Archetypal Astrology

German version

Archetypal astrology is a branch of astrology, influenced by Jungian and post-Jungian

depth psychology, that studies the connection between the changing positions of the
planets in the solar system and archetypal patterns in human experience. It is practiced
by a growing number of archetypal astrologers and by some Jungian therapists. It is
different from archetypal psychology and some forms of psychological astrology in that
the archetypes are seen as cosmological, rather than merely psychological principles.

In archetypal astrology, planetary configurations in the solar system are thought to bear
a significant and coherent correspondence with archetypal themes and patterns evident
in human experience. Archetypal astrology combines techniques drawn from
conventional forms of astrology with an understanding of archetypes and the psyche
emerging from the psychological theories of C. G. Jung, James Hillman, and Stanislav
Grof.

— Wikipedia article on Archetypal astrology

The character of the planetary archetypes are explained in Richard Tarnas's book
Cosmos and Psyche. In this book he draws attention to the correlation between
planetary aspects (mainly conjunctions and oppositions of the outer planets) and both
world events and events in the lives of significant people.

For example, from July 11 through July 24, 1609, Jupiter and Uranus were in exact
(less than 1°) conjunction. Richard Tarnas says that discoveries in science tend to be
correlated with Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions. In the summer of 1609 Kepler published
his revolutionary work Astronomia Nova (containing his first two laws of planetary
motion) and Galileo made the first public demonstration of his telescope. From
December 20, 1609, through March 14, 1610, Jupiter and Uranus were continuously
conjunct to within 4°. During this time Galileo made numerous discoveries with his
telescope and on March 12 published his findings in his epoch-making Siderius
Nuncius.

Jupiter and Uranus were again in exact (less than 1°) conjunction from October 12
through 26, 1900. At a meeting of the German Physical Society on October 19, 1900,
when Jupiter and Uranus were within 0°9' of conjunction (and Saturn and Neptune
within 1°0' of opposition), Max Planck announced his hypothesis that radiant energy is
emitted and absorbed in discrete quanta, thereby initiating the development of
quantum mechanics.
Richard Tarnas gives many examples of such correlations, not only in the field of
science but also in other areas such as literature and in the domain of world events
(particularly wars and revolutions). This software provides a way to check (and
confirm) the claims made by him in support of his principal thesis that there is an
overall (synchronistic) correlation between planetary aspects and terrestrial events,
in accord with the ancient Hermetic dictum, "As above, so below".

In Cosmos and Psyche Richard Tarnas writes that

the five major aspects [conjunction, opposition, square, trine and sextile], and a progressively deepening
understanding of the specific meanings of the ten planetary archetypes [the Sun, the Moon and the eight
planets from Mercury through Pluto], formed the essential theoretical structure for the research surveyed
in this book. Though many other factors, such as the twelve zodaical signs (Aries through Pisces) and the
twelve diurnal sectors of the chart called houses, play a significant role in both traditional and
comtemporary astrological practice, I consistently found that it was correlations involving the major
planetary aspects in natal charts, personal transits and world transits that seemed to represent the
fundamental core of the astrological perspective ...

Following Richard Tarnas, and in contrast to traditional astrology, this software thus
makes no mention of houses and little mention of astrological signs. The positions of
the Sun and the planets are shown by their celestial longitudes at a specific date and
time, where zero degrees corresponds to zero degrees Aries, which is either the
direction of a line from the Earth to the Sun at the exact time of the vernal equinox
(in the tropical zodiac) or the direction of a particular point in the constellation of
Aries (in the sidereal zodiac). This software supports both zodiacs, and the position of
the planets in a selected zodiac is shown.

Some may view the observed consistency of correlation between patterns of human experience and
planetary movements as evidence that history has, in some essential way, already been determined in its
basic outlines ... Rather than reinforcing a sense that one is bound by a definite fate, however, knowledge
of upcoming world transits, like the knowledge of one's personal transits and natal chart, can open the
possibility of a more informed and creative response to the archetypal forces at work at any given time. —
Richard Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche, p.480

Archetypal Astrology Links

 Archetypal Astrology Discussion — including:

o Introduction to Archetypal Astrology: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and
Mars
o Introduction to Archetypal Astrology: Jupiter and Saturn
o Introduction to Archetypal Astrology: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
o Archetypal Astrology and Transpersonal Psychology — The Research of
Richard Tarnas and Stanislav Grof
— Part 1 and Part 2
  Articles by Richard Tarnas:
o An Introduction to Archetypal Astrological Analysis

o World Transits 2000-2020 — An Overview

As a useful adjunct to Richard Tarnas's article on "World Transits 2000-2020" please

see the section Outer Planet Transit Tables on this website, which provides starting and
ending dates (and the date when a transit becomes exact or reaches a minimum) for
almost all transits (for orb values of 5°, 10° and 15°) for the following pairs of planets:

Jupiter-Uranus 1899-1915
Saturn-Pluto 2000-2020
Saturn-Uranus 1998-2019
Saturn-Neptune 1998-2020
Uranus-Pluto 2000-2022