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Astrologer's Notes:
AstroDPsychology:A Synthesis |
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Calibrating Our
Emotional States
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by Glenn Perry, Ph.D., MFT |
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In the previous column, we examined how each sign of the zodiac not only symbolizes a set of interrelated needs, but also a range of emotional states. These states are carriers of affective signals, or motives, that move us to perform particular types of actions to satisfy needs. In general systems theory, the relationship of emotion to motivation can be described in terms of calibration and target states.
A target state is what one wishes to attain on an emotional level, i.e., it is a desired feeling. Whereas a motive is an impulse to do something, a target state is the end state desired. Target states, in other words, are what we actually feel when the motivating need is fulfilled. In the table below, I list some of these target or "goal" states along with their precipitating motives.
| Sign-Planet |
Motive |
Target State
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| Aries/Mars |
Survival, Freedom |
Joy & Aliveness |
| Taurus/Venus |
Safety, Security, Constancy |
Security
& Comfort |
| Gemini/Mercury |
Knowledge, Communication |
Mental Stimulation |
| Cancer/Moon |
Closeness, Caring, Belonging |
Caring & Acceptance
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| Leo/Sun |
Validation, Self-Esteem, Approval |
Pride & Confidence
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| Virgo/Mercury |
Productivity, Service, Competence |
Useful & Productive
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| Libra/Venus |
Intimacy, Relatedness, Beauty |
Intimate & Harmony
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| Scorpio/Pluto |
Transformation, Integration, Power |
Powerful & Centered
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| Sagittarius/Jupiter |
Meaning, Truth, Faith |
Optimistic & Expansive
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| Capricorn/Saturn |
Structure, Perfection, Success |
Orderly & Successful
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| Aquarius/Uranus |
Overview, Liberation, Change |
Objective & Detached
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| Pisces/Neptune |
Transcendence, Unity, Forgiveness |
Bliss & Compassion
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Sign/Planet Motives and Target States
Every individual has a range of permissible feeling for a given motivational system, e.g., for Capricorn-Saturn, we tolerate a certain amount of failure or lack of success, beyond which we are motivated to achieve. The term for this fixed range is the calibration, or "setting" of the motivational system. This setting operates like an emotional thermostat. Just as a thermostat automatically responds to temperature changes by activating heating or cooling mechanisms, so human beings automatically respond to changes in affective states by activating corrective behaviors.
With the Capricorn-Saturn system, if a person feels he is falling too far behind in his goals, he will tend to try harder; if he feels he is way ahead of schedule, he may, for the moment, relax and focus on some other need until he again feels an urgency to achieve. Each sign-planet in astrology has a desired state, e.g., Capricorn-Saturn would be a state of order, control, success, and so forth. The degree of realization of the preferred state is continually monitored by a reference signal -- an affect -- that specifies the amount of deviance from the "target state."
When a disturbance arises in the environment that has a destabilizing effect on the desired state, this effect is registered as a varying reference signal. The degree of variance from the target state represents a measure of error. The indication of error is then used to trigger a behavior that opposes the error. Thus, changes in action (output) are opposed to the effects of disturbance (input) in exact measure as to the degree of error from the target state.
To put this in astrological terms, imagine an individual with a strong Capricorn-Saturn component to his personality, the target state of which is a feeling of success and superior status. Of late, however, he has been underfunctioning on the job. Eventually his boss tells him that he is being demoted due to inferior performance. This is the disturbance; his affective response includes feelings of anxiety, guilt, and failure. As a reference signal, these affects vary markedly from the target state of success. To the extent that he feels unsuccessful, he is likely to compensate by working harder, staying focused, putting in extra time, and so on. His improved performance is calculated to counteract the feelings of guilt and failure that have been evoked by his demotion. His goal is to re-establish a feeling of success.
A primary goal of any system -- human or otherwise -- is to restore balance (homeostasis) by counteracting disturbance and re-attaining its target states. An emotional variable that has slipped out of its prescribed bounds is the system's equivalent of motivation in the sense that it leads the individual to search for a means to bring it back into line. The point here is that an organism does not simply respond to an environmental stimulus in a direct, linear fashion; rather it controls its responses by virtue of intrinsic reference signals -- emotions.
Human beings have internal needs, goals, and purposes independent of environmental circumstances. A person controls inputs in accord with the effect these inputs are likely to have on desired states, e.g., an individual employs ego defense mechanisms to protect his self-concept and maintain his customary level of self-esteem. If the disturbing effect is great, the compensatory response is great. The determining factor, again, is not the stimulus itself, but the person's assessment of the effect this stimulus will have on his preferred state.
As living systems, human beings utilize feedback to regulate their functioning. A feedback loop is a process in which information about one's current state is continually compared with one's desired state as a way of keeping on track. It begins with some internal standard of comparison-a desired state of optimal satisfaction. In an attempt to achieve and maintain the standard, people compare where they are to where they want to be. If there is congruence, they terminate that set of behaviors; if there is incongruence, they continue to strive. Miller (1960) conceptualized this as a TOTE unit, which stands for the sequence of Testing one's state against the standard, Operating if there is a discrepancy, again Testing, and finally Exiting when there is a match between the standard and one's state of being. If we were to analyze a Taurus-Venus motivational system, a TOTE unit would operate the following way:
1. Testing: A person experiences a need for security and is motivated to satisfy it. He has a standard, or preferred stat - prosperity -- and "tests" his current state against the standard. He then sets a specific goal that he hopes will satisfy the motive, and decides what behaviors are appropriate to achieve the goal. For example, he decides to embark on a savings plan of putting away $500 per/month.
2. Operation: He then implements his savings plan to attain the extrinsic goal of saving $500 per/month in hopes of satisfying the motivating need for increased security.
3. Testing: At completion of the behavior, i.e., after each month of successfully meeting his goal, he checks (tests) to see if accomplishment of the goal has led to the desired state of prosperity.
4. Exiting: If his need for increased security is satisfied from attaining the goal, that motive will cease to be dominant and a new motive becomes foremost. After several years of saving for example, he may decide he wants to enjoy life more and plans for regular vacations with his wife (Leo-Sun motivational system). If, however, his savings did not lead to satisfaction, then he will have to "operate" again by coming up with a new plan.
In the above example, we can see how the Venus target state of prosperity becomes the standard for the operation of a TOTE feedback loop. Once the person becomes aware of the potential satisfaction, he engages in a behavior -- saving money -- aimed at achieving the satisfaction. Upon reaching satisfaction, his state of being will match the standard and the sequence will end (or recede into the background). Every sign-planet motivational system operates in a similar way.
In subsequent columns, we will explore what happens when more than one motivational system is operative at the same time, i.e., when planets are in aspect. Suffice to say that the relative strength of a motive can be inferred from how a planet is constellated in the chart as a whole. If a planet receives many aspects and/or is in its own sign or house, then the affects related to that planet will be strongly experienced and will constitute a dominant motive. One cannot tell merely by looking at the chart, however, whether the planetary function is well integrated, only that it will be a dominant affect. Such a planet may symbolize a chronic "mood," for a mood is simply a relatively stable pattern of feeling -- a kind of global affective response pattern that is more diffuse and enduring than an affect. It may not be a response to a specific event, but rather expresses itself in certain qualities of feeling or "attitude" that saturate a person's every perception, thought, and behavior.
For example, if the planet is Jupiter, the person may be perpetually optimistic. If Saturn, the native could be chronically depressed, if Mars, continuously angry, and so on. These affects would repeatedly activate the corresponding planetary function to engage in some behavior that attempts to satisfy the need that the emotion conveys. Such a pattern of behavior would constitute a dominant trait.
To summarize, people become aware of basic needs through the processing of information from the environment and from their own physiology. They experience these needs as emotional states that motivate them to act in state-specified ways, i.e., to choose behavioral goals that will result in the desired state of need satisfaction. They tend to persist until the goals are achieved and the needs are satisfied. If their behavioral strategies prove effective, then goal attainment will result in need satisfaction and termination of the behavioral sequence. Otherwise, individuals are compelled to reevaluate their strategy and decide on a new goal or a new approach.
Astrologically, this process can be understood by relating sign-planet motivational systems to specific affects that are experienced on a range of intensity. Each sign-planet system has a target state, or preferred feeling, that is experienced as a varying reference signal. Deviation from the target state evokes a disturbing affect, which, in turn, stimulates a corrective planetary action that is calculated to achieve the desired feeling. Planets, therefore, symbolize flowing goal-oriented movements that constitute a series of operations conducing toward an end. Such processes involve continuous change until the goal state is reached. In the next column, we will explore how planets can be correlated with specific kinds of psychological states.
References
Miller, G.A., Galanter, E., & Pribram, K.A. (1960). Plans and the structure of behavior. NY: Holt.
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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