An Introduction to the Outer Planets

An Introduction to the Outer Planets

by Donna Young

© Donna Young - published by Constellation News, 2018 / 19.12.2018

For thousands of years Saturn was the planet that set the boundary for our solar system. With the advent of telescopes in the early 1600’s, it became possible for star gazers to see farther than ever imagined. Neptune was the first planet to be observed by Galileo, but at the time he didn’t realize what he was looking at and Uranus became the first official outer planet to be identified in 1781.  This was followed by a confirmation of Neptune in 1846, and the discovery of Pluto in 1930.

The outer planets were named after Greek and Roman gods and are related to their mythologies, but their astrological interpretation was developed based on what was going on in the world when they were discovered.

These outer planets move so slowly that on their own they don’t add a lot of information to the natal chart. On an individual level, these outer planets can affect the individual quite profoundly when they are closely connected to the more personal planets by aspect relationship. Here we will see the strength of the outer planets asking the individual to rise to the challenges and accept the power that they might bring into our everyday lives. We can also look to house position to determine what area of life they might be influencing. But their energy by sign is felt on more of a collective level. We look to these signatures to gather information about larger groups or generations of people. Because they are in a sign for a much longer period of time, their influence is more powerful, causing a deeper experience than the closer, faster moving planets.

As we go through the transits of the planets, consider that there are three phases that we need to think about: The first is the moment of birth; what kind of environment were these children born into? The second is when these children come of age. What was going on when these children started to find their voice as young adults? What are they protesting? What changes do they hope to see in the world? And the third is when this same group of children become adults and begin to have influence in the world. What does it look like when they are the people in power?

Because we are looking at the outer planets from a generational perspective, we are wise to look at history to help us make sense of what to expect moving forward.  The historical examples given are largely from a European perspective but will give an idea of how the energy of the planets coincided with what was transpiring on a larger scale.

Uranus

• Discovered in 1781
• Orbit: 84 years
• 7 years in each sign
• Co-Rules: Aquarius
• Masculine – Malefic
• Retrograde 1x/year for 5 months: desire for unconventional behaviour is internalized.
• MYTHOLOGY: Conceived from chaos, Ouranos, the Sky Crowned with Stars. Married to Gaia (mother earth). Most of the other gods came from their union.
• COLLECTIVELY:  Dramatic change, new social movements and change, technological advances
• INDIVIDUALLY: Our desire to individuate, revolutionary thoughts, questioning of authority, need for freedom, flash of inspiration, feelings of alienation. Look to house position to see what area of your life is unconventional, where you do not follow societal norms, where you need to learn to express your unique individuality, where you might find yourself challenging authority.
• RULES:  Disruptions, unique expression, sudden events and breakthroughs, rebellion, innovation, disasters and catastrophes, telecommunication
• SKILLED: idealistic, original, inventive, expression of individuality, innovative, liberated, genius, spontaneity.
• UNSKILLED: erratic, inflexible, irresponsible, rebel without a cause, unreliable, stubborn, disruptive, negative response to authority.

Uranus is the first of the modern planets, discovered in 1781. This was the time of the first industrial revolution, with the discovery of an extraordinary number of inventions, and the push toward modern science (the first reference to a scientist came in 1833).

Its symbolism was assigned based on its eccentric order and the global political revolutions that were occurring around the time of its discovery.

Originally Uranus was interpreted as partaking of the nature of Mercury and Saturn. It was considered wholly unfortunate. Today, astrologers tend to say Uranus represents the need for freedom, originality, sudden changes and new possibilities, the possibility of chaos, the unexpected, innovation, our desire to be unique, liberated, and radical. It also represents genius and eccentricity, invention and original ideas.
Many astrologers believe it rules all new technology and scientific discoveries.

Alan Leo (1911): 
His professions: electrician, scientist, metaphysician, astrologer, and uncommon professions of every kind.
(E)ccentric, electric, and changeable, being a mixture, or essence, of all the planets. (Displays) eccentricity, abruptness, originality, genius, and superior refinement and subtlety of ideas.

Marc Edmund Jones (1945):
Uranus, in its indication of independence, brings social reality to the point of individual opportunity. ... Uranus is essentially a planet of deviation in a highly creative sense, actually inoperative in any area of conscious experience unless there are elements in the individual life which are somehow challenging to the entire context of a modern world. It provides the measure of originality and genius.

Karen Hamaker-Zondag (1980):
Uranus stands for the factor in man which, for the sake of self-determination, is all too ready to break up the old patterns, kept in existence by the Saturn function, in order to replace them by patterns and forms which will give the psyche more room for development. Scope for unrestricted and unconditional self-expression is a prerequisite for those with a strong Uranus function, and it can give rise to eccentric behavior in either a constructive or destructive sense, when combined with the urge to break through forms.

Robert Hand (1981):
Uranus intrudes with an energy that is unexpected and often disruptive. Uranus energies strive to break one out of patterns that have become too rigid... Along with Neptune, it is associated with alternative states of consciousness. ... In order to deal with Uranus, detachment is necessary. One must not be wedded to any status quo.

Uranus in Gemini – Mutable Air - Adapting to social and intellectual learning

1781

• The discovery of Uranus coincides with the Industrial Revolution which begins in 1764, and is on the heels of the US Declaration of Independence in 1776.

1858-1866

• Those born 1858 -1866 were the first to have access to the phonograph and telephone as adults.
• 1859 – Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species supporting his theory of evolution
• 1861-1865 – Civil War - slavery is abolished in the US

1942-1949

• First electronic computer – 1945
• 1947 – the Birth of the CIA
• The 1941 -1948 generation manifested in the hippie movement along with other groups who were in opposition to established ways of thinking.

Uranus in Cancer - Cardinal Water –Iinnovations, emotional connections

1782 – 1788

• 1785 – flying shuttle is invented, enabling weavers to double their speed. Improvements eventually made the process possible through the use of water power, and the first factory came to be. Employees are often women and children. 

1866-1871

• Transcontinental Railway (North America)
• Transatlantic Telegraph cable was built – undersea cable built under the Atlantic Ocean connecting overseas friends and families.
• Seven weeks war between Austria and Prussia
• German unification completed
• 1870 – first gasoline powered combustion engine
• Development of the telephone

1949-1956

• Working Women – rebel against traditional family roles
• Crooners: singers who sing sentimental songs ex) Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby
• Television invades the home, producing the first TV generation.

Uranus in Leo - Fixed Fire – Creative self expression, need for individual identity

1789-1794

• French Revolution 1789-1794 ending with the abolition of the monarchy
• 1789 French National Assembly implements the liberal idea of equality
• Romantic movement awakens nationalist feelings

1871-1878

• 1865-1877 Radical Reconstruction gives enfranchised blacks a voice in US government

1956-1962

• August 1955 until August 1962 – The motion picture industry was radically altered because of competition with television
• 1960 FDA approve THE PILL – people can experience sex more openly without fear of becoming pregnant
• This generation group was too young for the sixties and so are more conventional in their approach to life. They are talented investigators or analysts and provide many of the "yuppie" computer professionals. Most in this group are self-contained, shrewd, secretive, careful, tenacious, calculating and capable. They are more thoughtful, hesitant, reflective and unsure than the elder boomers, but often no less outgoing and exhibitionist (since Uranus is in Leo). In fact, many in this group have already made quite an impression in the show business world. Examples: Scott Baio, Matthew Broderick, Katie Couric, Tom Cruise, Michael J. Fox, Woody Harrelson, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Demi Moore, Eddie Murphy, Donny Osmond, Sean Penn, Prince, Tim Robbins.
  http://philosopherswheel.com/generations.htm

Uranus in Virgo – Mutable Earth - Need to analyze, discriminate and function efficiently

1794 – 1807

• Rise of Romanticism
• Electricity
• Steam Engine
• Collapse of Prussia

1878-1885

• 1884: Oxford Dictionary published – to push past limitation and use this dictionary to help function more efficiently.
• 1879 - Thomas A. Edison invents electric light
• 1881 - First union is formed

1962-1969

• Dec. 24, 1962. Burundi, Jamaica, Western Samoa, Uganda, and Trinidad and Tobago become independent
• June 28, 1969 Stonewall riot in New York City marks beginning of gay rights movement – need to liberate who you are.

Uranus in Libra – Cardinal Air - Initiating social and intellectual action to create balance

1801-1807

• 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor of the French. The focus is on the abolition of serfdom, equality before the law, the protection of property rights, and public education, but fails to defend the rights of women, children and slaves. 

1885-1891

• Invention of automobile
• Invention of electronics, wireless radios

1969-1975

• Apollo 11 – first man on the moon
• Music Videos came out and were a huge hit – change in music & arts
• Attitudes toward marriage changed and were less conventional - the spirit of the union is more important than the form. Legalities are not as important as love.
• Sept 5, 1972 - Eleven Israeli athletes at Olympic Games in Munich are killed after eight members of an Arab terrorist group invade Olympic Village; five guerrillas and one policeman are also killed.

Uranus in Scorpio – Fixed Water – Stabilising emotional security, need for deep involvements and intense transformations.

1808-1813

• Berlin University founded
• Britain opens up New Zealand for immigration

1891-1898

• 1895 - X-rays invented by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen
• 1896 - First enzyme discovery - Eduard Buchner 
• Sigmund Freud begins practising what he coins psychoanalysis

1975-1981

• First mobile phone – changes how people interact
• May 23, 1977 Scientists report using bacteria in lab to make insulin
• Anti-Nuclear war protests begin
• 1980 – Peak in divorce rates in the US

Uranus in Sagittarius - Mutable, Fire – Need to explore and expand horizons of mind and world

1814-1821

• Foundation of Hindu College, Calcutta
• First trans-atlantic steamship

1898-1904

• 1903 - Wright brothers fly first airplane
• 1903 - Henry Ford organizes Ford Motor Company
• 1900 – first wireless audio message sent

1981-1988

• Canada Act 1982 – liberation & bring fresh idea to reforming of outdated methods to the areas of education, philosophy, religion

Uranus in Capricorn - Cardinal, Earth -  Initiating material action – need for structure, organization and social accomplishment

1822-1828

• 1825 Uprising in Russia
• Mackintosh raincoat first sold

1905-1912

• 1905 - The Russian Revolution of 1905 begins 1907 - Second Hague Peace Conference, of 46 nations, adopts 10 conventions on rules of war. (change to gov & social structure)
• 1911 - Chinese Republic proclaimed after revolution overthrows Manchu dynasty

1988-1996

• April 19, 1989 - Tens of thousands of Chinese students take over Beijing's Tiananmen Square in rally for democracy (social change)
• Feb 1, 1992 - Bush and Yeltsin proclaim formal end to cold war
• Oct 30, 1995 Quebec narrowly rejects independence from Canada

Uranus in Aquarius - Fixed Air – Stabilizing social and intellectual security, need to be innovative and create social change.

1829-1836

• 1829: Greece gains independence from Ottoman Empire
• 1830: First railway line is built in England

1912-1919

• 1913 - Suffragists demonstrate in London. Garment workers strike in New York and Boston for better working conditions
• 1914 – WWI begins (questionable leadership)
• 1917 - Russian Revolution

1996-2003

• March 22, 1997 -  Heaven's Gate cult members commit mass suicide in California (questionable leadership/ unique approach to changing humanity)
• Oct 13, 1999 - Tobacco companies admit to harm caused by cigarette smoking (unique approach to changing humanity)
• Sept 11, 2001 – 911 (created a huge change worldwide socially)

Uranus in Pisces - Mutable Water - Adapting to emotional and soul learning. Needs to commit to the ideal dream and work toward its realization

1837-1844

• Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist – social commentary
• Photography
• Opium Wars in China
• Mass immigration to US
• US – Canada border defined

1919-1927

• 1919 to 1927 there were radical changes in beliefs, religion, and morals. This was the period of prohibiting alcohol and the split between the moralistic and the wild Roaring Twenties.
• 1925 - John T. Scopes convicted and fined for teaching evolution in a public school in Tennessee “Monkey Trial”; sentence set aside.
• 1926 - Gertrude Ederle of U.S. is first woman to swim English Channel

2003-2011

• Dec 26, 2004 - Enormous tsunami devastates Asia; at least 225,000 killed.
• Aug 2005 -  Hurricane Katrina wreaks catastrophic damage on the Gulf Coast; more than 1,000 die and millions are left homeless. Americans are shaken not simply by the magnitude of the disaster but by how ill-prepared all levels of government were in its aftermath.

Uranus in Aries -  Cardinal Fire – Independent, ingenious, new beginnings

1845-1851

• Inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell was born
• Revolutions of 1848: Largest political upheaval in European history. Revolutionaries and working class people were unhappy with the political leadership and were demanding more participation and involvement in their government.

1927-1935

• 1927: A diamond rush in South Africa includes trained athletes hired by several major firms to stake claims.
• 1927: First sports commentary on the BBC radio
• Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as Black Tuesday
• Women become persons in Canada
• Nazis rise to power

2011 to 2018

• Civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Sudan
• LGBTQ – more acceptance of how people identify sexually
• In North America: Black Lives Matter,

Uranus in Taurus – Fixed Earth – Finding new ways to be practical

1851-1858

• First World Fair
• Darwin’s Theory of evolution – gave people a new way of viewing life
• Independence of Cuba
• First railway and telegraph lines in India
• Smallpox vaccine

1935-1942

• 1939 – WWII France, UK, Australia, NZ, South Africa & Canada declared war on Germany
• 1939 – Australia’s worst bushfire kills 71
• Dust Bowl

Neptune

• First discovered in 1612 by Galileo, but he didn’t realize it was a planet
• Officially discovered in 1846
• Orbit: 165 years
• 14 years in each sign
• Co-Rules: Pisces
• Masculine - Malefic
• Retrograde approximately 5 months/year
• MYTHOLOGY: Poseidon, God of the Seas. Brother to Zeus, God of the Sky, and Hades, God of the Underworld.
• RULES: Dreams, illusions, dissolving boundaries, delusion, escapism, creativity, inspiration, visions, deception, spirituality, mysticism
• SKILLED: gifted in dance, music, poetry, art. Strong spirituality or psychic ability, desire to create a better world.
• UNSKILLED: addiction to mind altering substances, confusion, escapist behaviour, hypochondria, lack of focus, paranoia.

Western astrologers use Neptune to represent illumination, illusions, disillusions, and delusions as well as spiritual seeking and mystical truths.  It “is the inspiration that must take place before a thing can be brought into the physical world” (Robert Hand)

Neptune rules dreams and visions, self-sacrifice, charity, religion, the intangible, confusion, escapism, deception, glamour, drugs, addictions, merging or uniting, compassion, and lack of boundaries.
Esoteric astrologers consider Neptune the higher octave of Venus and place strong emphasis on its representation of spiritual possibilities. 

Alan Leo (1911):
Of Neptune ... little that is definite can be said at present. He tends to render the nature sensuous and dreamy when prominent in a horoscope, and when afflicted gives a decided tendency to fraud. Undoubtedly, he acts as a malefic upon the majority.

Marc Edmund Jones (1945):
(Neptune) identifies that point in the horoscope where the individual is under the greatest necessity to do what the group as a whole wishes him to do, or where any extreme of co-operation or allegiance is demanded of him by other people in general. Thus Neptune ... describes the situation under which anyone is brought up short most definitely, whenever he fails to respond to the opportunities for this larger mode of being.

Karen Hamaker-Zondag (1980):
The Neptune factor signifies a refining of existing psychic contents. In particular, the emotional aspects of experience and the range of experience undergo a change. ... Universal love, understanding, warmth and human dedication are typical of Neptune and so the planet has come to be treated as a higher octave of Venus. It is the source in man from which the gifted artist and the devoted religious or secular leader draw their inspiration.

Robert Hand (1981):
(Neptune) eludes definition because it is associated with aspects of the universe that are unclear, illusory, delusory, ill-defined, and even imaginary. ... Neptune may also signify both an ideal and an illusion of the perfectly ideal.

Neptune in Aquarius

1834-1848

• Neptune is discovered
• Romantic era (roughly1800 – 1850) romantic artists and musicians did away with rules and began to trust their imagination and intuition. Many viewed God as a spiritual force and rebelled against the dogma of the church.
• German Idealism supports the idea that it is human consciousness, not science, that builds the world.
• The Earliest negative photograph
• Hans Christian Anderson publishes the first of his tales for children
• US/Mexican war begins. Texas is annexed
• Publication of Scientific American
• Karl Marx Publishes the Communist Party Manifesto 1848

1998-2012

• Rapid Technological Advancements – individuals own cellphones and personal computers.
• Social Media - Twitter, Facebook etc.
• Pluto demoted to the dwarf planet category after the discovery of similar bodies

Neptune in Pisces

1848-1862

• 1848 Karl Marx publishes the Communist Manifesto
• First use of anesthetics ether and chloroform
• 1859: Charles Darwin published the Origin of the Species which threatens the worldview of Christianity
• Gold discovered in New South Wales

2013 – present

Neptune in Aries 1861-1874

• Invention of the machine gun and dynamite
• US Civil War
• Louis Pasteur germ theory
• Australian woman allowed to vote
• First Geneva Convention

Neptune in Taurus 1875-1889

• Theosophical Society founded
• Pacific Stock Exchange opens
• Invention of the telephone
• Invention of the phonograph

Neptune in Gemini 1889-1902

• Psychoanalysis
• Motion pictures
• Telegram goes around the world in 80 seconds

Neptune in Cancer 1902-1915

• American occupation of Cuba ends
• Colombia recognizes Panama's independence
• Food and Drug Act (USA)
• Development of unions
• Colour photography
• WWI Begins

Neptune in Leo 1915-1929

• Norway approves active & passive female suffrage
• Women Granted the Right to Vote in U.S.
• "Tarzan of the Apes", 1st Tarzan film, premieres at Broadway Theater
• First transatlantic telephone call
• First birth control clinic opens in US

Neptune in Virgo 1929-1942

• Gandhi leads the salt march
• Beginning of great depression and WWII
• Stock market crash

Neptune in Libra 1942-1957

• Baby boomer generation who later become the hippies, believing in peace harmony.
• End of WWII
• Beginning of United Nations

Neptune in Scorpio 1957-1970

• Man on the moon
• Woodstock
• Vietnam War
• Marilyn Monroe is found dead of an apparent overdose.
• Aug. 28, 1963 Civil rights rally held by 200,000 blacks and whites in Washington, D.C.; Martin Luther King delivers “I have a dream” speech. Demand for individual freedom.

Neptune in Sagittarius 1970-1984

• Conflicts between capitalist and communist forces.
• End of Vietnam War
• Watergate
• Conclusion of the Cultural Revolution in China
• First test tube baby is born

Neptune in Capricorn 1984-1998

• Scandals on Wall Street: stock, market plunge and brief recession.
• Iraq-Iran War/Oil Spill
• Chernobyl disaster
• Car seat, seat belt and helmet use mandatory for children (US)

Pluto

• Discovered in 1930
• Orbit: 248 years
• 11-32 years in a sign
• Co-Ruler: Scorpio
• Masculine – Malefic
• Retrograde for approximately 5 months/year: internalization of our desire for control and power; denial of ones own capacity for depth and strength.
• MYTHOLOGY: Hades, God of the Underworld. Brother to Zeus who ruled the Sky and Poseidon who ruled the Sea. Abductor of Persephone. 
• COLLECTIVELY: Effects generations. Setting up questions and themes that societies work on together
• INDIVIDUALLY: Phoenix rising from the ashes.
• RULES: Unconscious forces symbolized by destruction, death and rebirth, decay, elimination, radical transformation, rebirth and power, revolution, deep instincts, the underworld
• SKILLED: the ability to rebound against all odds, the ability to re-invent oneself, regeneration, resourcefulness, resilience.
• UNSKILLED: abuse of power, dark motivations, obsession, self-destructive.

Astrologically, Pluto has come to rule the unconscious mind, deep instincts, and the underworld. It represents the power to create as well as the power to destroy. It symbolizes the power of radical transformation and revolution.

Keywords include power-it's use or misuse, obsession, death, birth, regeneration (sex), destruction, and metamorphosis, exchanges in genetic material, genetics, research, spiritual regeneration, the phoenix rising out of the ashes.

It represents the principles that something must die in order for something new to take place and survival that requires collaboration.

In size, Pluto is smaller than our Moon. Although it is now a dwarf, because Pluto has been used in charts for nearly 100 years, most modern astrologers still commonly use it as if it were one of the main planets.

Elbert Benjamine (1939):
More than any other planet, Pluto exerts an influence which may express in two diametrically opposite qualities. ... Pluto is never wishy-washy. The Lower-Pluto influence combines cunning with daring to attain its own self-seeking ends, and permits nothing to stand in its way. ... The Upper-Pluto influence ... is sagacious, drastic and forceful, but works invariably for the benefit of all. The key word for Pluto is Co-operation, his worst quality is Inversion, and his best quality is Spirituality.

Marc Edmund Jones (1945):
Pluto, in its indication of obsession--taken as potentially no less constructive than unfortunate, or as the compelling vision by which men are caught up out of themselves in a transcendence of lesser living--is the planet of meditative activity in cultural self-relationship, or is the mass mind which directs the basic formulation ... of social concepts. ... Pluto shows the native's impersonal response to his group's needs and dangers.

Karen Hamaker-Zondag (1980):
The function of the Pluto factor in the human psyche is extremely critical; it is, to quote Jeff Mayo, '... a natural outlet for bringing to the surface those repressed and lost factors out of the personal unconscious.'

Robert Hand (1981):
Pluto is the archetype of death and resurrection: it breaks down the old and outworn entities into their component parts, and then reassembles them into new being.

Pluto in Cancer 1914-1939 - 25 years

• Overlap between Greatest Generation (1901-1926) and Silent Generation (1927-1945). Both generations were influenced by the war years, and enjoyed prosperity in midlife.
• Need to give and receive emotional warmth & security
• Capacity to deal with “death”. Transformation/renewing.
• Wars and the great depression which occurred while this generation was young created financial insecurity, but ultimately provided a higher level of education and prosperity than the generations before them.
• Individuals will go through a lot of changes that affect their sense of security
• They feel everything very intensely
• It is difficult for them to let go of possessions and people
• Early family life may be dramatically affected by forces beyond one's immediate control
• Community minded, sense of civic duty.
• Accepted gender stereotypes

Pluto in Leo 1937-1958 - 21 years

• Silent Generation (1927 – 1945) and Baby Boom Generation (1946-1964)
• The surge in post-war births created a large generation of individuals who were not called to war. They grew up in an era of abundance, and were provided greater education and employment opportunities than any other generation to date.
• First generation of teenagers – they were not expected to take on adult responsibilities young
• Need to creatively express themselves and be appreciated by others
• Many people of this generation freely expressed themselves through music, dance, art, clothing, etc.
• Women began working outside the home
• Rejecting traditional values, the sexual revolution took place when this generation came of age.
• Technological advances provided more leisure time for this generation. This in turn gives them the opportunity to be more fit than previous generations, resulting in an extended expected life span. 
• Continue to enjoy the pleasures of life after retirement – no rocking chairs for them.

Pluto in Virgo 1956-1972  - 16 years

• Spans a portion of Baby Boom Generation (1946-1964) and Generation X (1965-1980) but missing many of the benefits enjoyed by the Baby Boom Generation. More cynical than their parents, educated but underemployed.
• Self sufficient as their mothers were working and not at home for them as children
• Ecologically minded
• Need to analyze, discriminate and function efficiently. Cautious and skeptical.
• Pluto in Virgo seeks transformation in the areas of service, everyday work and health
• Generation of computers to eliminate human error, but pre-high tech.
• Grew up in times of uncertainty due to divorced parents, economic recessions and world events like AIDS, Chernobyl and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
• Largest group of people who never married or had children. Many single parents.

Pluto in Libra 1971-1984 - 13 years

• Spans Generation X (1960-1980) and Millennial or Generation Y (1981-2000)
• Children of the Baby Boomers
• Strives to cooperate with others to create beauty, balance and harmony
• Capacity to deal with “death”. Transformation/renewing.
• Highest divorce rate on record which effects the view of relationship to the children born into this generation. Consequently, they strive to find balance in relationships.
• Many of these people are known as being the indigo children and the crystal children.
• Perception of relationships changes.
• Grew up in a digital world

Pluto in Scorpio 1983-1995 - 12 years

• Millennials or Generation Y (1981-2000)
• Need for deep involvements and intense transformations.
• Increased capacity to deal with death.
• Interest in magical experiences (Harry Potter) as well as violence and sex seen in music and video games
• Depth psychology goes mainstream
• Many cultural taboos, physical and psychological abuses were brought into our consciousness including domestic abuse, incest. Adults began to reveal their pedophile perpetrators.

Pluto in Sagittarius 1995-2008 - 13 years

• Millennials/Gen Y and Generation Z (born after 2001)
• Record number of births in 2006 – surpassing that of the Baby Boom Generation
• Need to explore and expand the horizons of my mind and world.
• This generation is very philosophical and rebellious.  They seek action and loathe boredom.
• Travel freedoms have been dramatically controlled and revised during Pluto in Sagittarius.
• Extremes in consumerism

Pluto in Capricorn 2008-2024 - 16 years

• Generation Z
• Need for structure, organization and accomplishment.
• Breakdown and renewal of government structures and systems.
• Cryptocurrencies threaten to replace monetary system
• Economic collapse

 

Bibliography:
Benjamine, Elbert (1939) The Influence of the Planet Pluto: The Aries Press
Edmond Jones, Mark (1945) Astrology: How and Why it Works: Pelican Books
Hamaker Zondag, Karen (1980) Astro Psychology: Aquarian Press
Hand, Robert (1981) Horoscope Symbols: Whitford Press
Leo, Alan (1983) The Key to Your Own Nativity: Destiny Books
Perry, Marvin (2001) Western Civilization, A Brief History: Houghton Mifflin Company
Kepler College W101 Course Material

Image sources:
Uranus clouds: NASA, ESA, and M. Showalter (SETI Institute) (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
Neptune: NASA (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
Pluto: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons

First published in: ivcconference.com/constellation-news/, 2018.

Author:
Donna Young is an instructor with Kepler College, as well as the Canadian Association for Astrological Education. Committed to growing the astrological community, she co-hosts a monthly gathering in Calgary, AB for astrologers of all levels, and helps to organize an annual conference designed to encourage the development of Canadian Astrologers.
She holds an AA degree from Kepler College in the History and Symbology of Astrology, Level III NCGR-PAA Certification, and serves as the Canadian satellite representative for the Organization for Professional Astrology (OPA). Her private consulting practice is in Alberta, Canada, and she can be contacted via www.donnayoungastrologer.com.

© 2018 - Donna Young - Constellation News

All articles at a glance

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Source

https://www.astro.com/astrology/ivccn_article181219_e.htm

Astrological Insights into Personality

Astrological Insights into Personality

Based on the provided search results, here are the key astrological insights into personality as described by Betty Lundsted:

• Link between Natal Chart and Childhood Experiences: Lundsted’s work emphasizes the connection between planetary aspects in a person’s natal chart and early parental influences. She argues that these childhood experiences shape an individual’s needs, drives, and motivations, and continue to impact adult behavior.
• Insights into Needs, Drives, and Motivations: The book provides a framework for understanding an individual’s subconscious programming, which is influenced by their natal chart and early relationships. This can help individuals gain awareness of their inner dynamics and make positive changes.
• Empowering Perspective: Lundsted’s approach is empowering, as it encourages individuals to take responsibility for their growth and development by understanding the connections between their astrological symbols and childhood experiences.
• Psychodynamic Astrology: The book is based on the psychodynamic astrology of Lionel Day, and Lundsted is one of the few authors who has written extensively on his insights.

Key Takeaways

• A person’s natal chart serves as a blueprint for their subconscious and early parental relationships.
• Childhood experiences continue to influence adult behavior and can be understood through astrological symbolism.
• The book provides a framework for individuals to gain insights into their needs, drives, and motivations, and make positive changes.
• It offers an empowering perspective on personal growth and development, encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their own evolution.

Recommendations

• This book is suitable for both novice and experienced astrologers, as well as individuals interested in personal growth and self-awareness.
• It is an excellent resource for understanding the human psyche and personality dynamics through astrology.
• While some references may be dated, the book’s core insights and principles remain relevant and valuable.

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Source

https://search.brave.com/search?q=Astrological+Insights+into+Personality+Betty+Lunsted&source=desktop&summary=1&summary_og=a706b6fa3861f8a2a3797f

Mommy, Daddy & The Kid

Mommy, Daddy & The Kid

This chapter is intended to expose the reader to a general overview of parent-child relationships, and how these relationships can be seen in the natal chart. The roles of parent-child, the need for a parent image and the blocks that confuse parent-child issues are explored. In Section II (Planets and Aspects) the influence of the parents’ relationship on the child’s development is discussed. If we are to comprehend natal aspects in perspective, it’s important to understand the “typical” resentments and confusions of parent and child during the normal maturation process.

When we consider mother-father-child relationships, we often approach the subject with a great deal of prejudice. We tend to view parents and children through distorted eyes—we are blinded by our love or hate, our disappointment, our overattachment, etc. In order to understand the relationships, or the problems connected with the various roles in family life, it helps to be aware of the fact that we are often caught in both roles, since we are usually both children and parents!

In a recent lecture about planetary aspects, the speaker was describing the effect of a particular aspect on a child. A mother in the audience had a child with that aspect. She responded to the speaker’s description by saying, “But I was always there, I responded to every cry, to every need!” The fact is there is no way a parent can or should respond to a child’s every need. The child elects to come into the universe, and presumably the parents elect to handle the responsibility for that child. We can try to do everything humanly possible for our children, but we may not always satisfy them. I wonder if we are supposed to. Children misunderstand parents at some point or other, and parents misunderstand children. The only thing we can do is become aware that these misunderstandings are unavoidable.

For example, a Fire sign child, born with a Fire sign Moon as well, was raised by two Earth sign people who did not have Fire signs strong in their horoscopes. There was no way that the parents could understand the child’s idealism! The parents were not deliberately trying to hurt the child; the child was unable to understand the parents’ needs as well. They knew each other, they cared for each other, but they couldn’t really relate to each other.

When we look at the birth chart, we are essentially looking at the formation of a personality. If we consider the horoscope of the child as a reflection of the early childhood environment, then we may logically consider the horoscope as a road map of the emotional life based on the child’s reaction to the parents’ relationship.

If we can read the aspects in an adult’s chart accurately, we may assume that there had to be some childhood experience to cause that aspect to manifest later in life. Mom is the first woman we see and Dad is the first man we see; and because we have no other life experience to compare them with, we assume that Mom and Dad are “normal,” i.e., they behave in a “normal” way to each other— they are “normal” human beings. The value system prevalent in the marriage at the time of the birth of the child is the value system that is instilled within the personality of the child.

Most psychologists say the problems they counsel in their adult patients have been formed in the personality by the age of five. I would offer that they are formed more probably by the age of three. We pop into the universe with lots of intuition. This means that we are able to sense and feel the environment, much like we can if we go to a foreign country without knowledge of the language but find ourselves capable of discerning whether people are angry or happy, fighting or loving. A child senses the relationship between the parents in much the same way. Baby often sleeps in the parents’ bedroom, a silent witness to their sexual and emotional relationship, which influences the child’s reaction to sexuality in later life (on a subconscious level). And Baby is around when Mom is complaining about Dad to her girl friends, or when Dad is throwing a temper tantrum at Mom when dinner isn’t ready. Baby feels how the parents handle crises, emotional warmth and everyday activities in the home.

None of the early childhood experience is readily accessible to the conscious mind as we mature. The picture and feeling memories have been stored in the subconscious mind—they haven’t been discussed with anybody. To make self-diagnosis more difficult, around the age of three the child begins to broaden his range of experience by reaching out into the backyard or the nursery school. We are told that a personality is developed as we grow. Sociologists infer that a school or social environment can influence or change a child. What does this mean in reference to the aspects in the natal chart? And if a child is responding to the environment, is it responding via the aspects in the chart?

When we study astrology, we learn that a chart can be read five minutes after a child is born, so astrologers are priviledged to see a child’s emotional experience or expectancy of experience before it has happened. We may have to decide for ourselves which came first, the chart or the environment.

If you compare the horoscopes of the child and the parents you will see that there is a relationship between them in planetary terms. For example, you are the transits to your parents’ charts because your natal planets are their transits on the day you are born! If a child is born when Mom is going through her Saturn return, and if the kid’s Saturn also conjuncts the father’s Sun, the child will subconsciously evoke memories of that period in the parents, even as the child grows. (Mom’s Saturn return may have been productive or unhappy; Dad’s Sun–Saturn transit may have been a very unhappy period for him. Subconsciously they remember that when “Junior” was born life was awful or life was wonderful!) If two children have the same father and one child’s Saturn conjuncts the father’s Sun while the other child’s Jupiter conjuncts the father’s Sun, you will witness two different relationships between father and child. You can also see some basic relating problems by looking into the Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable squares between the charts of parent and child. The squares have difficulty in getting along together.

We think that we must love our parents and that parents must love children, but the chart comparison between parent and child may not be an easy or an amicable one. Psychologists say that parents respond differently to each of their children because one child is the eldest, one is the middle, one is the youngest, etc. These factors are certainly something to consider, but astrologers have other diagnostic tools at their disposal: the chart pattern, the signs, the planets, the houses and the aspects.

If the personality can be read from the horoscope—and a person with Mars square Venus (for example) has a certain personality—the child must have learned this from the parents’ relationship and, most important, from his or her reaction to the parents’ relationship. If Mom is the first woman that the child sees and Dad is the first man, then the interrelationship that goes on between Mom and Dad has to be influential in developing the child’s concepts. Most parents feel that children have no awareness—but if that is true, how can the psychologist say that adult problems are formulated by the age of five? Granted, in the first few years of life children don’t hold great intellectual conversations with their parents—but they can feel.

Often when parents are arguing, the six-month-old baby will begin to cry because it is sensitive to what is going on. Recent investigations in hypnosis have been quite revealing. People in hypnotic trance seem able to recall past experiences all the way back to the birth trauma.

We play roles and we also cast people into them. A child is a child and not often seen as a “person.” Parents feel that they can influence their children, mold them, make them into the “spitting” image of themselves by exposing their children to circumstances, environment and experience. Parents are amazed when their children disappoint them and don’t behave in the way they intended, or don’t follow in their footsteps as far as career is concerned. Parents are hurt when their children don’t understand or appreciate the things done to promote their welfare.

Children are just as guilty of casting their parents into roles. They identify with “mommy” and “daddy” and seldom see Mom as a woman and Dad as a man. Young children are extremely demanding of Mom and Dad (and necessarily so, for they need lots of food and care). As they grow, they demand as much as parents are able or willing to give—and more. During various time periods in the growth cycle, children demand different things of parents, and often will align themselves with the parent who will give permission or understanding. So it’s “me and Dad” against Mom, or vice versa. And there are times when children see life in terms of “me against Mom and Dad.” This is all part of the natural maturing process.

In some circumstances, children want parental role models, even though the models are negative. A case in point is an eleven-year-old I worked with, who was very upset about his parents’ divorce. He tried for two years to reunite them. He wanted them together even though he was aware of the following circumstances: The father was unreliable; he spent many years at home, claiming that he could not get a job, so the family was supported by the wife. He felt guilty about not pulling his own weight financially, so he abused his wife and child. The child had been so severely abused by the age of six that no other adult could discipline him in any normal fashion. When the marriage ended, the husband was forced to find a job but he refused to support the child. When he had weekly custody of his son, he performed sexually with other women in front of the child.

In the face of all these harsh and painful physical and emotional experiences as well as seeing his mother hospitalized from beatings, the child still wanted his parents to get back together.

Other situations of this type helped me to understand a child’s need for a parent image regardless of what that image is. If violence is a part of the experience, then these children must feel that violence is “normal.”

Counseling people about the origins of personality (or even looking into your own origins) can be a very delicate experience. We are exposing a sensitive area. Most people who come for readings feel as though they are victims in some way. It’s Mom’s fault or Dad’s fault that life is not kind. They may be right—they probably got very little training in terms of how to handle the stark realities of life. But we must keep in mind that most parents do not consciously try to destroy a child. I know some very neurotic parents, people who are going through periods of personal crisis, who are disoriented, and who would not pass too many “responsibility” tests! But they are not trying to destroy their children.

Parents may not know what they are supposed to teach a child. Humans (especially in the Western culture, or the Christian/Judaic ethic) do not really raise their children to prepare themselves for adulthood. We say that we do, but we seldom do what we say. Parents often feel that they are doing the best for their children by covering the “realities” of life and exposing the children to a rose-colored universe. For example, many parents are unable to teach their children about sexuality. Most young people I’ve counseled receive no sensible information about sex from their parents. (How can these young people avoid being emotionally hurt if they begin their sex lives with taboos and fears and guilts? And won’t these emotional hurts breed an unexpressed resentment toward the parents?) So when it comes time for young adults to venture out into the universe on their own, they are forced to fight two battles at once. One battle is the fear of approaching the unknown universe, and the other is the fight to get rid of the influence of Mom/Dad.

Parents often do not understand that there may be a certain amount of competition between parent and child. Granted, the child may be competitive, but what about the parental jealousy that can manifest on a man-to-man or woman-to-woman basis? The mother or father can be competitive with the youngster but we have difficulty recognizing it sometimes. To understand this, observe the teen-age girl whose mother dresses “younger” than her daughter... who infers that the kid will never be as feminine as she is... who may resent her daughter’s dating... who may make innuendoes about what her daughter is “doing” on those dates... and who may even be too “friendly” with her daughter’s dates.

Have you ever noticed the father who criticizes every move his teen-age son makes? Dad questions the kid’s selection of college, summer jobs and girls. Or the father who won’t support the sensible ideas that his son has. There may be constant references to the boy as being a “dummy” and an “idiot” or other derogatory remarks rather than words that are supportive and helpful.

I’ve watched the parents who constantly nag their children, where all conversations with children turn into parent-child harassment. I wonder if these parents subconsciously feel threatened or resentful of the child’s ensuing independence. Consider also the idea of “trust” between parent and child. Parents lay a groundwork of morality and then don’t trust their children to live that morality. Many teen-agers are completely crushed by this lack of trust.

Teen-agers rebel against their parents to get free so that they can join the adult universe. Literature is fraught with this “quest for freedom.” The mythology of various cultures shows the Hero (the young man) fighting his father for independence by passing tests. Hercules is mythologically important for many students of astrology since the twelve labors have often been interpreted as a quest for the self in terms of the zodiac. There also is the myth of the “father killing.” This myth does not mean that one goes out and physically maims the father, but in order to be a father, you must first free yourself from the authority of your own father. The young woman in mythology must also fight to develop from ingenue to woman, but usually she must confront her husband’s mother!

When we look at the animal kingdom we see some interesting phenomena regarding parent and child. A female kitten, for example, grows into cathood and gives birth to a litter of kittens. We do not see her paying obeisance to her mother, who may reside on the same farm. In fact, we will see two mother cats together, on an equal basis, sharing the responsibilities of motherhood. In the human species, seldom do we find mother and daughter greeting life as two women, or a father and son greeting life as two men.

In “Two Women,” a movie made in the late 50s, a mother and daughter are women together, forced into the role because of war. They are forced to deal with sexuality in its more unattractive aspects. In the movie, mother and daughter are both raped. Sophia Loren does a magnificent job of portraying the grief of a mother forced to watch her daughter experiencing sex for the first time under terrifying conditions. The arena of war forces her to experience life with her daughter as two women; but later in the movie she reverts to the mother-daughter role when her daughter begins a relationship with a young man. She never talks with her child about their rape experience, and she slaps her when she thinks that the girl is seeing a man. Most women don’t teach their daughters how to cope with sex or rape.

We often see the father-son tradition played out in epics like the movie “All My Sons.” Edward G. Robinson plays a patriarchal role, demeaning his sons so much that they can never leave home. He refuses to pay them proper wages when they work for him; the sons are forced to bring their wives home to daddy because they can’t afford a home of their own. This movie illustrates a father who systematically robs his sons of their manhood; but as the drama unfolds, it becomes apparent that he is not consciously aware of what he is doing.

Misuse of parental authority can cause great hostility and misery. Why? Because as children we are afraid to go against the parent figure; but in order to become adults, we must—while everything in our religion and culture says that we must not. The parent, too, is easily caught in the parent-child game because children are very dependent when they are young. The parent becomes so accustomed to doing everything for the child that two basic problems usually arise. One, the child becomes the center of the family unit and constantly interrupts family life because the parents don’t teach the child that it must share. Two, the parent won’t let the child “leave the nest” when the time comes. Of course, the problem of leaving the nest does not occur until the teen years, while the spoiled child syndrome usually manifests between the ages of three and ten.

Let’s look at the jealous parent for a moment. Jealousy shows up when an overprotective parent tries to keep a child from developing, or living out the normal life pattern of an adult. For example, the mother who does not want her son to marry—to have, in fact, a woman of his own. She raises her son around such ideas as “women are bad” (all women except her, that is!) and talks of young girls being cheap, instilling in the boy certain guilts about his own sexuality. The guilts are shown in the chart, but how they will manifest in adult behavior is unknown. So this son must fight his way clear of the possessive mother influence.

A daughter may have a jealous or competitive father—a man who doesn’t want his “little girl” to grow up and have an adult life of her own. The parent often overprotects his child and feels that all boys are out to “get” her, to misuse her. The girl will be better off if she is taught about the effect of sexual experimentation on her emotional and physical self. Sometimes these fathers had a double standard in their own youth. They fear that all young men will misuse women in general, like they may have. Unconscious, unadmitted incestuous desires could be questioned as well.

Once the age of 18 is reached, any dwelling on parental failures is really a waste of time. This is far easier to say than to do! But in order to get on a positive mental track, we may have to let go of the past. If Aristotle Onassis had spent his adult life blaming his mom and dad for his meager beginnings, he wouldn’t have had the time to achieve all that he did in the material world. If we choose to develop along more spiritual or more creative levels than Onassis chose, we still must let go of the past. Understanding the natal chart can help us to let go, to work through difficult personality patterns, to bring out positive energies and maturity.

One of the biggest problems we have to solve is the parental love-hate dichotomy. We are embarrassed about being seriously involved in hating our parents, but I’ve heard it so much that I don’t think it’s abnormal. People who really dislike Mom and Dad can seldom talk about it, and when it comes out it is with a great deal of passion and/or venom. When the “love connection” between parent and child is looked for, no direct answers are found, not even in religion. The words used are respect and honor, not love. A parent provides life, shelter and food until we are old enough to care for ourselves. We owe them honor and respect for that. But lovingness is not necessary in order to perform the responsibilities of raising a child. We think that “nice” people love each other—but reality shows us something different.

In order to resolve the love-hate conflict, the resentments must be faced and accepted without guilt. The aspects in the chart (which can explain the source of the conflict) can be understood. We go to a doctor to cure our physical illnesses; and we can use astrology to diagnose what our emotional problems might be in order to cure them too! When we first work with our natal chart, we often feel like a “victim.” As we work through our chart, we may see that our “victimization” is the center of our growth potential.

When people come to hear about their natal chart, they usually are in a conflict period which needs resolving. If the problem needing resolution can be understood, then the planets and the aspects that they make begin to represent strengths and energies which can be used constructively by the individual. It is the astrologer’s job to make the client aware of this.

We unconsciously pattern ourselves after the stronger parent—but diagnosing who the stronger parent is can be a problem! We try to judge the stronger parent now, but we form our bond with the stronger parent then. Parents change—a marriage is a series of cycles, because all human relationships exist in terms of cycles. When talking to clients about stronger parent influence, you may find that they have difficulty remembering who the stronger parent was. Not only have their parents changed, but the clients’ views about their parents have changed as well as their views about what a parent should be. When an attempt is made to understand who the stronger or more influential parent is, the blind spots must first be considered. To reiterate briefly, these blind spots are the roles that we force on each other, the animosity caused by parent-child competition, the confusion and anger we may feel when we start to go our own way in life. These blind spots are inevitable.

The horoscope is a key to the determination of the mother-father influence. We’ve forgotten what we picked up and stored in our subconscious mind. So the chart can be the tool that solves the mystery. We tend to get our basic life values from our “dominant” parent. That’s the parent who is stronger when we are age 0-3. The stronger parent can be determined by checking the Sun sign polarity. The positive sign people (Fire and Air signs) are strongly influenced by the father; the negative sign people (Earth and Water signs) are strongly influenced by the mother. Obviously every child is influenced by the mother. But the child also seems able to sense whether or not the mother respects or fears the father. (For more details, see Chapter 3, Polarities.)

The dominant parent is not necessarily the parent we love best or relate to best, but the one who influences our goals in life in our later years. For example, Leo children are born into a family with a very strong father image from age 0-3. Father issues rules and regulations about life from an impersonal point of view. He seldom explains why the rules and regulations exist. So Leo kids grow up with a lot of self-imposed rules and regulations. It is not uncommon to hear them say “I can’t do that, one does not do that, one does not carry oneself that way.” They really don’t know why they have these values, nor can they readily explain their code of ethics except that “one just does.” They can only change the value system when they explore the relationship with the father. This does not mean that they are little carbon copies of Dad, but they do tend to get stuck in ruts and life positions that seem very limited to the other eleven signs of the zodiac!

Taurus children, on the other hand, are mother-dominated. Their value system will be based on their reaction to Mother’s value system. They may not like her, but they will base their philosophy of life on Mother’s opinions and on their reactions to her opinions. For example, if your parent is a chain-smoker, you may grow up to be one too. Or you may have strong feelings about not smoking because you lived with a heavy smoker. The dominant parent may well be an unfavored parent; dominance does not imply love. The child with trines and sextiles to the Sun may have a much better relationship with the dominant parent than will the child who has afflictions to the Sun.

The Sun position also symbolizes the physical father (and how he behaves) in the child’s early home environment. The negative or feminine sign Sun implies that the father is not the strongest member of the family when the child is born. It shows that the father’s influence is passive, or what is traditionally expressed as feminine-receptive. This does not mean that the father is feminine, but that he is passive about running the household, the marriage and the family at the time the child is born. The aspects to the Sun indicate just how the father influences the child at a time in life when it is important to the child’s development.

The Moon represents the child’s physical mother. It indicates how she presents herself physically and how she influences the emotional side of the child’s personality. The placement of the Moon by sign, house and aspects indicates the type of feminine influence the child receives in terms of mothering, nurturing and loving, and how the child responds to emotional situations. An afflicted Moon in the natal chart means that Mom has some difficulty in adjusting to certain aspects of relating emotionally; the child will sense it and perhaps copy it later in life.

The Saturn and Venus placements are also important in evaluating the influence of the parents. These placements seem to indicate the psychological impact of the parents. Saturn represents authority and the effect of father on the child’s development. In a traditional sense, the first authority figure that greets the child is the father. He is gone during the day and comes home in the evening and lays down the law. In legal and civil matters, no matter how strong the mother is, the father has control. So when Saturn is afflicted, there are some problems with the concept of authority. Afflictions to Saturn can also mean that the father’s psychological influence may keep the child from maturing easily, or it may influence the child’s emotional or sexual development in some way.

Venus represents the psychological influence of the mother. If Venus also represents the ability to appreciate love and to accept love, or to develop a concept of loving, then what the mother thinks about this during the child’s early life can be most influential. It seems that when Venus is afflicted, Mom has some conceptual problems about love and what femininity is all about. She transfers a poor image of the feminine to the child. If the child is female, the girl may have psychological blocks concerning her feminine values, which may include self-value. If the child is a boy, he may have trouble expressing love to a woman or may not value his emotional needs, or both.

When Saturn and Venus afflict each other (the conjunction, square or opposition), this can indicate that the relationship between the parents is psychologically damaging to the child. These children go into adult relationships with little confidence or joy. They don’t expect to share, they seem to expect to lose. They look for flaws in a relationship, and when they look, they usually find them! They don’t want to discuss problems; when one is brought up, they assume that the relationship is over and they withdraw. These people tend to look for enormous guarantees and reassurances from the partner without offering any in return. I wonder if the interaction between the parents was so negative that these individuals become frightened of ever committing themselves to sharing. To work free of this influence, they must examine their memories of their parents’ relationship.

When the chart is looked at from the viewpoint of being a picture of the parents’ marriage at a certain period in time, it should be remembered that the child reacts to the parents in terms of the child’s needs. For example, adopted children land in families where the adopted parents dole out the same aspects as would their real parents. It’s uncanny. Just as transits, progressions or directions work in synchronicity, so do the circumstances present in our universe when we arrive here!

This leads me to say one small word about reincarnation. I can’t prove it, but the following theory makes some sense to me. If we have different aspects to work out, perhaps they are the clues to why we were reincarnated this time around. After all, if we understood the “game” of life and understood all the rules, then the learning about it, the playing of the game, might not be any fun!

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Astrological Insights into Personality

Betty Lunsted