Reality

The heart of astrology is the birth chart. It represents the pattern of significant points in the sky as observed from the time and place of an individual's birth. But as we know, based on the Hermetic principle of "As Above, So Below", this pattern also represents something else, something strongly connected to the individual born at that time and place.

The birth chart is a pattern of archetypes. This pattern shapes the individual's reality. It does this on both the objective and subjective levels. On the objective level, the archetypes shape the organism that is the individual - body and mind - as well as the world around the individual. On the subjective level, the archetypes shape the individual's experience and perception of that objective reality.1 Every aspect of the individual's experience is filtered through this chart pattern. From simple sensory input to complex abstract thought, the individual's perception of reality is shaped by the archetypal pattern.

Reality for the newborn infant is largely an undifferentiated flow of experience. The archetypes of the birth chart provide the primary patterns used by the child's mind to perceive the various characteristics and qualities of reality. For example, the Moon differentiates the experiences of hunger, feeding, and support, while Venus allows us to perceive pleasure, beauty, and affection. Each and every aspect of our world emerges through these fundamental perceptual categories. The mind notices that groups of these characteristics tend to regularly occur together, and gradually resolves its world into particular objects, events and situations.

Self and Other

The infant's experience is dominated by the two archetypal lights - the Sun and the Moon. The Sun provides the most primary characteristic of experience - that of existence itself. The infant's reality is filled with sensations - colors, shapes, sounds, textures - all of which glow with numinous being. Reality is dynamic, active - a thrust into existence, willed manifestation. The mind delights in this kaleidoscope of being. Periodically the Moon focuses the mind on one aspect of the flow - the experience of hunger/need, emotional demanding, food and feeding, and then satisfaction. Existence begins to differentiate between those sensations, those aspects of reality that are associated with this Lunar process, and everything else. A nascent self begins to emerge, a familiar constellation of sensations/characteristics that in some sense seems distinct from the rest of reality.

The self is at first less of an object and more of a locus of experience. Breast or bottle, warm skin and soothing feelings, being held and supported and taken care of - all these are included as part of the self. When, however, the time lag between demanding food/care and its arrival emerges jarringly into the infant's consciousness, the self differentiates further. The Solar will is discovered to have limits. The self becomes even more focused and distinct - but not absolutely separate. Mother, other care-givers, the familiar environs of home, favorite toys, pets, other family members - all these are included, more or less, in the nimbus of self. The further from this comfortable center that any aspect of reality is experienced to be, to that extent it is considered other.

We can think of this as a continuum, from self to other. All the objects, including people, and environments in the child's world, are experienced somewhere along this continuum - from the familiar center of experience of self to the increasingly external other. Reality is thus a continuum differentiated by Solar and Lunar characteristics. From the Lunar point of view, everything is more or less familiar, comfortable, nurturing and supportive. From the Solar viewpoint, everything can be more or less impacted by the will. The self is thus, at this point, a center of will and need.

Archetypes

As Mercury emerges to play a greater role in the psyche, reality resolves into more and more objects. Regardless of where they fall on the continuum of self-other - their distance from the primary center of experience, they may also be recognized as having needs and wills of their own. Every archetypal characteristic, including those of the Sun and Moon, can be associated with any aspect of reality, wherever it exists on the self-other continuum. In fact, this is a necessity if we are to be able to accurately perceive the people and events in our world.

However, just as we place the objects of our world along the self-other continuum, there is a tendency to do the same with each and every archetypal characteristic. There are a number of factors in the birth chart that contribute to the tendency or ease with which a particular archetype is associated with either the self or other. Since the birth chart plays such a large role in the manifestation of the individual's objective reality - both self and other - these innate tendencies are not in themselves problematic, but reflect that objective reality. Healthy functioning depends only on the psyche's retaining the ability to recognize an archetypal manifestation in self or other, regardless of our usual associations.

We have already seen the first factor. Of the planets, the Sun and the Moon have the strongest tendency to be experienced as part of the self. This is why Sun-sign or pop astrology has any validity at all. Further, the closer a planet is in its orbit around the Sun, the higher is its tendency to be experienced as a part of the self. Since Mercury and Venus always appear near the Sun in the birth chart, this general area is usually strongly experienced as self. The outer planets - Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - are called transpersonal planets because they are not under the control of the personal will. They thus tend not be be experienced as a part of the self, particularly by the immature psyche, and even if they are, it is a partial and usually distorted perception.

Second, any planet in the chart that is experienced as self has an "aura" of familiarity around it. The signs, planets and houses near it become more easily experienced as self. The farther a planet is from these familiar planets in the birth chart, the more likely it is to be experienced as other.

Identification and Alienation

The third factor takes us into a new realm, beyond the natural and healthy tendency to experience certain archetypes as either self or other. When two planets are in a hard aspect to one another, they are experienced by the psyche as in conflict, in some way challenging or contradicting one another. Ideally the psyche resolves the conflict, finding a way to manifest the archetypes in a mutually accomodating fashion. One of them may be more experienced as self than the other, but as long as they can get along, there is no problem.

However, if the individual is not able to accomplish this integration, the tension of the conflict threatens to overwhelm the psyche. There is, at this point, a tendency to take sides, to include one archetype in the self and push the other away as other.2 Not only does the conflict remain, but a structural rigidity has been introduced into the individual's perception of reality. We say that the archetype that is retained as a part of the self has been identified with, while the rejected archetype has been alienated. Until the conflict has been resolved, the psyche is restricted in its ability to perceive and thus consciously manifest the rejected archetype as a part of the self. Conversely, the archetype that has been identified with is more difficult to experience as other, even if that is being called for by the objective situation. A distorted view of reality has been structured into the psyche.

Saturn

The fourth factor that contributes to the differentiating of the archetypes of the birth chart into self and other is Saturn. Orbiting far from the Sun, at the boundary between the personal and transpersonal realms, Saturn is exquisitely aware of the limitations of the personal will. As a result, it feels our fundamental vulnerability, our mortality. It recognizes that the success, indeed the survival of the self is dependent upon its developing a positive relationship with those very aspects of its world that limit its will. For children this means the "big people" in their life - those that have power and authority over them - primarily parents and teachers.

Saturn tunes into the judgments of these authorities. Their view of who we are, and who we are not, is taken in by Saturn and strongly influences our sense of self. Any personal characteristics, but more basically any archetypes that are recognized by an authority as part of the self are reinforced, while any that are not seen in the individual are weakened. "Daddy says I'm a good athlete", and so I have a stronger tendency to perceive my Sagittarius as a part of myself. "Mommy says I'm not very nice", and so my experience of my Venus as a part of myself is weakened.

Beyond the messages of who we are and are not, Saturn also hears how we should be and how we should not be.3 These expectations and judgments of authorities, internalized by Saturn, have a profound effect on the child's sense of self. Saturn sends more energy to those archetypes that are approved of, encouraging them to manifest more fully. Their identification is supported. At the same time Saturn attempts to limit, to restrict the manifestation of those archetypes that it disapproves of, alienating them from the individual's identity.

Every archetype seeks to express or manifest itself fully according to its nature. It resists any attempt to restrict it, and so a conflict ensues. The result can be anywhere from a partial restriction and thus a distorted manifestation of the disapproved archetype, to a complete suppression of it, the archetype thus becoming partially to completely alienated.

Anxiety and Avoidance

As long as Saturn attempts to restrict an archetype's expression, the conflict will continue. These conflicts use energy, reducing the amount available for productive purposes. Further, they are uncomfortable, generating frustration, confusion, and, most importantly, anxiety. Unable to resolve the conflict, the psyche naturally attempts to get away from this discomfort. There are a number of ways that it can accomplish this. We will look at the two most important ones.

First of all, the expression of an archetype cannot actually be reduced, but it can be restricted from one area of the individual's reality. The archetype can be suppressed from manifesting or being experienced as a part of the self, but this just means that it manifests all the more strongly outside the self, as other. I may alienate my Uranian energy, and think of myself as being in control, but chaotic external circumstances will continue to intrude upon my life. People who identify with an archetype that I alienate will "take on" the energy and manifest it in my world. Instead of experiencing the conflict as an internal one between two parts of my self, I experience the archetype as coming from the outside, and either avoid it or fight against it. This is, of course, a never-ending battle, at least until I begin to discover its roots in my own alienation.

South Node

The second way that the psyche attempts to get away from the discomfort of these identity conflicts is by shifting its attention to an area of life within which it is particularly comfortable. Its main resource in this regard is the South Node of the Moon. The South Node, from the moment of birth, is strongly experienced as a part of the self. Because of this basic sense of familiarity, the child easily and naturally develops the manifestation of its sign energy and its house orientation. It soon becomes a dependable place of strength and stability in the psyche. As the Saturnian conflicts emerge, the South Node is increasingly accessed as a refuge from anxiety, as a source of security in an unstable reality.

Gradually a shift takes place. The South Node was at first simply a comfortable part of the psyche through which we can easily and powerfully express our will. As it is more and more frequently called upon by Saturn to escape from discomfort, it becomes infected with this fear-based defensiveness. We become addicted to our South Node, constantly seeking its reassurance that we are okay, safe, but also increasingly fearing its loss. The opposite archetypal orientation - the North Node - similarly began as simply an unfamiliar and thus an undeveloped part of the psyche. The more we become identified with our South Node, the more we alienate our North Node.

This results in a fundamental polarizing of the psyche. The attachment to the South Node creates a zone of identification around it. Every archetype within a couple of houses and signs of the South Node is enlisted in this defensive project, becoming over-emphasized, over-expressed. At the other end, in the general area of the North Node, archetypes tend to be alienated, overcoming other factors. For example, if the Sun is near the North Node, the will is weakened, and tends to be experienced compulsively through other people.

Challenging the Status Quo

This process of identification and alienation, this polarizing of the psyche, takes place in all of us. It is a necessary survival strategy. As the child grows, a status quo is established. The internalized Saturnian judgments help the child deal with the social reality dominated by the authorities in his life. While the resulting conflicts generate anxiety, the South Node allays this to some extent, providing comfort, security, and a certain mastery of this one area of life. The child and later young adult's perception of reality settles into a defined though somewhat rigid self in a relatively predictable external world.

This survival strategy works well as long as the individual's objective reality remains the same. If it changes, however, the established pattern of identifications and alienations is stressed. Anxiety is harder to avoid, constantly threatening to break through into consciousness. The South Node is called upon even more to maintain a familiar experience. The psyche has to work harder to maintain the status quo, while at the same time becoming less adapted, less successful, less fulfilled.

There are two main ways that the individual's objective reality can change - development and environmental or situational change.

Life is a continual process of development. We move through stages in our lifetime during which particular archetypal energies emerge more strongly than usual, seeking to manifest themselves in new ways appropriate to that stage of life. The new manifestations - talents, attitudes, behaviors - are then integrated into the self. Adolescence, career development, child-rearing and old age are representative examples. At each stage the newly strengthened archetypal energies challenege the current identity.

At the same time, when the external environment changes, there is a stress on the psyche to change its perception to more accurately reflect the changed reality. For example, the expectations and limits of new people in positions of authority may be substantially different from the previously internalized judgements. Archetypes that have been alienated may now be required for successful adaptation. The identity is thus challenged from without.

Transits

There is a third factor that reflects and gives rise to both development and external change - transits. The transiting planets, particularly Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, stimulate the archetypes of the birth chart to develop new patterns of manifestation. The natal archetype may be moved to manifest either internally or externally, either as part of the self or the environment. In either case, if the emerging manifestation is at odds with the established identity, Saturn reacts defensively, attempting to reinforce the current status quo of perception. And yet Saturn's fundamental orientation is reality, its fundamental goal survival. Change may be preferable.

Change

But change is not easy, or comfortable. We must first understand that, regardless of the decision at hand or the conflict that has emerged, our tendency to approach it from a South Node perspective will not work, will not solve the problem, will not lead to success and fulfillment. We must let go of our attachment to this place of familiarity and comfort if we are to truly change. Of course to let go of it we must recognize it. We must understand the archetypes of its sign and house, we must experience ourself in full awareness compulsively manifesting them, and we must know that there is an alternative - the North Node. But this is only the first step.

As we loosen our grip on the South Node, our reality begins to reorganize. The rigid pattern of perception that we created, based on our Saturnian internalizations, dissolves back into the flow of our immediate experience. Our underlying vulnerability at Saturn floods our consciousness. We are re-connected to that feeling of limitation, of being "little in a big world". But something else, something far more primary, also re-emerges. When, as children, we sought the approval of our parents, we were doing more than just trying to feel safe. The discovery of the limits of our will cleaved the unity of our reality. Through Saturn we feel that separation, that cosmic isolation, but it is also through Saturn that we reach out to be part of, to find our place in the greater whole.

At first that greater whole is our family. Later, particularly after our first Saturn return, we seek our place in society. And finally, especially after our second Saturn return, our need is to connect directly to and feel part of the "greatest whole" - the Universe, God, the Gods, Spirit ... And so, when we let go of our South Node, along with anxiety and vulnerability comes our deepest longing of all - to re-connect to and feel a part of that which transcends our individual self.

But Saturn needs more than just an experience, it needs to create a new form through which it can fulfill its responsibility to the greater whole. The form is, of course, a manifestation of Saturn's sign and house. How are these archetypes trying to manifest themselves? How is the greater whole trying to shape me? What is it I'm supposed to do? What is my responsibility, what role am I supposed to play, what contribution am I supposed to make?

This is hard work, but we are offered another powerful resource in our search - our North Node. As we let go of our attachment at South Node, the polarization of our psyche releases. There is a natural tendency for energy and attention to flow towards North Node. This is because the greater whole is attempting to manifest, to develop in this direction - through us. We have only to bring our personal will into harmony with this movement. Beyond the ease that comes with going with the flow, and beyond the peace that comes from knowing you're doing what you've come here to do, there is also the excitement of the new, of being at the growing edge of the Universe (or, less grandiose, the collective psyche of this planet). By house the North Node represents the area of life within which our possibilities for learning, for expansion and growth are unlimited. By sign the North Node represents the energies we can use to ride this wave.

Facilitating Change

The process of change - of letting go of South Node, allowing the pattern of identifications and alienations to dissolve, feeling the anixiety but also the deep longing at Saturn to connect to the greater whole, discovering your responsibility to the greater whole, and reorienting towards North Node - is the biggest challenge there is in life. It is nice to have a little help. That's where the astrologer comes in. The astrologer who understands this process and is oriented toward facilitating it, can help you to move through it by supporting your understanding and contacting of the archetypes of your birth chart.

During a reading I listen to you and I sense your energy. I determine where you are in your chart, that is which archetypes are manifesting most strongly - both as perceived parts of your self and as other. I get a sense of the pattern of your identifications and alienations. In particular I tune into your Saturn and your relationship to the world beyond your personal will, as well as your South Node and the strength of your attachment to it. In other words, I try to see, to feel, to understand your experience, your reality. And I reflect it back to you.

We explore your birth chart. If you are new to astrology, I first give you an overview of the system, focused on how to look at a birth chart. Then we dive into yours. I show you the archetypes that you are emphasizing in your current experience. I help you to develop an understanding of these archetypes - their purpose and meaning. We talk a lot about Saturn and the Nodes of the Moon, as these are central to everyone's experience. I help you to see the ways in which you are attached to your South Node, and the ways that you are restricting your perception of reality based on Saturnian internalizations. And I show you your North Node (curtain raises, music reaches a crescendo) - your reward for being true to yourself.

This exploration, this journey through your chart, takes place on two levels - understanding and awareness. Though related, they are different, and both necessary to the change process. We are all familiar with understanding. This takes place on the mental level. We think about your birth chart. We use words and concepts to gain an intellectual understanding of the archetypes and your particular pattern of perception. Awareness is less mental, closer to direct experience. While we can use words and ideas to approach the archetypes, they cannot be fully grasped or captured by the mind. We must feel them, sense them, allow them to fill our experience. I keep pointing at the archetypal underpinnings of your current perception until you begin to experience them directly. This is awareness.

We use understanding and awareness to help you return to your roots. We establish a dialog, a working relationship with the archetypes that shape your reality. I help you to listen to their messages, to learn their language, to understand their purposes. By trusting them and allying with them, decisions become clearer, solutions more obvious. And, beyond this practical level, as you get to know your archetypal self, you increasingly feel your connection to its source, our common source. You find your place in this world - a world of unexpected and amazing order and meaning.