelled, drawn forth–by the relevant planetary archetypes,
and in this sense it is quite appropriate to speak, for example, of
Saturn (as archetype) “influencing” one in a specific way, or as
“governing” certain kinds of experience.
But why should the cosmos have
established a systematic correspondence between planetary patterns
and archetypally patterned phenomena in human lives? There are many
possible answers to this question, not the least of which might
point toward a kind of intrinsic aesthetic splendor in the
universe, an overflow of cosmic intelligence and delight that
reveals itself in this continuous marriage of mathematical
astronomy and mythic poetry. But in more pragmatic, human terms, my
sense of astrology is that the constant coincidence between
planetary positions and human lives exists as a kind of universal
code for the human mind to unravel, so that we can better
understand ourselves and our world, rediscover our deep connection
to the cosmos, and be more complete human beings.
There are
two categories that are most important for understanding the
archetypal dynamics of one’s bith chart and transits: planets
and aspects. The
planets represent the essential archetypal forces
themselves, while the aspects–the angular relationships
between the planets, often indicated on the chart by lines drawn
between the planetary symbols–reflect the general nature of the
interaction between those archetypal forces. First I
will outline the meanings of the individual planets, then the
aspects.
Planets
| Sun | Jupiter |
| Moon | Saturn |
| Mercury | Uranus |
| Venus | Neptune |
| Mars | Pluto |
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
There are ten planetary
archetypes, and it is these that form the foundation of any
astrological analysis. (Following the original ancient Greek usage,
the term “planet” in astrology includes the Sun and Moon as well as
Mercury, Venus, Mars, et al.) Although every planetary archetype
plays an important role in one’s chart, in certain ways the most
personally significant are the Sun and Moon.
The Sun represents the
central principle of vital energy and conscious selfhood in the
birth chart. Just as the Sun is the central entity in the solar
system, so is the Sun the central entity in the individual psyche
reflected in the birth chart. The Sun represents the center of
personal identity, the conscious ego, the autonomous willing self,
and is associated with one’s sense of individual self-directedness
and self-expression. It rules one’s basic energy drive, the will to
exist, to express oneself dynamically as an autonomous individual.
It represents that dynamic expression of the personal will which
influences and draws upon all the other planetary energies. It is
the part of one that, simply put, strives to be: to “shine,” to
create, to achieve, to manifest itself. It is tied to one’s basic
personal identity in life: “I am John Smith, this is who I am, what
I’ve done, where I’m going” etc. In mythic terms, the Sun is
associated with the Hero archetype, and is yang in
nature.
When the Sun forms a major aspect
with another planet in one’s birth chart (for example, a
conjunction with Venus, or an opposition with Mars), then this
second planetary archetype will tend to be particularly prominent
in one’s life and character, infusing its qualities into the basic
energy of the self as represented by the Sun. Any major Sun aspects
are therefore of great importance in one’s chart. Also, in both
women’s and men’s charts, the Sun tends to reflect significant male
figures in one’s life.
The Moon, by contrast,
represents the feminine side of the psyche, the anima in Jungian
terms. It is closely associated with the emotionally and
instinctively responsive personality, with the psychosomatic basis
of one’s being, and with the early mother-child relationship. The
Moon symbolizes, in a sense, the womb or matrix of one’s being.
While the Sun reflects one’s sense of autonomous conscious
selfhood, one’s personal identity and will, and is more active and
self-directing in nature, the Moon represents more one’s underlying
psychological character–those parts of oneself that are more
hidden to one’s conscious ego–and is more receptive and
spontaneously reactive or responsive in nature. In particular, the
Moon corresponds to one’s feelings and those pervasive but largely
unconscious psychological patterns that were established deep in
one’s past. It is not that the Moon simply is the
unconscious; rather it is archetypally associated with what the
modern self tends to be unconscious of: the psyche’s
emotional, physical, imaginal, familial, and ancestral ground or
matrix.
The Moon corresponds to how one
feels about oneself even before one thinks about oneself–as well
as how one tends to relate spontaneously to others and to life’s
various situations. Like the ever-shifting cycles and phases of the
Moon, the lunar part of the psyche, associated with one’s moods and
feelings, tends to be changeable and fluctuating in character,
though on another level its deeply imprinted patterns are very
enduring. The Moon concerns one’s immediate psychosomatic mode of
response to life that begins in one’s earliest years, that is
partly a matter of inheritance, and partly forged in one’s early
interactions with the world–especially with one’s mother and other
mother-figures, one’s family (siblings, father) and one’s early
home environment in general. It governs one’s sense of belonging
(or not), how one tends to nurture and be nurtured, and is
associated with both the maternal instinct and the needs and
instincts of infancy and childhood. In later life, the Moon
reflects the nature of all one’s intimate relationships, familial
and otherwise, as well as one’s home life. In mythic terms, the
Moon is associated with certain aspects of the Great Mother
goddess, and is yin in nature.
Again, as with the Sun, if any
major aspect is formed between the Moon and another planet in one’s
birth chart, this second planetary archetype will tend to be
especially significant in one’s life. But in this case that second
archetype will tend to channel itself through those parts of one’s
life governed by the Moon: one’s emotions and moods, one’s infancy
and childhood, one’s mother and early familial environment, one’s
intimate relationships and domestic life, and so forth. Also, in
both women’s and men’s charts, the Moon tends to reflect
significant female figures in a person’s life.
It is important to remember that
both women and men have both the Sun and Moon, the basic masculine
and feminine archetypes, within their psyche. These principles
represent the great yang-yin polarity that pervades existence. It
is unclear how much of our masculine and feminine “natures” is
culturally conditioned and how much is innate, though certainly
there does seem to be a greater intrinsic resonance between the
Moon archetype and a woman’s body and psyche in her childbearing
and nurturing capacities. However, on another level, it seems to be
one of the main challenges for all human beings to attain an inner
balance between these two fundamental polarities–between the
striving for autonomous individuality and the sense of
connectedness to a larger whole, between active and receptive, will
and feeling, conscious and unconscious, self and psyche.
Mercury represents the
principle of mind, thinking, and the movement or exchange of ideas
through speaking, writing, and other forms of communication. It
governs the capacity to conceptualize and communicate, to
articulate, to use words and language, to analyze and comprehend,
to learn, to perceive, to mediate, transport, and connect. The
Mercury archetype is associated with the Greek mythic figure of
Hermes, the Roman Mercury, the messenger of the gods. A major
aspect between Mercury and another planet tends to correlate with
how one’s mental and neural processes tend to work, how one gives
and receives information, and the nature of one’s education and
intellectual vision.
Venus represents the
principle of love and beauty. Venus is Eros, as Mercury is Logos.
Venus rules the desire to be involved in romantic and social
relations, to attract and be attracted to others, to engage in
artistic activities, to seek harmony and aesthetic or sensuous
pleasure. The Venus archetype is associated with the Greek mythic
figure of Aphrodite, the Roman Venus, the goddess of love and
beauty. Major aspects involving Venus tend to correlate with how
one gives and receives love and affection, the nature of one’s
social and romantic relationships, and the character of one’s
artistic impulse and aesthetic sensibility.
Mars represents the
principle of energetic force. It symbolizes that part of the psyche
which impels us to act, to assert ourselves, to struggle, to press
forward and against, to be courageous and vigorous, to be
competitive or combative. Mars is the archetypal warrior: it
governs the capacity for aggressiveness, anger, and physical
energy, as well as tendencies toward injury, violence, and
impulsiveness. It is connected with athletic activity, and also, as
the polar complement to Venus, governs the yang aspect of
sexuality. The Mars archetype is associated with the Greek mythic
figure of Ares, the Roman Mars, the god of war. Major aspects
involving Mars are indicative of how one tends to act and assert
oneself in life and how one experiences conflict and
aggression.
Jupiter represents the
principle of expansion and success. It governs the tendency to
expand and grow, to elevate and uplift, to seek that which is
better or higher, to improve and magnify, to incorporate that which
is external, to make larger wholes. It also governs the tendency to
experience success, honor, abundance, happiness, and good fortune,
and is connected with the capacity for magnanimity, liberality,
pride, and optimism. In addition Jupiter corresponds to a concern
with moral and philosophical ideals and principles, with long-range
or broad perspectives, with the urge for intellectual and cultural
breadth, and more generally with the striving for breadth of
experience (e.g., through travel, wide reading, inner exploration,
etc.). On the negative side, Jupiter is connected with the tendency
toward excess, inflation, extravagance, overconcern with wealth and
status, self-indulgence, complacency, overconfidence, and sense of
personal superiority.
The Jupiter archetype is
associated with the Greek mythic figure of Zeus, the king of the
Olympian gods, the Roman Jupiter; called the Great Benefic, it is
related also to Fortuna and Providence. Major aspects involving
Jupiter tend to indicate the nature of one’s experience of personal
expansion, growth, and success in all realms of life, as well as
how impulses in these directions might be excessive.
Saturn is the next
planetary archetype to discuss, and because it is an especially
complex archetype I will describe it in more detail. Saturn
represents the principle of limit, structure, and necessity. It
governs the material world, time, tradition, the past, aging,
death, and the endings of things. The Saturn archetype is
associated with the Greek mythic figure of Kronos, the stern father
of the gods, the Roman Saturn. Called the Great Malefic in
traditional astrology, it is associated with such archetypal
figures as Fate, Father Time, Death, and the Grim Reaper. In
Jungian and archetypal psychology, Saturn is often called the
senex.
Saturn represents the hard
structure of things, the reality principle, the bottom line. It is
in many ways the opposite of Jupiter in nature: where Jupiter
expands and grants success, Saturn contracts and inhibits; where
Jupiter is liberal and magnanimous, Saturn is conservative and
strict; where Jupiter uplifts, Saturn oppresses. Indeed, Saturn can
well seem to be a one-sidedly negative planet in the astrological
pantheon, though in fact the situation is much more complicated.
Saturn opposes and limits, but in doing so, it strengthens,
grounds, forges, gives our soul substance and gravitas, makes us
real.
In an important sense, Saturn is
the ruler of the birth chart itself, for Saturn is Time, Chronos,
as well as that which fixes a moment in time, creates through birth
a separate embodiment of reality, and then sustains and works out
through time all the meaning and challenges of that archetypal
moment.
Saturn is the archetype that
rules the structure of our lives. It is the matrix of things, that
which provides both limit and structure, thereby permitting the
possibility of manifestation itself. In limiting and bringing
closure, Saturn defines. Saturn is also the principle of judgment,
governing the consequences of our actions, confronting us with our
past. Esoterically, it is considered to be the planet of karma, the
carrier of karma from past lifetimes, the consequences of which we
now have to encounter in the present life. It might be seen as the
cross we bear, for it concerns our trials and sufferings which may
often seem inexplicable and undeserved. In theological terms Saturn
bears resemblance to some (though not all) aspects of the Hebrew
Yahweh: the strict patriarchal ruler and law-giver of creation, the
God of justice and retribution who condemns humankind to a life of
separation, labor, suffering, disease, pain in childbirth, and
death. Saturn is lord of the realm of finitude, imperfection, and
mortality. At a deep level, Saturn can be seen as the archetypal
birth labor of existence: that which constricts and limits,
rigidifies, alienates, cuts one off from the primal union, makes us
die to the womb–but also that which incarnates us, gives us
embodiment, form, firmness, substance, material reality.
Saturn is therefore often
symbolized as a skeleton, both as a symbol of death, the ultimate
consuming power of time, but also as the skeletal structure and
foundation of things, without which there would be no form, no
stability, no supporting frame of strength and solidity which has
slowly evolved through time and experience.
Saturn makes us stand alone and
know solitude; it separates us from others–from the womb when we
are born, from our childhood family as we grow older, and from
everyone as we face our death. Yet it is also Saturn that makes us
who we are, that disciplines and orders our existence until it has
sculpted our essence. It is the superego inside us–our inner judge
and conscience, that complex reflection of internalized social
convention, religious tradition, and moral law. Saturn governs the
consequences of error, guilt, pessimism, inferiority, depression,
deprivation; yet it also gives us the capacity for rigor, order,
concentration, endurance, seriousness, fidelity, responsibility,
maturity. To continue the comparison with Jupiter, where Jupiter
may be inflated, exaggerated, or overoptimistic, Saturn is
judicious, grounded, and pragmatic. Saturn works slowly and
gradually, painstakingly, often painfully, but effectively, with
enduring results.
Saturn rules our work in the
world, that which we do to make ends meet, the labor of life. It
governs “reality” as we usually think of that term–that which
makes concrete demands on us, which confronts us with material
limitations, which brings us down to earth. It makes us know
defeat, limiting our aspirations and negating our dreams. Saturn
resists and oppresses us, and yet also defines us, brings us
experience and wisdom, makes us take responsibility for ourselves
so that we become our own master. As Nietzsche said, “He who cannot
obey himself will be commanded.” It is Saturn alone that can give
us that special sense of inner authority which can only be
purchased through time and experience.
The position of Saturn in one’s
birth chart is thus a matter of great importance, and the major
aspects it makes to other planets can tell us much about one’s
principal concerns in life. Transits involving Saturn regularly
mark periods of major developmental importance, often bringing
times of personal trial, but also of deep maturation and the
establishment of significant life structures involving one’s
career, important relationships, or major karmic responsibilities.
Perhaps the main thing to remember–or to adopt as a working
hypothesis–is that Saturn indicates that which we have chosen to
work with and through in this life in order to achieve a higher
level of spiritual awareness. The sufferings and frustrations it
may bring can perhaps best be seen as serving a purpose which will
in the long run be recognized as worth all the hard labor of life.
Again, Saturn is that part of the archetypal birth process which
oppresses and alienates, and yet slowly molds and structures, and,
in the end, ushers us into a new level of existence. It is the
guardian of the threshold.
Uranus represents the
principle of change, of freedom, rebellion, and revolution. It is
associated with unexpected phenomena of all kinds, with sudden
surprises and awakenings, with breakthroughs–intellectual,
psychological, spiritual. It governs the sudden breakup of
established structures, and tends to have an exciting and electric
quality. It also rules individualism and originality, invention and
technology, creative genius and brilliant mental insight. The
planet Uranus, the first planet to be discovered in modern
times–in 1781, during an age of radical cultural change and
revolution–can best be understood archetypally in terms of the
Greek mythic figure of Prometheus, who stole fire from the heavens
in rebellion against the gods to give humankind greater
freedom.
The Promethean impulse associated
with the planet Uranus represents that part of us that seeks to go
our own way, to choose our own individual path in life. Its
influence inclines one to be changeable, restless, and
unpredictable–sometimes irresponsibly so–in a constant quest for
personal freedom and new experience. Uranus also mediates
creativity and innovation: in its less exalted forms it can signify
only eccentricity or lawlessness, but in its highest expression it
can indicate real genius, and a capacity for making significant
personal or cultural breakthroughs in the course of one’s life. The
Prometheus archetype associated with the planet Uranus correlates
with that stage in the archetypal birth process in which one is
suddenly liberated from the constrictions of the birth canal and
experiences sudden freedom, awakening, new life, new identity, a
radical expansion of horizons: Prometheus Unbound.
There is another side to this
archetype’s energy, however, which can make the experience of
Uranus a very different matter. When a person has not integrated
the Promethean impulse toward creative freedom, autonomous
individualism, and capacity for change, there is a strong tendency
to experience this archetype as something that happens to one from
without in upsetting, disruptive ways. That is, instead of being
ourselves a source of change and independence and excitement, we
may tend to have change and unpredictable events thrust upon us, so
that we are forced to open up our life to new horizons and new
possibilities. Uranus thus confronts the Saturnian part of us that
wishes to hold on, to maintain the status quo, to resist change in
favor of security, tradition, and the established order.
The rebel-trickster side of the
Prometheus archetype can thus come from within or without, and in
the latter case a person can feel constantly subject to problematic
changes that require one to reorient one’s life. Whether these
changes are precipitated by other people, by new psychological or
physical conditions, or by external circumstances, their role is to
open one’s life to something new. If one is identified excessively
with the past, if one tries to hold on to structures that are
outmoded, then one will experience Uranus as a disruptive force
that at times can be quite uncomfortable. But the potential is
always there for one to integrate the archetype, and for one to
contact one’s own capacity for freedom and excitement, for openness
to the unexpected and the new.
When any planet is in major
aspect to Uranus, that second planetary archetype tends to be
liberated into expression, often in sudden, unusual, or unexpected
ways. The second archetype is given an exciting, creative or
innovative stimulation, and can be a source of both freedom and
unanticipated change.
Neptune is the archetype
of the transcendent, of ideal reality, of imagination and the
spiritual. It represents the ocean of consciousness that dissolves
all boundaries between self and other, between self and universe,
between self and God, and between this concrete reality and other
realities. In perinatal terms Neptune has much to do with the
intrauterine condition in which the child’s being and consciousness
are not yet differentiated from the mother’s, where there is a
symbiotic union, a melting oceanic feeling. Individuals who contact
this primal memory in deep self-exploration often associate that
state with the mystical condition of oneness with Nature, union
with God, or union with the All, and also with a free-floating
consciousness in which many realities–spiritual, imaginative, or
illusory–seem to interpenetrate without sharp
distinction.
Neptune thus governs the ideal
world, whether this be defined as the perfect all-encompassing
maternal womb, the spiritual world of ideal reality, or one’s
highest dreams and aspirations. Yet, like every other planetary
archetype, Neptune has opposite sides, light and shadow. For it can
both illuminate one with the highest spiritual truths that
transcend the everyday world, and yet also lead one into escapist
fantasy, illusion, and deception. Neptune represents Nirvana, the
supreme state of mystical bliss where all the divisions and
structures of this world are transcended; yet it also represents
Maya, the divine play which produces the many illusions of reality
that enchant consciousness. Neptune relates to both madness and
mysticism, and the line is often hard to draw.
Neptune can also be seen as
connected to the Narcissus archetype–that which is absorbed in its
own reflection. Again this can be understood as the ultimate
Divinity eternally experiencing its infinite consciousness, as
reflected in the mystic who is absorbed in blissful meditation; but
also as the self-absorbed narcissist, the drug addict or alcoholic,
the television couch-potato, the escapist, or the psychotic who can
no longer accurately discern what is consensus reality. There is a
selflessness and unworldliness to Neptune which is visible in the
saint and martyr, the altruistic social worker, the yogi or monk.
Yet these same qualities can result in an unhealthy denial of self,
a sense of helpless weakness, a regressive impulse away from life
and the challenges of being an individual self, or an exaggerated
spirituality that would altogether deny the claims of the physical
world and physical body. What is required of us, as always, is to
find a good balance between the demands of Neptune and those of the
other planets.
Neptune rules the basic human
drive or thirst for transcendence: the yearning for an invisible
ideal, the longing to dissolve one’s boundaries into the cosmic
unity, to melt into a dream, to transcend this world of separation
and limit, to experience the flow of love and compassion and a
transcendence of the boundaries of the personal ego. It is just
this drive or thirst that fuels the addictive impulse as well as
the spiritual quest. Because of Neptune’s association with the
ideal, with a kind of mystical paradise or oceanic womb of which
the psyche may have, as it were, archetypal memories, there is
often an accompanying sense of loss or longing connected with
whatever it touches in the chart.
Because it dissolves one’s
boundaries, Neptune tends to sensitize one to everything–to other
people and their inner states, to external stimuli, to other
realities, and so forth. It greatly increases the intuition, but it
can also make one liable to projecting one’s own inner states on to
others in a delusive way. Neptune is related to healing abilities,
both physical and psychological. It has a refining, purifying,
sublimating influence. Yet physically Neptune tends to weaken one’s
own body (in favor of the spiritual), just as psychologically it
tends to weaken the ego (in favor of the larger whole of
consciousness). Its constant dynamic is to dissolve structures, to
bring all things back to an undifferentiated unity. Neptune also
seems to be related to all things watery, whether the physical
ocean or the amniotic fluid in which floats the embryo.
Since it governs the realm of
imagination, Neptune can be seen as the source of all imaginative
creativity and artistic imagery. It governs myth, dreams, symbols,
and the flow of images in consciousness. It is the spiritual matrix
of the anima mundi, the world soul or cosmic psyche. Also,
as the symbol of the ultimate spiritual unity of all things,
Neptune can be seen as the wellspring of love and compassion. It
rules faith and hope, a sense of the unseen, the quest for
spiritual beauty. It is the mystical religious archetype par
excellence.
When a planet is in major aspect
to Neptune, that second planetary archetype tends to be especially
sensitized, sometimes weakened, sometimes spiritualized, sometimes
both. The second archetype tends to be idealized in some way,
making it subject to either illusion on the one hand or mystical
meaning on the other. It becomes allied to the principle of
imagination and the spiritual, and potentially can be a significant
channel for the expansion of consciousness.
And finally Pluto: the
archetype of primordial energy, the universal life force which
impels all evolution and transformation. Pluto represents the
principle of power itself, of elemental force, of primal libido and
aggression, and is essentially identical to Freud’s notion of the
id. It is the Dionysian energy of life, the Serpent power, the
Kundalini. It compels, empowers, overwhelms, transforms; it
destroys and resurrects. Pluto governs the instincts and the forces
of nature. It rules the biological processes of birth, sex, and
death, and at its deepest level it involves the mystery of death
and rebirth.
Pluto rules upheaval, breakdown
and decay, but also regeneration and the purifying fire of
catharsis. It reflects the archetypal Underworld–the dark,
mysterious, and often terrifying reality which lurks beneath the
surface of things, beneath our ego and societal conventions and the
veneer of civilization, and which is periodically unleashed with
great destructive and transformative force. Many of the problematic
instincts that lie deep within the human psyche, such as murderous
hatred, violent jealousy, compulsive greed and lust and so forth,
reflect the activity of Pluto: this is Freud’s broiling cauldron of
the instincts. Pluto is visible in the elemental power of a
volcanic eruption, of a devouring lion, of a war, of an orgasm, of
a mother in the climactic stages of giving birth. It is present in
all violent, purgatorial discharge of pent-up energies–from the
Earth as in an earthquake, or from the human body and psyche as in
therapy or in a psychotic break. Pluto is in many ways the polar
complement of Neptune–together they represent the great polarities
of Dionysus and Apollo, the chthonic and the transcendent, the
volcanic and the oceanic, nature and spirit, instinct and
imagination. And, like Neptune, Pluto is unfathomable.
In terms of the archetypal birth
process, Pluto corresponds to the stage in which the baby is being
powerfully expelled from within the mother’s body in a
life-and-death struggle of bloody biology, when the erotic and
aggressive instincts are being aroused to the utmost. Pluto thus
has two sides, both expressed in the processes of Nature: a
destructive side, personified as Kali, the Devouring Mother, and a
creative side, personified as Shakti, the universal divine energy
that impels all life and evolution. Pluto is what Schopenhauer and
Nietzsche called the universal Will–at one level seeming to
reflect only blind, driving instinct, at another possessing all the
evolutionary intelligence of Nature, the divine Shakti. Pluto is
Nature itself, life eternally transforming and overcoming itself in
an immense evolutionary dynamic.
It has been said that in the
course of life we are all consumed by life’s fire: the only
question–and this is where our challenge lies–is whether we will
be deformed or perfected by that process.
When a planet forms a major
aspect to Pluto, that second planetary archetype tends to be
greatly intensified and empowered in one’s life and character,
sometimes to a compulsive extreme. It may be a source of power
struggles in one’s life, outer or inner, but also of profound
personal transformation.
These, then, are the ten
planetary archetypes. Archetypes are deep and many-faceted, and
their meanings constantly open up to one in new ways each time one
studies them. It is also important to remember that, although I
have described them here individually, in actual life they always
interact with each other, Pluto with Venus, for example, or Uranus
with Mars, and often three or more interacting simultaneously. It
is these complex archetypal interactions–in the birth chart and in
transits–that form the basis of astrological analysis.
Aspects
Now I will define the aspects,
which are the geometrical relationships between planets which
indicate how the corresponding archetypes tend to interact with
each other and express themselves in one’s life.
An aspect is a specific angular
relationship (such as 90 degrees or 180) between two planets. The
existence of an aspect between planets indicates a mutual
activation of the corresponding archetypes. That is, when two
planets are positioned in a specific angular relationship (measured
in degrees of celestial longitude along the ecliptic), the two
corresponding planetary archetypes are brought into interaction and
into concrete expression in human affairs. (For example, if Mercury
and Pluto are in close aspect in one’s birth chart, then a decisive
interaction between the Mercury and Pluto archetypes would tend to
be visible in one’s life and character.) There are five major
aspects:
conjunction (approx. 0 degrees
between planets)
opposition (approx.
180)
trine (approx. 120)
square (approx. 90)
sextile (approx. 60)
Of the major aspects, the
conjunction and opposition are the most significant and potent,
representing the two climaxes of any planetary cycle (for example,
the new Moon and full Moon, which are formed by the Moon’s
conjunction and opposition with the Sun). The trine and square
aspects are intermediate in strength, the sextile the least potent.
Also, generally speaking, the more exact the aspect (for example,
two planets that are 2 degrees away from exact conjunction, rather
than 7 degrees), then the more pronounced will be the archetypal
interaction.
The trine and sextile generally
indicate a harmonious (“soft”) interaction between two planetary
archetypes, in which the two principles or forms of energy tend to
flow together in an easy manner. The opposition and square
correspond to a more dynamic or conflicting (“hard”) interaction.
Here the two principles tend to have a more dialectical
relationship, working both with and against each other; the
individual has to work hard to bring the two together in a positive
way, to have them come to terms with each other. And the
conjunction indicates a synthesis in which the interaction can be
of either category. Thus an aspect between two planets brings the
two corresponding archetypes into interaction, and also determines
the nature of that interaction.
[For those who are interested in
these matters, the character of each aspect is defined by
Pythagorean principles. The major aspects are formed by dividing
the 360 degree circle by the whole numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6,
respectively, and the Pythagorean meaning of each number gives to
the corresponding aspect its specific quality. Thus the unity or
synthesis inherent in the number 1 and the conjunction; the
polarity or duality inherent in the number 2 and the opposition;
the equilibrium or stable balance of the number 3 and the trine.
The characters of the square (4) and the sextile (6) derive from
their components (2×2 and 3×2), with the square resembling the
opposition, and the sextile resembling the trine.]
Also important in our analysis
are alignments known as midpoints, which can be regarded as
a more subtle kind of aspect. When one planet is positioned in
aspect to the exact midpoint of two other planets, then the
corresponding archetypes are considered to be brought into
interaction. Such a configuration indicates a complex mutual
activation of all three archetypes.
Although by necessity we discuss
the various individual aspects and midpoint configurations in a
chart in isolation, two or three planets at a time, in actuality
they are all parts of an integrated whole that is greater than the
sum of its discrete parts. This complexly interacting whole, one’s
birth chart, ultimately defies full intellectual comprehension, but
by selecting out and focusing on the individual aspects and their
specific archetypal dynamics, we can shed considerable light on the
whole birth chart and the life it symbolically reflects.
Let me emphasize here that though
the soft aspects are indeed great gifts, it is often the hard
aspects, in both birth charts and transits, that prove to be the
most fruitful in a person’s life, sometimes dramatically so.
Although they are rightly associated with difficulties, crises, and
challenges, it is the hard aspects that tend to make things happen
in life. The pressure of their conflict tends to create greater
energetic dynamism, and challenge one to move toward higher
creative syntheses. They are more likely to produce concrete
manifestations, strengthening of character, deepening of the soul.
Also, as one works through the negative side of such an aspect, the
psychic energy that is bound within that archetypal complex can be
freed up to manifest in more creative, life-enhancing ways (e.g.,
the compulsive rigidity that can accompany hard Saturn-Pluto
aspects can turn into sustained strength of purpose, and so forth).
Individuals who achieve things of real consequence in life
regularly have birth charts with hard aspects between the planets
most relevant to their achievement, and those major achievements
often occur during periods of life marked by demanding
transits.
Transits
The study of transits is
especially valuable because it allows us to get a sense for the
timing of the planetary archetypes in our lives. Perhaps of all
areas of astrology, it is the study of transits that produces the
most compelling evidence for the power of the astrological
perspective, and its immense pragmatic value. The principle of
transits rests on the fact that as the planets continue moving
after a person’s birth, they move into and out of aspect in
relation to the natal planetary positions. Thus when any planet’s
present position in the sky forms an aspect to a point that was
occupied by any planet at the time of one’s birth (for example
Uranus now in the sky forming a conjunction to Venus in the natal
chart), then during the period in which that particular aspect is
in range one would tend to have experiences that correlate with the
planets and aspect involved (in this example, a two-or-three year
period in which one would tend to experience the awakening of new
love, the stimulation of one’s artistic creativity or aesthetic
responsiveness to life, a certain restlessness and unpredictability
in one’s relationships, and so forth).
While the birth chart in itself
is a portrait of one’s life and character as a whole, transits to
the birth chart reflect the dynamic unfolding of one’s life and
character in terms of specific events and experiences. Transits
activate the potential that is inherent in the birth
chart.
Since different planets move at
different speeds, the duration of their transits varies–a Moon
transit lasting only several hours, a Sun or Mars transit several
days, and the outer planets several months or even years. The
transits of the inner planets are useful for understanding the
day-to-day changes and shorter cycles of one’s life, but it is
transits from the four outermost planets–Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,
and Pluto–that are of the greatest significance in understanding
life’s larger dynamics.
There are a number of other
significant factors in the birth chart that are well worth
examining, such as the sign positions of the planets (Aries,
Taurus, Gemini, etc.), the houses, the elements and qualities,
hemispheric emphasis, harmonics, as well as other predictive
techniques such as progressions, solar arc directions, solar and
lunar returns, etc. I find all of these to be valuable factors to
explore, and I may at times bring some of them into discussion, but
my own particular expertise, as well as the bulk of my empirical
research, is in the area of interpreting the combinations of
planetary archetypes, the major aspects (including midpoints), and
transits. I regard these, after many years of research, as the most
essential factors in astrology, possessing great precision and
richness of meaning. These factors reflect a certain beautifully
lucid geometry of archetypal forms and forces, and I believe they
offer the most intellectually cogent and clarifying path of entry
into the mysteries of the astrological perspective.
I recommend seeking out
interpretations or readings from every good astrologer who crosses
your path, for astrology is so complex, and your chart has so many
facets and levels of meaning, that each astrologer can illuminate
it in new ways and give you important new insights. Also, my own
focus is on the psychological and spiritual dimensions of life (as
well as on long-term cultural and historical cycles). There are
other astrologers who focus on medical, financial, horary, and
other specialized areas of astrology, which you may find
particularly relevant to your own interests. But beyond getting
readings from good astrologers, I believe the most rewarding path
to take in the end is to learn something about the field for
yourself, learn how to calculate your own transits (it is not
difficult), and then examine the evidence and experience this
profound source of insight and understanding for
yourself.
A few last
comments
Every planetary combination has a
problematic side as well as a more obviously beneficent and
productive side, and I always attempt to describe both as clearly
as possible. But particularly the hard aspects between planets
(both in the birth chart and in transits) are likely to challenge
one to come to terms with the energies involved, and in describing
these one should not sugarcoat them so that it would seem as if you
have only marvelous personal qualities and your life has been and
will always be an uninterrupted series of wonderful experiences. No
one’s life or character is like that. The birth chart provides a
vivid portrait of one’s self, and its usefulness is dependent on
how clearly and fully you are willing to face your true character,
including parts of yourself and your life that may be difficult or
hidden. An astrological chart provides a kind of x-ray of the soul
and its movements, which cuts through the more superficial levels
of the psyche to reach the archetypal foundations of one’s life and
being.
The main thing to understand here
is that astrology is not concretely predictive, but
archetypally predictive. That is, the birth chart and
transits indicate which universal principles are emphasized, in
what combination, and when. They do not give information such as
“You will get an offer of a job as editor-in-chief for a large
publishing firm on April 26, 2004,” or “You will meet your soul
mate on the beach at Waikiki at sunset on New Year’s Day in 2005.”
It may not be impossible for a gifted clairvoyant to do something
like this, but astrology has a different character.
Along the same lines, some
archetypal dynamics symbolized in our birth chart we recognize as
true, but not so much of our own character as of the kinds of
experiences we have drawn towards us, the character of events and
relationships that are in our life. This is because the archetypal
patterns in our birth chart describe the quality of our life
experience. One cannot know for sure whether the particular
archetypal energies will be something one is conscious of in
oneself, or whether they express themselves in the larger sphere of
one’s life in the events, relationships, and circumstances that are
to some degree external to one, yet ultimately reflect one’s own
consciousness. Particularly if we have not psychologically “owned”
those qualities in our chart, we will tend to project them onto
others–and thus draw towards us others who will fulfill those
energies in our life. As Jung often said, what is forced to remain
unconscious comes to us as “fate.”
The value of a good astrological
analysis is that it can shed a more coherent light on the many
diverse and often chaotic particulars of our life, so that we can
see clarifying archetypal patterns in it. In terms of the more
problematic qualities suggested in the chart, some of these will no
longer seem relevant to us simply because we have already lived
them through, fully experienced their challenges, and outgrown
them. More than that, we will have integrated those aspects and
made them work for us in a more positive way. And that of course is
as it should be. An analysis like this is meant to further
encourage just this process. As an ancient esoteric dictum put it:
“The sagacious person enhances the workings of the heavens in the
same way a farmer enhances the workings of nature.”
Finally, it is important to
realize that, at least in one crucial sense, astrology operates
beyond good and evil. All archetypes are Janus-faced, with positive
and negative sides, and as the foregoing discussion suggests, no
astrologer can look at a chart and, simply on that basis, conclude
whether that person is “good” or “bad.” The birth chart does not
determine the moral vector of personal character. Nor does it
determine ultimate “success” or “failure.” It portrays rather the
basic nature of the archetypal dynamics that inform that
individual’s life and character. How the individual copes with and
grows through those particular dynamics, how she or he creatively
embodies and integrates the diverse potentials of the birth chart,
depends in the last analysis on the individual. The same archetype
can express itself benignly or destructively, in an exalted way or
an ignoble way, and to a great extent which of these occurs will be
affected by the kind of consciousness that is brought to the
situation. The god needs to be honored, the archetype will
manifest, but there is considerable latitude as to how that may
happen.
And herein lies the importance of
astrological insight, for the very act of knowing the nature of the
particular archetypes that are seeking to manifest, combined with
an awareness of their potential timing, can play a significant role
in positively influencing the outcome. Then life becomes more of a
dance–a subtle interaction between archetypal forces and human
awareness, a play of consciousness between the gods and the human
mind and will and heart which they inform.
http://www.gaiamind.org/AstroIntro.html
