Intuitive Astrology

by Gwynne Mayer

This is combining the works of ancient writings, Theosophical writings, Jungian approaches and over fifty years of reading, studying and lecturing nationally and internationally, bringing all works into practical experience.

(Studies in Theosophy, Jungian and Rosicrucian astrology and psychology are combined to form a symchronistic and practical experience of ancient wisdom.)

As an astrologer, I think it is important for others, especially established Jungians, to embrace some of what Jung said in this letter, written in 1958, 3 years before his death.

synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle” in
Jung-Pauli: The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche, Bollingen Series
LI, New York 1952. Pag. 83 ff.)

“To Robert L. Kroon

Astrology is one of the intuitive methods like the I Ching, geomantic, and
other divinatory procedures. It is based upon the synchronicity principle,
i.e., meaningful coincidence. I have explored experimentally three
intuitive methods: the method of the I Ching, geomantics, and astrology.
Astrology is a naively projected psychology in which the different
attitudes and temperaments of man are represented as gods and identified
with planets and zodiacal constellations. While studying astrology I have
applied it to concrete cases many times.


There are remarkable coincidences, e.g.. the position of Mars in the
zenith in the famous horoscope of Wilhelm II, the so-called
‘Friedenskaiser.’ This position is said already in a medieval treatise to
mean always cases ab alto, a fall from the height.


The experiment is most suggestive to a versatile mind, unreliable in the
hands of the unimaginative, and dangerous in the hands of a fool, as those
intuitive methods always are. If intelligently used the experiment is
useful in cases where it is a matter of an opaque structure. It often
provides surprising insights. The most definite limit of the experiment is
lack of intelligence and literal-mindedness of the observer.

It is an intelligent apercu like the shape of the hand or the expression of the
face—things of which a stupid and unimaginative mind can make nothing and
from which a superstitious mind draws the wrong conclusions.
Astrological truths as statistical results are questionable or even
unlikely. (cf. my paper ‘synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle” in
Jung-Pauli: The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche, Bollingen Series
LI, New York 1952. Pag. 83 ff.)


The superstitious use (prediction of the future or statement of facts
beyond psychological possibilities) is false. Astrology differs very much from alchemy, as its historical literature consists merely of different methods of casting a horoscope and of interpretation, and not of philosophical texts as is the case in alchemy.


There is no psychological exposition of astrology yet, on account of
the fact that the empirical foundation in the sense of science has not yet
been laid. The reason for this is that astrology does not follow the
principle of causality, but depends, like all intuitive methods, on
acausality. Undoubtedly, astrology is flourishing as never before in the
past, but it is still most unsatisfactorily explored despite very frequent
use. it is an apt tool only when used intelligently. It is not at all
foolproof and when used by a rationalistic and narrow mind it is a definite
nuisance.”

We will look at the astrological chart and how it functions physically in the earth body, the psyche and ego structure, and spiritual esoteric level of awareness. How do we evolve our consciousness throughout time?

The Physical Earth Body —


The Self — A combination of psyche and ego (ego being the conscious realm as signified by the ascendant), the psyche being the conscious and unconscious. We are born into the cross of matter and fixated, at the time of birth, in an ego building chart, with 12 other environmental, housing concerns that respond to our involuntariness and spend time trying to sway us into a formation.

The ego is needed to respond and ‘not’  to react, hopefully spontaneously, as a child (so says the Bible) so as not to form too many sub personalities. Let’s give your ‘self’ the number 1 personality that is free flowing and typical of your ascendant, depending on its mutability, cardinality or fixity.

The number 2 personality has been ‘conditioned’ by the chart/12 houses and all aspects to the Ascendant (Rising Sign)  and shows the nature of the ego from birth forward. Look at your chart and see what your ascendant and all planets nearby have to say about your ego/self and watch closely as to your approach to the unconscious and the imaginable realm. Do you move about freely? Does your ego set discerning pathways by which you can maneuver through your chart? and by the way, the charts of others?

Remember when we read the charts of others that we are speaking to the ‘soul’ through the ego…and sometimes it is a treacherous path if we are too subjectively involved with our own egos!

The Anima is the ‘Soul’ of man and is seen through the female side (which can be male or female) I associate the Soul connection in relationships through the Moon/Venus and all heavily aspect connections of the male s chart through those two directions. The anima in a man s chart is his inner female and can be reflected back to him more easily when there is a Moon/Venus connection through another’s chart. This is critical, especially in love relationships as the female in the relationship will be relating to the male s anima whether she likes it or not, as that is all he can see/love her for.

So let us look closely at the male Moon/Venus in the men s charts, and look closely at how they aspect your chart in synastry. We must notice the attention we pay, and those that grab our energies and see what part of them lies within us.

I will use my own Sun and Moon analysis as well as my 7th house whose co-rulers (Saturn/Uranus) lie in the 10th house. I am mesmerized by strong willed and connected females more in a positive way, and have spent much of my life devoted to hanging onto those images AS self, but the shadow part of me is equally put off and negatively hypnotized by the ‘victim’, the ‘helpless’, and the ‘needy’ female opposite.

So I had to take the nature of the Sun in Leo and find out what the oppositions to those adjectives/qualities would be not Uranus. I have acted out my willful freedom issues by walking out of 7th house relationships, not facing my own dependency, my own neediness, fears, helplessness and most of all my own sadness. To this day, it creates an intense amount of work on my shadow side. My eighth house opposing Moon in Libra (second) is of course how Aphrodite will live with her sexuality…as I watch her shadow nymph-like creatures going about creating magic.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPES CORRELATED

From an astrological perspective, I would like to explain the introversion/extroversion as it applies to the chart mandala as well as the intuition, thinking, sensation, feeling functions and how they are seen in the chart wheel structure. Some elements and planetary placements in different house positions, aspects and configurations are more adaptable to an intuitive understanding and aligned with the ‘stream of consciousness.’

According to Jung’s typology, we classify according to attitude type and function type. Of attitude type there are two choices: extraverted, in which the individual’s libido (primal structure) tends to be directed from oneself towards objects in the outer world, while introverted personalities, libido tends to be directed from the objects of the outer world into oneself. Acknowledging that neither of these categories is fixed nor exclusive, Jung sought merely to describe in a practical, observable way what someone’s dominant or typical attitude was toward people, the world and oneself.

We look at a chart wheel and make some generalizations regarding the above introverted/extroverted nature. The introverted chart will have the majority of planets below the horizon, realizing that the person with this chart will take matters into account on a subjective level and may or may not manifest these matters outwardly. The predominance of female planets (earth/water) in a chart will also show a subjective nature, but not necessarily introversion. The extroverted chart, on the other hand will have a predominance of planets in the upper half of the chart and/or a predominance of air and fire. As always a synthesis of all aspects in a chart need to be considered and flexibility in the nature of a chart, progressions and transits needs to be accounted for when analyzing these extroverted/introverted natures.

Image result for jung intuition picWe shall now look at the intuitive, thinking, sensation, and feeling aspects of the natal chart. We categorize these types into rational and irrational functions. The two rational types are thinking and feeling. We use the term rational because both of these functions are criteria to organize and to make decisions. The thinking function organizes and decides according to analysis and logic, (planetary placements in air, i.e., Libra, Gemini, Aquarius), while the feeling functions organize and decide based on ones values and self worth, i.e. (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces). Feeling function should not be synonymous with emotion, but instead should go into the realm of morality and values, including one’s ethical sense of things and situations. Using the term ‘rational’ for feeling types in the Jungian sense might confound modern-day people (especially thinking types!) who assume feelings and emotions are always irrational aspects of psychic life meant to be controlled or resolved. Thinking, if looking at only placements in a chart, will be in the lower left hand quadrant as one looks at a natal chart, taking into account the combinations and aspects of both air planets and air house placements in a solar chart. The feeling section of a chart will be the lower right quadrant and will depend largely on the placement of water planets, and or water houses, i.e. the fourth house is largely the rooted values/feelings coming from home and family in the past and in the here and now.

We will move then to the discussion of irrational functions. The two irrational functions, in Jungian terminology are intuition and sensation. Intuitive types function on the basis of one’s unconscious experience and perceptions, that immaterial realm of symbols, images and archetypes that many are unaware of but which an intuitive person uses as the foundation for action and experience. The intuitive function is represented by a predominance of planets in the upper left hand quadrant of the natal chart and are also represented by planets in fire, i.e. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. The sensation type of person primarily function through experience of the concrete, physical world, a down-to-earth sense of existence in the world and unto oneself. This type is primarily seen in the upper right hand quadrant of a chart, represented by earth planets, Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo. Again, one must synthesize to see the blend in a chart and work with the integration of all types into the one personality/ego structure which is the overall outer wheel of a chart as read from the ascendant.

Basically, using Jungian types, there are eight basic types of people: extraverted thinking, feeling, intuitive, and sensate, and introverted thinking, feeling, intuitive and sensate. The well known Myers-Briggs test of psychological type is based on Jung’s typology. There are some extra categories, but other Jungians have adapted some of these tests in different ways.

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