An Overview
The natal chart in astrology is the map of the universe within the individual. It is the individual mandala within which that person's unique experience of the Self is imaged. It is therefore also a map in which particular aspects of the psychic terrain are emphasised and given import to that individual, in a way which renders every chart unique. Jung reflected that:
"Every life is the realisation of a whole, that is, of a self, for which reason this
realisation can also be called `individuation'. All life is bound to individual carriers
who realise it, and it is simply inconceivable without them. But every carrier is
charged with an individual destiny and destination, and their realisation of these
alone makes sense of life."
This view is very much in accord with what I am suggesting about astrology and its relevance for the individual. The natal chart represents one way in which that "individual destiny and destination" referred to by Jung can be explored by a person. Such a view always raises important questions from which Jung never shied away. The question of predetermination and fate as pre-written script always arises when astrology is discussed because modern western thought seems to have an inherent difficulty with such an idea which involves certain given or constant factors. This is an oddity in some respects because the whole basis of western science is a search for the inherent laws of the universe, albeit on a physical level.
Science posits that the so called laws of the physical universe rest on what it calls `constants'. These are mysteriously invariable given factors of unknown origin, a fact which seems to be ignored. Another oddity in the western viewpoint, to my mind, is that it seems so much more comfortable with the idea that life/reality is a fortuitous series of accidents, than with one which suggests that it may involve at least some inherent and purposeful dynamics.
Here of course we are at a cutting edge where questions of free will and rational control arise. The normal dualistic view holds that free will and any form of predetermination are mutually exclusive. It is this dualism which is at the core of western problems with determinism where-ever it does not support other core western beliefs. For example we are all able to accept the materialist determinism of evolutionary theories which propose genetically encoded physical inheritances as the basis of physical patterning. If psychic structures and their attendant dynamics can be seen as epiphenomena of such physical systems we can accept them because here another fundamental belief comes in to play. Western science believes that material reality is THE REALITY and that rationalistic science can ultimately unravel the secrets of physical laws. Reality thus remains potentially within the control of the rational mind and so the dogma of free will can be preserved.
Jung's and many non-western views of reality are here far more sophisticated and challenging. They are paradoxical rather than dualistic, both in relation to material versus non-material realities and free will versus determinism. Jung's view is encapsulated by his statement that:
"Free will is the ability to do gladly that which I must do."
Jung was too sophisticated to dismiss the importance of environmental factors in individual psychic development but he understood too the vital contribution of the inherent and inherited factors at every level. From the deepest, at the level of the collective unconscious, which determines the very nature of the human psyche, to the most obvious at the personal level of inherited tendencies in the individual which are carried through families, there are inherent factors at work.
What astrology has to offer here is of profound importance and value for the psychic well being of individuals and their families. No one would see a problem with the notion that knowing about one's parents physiological history and tendencies is important to dealing with one's personal health. For example the historical evidence of breast cancer, heart disease etc., gives one important forewarning of what to look out for in dealing with one's potential health difficulties. Neither would one dismiss any medical evidence of structural tendencies whether they be a help or hindrance. For example one can medically determine certain anatomical and physiological capabilities which suggest relative strengths and weakness. This may help to gauge athletic abilities and suggest likely areas to concentrate upon. It would not indicate the actual sport to go into, because this is abstract data, but may suggest the general area to which such strengths and weaknesses would suit one.
Astrology is able to offer a similar type of abstract information about the psychic make up, strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of all sorts, of a person from which the same sort of general determinations are possible. Just as being given a physiological profile would not enable one to predict which actual sport athlete would play being given the natal chart profile does not allow one to predict the exact personal psychic development of the person. What it does allow is the outlining of broad general probabilities within which the person's development would be likely to occur. At the risk of making a bold claim I would suggest that astrology well used offers a far more complex and detailed abstract of the individual than any other currently available method.
What each of these approaches has also to acknowledge is that, within the constraints of these given factors, the individual has a freedom to choose which also includes the freedom to attempt to go against what is given. The natal chart at a psychological level, like the anatomical/physiological profile at a physical level, represents a tool via which one can delineate the major complexes and their dynamics of interaction. That is, the nature of the given factors. To me this is the major psychological value of astrology. It delineates the constraints with which one must contend in order to act in accordance with the will of the Self, and this is, as Jung reflected, one's "individual destiny and destination". At a simple every day level it allows one to accept who one really is psychologically, which is the best possible basis for the fullest possible realisation of one's true individuality.
The Evidence for Astrology
Astrology, Causality and Synchronicity
A large part of Astrology's perceived credibility problem is in my view more a problem of world views than anything inherently to do with astrology itself. Jung's comment that:
"A materialist view of the world ill accords with the reality and autonomy of the
psyche."
(CW vol 14 p455):
is pertinent here for astrology is not premised on a purely materialist view of reality. Describing the psyche of an individual, which includes the limited personality we know in conscious life, is what astrology sets out to do. In doing this in relation to the physical universe of our solar system it suggests a link between the psyche and matter in which astrology becomes a holistic world view. This of course is problematic from a modern scientific materialist point of view. When the material realm is seen as the exclusive reality, for any phenomenon to be accepted as real or valid, it requires a physical causality to exist. In the case of astrology this requires a physical causal link between planetary movements and the human psyche. When science does not accept the psyche as a legitimate area of scientific exploration, to propose or look for such a link invites disdain.
At best in modern scientific approaches the psyche is seen as an epi-phenomenon of individual biological processes and so is highly unlikely to be considered even a serious area for scientific consideration. So we can see that the materialist world view makes it highly unlikely that astrology will be taken seriously by the modern physical sciences of which modern psychology considers itself one.
Now it may be interesting and challenging to consider the possibility that such a physical causal link exists between planetary movements and the human personality, but is it necessary? I would say not! Really its a bit like asking whether its necessary to understand the causal link between turning on a light switch and the globe coming on to appreciate the value of the light. Knowing the link may make the occurrence less magical but it does not change the quality of the light. For me the true test of astrology is the empirical one, in the proper sense of the word as Jung consistently used it. Empirical means "known from experience" and the requirement is not made that the experience be physically measurable. With a background in the physical sciences I came to astrology with a strong in built skepticism but when offered the opportunity to have my chart done I could see no reason not to accept. For me astrology stood the test of experience and that was a turning point.
Two years into analysis had given me some handles on my own complexes and issues and to find that some-one could delineate all those areas very accurately from only the information of my birth date, time and place was a revelation. I became interested and began to explore for myself. A fascination took hold of me which was later to be fanned into deepening interest by my wife Nicola's potent intuitive grasp of astrology.
Some years later, after much study, I began to apply astrology via setting up of charts to see just how well it would stand the test at a broader level than my one individual experience. As it consistently stood the test of such application my curiosity was further aroused....just how did it work? I can, and have, speculated at the level of my scientific background but nothing conclusive is available there. If one accepts the reality of the psyche in Jung's terms there will be many phenomena in life for which questions of causality at the obvious physical level remain a mystery about which we can do little more that speculate. We do not know how dreams are produced, where they come from and cannot come up with a convenient formula for how to work with them. But we do know from experience that working with them is of value and that they are able to produce information for which there is no rational explanation. Jung's own speculations about such matters led to him proposing the existence of synchronicity - an acausal connecting principle. It is with this approach that I have to content myself when it comes to accepting the mysterious workings of astrology - I do not know how it works but it I know it does.
Skeptics
I would like at this point to address briefly one particular attack on astrology which many skeptics habitually employ because it points out clearly the lack of insight into astrology which so often lies behind such attacks. It is the matter of the Precession of the Equinoxes. This astronomical phenomenon, in which the earth's axis of rotation itself rotates about a point in space known as the ecliptic pole, causes the yearly equinoxes to occur when the axis of rotation is in a slightly different orientation to the fixed stars each year. It is a phenomenon which astronomers and other skeptics often use in attempts to discredit astrology. They assume or suggest that astrologers are ignorant of or ignore it. This, it is argued, leads to the error of the Astrological signs having shifted so that over the aeons what is now called an Aries would in fact be a Pisces, and likewise for all the other signs. In fact archeo-astrological evidence suggests that the precession of the equinoxes has been known about since pre-Egyptian times and it was and is well known to astrologers.
What such arguments fail to recognise and which any well informed astrologer knows is that this argument holds no real water. Modern astrologers know that the so called fixed stars or constellations are moving bodies in the great sea of space and are no reliable frame of reference. The actual frame of reference of astrology is, as it has always been, a geocentric one. The change from a geocentric to a heliocentric astronomy does not change nor invalidate this, although it may suggest symbolic and psychological questions. Astrology delineates a frame of reference to do with the significance of events on earth and so is rightly anchored there. The intersection of the Sun's apparent path (from a geocentric perspective) with the Celestial Equator, which defines the equinoxes, gives us the stable reference point around which the Astrological signs are built. The 30 degree segment of the Celestial Equator following the Spring Equinox is Aries, the following 30 degrees Taurus, and so on. Thus the signs of the Zodiac situate a planet or point in relation to the equinoxes, an earthly phenomenon, rather than to the constellations which once gave the signs their names.
Psychological Astrology in Outline.
Modern positivist psychologies still seem to lag well behind even the medical/biological sciences in their dealings with the reality of the psyche. To accept that I am short and solid in build, or tall and thin, would only be seen as right and well adapted on the physical level. However to suggest that some-one may in fact be naturally predisposed to be aggressive or passive, dreamy or highly strung is still not readily accepted in most modern positivist psychology. These outlooks suggest all sorts or ways and means by which we can eliminate such perceived negative traits and characteristics. Such approaches are founded on non acceptance of what is the current state of things, a view which would be seen as rather ridiculous at the anatomical/physiological level. Rather than seeking an acceptance of how one is, and allying this to examining the creative uses of one's natural abilities, we are left struggling with how to rid ourselves of things which may in fact be our natural gifts.
Astrology used as a psychological profile offers the real possibility of knowing what one's innate psychological make up is. This is the basis for a psychology of self acceptance.
The acceptance of apparently negative traits only becomes problematic if it contains a neurotic or distorted component, where there is a denial of an unhealthy condition. For example if I am in fact overweight but rationalising, or underweight and in denial, in the physical example, or if my natural aggression or passivity is over emphasised to the detriment of my overall wellbeing in the psychological case.
When, on the other hand, to accept that I am in fact a highly strung and sensitive personality type and therefore find certain situations untenable is be seen as a failure to adapt to the situation, I may be doing myself a disservice. To expect oneself to be an emergency service rescue worker in these circumstances would set one up to fail and possibly endanger others. It is in just such cases that astrology can give very clear indications whether such an apparent personality disposition is inherent or due to environmental factors and to what extent. If the chart suggests such a dynamic it would be unlikely that positivist approaches would produce any sustainable changes away from the inherent character traits. As such an approach of acceptance that this in fact an inherent tendency can be far more productive. It leads to self acceptance and the possibility of rebuilding a shattered self esteem. This of course is just the sort of freeing from stereotyping that the tall thin, or short stocky, person needs to accept their inherent physical disposition. Accepting the inherent disposition may free one to seek a self expression grounded in who one really is rather than in what one thinks one should be.
What needs to be guarded against in the attitude of accepting the inherent dispositionis the flip side of the coin to the positivist `you can be whatever you want to be' outlook. This is the fatalistic acceptance of a situation without bringing it under conscious scrutiny. Astrologically it takes the form of using astrological factors as a sort of excuse for how we are. The "Oh that's my `Mars in Aries'" attitude which has an unspoken sub-text of, "There's nothing I can do about it". This of course is very like some-one saying "Oh that must be my mother complex at work". In either case its accepting a condition which may well have an inherent aspect to it but at the same time denying responsibility for it. Whilst it indicates a possible degree of awareness it does not allow the workings of the complex/planet into consciousness in a way which would facilitate a different relationship to it.
Every planetary placement in fact has a positive and negative aspect. In a given chart either or both may be given emphasis. What astrology can offer is a way to examine these emphases and determine the best way to deal with what one is in fact predisposed towards. Sports people by analogy need to know of certain physical strengths and weaknesses in order to develop training routines which optimise their performance, or even to decide which field to specialise in. Well developed training may genuinely reduce certain physical disadvantages, or may indicate a need to change focus all together if a condition persists. Some weaknesses are insurmountable under certain conditions and to accept this and change conditions is not failure, but successful adaptation. Astrology is a means by which an in depth psychological profile can be developed which is similar to what may be undertaken for the physical body when a sportsperson begins work at an institute of sport. It provides a sort of in depth map of the basic complexes and their interactive dynamics.
Astrology and The Nature of the Human Psyche - The Individual and the Three Layers of Reality
I will now move on to examining more directly the linkages between astrology and Jung's view of the structure and dynamics of the psyche. Here the approach will follow a structure derived from Jung's observation:
"....we must distinguish three psychic levels: (1) consciousness, (2) the personal
unconscious, and (3) the collective unconscious."
In this schema I will include the social or collective consciousness under (1) as it is a primary determinant of personal consciousness for the developing ego in its early development. I will approach the correlation between astrology and Jung's view of psychic functioning by working backwards through the three psychic levels which Jung's suggests. So we will now look at:
(A) The Collective Unconscious and the Astrological Signs
- Jung's Definition of the Collective Unconscious
- The Nature of the Astrological Signs and their Mythic Associations
(B) The Personal Unconscious: the Complexes and the Astrological Planets
- Jung's Theory of Complexes
- The Planets as Complex Cores
- The Astrological Complexes
(C) Consciousness, Collective (cultural values) and Personal, and the Astrological
Houses
- Jung's Approach to Collective Life and what he called Collective
Consciousness
- The Astrological Houses and how they delineate arenas of Collective Life for
the individual
A. The Collective Unconscious and the Astrological Signs
Jung's notion of the collective unconscious developed as his work progressed but it maintained a consistent view of the collective unconscious as the psychic foundation or matrix out of which individual and collective human psychic structures arose. In this sense the collective unconscious is not within the human psyche, collective or individual but objective to it, an a priori from which these arise. It is thus a reality outside but essential to human consciousness. Consciousness can only know it via its symbolic manifestations at the level of every day awareness, be they psychic structures individual or collective, or numinous symbolic experiences at he individual level. From a Jungian perspective all the various forms of human culture, be they secular or religious, social or mythological, are in some sense manifestations and records of human experience of the collective unconscious. Astrology as a mythological system is one of these.
Jung describes the collective unconscious in the following terms:
".....there are (other) contents which do not originate in personal acquisitions but
in the inherited possibility of psychic functioning in general.....These are the
mythological associations, motifs and images that can spring up anew anytime
anywhere, independently of historical tradition or migration. I call these contents
the collective unconscious."
"The collective unconscious....appears to consist of mythological motifs or
primordial images, for which reason the myths of all nations are it real exponents.
In fact, the whole of mythology could be taken as a sort of projection of the
collective unconscious. We can see this clearly if we look at the heavenly
constellations, whose originally chaotic forms were organised through the projection
of images. This explains the influence of the stars asserted by astrologers. These
influences are....unconscious, introspective perceptions of the activity of the
collective unconscious."
"The contents of the collective unconscious (archetypes) are represented in consciousness in the form of pronounced preferences and definite ways of looking at things. These subjective tendencies and views are generally regarded by the individual as being determined by the object - incorrectly, since they have their source in the unconscious structure of the psyche and are merely released by the effect of the object." CW vol 6 para 625 The astrological signs in modern astrology are increasingly being connected to mythological associations beyond the over simplistic association to single constellations or planetary rulers. This owes much to pioneering astrologers such as Liz Greene, who is also a Jungian analyst. The mythological aspect of astrology has provided the basis for a more sophisticated psychological approach to astrology through this interface with Jungian psychology. My own explorations have lead me into an evolving interplay of astrology and Jungian psychology which for me has deepened and strengthened both as tools for psychological growth and healing. So now I will briefly outline a view of the 12 signs as a sequence of six polarised pairs an examine their archetypal underpinnings. It is important to note that these polarities are paired Yin to Yin and Yang to Yang. Whilst they form the basis of what astrologers know as oppositions they are sets of inherently complementary factors which form a unity in spite of their apparent opposition.
Aries - Libra: Yang - action versus consequence
The Ram, heroic fertilising yang energy which seeks to establish it subjective identity via it impact of the world. Lacks concern for other's reality, phallic impact. . Jason and the Golden Fleece, Oedipus, The young stag and the old, to overthrow -ve father, lack of right relationship within the masculine principle.
The Scales, relatedness as an ideal, seeks harmony and interplay through the understanding of consequences of actions, that is, how they affect others The Egyptian goddess of truth Maat, weighing actions against truth, ethics, Paris, Tiresius, taking the easy way out versustaking the consequences of ethical choice.
Taurus - Scorpio: Yin - physical life versus psyche and death
The Bull, though at times the Cow would clearly be more accurate. Receptive, fecund, but by no means passive, yin energy. Seeks connection and to nurture relatedness at a physical level, the physical world as expression of divine love. Aphrodite (Venus), but also Innana, queen of the upper realm, the Minotaur myth, stewardship versus possession and power.
The Scorpion, chthonic, poisonous, wounding energies, death and rebirth too, Pluto but at a deeper level Persephone as Hecate in underworld, Ereshkigal, She who hears no prayers. Necessity of death and descentto underworld for renewal, letting go of attachment and control, accept ing fate The Medusa and the need for reflection to slay the monster or make the appropriate sacrifice.
Gemini - Sagittarius: Yang - thought as data versus knowledge as synthesis
The Twins, The trickster, the Divine child, Yang energy as mercurial, mentally agile, the idea/mental knowledge as potency and phallic agency, the mind body split, the spirit that yearns away from the world, duality, ambiguity. Hermes, Mercury, Castor and Pollux, inner conflict about and fear of the earthy and feeling realities which are the shadow of a sometimes too bright and mercurial spirit. The Centaur-archer, intuitive, synthesising Yang energy which seeks to impregnate all life through its spiritual principle. Zeus, Chiron, inspired and inspiring Yang energies which bring the disparate data of knowledge under the scrutiny of principles which can order and organise them. Fear of particulars and being bound or account to them, outspoken, creative, mentor and guide. Restless, youthful, transcendent. Cancer - Capricorn: Yin - personal nurture versus cultural matrix The Crab, the yin as maternal nurturing the physical world as material of culture, principle, maternal protectiveness, I live culture as the humanly created matrix to nurture and nurture all that need it, which supports individual existence, and To nurture is to feel myself. gives security/stability, fear of change. Hera-Herakles, Tiamat-Marduk, Thetis- Saturn/Chronos-Rhea, Yahweh, the Achilles. Separation of ego from maternal Fisher King, Wasteland of unquestioned , unconscious, regressive yearning for the law, duty, obligation, rigidity, insecurity, emotional comfort of the maternal womb vs despair crisis of faith, feminine rage as the struggle for separate existence, creat- impetus to change/renewal, the destruct- ivity as gestative, emotional reactiveness, ive parent (father/ mother's animus) vs the defensiveness, fear of separation. positive fostering parent. Leo - Aquarius: Yang - subjective experience versus abstract principle The Lion, the Yang as questing energy The Water Bearer, spiritual principles, seeking to know itself in relation to a ideals/abstract beliefs, intellectual creation greater truth. The King, the bombast, the of containing principles which direct arrogance of self importance. personal quests to the good of all. Yang Sun, Parsifal, the Grail Legend,Apollo. Coll. Unconsc. Ouranos, Prometheus, Subjectivity, personal experience, young Yahweh, beliefs as divinely inspired, Parsifal, naive and full of self import- earthly realm and personal feeling as ance, egocentric insensitivity to others, antithetical to divine principle, detachment the personal quest is all and clouds and adherence to abstract spiritual law as judgment, Apollo's epithet "Man Know the vision of a just social order, repression Thyself" is his call to self reflection. repression and sublimation as service of the divine law. Virgo - Pisces: Yin - the body/matter versus the undifferentiated psyche The Maiden, the Horn of Cornucopea, the The Two Fishes, the Yin Principle as all Yin principle as unreceptive and fallow, uniting mystical awareness, the unity of all containment and the inherent order in being, mystical experiences which break nature, things in their right place. divisions in consciousness, Yin aspect of Persephone, Astarte, Dike, Atargartis, Coll Unconsc. Neptune, Atargartis and Hestia/Vesta, Artemis, the goddess as Ichthys, the mother and Son/lover pair, divine maiden, the priestess as her serv- Dionysis and Christ, victimhood, the re- ant, ritual/magic as invocation of the deemer comples, self sacrifice. Birth of the divine feminine principle, the interface ego out of maternal unconsc., self sacrifice of psyche and matter. Mystical experience through passion, ego need to acknowledge contained leads to service of the divine. all encompassing collective unconscious relationship to it. B. The Personal Unconscious: the Complexes and the Astrological Planets Jung's Theory of Complexes The nearest correlation in Jung's psychology to the planets of astrology would seem to lie in the complex. Although Jung initially saw the complexes as having an essentially negative character his view of them developed considerably in his later work. He came to see them as inherent and natural structures in the psyche, necessary to our human functioning. "...complexes are not entirely morbid by nature but are characteristic expressions of the psyche, irrespective of whether this psyche is differentiated or primitive." CW vol 8 p101 para 209 "Complexes are in truth the living units of the unconscious psyche...." CW vol 8 p101 para 210 "The conscious mind is invariably convinced that complexes are something unseemly and should therefore be eliminated somehow or other. Despite overwhelming evidence of all kinds that complexes have always existed and are ubiquitous, people cannot bring themselves to regard them as normal phenomena of life..." CW vol 8 para 211 "Complexes are very much a part of the psychic constitution....(and the)...constitution will therefore inexorably decide what psychological view a given observer will have....complexes are among he normal phenomena of life and... they make up the structure of the unconscious psyche.", CW vol 8 para 218 It is clear from a careful reading of Jung that one cannot draw an arbitrary line between where the personal unconscious ends and the collective begins. It is also clear from the above quotes that he saw the complexes as inherent constitutional factors which structure our individual conscious response to life and render it: "...in the highest degree influenced by inherited presuppositions, quite apart from the unavoidable influences exerted upon it by the environment." CW vol 8 para 230 It is around these complexes that both personally experienced environmental influences and archetypal contents from the collective unconscious adhere. Any astrologer should see here a startling correlation with the nature of the astrological planets as focii for personal responses to life at all levels, personal, collective, psychic and physical. The Planets as Complex Cores In astrology it is the planets which represent just such structuring elements of the individual personality as Jung describes the complexes as being. Jung clearly saw the complexes as a combination of inherent structural elements and personally experienced environmental activation. This is exactly what the planets must represent in a psychological view of astrology. Each of the astrological planets represents a distinctive Complex Core in the personality, or personal unconscious, around which particular life factors and experiences will conglomerate. As such a knowledge of planetary placement will enable a psychological astrologer to delineate these complexes in abstract with the possibility of enabling deeper understanding and self acceptance. Jung is known (anecdotally) to have used astrology with certain clients when other means could not unblock the therapy. I consider this to have been when a complex was so embedded and unconscious that other method failed to uncover it sufficiently for the work to proceed otherwise. The Astrological Complexes It is necessary now to briefly describe the planets and their natures as complex cores. In this I will begin by breaking the planets into four groups: (i) the Sun and Moon - these are the primary personal planets which from a geocentric perspective move in direct relation to the earth. (ii) Mercury, Venus and Mars - secondary personal planets which move with a secondary relation to the Sun as separate from the earth. (iii) Jupiter and Saturn - transitional or collective planets which move with more marked secondary motion in relation to the Sun. (iv) Chiron, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - transpersonal planets which move with an event more marked relation to the Sun which is as significant as motion in relation to the earth. 1. The Primary Personal Planets THE SUN - the extraverted, or Yang, aspect of the Ego complex core, has to do with integration of experiences of oneself in the external world into a conscious and evolving sense of personal identity. Ultimately represents capacity to consciously act as an agent of the Self in outer life. Major aspect of the Father Complex/God as personal father. THE MOON - the introverted, or Yin, aspect of the Ego complex core; has to do with mediating personal experiences of the psyche into consciousness and one's evolving sense of oneself in relation to the unconscious. Ultimately represents the capacity to accept reality of the unconscious as other. Major aspect of the Mother Complex/Goddess as Personal Mother. 2. The Secondary Personal Planets MERCURY - Hermaphroditic, was once called Hermaphrodites; has to do with perception and communication as Yin and Yang aspects of channelling information about reality. The messenger of the gods, The personal every day complex of knowing or gathering information. Ultimately represents the capacity to receive and transmit one's knowing of God/Goddess/Self. VENUS - the Yin aspect of personal connection to the life and other beings; the complex core to do with personal relationships and attraction, The Puella Complex, receiving others into one's intimate spaces, love, sensuality/sexuality, sense of aesthetics and intimate connection with another as expression and receiving of the divine in each other. MARS - the Yang aspect of personal connection to life and others beings; the complex core to do with the personal will and assertion, aggression and penetration as connection to life via conquest, The Hero Complex, love as hunting and conquest, and penetration to the other's inner reality, to make an impact on life, to prove myself. 3. The Transitional or Planets of Collective Consciousness JUPITER - the Yang\extraverted aspect of collective consciousness, the spirit of the law, conscience as the right to express one's truth, the crusader, expansion of consciousness, synthesising intellect, idealism, spiritual principles as liberating knowledge, the father/parent as guide and mentor encouraging change and growth, The Puer Complex. SATURN - the Yin/introverted aspect of collective consciousness, the letter of the law, structure and form as the cultural matrix, conscience as moral edict, duty, obligation and guilt, the parent as limiter and law giver, discipline, responsibility, resistance to change, insecurity, The Senex complex in father or mothers animus. 4. The Transpersonal Planets CHIRON - the energy of The Wounded Healer/Mentor/Guru Complex; to do with ones primary sense of archetypal wounding which is in fact a transpersonal reality though usually projected onto the personal level (parents?). The need for sacrifice of a too spiritual view of life in order that repressed or sublimated energies may be released into life. URANUS - a Yang energy, the Complex Core of Abstract Spiritual Principles or Beliefs; to do with fixed and abstract systems of belief about life and the expression of the Divine principle. Detached, visionary, abstract intellect, afraid of earthy and feeling realities, sublimation and subjection of subjective experience to abstract judgment/concepts. NEPTUNE - a Yin energy of diffuse, mystical and undifferentiated quality, the Complex Core of Mystical Experience; to do with the oneness of all life and reality, undifferenti- ated awareness, lack of defining ego consciousness, mystical experience and perspective valued above daily concrete reality, the reality of the eternal psyche as a priori to physical life. PLUTO - a Yin energy of withdrawal into the underworld, the Complex Core of Transformation Death and Rebirth; a fateful apparently destructive force which disrupts outer life where- ever it fails to head the need for renewal via letting go and death. Resistance to conscious control at the ego level where ever it will not acknowledge the autonomy of the psyche. C. Consciousness, Collective (cultural values) and Personal - the Astrological Houses Jung's Approach to Conscious Life: Personal and Collective Consciousness I will outline a few of Jung's reflections on the relationship of personal to collective consciousness and the collective unconscious. "If the subjective consciousness prefers the ideas and opinions of collective consciousness and identifies with them, then the contents of the collective unconscious are repressed." CW vol 8 para 425 He says of collective consciousness that it consist of: "reasonable generalities that cause the average intelligence no difficulty whatever. It still believes in the necessary connection of cause and effect and has scarcely taken note of the fact that causality has become relative." CW vol 8 para 424 Rather than address the reality of modern life and collective consciousness as a psychic situation, which would require dealing with the archetypal realities of the collective unconscious, he says: "...people prefer the most preposterous political and economic theories, which are about as useful as explaining the Hiroshima explosion as the chance hit of a large meteorite." How do these reflections then relate to the astrological houses? As I have said, I see the houses as representing the arena of everyday consciousness, both personal and collective. I also see the houses also as a set of six paired poles. The first six as representing arenas of personal consciousness and the second as representing arenas of collective consciousness. Each personal house with its subjective viewpoint is complemented by a collective house with a set of `reasonable generalities'. These represent a common sense perspective with which to contain the personal reality in a social context. This comfortable complementarity provides a complete explanation of daily life at the socio-political level which obscures the need to understand the workings of archetypal factors at the level of the signs or collective unconscious. As such it can be identified with environmental factors which are seen as within the orbit of positivistic control. The Astrological Houses and arenas of Personal and Collective Consciousness So, now lets look at these pairings: First - Seventh Traditionally: `1' - Personality, physical appearance, body type, first impression on others, mannerisms, temperament. versus `7' - One to one relationships, marriage, partnerships, rivalries, contracts, divorce. Psychologically `1' - Persona, self image, extraverted or outward aspect of personality which engages with the world and others, impression I seek to make. versus `7' - One to one relations in which one seeks to mirror or be mirrored by the other, projection dynamics in personal connection, the intimate other. Second - Eighth Traditionally: `2' - Material possessions, wealth or money, the five senses, material resources and circumstances. versus `8' - Crisis, death, other peoples resources, wills, inheritances, taxes, unearned money, the occult. Psychologically `2' - The material world and nature as a resource, and source of well being, attitude to possessions and material attachment. The senses. `8' - Psychic energies/resources and their transfer between people, the psychic or inner other, death, letting go of attachments, renewal. Third - Ninth Traditionally: `3' - Early environment, siblings, communication, short journeys, education, daily involvements. versus `9' - Travel, the professions and higher education, seeking meaning, teaching and religion, the propagation of ideas and ideals. Psychologically `3' - mental patterns and habitual ways of thinking an mental response to life, day to day communications of a personal nature, information. versus `9' - philosophical perspective, intuitive and synthesising awareness, the expansion of consciousness, meaning, patterns, generalities, the guide or teacher. Fourth - Tenth Traditionally: `4' - Home and mother, the family, domesticity, parental care, inheritance, real estate, the later life. versus `10'- Honours, career, profession, fame, ambition, public image, reputation, social position, authority figures and authority style. Psychologically `4' - emotional foundations, sense of personal belonging, family dynamics, past, nature of parental care, subjective feeling life. versus `10'- relationship to the cultural matrix, authority both inner and outer, place in the world, social role and aspirations, outer calling. Fifth - Eleventh Traditionally: `5' - Love, romance, children, creativity, pleasure, entertainment, performance, self confidence, gambling and speculation. versus `11'- Friends obtained in life, small groups, the future, ideals, clubs, political organisations etc. Psychologically `5' - self expression, doing things for their own sake, play, spontaneity, to be oneself, creativity as play and self expression, love as pleasure versus `11'- the peer group as arena of shared ideals and aspirations, small group as arena of personal sharing, meeting and self expression. Sixth - Twelfth Traditionally `6' - service, work, daily ordering of life, work habits, the body, health, employment and employees, habits and routine activities. versus `12'- hidden factors and forces, secrets, the hidden enemy, institutions, self sacrifice, chronic illnesses, self undoing. Psychologically `6' - ritual, ordering of life in accordance with inner rhythms, body as temple/vehicle of divine, magic, conscious interface of matter and psyche. versus `12'- undifferentiated and mystical awareness, meditation, unconscious factors, karma, addiction, victim/martyr mentality, inaccessible or hidden qualities. Each planetary placement in astrology is by sign and house. So the sign represents the deepest inherent factors in the psychological constitution whilst the house is the every day level of experience. Let look at some simple examples to illustrate. C G Jung had Sun in Leo in the Seventh House. The Sun as the Yang aspect of the ego complex and father image is important in Jung's make-up. The Leo Sun is a questing energy seeking to know itself in relation to a greater truth. The King, the bombast, with the arrogance of self importance. The Seventh house seeks these qualities also in projection on others, needs a role model to guide and hopefully civilise it. Jung's disappointment with his father who he felt had failed in his quest or given it up is part of this dynamic. Jung's kingly arrogance and sense of self importance is also strongly evident in his early life. His later father transference on Freud is also related to this projection dynamic. Jung perceived Freud to be a seeker who could guide and mentor him. That this projection later had to be relinquished is also important as Jung's individuation demanded an internalisation of the qualities he found in Freud and necessarily saw the shadow of. The `7' Leo Sun also makes Jung a very warm and personal character, able to carry the projections of others as mentor and guide in their own quests. C G Jung also had Moon in Taurus in the Third House Here the Yin aspect of the ego complex and mother image is related to earthy and everyday realities. In childhood this aspect was seen in Jung's relationship to his mother, her earthy, peasant simplicity and practicality with which he felt secure and at home. It is also interesting to note the many descriptions of Emma Jung as a down to earth, practical, solid, motherly to the depths of the earth character. With the third house Jung needed this sort of energy present in a day to day way in his life. This could be either through a person like his mother, or Emma, or through the evolution of his own rituals of earthing, the water works of his Confrontation with the unconscious period, and his retreats to the earthy domain of Bolingen where he had no electricity or running water and chopped wood and carved stone. These are but sketches of such major complexes but they suffice to show the power of this sort of psychological astrological approach. The full delineation of a complex involves relating each planet by its aspects to other points in the chart which would reveal the full complexity of the complex. As an example the visionary and unsettling otherworldly aura that Jung occasionally experienced in his mother may be indicated by his moon being squared to Uranus in Leo in the Seventh house. This indicates a tension between the earthy Moon and a visionary intuitive questing quality. This is also seen in Jung's own oft acknowledged ability to penetrate deeply into other's psyches in the one to one work, and in his ability to carry the projection of visionary groundbreaker for others even today. In its totality each complex would involve a Core Planet aspected in various formations, indicating positive and negative associations, to from one to 12 or 13 other planets or points. Astrology and Individuation In conclusion I would like to address briefly the issue of astrology and individuation. Clearly if astrology can be linked to Jungian psychology it should also be able to provide insights into individuation process of the person whose chart is being examined. The individual destiny and destination indicated by Jung should be evident in the chart. In a general sense, of course, I have argued for the chart as a means of delineating all the complexes, but does it carry specific indications about one's individuation journey? The nature of the Sun and Moon as complex cores, in the way I have outlined them, obviously indicate their importance as focii of ego development. In themselves they indicate the process of ego development and orientation in life. There are, however, other factors to be considered which indicate areas of life in which individuation dynamics are amplified. Broadly speaking these fall into the following three areas; (i) Strong aspects to the Nodes of the Moon indicate activated dynamics to do with collective versus individual consciousness. The need here is to find a fundamentally different perspective from one which is habitually held and in which collective the conflict between the requirements of individual consciousness are made conscious. Otherwise the tendency is to lapse into unconscious acceptance of collective values. (ii) where transpersonal planets are strongly aspected into chart dynamics. Indicates a need to integrate transpersonal archetypal energies into the ego complex and/or where they are challenging collective consciousness to travel by a more individual path in life. (iii) Where retrograde planets feature strongly by number and/or aspects in the chart. Indicates areas where separating subjective or personal dynamics from accepted social/collective perspectives is necessary for healthy development. Here if a personal planet is involved it is more primarily linked to the Self than everyday personal consciousness. So I will leave you hopefully somewhat more illuminated about the complexity and power of astrology as a psychological tool, and also more convinced of the authenticity of its claim to association with depth psychology as Jung himself conceived of it.