Astrology & the Crisis of Meaning-Making
There is a crisis of meaning-making in our world right now. It seems that the common ground of shared understanding is being dramatically eroded as narratives become increasingly polarised and misunderstandings predominate. How do we, individually and collectively, make sense of what is happening, beyond the minefield of contradictory information and the opinions that divide us?
Reconnecting to the Language of the Soul
Amidst the uncertainty of the times we are living through, the breakdown of rational discourse, the pain of broken relationships, and the trauma of the divided self, we need a deeper context for self-awareness and communication. Perhaps more than ever then, we need to recover an archetypal understanding of reality, one that might reconnect us to the language of the soul and the eternal truths that it preserves.
Astrology draws deeply from that well of truth, it reminds us that everything is connected through the realm of imagination. Astrology has the capacity to re-awaken in us the knowledge of what makes us human, what draws us together collectively and what distinguishes each soul as unique. It can put us back in touch with that common ground of sense-making, while also revealing the nature of our individual potential and path through the personal birth chart.
Planetary Correspondence
Astrology takes us far beyond and beneath the reductive mindset of scientific materialism. The materialist perspective may help us identify the physical composition of planets and stars, and we can accept that the planets are rotating spheres within the solar system, but that provides us only with a very limited understanding of their ‘meaning’. For that we must turn towards the poets, artists and astrologers whose imaginations are alert to the appearances and gestures of nature’s many forms and expression, and how they participate with the planetary bodies as living metaphors and correspondences.
A Way of Constellating Psychic Insight
In my book, Your Zodiac Soul, I present the twelve signs of the zodiac as a journey of initiation, as twelve gateways to wholeness. I draw on Jung's concept of the zodiac as a mandala, an emblem of the soul, which could serve as a template for individuation. And alongside that I work with the planets as core archetypes, that represent essential underlying characteristics of the soul's expression; and with the birth chart itself, as revealing the archetypal structure of the psyche, in each individual case. I love James Hillman’s idea that astrological study gives us a way of ‘constellating psychic insight’.
Divine Intent or Archetypal Urge
For the ancients the sun, moon and planets were imbued with divine intent. Through centuries of observation and visionary insight, the significance of their appearance in the heavens was seen to correspond sympathetically with different aspects of the natural world and the human psyche, each invested with the power of a god or goddess.
The movements of the planets against the backdrop of the fixed stars was reflected in the seasons of the year, the human life cycle, and the life cycles of plants and animals. Their comings and goings, their risings and settings, their conjunctions and oppositions were understood as signs and portents that could be interpreted and mediated through imagination. We modern astrologers tend to speak of the planets as archetypes, essential urges or functions of the psyche, which underpin our thought-forms and language patterns, and inspire our actions and behaviours.
Free Webinar: Planets, Gods & Archetypes
On Monday 21st Feb, I will be offering a free webinar: Planet, Gods & Archetypes, in which I will introduce the Sun, Moon and planets and set them within their mythic and archetypal context. I will show how the different qualities of the planets constellate the human psyche, and how the divine family of planetary relationships is reflected in the family system of human relationships. This talk is suitable for beginners and more experienced students of astrology alike and serves as a taster for my Foundation Course in Astrology.
In this webinar you will learn:
the mythic, alchemical and astrological background to each planet
the role that each planetary archetype plays in your life
how the planetary archetypes create a map of the psyche, and how that manifests for example in the family system.
