The horoscope from the aspect of social psychology
Human development, is always taking place via interaction with the environment. Social psychology emphasizes this fact very strongly, even supporting that the human is not born with some kind of preorganized mental structure, but his is fully shaped through his relationship with the environment, the roles he adopts and the principles and standards with which he grows up.
In astrology these terms described by social psychology have corresponding significators in the chart. Each planet in the chart for example can be seen as a role that a person is called upon to play and which is imposed, somehow, by the environment. The sign of the planet shows us the resources from which this role is going to get its values from, as in social psychology we believe that roles and values are interconnected. As for the role models we imitate, we could look for them in planets in signs, or if they don’t work properly, we could look for them in their dispositors.
These roles, however, are not independent of each other, instead they interact with each other. When we have difficult aspects, then we have the so-called conflicts between our roles - as they are described by social psychology. Whereas, when the aspects are easy, the roles can be compatible and work well with each other.
The signs the planets are, however, matter, even if the planets don’t have aspects with each other. If the signs are incompatible with each other, then there are value differences, even if there is no direct conflict in the environment. For example a person with Sun in Leo and the Moon in Scorpio, might think “I will never become like my mother” even if the Sun and the Moon don’t form an aspect to each other.
But how does the human become an individual in relation to the roles he adopts? In social psychology we say that he integrates a part of these roles into himself and so he constitutes what we call a personality. This personality could correspond to the Ascendant in the natal chart. The Ascendant will show us which roles we have adopted by looking at the aspects it forms with the planets in the chart. Easy aspects show that we integrate these roles voluntarily. Willingly. Difficult aspects show that we integrate them because we are pressed by the environment. The lack of aspects shows that these roles exist in our environment, but we are not embracing them necessarily.
Important of course, is also the role of the ruler of the Ascendant, which indicates personality’s favorite role or its guiding role model. Here it is worth mentioning that the role of house rulers and dispositors is also an important element of interpretation as it shows us how our environment can be supportive or not supportive to one of personality’s functions, or in other words to the roles it has adopted. Especially, when a planet does not have sufficient dignities (namely it cannot play the role by himself), the interaction with the dispositor and the house ruler turns out to be critical.
Besides the Ascendant, though, great importance in the chart have also the Moon and Saturn because they indicate the two basic components of (a) imitating and (b) enforcing roles and behaviors in an environment of social imitation (or) and learning.
What is the meaning of the dispositor and the house ruler, though that we mentioned above in chart’s interpretation? In order to understand it better, let’s examine it in a vivid example. Suppose we want to have a seminar in another city. Suppose we are astrologers, healers or something else and we are invited to teach a seminar. There are some factors that affect the outcome of this seminar.
• The first factor is our ability to teach the seminar. This is what in astrology we call dignities. Do we have sufficient knowledge on the subject? Or are we ignorant?
• The second factor is our co-workers. These are the aspects. Does our wife or our boss allow us to go teaching the seminar or do they put obstacles in our way?
• The third factor is the one who has invited us to go. The host of our seminar. This is the ruler of the house. Is he helpful to our purpose or does he make it difficult for us? Will he have made arrangements to gather people? Will he have organized the place properly? What educational equipment is he going to give us? And here, the aspects of the ruler play a significant role, of course, because they affect this outcome (for example, the host’s wife can make trouble because he gave us so many benefits).
• The fourth factor is astrologically called the dispositor. It’s interesting that the Greek name for this astrological term is “horeegοs”, which actually means in English "the sponsor". Now that makes the analogy very interesting. Who is the sponsor? Sometimes he is the same with the one who has invited us, namely our host. Indeed, very often, astrologically the dispositor and the ruler of the house identify with each other, because a planet in the house is in the same sign with the cusp of the house.
Now, when the host and the sponsor are the same, this means that the one who has invited us, is also our sponsor, which means, he also pays for us and the hotels or the tickets. But in other times, the sponsor (astrologically dispositor) differs from the host (astrologically the house ruler). Maybe, for example, the tickets and the hotels are to be paid by our company and not by the one who has invited us there.
The aspects between a planet in the house and the ruler of the house and also the aspects between the planet and its dispositor are important for the interpretation of the chart. And sometimes they can affect significantly the issue of the dignities. Maybe, for instance, I am unprepared for the seminar, but my sponsor (i.e. my company), sends me the notes I had from the previous seminar by e-mail at the last minute. So, it saves me at the last moment. Similarly, I may have forgotten to bring my laptop, but the host lends me his own.
Of course, the opposite can also happen. I might be well prepared but the host (i.e house ruler) might put me to teach in a place that looks awful. Or my company (i.e. dispositor) might have forgotten to get me tickets.
Theoretically, of course, as long as I am properly prepared, (i.e. I have dignities), I have the power to overcome or anticipate all these. Theoretically. In practice, this is something that I have to prove.
This means that the environment is able to help or to prevent a person from expressing a planet properly in its rightful place, namely in its house. And it is important to investigate these kind of interactions in order to monitor such effects.
In addition to the above, it is worth noting that receptions, namely the dispositor of the planet, is possible to act as an example, for the behavior of a planet, even if it does not form an aspect to it. Then, it is possible to act as a role model, as it is called in social psychology, or in other words as an example to be followed. Of course there are many different cases here. One case is the initial planet to have dignities, so it has no need to follow the role model, but instead it decides for itself. In other words it gets its values directly from the sign it is in.
A second case is if it turns to its dispositor for guidance, but its dispositor is not dignified as well, in which case we have the so called examples to avoid, namely examples that do not lead us to the right path and transmit anti-social values. Last, the dispositor can indeed be dignified, so it becomes a model for imitation and promotes its values to the planet it affects.
This role model mechanism however, can also include other planets besides the dispositor. You see the dispositor is nothing else but the planet which rules the sign our natal planet is.
But what about the other planets, the planet in exaltation or the planets in fall or detriment in the sign the natal planet is? Do they also act as examples for imitation or avoidance? In another article published in Greek sometime ago I was making the following observations...
“...so, if our Venus is in Aries, which are the role models that she will be called to imitate? Mars, the Warrior, and the Sun the Majestic, of course, which is in exaltation in Aries. So, Venus, who up until now was a mannerist and a diplomat and was getting involved only when it was helpful, must now engage into situations and act spontaneously and will not give a dime about what others say about her. This is the example to follow. Will she do it? That depends on the person that has this Venus in his chart. That, however, is what is required”…
.…”in the same sense, our sign gives examples for avoidance. If I have, Venus in Cancer, for instance, I should make her behave maternally as the Moon, ruler of the sign suggests, or giving as Jupiter suggests, the planet in exaltation, but in parallel, in no case, should I make her behave directly as Mars would suggest, the planet in fall in this sign. I will get nowhere like this. I must avoid direct confrontation, like hell. This is the scenario that I have to play on the theatrical stage of the horoscope and for that I will be judged”…
….”Now, what does this mean for the planets which are already in fall or detriment? If Mars is in Cancer in my horoscope, and it is in fall, then yes, Mars has a problem to express itself, but in the same sign, Jupiter has his exaltation. So if I consider Jupiter to be my role model (and if I also have a Mars/Jupiter aspect in my chart to help me out a little bit) how well will my Mars express himself imitating Jupiter! No one will be aware of what is happening.”…
…”What is the conclusion? Falls and exaltations are useful as a modeling tool. They show us roles that have been played well and roles that have been played badly. They give us examples for imitation and examples for avoidance. But, what we will do is our choice. If we know how to be good actors, we will survive just fine following our sign’s suggestions. But if we don’t adjust to our roles, I cannot see us entering the drama school. We are going to fail our exam…”
From all the above we conclude that we get values from various directions and we need to study the chart in order to see what our role models are, which we get our values from. The influence of the house ruler or the dispositor can also indicate cases of social learning, namely not from personal experience, but by imitating others, or by being affected by the environment or by people that we consider have some authority. At the same time, further dignities like exaltation, fall and detriment can work as educational examples of success or failure in performing a role, examples we at some point decide either to follow or reject.
In all these, of course, the role of Ascendant and its ruler is important, because it signals the process of integration or rejection of values that a person goes through. The combination of personal choice and influence by the environment is what creates eventually the human personality.
Human development, is always taking place via interaction with the environment. Social psychology emphasizes this fact very strongly, even supporting that the human is not born with some kind of preorganized mental structure, but his is fully shaped through his relationship with the environment, the roles he adopts and the principles and standards with which he grows up.
In astrology these terms described by social psychology have corresponding significators in the chart. Each planet in the chart for example can be seen as a role that a person is called upon to play and which is imposed, somehow, by the environment. The sign of the planet shows us the resources from which this role is going to get its values from, as in social psychology we believe that roles and values are interconnected. As for the role models we imitate, we could look for them in planets in signs, or if they don’t work properly, we could look for them in their dispositors.
These roles, however, are not independent of each other, instead they interact with each other. When we have difficult aspects, then we have the so-called conflicts between our roles - as they are described by social psychology. Whereas, when the aspects are easy, the roles can be compatible and work well with each other.
The signs the planets are, however, matter, even if the planets don’t have aspects with each other. If the signs are incompatible with each other, then there are value differences, even if there is no direct conflict in the environment. For example a person with Sun in Leo and the Moon in Scorpio, might think “I will never become like my mother” even if the Sun and the Moon don’t form an aspect to each other.
But how does the human become an individual in relation to the roles he adopts? In social psychology we say that he integrates a part of these roles into himself and so he constitutes what we call a personality. This personality could correspond to the Ascendant in the natal chart. The Ascendant will show us which roles we have adopted by looking at the aspects it forms with the planets in the chart. Easy aspects show that we integrate these roles voluntarily. Willingly. Difficult aspects show that we integrate them because we are pressed by the environment. The lack of aspects shows that these roles exist in our environment, but we are not embracing them necessarily.
Important of course, is also the role of the ruler of the Ascendant, which indicates personality’s favorite role or its guiding role model. Here it is worth mentioning that the role of house rulers and dispositors is also an important element of interpretation as it shows us how our environment can be supportive or not supportive to one of personality’s functions, or in other words to the roles it has adopted. Especially, when a planet does not have sufficient dignities (namely it cannot play the role by himself), the interaction with the dispositor and the house ruler turns out to be critical.
Besides the Ascendant, though, great importance in the chart have also the Moon and Saturn because they indicate the two basic components of (a) imitating and (b) enforcing roles and behaviors in an environment of social imitation (or) and learning.
What is the meaning of the dispositor and the house ruler, though that we mentioned above in chart’s interpretation? In order to understand it better, let’s examine it in a vivid example. Suppose we want to have a seminar in another city. Suppose we are astrologers, healers or something else and we are invited to teach a seminar. There are some factors that affect the outcome of this seminar.
• The first factor is our ability to teach the seminar. This is what in astrology we call dignities. Do we have sufficient knowledge on the subject? Or are we ignorant?
• The second factor is our co-workers. These are the aspects. Does our wife or our boss allow us to go teaching the seminar or do they put obstacles in our way?
• The third factor is the one who has invited us to go. The host of our seminar. This is the ruler of the house. Is he helpful to our purpose or does he make it difficult for us? Will he have made arrangements to gather people? Will he have organized the place properly? What educational equipment is he going to give us? And here, the aspects of the ruler play a significant role, of course, because they affect this outcome (for example, the host’s wife can make trouble because he gave us so many benefits).
• The fourth factor is astrologically called the dispositor. It’s interesting that the Greek name for this astrological term is “horeegοs”, which actually means in English "the sponsor". Now that makes the analogy very interesting. Who is the sponsor? Sometimes he is the same with the one who has invited us, namely our host. Indeed, very often, astrologically the dispositor and the ruler of the house identify with each other, because a planet in the house is in the same sign with the cusp of the house.
Now, when the host and the sponsor are the same, this means that the one who has invited us, is also our sponsor, which means, he also pays for us and the hotels or the tickets. But in other times, the sponsor (astrologically dispositor) differs from the host (astrologically the house ruler). Maybe, for example, the tickets and the hotels are to be paid by our company and not by the one who has invited us there.
The aspects between a planet in the house and the ruler of the house and also the aspects between the planet and its dispositor are important for the interpretation of the chart. And sometimes they can affect significantly the issue of the dignities. Maybe, for instance, I am unprepared for the seminar, but my sponsor (i.e. my company), sends me the notes I had from the previous seminar by e-mail at the last minute. So, it saves me at the last moment. Similarly, I may have forgotten to bring my laptop, but the host lends me his own.
Of course, the opposite can also happen. I might be well prepared but the host (i.e house ruler) might put me to teach in a place that looks awful. Or my company (i.e. dispositor) might have forgotten to get me tickets.
Theoretically, of course, as long as I am properly prepared, (i.e. I have dignities), I have the power to overcome or anticipate all these. Theoretically. In practice, this is something that I have to prove.
This means that the environment is able to help or to prevent a person from expressing a planet properly in its rightful place, namely in its house. And it is important to investigate these kind of interactions in order to monitor such effects.
In addition to the above, it is worth noting that receptions, namely the dispositor of the planet, is possible to act as an example, for the behavior of a planet, even if it does not form an aspect to it. Then, it is possible to act as a role model, as it is called in social psychology, or in other words as an example to be followed. Of course there are many different cases here. One case is the initial planet to have dignities, so it has no need to follow the role model, but instead it decides for itself. In other words it gets its values directly from the sign it is in.
A second case is if it turns to its dispositor for guidance, but its dispositor is not dignified as well, in which case we have the so called examples to avoid, namely examples that do not lead us to the right path and transmit anti-social values. Last, the dispositor can indeed be dignified, so it becomes a model for imitation and promotes its values to the planet it affects.
This role model mechanism however, can also include other planets besides the dispositor. You see the dispositor is nothing else but the planet which rules the sign our natal planet is.
But what about the other planets, the planet in exaltation or the planets in fall or detriment in the sign the natal planet is? Do they also act as examples for imitation or avoidance? In another article published in Greek sometime ago I was making the following observations...
“...so, if our Venus is in Aries, which are the role models that she will be called to imitate? Mars, the Warrior, and the Sun the Majestic, of course, which is in exaltation in Aries. So, Venus, who up until now was a mannerist and a diplomat and was getting involved only when it was helpful, must now engage into situations and act spontaneously and will not give a dime about what others say about her. This is the example to follow. Will she do it? That depends on the person that has this Venus in his chart. That, however, is what is required”…
.…”in the same sense, our sign gives examples for avoidance. If I have, Venus in Cancer, for instance, I should make her behave maternally as the Moon, ruler of the sign suggests, or giving as Jupiter suggests, the planet in exaltation, but in parallel, in no case, should I make her behave directly as Mars would suggest, the planet in fall in this sign. I will get nowhere like this. I must avoid direct confrontation, like hell. This is the scenario that I have to play on the theatrical stage of the horoscope and for that I will be judged”…
….”Now, what does this mean for the planets which are already in fall or detriment? If Mars is in Cancer in my horoscope, and it is in fall, then yes, Mars has a problem to express itself, but in the same sign, Jupiter has his exaltation. So if I consider Jupiter to be my role model (and if I also have a Mars/Jupiter aspect in my chart to help me out a little bit) how well will my Mars express himself imitating Jupiter! No one will be aware of what is happening.”…
…”What is the conclusion? Falls and exaltations are useful as a modeling tool. They show us roles that have been played well and roles that have been played badly. They give us examples for imitation and examples for avoidance. But, what we will do is our choice. If we know how to be good actors, we will survive just fine following our sign’s suggestions. But if we don’t adjust to our roles, I cannot see us entering the drama school. We are going to fail our exam…”
From all the above we conclude that we get values from various directions and we need to study the chart in order to see what our role models are, which we get our values from. The influence of the house ruler or the dispositor can also indicate cases of social learning, namely not from personal experience, but by imitating others, or by being affected by the environment or by people that we consider have some authority. At the same time, further dignities like exaltation, fall and detriment can work as educational examples of success or failure in performing a role, examples we at some point decide either to follow or reject.
In all these, of course, the role of Ascendant and its ruler is important, because it signals the process of integration or rejection of values that a person goes through. The combination of personal choice and influence by the environment is what creates eventually the human personality.
