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Jungian Archetypes And Astrology
by Donald Gerard, M.A.

Analytical Psychology

Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist born in 1875, has long been considered one of the pre-eminent theorists in the art of psychotherapy. Jung’s contributions to this field are certainly numerous and are detailed in his collective works although he is most known for his expansion of Sigmund Freud’s concept of the psyche and his work with the unconscious. His unique perspective is often attributed to his wide range of interests including his study of both Eastern and Western philosophies, religions, spiritualism, telepathy, astrology, mythology and symbolism as well as his research into the occult and mysticism. Additionally, as a young child, Jung had several spiritual and psychic experiences which are said to have tremendously influenced him later in life.

In a nutshell, Jungian psychology, otherwise known as analytical psychology, is focused on the creation and development of communication between the processes of the two different parts of the psyche or personality—the conscious and the unconscious. The conscious is defined as the whole of psychic material which is in our awareness, whereas the unconscious is psychic material which exists outside of our awareness. Both the conscious and the unconscious have a personal and an impersonal or collective component. The personality is further characterized by the two attitudes (introversion and extraversion) and the four functions (thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition). The introvert has an inward focus with interests primarily in one’s own thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, the extravert is one with an outward focus. Although all people have the capacity for both attitudes, one is usually more predominant than the other. Jung also identified four functions of the psyche—thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition—with one function usually being more developed than and dominant over the others. Whereas the dominant function is more conscious and operates with the predominant attitude, the less dominant functions are said to reside in the unconscious. Thus the dominant function/attitude pair determines how one forms judgments, comprehends, perceives, and therefore experiences reality.

Furthermore, Jung postulates that the ego is the center of conscious, whereas the center of the personality is the self which is rooted both in the conscious and the unconscious. Individuation or growth is thus achieved by the process integrating the ego and the self. Although the contents of the unconscious are wholly unknowable, they apparently seek outward manifestation. The contents of the unconscious that interest us are what Jung has termed archetypes.

Jung’s Theory of Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

According to Jung, archetypes are the energetic entities within the unconscious that form the basis for and give structure to cultural images and mythology. They exist in both the personal and collective unconscious as form without content. As such, the collective unconscious can be considered a single unconscious basket of archetypes that is shared by all of humanity. However, many archetypes manifest as culturally-specific images and symbols, but nevertheless have the same or similar underlying meaning and energy. The major archetypes that concerned Jung were the persona, the shadow, the anima and animus, and the self. What is important to understand and remember, however, is that the archetypes themselves cannot enter consciousness; only their contents can.

General Explanation of Astrology

Astrology is an ancient tool that utilizes the positions of the planets for establishing and identifying patterns of behavior in human beings. And although it is considered a precise and complete theory of behavior, it is not considered a science and therefore not confined to the rigors of observational infallibility. As such, astrology, in the modern sense, serves more as a guide than as a rigid structure or a tool of prognostication.

As mentioned above, astrology utilizes the relative positions of the planets. Fundamental to understanding astrological interpretation then is based on the understanding of four indicators: Planets, Houses, Signs, and Aspects. Planets indicate specific dimensions of experience. Signs indicate specific qualities of experience. The Houses indicate specific fields of experience in which the energies of the planets operate. And the Aspects (angular relationships between planets) represent how various dimensions of experience are integrated within an individual (Arroyo, 1975). Without going into detail about each of the indicators, suffice it to say that the art of the astrologer is to discover and combine them in ways that elicit meaningful patterns of energy and behavior for the individual.

Archetypes in Astrology

So how does astrology relate to Jungian archetypes?

Just as archetypes are underlying energy patterns of behavior, the Planets and Signs of astrology serve as symbols of cosmic process and universal principles. And as much of Jung’s work was the interpretation of dreams and symbols, the archetypal nature of astrology is quite evident. Some Jungians even view the heart and soul of astrology as the "healing of soul" through rediscovery of, and reconnection with, meaning and deeper purpose in life. Jungian Anthony Pena suggests that astrology, which when used in concert with Jungian psychology, can support each of us in purposes of self-discovery, soul growth, and being "brought to completion." He further asserts that astrology's "’map of the soul’ provides each person with a map of their inborn potentials and then symbolically shows how these inborn potentials will seek to systemically unfold over the course of the person's lifetime” (Pena, 2001). Jung himself asserts that “Astrology consists of symbolic configurations, just as does the collective unconscious, with which psychology is concerned: the planets are the ‘gods,’ symbols of the powers of the unconscious (Jung, 1972)”. Clearly, Jung suggests that the primary indicators that govern astrology are archetypical in nature and strongly symbolic from the perspective of the psyche. Certainly, through the elicitation of meaning and universal principles, astrology proves to be a most complete theory of personality. This suggestion is affirmed by Jungian Stephen Arroyo as he states that “Astrology proves its comprehensive uniqueness not only by accurately describing types of consciousness, individual differences and uniqueness, and types of energy operating through the person, but in addition it reveals the operation of universal laws of harmonics, polarities, and psycho-physical energies (Arroyo, 1975).”

Conclusion

Symbols and images abound in every culture, yet Jung found common threads that ran across cultures. And clearly, Jung has put forth a model of the psyche that places emphasis on mining the rich material buried deep in the unconscious. Astrology is universal in nature, is rich with symbols, and crosses cultural boundaries as well. Such material is the stuff that makes astrology a meaningful endeavor.

REFERENCES

Arroyo, S. A. (1975). Astrology, psychology, and the four elements: An energy approach to astrology and its use in the counseling arts. Reno, NV: CRCS Publications.

Barz, E. (1993). Gods and planets: The archetypes of astrology. Wilmette, IL: Chiron.

Burt, K. (1988). Archetypes of the zodiac. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.

Frager, R. and Fadiman, J. (1998). Personality and personal growth. New York: Longman.

Jung, C. G. (1972). Briefe, vols. 1-3. A. Jaffe and G. Adler, eds. Olten und Freiburg.

Jung, C. G. (1973). Sychronicity: An acausal connecting principle. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Pena, A. (2001). Archetypes, Astrology, and Jung. New York: About.com, Incorporated. Retrieved on May 2, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://astrology.about.com/science/astrology/cs/atthissite1/index.htm