an interview that Jung gave to Andre Barbault, Editor of Astrologie Moderne, on 26 May, 1954.

Translated for the American Federation of Astrologers Bulletin.

Q. Maitre, what relationship do you see between astrology and psychology?

J. There have been many striking analogies between the astrological constellation and the psychological event or the horoscope and the characterological disposition. For example, there is even a possibility of predicting somewhat the psychic effect of a transit. One can expect with considerable assurance that a given well-defined psychological situation will be accompanied by an analogous astrological configuration. Astrology consists of configurations symbolic of the collective unconscious, which is the subject matter of psychology; the 'planets' are the gods, symbols of the powers of the unconscious (of the first order and beyond).

Q. In what way, physical, causal, or synchronous, do you think these relations maybe established?

J. It seems to me that it is primarily a question of the parallelism of sympathy which I call SYNCHRONICITY, as a causal connection expressing the relations that cannot be formulated based on causality, such as precognition, premonition, psychokinesis (PK), and what we call telepathy. In as much as causality is a statistical fact, there are exceptions of an acasual nature touching on the category of synchronistic (not "synchronous") events. These deal with the 'qualified time'.

Q. What is your attitude toward the positions taken by astrologers who admit the existence of a psychological field from birth on and of the psychoanalysts who explain the etiology of neuroses from very early experiences?

J. The first experiences in life owe their specific (pathogenic) effect to environmental influences on the one hand, and on the other to a psychic predisposition that is, to heredity, which seems to be expressed in a recognizablods, which is to say, the psychic archetypes.

Q,. In its principles, astrology introduces the concept of qualitative time in the universe; do you recognize its role in the individual psyche (problem of cycles and transit)?

J. I used this concept at one time, but I replaced it with the idea of synchronicity, which is analogous to the sympathy of correspondentia, or the pre-established harmony of Leibnitz. Time consists of nothing. It is only a modus cogitandi that is used to express and formulate the sequence of things and events, just as space is nothing but a manner of characterizing the existence of a body. When nothing occurs in time, and when there is no body in space, there is neither time nor space. Time is always and exclusively 'qualified' by* events as is space by the extension of bodies. But this is a tautology not worth repeating, whereas synchronicity (not 'synchronism') expresses the parallelism and analogy of even non- causal events. In contrast the hypothesis of 'qualitative time' attempts to explain the parallelism of events in terms of causa and effectus. But since qualitative time is nothing but a sequence of things, and moreover 'nothing' but space, this hypothesis establishes nothing but the tautology of the sequence of things and events and the cause of the sequence of things, etc.

Synchronicity negates causality in the analogy of terrestrial events with the constellations (except for the deflection of solar protons and their possible effect on terrestrial events) and particularly in the various cases of extra-sensory perception (ESP), especially precognition since it is inconceivable that one could observe the effect of a non-existent cause or a cause not yet in existence.

The thing that astrology can establish is the analogy of agents, but certainly not one series as the effect or cause of another. For example, the same constellation indicating a catastrophe one time and another time, under the same conditions, a cold. Nevertheless, astrology does not present a completely simple case. There is the deflection of solar protons caused by conjunctions, oppositions, and quartile aspects on the one hand, and the trine and sextile aspects on the other, and the effects of these on radio and many other things. I am not competent to say what importance should be attributed to this possibility. In any case, astrology's place among the intuitive methods is special and unique, and there is reason to be dubious of both a causal theory and the exclusive validity of the synchronistic hypothesis.

Q. In the course of analytic treatment, have you observed phases of resistance and denouement in connection with transits in the make-up of the patient?

J. I have observed many cases where a well-defined psychological phase Or an analogous events has been accompanied by a transit (particularly the afflictions of Saturn and Uranus).

Q. What major criticism do you have of astrologers?

J. If I may express myself in an area that I know only very superficially, I should say that the astrologer does not always regard his indications as pure possibilities. The interpretation is sometimes too literal and too personal, and too little symbolic. The zodiac and the planets are not personal traits, but rather impersonal and objective facts. Moreover, interpretation of the houses should consider several 'levels of meaning'.

Q. What orientation of astrological thought do you consider desirable?

J. Obviously, astrology offers much to psychology, but that which the latter can contribute to its elder sister is less obvious. In as far as I can judge, it seems to me that it would be advantageous to astrology if it would recognize the existence of psychology, particularly that of the personality and the unconscious. I am almost certain that something of the method of symbolic interpretation of archetypes (the gods) and their mutual relations is* common to the two arts. The psychology of the unconscious is particularly concerned with archetypal symbolism. [End of interview.]

My evenings are taken up very largely with astrology. I make horoscopic calculations in order to find a clue to the core of psychological truth. C. G. Jung, in a letter to Sigmund Freud.

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