Introduction

Part One: Through the Gates of Religion

Chapter One: Toward a Workng Definition of Soul

• Redefining the Soul as an Embodiment of Spirit
• Distinguishing the Embodied Soul From the Postmortem Soul
• Reconsidering Past Life Experiences From the Perspective of the Embodied Soul
• Distinguishing the Embodied Soul From Disembodied Spirits
• Distinguishing Between the Embodied Soul and the Subtle Body
• The Roots of the Embodied Soul in Spiritual Tradition
• The Association of the Embodied Soul With Breath
• Embracing the Earth as the Larger Body of the Soul
• Returning Soul to its Rightful Place Within the Web of Life
• The Spiritual Challenge Posed by Mortality
• The Spiritual Ramifications of a Life Shaped by Death
• The Systematic Denial of Death By Contemporary Culture

Chapter Two: Through Inanna’s First Gate Into the Embodied Life

• The Fear of Death in Early Cultures
• The Fear of the Soul’s Journey After Death
• Toward a Cyclical Conception of Death as a Part of Life
• The Cyclical Worldview and Its Association with a Desire for Release From Suffering
• The Myth of Immortality
• Extracting the Myth of Immortality From Its Cyclical Roots
• The Embrace of Personal Immortality in the East
• The Quest for Immortality in Early Chinese Shamanism
• The Platonic Influence on Religious Concepts of Immortality
• Augustine’s Influence as a Bridge Between Christianity and Platonic Thought
• Passing Through the Gate of Immortality on the Way to the Underworld

Chapter Three: Shedding the Religious Concept of Sin

• Exposing the Faustian Bargain of the Religious Approach to Soul
• The Evolution of the Concept of Judgment in Western Culture
• The Gradual Evolution of a Moral Conception of the Soul’s Journey
• The Reinterpretation of Scripture in Moralistic Terms
• The Evolution of a Moral Code in Islam
• The Shift Toward a Moral Interpretation of the Soul’s Journey in the East
• The Trend Toward Moralistic Judgment in Buddhist Thought
• Other Influences on the Tendency Toward Moral Judgment in Eastern Religious Thought
• The Transition From Natural Law to Moral Code in Chinese Religious Thought
• The Role of Confucius as a Moralistic Interpreter of the Tao
• Passing Through Inanna’s Second Gate into Realignment with the Tao

Chapter Four: Through Inanna’s Second Gate Into the Dance of Polarities

• The Sexual Dilemma Faced By Moralistic Religions
• Reclaiming the Sexual Nature of the Soul
• Reclaiming Darkness as a Spiritual Force
• Reclaiming the Feminine
• The Psychological Price to Be Paid for the Knowledge of Good and Evil
• The Soul’s Journey as a Quest for the Embrace of Opposites
• The Institutionalized Negation of Polarity Through Monotheism
• Astrology’s Potential Contribution to the Learning Process
• Passing Through the Gate of Religious Morality on the Way to the Underworld

Part Two: Through the Gates of Science

Chapter Five: Shedding the Rational Literalism of Science

• Questions About Soul at the Heart of the Early Scientific Debate
• The Birth of Scientific Literalism
• The Mythopoetry of the Moment in Which Science Was Born
• The Intermingling of World
• The Triumph of Reason Over the Mythopoetic Imagination
• The Further Deification of the Rational Mind in the 20th Century
• Kant’s Refutation of Reason as A Tool with Which to Understand the Soul
• The Soul’s Quest for an Understanding of the Whole
• Reason’s Inability to Comprehend Wholeness
• Astrology’s Potential As a Language of Wholeness and Interconnectedness
• Using the Breath as a Point of Entry into an Awareness of the Whole

Chapter Six: Through Inanna’s Third Gate Into a Personal Learning Process

• The Rationalist Ambivalence Toward Sensory Information
• Sensory Information as a Conduit to an Awareness of Soul
• The Power of Sensory Awakening
• The Soul’s Natural Inclination to Pursue Pleasure and Avoid Pain
• Pursuit of Pleasure and Avoidance of Pain as a Catalyst to Soul Growth
• Emotion as a Catalyst to Soul Growth
• The Craving of the Soul for a Polytheistic Language of Emotional Complexity
• The Importance of Images, Symbols and Metaphors
• The Unfortunate Embrace of Rationalism Within the Astrological Community
• Approaching Astrological Images Through the Senses and Emotions

Chapter Seven: Shedding the Scientific Insistence on Objectivity

• The Sophist’s Contribution to a Language of Subjectivity
• Distinguishing Subjective Truth From Relative Truth
• Socrates’ Affirmation of Personal Objectivity
• Augustine’s Quest For Internal Objectivity
• Aristotle’s Potential Contribution to a Truly Subjective Language of Soul
• Aristotle’s Confirmation of the Objective World View
• Dancing on the Edge of the Subjective Abyss With Descartes
• The Systematic Denial of Purpose by Hobbes and Bacon

Chapter Eight: Through Inanna’s Fourth Gate Into a Sense of Purpose

• Understanding The Soul’s Purpose as the Movement of Spirit Into Matter
• Understanding Purpose as the Movement of Matter Toward Spirit
• The Potential Value of a Subjective Quest for Knowledge
• The Subjective Nature of the Soul’s Experience
• Aristotle’s Contribution to a Language of Quality
• The Systematic Denial of Quality by Science
• The Empirical Dismissal of Quality
• The Necessity for Evolving a Language of Soul Capable of Qualitative Nuance
• The Qualitative Nature of Images That Feed the Soul
• Contemporary Astrology’s Contamination by Objective Empiricism

Chapter Nine: Shedding the Scientific Concept of Causality

• Aristotle’s Distinction of Types of Cause
• The Implications of a World Devoid of Final Cause
• The Limitations of Efficient Cause As An Explanation For Subjective Behavior
• The World as a Mirror for the Interplay of Light and Dark
• Hume’s Critique of Causality
• The Birth of Modern Empiricism
• Toward an Acausal Principle of Soul

Chapter Ten: Toward an Acausal Understanding of Soul Process

• Using Sheldrake’s Ideas as the Template for a Theory of Soul Resonance
• Extending the Morphogenetic Field of the Soul to Encompass the World
• The Power of the Hundredth Monkey
• The Arrogance of Science in Assuming Causality to be the Only Possible Explanation
• The Difficulty of Stepping Outside the Causal Paradigm
• The Importance of Resonant Context in Extracting Subjective Truth
• Applying the Concept of Resonance to the Astrological Model of Soul
• Toward a Sensory Exploration of Planetary Resonance
• Astrology’s Contribution to a Mathematics of Soul

Chapter Eleven: Through Inanna’s Fifth Gate Into Resonant Soul Space

• The Great Debate About Space Among the Rational Cosmologists
• Democritus’ Contribution to a Scientific Understanding of Space
• Aristotle’s Concept of Place and Its Causal Reworking the Scientific Revolution
• The Symbolic Importance of the Geocentric Perspective
• The Positivist Denial of Space’s Spiritual Dimensions
• From Empty Space to Field Theory
• The Quantum Revolution’s Deconstruction of Cartesian-Newtonian Space
• Reconceptualizing Space as a Resonant Soul Field
• Defining Soul Space From an Astrological Perspective

Chapter Twelve: Through Inanna’s Sixth Gate Into Cyclical Soul Time

• A Brief History of the Evolution of the Scientific Concept of Time
• The Religious Notion of Time as a Destructive Force
• Heidegger’s Contribution to a Philosophy of Soul Time
• The Qualitative Nature of Soul Time
• Following the Soul Through Soul Time
• Synchronicity and the Opportunity for Soul Growth
• Astrology as a Language of Soul Time
• Applying Astrological Analysis to Soul Time

Part Three: Through the Last Gate With Psychology

Chapter Thirteen: Liberating Psychology From Its Scientific Trappings

• The Philosophical Underpinnings of Psychology
• The Emergence of Psychology as a Scientific Discipline
• The Psychological Exploration of the Senses
• Sensory Experience as a Mechanism for Embodying Spirit
• The Psychological Exploration of the Emotions
• The Behavioral Approach to Emotion
• The Metaphysical Irony at the Heart of Behavioral Psychology
• The James-Lange Theory of Emotions
• Freud’s Contribution to the Study of Emotions
• Social Psychology and Other Post-Freudian Influences on the Understanding of Emotion
• The Contribution of Cognitive Psychology to An Understanding of Emotion

Chapter Fourteen: Toward a Subjective Approach to the Image Making Process

• The Scientific Approach to Imagination
• The Contribution of Early Psychologists to an Imagery of Soul
• Freud’s Contribution to an Understanding of Image
• The Unconscious Roots of the Image
• The Myth of Oedipus as a Template for the Image-Making Process
• The Symbolist Contribution to a Cultural Embrace of the Image
• Jung’s Contribution to a Psychological Understanding of the Image
• The Further Cultivation of the Image in Jung’s Wake
• The Potential For Astrology’s Contribution to an Understanding of the Image

Chapter Fifteen: The Pathology of Soul and Psychology’s Response To It

• Psychopathology and the Soul
• The Institutionalized Fear of Psychopathology
• The Shadow as the Gateway to Soul Process
• The Anima/Animus as Guide to Soul Space
• The Wise Elder and the Individuation Process
• The Individuated Self and the Soul
• Psychology’s Obsession with Personality
• The Merging of Schools in the Scientific Vein
• Astrology’s Contribution to the Cult of Personality

Chapter Sixteen: Through Inanna’s Seventh Gate Into Embodiment of Spirit

• The Influence of Existentialism on Humanistic Thought
• Humanistic Psychology and the Study of Consciousness
• The Two-Shark Theory of Consciousness
• The Value of Humanistic Eclecticism
• The Limitations of Humanistic Psychology’s Worldview
• The Immense Promise of the Transpersonal Psychology Movement
• Bringing Spirit Into the Darkness of Our Most Intractable Core Issues

Part Four: From Astrology to Astropoetics

Chapter Seventeen: Taking Astrology Into the Realm of Soul

• Celebrating the Fertility of the Astrological Field
• Passing Through Inanna’s Seven Gates on Our Way to a Genuine Language of Soul
• Walking Astrology Through Inanna’s First Gate
• Toward an Astrological Definition of Fate Capable of Empowering the Soul
• Walking Astrology Through Inanna’s Second Gate
• Revisioning the Birthchart as the Optimum Game Plan for a Personal Embodiment of Spirit

Chapter Eighteen: Creating an Astrological Epistemology Independent of Science

• Walking Astrology Through Inanna’s Third Gate
• Toward an Astro-Logic of the Soul
• Approaching Astrology as a Language of Imagery
• Going Beyond Strictly Astro-logical Imagery in Order to Explore a Pattern
• Walking Astrology Through Inanna’s Fourth Gate
• Putting the Soul Back at the Center of Astrological Process
• Walking Astrology Through Inanna’s Fifth Gate
• Astrology’s Failure to Measure Up Within a Causal Paradigm
• Walking Astrology Through Inanna’s Sixth Gate
• Shifting Our Astrological Focus From Events to Processes

Chapter Nineteen: Using Astrological Imagery to Make a Connection to Spirit

• Walking Astrology Through Inanna’s Seventh Gate
• Using Astrology as a Path to Metaphoric Vision
• The Application of Astropoetic Technique to a Deeper Understanding of the Image
• Sorting Through the Relevant Cyclical History for Resonant Memories
• Looking for Reenactments of the Original Metaphorical Scene
• Moving Beyond Pattern Recognition to Explore the Unconscious Dimensions of Soul Space
• Exploring the Interface Between Personal Soul Space and the Collective Unconscious
• Following the Confluence of Astropoetic Images to a More Intimate Identification With Spirit
• Making a Distinction Between Traditional Astrology and Astropoetics

Epilogue

Works Cited

Index

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