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The last time that I updated the Astrological
Energies section in Chapter 3 of my training manuals, I thought it would be a
good idea to post it up on the website as it contains useful information for
everybody. This page is a reproduction of the most recent update to files #16
and #17 in Chapter 3.
The Astrological Energies
The cosmos is a giant multi-dimensional
web of interacting energies or rays, these manifesting in different forms and
all with their own consciousness. The human energy field and our planet are
part of that web. In present day Western Society, we have forgotten that
connection. However, in ancient times, the priests and spiritual leaders were
able to call down cosmic energies into their energy fields and to pass them on,
as the Tibetan Lamas were able to heal people with the touch of their hands and
as the priests of Ancient Egypt were able to help the fertility of the land by
this ‘channelling’ of energy. The
astrologers were able to give guidance on the best times to work with the
energies of the planets and stars which could be channelled in the same way.
The energies in this
multi-dimensional web are constituents of what we call the life force or
universal energy which is all around us and which we absorb into our physical
and energy bodies through the chakra and meridian systems. These energies can
affect our emotional, mental and physical states – both positively and
negatively. Amongst these energies are the astrological energies. As a future
healer, it is likely that at some stage you will come across a person who is
suffering negatively from the effect of astrological energies so it is helpful
for you to have a conceptual understanding of how these work. Therefore, I
include an overview of astrology in my foundation material for my training
courses. There are a number of different kinds of astrological systems, but in
this manual we focus on what is called the western (or tropical) astrological
system.
The
western astrological system – the signs of the zodiac
A
number of energies flow through our solar system and are the basic energy building
blocks supporting the manifestation of energy in physical form. These energies
in particular flow through our Sun and out into our solar system. Some of these
energies also flow through the planets in our solar system, all of which have
their own form of consciousness. We look at seven important energy building
blocks later in this section.
Our
planet moves in orbit around the Sun, taking a year to complete an orbit. As
our planet progresses through its orbit, it is exposed to an energy grid called
the zodiac of signs. The zodiac of signs has 12 separate segments or signs,
each of which has its own energy characteristics. As our planet orbits the Sun, the Sun appears
to move through each of these 12 signs in turn, and the energies of these signs
merge with the energy of the Sun as they flow towards our planet. Therefore,
the energy of the Sun is augmented by these other energies. In addition, the
planets in our solar system also move through these signs and their energies
merge with the zodiac energies as they flow towards our planet. Please note
that in western astrology, the signs of the zodiac are not the same thing as
star constellations. The star constellations which bear the same names as the
signs of the zodiac are nothing to do with western astrology.
When
we descend from the non-physical world into the physical world, our energy
field is attuned to the energies of the signs of the zodiac and their
interaction with the Sun and with the planets of our solar system as they stand
in aspect to each other at the time of birth. This is a process something
similar to the attunement process that you will go through with Reiki and with
any other healing or personal development energies that you will learn with me.
Consequently, although we are all continually absorbing the energies of the
zodiac and of our solar system, in particular we absorb in a more intense way
the energies relating to the astrological attunement that that we receive at
birth. Although we have our own free will and our own individuality, it is this
attunement process at birth and the subsequent intensity of the related
astrological energies that we receive into our physical and energy bodies that
bring some influence to bear upon our personality and behavioural development.
These astrological energies have their own consciousness and interact with our
own consciousness, usually at an energy frequency beyond that which our day to
day senses can perceive so we are not aware of what is going on. In reality it
is a bit like being thrown into a project team at work only to find that some
of the team members are easy to work with and that
others are quite difficult people. Somehow we have to find a way of working
with everybody to achieve the project goals, no matter how easy or hard that
might be.
An
astrologer is a person who understands how these processes work and who can
give advice accordingly. From time to time, I give astrological readings. The
main focus of any reading that I give is to indicate to the receiver the
astrological energies to which they have been attuned and how they might choose
to work with these energies to assist in their development through life. I also
give an indication of how the energies might have affected past progress
through life. It is common practice for some astrologers to say that xxx will
happen next month and that yyy will happen next year.
As a generalisation, because we have our own free will, and because of all the
other interactions that we have with the world around, it is not usually
possible to be very specific about future events in this way so some
astrologers mislead their clients a great deal.
Let
us now look at the nature of the astrological energies in the western system.
Firstly,
the system deals with the energies of the following signs of the zodiac. The
signs shown below are the standard astrological glyphs (or symbols).
Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo
Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
It also deals with the energies of the following
bodies within our solar system: The lunar nodes (the energy relationship
between the orbit of our Planet Earth as it orbits the Sun and the orbit of our
Moon as it orbits around our planet), the Sun, the planet Mercury, the planet
Venus, the planet Mars, the planet Jupiter, the planet Saturn, the asteroid
Chiron (not referred to by all astrologers), the planet Uranus, and the planet
Neptune, the planet Pluto.
A person’s horoscope is a
diagrammatic representation of the attunement to the astrological energies at
birth. Horoscopes can also be adapted to show the energy relationships between
the planetary and astrological energies at birth and in the present day – the various planets
are constantly changing their relative positions to each other. Horoscopes can
also be adapted to show the astrological energy relationships between two
different people. We will look at simple horoscopes later in this section.
Each sign of the zodiac has
a multi-dimensional aspect to the energies that it gives, thus giving it its
own particular characteristics. Any astrology book will give you an
understanding of each sign’s attributes. Simply, though, they can be understood
as follows:
Water Earth
Fire Air
Fixed Scorpio
Taurus Leo
Aquarius
Mutable Pisces Virgo Sagittarius
Gemini
Cardinal Cancer Capricorn Aries Libra
Each sign has an elemental energy predominance as shown in the table
above. Elemental energies are essential energy building blocks of the universe.
In the western system of understanding of the elements, we work with five
primary elemental energies: water, earth, air, fire and spirit.
·
The element of
water is the energy of emotion, of feelings, of attachment, and of the feminine
receptive polarity.
·
The element of
earth is the energy of materiality, of physical substance, of attachment, and
of the feminine receptive
polarity.
·
The element of
air is the energy of mental processes, of communication, of detachment, and of
the masculine active
polarity.
·
The element of
fire is the energy of spontaneity, of moving forward, of detachment, and of the
masculine active polarity.
·
The element of
Spirit which cannot descend into the physical world without the existing
presence
of the other elements.
Consequently,
a person with a horoscope containing a lot of planets in water element signs of
the zodiac (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces) is likely to have an emotionally biased
personality. The key characteristics here are feelings and caring for other
people in close personal relationships.
A
person with a horoscope containing a lot of earth element signs of the zodiac (Taurus,
Virgo, Capricorn) is likely to orientated towards physicality and materiality,
manifesting in a personality characterised by a need to accumulate possessions
of various types, e.g. property, money, or to be in a very physical
relationship with the world and people around.
A person with a horoscope
containing a lot of air signs of the zodiacs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) is
likely to have a mentally and communicative orientated personality, but with
the ability to be relatively detached from the world. Air signs are the signs
of the thinker and of people who do not always feel comfortable in very close
relationships.
A
person with a horoscope containing a lot of fire signs (Aries, Leo,
Sagittarius) is likely to have the need for spontaneous action and freedom to
move and to make things happen. Fire sign people tend to have the ability to be
relatively detached from the world and need a lot of personal freedom in life.
Each
sign has an ‘energy indicator’ in additional to an ‘elemental indicator’. This energy
indicator will modify the above elemental characteristics as follows:
·
A fixed sign is
one that is relatively fixed in nature, likes to maintain the status quo and
may not be receptive to change. It often likes to be in control of situations
or people. Expressed positively, it is a sign of stability and can be very
reliable, and is a good organiser. A fixed sign is usually one that you can
rely upon to look after your business when you go on holiday. Expressed
negatively, the fixed characteristic can result in stubbornness, refusal to
change and refusal to explore and to grow into the unknown.
·
A mutable sign
is one that is able to change direction easily. Expressed positively, this
indicates flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Expressed negatively, it can also mean unreliability or inability to commit to
a person or situation. A mutable sign is more of a follower than a leader.
·
A cardinal sign
has the ability to make things happen. Expressed positively, it is an indicator
of initiatory or leadership energy. This is the sign that can start off a new
project from a ‘clean sheet of paper’. Expressed negatively, a cardinal sign
can be so single minded about a particular piece of work or activity that it
forgets the need to have a balanced life and to pay attention to the needs of
other people. Alternatively, it can just trample over other people who get in
the way of achieving a specific goal. This is not the sign of a follower or
somebody who is happy to be told what to do in life.
So
how do the elements and the energy indicators work together to give a sign of
the zodiac its particular characteristics? Well, to refer back to the table and
to pick an example, Scorpio is a water sign with fixed energy. This means an emotions and feelings based behavioural pattern from the
water element. The positive expression of the fixed energy aspect together with
the water aspect can mean really deep and consistent feelings of care and love
for another person or for a situation or for a place or for an activity. The
negative expression of the fixed energy aspect together with the water aspect
can mean that a Scorpio person finds it difficult to let go of emotional
grievances about somebody who has done him/her wrong in the past, and will tend
to hold all the hurt and anger inside for a very long time. To take another
example, Aries is a fire element sign with cardinal energy. The fire aspect of
Aries indicates the ability to be spontaneous and to get on and do things. The
positive expression of the cardinal energy aspect together with the fire aspect
can mean that the Aries person is unsurpassed at starting off new projects and
activities with an enormous build up of energy. The negative expression of the
cardinal energy together with the fire aspect can mean that Aries can be so
headstrong that he/she is not really a very good team player and can bully
other people a bit if their input is needed to get something done.
Additionally, the fire aspect of Aries might find it hard going to stay the full
course of a long project if this restricts the natural spontaneity and love of
freedom of fire.
The planets of the horoscope
The natal (birth) horoscope
is produced by identifying in which sign of the zodiac each planet is in when
viewed from planet Earth at the time of birth. The Sun and Moon are called
planets.
Each planet influences
certain characteristics.
Although
the Lunar Nodes are not planets in their own right, they are calculated at the
intersection of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun and of the Moon’s orbit around
the Earth. Everybody has two Lunar Nodes (a North Node and a South Node) in
their horoscopes which are in opposite signs (we look at opposite signs later
in this section), e.g. Taurus and Scorpio, or Gemini and Sagittarius. We will
have chosen to have been born at a particular point in linear time to work with
a specific set of opposite energies at the soul level. In everyday life, we
might not be very aware of the higher energy frequency aspects of ourselves,
but the energies of the Lunar Nodes will be flowing through us at the higher
frequency levels and ultimately will have some influence on our progress
through the current lifetime. If an analogy is used, one could say that the
Lunar Nodal energies can be likened to the Board of a company setting long
range corporate strategy whilst the energy of the individual planets which we
will look at below can be likened to the energy expended by the Chief Executive
and operational directors of a company getting on with the day to day business
of running the company.
The
Moon sign influences our innermost emotional nature, and how we interact and
respond to the world around emotionally. Our emotional nature is one of the
most important parts of us. Life situations in which we cannot express and
nurture and develop our emotional nature can result in emotional and
psychological difficulties. It needs to be noted that we all have very
different emotional natures and that we should not assume that other people
have the same emotional patterns as us. Because the Moon sign indicates in
particular our deepest emotional responses to the external world, they are
sometimes difficult to rationalize in a logical mental way.
The
Sun sign indicates the general way in which we relate to and grow in the
external world in the current lifetime. It indicates the general
characteristics of the person that we are trying to become in this lifetime. If
the energies of the lunar nodes can be likened to the corporate Board of
Directors setting long term strategy, the energy of the Sun is a bit like the
energy of the Chief Executive who is responsible for co-ordinating all the day
to day corporate activities. The Sun is like the central astrological energy
which the other planetary energies link into. For this reason, it is the Sun
sign which is the (star) sign that the horoscope columns in the daily
newspapers refer to.
The
Mercury sign is very connected to our mental and thought processes. It is also
very connected to the ways in which we learn and in which we communicate with
people. It can be connected to desire for travel or for reading or for studying
as ways of manifesting learning, and to writing books or making films or
teaching as ways of communicating to other people about what we know.
The
Venus sign represents attraction and indicates what we are drawn towards so
that we may give or receive by the way of love and affection, beauty and
happiness. It also indicates how we relate to others and our artistic
expression.
The
Mars sign represents the energy that we have to get things done. It can be
described as the urge to get what we want, and relates to our wants and to our
sex drive. It relates to the energy with which we go about our daily business.
Expressed negatively, it can relate to anger and to aggression.
The Jupiter sign is related to how we grow and
develop as people during the current lifetime. Linked to this usually comes
change through the years in the way that we are in relationship with the world
around us – as we grow and develop, this affects the way that we see the world
around us and how we interact with it. Jupiter can be related to abundance in a
number of different ways – possessions, money, spirituality, etc..
As
humans, we have so much natural energy that it can be a bit ‘all over the
place’ and we can find it difficult to focus it towards achievement - a little
bit like a Catherine Wheel firework just going around in circles and eventually
fizzling out. The Saturn sign is connected to learning to work with structure
in life – through structure we learn to focus our energies so that we can focus
them towards achievement. Structure can manifest itself in a number of ways –
study routines, daily physical exercises, regular maintenance of the decoration
of the home, taking the time to meditate to clear the mind, etc.. Sometimes, Saturn energy can feel as if it constraining
us by making us work hard in a disciplined way
so does not always get a good ‘write-up’ amongst astrologers, but is in
fact a really useful tool to have in our astrological toolbox.
All
of the planets referred to so far are considered to be personal planets, i.e.
they are very specific to an individual. The rest of the planets which will now
be referred to are the planets which move around the Sun
very slowly. Consequently, everybody within a certain generation may have the
same Uranus or
Chiron is the asteroid of healing energy. It is the
link between the outer planets and inner planets (it orbits between Saturn and
Uranus) and acts as a focal conduit for energies moving between the outer and
inner planets planets. Healing can take many forms
such as teaching, counselling, psychic healing, emotional healing, physical
healing, etc..
Uranus energy relates to individuality and to
non-conformity with the status quo. Uranus energy can sometimes be what is
needed to make a radical breakthrough in ideas or change of direction for
societies. It relates to sudden unexpected and unpredictable change and
upheaval. It is the energy of breaking down established structures to make room
for them to be replaced by more relevant structures. It is the energy of making
lightening leaps forward in terms of understanding or technological achievements.
There is a strong electrical nature to Uranus energy which gives it a really
powerful momentum.
Pluto energy is the energy of transformation. It
helps to bring hidden and very deep rooted energies and issues and baggage to
the surface where they can be evolved or destroyed if they no longer have any
purpose or are not good. Through this process, it is the energy of regeneration
through the constant cycle of death and rebirth in the universe. Pluto energy
can act as a great catalyst for change by going deep and bringing causes of
behavioural patterns to the surface – it is a very powerful energy and will
push issues straight into a person’s face in such a way that they cannot be
ignored, no matter how painful a process that can be.
The
interaction between the energies of the signs of the zodiac and of the planets
Having looked at the
characteristics of the energies of the signs of the zodiac and of the energies
of the planets separately, what is the energy influence upon us as humans of
their combined influence?
Well,
to take an example, this is what I wrote about Scorpio energy earlier in this
section:
Scorpio is a
water sign with fixed energy. This means an emotions
and feelings based behavioural pattern from the water element. The positive
expression of the fixed energy aspect together with the water aspect can mean
really deep and consistent feelings of care and love for another person or for
a situation or for a place or for an activity. The negative expression of the
fixed energy aspect together with the water aspect can mean that a Scorpio
person finds it difficult to let go of emotional grievances about somebody who
has done him/her wrong in the past, and will tend to hold all the hurt and
anger inside for a very long time.
And this is what I wrote
about the Moon sign earlier:
The Moon sign influences our innermost
emotional nature, and how we interact and respond to the world around
emotionally. Our emotional nature is one of the most important parts of us.
Life situations in which we cannot express and nurture and develop our
emotional nature can result in emotional and psychological difficulties. It
needs to be noted that we all have very different emotional natures and that we
should not assume that other people have the same emotional patterns as us.
Because the Moon sign indicates in particular our deepest emotional responses
to the external world, they are sometimes difficult to rationalize in a logical
mental way.
So, if somebody has their
Moon sign in Scorpio, their innermost emotional nature will be influenced by
the Scorpio energy vibration. As Scorpio is a very emotional energy anyway,
somebody with a Scorpio moon sign is likely to have a very deep emotional nature
and will be very sensitive emotionally. An important part of the personality is
likely to be feelings and emotions orientated, particularly if there are also
other planets in water signs. With the Scorpio energy expressed positively,
somebody with a Scorpio Moon sign might well be prepared to lay down their own
life to save the life of a loved one, the Scorpio Moon love and caring for the
other person being so deep. With the Scorpio energy expressed negatively,
somebody with a Scorpio Moon sign who cannot let go the emotional memories of
something which has gone wrong might build up such a wall of negative emotional
energy around them that they might become ill or might never be able to have
proper relationships with other people again. Or they might become a walking
body of anger or resentment.
As you can see from the
Scorpio Moon sign example, the basic approach therefore to understanding the
possible combined influence upon a person of the energies of the signs of the
zodiac and of the energies of the planets is to look at the part of life that a
particular planet relates to, and then to apply the energy influence of the
particular zodiac sign. If you are very interested in this kind of
understanding, maybe you could buy some astrology books and start to work
through all of this in more detail yourself.
Understanding
the natal horoscope – the interaction of the energies
Having looked briefly at the
interaction between an individual zodiac sign and an individual planet, let us
now look at the energy interrelationship between all the planets of the
horoscope in their zodiac signs at the time of birth.
The signs of the zodiac are depicted as the
wheel of the zodiac as shown on the next page. The twelve signs follow each
other in the order indicated. The twelve signs make up a complete circle, each
having 30 degrees of the full circle.
When drawing the horoscope,
the positions of individual planets are plotted on the rim of the wheel in the
segment for the relevant sign of the zodiac. The example below shows the
location of the Sun at 5 degrees in Scorpio and the location of the Moon at 5
degrees in Aquarius. Each planet will be located within a calculated degree
within a particular sign of the zodiac. The angles are calculated going
anti-clockwise around the wheel.
We have already looked at
each planet’s and zodiac sign’s energy influence on particular parts of our
lives – but in isolation to the energies of the other planets and signs in the
horoscope. However, it is also necessary to take an overview of how the various
planetary and sign influences affect us in combination with each other each. It
is possible to take this overview by considering the angles between the
different planets on the rim of the zodiac wheel. It is the angles between the
different planets which
show how the different energies interact. Graphically, if lines are drawn from
the rim location to the centre of the wheel, the angle will be the number of
degrees between the two lines for the planets being considered. In the example,
the angle between the Sun and Moon signs (as represented by the red broken
lines) is 90 degrees.
Aries Pisces
Moon
Taurus
Aquarius
Gemini Capricorn
Cancer
Sagittarius
Leo
Scorpio
Virgo Libra Sun
Such angles are called
‘aspects’. Some of the important aspects between planets are as follows:
90 degrees – square (or
squared) aspect. With this aspect, there is not a natural
harmony between the two energies, and it can be hard work to integrate the
influences of the two energies. This aspect can contribute to creating
conflicts within the inner personality. Tackled positively, these conflicts can
provide the stimulus for personal growth and development as a person progresses
through life. More negatively, a person who does not work at overcoming the
challenges that this aspect represents can become stuck in life and not
progress very far, and might have some state of inner disharmony.
120 degree – trine (or trined) aspect. With
this aspect, there is natural harmony between the two energies, and the two work well together. This aspect can be quite supportive and
comfortable, but does not provide many challenges.
0 degrees – conjunct aspect. With
this aspect, there is a great concentration of energy because the two planets
occupy the same place in the horoscope. It can sometimes be challenging for the
person to integrate this great concentration of energy. However, these two
energies should work well together.
60 degrees – sextile (sextiled) aspect. This is similar to the trine
aspect with natural harmony between the two energies, although the influence is
weaker with the sextile than with the trine.
180 degrees – opposite
(opposition) aspect. This is an indication of energies pulling
in opposite directions, and there is a challenge for the person to integrate
these energies and to work with them. Difficulty in working with these energies
can dissipate effort with no real achievement, whilst the ability to achieve
balance between the two opposite energies will enable the person to work
successfully with both energies. We noted earlier in this section that the soul
works with a set of opposite astrological energies in the Lunar Nodes.
150 degrees – quincunx aspect. With this aspect, there is no common ground
between the two signs either in terms of elemental energies (earth, air, fire, water), the directional energies (fixed, mutable, cardinal)
or the polarity energies (masculine, feminine). This means that they do not
work in relationship with each other. It is almost as if they can contribute to
separate personalities.
45 degrees - semi-square
(semi-squared) aspect. This is similar to the square aspect with
little natural harmony between the two energies, although the influence is
weaker with the semi-square than with the square. Additionally, a semi-square
aspect where the planets are in two adjoining signs of the zodiac will have a
similar effect as the quincunx with there being no common ground between the
two signs either in terms of elemental energies (earth, air, fire, water), the
directional energies (fixed, mutable, cardinal) or the polarity energies
(masculine, feminine). This means that they do not work in relationship with
each other. It is almost as if they can contribute to separate
personalities.
30 degrees - semi-sextile (sextiled). This is similar to the quincunx aspect
with no common ground between the two signs either in terms of elemental
energies or the energy indicators (fixed, mutable, cardinal). This means that
they do not work in relationship with each other. It is almost as if they can
contribute to separate personalities.
The effects of the above
aspects are still relevant but weaker where the angles between two planets in
the horoscope are just a few degrees more or less than the exact angles
described above. These ‘wider’ or ‘narrower’ aspects are called orbs (as within
orb or sphere of influence).
A concentration of planets
within a particular zodiac sign will also affect the balance of the
astrological energies.
By looking at which signs of
the zodiac particular planets are in and then looking at the aspect
relationships between the planets, it is possible for the interpretation of the
horoscope to give a person an idea of how the astrological energies may be
affecting his/her progress through life and to give some useful advice on how
best to work with the astrological energies for the future. For example, a
square aspect between the Jupiter sign and the Saturn sign in a horoscope could
indicate that the person will find working with structure (Saturn) as he/she
develops and grows through life (Jupiter) very challenging and hard work.
However, if the person perseveres with these two energies and is able to work
with both in balance, the ability to work with structure will support growth in
life and will enable the person’s personal energies to be focused in such a way
that good achievements are manifested.
If the exact time of birth
is known, another dimension of the natal horoscope can be considered. A
secondary wheel can be superimposed upon the zodiac wheel already described.
This secondary wheel is also divided into twelve segments called houses. Each
house indicates a particular aspect of a person’s life as follows.
1st House - The physical appearance of the body and the
way that we appear to others. Our self expression.
2nd House - Money, possessions and property, attitudes
towards personal resources.
3rd House - The
rational mind and communications with others.
4th House - Home
and security. The family in both childhood and adult life.
The parental figure most usually associated with
emotions -
often but not always the mother.
5th House -
Pleasurable
activities. Sports, hobbies, interests. Creative self-expression.
6th House - Health
and illness. Being of service to others. Unequal relationships such as employee/employer.
7th House - Personal
relationships with other people – family, lovers, work colleagues, clients.
8th House - The
experience of true sexual union. Personal transformation through
intense experiences with others. Shared
resources,
9th House -
The
higher mind. Philosophy and religion. Long distance travel.
10th House - Ambition through one’s work. Social status and reputation. The parental figure most
associated with structure in
early
life. Responsibility to others.
11th House - Group connections with people, work
colleagues, interest groups, social circles.
12th House - Withdrawal or isolation from the
mainstream world or from people. Selfless giving.
Reconnection with the universal
consciousness
– psychic ability and mediumship. Secrets and invisible enemies
The term ascendant or rising
sign marks the beginning of the First House. The Ascendant reflects the Zodiac
sign that was ascending on the Eastern Horizon at the time of birth.
In the following diagram,
the blue lines represent the boundary lines between the houses, and the black
lines represent the boundaries between the signs as before.
Our Sun in Scorpio from the
earlier example now becomes Sun in Scorpio in the fifth house. The Moon in
Aquarius from the earlier example becomes Moon in Aquarius in the eighth house.