Tag Archives: psychology

Anthroposophy and Astrology — PART 1

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Reading Time : 9 minutes

If you are reading this article most likely you are going to find what you’re looking for in this series of posts. Many people have the interest—sometimes the urge—to answer to many issues regarding Astrology in the light of Anthroposophy. Do know that you’re not alone.

In this first article I am going to touch the main issues that any anthroposopher interested in Astrology would stumble upon. The same applies to any astrologer concerned about what Anthroposophy has to say in regards to this hermetic art. There are indeed a few controversial topics that need to be clarified and this series of articles goes in that direction.

Please also note that this is part of a research: any valuable piece of information you might have to contribute—or deny—the content of this post is highly appreciated. We’re all seeking the truth.

The Horoscope

First of all we need to understand whether Astrology is plausible or not from an anthroposophical perspective. As any practitioner knows, Astrology holds its foundation in a very simple principle: the life of anything born on earth is described by the configuration of the sky at the moment of its birth.

Astrology is the art of interpreting this sky configuration (the astrological chart) to get a better understanding of the object of our investigation. Potentially, this could be literally anything: a person, a dog, a tree, a marriage, a company, etc. Their astrological chart describes both their life and potential.

From an anthroposophical standpoint, it does exist a strong connection between a person and the heavens at the moment of birth. This quote from Rudolf Steiner will dispel any doubt:

“Now it is the active forces of the stellar world that impel a man into physical incarnation; and when clairvoyant consciousness observes a person, it can perceive in his organization how this has resulted from the co-operation of cosmic forces. And if one were to photograph a person’s brain at the moment of birth and then photograph also the heavens lying exactly over the person’s birthplace, this latter picture would be of exactly the same appearance as that of the human brain. As certain centres were arranged in the latter, so would the stars be in the photograph of the heavens. Man has within himself a picture of the heavens, and every man has a different one, according to whether he was born in this place or that, and at this or that time. This is one indication that man is born from out of the whole cosmos.”

Spiritual Guidance of Mankind: Lecture III, 8 June 1911

In this passage Steiner clearly and undeniably confirms the validity of the aforementioned astrological principle, specifically in regard to human beings. In my research I’ve never found such a clear statement about something else—plants, animals, a marriage, or a company for example.

However all Steiner’s instructions regarding biodynamic agriculture point out the importance of the appropriate moment for sowing according to the position of the stars. This also applies to other operations such transplanting or cropping, but sowing better reflects this principle.

Regarding non physical beings (marriage, company and such), we will return on this later on discussing about the laying of the foundation stone of the first Goetheanum. For now we can all agree on the fact that Anthroposophy validates the foundational principle of the natal chart or horoscope.

The First Goetheanum
THE FIRST GOETHEANUM
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The Seven-Pointed Star

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Reading Time : 6 minutes

This article will deepen the symbolic meaning of the seven-pointed star from the astrological point of view. As you may know the number seven carries several esoteric symbologies: the seven colors of the rainbow, the seven notes of the major scale, the seven deadly sins, the seven days of Creation, etc. We are going to see how the seven planets of the classical septenary relate to one another when they are arranged according to this sacred-geometry shape.

The first thing we want to do, is to build the seven-pointed star. Let’s take the seven planets, from the fastest to the slowest, placing them evenly along a circle. We will have: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. This was also the sequence of the celestial spheres according to the Ptolemaic system. By connecting a point every three—another number full of meanings—we have the seven-pointed star.

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Now, let’s see what we have found here. If you go through the star—starting from the Sun, going down left to the Moon—you’ll get another sequence: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. You may not recognize it immediately, but this is the sequence of the days of the week: Sunday, day of the Sun; Monday, day of the Moon; Tuesday, day of Týr—germanic god of war (Mars); Wednesday, day of Wodan—which corresponds to Mercury for his trickster aspect; Thursday, day of Thor—germanic god of thunder (Jupiter); Friday, day of Freya—germanic goddess of love (Venus); Saturday, day of Saturn. Please note that in Latin, these correspondences are far more obvious since each day is dedicated to a god who bears the name of the planet.

So the first thing we can say about the seven-pointed star is that—from the astrological perspective—it is the esoteric foundation of the weekly cycle, that we can also call the Wheel of the Week.

The Wheel of the Week

The Wheel of the Year is a well known concept, especially in neo-paganism. But what we call here the Wheel of the Week is a pattern which is followed unconsciously and ritually by practically the whole world. We all go around and around, endlessly following this circle without knowing its meaning.

So, how does this sequence make sense? Let’s see now how the planetary forces connect to each other, to better understand the astral pattern we are going through on a weekly basis (click on the planet name for further details).

s4_featThe Sun The Sun is the beginning and the end of every life cycle. It represents our spiritual homeland, the place where we belong. When we attune to this force we can experience Love as an expression of our higher self. Here, we are golden. We feel invincible, and for this reason we are able to completely give ourselves to others, without expectation. Every person in need is like our child.
m1_featThe Moon But sometimes we are that needy person. The Moon represents indeed our inner child, the part of us humble enough to receive love and help from others. The Sun is the source of that love. By reflecting its rays, the Moon shares it with other people. But what happens when that love is denied us? What if our needs are not met? Emotions arise, and with them the impulse to action.
m5_featMars This is when Mars—the warrior within—kicks in. It is the force of our self-affirmation that not only makes us do something to get what we need, but also enables us to achieve our goals. It is the burning matrix of our desires and the source of our willpower. But you don’t always have to start a war, so to speak: the simplest way to affirm yourself is to speak your mind.
m2_featMercury Mercury is the lord of communication and eloquence. It represents both the way we speak and think: it is the force which builds our mindset. We can say it is the mind itself—our most dangerous weapon. We can use it to our advantage or to harm us, it is both misleading and clarifying. Mercury enables us to solve concrete problems but also to enter the world of intellectual speculation.
j6_featJupiter Obviously this world belongs to Jupiter—our inner philosopher. It is the part of us that wants us to grow and mature by making experiences. It guides us through life with powerful ideals which—from the spiritual perspective—are what we value most. That’s why in ancient times it was called Fortuna Major, whereas Venus was known as Fortuna Minor.
v3_featVenus Venus represents indeed what we value generally speaking: usually what gives us pleasure and satisfaction. It doesn’t necessarily have to be spiritual or elevated. On the contrary, Venus’ task is to seek balance in all forms, especially between the spiritual realms and the world of the senses (Saturn). Art is one of the her ways, as well as Justice.
s7_featSaturn Saturn is the cold force that structures and consolidates the material world, based on the balance of opposites achieved by Venus. Basically, it is the down-to-earth part of us that enables us to be alone and responsible—both qualities we need in order to be independent. Saturn makes us strong, tenacious and steady. When you stop thinking only for yourself, when you become a solid foundation for others, the Sun starts to dawn in your soul.

The Four Levels

In addition to the circular pattern (planetary sequence according to their speed; the celestial spheres order) and that of the seven-pointed star, we have a third pattern based on four levels. Starting from the bottom of the star we rise from the lower to the higher instincts, getting closer and closer to our spiritual homeland (the Sun).

ptstarlv


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To Survive		 Together, Saturn and the Moon represents fear and survival. At this level the main goal is to stay alive or, in another words, to preserve your physical body. For this reason this is the lower level of the star—its foundation. Building boundaries (Saturn), finding a place to rest and feeling safe (Moon) is key.
m2_featj6_feat
To Feed		 When you are feeling safe you can move on to the next level. Here, the joined effect of Mercury and Jupiter represents the way you process (Mercury) and introject (Jupiter) things into your system. In other words the way you feed on a physical level (nutrition), psychological level (social interaction) and spiritual level (education).
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To Reproduce		 Mars and Venus represents reproduction. When an organism feels safe, rested and satiated it has the urge to reproduce itself. They not only represents reproduction on a physical level (sex, having children), but also on a psychological (making love, intimacy) and spiritual level (teaching, disciple-master relationship).
s4_featTo Rise When all previous levels have been attained, the ultimate need is “to rise”. This means achieving a totally new level of awareness, action and meaning in life. It is what they call enlightenment or reintegration in the spiritual realms: Life and Death become two doors that we can cross freely, acting by a higher plane of existence.

In conclusion, we can say that the seven-pointed star is a symbol so rich that it can be considered as a stand-alone tool for self-knowledge. It is also a valid alternative to the eastern chakra system, without necessarily relate each planet to a body part (if you want to do it, follow the planet-organ correspondences). It can also be compared to the Enneagram by matching each planet with a psychological type—and this without even considering the zodiac. In another article we will explain how it can be used as a compass to consciously navigate through the psyche.

Karma vs Providence

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Reading Time : 4 minutes

The Law of Karma and the Divine Providence are two different ways of understanding the laws that rule human destiny. In this article we are going to consider them from an astrological perspective, in order to understand how they are affecting us on a subconscious level. We don’t need to believe in them: they represent nevertheless two different ways of seeing the world and making decisions.

Karma and Providence are two completely opposite concepts—even geographically speaking. They are part of two vast belief systems, far too complex to face in a single article. So, let’s clear up what we mean here when we speak of Karma and Providence respectively.

Karma and Saturn

With the term “Karma” we mean the general belief that good intent and good deed contribute to future happiness (good karma), while bad intent and bad deed contribute to future suffering (bad karma). It is a law of cause and effect, so everyone is responsible for what’s happening to him. It is also a law based on reward and punishment—equally applied to everyone.

You don’t need to believe in reincarnation to have this kind of mindset. If you are a down-to-earth, responsible, self-made person with a strong sense of individuality, you are probably going to resonate with this law which—from the astrological perspective—corresponds to Saturn.

Justice is the moral compass of this law, so to speak, since the point here is to balance back a broken equilibrium. It is also a linear way of thinking, based on moral judgement—good brings good and bad brings bad. From this perspective the Universe is a predictable place. This makes us feel we are in control, that we are the makers of our own fate.

Providence and Jupiter

In Christianity, Providence is generally speaking God’s intervention in the world. As such, what happens to you is always inherently good—even though it’s hard and senseless. As they say, God has a plan for you but from your human, limited perspective you can’t get the bigger picture yet. He may be tough, but God gives you nothing you can’t handle. He knows what he is doing:  you just need to trust the process.

Again, you don’t need to believe in God or be a Christian to embrace this mindset. People who consider life as a learning experience—a journey always able to give them teachings—are on this wavelength. They know that whatever happens they will be enriched, because they value their experience more than their material achievements. They are led by a form of wisdom, which in astrology corresponds to Jupiter. They know how to face uncertainty.

Faith is the moral compass of Providence. You just have to trust this force to provide you with everything you need in order to make the experience you are supposed to do. If currently you are not getting something in your life it means that at the moment you don’t need it to make that experience.

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Giving a meaning to the Law of Attraction

In the spiritual community the most famous law which describes how destiny works is the Law of Attraction—technically ruled by Venus. From a psychological point of view this law can be summed up by this C.G. Jung’s sentence: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate” (please read the Venus page for further details).

The truth is that the law of attraction doesn’t come with a moral compass: it’s just a vibrational—or unconscious—mechanism. What’s gives this law a direction is the fact we resonate with a saturnian or jovial mindset which are able to give meaning to what we are going through.

Let’s say for example your car broke down. The law of attraction says that you are resonating with this experience, therefore you are attracting it in your life. But this still doesn’t make any sense. It’s like saying: “you are going to Berlin by plane because it can fly”. Describing a mechanism doesn’t necessarily give us an answer.

So why has your car broken down? A Saturn person would react by saying:

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How could this happen? Who is responsible for this?

What have I done wrong (in my past/previous life)?

If I’m  attracting this into my life, it means I’m wrong

If you are attracting this into your life, it means you are wrong

How can I prevent this from happening again?

You should do this to prevent it from happening again

As you can see this way of thinking follows a punishment/reward mindset with a strong sense of justice and responsibility. Saturn people unconsciously believe in “Karma” because in the end they believe they are causing what’s happening to them.

A Jupiter person would react in a totally different way, by saying:

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What am I supposed to learn?

Did this happen before? What do I still have to learn?

If I’m  attracting this into my life, it means I need it to grow as a person

If you are attracting this into your life, it means you need it to grow as a person

If it were to happen again it means that I have not learned the lesson yet

I am going to benefit from this experience

They believe in “Providence” because they think the Universe is always going to provide them with what they need in order to make the experience they are supposed to do. Their ultimate goal is expansion and growth which are strong jovial symbologies.

Now you should be able to discern whether you are following a Saturn mentality or a Jupiter mentality in your life, and better understand how they are affecting the way you react to certain situations. This is extremely helpful because it reveals your hidden belief system and allows you to expand your inner awareness.

Facing the Unknown

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Reading Time : 4 minutes

We live in a time of great uncertainty. Forgetful of our past, we are more than ever projected into an indefinite future. The Brexit referendum outcome is just the last manifestation of the way we perceive the world of today. Since this lack of security makes us feel vulnerable and frightened, we close ourselves—as the United Kingdom did.

We seek comfort in the analysis and forecasts of the experts, or worse: we believe the false promises of populists and demagogues to send evil—yet another scapegoat—away. We want to know, so we think we can take control of the situation and dispel our insecurity. Ultimately, we just don’t want to feel that way.

As a great tool for making accurate predictions, Astrology is no exception. We can misuse it to convince ourselves we are in control of what’s going to happen. Actually, to a certain level we always are; still, we have to surrender to the fact we are not able to control—nor to predict—everything. We might be the captain of our ship, but the weather is never certain.

From the astrological perspective, all we have said so far falls under the saturnian symbology [saturn]: fear, being closed, feeling lonely, building boundaries, scapegoats (the goat refers to Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn), taking control, be independent, and so on. For this reason I don’t feel that giving an astrological analysis of Brexit is—at least right now—of any help because it would only strengthen our desire for prediction and control.

In response to the new uncertain European scenario (I am based in Italy, by the way) I’d like to respond by focusing on the force which enables us to face and deal with uncertainty: Jupiter [jupiter]. This is in my opinion the best thing to do at the moment, especially because the planet of trust and confidence is currently debilitated (detriment in Virgo).

This means that right now Jupiter’s intervention doesn’t come for free, but requires us to make some efforts. Remember that we are always able to make a difference in our “inner sky” (our soul or psyche). We may not be able to change a situation we are stuck with, but we can always change the way we react.

How do we face the unknown?

If you are analyzing and making predictions you are not accepting the unknown. You are rather trying to change it into the “known”. So the first thing we must learn in order to face it—is just to face it. You can’t do it if you are running away from it. Just surrender to the truth that the unknown is part of life and embrace the fact that sometimes you are going to feel vulnerable and insecure because of it. It’s perfectly fine to feel that way. Just stop analyzing.

This way of thinking is going to release your emotions: you are going to feel them instead of trying to avoid them by telling yourself you shouldn’t be there. By doing so, you’re also going to stop feeding them: every time you run away from your fears you just make them stronger. Now that we have cleared this up, we can move on and develop Jupiter—the bearer of our higher trust and faith.

Trust and faith ([jupiter]) are indeed all we need to face the unknown. It is as simple as that. The hard part is to develop them without lying to yourself or being naive. We all know that bad things happen—the world is a place full of misery and tragedy. We just can’t pretend that “everything is going to be alright”. How could we, after all that happened to us? The saturnian force easily becomes a temptation difficult to resist. We want to stay closed to protect ourselves. We are scared of the future.

So how do we shift our perspective from Saturn to Jupiter? How do we turn fear into confidence? Mainly, by stop focusing only on the outcome—the outward result of our actions and decisions—and start giving more importance to our inner growth and experience ([jupiter]).

We live in a materialist society obsessed with results, to the point we are more concerned about our children’s school grades rather than their learning experience. I am not saying results don’t matter, they do. But if you focus too much on them you will eventually forget that—whatever happens—you are going to make a valuable experience on the path of your personal, spiritual growth. This way of thinking allows you to make mistakes—even to fail—simply because the outcome is not the point anymore.

They say experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. I think experience is what you get—anyway. This is why in astrology Jupiter is the planet of optimism: it puts you in a win-win situation. Actually, from this perspective only if you keep doing always the same things you are losing. You know them already, so you are not learning anything new. The unknown is no longer the place where to project your worst fears and insecurities: it becomes the symbol of your unexpressed potential. So you start to long for it.

As you can see we have reached a totally different point of view. Here’s some sentences to help you resonate more with Jupiter’s vibration and shift your perspective.

Am I overanalyzing because I’m scared?

What are the fears I am projecting in this situation?

What kind of experience would I gain from the worst case scenario?

How would this make me grow as a person?

How did I handle a similar situation in the past? What did I learn?

If I was to fail, what have I learned so far?

There’s no need to answer these questions. What’s effective is to let them resonate within you, allowing them to change your mindset. It is also important to understand that we are not trying to eradicate Saturn’s point of view: it is key when it comes to get tangible results. But only Jupiter can be your guide in facing the unknown.