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Astrologer's Notes:
AstroDPsychology:A Synthesis |
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Planetary Behavioral Goals
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by Glenn Perry, Ph.D., MFT |
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In last month's column, I discussed how planetary states constitute a recurrent pattern of experience that involves mood, attitude, internal dialogue, and behavior. Such states can be undermodulated, overmodulated, or well modulated, depending upon the planet's degree of integration. Undermodulated states tend to spin out-of-control, whereas overmodulated states are too controlled. Well-modulated states are spontaneous, readily controlled, and lead to experiences of need satisfaction. In this column, we will extend our discussion by considering how planetary states give rise to behavioral goals.
Recall that an emotional state can be an affective signal that spurs a particular kind of action, depending upon the nature of the situation and the feelings engendered. For example, if a woman feels attracted to a man at a social event, then in all likelihood her Venus has been activated. She may signal her attraction in any number of ways, e.g., by being forward (Aries), sensual (Taurus), talkative (Gemini), responsible (Capricorn), and so forth. Her Venusian style is, in part, described by Venus' sign position, which qualifies the nature of the action taken.
Style, however, is only one of the meanings of a planetary sign position. When people become aware of motives through corollary affects, they establish a behavioral goal that is designed to satisfy the motivating need and achieve a preferred state. Whereas the planet describes the action, e.g., Venus socializes, the sign position suggests the object of the action. If the woman has her Venus in Capricorn, her behavioral goal may be to advance her career by networking with the rich and powerful. The man she is attracted to may be the CEO of a company where she hopes to be hired. If she succeeds in engaging him in conversation and makes a suitably positive impression, she has accomplished two things: (1) she has satisfied her Libran need for social relatedness by activating the appropriate Venus function, and (2) she has satisfied her Venus Capricorn goal of engaging the CEO in a manner that might advance her career. In short, Venus in Capricorn describes both the style and the object of the Venusian action.
By now it should be apparent that when people become aware of motives through experiencing their corollary affects, they then must decide how to satisfy the motive. An isolated person (Venus) may decide to seek out a relationship; a curious person (Mercury) decides to study a subject; an ambitious person (Saturn) decides to redouble her efforts in pursuit of a practical goal. In short, people choose behaviors they expect will lead to outcomes that produce the desired satisfaction. This motivational sequence can be described in three stages: affect, action, and goal. Using Venus as an example, it would look something like this:
Stage 1: Affect -- a feeling of attraction that signals the Libran need for social relatedness.
Stage 2: Action -- Venus is activated and performs a series of actions -- socializing, flirting, accommodating -- to satisfy the Libran need.
Stage 3: Goal -- Venus' sign position defines a specific, concrete goal that serves as the focus of action.
Each planet symbolizes a different kind of action. The Sun expresses, the Moon listens, Mercury learns, Mars asserts, Venus attracts, Jupiter expands, Saturn orders, Uranus awakens, Neptune dissolves, and Pluto transforms. Of course, a planet's propensity for action can be described by more than one verb. Each planet actually symbolizes a class of related actions, all of which are designed to satisfy a need and achieve a target state.
The goal of a behavior, however, is different from its motive and target state. Motives are intrinsic and are symbolized by signs that planets rule. Aries is the need for survival, which motivates the planetary action to assert (Mars). Assertion is the action that is designed to satisfy the intrinsic motive of survival. If the person succeeds in his goal, then a sense of having survived (or simply of having the right to be) is the intrinsic reward, which is the target state. In other words, if Martian action leads to a state of aliveness and a sense that one is a free, autonomous agent capable of acting in one's own self-interest, then the target state of Mars has been attained. While a target state is the subjective goal of a planet, there can be an objective goal as well, which is what I'm defining as the planetary behavioral goal. A behavioral goal differs from a target state in that it has to do with an extrinsic reward or external outcome, the attainment of which ideally leads to (a) satisfaction of the motive, and (b) attainment of the target state.
For example, an individual may decide to assert in an effort to protect his loved ones (Mars in Cancer), or perhaps in defense of astrology as a valid belief system (Mars in Sagittarius), or in order to obtain a promotion (Mars in Capricorn). In each instance, he asserts his right to be; yet, in each case the behavioral goal is different -- to protect loved ones, defend astrology, or obtain a promotion. Note how the extrinsic reward differs from the intrinsic one. The intrinsic goal (target state) of Mars is always the same: to survive, to feel alive and free, which is symbolized by Aries. However, Mars' sign position defines the extrinsic goal. With Mars in Cancer the extrinsic reward is that his friends are protected, in Sagittarius that his belief in astrology is successfully defended, and in Capricorn that he obtains the promotion. These different sign positions serve to illustrate how the object of an action is described by the sign the planet occupies, whereas the sign the planet rules describes the motivation behind the goal.
In attempting to delineate the behavioral goal of a planet's action, it is helpful to simply ask "what?" If Mar's asserts, what does Mars assert? If Venus attracts, what does Venus attract? The planetary sign position is the direct object of the planetary verb. A direct object receives the action of the verb and answers the question "what?"
Sun: I express. I express what?
Moon: I care: I care about what?
Jupiter: I believe: I believe what?
Again, planetary signs constitute the last phase of a three-part motivational sequence. Phase one is awareness of the emotion that conveys a need, which is followed by the impulse to behave in a way that satisfies the need. The third phase is the establishment of a specific goal for the requisite action. What I'm suggesting is that the goal -- the extrinsic reward -- very often has something to do with the planetary sign position.
Let's consider one more example. Imagine that an individual feels curious and thus becomes aware of a need for information (Gemini). His Mercury function of learning is activated. But what is he curious about? What does he desire to learn? If Mercury is in Scorpio, he might be curious about sex, death, crime, or the machinations of power. He then acts with this object in mind, e.g., he might decide to read about the life of Charles Manson, for the topics of sex, death, crime, and power would be strongly in evidence. If reading Manson's biography satisfies his desire to learn, then the behavioral sequence will be terminated. If not, he will have to set another goal based on his awareness that the Manson biography did not sufficiently satisfy his craving for Scorpionic data. The point here is that Mercury's sign position symbolizes the behavioral goal of the sequence --reading the Manson biography. If the goal is not satisfied, he will have to establish another behavioral goal for Mercury. We can predict with some certainty that whatever he chooses to study will be in accord with his Mercury sign position of Scorpio. Perhaps he'll launch into an investigation of global terrorism or teenage prostitution or corporate corruption.
The goal of a planetary action is not always related to its sign position. A person may have Mars in Gemini and fight to protect his loved ones, which has nothing to do with Gemini. In this case, the sign position may merely describe the style of action that characterizes the planet. Mars in Gemini may assert to protect loved ones by giving the offending person a verbal tongue-lashing! While a planet's behavior is not limited to goals symbolized by its sign position, the sign position will tend to establish a predominant theme or field of interest for the planet.
In delineating an actual chart, it is well to keep in mind that all one can do is establish probable meanings for various parts -- a planet in a sign, in a house, in aspect to another planet, and so on. A real person, however, is more than the sum of the parts, for every process activates other processes in the same way that the human body is a network of interrelated biological functions in a process of simultaneous, continuous operation. When interpreting a chart, the astrologer gradually builds a coherent story by layering and linking meanings until ultimately a real person emerges. Thus interpretation is not only about discerning the meanings of parts, it also about constructing those meanings into a larger, more complex whole. The ultimate goal is to develop a deeper and fuller understanding of the person symbolized by the chart.
In next month's column, we'll shift gears by differentiating content from process. Thus far we've been describing astrological archetypes primarily in terms of processes --needs, functions, beliefs, and impulses that characterize a person's inner life. Content, however, is the outcome of psychological functioning, and shows up as specific types of situations, events, and people that the individual experiences.
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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 Psychological Astrology
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 six books, including "Essays In Psychological Astrology".
Dr. Perry is the founder and president of the Academy of AstroPsychology, a masters and doctoral degree program.
For more information:
www.astropsychology.org
Information on Glenn's books, tapes, and on-line mentorship program can be obtained at:
www.aaperry.com.
E-mail: glenn@aaperry.com
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