"Planets represent the actual structure of the mind.
Each one symbolizes a particular psychological function.
Put all the planets together and you have a map of the human psyche."
- S. Forrest
Planets represent the structure of the human psyche.
Each planet is an inner voice, an inner character that every person has inside.
Everything else from the chart is an accessory, affecting the planets, describing them, showing their journey, strengthening them, weakening them, or pulling them in various directions.
When I look at my chart I imagine my soul broken into ten pieces - every piece has a distinct voice inside of me, some are in harmony, some are in conflict, but all of them have one goal: to become One, to reach Union, my awareness embracing all while standing in the middle.
In the ancient times, they called the planets "Gods".
They saw them as external factors that have an influence on us, that move us, make us do things known only by them, which will become our destiny later. Astrology started as a religion, one that gave life and power to the celestial objects. Now we see these planets as inner factors, parts of our soul which, when are unconscious, can control our destiny.
Jung said “Until you make the unconscious conscious it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” That's the power these "Gods" have over us. When a person is aware of their inner energy, it naturally falls into alignment with the divine order. When the energy is unconscious, it gains control from the shadows, and all we can do is watch is paint our destiny while we are caught up in the threads of our fate.
We have 10 inner Gods - 10 inner voices from which
3 connect us to the collective destiny,
2 connect us to society,
and 5 are personal.
For Example: whenever someone starts a conflict with me, my Mars is summoned. The way I react to the conflict shows me the state of my Mars energy. Is is strong? Weak? What emotions are triggered? In what way am I responding back? - these are described by the sign of Mars. Then: what other parts of me are affected? Am I getting emotional? Am I getting cold? The relationship between Mars and other parts of my soul are seen in the planetary aspects. In what part of my life is Mars triggered the most? Where is my inner warrior needed? Where should I master this energy? - this is seen in the house where Mars is placed.
In Jungian terms, Mars is an archetype. Every planet is an archetype. A shape - a category of experiences, stories, characters. Based on what experiences I have (from past lives + present life), this archetype generates all kinds of complexes and personality elements. The Warrior Archetype (Mars) has a history within me, one that makes my inner warrior stronger or weaker, far away from truth, or connected to it.
From a karmic perspective, the planets store specific memories from past lives.
If I was an actual warrior in my past life, my Mars will be dominant, confident, ready to fight - because I carry the memory that "I can and I will win the fight". If, in an opposite direction, I had a life of defeat, fear, suppression, my Mars will show up as weak, seeking peace - because based on the past "I am sure I will lose if I try to fight". The same can happen if I regret my actions, my Mars will have a suppressed energy attached to the memories "I used too much of this energy and I caused harm, it is not safe for me to use this".
Rajas = too active and agitated, distorted awareness
Tamas = stagnation, ignorance, obscured awareness
Sattva = balanced, neutral, clear expression, planets in the light of the consciousness.
Beyond the Self = beyond the physical & mental, connected to the divine, on the axis of Ego-Self, pulling the consciousness towards Totality.
While we can see in the chart the memories of a planet (ex: exiled or fallen planets have memories of being rajas or tamas in previous lives), we cannot estimate where a person is in the current moment. Every single placement has the potential to be at any level - all based on our consciousness and free will. Even a planet with the darkest memories can get to the "beyond the Self" level.
The chart just tells us where we start the journey, it never tells us what's our limit.
The planets are in a fluctuating state.
We are never just on one level, but we constantly jump through them, in and out of the unconscious, we taste the higher states and then we sink back and bring new elements to the surface. Staying in the higher levels isn't the goal. The goal is to not be attached to any state, and to let them flow through us naturally, accepting our most aligned expression however it manifests.
Being human means accepting the constant presence of the shadow and being relaxed about it. Keeping them as a potential energy inside of us, not possessed by them, not afraid of them, not suppressing them, but giving them space within us to exists undisturbed by tension.
Can you recognize your shadow in these descriptions?
Can you accept you have space inside of you for that expression too?
Can you let it exist within, with no judgement, with no pushing, no scrubbing it out?
When you create enough space to hold all the expressions of a planet inside, there's no more tension, there's no more separation, and you are whole.
Forum discussion HERE.
