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Astrologer's Notes:
AstroDPsychology:A Synthesis |
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Planets As Faculties & Functions
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by Glenn Perry, Ph.D., MFT |
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A core tenet of AstroDPsychology is that planets symbolize functions that are oriented toward satisfying the needs of the signs they rule. Signs are motives; planets are their active agents. Another way of saying this is that a planet (including the Sun and Moon) symbolizes a psychological faculty, which can be defined as an inherent power or ability to perform various functions. In other words, a planetary faculty is defined by the functions that it symbolizes. A function is the normal, proper, or characteristic action of any thing; thus, planetary faculties perform functions -- asserting, attracting, thinking, listening, creating, serving, engaging, and so forth.
Planetary functions involve certain actions, and these actions are motivated by needs. This implies that motivation and function are as inseparable as a rocket and its fuel tank. In fact, each sign-planet pairing can be regarded as a motivational system. When we talk about the body, we refer to specific systems such as the cardiovascular system, the gastrointestinal system, and the endocrine system. Likewise, there are psychological systems as well. Aries-Mars rules the competitive/assertion system, Taurus-Venus the security/stability system, and Capricorn-Saturn the control/mastery system. A sign-planet is a "motivational system" because it entails an interaction between two components of the psyche -- sign and planet. As needs, signs motivate their ruling planets to perform specific functions, and these functions involve appropriate actions that serve the underlying motive.
Abraham Maslow (1968) proposed that human beings are born with an essential nature that is analogous with physical structure. Just so in astrology, psychological functions are analogous to biological ones. The functions of digestion and elimination, for example, are paralleled by corresponding psychological processes. Just as we digest food, so we digest information, breaking it down into useful parts and assimilating it into our cognitive structure. We also eliminate on a psychological level, as when we experience catharsis, abreaction, or overcome a destructive mental habit. This is why both the biological and corollary psychological functions are ruled by the same planets/signs.
Whereas the Virgo-Mercury system governs the intestines, gastrointestinal system, and overall food metabolism, it also governs psychological process of analyzing and utilizing information in the service of competence -- a clear corollary to the process of digestion on a biological level. Likewise, both biological and psychological processes of elimination are ruled by Scorpio-Pluto. On a biological level, Scorpio-Pluto governs the sexual/generative organs, bladder, prostate gland, testicles, colon, and rectum. Note that these organ systems are involved in processes of ejection and elimination, e.g., ovulation and menstruation in the female and ejaculation in the male. Psychologically, Scorpio-Pluto rules sexuality and tends to be penetrating, erotic, and regenerative by its very nature. It also involves psycho-eliminative processes such as the purging of destructive emotions and habits. These two examples -- Virgo-Mercury and Scorpio-Pluto -- should suffice to illustrate how a sign-planet system is analogous to a biological system, and symbolizes a specific type of action that is in the service of a psychological need, or motive.
A planet's functions can be inferred from actions that characterize its nature. This is simply a matter of inductive reasoning. By observing characteristic actions of a planet, one can discern where the actions are leading to, i.e., the purpose of the behavior. An action is any behavior that is goal-directed, or is done for a reason. If one observes that Neptune is implicated in spiritual strivings, concern for the less fortunate, redemptive love, charity, psi abilities, fantasy, and dreams, the functions of Neptune would have to account for all actions classified as Neptunian.
If we call Neptune the Transcendent Function, this may suffice, for spiritual strivings are in the service of transcending the separate self-sense and uniting with a higher consciousness. Concern for the less fortunate, charity, and redemptive love require one to transcend his or her self-interest and act to relieve the suffering of others. Psi abilities involve cognitive capacities that transcend rational intellect and sensory experience, while fantasy and dreams involve the perception of ideals and possibilities that transcend everyday, material reality. While no single word may do justice to the diverse forms this archetypal process takes, Transcendent Function is as good a term as any.
Any characteristic action of a planet can be converted from a verb into a noun, which gives us a name for that function. For example, Neptune symbolizes the verbs to imagine, to empathize, and to intuit. By converting these verbs into nouns we get three additional functions of Neptune - the functions of imagination, empathy, and intuition. Each term captures a facet of a complex, psychological faculty.
Again, functions are always in the service of needs. For every need represented by a sign, there is a planet (function) devoted to the fulfillment of that need. Signs and planets form verb-noun pairs, as it were, the planet being the active agent (verb) of the sign (noun) over which it "rules." Saturn, for instance, is the planet that rules Capricorn. The noun form of Capricorn might best be described as the drive for perfection in material form -- or, put more simply, the need for order, structure and control. Saturn, as the verb form and active agent of Capricorn, would fulfill its need by ordering, structuring, and controlling within the behavioral environment. Hence, Saturn would represent the verbs "to order," "to structure," and "to control." In this regard, every planet symbolizes a particular kind of activity. Planets are actors and each one acts in a different way. Saturn, for example, symbolizes activities that are related to the goals of achievement, ambition, and seeking status.
In an actual chart, Saturn would be in a particular sign. Let us say, for instance, that Saturn is in Gemini. Thus, we have the syntax of an astrological sentence: the need of Capricorn (noun) is fulfilled by Saturn (verb) in a Gemini manner (adverb), or "the need for order is fulfilled by achieving intellectually." Saturn in Gemini represents the drive for perfection through the ordering of mental constructs. We might have an individual, for instance, with an obsessive need to structure language into a logical system. Perhaps he might write a book on linguistics or devise a theory of syntax. The Gemini sign placement merely suggests how Saturn fulfills its Capricorn-need and what some possible outcomes might be.
The point here is that the needs symbolized by signs provide the motivation that triggers the functions represented by planets. How and whether those functions satisfy their motivating needs is indicated by a host of additional factors including the planet's sign and house position and its aspects to other planets. The degree to which a planet can satisfy its sign-need is a measure of that planet's functionality (or dysfunctionality). This is a topic that will be explained more fully in subsequent columns. In the next section, we will explore how sign-needs are experienced as emotions that trigger behaviors calculated to achieve specific ends.
References
Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.
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"Astrology is a religion inasmuch as it reveals the anatomy and psychology of God."
~ Manly Palmer Hall
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Glenn Perry,
Ph.D., MFT
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Glenn Perry, Ph.D., MFT
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Director of the Association for Astrological Psychology
Board Member of the International Society of Astrological Research
Glenn Perry lectures and conducts workshops throughout the world on the application of astrology to the fields of counseling and psychotherapy.
He has written four books, including "Essays In Psychological Astrology," and teaches classes in Astro-Psychology at various colleges on the west coast.
Information on Glenn's books, tapes, and on-line mentorship program can be obtained at:
www.aaperry.com.
E-mail: aaperry@attbi.com
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