Astrology and headology
Many astrologers these days combine their astrology with psychotherapy, or at least incorporate ideas from the latter into their readings. This is a twentieth century development, pioneered by the great Dane Rudhyar. Rudhyar was a humanist, and he was one of the first astrologers to see the natal chart as a map for the development of the self. Around the same time, Jung was developing his psychological theories and investigating all kinds of esoteric disciplines, including alchemy and astrology. Jung saw the psyche as a dynamic entity, in which different forces worked to create an equilibrium, giving impetus towards integration and therefore personal fulfilment. Rudhyar saw the chart as having the same dynamic, with the planets representing the psychic forces in their journey towards equilibrium. Thus the natal chart becomes a map of what happens in the psyche of the individual, and their personal path to wholeness.
This was a major shift from the fatalism, or determinism, of traditional astrology, in which events were seen to "happen" to the individual, out of their control. Now the inner world was seen as more important than outside influences, leading to the now fashionable idea that we create our own reality. The latter is simplistic as best and damaging at worst, but also contains some truth. Today, determinism is seen not as being circumstances or events controlled by some higher power, but as being our inner drives and the way they influence our behaviour, usually unconsciously. We are all products of our environment, social conditioning, and emotional patterns, and often we are not even are of how these drive our actions. The natal chart maps these drives, helping us to bring them into awareness. This allows us to move out of our conditioning, to understand our own dynamics and to change them to a more positive expression. Our chart shows us our shadow side and our projections, the parts of ourselves we don't care to admit to, and helps us to integrate them. And meeting the world, and especially our relationships, from a more integrated place, allows to to live and connect with others more authentically.
This psychological approach to astrology focuses on the meaning instead of the event, allowing us to interpret the chart across a range of symbolic manifestations. One person's Mars in Sagittarius may lead them to enjoy horse riding, another may react with anger to the slightest threat to their freedom, still another finds their power in a search for life's meaning. Instead of asking "Does astrology work?", Rudhyar asked "What can astrology be used for?". These days, astrology can be a theory of personality, a model of the psyche and an assessment tool. Astrology teaches us empathy, moving us out of our own habitual ways of seeing the world and showing the myriad of ways that a human being can, well, be. Rudhyar's humanistic approach sees every person as responding to a particular need of the universe, and the natal chart as showing what that need is and how the individual can work towards it. Seen this way, surely taking a psychotherapeautic approach to astrology can only be a good thing?
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This was a major shift from the fatalism, or determinism, of traditional astrology, in which events were seen to "happen" to the individual, out of their control. Now the inner world was seen as more important than outside influences, leading to the now fashionable idea that we create our own reality. The latter is simplistic as best and damaging at worst, but also contains some truth. Today, determinism is seen not as being circumstances or events controlled by some higher power, but as being our inner drives and the way they influence our behaviour, usually unconsciously. We are all products of our environment, social conditioning, and emotional patterns, and often we are not even are of how these drive our actions. The natal chart maps these drives, helping us to bring them into awareness. This allows us to move out of our conditioning, to understand our own dynamics and to change them to a more positive expression. Our chart shows us our shadow side and our projections, the parts of ourselves we don't care to admit to, and helps us to integrate them. And meeting the world, and especially our relationships, from a more integrated place, allows to to live and connect with others more authentically.
This psychological approach to astrology focuses on the meaning instead of the event, allowing us to interpret the chart across a range of symbolic manifestations. One person's Mars in Sagittarius may lead them to enjoy horse riding, another may react with anger to the slightest threat to their freedom, still another finds their power in a search for life's meaning. Instead of asking "Does astrology work?", Rudhyar asked "What can astrology be used for?". These days, astrology can be a theory of personality, a model of the psyche and an assessment tool. Astrology teaches us empathy, moving us out of our own habitual ways of seeing the world and showing the myriad of ways that a human being can, well, be. Rudhyar's humanistic approach sees every person as responding to a particular need of the universe, and the natal chart as showing what that need is and how the individual can work towards it. Seen this way, surely taking a psychotherapeautic approach to astrology can only be a good thing?