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Astrologer's Notes:
AstroDPsychology:A Synthesis |
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The Archetypal Origins of Motivation
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by Glenn Perry, Ph.D., MFT |
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Last month we discussed how Maslow's hierarchical system of needs conforms nicely to the structure of the zodiac. In this column, we're going to take a more philosophical bent and discuss the origins of consciousness and, thus, the root source of human motivations. If our basic needs are not mere by-products of physiology, then where do they come from? Jung's (1960) theory of the archetype provides an answer.
Through study of the religions, myths, legends, and fairy tales of different cultures, Jung discovered that much of the content of individual consciousness -- dreams, fantasies, thoughts -- seemed rooted in a collective consciousness shared by all human beings. The deeper levels of the mind hinted at an objective consciousness belonging to the entire human race rather than being the personal and subjective property of a particular individual. His term for this was the collective unconscious, or objective psyche, since it contained material that was not simply repressed but may never have surfaced into individual awareness.
When the structures of the collective unconscious do surface into awareness, they tend to clothe themselves in the images and symbols of one's particular culture; yet, they conform to certain universal patterns that can be observed in all cultures. Jung called these patterns archetypes and thought them to be innate structures of human consciousness. In fact, Jung referred to the archetype as "the self-portrait of the instinct" because, as a primordial image, it was symbolic of fundamental human needs as manifest in patterns of emotional and mental behavior.
While Jung called these universal ordering principles archetypes and postulated that they were structural elements of the psyche, this is a specifically psychological term for a concept that links human consciousness to a much broader and deeper consciousness. In Neoplatonic philosophy, universal consciousness is called Psyche. Plato alleged that the One Universal Mind manifested certain incorporeal forms called Ideas that are the models or archetypes of all things having substance. Whereas Jungian archetypes are thought to be formal principles of the human psyche, Platonic archetypes are regarded as the essential principles of reality itself. These Forms or Ideas have their eternal abode in monads -- irreducible units of divine essence -- commonly referred to as the "gods". And the gods themselves reside in that which is their common source, monads within the one Supreme Monad.
Issuing forth from these divine Ideas and flowing downwards through the hierarchy of Being, a spiritual energy impregnated Nature with certain patterns on mental, biological and physical levels. The order and content of the world, therefore, depended upon an intelligible sphere replete with the Ideas of all things. The visible Universe was a huge organism ensouled by a divine Mind, out of which emerged certain formative principles that became the generative matrix for all natural phenomena.
By reducing the Platonic Form to a structural element of human consciousness, the Jungian archetype is, in effect, a sort of localization of a transcendent pattern that exists in Nature as a whole. The point is that the archetype cannot properly be localized or reduced to merely something within the psyche, for no matter how deep the archetype's roots penetrate the human psyche, this is still a local concept. The archetype is without as well, an animating and formative pattern of Nature that binds psyche to cosmos.
The origin of human motivation, therefore, is not the body; nor can it be, strictly speaking, the mind. The origin of psychological motivation is the Universe itself. Neoplatonic philosophy regards archetypes as dynamic ordering principles that generate the structure of the Universe at all levels. Motives that animate human beings, therefore, also animate the Universe. Needs that impel human behavior have their parallels in animal instincts and may encompass the whole of life and possibly even beyond, into matter itself. As the ultimate cause behind all movement in Nature, the one Universal Psyche was thought to be present as a creative pressure in all creatures, both animate and inanimate, as well as being the final goal toward which all life moved by natural inclination. Such movement was not impelled by intellectual resolution, or conscious design, but by the simple and inevitable impulse to release all available potentials.
Recall that Jung considered the archetype to be the deepest, most primitive element of the psyche. Conversely, Maslow (1968) alleged that basic instinctual needs such as survival, safety, belonging, and self-esteem are the motive springs of human consciousness. In our astrological model, however, these terms are more or less equivalent. To paraphrase Jung, the archetype is "the self-portrait of the need" -- i.e., it is an image, or symbol, of a human motive. While Jung never organized his system of archetypes into a precise model of clearly defined motivational correlates, it was clear that he regarded archetypes as motivating dynamisms, i.e., transindividual entities that were attributes of a Universal Psyche and the human psyche. Each archetype is an autonomous, dynamic nucleus of concentrated psychic energy -- a god within -- that is inherently intelligent and intentional. Archetypes, in effect, are the "innate ideas" of both psyche and cosmos; human beings are populated by Forms that shape our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.
What we are proposing here is that zodiacal signs and their respective ruling planets constitute a twelve-drive model that connects human motivation to core archetypal processes that are immanent at every level of Nature. Every psychological need is an extension of a basic organizing principle in the Universe. As a symbol of a universal principle, an archetype cannot be precisely defined or reduced to a single image, for there can be more than one image for any motive just as there can be more than one word for a need.
As a symbol of transformation, for example, a Scorpio archetype might manifest as a shaman (one who transforms), a villain (that which needs to be transformed), or a monster (representing fear of transformation). Likewise, as a symbol of the need for change and liberation, Aquarian characters include tricksters, rebels, mad scientists, and eccentric oddballs. Obviously, we do not run into all of these archetypal characters in real life; monsters, thankfully, are confined to the landscapes of our dreams. The point is that every archetypal manifestation is a metaphor for a motive, and often depicts the degree to which that motive is integrated within the psyche. For example, if the Scorpio archetype is dishonored within the psyche, so that the individual suffers an unreasonable and excessive fear of transformation, then that archetype is likely to manifest in a behavior or an event that takes a monstrous form -- murdering one's wife, molesting a child, becoming a victim of terrorism, or other such horrific manifestations that characterize an unintegrated Scorpio-Pluto.
In next month's column, we'll examine why Jung's concept of synchronicity suggests that external events are extensions of an internal, motivating factor.
References
Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.
Perry, G. (1997). Introduction to AstroPsychology. San Rafael, CA: AAP Press (available at: 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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