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Personal bias:  I am a 71 year old person who has been doing psychotherapy for 40 years and astrological analysis and counseling for the same amount of time.   I have been dis-identifying from my former occupational identity (semi-retired), not counting on my strength from my physical body, and facing losses of relatives and friends through natural deaths.  So when I explain mental health solutions, it is from the standpoint of a partial withdrawal from outer world engagements that enables me to eventually strive for spiritual goals.   I realize for younger persons, they may not see my solutions the same way. For them psychosynthesis of basic needs is the order of the day.  One of the advantages I have, is that I can see the illusions so clearly of the ego-attachments that prevent those from finding the light.

A. Development of psychic maturity 

1. Mental health problems are caused, in part,  by an imbalance between obsessions             with our ego dependent desires and our needs;  traumas; substance abuse                             disorders; and serious mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder;                     bipolar I disorder;  and schizophrenia.  Cognitive disorders can be helped with                   medication; psychotherapy based on the down-regulation of nervous system disorders; and enhancing adaptive coping skills.  All these interventions are to increase healthy ego development as far as possible.  These issues, if not addressed render psychic  maturity delayed/postponed.  These problems are best addressed by psychotherapy/psychiatry.

2.  For those without mental health problems:  In a free democratic society, there are seemingly unlimited choices to be made that can lead to the wrong choices and immature development.  One is challenged to differentiate between one’s wants and needs.   Wants are caused by obsessive thoughts of ego-dependent desires for fast gratification. These are usually illusions/distortions based on poor ego development, i.e. poor self-esteem and/or self-aggrandizement from ego inflation.  Poor self esteem results in not having one’s needs met for self-confidence, positive self-image and self-worth.  To a certain degree for younger persons, narcissistic gratifications lead to proper and healthy ego development.  But where the wants or passions are unbalanced (violence and non-consensual sex), then the needs of the individual are ignored;  and there are major discrepancies in development.  Abraham Maslow identified primary needs in the pyramid below. maslow  (1). 

 

In all cases , these must be met ; and if only wants are gratified, there will be lack of fulfillment and an obsessive search for desire gratification.  Furthermore, the above needs may be ignored.   

Below is an outline of how to meet each of these above needs and this is especially pertinent during the COVID-19 crisis in Pennsylvania, USA.

1.  Physiological Needs:  Housing referrals (HUD); food banks; Office of Attorney General: https//:www.attorneygeneral.gov/consumer-complaint  Clothing through Goodwill; Water, heat and electricity Utilities cannot be cut off- Attorney General’s Consumer Advocate at 1-800-684-6560, 8:30am to 4:30 pm; Grace period for Mortages, contact PA CARE Package to see if your bank provides this financial protection.  Student Loan relief: no payments for 6 months till Sept 30,2020 contact https//:www.attorneygeneral.gov/consumer-complaint
2. Safety Needs: Evictions in Pa halted till July 25,2020; Unemployment compensation https//:www.uc.pa.gov/; Stimulus Checks https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/covid-rights; call IRS for social security recipients stimulus checks: 1-800-824-1040
3. Love and belonging:  contact family or psychotherapist for support ; Friendship through social media; Domestic abuse/sexual assault hotline- 814-944-3585;
4. Esteem: Psychotherapy MBTI couple counseling for equitable, reciprocal relationship advocacy (814-215-3999); MBTI recommendations for occupational preferences; Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for disability evaluation and job searching: 814-946-7240 (voice); Suicide hotline- 1-800-273-8255; Drug and Alcohol hotline (SAMHSA): 1-800-662-4357
5. Self actualization: Psychotherapy Services- Psychosocial Treatment, 814-215-3999 appointments

The above identified  Needs are the basic issues leading to a personal Psychosynthesis.  So psychic maturity depends on meeting these basic needs first in my judgment.

B. Barriers to Psychosynthesis which are addressed by Psychotherapy/referral:

1. Barriers to meeting these needs are passions that are acted out which are thought-illusions/distortions motivated by poor ego development (poor self worth) or ego inflation (grandiosity), don’t address real needs.  Obsessive thoughts lead to actions and behavior which create an errant path.  Substance abuse and/or a weakened will can open doors in the nervous system that invite intrusion or possession by entities that may  lead to addiction.

2   Deprivations in the need for love and self-esteem can lead to social isolation as a defense against rejection in social interaction, real or imagined. Crippling anxiety symptoms are generalized and can prevent exploration into even normative social interactions.

3. Variables that prevent/ impair healthy psychosynthesis are:

a. Heredity which gives one innate abilities /liabilities .  Either the individual talents are greater than the environment wants and there is a surplus of untapped potential or there are weaknesses due to health problems that cause mental/physical disability and functional impairment.

b. The environment pressure (socially, culturally) on the individual causes stresses that are beyond the individual capacities or endowments resulting in  a person being constantly stressed out,  developing autoimmune disorders, and perhaps living in poverty.

c. Trauma can prevent/slow down meeting of psychosynthesis integration.  This of course depends on resilience and proper treatment of the underlying trauma.

d. Serious mental illnesses with delusions,  hallucinations and maladaptive behaviors may retard psychosynthesis.

An individual’s ego identity is a moving target that changes based on collective social, cultural, parental, and karmic influences.  Finding a stable ego -identity demands an integration of the personality in which spit-off parts (sub-personalities),  lessen their influence and power.  Integration demands a stronger ego development leading to feelings of security; calmness; self love and intimacy; and clear thinking for problem solving. (2)

Reality testing ability, adaptive functioning in an occupational role, satisfying love relationships, and feeling secure physically are measures of success; and evidence that psychosynthesis can occur.  Beyond that when we really become aware of self-actualization we reach about 54-60 years years of age.  By that time we are aware that even though we may have ego attachments to our body, to our feeling values or to our mind as a problem solver; those identifications and attachments loosen and as they weaken.  This sets us up for our ability to dis-identify with whatever ego attachments were prominent.  And sets the stage for an awakening of our self that is beyond our little egos, as cute as it is.  Wherein  lies a soul experience in the here and now which can trigger an awakening.(3)

C. Awakening to an expansion of consciousness beyond gratification of ego  desires

“The symbol of awakening is from a group of symbols which are found among those of light, of illumination.  Just as ordinary waking marks the passage from darkness of night to the light of the sun, so the awakening transpersonal awareness marks the transition that has been designated ‘illumination’.  The first stage is to see clearly within ourselves; the second, of illumination is the solution of problems hitherto appearing insoluble, and this by means of the specific instrument of inner vision, intuition.  Thus intuitive awareness comes to replace intellectual, logical and rational consciousness, or better, to integrate and transcend it.”  (4)

According to Maslow, self-actualization is the pinnacle of mature psychological development based on the need for self-realization and potency in the outer/ inner world.  Through reflection and inward looking, one begins this journey.
As one becomes his/her own authority, to the awakening of trans-personal development skills are developed.  Once accomplished, these skills can yield increases of intuition, inspiration, illumination into the intrinsic unity between object and subject.

Humanitarian ideals, universal and unconditional love, and submission of our little egos to Divine will are the three initiations will be discussed in part 2.  These are rituals which can lead to higher states of a Christ consciousness and an expansion of our ego.(5)

References:

1 Maslow, Abraham, “A Theory of Human Motivation”, Psychological Review, 1943.

2 Grove, John Life Passages: When Age Points Aspects and Dreams Coincide, Chapter 2, pps: 37-61, Hopewell Publishing, Knutsford, UK. 2017.

3. Parfitt, Will The Something and Nothing of Death, PS Avalon, Gastonbury, UK. 2008, p. 121

4 Assagioli, Roberto, Symbols of Transpersonal Awareness in Course I The Elements of Psychosynthesis, Course by Will Parfitt, Avalon Distance Learning, UK, 2018

5 Huber, Bruno and Louise, The Planets, Hopewell Publishing, Knutsford UK, 2006, pps. 106-118

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction:

Dreams are triggered by days events in the previous days of the dream or coming days in your current life.  But the implications are that dream dramas innervate psychic energies that are constellated around psychological complexes in the Personal Unconscious. Complexes contain polar opposites of feeling values.  Few examples: Submissive vs. Dominant; Expressive vs. Suppressed; Superior vs. Inferior; Courageous vs. Fearful; Protective vs. Risk taking.  One of these sets of opposites triggers the affect/emotion of the dream.

 

1. On awakening write in a daily log/journal the dream as it was presented with images, the course of the dreams and conclusion with date the dream.  Write your feelings associated with the dream.
2. Give the dream a name and save it for later in order to expand on its meaning. Usually when you have time to make associations with days events, feelings, and details that come to the surface from the dream.  This is called amplification.  If  you have time, draw dream images and color them.  This gives direct visual impact of the dream images and is very powerful.
3. Divide the dream into a beginning, an action section and an end.  Label these.
4. Identify the dream feeling or affect which is the theme of the dream.  There may be a series of dreams in the night and you can record them all.  See if you can consolidate the themes.
5. Make associations with people, places, events and things in your life related to the dream drama.
6. Stop and re-read what you have written so far.  Become aware of feelings and emotions in You as you re-enact the dream drama.
7. Come up with an action plan which is somewhere between the contradictory emotions and feelings that are identified in the dreams as compared to your conscious feelings and emotions.

Example dream of 4/6/2020

D1 Beginning: I was in a job situation.  Action: I had some problems on the job and wanted to see my boss.  But when I went to see him, I was given a substitute  boss who had no knowledge of my work nor did he seem competent.  I felt angry that this person was in charge of me and given the authority to control my job activity.   We argued. Ending: I told him I did not like his control over my work and considered quitting the job.

D2 Beginning: I went to church.  The sanctuary was empty of people.  Things had changed entirely.  Action: We had to get the service in a different way than we were used to doing.  There were pins on the floor so we had to watch our step or else we would get stuck.  Ending: I had to conform to this or risk being stuck by pins on my feet.

I was feeling angry (d1) and disappointed and wary (d2) at the changes in the dream dramas.  In dream 1 I was angry at being controlled and feeling submissive to a boss I did not feel even knew me.  In dream 2 I was feeling that I had to go a different way to protect myself or risk getting hurt.

Theme of dream 1:  I was angry at having to take orders from authorities that did not know me or my work

Theme of dream 2:  I was having to change my way of worship or risk being wounded.

Associations: We have an pandemic currently.  We are under recommended self isolation orders from the state and federal government.  We are told what to do, how to conduct our lives down to the very details of going and coming (must wear masks to all public gatherings).  Cannot even go to church physically but have to see Easter services on line due to social distancing.  My work is put on hold by forces and authorities that effect my daily routine and tell me what to do.  Rituals that I relied on are stopped cold and I am warned if I continue to do what I did before, I would get hurt. (Get sick with the COVID-19).

Action Plan:  I need to find my own authority during this time and want to work on my goals, maybe silently but not be overcome by anger. I must conform to a new and controlling authority.  Know this is temporary and will pass and then I can get on with my purpose and my goals.  Accept and understand that I must take responsibility for putting rituals in my own life and not engage in collective, public activity for the time being.  Do Yoga exercises as a ritual in my daily life.

No drawing here because this is pretty convincing manifest contents of these 2 dreams on their own as revealed by the dream drama and feelings evoked.  So if you want to try this method here is a way to do just dream analysis.

This process is expanded in my books: Dreams and Astrological Psychology  (2014) and Life Passages- When Age Point Aspects and Dreams Coincide (2017).  These correlate dream events with developmental conflicts.   These psychological crises are life-long issues and are identified by Age Point Progression in aspect to sensitive points in the horoscope which emphasize polar opposites of feelings.  Recognizing the feeling content of psychological conflict as reflected in dreams, I believe, is crucial and  pertinent to life’s challenges/opportunities.  Both books are available on Amazon.com.

“The true essence of the human being is directed by the circle in the middle of the horoscope.  This is where we look for the potential of man.” (Huber,Bruno and Louise, p. 21. The Astrological Houses).  When an individual is born according to this theory, this circle begins to beam energies radiating in all directions which first meet the aspect lines of the overall aspect picture and then forms angular aspects to the planets that connect with the core.   See below my chart which has red lines running to the core or center.  The aspect patterns formed by this pattern forms the circuit plan for vital energies in the individual.

Psychologically, the aspect patterns form the beginning of self awareness which defines the direction life is to take, the interests, the essential concerns of life, and what one wants to make of his life. ( Hubers, The Astrological Houses, p. 22).  Talents that are inherent in the individual and ones that will not provide difficulty are reflected here by the following 2 aspect patterns, one forms an irregular square and the other is lineal:

core aspects

 

 

If you click on the above, you will see that not all aspect patterns are equal because only the patterns which meet up with the core are significant to the individual soul. The rest of the aspects in the chart are environmental and form aspects in houses which  are an exterior not primary influential configuration reference. (Hubers, The Astrological Houses, p. 23).

In the figure above, there is one quadrangular aspect pattern called the Double ambivalence figure and a lineal aspect between Uranus and Venus.  The planets involved in the first figure are Neptune oppose the Moon square the Sun conjunct Jupiter which confers on me the action to make use of my dream symbolism in a way that leads to  ego enhanced self- worth and growth.  I use this to illustrate the way certain aspect patterns to these planets as life organs or instruments to make  a human being establish contact with the world (Huber, The Astrological Houses, p. 22).

Consider the horoscope below in which there are no connections to the central core.  In this case the configurations will be “stamped into the behavioral traits through the upbringing in the personal environment”.  (Hubers, The Astrological Houses,p. 23).

The individual mentioned had been sexually and physically abused and was unable to marshal an individuality beyond what her environment dictated.  Note the empty spaces are in the 5th through the 8th houses which has to do with expression and experience with others in partnerships- what is referred to as the YOU side of the chart.

” An open area in one sector of the chart between the center and the periphery then energy can flow directly, and unfocused  a) from the center of the chart out into the world, and b) from the environment into the center of the chart.  This may have the effect of creating a sense of vulnerability, insecurity or inadequacy, depending upon which area of the chart is open.” (Hopewell, Barry, ed. Astrological Psychology, the Huber Method, p. 38)

In conclusion, our purpose of the article is to emphasize the specific inward- directness of the Huber method of Astrological Psychology in which one learns to dis-identify with the environment and strives to minimize the symptoms that emerge in the individual traits and the behavioral problems which can prevent normal developmental milestones from being met.  That would be if focus of any psychotherapy in a case such as Cynthia the one described above.

1. Age Point Progression

Astrological psychology identifies timing of predictable psychological crises in life.  These events correspond with an ‘Age Point’ as it travels through the 12 houses of the horoscope (Age Point Progression) at the rate of 6 years per house. It takes 72 years for the Age Point to go full cycle.

Figure 1 Life Clock

There are times, determined by the placement of the Age Point, when it may be appropriate to charge ahead and times when it may be better to look inward. When the Age Point travels through the cusp of a house, it is a time of reaction to outside stimulation and one gains fulfillment through the environment.  When the Age Point reaches the cusp of a house, there is more likely potential for accelerated activity. On the other hand, the low point of a house is a point of weakened expression into the environment located in the mutable zone of any house; it signifies a time when the individual may find this an appropriate time for reflection and looking inward. Throughout life cycle the Age Point progresses through the houses which represent contexts for outer world activity as defined by the content of each of the 12 houses.  [i]

For example, the 10th house represents the individualism process and expression in the outer world as one gains inner authority ;  the 4th house represents the sense of belonging to collective tradition or family. There are cusps and low points in each house and a corresponding cycle of inner and outer psychological orientation.

“Of the techniques used in Astrological Psychology, Age Progression – using the chart as a Life Clock – is often the one which most captures the imagination and interest. Age Progression is the Huber method of timing in the horoscope… The four Cardinal points – the Ascendant, the Descendant, the IC or cusp of the 4th house, and the Midheaven – are high energy areas of the high energy curve… there is a huge surge of energy at each of these four points, like a thrust or push out into the environment and the outside world… In time after this the energy falls off and is at its lowest at the Low Point, approximately two-thirds of the way through each house.”[ii]

In the Huber Method of astrological psychology every 72 years marks a complete Age Point cycle; psycho-physical development starts at birth. The Age Point journeys around the circle of the 12 houses, each one representing an area of environmental influence on the individual. The 360-degree circle ends with the return of the Age Point to the ascendant, the point where it began. As the Age Point prepares a return to the ascendant lessons learned by outer experiences can enrich the soul spiritually. At this stage of life, the cycle returns to the original point, “the autonomous personality is purified and can begin to live according to spiritual values, developing a relationship with the Higher Self, spiritual/divine”[iii]  Astrological psychology provides a structured, practical way to understand one’s life journey during and after the ego-identifications begin to break down while one is still active and of the world.

The movement of the Age Point forming aspects to transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) can highlight opportunities to transcend ego attachments associated with the relevant house. For example, if the Age Point is in the 10th house, the house of public image, personal authority, managerial responsibility and Uranus is in square aspect in the 7^th house, then she may have shocking insights into how she conducts managerial affairs in her life. It may come to her awareness that she had been controlled and stifled, and needs independence to break out of these confined circumstances in her public life.

Astrological Psychology tracks Age Point Aspects to ego planets as they effect the ego strengths of a person. The Hubers defined the Sun, Moon and Saturn as ego planets.  They have to do with the ego attachments of thinking and willing (the Sun), the need for love and mutual love (Moon), and the need for safety and security (Saturn).  One of them is dominant and reliable for integration of the ego so that one is balanced in thinking (SUN), feeling (MOON) and taking care of the body (SATURN).

2. Dreams events and Age Point dynamics on the ego planets

Carl Jung determined that dreams play a role in highlighting the individual’s psychological ego complexes in his/her personal unconscious.[iv] The definition of a psychological complex is that it is an unconscious encapsulation of two opposing feeling states, each with a valence of positive or negative feelings. The complex dynamic generates psychic energy from the unconscious. Some examples are:

1. independence vs. the need to be taken care of;
2. assertion vs. passivity or aggression;
3. suppression of thoughts and feelings vs. expression of thoughts and feelings;
4. in human produced trauma, the need to relate vs. the intention to do harm.

On more archetypal levels, dreams represent a mother complex (stay with mother or leave); father complex (listen to authority and do not question it or be your own authority); God complex (spiritual ego fanaticism or be guided by the Divine within/without you). The unconscious structures of the shadow, animus and anima archetypes are also activated by dreams and can take the form of projections onto people by the unconscious ego.

Dreams play a role in transient ego identity attachments. They can have a compensatory or balancing role in the psyche between the conscious ego and the Self which generates all dream content. See the figure below.  Typically, a trigger event in the environment usually confronts the ego which stimulates an already existing ego complex in the unconscious to produce a dream.

 Figure 2

The dream content usually coincides with an Age Point aspect to one of the ego planets from one House to another. When the dream occurs, the ego identity of the individual involved is infused with images from these ego complexes represented by the planets involved coming through in dream content. For example, one is fighting with various unknown figures of the same sex in a dream and one is threatened by them which triggers the ego need for self- protection.  We look at the Age Point aspects and discover that Saturn is in square or opposition to the Age Point in this instance and the aspects are opposed from House 1 and 7.

The unique perspective of my approach combines Jungian techniques of dream analysis and relates these to dynamics of chart interpretation using the Huber Method to understand the timing of events of developmental crisis in the life of the person and the identification and resolution of the conflict between our inner and outer worlds.

Developmental challenges are revealed by the critical times when the Age Point transits planets that are in aspect figures, or to other sensitive points in the chart; thus creating a challenge to complete a developmental tasks.  See figure  3.  [v] This process is paralleled in the timing of certain dreams which usually identify the crisis to the native’s dream ego as he/she comes up against losses or challenges. Personal identity losses (family role), occupational identity losses, and physical body losses through illness, to name a few, come up in dreams. The recording and amplification of dreams, and the date they are dreamed are correlated with critical periods or crossing points and aspects of the Age Point. By this synchronistic correspondence, we can identify meaningful ways in which dreams are preparing the ego for losses, which can have implications for healing and personal transcendence.

3. Life events, dreams and Age Point aspects

Below are examples of my dreams taken throughout my life with corresponding interpretations in the context of developmental challenges as reflected in the HUBER LIFE CLOCK.

Age Point 5^th House cusp conjunct cuspal Node at age 24:

June 1973: “Standing on the edge of a cliff with Mother on my back; I could not jump a chasm and reach the other side with her on my back. I put Mother down and jumped to the other side myself”. This dream occurred right before my joining the Peace Corps and going abroad for 2 years. Astrologically speaking, I was compelled to journey as a hero. To leave home and strike out on my own. The Age Point had moved to conjunct my North Node in the 5th house of my natal chart. The correspondence of this aspect and this action spurred me to create my own destiny.

At the time of this dream, my Age Point in the 5^th House on the cusp conjunct Node means developing a definite commitment to professional life.  By taking risks to join the Peace Corps for two years, I was  aware of the need for constructive action;  I took on the opportunity for self-expression as a teacher in the Middle East.  The Age Point in the fixed sign Taurus I am motivated to persevere in willful action defending myself against my family’s objection to travel to conflict-ridden Middle East.  It is a do or die situation and the crisis in existential tests are very real indeed as I left home for 2 years into the unknown.

Age Point on the cusp of 8^th House oppose cuspal natal Sun on 2^nd at age 43:

11/30/1991: “I was at a social work agency (the image in the dream looked like the hospital where I worked) and had clerical staff working for me. I gave an orientation to a new group of new students and new employees. Our offices were in a large room that had a number of desks. Very similar to a library at a college. There was a revolution.”  (Pre-cognitive dream)

At the time of this dream, my Age Point was on the cusp of the 8th House which was 3 years before mid-life/ frustration crisis when professionally I was stuck at not being able to do my life’s mission psychotherapy.  I was in a large VA hospital system and was transferred out of the Mental Health outpatient unit.  This dream hints at this time in life where one has to transform oneself, have a rebirth experience or remain stagnant.  My will and thinking function was thwarted by a supervisor who moved me to a Surgical ward against my wishes. The dream pointed to a future time when occupationally I would be in charge of training of new employees and this task would revolutionary.  In fact, in 2005  (14 years later from the dream), I would be appointed Chief of Social Work.  In that position I trained and oriented 44 master’s level staff to new jobs at the VA hospital.  The dream was hinting at constructive regeneration professionally at a time for me when I was depressed in my job function because I was not fulfilled.

Age Point conjunct Nodal Age Point in 9^th House square Uranus in 7^th House a age 48:

3/20/1997: ‘ Was in a room with a clerk. There was a box load of cattle coming to the hospital (where I worked) for a surgery unit with a well-known surgeon. I was taking orders off charts laughing to the clerk (about my role, now like a nurse) saying to the clerk, ‘at one time I didn’t even answer telephones!’

The time of the dream was when the Age Point was conjunct the Nodal Age point (Huber’s crossing age point concept) is a time when past Karma and present conditions coincide into a critical life pause demanding a decision.   It was a time of reckoning and specific events happened essential to the experience my personal development.  . This conjunction of two Age Points happens only once every 36 years.[vi]

The dream points to a common intrapsychic conflict of being in a submissive role which was paradoxically  a role reversal.  Taking orders being a clerk was not professional.  At this time I left the VA hospital and took a job as a Clinical Director of a partial hospitalization program at another hospital in another town.   Because of corruption and illegal activity on the part of the CO at that hospital, I was told to falsify my client’s records to make more money for the unit.  I hired  a lawyer and defined my professional ethics that would guide me through the rest of my professional career (9^th house polarity with 3^rd house called the Thought Axis).   After 6 weeks I returned to the VA where I originally was and had to accept a lower position.  A readjustment and sufficient braking power was needed.  My return to the VA just after I took on a Director position was very fateful.  And my return set the stage for further professional development later (2005 when I became Chief of Social Work).

Age Point on the cusp of the 12th House at age 65:

1/19/2014 I had a dream “I was going to climb a mountain with some people. We were ascending but I needed clothes. I needed pants and long underwear (security of Saturn). I had a paper bag of money (cash) in which I was going to buy stuff in a store. I left other people I was with to find my gear and got a sense of relief from this. As I wandered through the store alone, I picked up my underwear and jeans. After a discussion with a clerk about something unimportant, I got in line to pay for my stuff. At once I realized that I lost my paper bag of money (security and protection of Saturn). It was gone. I went looking for it. I went back behind the counters and thought one of the clerks took it. I could not find it anywhere. In the end, I had the jeans and the underwear on a table but they belonged to me all along. I did not have to pay for them.”

At the time of this dream, the Age Point was on the cusp of the 12th House of loneliness, isolation,  and self-undoing.   My life challenge at this time was to take constructive action in a retreat mode and retire from public life. On January 31, 2014 I retired from my employment.  In that transition to possess material security and at the same time  find wholeness; I had to let go of attachments represented by money worries. As most of us know, when one retires, one has less material resources.  Retirement means learning to live on a fixed income, letting go of occupational identity attachments, and living with less.  The dream supports the idea that I have no need for anxiety and insecurity. The dreams promises  that I would not have enough money to get by.  In fact, in the end of the dream,  there would already be enough provisions for my trip “up the mountain”.

These above dreams and their Age Point aspects correlations was a discovery I made. Everyone has a life journey that is developmental and significant.  Just follow your dreams and note the timing and the rhythm of the planetary aspects in your life.  Below is a figure representing Age Point psychological crises that is from my book Life Passages, 2017.  Note that I have incorporated Erik Erikson’s Crises in Adult life in the figure.

 

Figure 3

[i] Huber, Bruno and Louise, The Astrological Houses, Samuel Weiser Publishing, New York. 1998

[ii] Hopewell, Joyce and Llewellyn, Richard, The Cosmic Egg Timer, Hopewell , Knutsford, UK, 2004

[iii] Ibid. pp 144-145

[iv] Hall, James, Jungian Dream Interpretation, Inner City Books, Toronto Canada, 1983. P. 128

[v] Hopewell, Joyce and Llewellyn, Richard, The Cosmic Egg Timer, pp127-128

[vi] Huber, Bruno and Louise, Moon Node Astrology, Hopewell, Knutsford, UK, 2005.

maslowFigure 1.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Clients may or may not be motivated to face up to their basic needs both in therapy and in astrological consultation, instead of gratification of their fantasies, wants or desires.  To accomplish this, their ego needs must be recognized and supported by the therapist or consultant as they present them.  First, there is the physical need for safety and security, which is achieved by building trust in the first encounter. The consultant expresses that this is a private and confidential session and returns requests for service promptly.

There is a correlation between Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and astrological psychology’s development of ego planets.  On the first two bars of Maslow’s pyramid are Physiological needs and Safety (See Figure 1.2).  These refer to nourishment and growth in the first four years of life, where 70% of development is physical.  A parallel situation for the client in psychotherapy or astrological consultation relates to the provision of a secure framework in the client-consultant relationship where confidentiality, privacy, physical comfort and relative anonymity are the social norm.[i]

This physiological bar correlates with the genetic endowment of the human being and relies to a great degree on the ‘average expected environment,’ based on the client’s early parenting on which the fulfillment of her/his hereditary endowment depends.  The connection with astrological psychology is the correlation of the client’s psychological drive for security and safety with the planet Saturn’s horoscope placement.  Saturn’s placement and aspects are symbolized by the daily routines leading to safety and security of the child initiated by the mother. Saturn’s patterns and aspects are identified in the natal horoscope and represented by the Mother’s caretaking of the child. The Mother makes sure the child is fed, comfortable as to warmth or cold, clean and hygienically cared for, and established in the routines of the sleep-wake cycle. Saturn’s quality in the horoscope can yield a great deal of information about the nature of the relationship between Mother and child, and form the structure of safety and security of physical functioning relating to Maslow’s physiological and safety needs. Thus, in the astrological psychology consultation, the consultant provides safety and security for the client, a Saturn role, as a nurturer in this relationship.  He/she provides consistency, structure based on the client’s needs, and routine care for his/her client based on set appointment times. The office décor meets her needs for comfort, a nurturing environment, and relative security.  The client is physically place in the office nearest to the door so that he/she can find easy exit if needed.

The second ego need is to be loved and have a sense of belonging.  The love/belonging bar on the Maslow pyramid (Figure 1.2) correlates to the Moon in astrological psychology. This is the drive to contact others for the purpose of getting sympathetic love and emotional connection.  Good emotional development means the child can reach out with trust to others, expecting a return of love and understanding. The Moon with its aspects and placement in the natal horoscope reveals the subjective point of view of the child as to how his emotional needs are met/not met. Thus, in an astrological psychology consultation, as in therapy, application of Carl Rogers’ concept of ‘unconditional regard,’ given by the consultant to the client, must convey empathy and understanding, not judgment.[ii]  In this way, we allow the spontaneous inner child in the client to contact the therapist.

The third ego need is correlated with the self-esteem and self-actualization bars on the Maslow pyramid (Figure 1.2), and is symbolized by the Sun in astrological psychology. Qualities of the Sun refer to the psychological drive for thinking, conceptualization, and willing, which eventually can bring about self-realization and give a sense of purpose to the individual, once basic needs are met. Assessment of Sun principles by the therapist, can help determine whether the client has clear thinking, good problem- solving capacity, and the potential to awaken the strongest ego planet. The astrological psychology consultant sets goals that align with the clients’ strengths, not his/her own. Therefore, at the beginning of a consultation, one must ask why the person is seeking consultation and try to focus on ‘the presenting request’ during the session, using the chart inferences to direct the flow of communication.  A respect for the independence of the client is paramount to a good consultation.  For the therapist, aligning with the presenting problem of the client is the initial goal of treatment. When the client suffers from a negative feeling or ego state in a consultation, the astrologer does not ‘rescue’ her from her struggles but, using empathy and applying active listening skills, is gently supportive as she works through her struggles.[iii]  Once he leaves the consultation, he/ she must function independently so we do not encourage dependency of any kind in a consultation.                                                                                                                                        [i] Langs, Robert, MD, Rating Your Psychotherapist, Ballantine Books, NY, NY, 1989. p.209.

[ii] Rogers, Carl. Client Centered Therapy, The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1951.

[iii] Gordon, Thomas, Parent Effectiveness Training, Three Rivers Press, NY, NY, 2000.

Information on the quality of the ego planets as they relate to the meeting of basic needs is determined by the exact birth time, place and date of the individual, and this data is calculated on a computer program by the astrological psychology consultant to erect the natal horoscope. The consultant’s assessment of the client’s strongest ego planet is determined by its placement in the house system and its planetary aspects.  Ego growth and development through identification and development of the this strongest ego planet must be recognized and strived for enhancement if personality integration is to be met.

Are the will and thinking (Sun) determined to guide the individual through life as a thinking type?  Are the body (Saturn), presentation of appearance and rituals of a physical nature the features that secure the personality through sensation and the nature of reality? Do the emotions (Moon) and their value judgments determine which of two alternatives subjectively feels right when making decisions?

In my practice, both as astrological consultant and therapist, many of my clients are confused by distortions of their ego needs, which hinder their awareness of the strongest ego planet or psychic faculty that will provide consistent behavior and choices. They can be distracted by their wants/ desires in an environment that may not support good development. Their sub-personalities take over, creating an inauthentic self.  Whether a client is in psychotherapy or an astrological consultation, the goals are the same.  Huber was wise to recognize the priority of ego integration and development before the achievement of higher levels of consciousness. Regression to meet desires, passions or wants on a continual basis, hinders our awareness of higher consciousness attainment. That is because these behavior patterns cannot be sustained and are not stable enough to lead to an authentic level of self-esteem that will allow for receptivity to the more transcendent vibrations of universal love (Neptune), universal humanitarian improvement (Uranus), and transmutation of the ego (Pluto). So, it is vitally important for the consultant to identify and support the predominant ego function that guides the personality toward achieving confidence and building self- esteem through its application in the real world.

Astrological psychology supports the concept that we build on our ego strengths through our awareness of them which results in how well we adapt to environmental pressures or not. We gain confidence in the one ego planet that consistently works for us. Then we apply our efforts to integrate our personality by application of the body, or the emotions or the mind as faculties bringing a consistent method of understanding and working into our place in the world. This is an unconscious process for some, conscious for others, facilitated by an astrological consultation and the awareness of the individual concerned. Integration through identification of the strongest ego planet or archetype is the most important type of goal setting, and is the focus of psychotherapy as well as astrological consultation because it seems to build into the integration of the lesser developed, two ego planets.

As we mature we find that ego strengths and dominance is not enough to sustain us.  Because as we age, we lose our ego attachments to our jobs; our relationships through deaths of parents; close friends and/or lovers; our bodies through weakening and disease and finally we may lose our mental sharpness for accessing our autobiographical memory information efficiently. As these psychosocial realities that we built our lives on diminish through aging, we can find that the Huber method of Astrological Psychology discovers more psychological growth ahead as we continue to preserve our physical and mental health in old age. Achievement of a healthy ego is a precursor to the next stage of awareness: the deliberate realization of Self through understanding of the universal archetypes of the transcendental planets as they relate to and expand ego consciousness. Thus, the goal of self- actualization (Figure 2)  involves putting some distance between one’s ego desires and gratification of them, so that one can be receptive to higher levels of awareness.

Self-esteem that results from surmounting the crises and opportunities, brought about by achievement of psychosocial tasks, is the foundation for the next step in awareness—self-actualization. It is true that a degree of intuition is needed to be motivated toward achieving non-material goals. A yearning based on the realization that there is something more, beyond mere ego gratification, can be realized once basic needs are met. Identification with spiritual and universal principles that are beyond  our self-interests in individual ego gratifications alone (see Figure 1.2); this is the goal at this stage of development.

Huber’s Psychological Age Point Progression through the 12 Houses, exemplifies the struggle with ego conflicts in 12 environments that can enhance our development when we complete the psychological tasks inherent in each House.  A consultation using astrological psychology’s AP progression and transits can trigger an awareness that there are higher states yet to be developed beyond the levels of ego attachments. States of consciousness that are beyond healthy ego development and good self-esteem can set the stage for one to reach into the transpersonal realm of spiritual awareness. The consultant is tasked to re-frame the threats to ego integrity that identification with transcendental realms represent for older clients and, at the same time, reinforce for the client what she has already accomplished. Steps of passing through to a transcendental awareness and experiencing the higher realms of consciousness requires completion of the 52 Life Passages.  These are not accomplished neatly and perfectly but noisily  with the banging of drums, the  playing of music, and working out much inner conflict. There are stages of awakening on the way past psychosynthesis and awareness to the transpersonal Self between the field of consciousness and the middle and higher levels of the unconscious.  These require quieting of the ego because the ego corrupts and distorts the higher vibrations from higher realms.

For those coming to an astrological consultation, integration of the personality and receptivity to spiritual experience can unfold only with psychosynthesis, as the sub-personalities lessen their influence. Those clients can become aware, with a therapist’s or a consultant’s prompting, of the existence of their sub-personalities and learn to decrease their power. But work on developing ego integration and putting to rest ego distortions is not within the scope of practice of an astrological consultant. It is totally in the hands and efforts of the client.  Consultants can refer clients to psychotherapists, who can work on these issues if a client is receptive. This is especially pertinent when a client’s behavior leads to distortions of reality and maladaptive or self-injurious behavior.

 

 

 

New post on The Astrological Psychology Website

The Astrological Neptunian Character 2

by Barry

Post by John Grove

This is the continuation of John Grove’s explorations into his Neptune, following on from the previous post. 

A complex is an inner state of opposition between these two contrasting energies within the psyche; based on my personal psychological past of early attachments. The way a complex works in the outer world is that a bipolar behavior pattern is expressed. When one side of the complex is expressed at one time you get one presentation and when the other opposite side is expressed you get another presentation. I had this complex that was forgotten and repressed in my personal unconscious. i A complex is not caused by an aspect pattern in a horoscope. It is caused by a traumatic event. “An experience of high emotional content… with great dynamic power.. an event which hits a vital point of our psyche and our ego structure.” ii

In my 12th year I was with my father who was driving drunk and we were hit by a car traveling 60 miles an hour broadside. This event (occurred when my Age Point was at the crossing of the Nodal Point at the cusp of my 3rd house in Aquarius). This event shattered my sense of value and feeling toward my father by fear and anxiety. I adopted a rigid state with a tight ego shell within me which helped me to avoid hating my father for this irresponsible act. I could also deny that he was responsible for my anxious state. As a coping defense I developed a rigid pseudo self-confidence (Neptune self-deception) and toxic values. I behaved as a substance abuser adolescent in identification with father.

So I had to dig deep using my Capricorn focus and determination to discover that I expressed love and sympathy based on a need of belonging (to father) through a drive for selfless egoic surrender as a calling (as reflected by the opposition between Neptune and the Moon). This required endless sacrifice of my ego need for authentic expression of spontaneous anger-based resentment toward my dad which caused repression of these feelings. All this was generalized in the service of a higher ideal: to sacrifice my needs for the needs of others.

As denial began to lift about my inner complex I realized, I had to balance both sides and accept myself as I was- a contradiction. By the way, all people have contradictory sub-personalities but they may not all have trauma complexes so they may not be forced to understand themselves unless they dig deep into self-analysis. iii That is unfortunate because that application of self-study is not readily done today…our shadows are usually repressed parts of ourselves which we can project on people we love to hate.

How this played out in my youth was that my father was an alcoholic who I thought needed unconditional love from me; my mother who was my main caretaker was depressed and felt that my childhood presence “kept her young” as she would say. The way my complex chose to express itself was that I could not build self-esteem in an identity without giving love to both parents which took a lot of psychic energy. So even when parents were at odds with one another over father’s affairs, his continued alcoholism and selfishness, I actually did shuttle diplomacy giving love to one and then the other in total denial that I was giving up a major part of my striving for independence. It was a totally misplaced and confused loyalty to them, especially when I should be on my own. The only way to work this conundrum out was to encounter the world. (the Huber’s give reference in their book on Houses that to deal with in inner polarity, one develops a third pole, in this case the Encounter pole). iv Joining the Peace Corps and leaving home was my encounter with the world.

Encounters with reality in Huber’s perception can have the result of teaching you to see Neptune and the Moon as an initiation ritual. In their book, The Planets, Neptune in aspect to the Moon we see that:

The path of Neptune and the Moon speaks to the experience of love and suffering that one must go through in relationships when one subordinates one’s ego for another. This initiation leads to the subsequent refinement of the ego needs. When one does not get reciprocal sympathy and unconditional love, yet still loves and forgives another, this changes consciousness. Ego based love is conditional and selfish. But when one suffers from a betrayal of love and yet still continues to love without resentment and is able to forgive, then one is able to elevate one’s emotions beyond petty ego wants and desires. He/she can transcend opposites and avoid the projection that promotes conflict; because emotional identification with either extreme of two opposites can bring resentment. This requires a dis-identification from the emotional ego. The suffering of the ego and its ‘death’ brings about the dark night of the soul, causing one to feel abandoned and hopeless. As a purification experience, Christ was baptized to love all people, despite being persecuted. Through the betrayal of Judas and his crucifixion, He was able to forgive those who persecuted him. Because the experience of suffering and continuing to love is a continual process throughout the life cycle, there is an ongoing struggle to let go of the childish ego for the sake of ideal love. The passing phase of being betrayed and forsaken can last a long time and, during this process of purification, we are asked to let go of hope and what we consider are legitimate demands of reciprocal love. This process puts one in a completely different situation and changes consciousness. One surrenders to God’s will and that process is transformative. Transits of Neptune to an ego planet can trigger these experiences and crises. v

So, as I encountered the world, I had to figure out who I was because I had given so much attention to my parents, I was confused about what I had to do to grow up. All I had to go on was the ego identifications of father that I had incorporated into my false self-identity. Neptune was guiding me to encounter my cousin who introduced me to astrology and actually told me that I really had impressive dreams. I took those beginning bits of truth and went on with gusto to study in depth both subjects. After many years I found my own new identity as a psychotherapist, a depth psychoanalyst and astrologer which I practice this to this day.

So many times, in my encounters with the world I had to defend why I studied astrology. Those days are over now as I am confident in my craft; but I realize, I was guided by Neptune all along, an archetypal guide that presented me with experiences that helped heal the split within me and at the same time confused me because I believed all I had to go on was an ego consciousness that demanded self-expression of my ego identity against the world.

As I studied Jungian psychology on my own, I incorporated it into my practice on myself through dream analysis early on in my 20’s. I kept journals and dream diaries over 30 years. My service to others had been a calling and before I even had the license to practice, I was helping other people with grief, with separation and loss. My journaling with Ira Progoff started with a workshop he gave when I was in graduate school. vi My dream theme was water in many forms; Neptune was presenting me with tidal waves, rivers, seas images that evolved over the years. My emotional reactions to these dreams were mostly fearful and threatening at the beginning as they represented a threat to my striving toward development of individuality which I was afraid of accomplishing due to my split allegiances to my parents. I did not want to incorporate conscious identifications with either parent into my psyche. Later on, I developed a lofty and loving relationship with water and enjoyed water adventures in my dreams and put my relationships with my parents in proper perspective.

Since I have a Capricorn Sun it focused my complex to a point of achievement where not only did I make my living dealing with Neptune’s realm, but I also became the recipient of many of Neptune’s cloudy and murky influences which induced confusion, stormy days of hypersensitivity that sometimes triggered me to deny all emotion actually making me afraid of my ‘affects’. For a long time, I thought I was a thinking type and gave myself over to that for a while doing research and empirically based studies. vii But then there was the other me, that subpersonality that was receptive, loving, daring to question the status quo in my profession… a feeling type. I was angry that I seemed caught between two worlds: one of accountability and the other of dreamy and emotional rapport with myself and others so that I did not always know where I stood.

All through my life I had struggled with what thoughts I created that played out the scenario that people were going to deceive me, betray me, and hold back secrets from me. These thoughts would spontaneously get in my head and make me suspicious of others. I felt that maybe I did not to deserve love from others without having to save them or nurture them. That template based on guilt I re-enacted from my childhood onto relationships with others.

If I ever wanted to have the security that I could perceive reality without self-deception or without illusion, or without confusion or false hope; I needed to be clear minded and withdraw my projections from my past onto others.

If I ever wanted to give and receive love, then I would have to give up fantasies that are elusive and unreal shimmering in allurement but always too far away in the mist to chase.

Consider this dream: 7/18/2019

I am Christine Amanpour on a mission, on assignment. I have to choose a photographer for my next news cast. But I want no drama, no confusion of roles, no partner who will deceive me with promises to be the best ever reaching the ideal of photographers of the perfect picture. I want someone just right for the role. So, I stop this photographer; he is a man in his jeep driving on the road and I interview him hoping to nail down once and for all that this partner will not be… A chameleon who deceives me. A lover who confuses me.

But then I realize, illusion is not in him; it permeates all around me, is in me and projects out of me. I can’t get rid of it; I carry the self-deception factor everywhere I go.

Only living with the uncertainty of the unknown, not having anything solid beneath my feet, nothing to hold onto – that is my karma. That is the nature of Neptune the planet of mystery, of gaseous foam and the last bridge to the mystery that is deep space. We may never break it down and understand this: “I, Neptune am everywhere, all the time permeating every part of your existence as a fact.” I could no longer get rid of my uncertainty than to amputate my arm or my leg.

It is an illusion, that I could have Neptune out of my life. I have to make peace with the Master of the sea and waters. I have to learn to accept his dissolving of everything that as a Capricorn (where my Sun is located) I hold dear. His earthquakes break up the ground I am standing on. My therapy work represents everything I strive for and what I hold dear and that is the only solid thing I have. But that too will disappear as if an apparition. Going forward I will have to go on knowing my ego death will happen over and over that he will spread turpentine over the vision of my master works. And eventually when all is gone, I too will become one in unity with outer space that is beyond the boundaries of Neptune.

Maybe that is what I yearned for all my life.

i Hall, James A. Jungian Dream Interpretation, Inner City Books, Toronto, Canada, 1983, p. 120

ii Rudhyar, Dane, An Astrological Study of Psychological Complexes, Shambhala, Berkeley, 1976. P4

iii Parfitt, Will, Psychosynthesis: The Elements and Beyond, PS Avalon, Glastonbury, Somerset, UK,2003, p. 29

iv Huber, Bruno and Louise, The Astrological Houses; A Psychological View of Man and His World, Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine,1978, p.86

v Huber, Bruno and Louise, The Planets and Their Psychological Meaning, Hopewell Publishing, Knutsford, UK, 2006, P111.

vi Progoff, Dr. Ira, Intensive Journal Workbook, Dialogue Hose Associates, Inc. NY, NY 1968

vii Jung, Carl G. Psychological Types, Bollingen Foundation, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. .1958Barry | October 17, 2019 at 10:03 am | URL: https://wp.me/p7ktCb-1gLCommentSee all comments

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