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PSYCHE AND COSMOS: Holotropic States of Consciousness and Archetypal Astrology Tests Used to Predict the Reaction to Psychedelics and the Outcome of Therapeutic Sessions: • Symptoms Checklist (SCL - 90) • Minnesota Multidimensional Personality Inventory (MMPI) • Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) • Rorschach Inkblot Test • Psychedelic Experience Questionnaire (PEQ) • The above tests were essentially useless in this regard. Natal and Transit Astrology: • Natal and transit astrology is an invaluable tool in the work with holotropic states of consciousness: • psychedelic therapy • primal therapy • rebirthing • holotropic breathwork • spontaneous psychospiritual crises (“spiritual emergencies”) History of Astrology: • Astrology is a very ancient art and science • Origins probably in the third millennium B.C. in Mesopotamia and later spread from Mesopotamia to India and Greece • Hellenistic astrologers refined astronomical computations and assigned specific mythic deities to individual planets (already established by the Babylonians) • Ptolemy: first unified synthesis of astrology - the meanings of the planets, their positions and geometrical aspects, specific influences on individual lives and collective events • In an expanded, revised, and refined form, Ptolemy's system influenced for almost 2,000 years the religion, philosophy, and science of pagan and later Christian Europe • Modern astrologers, using the advances of the telescope, then added to the ancient system the three outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto Astrology in the Modern Era: Like many other esoteric systems, astrology was one of the victims of the rationalism and materialism of the Scientific and Industrial Revolution The rejection of astrology was not based on a scientific proof that its premises were false, but on its incompatibility with the fundamental metaphysical assumptions of Western science (monistic materialism) More specifically, there are several important reasons for the dismissal of astrology by materialistic scientists The Astrological Perspective: • The astrological world view closely reflects the original meaning of the Greek word Kosmos: the universe is an intelligibly ordered, patterned, and coherently interconnected system • All events follow an intelligible trajectory that is attuned to the movements of celestial bodies and can be at least partially intuited • The doctrine of universal sympathy: the microcosm of the human psyche reflects the macrocosm and terrestrial events mirror celestial events ("as above so below,” “as without, so within”) • Human life is not the result of random forces ruled by chance, but an integral part of the whole; the time and place of birth plays a critical role. Time has a quality, not just quantity (Jung’s comparison with wine) • Astrological thinking presupposes the existence of archetypes, timeless primordial principles underlying, informing, and forming material reality Basic Metaphysical Assumptions of Western Science Contradicting Astrology: • 1. The universe is an infinitely complex system of mechanical processes, a giant supermachine; it has no intrinsic meaning • 2. The universe is strictly deterministic and is governed by principles of linear causality; celestial bodies can influence terrestrial events only by physical forces (the problem of the “cause of all causes” is avoided) • 3. The individual human psyche reflects only an infinitesimal fraction of the universe; the idea that it is commensurate with its totality is absurd and contradicts Aristotelian logic (“a part cannot be the whole”) • 4. Biological birth is psychologically irrelevant, unless it causes irreversible organic damage to the brain • 5. Experiences of ordinarily invisible dimensions of reality, such as archetypal figures, motifs, and realms, are products of pathological process in the brain; they do not have any ontological relevance Findings of Modern Consciousness Research Supporting the World View of Astrology: • 1. The study of transpersonal experiences points to an ensouled cosmos permeated with superior intelligence and reflecting a master blueprint • 2. Depth psychology has discovered the existence of synchronicities, which represent an important and viable alternative to the principle of causality • 3. Non-ordinary states of consciousness offer the possibility to experience ordinarily invisible dimensions of reality, including archetypal figures, motifs, and realms, and empirically validate their existence • 4. Experiential psychotherapy revealed the critical psychodynamic importance of the birth experience for the psychological development and life of the individual • 5. Discovery of the extraordinary predictive potential of astrological transits for the nature, timing, and content of holotropic states of consciousness Findings of Modern Consciousness Research Supporting the World View of Astrology: • 1. The study of transpersonal experiences points to an ensouled cosmos permeated with superior intelligence and reflecting a master blueprint • 2. Non-ordinary states of consciousness offer the possibility to experience ordinarily invisible dimensions of reality, including archetypal figures, motifs, and realms, and empirically validate their existence • 3. Depth psychology has discovered the existence of synchronicities, which represent an important and viable alternative to the principle of causality • 4. Experiential psychotherapy revealed the critical psychodynamic importance of the birth experience for the psychological development and life of the individual • 5. Discovery of the extraordinary predictive potential of astrological transits for the nature, timing, and content of holotropic states of consciousness Parallels between Astrological Archetypes and Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPMs): • BPM I : Neptune • BPM II: Saturn • BPM III: Pluto • BPM IV: Uranus Parallels between Types of Ecstasy, BPMs, and Astrological Archetypes: • Oceanic Ecstasy (Apollonian): BPM I - Neptune • Volcanic Ecstasy (Dionysian): BPM III - Pluto • Epiphanic Ecstasy (Promethean): BPM IV - Uranus Basic Elements of the Horoscope: • • • • • • • • Ascendant Descendant Zenith (midheaven) Nadir Zoodiacal signs Planets Angular relationships Houses Angular relationships between Planets: (Aspects, Transits) • • • • • • Conjunction: O degrees Opposition: 180 degrees Trine: 120 degrees Square: 90 degrees Quincunx: 72 degrees Sextile: 60 degrees Astrological Archetypes: Sun Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Perspectives on Archetypes: • The tendency to interpret the world in terms of archetypal principles first emerged in ancient Greece and was one of the most striking characteristics in Greek philosophy and culture. Archetypes can be seen from several perspectives: • 1. HOMERIC: archetypes seen as mythological principles - deities (Zeus, Hera, Ares, Hades, Aphrodite, etc.) • 2. PLATONIC: archetypes seen as philosophical principles Forms, Ideas • 3. JUNGIAN: archetypes seen as psychological principles primordial ordering patterns governing the Psyche Astrological Archetype of the Sun: • the conscious self, Jung’s persona, core of the personality • central principle of vital energy and personal identity • personal will and expression of oneself as an autonomous individual • association with the masculine principle, or yang • tends to reflect significant male figures in one's life • The archetypes of any planets that form significant aspects with the Sun will have a particularly strong influence in the person's life and character Astrological Archetype of the Moon: • aspects of the psyche of which we are unconscious • the psychosomatic self • emotionally and instinctively reactive aspects of the personality • association with the feminine principle, or yin • early mother-child relationship and childhood • home and ancestral heritage • tends to reflect significant female figures in one's life • The archetypes of the planets that form important aspects with the Moon tend to be especially significant in the person's life; they will manifest in the parts of one's life that are governed by the Moon. Astrological Archetype of Mercury: • intellect, reason (Logos), mental activities • capacity to perceive and learn, conceptualize and articulate • use of words and language, communication of ideas • ability to move around, to transport, to make contact • Mythological expression of this archetype: Greek god Hermes (Roman Mercurius), the messenger of the gods • Major aspects between Mercury and other planets reflect the way one receives and transmits information, the nature of one’s intellectual functioning, and the focus of one’s education Astrological Archetype of Venus: • the principle of love or Eros • the yin aspect of sensuality and sexuality • desire for romance, partnership, and social relations • attracting and being attracted by others • aesthetic sensibility and its expression in artistic activities • search for harmony • Mythological expression of this archetype: Greek goddess Aphrodite, (Roman Venus), the goddess of love and beauty • Major aspects connecting Venus with other planets show significant correlations with the capacity to give and receive affection and love, with the nature of our social interactions and particularly romantic involvements, and with artistic interests, talents, impulses, and expressive abilities Astrological Archetype of Mars: • principle of dynamic energy and of the initiating and driving impulse • vitality and athletic prowess, the yang aspect of sexuality • ambition, assertiveness, competitiveness, courage, anger, and violence • forces of nature and technology • wars and other powerful and violent events • Mythological expression of this archetype: Greek god Ares (Roman Mars), the god of war • Important aspects or transits involving Mars tend to coincide with assertive and aggressive behavior, conflicts, and confrontations, disposition toward impulsivity and injury Astrological Archetype of Jupiter: • Positive side: • “Great Benefic,” governing growth, expansion, success • optimism, abundance, happiness, good fortune • pursuit of what is better or higher, generosity, and magnanimity • open-mindedness, far-reaching perspectives • high moral standards and philosophical ideals • intellectual richness, and cultural breadth • Shadow side: • overindulgence, inflated self-image, eccentricism, extravaganzas, and excesses of all kinds • Mythological expression of this archetype: Roman god Jupiter (Greek Zeus), the highest deity of the divine pantheon and king of the Olympian gods Astrological Archetype of Saturn: • often called the “Great Malefic,” polar opposite of Jupiter • restriction, limitation, scarcity, deficit, starvation • oppression, repression, inferiority, guilt, and depression • impermanence, aging, death, ending of things • difficult personal trials and tribulations • Mythological expression of this archetype: Saturn (often identified with the Greek god Kronos, Father Time), and the Grim Reaper • Transits involving Saturn typically mark critical developmental periods in life and times of hard labor; they bring difficulties and challenges, but also forge enduring structures, and lead to important completions Astrological Archetype of Saturn: • Positive function: • grounding of our everyday existence, giving it structure • material reality of things, order, and linear sequence of events • reliability, endurance, maturity, responsibility, and fidelity • superego, moral law, conscience, and judgment Astrological Archetype of Uranus: the principle of sudden surprise, dramatic change rebellion against the status quo, revolutionary activity, liberation spiritual awakening, and emotional and intellectual breakthrough collapse of established structures revolutionary insight, creative genius, invention and technology, particularly related to electricity, individualism and originality Shadow side: archetype: anarchy, unfruitful eccentricity, and indiscriminate acting out against limitations and laws of any kind Mythological expression of this archetype: as Richard Tarnas has demonstrated, Uranus does not show a strong correspondence with the Greek god Uranus (Heaven), but with the Greek Titan Prometheus (trickster quality of Uranus) When Uranus is in a major aspect to another planet, it tends to liberate its planetary archetype unto full expression, often in ways that are sudden, unexpected, unusual, surprising, and exciting Astrological Archetype of Neptune: dissolution of boundaries between self and others, nature, universe, and God mystical union, cosmic consciousness, imaginal world (Corbin), spiritual realms idealistic dreams and aspirations, physical and psychosomatic healing, spiritual longing heightened intuition, ESP, creative imagination water of the rivers, lakes, and oceans, body fluids, amniotic environment of the womb Shadow side: flight into fantasy, delusion, illusion, self-deception, psychotic distortion of reality, loss of individuality, disorientation, alcoholism, drug addiction, entrapment in the samsaric world Mythological expression of this archetype: the Greek Poseidon, Roman Neptune, Narcissus, but also the Hindu maya and lila When Neptune is in a major aspect to another planet, it tends to weaken, idealize, and spiritualize its effects Astrological Archetype of Pluto: • primordial energy in the cosmos, nature and human society • energy of destruction and (re)creation • fundamental biological processes of birth, sex, and death • psychospiritual death and rebirth • instinctual forces in the body and psyche (the Freudian Id) • the underworld (physical, social, psychological, archetypal) Mythological representation of this archetype: Roman deity Pluto (Greek Hades), god of the underworld, but also Dionysus, Shiva, and Kundalini Shakti When Pluto is aspecting another planet, it tends to intensify and empower the archetype of this planet. This can lead to various power struggles and conflicts, but also to profound transformation