Psychological Astrology - Astrological Aspects and Mental Conflicts

 

Psychological Astrology - Astrological Aspects and Defense Mechanisms of Ego

 

Astrological Aspects and Mental Conflicts

It is probably known to many that the study of specific planetary aspects is possible to give hints for the existence of unresolved internal conflicts which lead to mental illnesses. This has been especially noticed for the Moon aspects and secondly for the aspects of the other personal planets. Some hints of that type that are very far from being characterized as certainties could be these:

The Moon aspects, especially with the outer planets, can, if the rest of the horoscope allows it, possibly give:

- A tendency towards hysteria (lack of sexual satisfaction according to Freud) when there are hard aspects and are aspects to Uranus. That is expressed in a somehow distant emotional behavior inside relationships and an unwillingness to come close. In attempts of others to come close emotional outbreaks might take place and the person leaving.

- A tendency towards over idealization or paranoia when the aspects are hard and are aspects to Neptune. Furthermore a tendency for the person to allow itself to become a victim in relationships, to tolerate what should not be tolerated and to be fooled.

- A tendency towards depression when the aspects are hard and are in aspects to Saturn. The person might work too hard, which is one form of depression, or quit his goals due to believing he will never succeed. An overachieving mother might have put the stakes too high, or neglecting parents who were too busy with their success. The person feels he can only get loved if his a winner but sometimes the effort is too hard for him and he gives up trying.

- A tendency towards hurting oneself or being attracted by death or abuse when the aspects are hard and are aspects to Pluto. The person then might confuse violence and molestation for love and stay with an abusive partner mistaking his mistreating for love. He also might become abusive himself treating or even committing suicide or hurting himself to manipulate others' feelings.

- Simultaneous aspects to Jupiter and Saturn (i.e. T-square) are possible to give a behavior similar to a bipolar disorder (manic depression). Namely, the person is sometimes extremely optimistic and some other times extremely pessimistic. T-Squares are more serious than single aspects and the astrologer should be able to indicate to the client that he might need professional psychological help when he has one in his chart. The life of those persons is a constant series of ups and downs, successes and failures both in professional and emotional life and many times the native believes this is just how life is not realizing this is a life pattern caused by his natal chart. If however the Moon forms a trine with another planet - along with the T-Square - the trine might work as a more creative way out for the person and stabilize him emotionally to a certain degree. This trine could indicate a therapeutic hobby, a friend or even a doctor who puts the person's emotions to some kind of perspective.

- The orb between the degrees of the planets could also indicate the repeated circle of manifestation of such a disorder. One such example, we will examine below, on Marilyn Monroe’s natal chart. If for example, Jupiter and Saturn have a 3 degree orb, then a timing factor for example a transiting planet or a progressive Moon can stimulate the angles of the T-Square sequentially. In the case of the progressive Moon it can form an exact aspect with the first planet and after three months an exact aspect with the second planet. If this sequence in stimulation is repeated we could assume the creation of a pattern where manic and depressive behavior follow one another in specific and predictable time intervals. This could help forecast the next episode in the manic depressive behavior of the client with some considerable accuracy.

- All these, of course, are indications and by no means certainties. It's far from correct to assume a person’s behavior by singling out an isolated aspect or aspect pattern no matter how important it is. Furthermore behavior could be modified according to Egos defense mechanisms expressed astrologically as we have seen in another section. And last but not least a positive aspect of the Moon can always give a way out to handle the situation and ease up the steam of an internal emotional conflict.

Apart from Moon aspects, some other aspects of other planets - mainly personal planets forming aspects to outer planets - are possible to give some, if not mental illnesses, at least traumatic experiences. So for example:

- Hard aspects of the Sun or Mars to Saturn and Pluto can suggest a sense of lower self esteem or some kind of emotional emasculation or a forced integration of violence and domination as a form of survival.

- Hard aspects of Venus to outer planets could indicate some kind of perversion of libido or the instinct of pleasure.

Traumatic experiences though could also be caused by Moon aspects in the progressive chart, the first years of life of a person. An aspect of the Moon to Saturn in the progressive chart could indicate that the child felt restricted. An aspect of the Moon to Uranus could mean that the child felt exposed or that the child’s parents left it alone. An aspect of the Moon to Pluto could mean that it had fears possibly from the dark. These feelings might seem temporary to us as we would normally consider most progressive Moon aspects. However, because they happen in the first years of the life of the child, they could create important mental recordings that might require a lot of effort for the person to overcome in the future.

Therefore, it is of great value to study such aspects and mainly those of the Moon in the natal as well as in the progressive chart. Let us take a look at two examples to elaborate on that a bit further.
As a first example, let’s see the aspects of the Moon on Marilyn Monroe’s natal chart.

Marilyn Monroe 

Birth: 1 June 1926, 9:30, Los Angeles, California, USA

Source of birth data: AstrologyWeekly

Let's examine the square of the Moon to Saturn; we realize that it is a difficult aspect that indicates a repeating issue. A repeating issue is a relationship between two planets which appears repeatedly in a natal chart directly or indirectly. In our case the Moon and Saturn are not only linked via their mutual aspect, but because Saturn is also located in the 4th house, an indirect reference to the Moon or whatever it is symbolizing. The Moon-Saturn issue was very difficult for Marilyn, as it was related to the fact that she was abandoned by her mother when she was younger, - a mother who was unable to take care of her - and was going to family after family living with foster parents ever since.

Marilyn, herself having her Moon in Aquarius, had every intention of being a simple person, amiable and easy to get along with but also helpful towards others and mainly towards her partners. The rejection she experienced, though, from her family environment or the lack of good intention from it (Saturn in Scorpio), made her not to begin her relationships with good intentions, but from a position of suspicion. So, we could assume she overcompensated her hurt Moon by moving it to the opposing house, in which case she very likely expressed this Moon as a Moon in Leo. She became a diva, a star, a bossy woman who didn’t give a damn about others and wanted only her needs to be taken care of. This was an attribute she could easily display because of her ascendant sign in Leo as well as Neptune in Leo in her first house which was Hollywood’s glamour impersonated influencing her personality as well.

The Moon, though, does not only form a square to Saturn, but also a conjunction to Jupiter. In case we have strong aspects of the Moon to Jupiter as well as to Saturn, then, as we mentioned above, we might also have a manifestation of a manic depression. A theorem that can be easily confirmed by Marilyn Monroe’s life.

Of course, the chart has more indications which suggest difficulties. The concentration of malefic planets inside or near houses of the subconscious for example (Saturn in the 4th, Mars and Uranus in the 8th and Pluto near the cusp of the 12th) could indicate recordings of painful emotional experiences, while Mars with Uranus in the 8th could be an indication of a tendency to suicide. The lack of difficult aspects to these two planets could mean that there was no counter force to stop this tendency. And not only that, but the trines of  Pluto and Saturn to these two, could mean that with their help this tendency was prolonged, took strength and became something permanent in her, in a way that it was hiding and waiting for a long time until the right moment to manifest.

A more general statement we could make  here is that sometimes, it is preferable to have a square to Saturn because this way, tendencies that could be self destructive, like the presence of Mars and Uranus in the 8th house, can be avoided. Otherwise, there is a tendency that nothing stops it in the environment but is reinforced or tolerated by everything surrounding it. Realizations like “everyone around me comes from destroyed families”, parents who emphasize on how worthless I am, friends who introduce me to the life of artists, who also have suicide tendencies… So, if i am worthless and nobody loves me and my friends find it ok to commit suicide using drugs, why not me?

Another example of deciphering Moon’s aspects is the chart of Princess Diana. In that chart we also have a Moon in Aquarius, this time though, it forms a square to Uranus and Venus. Here we have a different defense mechanism, the mechanism of projection which when combining the Moon and Uranus could indicate a hysteric behavior towards an indifferent and arrogant person.

Here the Moon does not have the room to overcompensate in the opposing house, because Uranus is already there. However the thing that could be done is the consciousness of the person to be shifted to the other side of the opposition, adopt that type of behavior and become what I hates. Indeed, Diana from a gracious person and amiable Princess gradually became a distant Queen with scandalous romantic relationships, moving towards Uranus rather than the Moon. At the same time, the square to Venus gave an even more unstable dimension to her emotions and a difficulty to understand herself and know her preferences. It is my opinion that hard aspects between the Moon and Venus generally create a situation where a person wants to do one thing but actually does the other, giving an impression of a person who doesn't know what she wants.

Princess Diana

Birth: 1 July 1961, 7:45 pm, Sadrigam, England.

Source: Astroweekly

Indeed Diana constantly changed her attitude towards things and she did generally give the impression of a person who does not know what she wants in order to feel better and feel safe.

This behavior, obviously lead her to a state of constant stress and a way of life she constantly felt as if she was being chased. She risked daringly (she was walking as an ambassador of goodwill on narc fields) and was being provocative to danger in ways that maybe are not known by many, until today.  

Her mental state under constant stress, at the edge of hysteria was a very important dimension of her character, which lead her to the separation but also to the occasional relationships and fickle state her life resulted to after the divorce. When taking to account that the Moon is also the ruler of the 8th house and that Uranus is positioned inside of it, it might ever relate to the fact of her death. Sudden as well, manifesting Uranian energy, coming from an accident.

Horoscope and Defense Mechanisms of Ego

Horoscope and Defense Mechanisms of Ego
The theory of defense mechanisms of ego is a theory of psychology that comes from psycho analysis and is often used as a key for interpreting human behavior. Applied in astrology it could explain why some people, often don’t showcase the expected behavior that their natal chart shows, but behave as if they have transmuted the original tendency of the chart in a different outer expression.
The basic defense mechanisms according to psychoanalysis are the following:
Repression of a painful experience or an experience that causes discomfort
Denial of a painful event.
Rationalization, namely the effort of a person to justify rationally, attitudes and behaviors, so he can protect himself from emotional pain.
Projection, namely the attribution of characteristics and thoughts regarding a traumatic event to others when in fact one was having these thoughts and his feelings himself.
Introjection, namely the incorporation of other peoples' rules by a person in purpose of his own survival or to avoid the punishment.
Identification, which compiles an unconscious process in which the person pursues to mimic another familiar person who is in position to face situations better.
Overcompensation. It is the unconscious effort of a person to replace forbidden behaviors with their opposites.
Displacement of forbidden emotions to another person.
Somatization that is the conversion of non acceptable emotions to body symptoms, i.e stress to nervous movement of your knee.
Idealization or idolization of a person or a situation. That way we pretend not to look at other people’s character flaws and we don't feel obliged to do something about them.
Intellectualization which concerns the usage of mental functions instead of the non acceptable or unbearable emotions. For example someone's love is too much to accept if we feel unworthy. So we are trying to understand it instead of feeling it.
Regression, which refers to the return of a person to an earlier developmental stage where he feels more comfortable, i.e. can't bear responsibilities and behaves like a child.
Sublimation or the conversion of a non acceptable emotion to an accepted one. For example a sexual attraction to a married man which becomes a friendship.
By studying astrological symbols one realizes that some of the above defense mechanisms could correspond to symbols of the astrological language that are used with amplitude.
For example the opposition aspect could easily be related to the mechanism of projection. It is very rare for a person who has an opposition aspect in his chart to not have in his environment people who relate to one of the two signs of the opposition. The mechanism of projection here shows that the person cannot balance the two counterbalancing forces inside of him, so he projects one of them to a familiar person, usually his partner.
In the same way, the square aspect could easily operate as a mechanism of overcompensation. Especially when the square is compiled of a personal planet and an outer planet or Saturn, the difficulty of the personal planet’s expression leads firstly to denial or repression, especially if it doesn’t have dignities or supporting aspects. But then it is also possible to give it the drive to express itself in the opposing sign, as a means of overcompensation. This way we have Cancers who become business men, Leos who function collectively, Pisces who are obsessed with cleaning and Capricorns who become spouses and look after children at home.
Overcompensation is an essential mechanism of explaining why people do not always showcase the behavior that a natal planet indicates for them; furthermore the process of overcompensation can be expanded to the interpretation of the planet’s house. So, someone with a Sun in the 2nd house, when he cannot be economically autonomous, because of a square (view) aspect i.e. with Saturn of Pluto, can function as a Sun in the 8th house, namely trying to manage or claim money from someone else. A person with the Sun in the 4th house, when he cannot have his own place, can transform his office to a home, displaying a Sun in the 10th house. And a person with the Sun in the 10th house, who would like success, when his Sun receives bad aspects and doesn’t have dignities or supporting aspects, he may quit his job and become a housecat displaying a Sun in the 4th house.
Having said that, these defence mechanisms can also be manifested through other aspects, which can function as outlets for emotions, in cases of internal conflicts. This way when a planet, mainly a personal one, is burdened with difficult aspects on the chart, has i.e. a square with Saturn or an opposition with Pluto and at the same time has a helpful trine with Jupiter or Neptune it is quite possible that the trine will function as an outlet mechanism for emotional tension and as a defence mechanism to work around internal conflict.
We could actually say that many of the defense mechanisms mentioned above could correspond to such trines. Rationalization for example could be indicated by a trine with Saturn, Intellectualization by a trine with Uranus, Idealization by a trine with Neptune and Sublimation by a trine with Pluto. These trines, of course, could also exist as independent aspects. In this case though, they do not function as defense mechanisms. They function as defense mechanisms only when they exist at the same time with other, more difficult aspects, which build up tension which demands an outlet.
Some defense mechanisms though can correspond to other astrological mechanisms besides aspects. Denial or Repression for example could easily be correlated with things we accumulate in the Water Houses in our Natal Chart, while Displacement could be linked with the relationship of a planet with the house it rules.
More specifically, it is possible that when the planet doesn’t have enough dignities or support to express itself in the house it is in, displacement could lead it to express itself easier in the house it rules. This could suggest a displacement process, that is keeping the same emotions but expressing them to a different target, but it could also indicate Sublimation since it changes the expression sign of the planet and that way it could change the nature of the emotion itself. In both cases the interest of libido is turning to another direction, since it cannot be expressed in its initial placement in the natal chart.
Of course the aspects could also be explained in the simplest way, according to the symbolic glossary down below.
Astrological dictionary of aspects:
Conjunction, the need to share the same space
Opposition, need to compromise our disagreements
Square, dilemma, which makes my life bounce between two different directions
Trine, good fortune, possibility of expansion or in a different context a scandalous situation, no one can put a stop to.
Quincunx or inconjunction, situation of intensity, which we all are aware of but we don't display it, it functions from within.
Sextile, a situation where we realize we are different but maybe we could share the work. You can clean the windows and I can do the mopping. We need time to coordinate but we will get there.
Semi Sextile, misfiring we choose to neglect but will come to face its consequences later on.
Semi Square, incompatible intentions.
Sesquiquadrate, incompatible intentions already displayed through conflicting actions.