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Astrologer's Notes:
AstroDPsychology:A Synthesis |
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Planetary Emotions
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by Glenn Perry, Ph.D., MFT |
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At the heart of AstroPsychology is the simple assertion: needs motivate. As a theory of motivation, our AstroPsychology model must deal with human feelings and emotions, as feelings/emotions are inseparable from motivational processes. Once a felt need begins to dominate awareness, that person is motivated to engage in behaviors that satisfy the need. People act out of anger, fear, love, excitement, pride, shame, aesthetic pleasure, and so on. Yet, the exact nature of emotional responses is a complex phenomenon that has spawned a considerable amount of research over the last 100 years, including entire books dedicated to the subject (Jones, 1995; Goleman, 1995). In this column, we will explore the significance of emotion for an astrological theory of personality. I will propose that emotions are "archetypal voices" of sign-planet motivational systems and that they function as barometers of need satisfaction.
From the ancient Greeks to the middle of the 18th century, what we now call emotions were commonly referred to as passions. Passion derives from the Latin, pati, which in turn is related to the Greek, pathos, meaning suffering. Also related to passion are such terms as passivity and patient. Emotions are experienced passively in the sense that they are beyond the individual's control, as when a patient "succumbs" to illness. The term emotion comes from the Latin, e + movere, which originally meant to migrate or transfer from one place to another. It was also used to refer to states of agitation or perturbation, whether physical or psychological. Emotion thus emphasizes the often stormy or turbulent nature of emotional reactions, and their tendency to arouse and activate behavior.
Averill (1980) points out that at the root of these concepts is the notion that an individual who is experiencing emotion is undergoing or suffering some change, as opposed to doing or initiating change. In other words, emotions are passively rather than actively experienced. Colloquially, the experience of passivity during emotion is expressed in many ways. We "fall" in love, are "paralyzed" by fear, "plagued" with doubt, "haunted" by guilt," "torn" by jealousy, "carried away" with joy, "consumed" by envy, "seized" with remorse, and so forth. In archetypal psychology, one speaks of "daimon possession," meaning the usurpation of the total personality by a split-off part. This way of speaking implies that emotions are something that happen to us, not something we do. It is as though emotions were alien forces that "overcome" and "possess" an individual.
Jones (1995) declares that emotions, or "affects" (the two terms being synonymous), are best understood as presymbolic representatives and governors of motivational systems. An emotion is presymbolic because it is a way of knowing that does not depend upon the symbol systems we call language, and it is the experiential representative of a motive because it conveys information about our state of being and what we need at any given moment. In short, an affect is an analog of a psycho-physiological state. Just as sense organs within the brain monitor the body's states and needs through feelings such as hunger, thirst, and temperature, so emotions provide a continuous readout of how the psyche is functioning. If a person's survival is jeopardized, he feels fear; if his desire for learning is stimulated, he feels curious; if his need for self-esteem is met, he feels proud. "Emotions are the experiential monitor of complex motivational systems," says Jones. "By cross-comparing the affective intensity of feelings from competing systems, the organism has a simple, effective way of prioritizing information and thus reaching a decision, which, in turn, initiates a course of action" (p. 45). It is in this regard that emotions are governors of motivational systems.
We can think of this astrologically by relating each sign-planet motivational system to a specific range of affects. Consider, for example, a young man with Mars square Moon who regularly experiences a simultaneous desire for freedom (Aries-Mars) and closeness (Cancer-Moon). As one motivational system is competing with another, the intensity of the competing affects allow for a quick means of prioritizing information and determining choice. If our young man recently spent a considerable amount of time alone, it is likely that his Cancer-Moon motivational system will have greater affective intensity, thus motivating him to seek closeness. However, if he just enjoyed an intimate weekend with his girlfriend at home, his Aries-Mars motivational system is likely to become dominant and he will feel an urge to separate.
The connection between emotions and motives is illustrated by the etymologic history of the terms; both words are derivatives of the Latin movere and its past participle motivere. In effect, emotions are subjective experiences that "move" us to action. Recall that Maslow referred to needs as "impulse-voices." If sufficiently attuned to these archetypal voices, one can "hear" what they want. Asked to account for his sudden separation from his girlfriend, the young man might say, "something was telling me to leave; I had to get away." Affects are prime motivators of behavior. "Cross-sectionally, affects provide the principle means of identifying moment-to-moment shifts in motivational dominance" writes Lichtenberg (1989, p. 260). In other words, emotions provide the affective signal indicating what motivational system is operative. If planets could talk, each would have a characteristic imperative; each would have has its own distinct internal voice.
Aries-Mars: "Just do it! Go for it! It's your right."
Taurus-Venus: "If it feels good, enjoy it. Pleasure yourself. Mellow out."
Gemini-Mercury: "That's interesting; define and classify it. Put on your thinking cap."
Cancer-Moon: "Listen, turn inward; what are you feeling now?"
Leo-Sun: "Let it shine, baby. Express yourself!"
Virgo-Mercury: "Be careful, there's a problem here. Figure it out."
Libra-Venus: "Turn on the charm and engage. Consider, compromise, and cooperate."
Scorpio-Pluto: "Face your fear and take it to the limit; it's do or die. Get down and dirty."
Sagittarius-Jupiter: "Keep the faith, baby. God is good. Just do the right thing."
Capricorn-Saturn: "Bear down and focus. Concentrate. Control yourself."
Aquarius-Uranus: "Expect the unexpected. Stay open and detached."
Pisces-Neptune: "Let go and let God. Surrender. Trust the Universe."
The above examples illustrate how we experience the planets as a form of self-talk. These are our inner voices, the archetypal imperatives that tell us what to do through specific emotional signals that are converted into symbolic language. For example, we might feel angry (Mars) and then say to ourselves, "I've got to fight; he can't do that to me!" If we feel attracted (Venus), we might think: "Be nice; let them know you are interested." Each planetary state has its own agenda and behavioral imperative. One may experience conflicting emotions and voices as evidenced by hard aspects between planets, a subject we will take up in later columns.
As analogs of psycho-physiological states, affects are experienced through a range of intensity. This intensity gradient can be described by pairs of words that represent opposite extremes of emotion along a continuum. In our astrological model, there is a different affective range for each planet, e.g., Mars is joy®rage; the Sun is pride®shame; Neptune is bliss®grief, and so on. Experienced changes in intensity are the analogic representation of complex sensing systems that allow us to make quantitative distinctions, such as how angry is the person (Mars), how determined (Saturn), or how proud (Sun). Intensity variations in affects provide the means for prioritizing needs: the loudest, most intense affect is the one that gains our attention and thus activates the behavioral sequences of that motivational system.
Planetary emotions also differ qualitatively along a continuum of affective states. This qualitative range illustrates various degrees of integration of sign-planet motivational systems. A well-integrated, fully functional planet will more often be experienced in terms of positive affects, whereas a repressed, weak planetary function will more often be experienced in terms of negative affects. If, for example, an individual has difficulty with the Capricorn-Saturn motive, he is more likely to experience the negative end of Saturn's emotional continuum -- despair, pessimism, and inferiority. However, if he overcomes this tendency and works to strengthen his Saturn function, he is more likely to experience its positive states -- a feeling of control, success, and superior status.
In next month's column, we'll explore how the relationship of emotion to motivation can be described in terms of calibration and target states, and how these, in turn, are depicted in the astrological chart.
References
Averill, J.R. (1980). The emotions. In E. Staub (Ed.) Personality: Basic aspects and current research (pp. 133-199). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.
Jones, J. (1995). Affects as process. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Lichtenberg, J. (1989) Psychoanalysis and motivation. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Perry, G. (1998) Introduction to AstroPsychology. San Rafael, CA: APA Press (Available only through www.aaperry.com).
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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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