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Planetary Symbols and Fields of Meaning | 22 comments (5 topical, 17 editorial, 0 pending)

Fields of meaning, horoscopes, levels ( 4.50 / 2 ) (#10)
by Axel Harvey on Thu May 2nd, 2002 at 23:04:22 EDT
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Yes, that's absolutely how it's done - you've written in a nutshell a very good description of how the sensible astrologer behaves with a client. If I were the Minister of Education I'd have everyone read it. Perhaps the most valuable pieces of information in this article are ideas that were secondary to your main message (or so I imagine) - for example, telling people to be "proactively engaged in the process described by the transit". I like to think of this important tactic in French: "aller au-devant des transits", that is to say, go out to meet your transits half-way, or farther if possible. It's a way of keeping control over one's horoscope, with all the benefits and drawbacks that control entails. If you tear down a wall, the plaster won't fall on your head unexpectedly.

"Fields" is certainly the right term. A semantic field is the collection of meanings that a word covers. (No two languages have the same set of semantic fields, by the way.)

I think of levels as well as fields. For example, the metal of Saturn, lead, is also part of its holon, and that brings up in my mind a different Saturn-related field which includes lead, dull blue-grey things, and heavy burdens. There is no need to have this be a separate level (after all, mathematically, there are no more points on a stack of planes than on a single plane) but it helps keep my mind straight if I think of the physiological level, the physical-object level, the emotional level, the character level, and so on, of a given factor in the horoscope. It also helps me talk with clients.

Sure enough, one could find a way of deducing lead and heavy burdens from the concept of limits - but would that deduction occur as a matter of course or would it be an ad hoc reasoning pushed by our prior knowledge of Saturnine symbols?

Incidentally, lead explains why Saturn is exalted in Libra. The lead weight at the end of the plumbline is what makes it possible for a Roman balance scale to be precise. The basic image here seems to be not limitation but falling straight down. Of course one can talk about the limitation of gravity, but one can also consider limits and downward-tending as two different things; I don't think there is an a priori reason, independent of the astrology we've been trained in, for preferring either the connected approach or the non-connected approach.

I'm not sure how strange attractors can help us here.

Echoes of the Cosmic Loom ( 4.00 / 1 ) (#6)
by johnnyc (johnnyc@urania-dott-info) on Thu May 2nd, 2002 at 12:46:49 EDT
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Your "Fields of Meaning" reminds me a lot of Dennis Elwell's application of Koestler's concept of the holon to astrology - something a few thinkers have had objections to. "The Cosmic Loom" helped me understand the principles represented by the planets in a way no book had done before. That you use Saturn as an example, one of Elwell's favourite planets, seems to underscore the influence of Elwell in your "Fields of Meaning". Correct me if I'm wrong - I don't think he has a monopoly on this idea, but I know that regardless of the criticisms of his work, he brought something to our understanding of of the planets in theory and practice.

Like you, I always see planets as containing a the kernel of a fundamental principle. Whatever words we attach to a planet, they are only for our convenience. We, as mere mortals, must attach words to our concept of the planets, but the principles are there regardless of the words we use. This can be difficult to articulate. You speak of Saturn and "limits", another might speak of it in terms of its separative quality, and I might speak of it in terms of giving a shape or structure to all things. All of these qualities and many more are Saturnian and there is nothing arbitrary about it. My favourite analogy when trying to explain the dichotomy of Jupiter/Saturn to non-astrologers is that of a garden - if one leaves it to its own without mowing or trimming it, it becomes the essence of Jupiter. It will grow and more will grow within it, life will flourish. But all things need Saturn as much as they need Jupiter - it brings shape and form to Jupiter's wanton growth. Once I understood that planets represent fundamental principles regardless of the words we attach to them, I became a much better astrologer. Instead of looking through the books for the keywords, I could use my understanding of them creatively and effectively.

The field is in effect bounded by the principle of limits, or whatever its associated principle might be. Any phenomenon or thing which has limit as an essential aspect of its nature will be contained within the field. This is independent of scale and context. Mountain tops, referees, death, skin, fears, handcuffs, on and on theoretically in the direction of infinity, constrained only by imagination and mental powers.

This says it better than anything I've read in a long time, and strikes at the heart of what astrology is, which is why I thought it might be appropriate for Foundations. It's difficult to articulate this - it's poetic more than it is intellectual. When speaking with non-astrologers, I tend to revert to analogy for explanation of this sort of thing - like my garden analogy.

The paradox of having a bounded field of meaning containing within it infinite possibilities is conceptually similar to a circle. This geometric construction is bounded by a circumference. However, it contains within it an infinite number of potential points constrained only by scaling factors.

I never thought of it this way, and wonder if anyone else had any thoughts on this. When trying to explain astrology in intellectual terms, one gets stumped sometimes when trying to explain that the meaning of Saturn is at once definite and infinite. A very useful metaphor.

It also has something in common with the concept of strange attractors in chaos theory. In fact, these provide very useful metaphors to help conceptualise planetary symbols and illuminate ways of interpreting them. But that's another story.

And i'd like to read about it:-). I've read a little of Capra and Bohm, but could use some pointers or links to material that would shed light on this. I do think that if any scientific understanding of astrology is to take place, it will only be in the so-called "New Physics". I'd like to see this discussed in some depth in "Foundations".

I see my job as guiding the client towards a recognition of its meaning while at the same time discussing options for becoming proactively engaged in the process described by the transit.

When I was actively reading charts for clients a few years ago, this was my approach. It works well when the person is of the type who takes responsiblity for their life. I know that more than a few felt empowered by this. I definitely think it is a huge part of what being an astrologer is in this day and age. Imparting one's knowledge of what planetary principles are at work in the lives of one's clients, in plain human language or in metaphors, will do so much more than "You may get a divorce". Giving a client a sense of Saturn so they can practically smell it when it's at work will give them more than predicting an event or events.

Yet I'm not one for psychological astrology and the language it employs - I think astrological symbolism is far more effective than psychological language. I prefer Arroyo's "astrological psychology", since I think our language - astrology - is far richer. It goes beyond words and brings us closer to an understanding of Nature's principles. Regardless of the context (or, in human terms, culture), the principles of the planets hold fast. It is our application of the principles that change, not the principles themselves.

Thanks for another great article, and one that finally has me thinking deeply about astrology again. I've been so immersed in technology for the past 3 years I've been struggling to get my feet wet with astrology again. You're article has brought me back....

Echoes of the Cosmic Loom by Bill Sheeran, 05/02/2002 19:48:33 EDT (5.00 / 1)

The Holon, Systems Theory, and Koestler by johnnyc, 05/03/2002 13:33:13 EDT (none / 0)

On planetary symbols and fields of meaning... ( 4.00 / 1 ) (#2)
by Lenore on Thu May 2nd, 2002 at 02:10:50 EDT
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Fine article. I agree that it is the study of the individual chart and the dialogue with the client which enable the astrologer to narrow the 'field of meaning' of each planetary symbol and determine its unique role in the person's life. To use your example of a transit setting off a seventh house Saturn-Venus configuration, it takes an analysis of the natal aspects and midpoints to understand what 'limits' in the area of relationship (or love) means in a particular case: security? loyalty? fear of intimacy? loss? The natal chart is a personal dictionary of sorts. It reveals one's unique interpretation and experience of the archetypal concepts. When the astrology session becomes the collaborative effort you describe, it is empowering because it gives the client the tools and the language to continue the analysis and make the connections on his or her own. Ultimately, one heals oneself.

Planetary Symbols and Fields of Meaning | 22 comments (5 topical, 17 editorial, 0 pending)

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