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Astrology Notes: Cosmic Creation:
Living the Drama
of the Horoscope
Part 2
byJeff Jawer |
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The Three-Legged Table
The use of improvisations with astrological novices is a valuable teaching technique. Henry Weingarten has used planetary role-playing in his NASO school in New York. He has demonstrated the nature of a singleton planet by separating himself from the class seated before him. The concept of this "isolated" planet was easily understood when put in this real-life situation.
I've used Astro-Drama to demonstrate the dynamics of T-squares in several workshops. One example was for a chart which had the Moon in Aries in the 9th opposing Mercury in Libra in the 3rd and square Uranus in the 12th in Cancer. Here we have a dynamic situation in which the mind and the emotions appear to be at odds. Uncontrollable impulses leap from the unconscious to further confuse the issue. One person played each one of the planets in this pattern. The Moon in Aries person was pushy and impatient for action. He kept insisting that his feelings come first. The Mercury in Libra person kept equivocating. She tried to reason with the Moon, but could not give him the single answer he was looking for: As Uranus in the 12th, I waited for inopportune times to burst in with emotional irrelevancies.
The three of us had a confusing, circular conversation that did little to explain how to deal with these diverse energies. We were tense and just a bit out of control. Astrological practice has taught us that a T-square is a three-legged table: the energies involved are out of balance and can be a primary source of stress for the individual. We can find a way to balance these energies by positing a planet in the open leg of the T-square, in this case Capricorn in the 6th house. We obviously needed some control of our functions in order to have the Moon, Mercury and Uranus work together rather than against one another. A fourth person was called upon to play a hypothetical Saturn in Capricorn. She immediately calmed us down! She would not permit any part of the pattern to take control, throwing the others out of balance. She caused us to see how we functioned as parts of a whole individual, rather than as mere pieces of a chart. This Astro-Drama was able to demonstrate how the different planets pull at one another in a stress pattern. The building nature of the square aspect could only be fulfilled through control of the energies involved. The individual whose chart we were using could clearly see the challenges she faced between her objective perception and her subjective emotions. Playing the planets brought them to life and clearly outlined the nature of the stress in her chart. Application of the fourth-planet technique opened up doors for her by showing the necessity for order within herself. She is now able to recognize that emotion needn't pay for perception and vice versa. Each has its function within a well-integrated person. By physically placing ourselves in the T-square pattern, we were able to visualize the different directions and drives represented in the chart and were therefore better able to understand its meaning.
Another way of teaching using Astro-Drama is to ask students to describe the planetary or Zodiacal energies behind their everyday activities. Washing up in the morning and brushing the teeth remind us of Mercury's attention to detail. Rushing to the car to get to work on time is a lesson in martian haste. The rigid discipline of the old classroom teacher is reminiscent of Saturn's realm. Those of us in astrology will often use these terms to describe our experiences. "That guy sure is saturnian." "That guy (the one with the nervous tic and the endless monologue) is quite mercurial." Our astrological school, therefore, is in front of us each and every day. There is no activity of human experience that cannot be described in astrological terms. The beginning student is encouraged to use lists of planetary and Zodiacal traits to relate life to astrological literature. Everyday we see before us expressions of the planets in human form. Just as Astro-Drama is designed to feed more than our minds, it can also take learning from the classroom and apply it to real life.
Astro-Dramatic Heritage
Perhaps the performance aspect of Astro-Drama comes closest to recreating the astrological festivals of the ancient world. On a night with the Moon in Aries (and hopefully in aspect to Mars) we could celebrate martian energy. Games of speed and quickness may be part of the program. Discussions of firsts (first love, first job, etc.) may ensue. The participants may be treated a bit brusquely to reinforce Mars' message. The group may then play scenes in which their natal Mars can be portrayed. A person with Mars in Scorpio may try to get others to do his work for him, while the one with Mars in Virgo may be extra sure to take care of himself. Evenings such as these can be devoted to different planets. The goal is to get the group in touch with the essences of each planet. Red headbands for Mars night or billowy clothes on a Jupiter evening can enhance the atmosphere. We may not, of course, get to know Jupiter or Mars in a literal sense, but the joy, the hope, the aspirations that Jupiter symbolizes can be vividly portrayed within the group.
These planetary celebrations serve several purposes. They offer instruction in astrology, they bring insights to the participants, and they unite the group through a shared experience. Remember, we are all the planets; only by touching each and every one of them can we be whole. The celebration of planetary energies harkens back to the Saturnalia of old. The pure expression of these energies can serve as a link with something more primitive, but also perhaps more real than all the books in the world. While some might consider it a bit dangerous to simulate the Mars energies of a group of people, I have found that real expression of these energies releases them so that we may be free of their excesses. The actor who has played Mars in over thirty productions and rehearsed his role several dozen times more has told me that he feels very peaceful and loving when the play is through. Perhaps the polarity principle best expressed through the Chinese Yin-Yang was activated. He was such a good Mars that he created a space for the expression of Venus within himself!
Ground Rules
For those interested in running an Astro-Drama session there are just a few simple rules. The first is that someone has to take the role of the director. This person is responsible for organizing the group and leading it. In psychodrama, the director is often a trained therapist whose skill in the game should be matched with intuition and sensitivity. When you begin to open people up, you need to know how to put them together again. The director should be well-versed in astrology, with the ability to think on his feet. It is the director's job to see that the participants experience themselves and their charts in a constructive manner. This is not to say that an individual with Venus in a T-square with Saturn and Neptune should be told that love and relationships come easy, but that these energies are both purposeful and workable. It is the job of the director to be adept at both diagnosis and prescription. There is little value in exposing sensitive areas unless you are willing and able to deal with them.
The session can work in several ways depending upon the make-up of the group. If you are doing a one-shot-that is, dealing with people with whom you are unlikely to work again- then clarity and simplicity are most important. You can begin by discussing your ideas about Astro-Drama and what you would like to accomplish that day. It helps if the director has sufficient self-confidence to allow him or her to be open and relaxed. It is important to remember that skilled acting is not the goal, but that honesty is. Using our charts to avoid aspects of our being is another no-no. To say that I have the Moon in Scorpio in the 8th and therefore will not be able to open up emotionally is like saying that I came from a bad home and can never be successful. The horoscope is a map of as well as to our- selves. Each planet, house, sign and aspect is a key that will enable us to open and grow. We all have all twelve signs in our charts. The goal of our work is to know ourselves so well, to be ourselves so completely, that we become freed of our individual bondage and are able to draw on all the forces of our universe.
In an ongoing Astro-Drama group you can afford to be a bit more personal and experimental. In psychodrama, the group will discuss their feelings in the beginning of the session. Then the group and the director decide which persons to work with. The ongoing sessions allow the group to deal with personal issues in greater depth with follow-up at future sessions. Insights gained can be applied to real life, and the results can be reported back to the group.
Beginners with little or no knowledge of astrology can participate in simple Astro-Drama sessions. Sun signs alone are often enough to touch responsive chords in the players. For example, we could take a Leo and a Pisces and ask them to play the role of a politician giving a major address. It will be interesting to see if the Leo is more effusive than the Pisces; perhaps not, as we know that all the factors in the chart contribute to personality. However, we are likely to find that the participants unwittingly play their Sun sign stereotypes. You could inform the players about some of the basic meanings of their signs and have them proceed from there. You could, again, have them reverse roles so that the Pisces is called upon to be more flamboyant while Leo might be asked to be a bit more low-key.
You cannot predict what the participants will do (which is part of the fun). At one workshop, we used a man who had some severe aspects to his natal Moon. I asked him to play a role in keeping with that purported stress. He tried, but he couldn't be what I asked him to be. Instead, he played his role with a sense of balance and understanding that was surprising. His comment was that he used to be much as I described, but had learned enough to eliminate most of the negative sides of his chart's behavioral manifestation. This was a beautiful case of an individual living up to the highest potential of his horoscope. In this case, the Astro-Drama was unsuccessful only in that it did not turn out as expected. In reality, however, we learned about growth and saw it demonstrated through the openness of this man. His unwillingness to be other than what he really was was not a hindrance to the game, but a very positive variation of it.
You can operate an Astro-Drama workshop on several levels. The Sun sign exercise mentioned above is particularly good for beginners in astrology or the Astro-Drama form. The director must have a ready supply of skits for the players. These will come from his ability to synthesize astrological components so that they tell a story. If the director is adept enough with astrology and groups to be spontaneous, this will allow an easier flow of energy. Planetary subjects make good Astro-Dramas. At one session in Atlanta, another astrologer and I worked on Venus and Mars in relationships. The Venus in Scorpio who wants to hide his love away was matched with the Mars in Sagittarius person who wants more open relationships. We created a situation in which they were out on a date. Well, you know old Venus in Scorpio didn't want any crowds around while Mars in Sagittarius was ready to invite the whole world in! This scene clearly allowed the group to see the differing needs of these individuals. The purpose was not to make fun of or ridicule anyone for their differences, but to recognize them. The end product is not a society in which those with Venus in Scorpio avoid those with Mars in Sagittarius, but one in which we can understand and respect one another's differences. Again, referring to the Zodiac common to all of us, I feel than an important lesson is for each of us to avoid our own traps. Being flexible (mutable) allows possibilities that are broadening, not restricting.
Couple Counseling
In the Venus-Mars Astro-Drama, we worked with two people's charts, but we could have worked with planets within one, chart as well. Perhaps, however, it is in couple counseling that Astro-Drama has the most potential. Here is a situation in which two people have a relationship. The conflicts and challenges they create for one another earl be avoided by separation, but the lesson is that you will be met by challenges within your own chart, so why not work out with others that which is part of yourself.
The technique of synastry is basic to couple counseling through astrology. Its premise is simple: that the planets in one chart affect those in another. If you have Venus in Cancer and I have Saturn in Cancer, then that is a very important aspect for us to work out. We share the need to deal with issues of emotional security, but we may meet them in different ways. Venus in Cancer can become secure through closeness; Saturn in Cancer through self-sufficiency.
The effect of Saturn on Venus and Venus on Saturn is easily demonstrated in the Astro-Drama. Saturn represents limits and boundaries; Venus, love and acceptance. The Venus person can role-play the graciousness and relatedness of this planet. The Saturn person should move slowly, with great care. Saturn's energy places barriers around all it encompasses. Perhaps Saturn can physically hold Venus while she struggles to get away. In true venusian fashion, she may try to charm her way out of this bind. She needs to please, but may feel that Saturn is smothering her. Saturn, in turn, may be covetous of her beauty and reluctant to let her go.
A simply physical action like this might have two results. First, Saturn may overpower Venus, not allowing her to escape. This would show Saturn's holding power. Second, Venus could entreat Saturn to release her. Success here would show Venus' ability to gain through charm. A couple with a Saturn-Venus conjunction may try this in several different scenes. If the con- junction is in Gemini they may struggle with ideas; in Cancer, through their feelings, etc. The Venus person may actually feel the dominance of the Saturn person. This could be telling them about some real restrictions within the relationship. The Saturn person may feel himself weakening to the charms of the Venus person and may be charmed into letting her go. These could demonstrate some of the less workable aspects of the relation- ship.
However, we might find that Saturn is gentle and provides Venus with protection, not restraint. On the other hand, we may find that Venus appreciates Saturn's sense of duty and will positively reflect this through pleasing and self-satisfying actions. In real life, all this and more is likely to occur with such a couple. All the Astro-Drama does is demonstrate it and give the participants a chance to express themselves in a safe, playful environment. It is therefore very important that the group feels a sense of trust for the director. The idea is to have people open up. There are no right answers, no applause; only the satisfaction of learning something meaningful about yourself. Toward that end, the director should be very careful to ensure an environment of trust and freedom. One of the better ways to do this is for the director to use his own chart to reveal his frail- ties. It is only by confronting situations that may be embarrassing that we can become the divine fool-a fool to some, divine to others. We cannot exceed our present limits until we are willing to make mistakes!
Returning to couple counseling: We should remember that role reversal is one of the best ways to understand your partner. If your Venus is being smothered by the other's Saturn, then your moment to play Saturn will let your partner know how you feel about control, repression and so forth. We can go further with couple counseling by utilizing the recently popular technique of the composite chart. This mathematical combination of two charts produces a third chart that is said to represent the couple together. Stresses within the composite chart can also be role-played through Astro-Drama. A couple with a composite Venus-Pluto square, for example, may find that they love each other deeply but still act destructively with one another. The underlying meaning is that the Venus principle of love needs to be pushed to its limits. Each can play Venus, and each can play Pluto. Venus will be trying to please, saying that every- thing is o.k., wonderful. Pluto can glare at Venus; he may call her names or declare that her love hasn't the depth of a thin wafer. Pluto might also play the part of the reluctant lover, the one who needs to be drawn out time and time again. As the couple plays this scene, they may discover what it is that they want from one another. A long-standing, compulsive relationship that is destructive in nature may blossom through the compost heap of years of abuse. Situations such as these, however, demand more than one simple play. The natal charts should also be used to highlight the nature of the relationship. In the end, though, it is the couple who must take responsibility for themselves and be willing to deal with the sludge they drag to the surface.
The "Doppelganger"
One of the primary techniques of psychodrama is that of the double. A double is a person who moves with the central character and adds ideas or feelings that the central character may not be expressing himself. It is the role of the double to present alternatives. Usually two doubles are used at the same time so that the central character has two perspectives in addition to his own. In a situation where a person is playing out his doubts as represented by Neptune or Saturn, we can have one double support and the other tear down the aim of the central character. For example, a person with Neptune and Saturn square the Sun could be working a scene in which he has to confront his boss about some issue. Two differing emotions may be at work here. The saturnian one is about taking control and being firm, while the neptunian one may favor flexibility.
The central character can do a soliloquy in which he talks about what he should do. As he paces, the Saturn double can follow behind exhorting him to be forceful, to demand his rights. On the other side, the Neptune double can chip in with advice to lay low and try to go with the situation. The central character talks to these doubles as if they were his own inner voices. Neptune suggests the gentle approach, Saturn demands results. In either case the central character is exposed to choices which may well represent the range of response he actually feels. This technique can be particularly valuable for individuals who are about to undergo some intense transits or progressions. Instead of living in fear of Saturn going over your natal Moon, you might have a session in which you foreplay possible consequences of this transit. The actual experience of discipline or reorganization that Saturn demands may clearly demonstrate the positive potential of this transit.
Limitations and Possibilities
The only limits of Astro-Drama are the limits of astrology and the players. Anything that can be measured astrologically can be played through the drama. We could, for example, imagine a meeting between two great historical figures and play them out. We could, as easily, play out the charts of our parents. In any case, the key is the application of basic astrological principles to real life situations.
We can be Richard Nixon's chart and show how Jupiter in Capricorn allowed "necessary" but illegal activities to take place within his administration. Certainly Nixon's sextile between Jupiter and Venus in Pisces may have led him to believe that he couldn't possibly be removed from office. Would you like to be that Venus in Pisces, so sensitive yet blind to others' perception of him, while pompous Jupiter declares that this could not possibly be happening to a man in his position? We could even do the charts of nations to better understand their conflicts and common interests.
It is vital that you be well-grounded in understanding the basics of astrology to exploit Astro-Drama fully. You need to understand, not parrot, the meanings of the planets, signs, houses and aspects so that you can recognize them in their myriad combinations. This ability is equally vital in traditional astrological counseling. While some may succeed through textbook interpretations, the skilled counselor knows how to bend the rules, to see between the lines and make interpretations that are meaningful in real life situations. Armed with this skill and the desire to engage your heart, guts and soul, you are prepared to do the work of an Astro-Drama director.
The planet Pluto entered Leo in 1937 and permanently exited that sign in 1957. The first known appearance of Pluto in the sign of the heart center has brought great changes to our world. The death-of-ego concept that carried such force during the sixties is primarily part of the energy of those born during this period. For us this lifetime is one in which the ego must indeed die, but only to be born again. We cannot negate ourselves in some aimless trip to Nirvana. We must consciously and knowingly drag ourselves to the bottoms of our hearts to see that of which we are made. As we enter this Age of Aquarius, we cannot forget its opposite sign, Leo. The death of the ego is only a temporary measure whose purpose is to regenerate the heart center. We have become intellectualized (part of the price of this Aquarian era), sophisticated and detached. But Pluto, like fear, cannot be avoided. It will haunt us like a shadow until we bring it into the light of day. Pluto in Leo demands that we experience our child-self, that we know ego, feed it, kill it and then resurrect it with a greater sense of purity and purpose.
The idea behind astrology is that it gives meaning to an otherwise chaotic universe. Through Pluto in Leo we have attempted to return to the roots of our creative processes. We can hear inner voices of primitive dances and crude ceremonies from a distant ethnic past. We cannot let this lie, but we must bring to the surface this memory of shared experience. Aquarian mentality is only viable when balanced with Leonine courage.
Astro-Drama is not a new idea. As mentioned earlier, in some ways it might be the oldest form of astrology. There are people in various parts of America and Europe who are experimenting with it. Astrological celebrations in Scotland and therapeutic application of Astro-Drama in Berkeley and Boulder herald the rebirth of this approach to astrology. I do not, however, advocate the elimination of traditional astrological counseling. Some great work is being done in our field, work we can be proud of. We should not, though, ever be so proud and self-satisfied that we are afraid to experiment.
The nature of any creative activity is that it is constantly regenerating itself with new ideas and techniques. You can plan an expansive Jupiter Astro-Drama in which the attendees are clothed in large, billowy garments. You can have a Saturn night on straight-back wooden chairs and play out your identity needs. The only limits are those of imagination. Perhaps a simple way to test this technique on yourself is one I sometimes do in bed late at night. I talk to my chart, and it talks to me! My Mars in Leo is demanding action and attention while Saturn in Cancer tenaciously holds me back. If these planets do not live for you then you should be reading some other magazine. Astrology is alive, the planets are alive, we are alive. The integration of all of these is life, from the astrologer's point of view. It is the realization that we live with the planets, not because of them, that makes our work worthy. If your Saturn is giving you trouble, give it trouble! Talk back to it; ask it why it is holding you down, why you are afraid, why you won't budge.
Astrology and the planets hold no meaning without human beings to experience them. Reference again to the great Dane Rudhyar reminds us of the alchemical nature of time and place. Each culture has its astrology. Each sees the planets through the lens of its own time, place and history. This implies that we are not poor victims, but vital creators of all we see, of all we touch. Astro-Drama is one part of this moment, a way to be all we can be.
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Jeff Jawer,
Astrologer
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Jeff Jawer is well known in the astrological community as an innovative and dynamic teacher, writer and counselor. He is the CEO and co-founder of StarIQ.com.
With gracious support,
Jeff 's column features previously published articles from his Star IQ site. ( See link below).
Jeff holds a B.A. in "The History and Science of Astrology" from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and lectures at astrology conferences throughout the world.
His scores of articles have appeared in astrology journals in over a dozen countries and in five books.
http://www.stariq.com/
jawer/bio.asp
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