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This is Part 3 of an 8-Part Series
Previous posts in this series include:
In the Face of Glacially Slow Paradigm Shifts
In the Face of Cultural Inertia
Moving Toward an Astrology of Soul Within the Astrological Community
The idea that astrology can and does function as a language of soul is, of course, not a new thought. Quite the contrary, many psychological astrologers, from a number of persuasions, discuss their work as a language of soul. In the wake of pioneering astrologer Dane Rudhyar (1895 – 1985) – who integrated basic tenets of Jungian, humanistic and transpersonal psychology with Theosophical sensibilities in the 1960s – the birthchart is today routinely discussed as a map of the soul’s journey. As I see it, however, astrology in general has become conditioned in theory and practice by the same cultural paradigm that has led to the disenchantment and alienation of post-modern humans.
While there are many bright lights within the astrological community, those who push toward a more coherent language of soul must do so against a widespread undertow of cultural inertia informed by outmoded religious, scientific, and psychological biases many of which are antithetical to a true cultivation of soul – one marked by the subjective quest of authentic individuality, psychological complexity, spiritual identification with divine intelligence, and a deep ecological sense of rootedness in natural law. As a rule, our culture does not honor the soul or even discuss it outside of the narrow confines of formalized religious thinking on the one hand, or the broad and vague hyperbole of New Age thought on the other. Both extremes, I feel, miss the point of the embodied soul – which is simultaneously limited by its embodiment and catapulted toward more evolved possibilities of conscious creativity by these same limitations.
Astrologers of soul, who bring together the psychological, spiritual, mythological, and imaginal realms as a philosophical underpinning to the unique language of astrology are often caught between the two extremes. On the one hand, we are conditioned – like everyone else – by the entrenched cultural biases of religion, science, and psychology that make any discussion of soul in general, an awkward affair. On the other, we tend to gravitate with uncritical relief to emerging ideas from cutting edge and controversial science, New Age thought, and our own tradition – ideas that ultimately do little to add to our credibility as a viable discipline in pursuit of greater understanding of what it means to be human.
Following in the footsteps of Rudhyar, most current astrologers of soul lean in the direction of New Age thought – speaking of soul in terms of reincarnation and past life theory[i] or in neo-Theosophical terms as an ascending entity subject to a series of esoteric initiations on the way to more evolved being[ii] or as a spiritual quest for enlightenment experiences[iii]. Some speak of soul in psychological terms – in keeping with the original meaning of the word “psyche” – with greater[iv] or lesser[v] reference to the spiritual dimension of psychology. Some speak of soul in mythological terms[vi] as a synonym for the human being subject to archetypal forces embodied as the gods and goddesses of antiquity to which many astrological references – particularly the planets – are correlated. Many astrologers pick and choose eclectically from these diverse sources to fuse together their own hybrid approach to a discussion of soul.
All of these voices are important in a post-Rudhyarian world, where the possibilities for integrating astrology, spirituality, psychology, metaphysics and mythology are as intriguing as they are rampant. Most, in some way, combine an understanding of the psychological descent into the heart of core issues, wounds, and the embodied experience in general with the understanding that the soul is also simultaneously ascending toward ever-increasing capacity to embody the light of consciousness, the healing compassion of an open heart, and the living wisdom of life lessons learned and integrated. At best, all are blind men and women circling an elephant that critics of astrology (mostly scientific debunkers) either consider extinct or actively seek to exterminate.
[i] See, for example, Measuring the Night: Evolutionary Astrology and the Keys to the Soul, Volumes One and Two by Steven Forrest and Jeffrey Wolf Green (Chapel Hill, NC: Seven Paws Press, 2000, 2001)
[ii] See Soul-Centered Astrology: A Key to Your Expanding Self by Alan Oken (Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1990).
[iii] See Astrology and Spiritual Awakening (Berkeley, CA: Dawn Mountain Press, 1994) or Astrology and Meditation: The Fearless Contemplation of Change (London, England: The Wessex Astrologer Ltd., 2002) by Greg Bogart.
[iv] See Astrology, Karma & Transformation: The Inner Dimensions of the Birthchart by Steven Arroyo (Reno, NV: CRCS Publications, 1978) and An Astrological Guide to Self-Awareness (Sebastapol, CA: CRCS Publications, 1994) or Astrology and Spiritual Development (San Rafael, CA: Cassandra Press, 1988) by Donna Cunningham.
[v] See Psychological Astrology: A Synthesis of Jungian Psychology and Astrology by Karen Hamaker-Zondag (York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1990), An Introduction to AstroPsychology by Glenn Perry (available through the author’s web site at http://www.aaperry.com), Alignments: How to Live in Harmony With the Universe by Laurence Hillman & Donna Spencer (New York, NY: Lantern Books, 2002) and The Astrological Imagination: Where Psyche and Cosmos Meet by Brad Kochunas (New York, NY: iUniverse, Inc., 2008).
[vi] See The Astrology of Fate by Liz Greene (York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1984), Mythic Astrology: Archetypal Players in the Horoscope by Ariel Guttman & Kenneth Johnson (St. Paul, MN: Llewelln Publications, 1993), and Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology and Astrology of the Reemerging Feminine by Demetra George (San Diego, CA: ACS Publications, 1986).