What Is Psychological Astrology?

A Brief History

“Obviously astrology has much to offer psychology, but what the latter can offer its elder sister is less evident. So far as I judge, it would seem to me advantageous for astrology to take the existence of psychology into account.”  

-Carl Jung


The origins of psychological astrology are often credited to master psychiatrist Carl Jung, Freud’s mentee, who discussed the subject with Freud in a series of letters between them. Sometimes called astropsychology, it combines transpersonal psychology, depth psychology, and humanistic psychology with astrology. All of these can be traced back to a connection with Jung and other colleagues. 

Transpersonal psychology is considered to have developed from humanistic psychology, though many of its unique qualities extend beyond the subjects discussed by humanistic theory. Some of the things that make transpersonal psychology different include altered consciousness, mystical, meditative, and trance experiences, a focus on spiritual development, moving beyond the ego Self, and “the dark night of the soul”, also known as a  spiritual crisis. 

Early pioneers in transpersonal psychology include Jung, Stanislav Grof, Abraham Maslow, William James, Jean Piaget, and Roberto Assagioli. The earliest known usage of the term "transpersonal" dates to circa 1905-1906 from William James’ lecture notes written for teaching at Harvard University. Grof and Anthony Sutich were also early adopters of the term. 

Humanistic psychology arose in the early to mid-20th century in response to two theories: Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and B.F. Skinner’s behaviorism, and was also heavily influenced by Maslow. Humanistic psychology’s intention is to assist the client in believing that all people are inherently good. Creativity, free will, and positive human potential are emphasized, as is encouragement to view ourselves as a whole person, greater than the sum of our parts, and encourages exploration of and focus on the Self. Humanistic psychology acknowledges spirituality as an integral component of the psyche, too. It’s largely about mindfulness, learning to observe oneself, and using this knowledge to change patterns of behavior. Philosophy had a big influence on humanistic psychology, especially existentialism, such as the work of Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Judeo-Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu views. Jung, Freud, Maslow, Adler, Erikson, Horney, Pavlov, Rogers, Moustakas, and Klein all played major roles too. 

The five basic principles of humanistic psychology according to James Bugental ca. 1964 are:

  1. Human beings, as human, supersede the sum of their parts. They cannot be reduced to components.

  2. Human beings have their existence in a uniquely human context, as well as in a cosmic ecology.

  3. Human beings are aware and are aware of being aware - i.e. they are conscious. Human consciousness always includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people.

  4. Human beings have the ability to make choices and therefore have responsibility.

  5. Human beings are intentional, aim at goals, are aware that they cause future events, and seek meaning, value, and creativity.

Depth psychology came from the German word “tiefenpsychologie” and focuses on the unconscious and subconscious. It has its origins in the philosophies of Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Leibniz, and in some literature of the Romantic period of approximately ca. 1800-1850. In psychology, specifically, the term "depth psychology" was first used in 1913 or 1914 by Eugen Bleuler. Sigmund Freud immediately began using it as well to clarify the differences between his conception of psychoanalysis and the more mainstream psychology of consciousness at that time. Freud is widely considered to have totally revolutionized this field, which he also believed to be his most important work ever, most especially the "collective unconscious", which I agree was profoundly significant. In addition to psychoanalysis, other famous schools of depth psychology include analytical psychology (Jungian) and individual psychology (Adlerian). It’s easy to see that all three have in common a focus on the psychological processes that take place in the depths of the unconscious and are determined by instinctive drives and primal urges. The difference in the methods lies largely in the specific type of force prioritized by the creators. Freud attached more significance to the libido, Jung was more creative and spiritual in his approach, and Adler believed a fundamental desire for power to be a primary focus for all humans. A depth psychology approach can include the study and exploration of dreams, complexes, and archetypes. Depth psychologists believe that revealing, acknowledging, and examining unconscious beliefs and motives can be very healing in and of itself.  

Jung popularized the concept of archetypes by expanding on Freud’s “collective unconscious”. Archetypes are natural, inherent symbols of the collective unconscious that form a consistent and fixed framework of reference of human experience.  He connected them to ancient mythology, where we can see the astrological connection begin to form. Jung believed all human minds and lives are part of myth in the form of themes, cycles, and patterns that come from the unconscious, and ancient mythology of many world cultures is of course very significant in astrology, as every planet and major celestial object has traditionally been named after a figure in it. The western esoteric mystery tradition inspired  Jung to formulate this, as did some of Plato’s theories of ideas and forms. Jung’s research into the symbolic meaning of dreams, dialogues, and art played a part as well. He proposed that these universal and timeless archetypes channel experiences and emotions almost everyone can relate and connect to, resulting in recognizable and typical patterns of behavior with specific probable outcomes. Jung claimed to observe a correlation between these archetypal images and the astrological themes or traditional gods and figures associated with the planets and signs of the tropical zodiac. He concluded that the symbolic heavenly figures described by the cosmos are projections of images created by the collective unconscious. Jung wrote, "Astrology represents the sum of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity".

Also, in a collaboration with theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli, Jung developed the concept of synchronicity. This theory, which he compared to Aristotle's “formal causation”, is that everything is connected, and in his own words, "whatever is born or done at this particular moment of time, has the quality of this moment of time".

Jung stated that mythology is not just a series of old tales passed down over many generations, but is far deeper than that. Myth is the complexity that is the human experience played out over and over in symbolic metaphors and storytelling. He noticed patterns in the myths. Later, Joseph Campbell and astrologers such as Liz Greene, founder of the Centre for Psychological Astrology in the UK in 1983 and author of many invaluable astrology books expanded on this even more. 

When analyzing an astrology chart in psychological astrology, a Jungian based astrologer like myself will view the major archetypes associated with each planet, asteroid, fixed star, etc. in association with their placements in any natal or other astrological chart. Astrologer and psychotherapist Glenn Perry referred to psychological astrology as "both a personality theory and a diagnostic tool". 

One of the first astrologers to combine Jungian psychology with astrology was Dane Rudhyar. Rudhyar called his approach "humanistic astrology," and it was the subject of his epic work, “The Astrology of Personality”. Psychological astrology became more established in the late 20th century with the work of Stephen Arroyo, Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas, and others including the notable Swiss astrologers/psychologists Bruno & Louise Huber, who developed their own particular style/methodology as well, the Huber Method. The Hubers founded the Huber School of Astrology and Astrological Psychology Institute. Astrologer Noel Tyl published a 12 volume series called “The Principles and Practice of Astrology” in the mid 1970s. In it, Tyl tied the psychological need theory together with astrological symbolism. This is developed further in his later book “Holistic Astrology - The Analysis of Inner and Outer Environment” (1980). Tyl interprets the astrological natal birth chart "as a process of lifelong conditioning, where individuals are predisposed to present individualized needs to the environment. […] This process identifies how we act, who we are, and how we fit into the world. Fulfilling destiny, in modern terms, is fulfilling needs."

References:

C.G Jung, “The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, Collected Works Vol. 8”, Princeton University Press, 1960

C.G. Jung, "Psychological Types, Collected Works Vol. 6”, Princeton University Press, 1971

C.G. Jung, “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principal”, Routledge, 1985

Glen Perry, “What is Psychological Astrology?”, Association for Psychological Astrology, http://aaperry.com/what-is-astropsychology/

Dane Rudhyar, "The Astrology of Personality: A Re-Formulation of Astrological Concepts and Ideals, in Terms of Contemporary Psychology and Philosophy", Aurora Press, 1936 

Karen Hamaker-Zondag, “Psychological Astrology: A Synthesis of Jungian Psychology and Astrology”, Red Wheel/Weiser, 1990

Richard Tarnas, “The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas that Have Shaped Our World View”, Ballantine Books, 1993

Suzanne Gieser, “The Innermost Kernel, Depth Psychology and Quantum Physics. Wolfgang Pauli’s Dialogue with C.G.Jung”, Springer, 2005

Noel Tyl, “Holistic Astrology: The Analysis of Inner and Outer Environments”, Llewellyn Publications, 1980

Robert Hand, “Horoscope Symbols”, Para Research, 1981

Maggie Hyde, “Jung and Astrology”, Aquarian/Harper Collins, 1992 http://www.skyscript.co.uk/synchronicity.html

History of the Centre for Psychological Astrology, http://www.cpalondon.com/history.html

About the Hubers and the Astrological Psychology Association, http://astrologicalpsychology.org/about/the-association

Noel Tyl, “Synthesis & Counseling in Astrology: The Professional Manual”, Llewellyn Publications, 2002

"Jung on Astrology", CG Jung, Safron Rossi, Keiron Le Grice, 2017
https://amzn.to/3cExDq0

Excerpt available with permission: 

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

"How Carl Jung Explained Astrology", Jessica Adams, 2016
https://www.jessicaadams.com/2016/02/25/blog/how-carl-jung-explained-astrology

https://jungiancenter.org/jung-on-astrology/

https://exploringyourmind.com/carl-jung-astrology-psychoanalysis/

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