w

Astrologer's Notes:
AstroDPsychology:A Synthesis
Jung and The Birth of Psychological Astrology
by Glenn Perry, Ph.D., MFT
It was the Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, who first recognized the vast potential of astrology as a tool for exploring the depths of the human psyche. In various writings throughout his life, Jung made reference to his profound respect for astrology. He asserted that astrology had a great deal to contribute to psychology and admitted to having employed it with some frequency in his analytic work with clients. In cases of difficult psychological diagnosis, Jung would draw up a horoscope in order to have a further point of view from an entirely different angle. "I must say," said Jung, "that I very often found that the astrological data elucidated certain points which I otherwise would have been unable to understand" (1948).


Jung (1976) regarded the signs and planets of astrology as symbols of archetypal processes that originated in the collective unconscious. The archetypes of the collective unconscious were the universal organizing principles underlying and motivating all psychological life, both individual and collective. Whereas mythology placed its emphasis upon the cultural manifestations of archetypes at various times and places in history, astrology utilized archetypes as a language for understanding the basic psychological drives of human beings. "Astrology, like the collective unconscious with which psychology is concerned, consists of symbolic configurations: the planets are the gods, symbols of the power of the unconscious." The gods of mythology represented the living forces of the universe that patterned all things. Like Plato's Forms, an archetype was both subjective and objective; it was evident both in the innate ideas of human consciousness as well as in the fundamental processes of nature; it informed not only human experience but also planetary motions.


It was precisely this dual nature of the archetype that enabled the chart to bridge inner character with the outer events that reflected that character. "There are many instances of striking analogies between astrological constellations and psychological events or between the horoscope and the characterological disposition," wrote Jung (1976). Archetypes, he concluded, were psychoid; i.e., they shape matter as well as mind. An astrological configuration defined both the innate disposition of the individual and the particular kinds of outer conditions that the individual was likely to experience. In a 1954 interview, Jung stated, "One can expect with considerable assurance, that a given well-defined psychological situation will be accompanied by an analogous astrological
configuration."


Jung recognized that the unique and unparalleled ability of astrology to disclose correlations between planetary motions and human experience also made it an accurate way of timing life crises: "I have observed many cases where a well-defined psychological phase or an analogous event has been accompanied by a transit-particularly the afflictions of Saturn and Uranus" (1954).


Jung's observance of correlations between psychological phenomena and astrological data contributed to the formulation of his theory of synchronicity. He defined synchronicity as "the simultaneous occurrence of a certain psychic state with one or more external events which appear as meaningful parallels to the momentary subjective state" (1955, p. 36). Accordingly, Jung did not hesitate to take the synchronistic phenomena that underlay astrology seriously. Astrology, he thought, worked precisely because of synchronicity, i.e., the psychic structure of the person about to be born was "meaningfully paralleled" in the positions of the planets at that time.


When looking for a way to test the hypothesis of synchronicity, Jung set up an astrological experiment that correlated planetary configurations, or cross aspects, between the charts of marital partners. He hypothesized that certain cross aspects would appear with greater frequency between the charts of marital partners than between charts of people who had no relationship. "The meaningful coincidence we are looking for is immediately apparent in astrology," said Jung, "since the astrological data...correspond to individual traits of character; and from the remotest times the various planets, houses, zodiacal signs, and aspects have all had meanings that serve as a basis for a character study" (1955, p. 43-4).


Although Jung never developed any systematic theory of astrology, it appears that his own theory of analytical psychology was heavily influenced by it. There are so many parallels that one is almost forced to conclude that at least some of his major concepts were borrowed directly from astrology. In addition to his explicit endorsement of planets as archetypes and his theory of synchronicity as a means for explaining astrological coincidences, Jung's notion of two attitude types -- extrovert and introvert -- is readily recognizable by astrologers as the bi-polar division of the zodiac into two polarities -- positive/masculine (extrovert) and negative/feminine (introvert) signs.


Likewise, his four function types -- intuition, sensation, thinking, and feeling -- are roughly paralleled in astrology by the four elements -- fire, earth, air, and water. In addition to these more obvious analogues, there are additional correlations that have been explored by astrologers. These include ego/Sun, persona/Ascendant, shadow/Pluto, anima/Venus, animus/Mars, and collective unconscious/Neptune. Difficult astrological configurations, especially those involving hard aspects from the outer planets to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Moon, or Sun, have been observed by astrologers to represent trouble spots in the personality similar to what Jung described as psychic complexes, i.e., unconscious, emotionally charged memories, images, and thoughts clustered around a central core.


Subsequent to Jung, there were a number of psychologically oriented astrologers who drew inspiration from Jung's pioneering efforts. In next month's column, we'll discuss their contributions and name and give credit to these astrologers.





* * * * *



References


Jung, C. (1962). Commentary. In R. Wilhelm (Trans. & Ed.), The secret of the golden flower. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World.
Jung, C. (1948). Letter to Professor B.V. Raman. American Astrology, June, 1948.
Jung, C. (1954). Interview with Andre Barbault. Astrologie Moderne, May 26, 1954.
Jung, C. (1955). Synchronicity: An acausal connecting principle. In C. Jung & W. Pauli, The Interpretation of nature and psyche (pp. 1-146). New York: Pantheon.
Jung, C. (1976). C.G. Jung: Letters (Volume II). Edited by G. Adler and A. Jaffe (R.F.C. Hull, trans.). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
"Astrology is a religion inasmuch as it reveals the anatomy and psychology of God."

~ Manly Palmer Hall
Glenn Perry,
 Ph.D., MFT

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

You'll find it in
The
Directory!