Contemplations on Spirit
'In this blog I contemplate the means to understand one self and the motivation that moves us to unfold in heart and soul.'
Introduction with Gratitude
Before I begin, I want to take this moment to express my deepest gratitude and admiration for the family Hamaker- Zondag.
My teacher and mentor Karen, and her family who took me in as one of their kin. The foundation of their work continues to inspire me, for so many years now. Thank you, I am honored to share this.
Psychological Astrology
It is clear that ever since immemorial humans have studied the starry skies and heavens. Relating their life experiences with the celestial dance. Astrology is a symbolic language, evolved through the ages and appears to have effective coherence with the work of Prof. Dr. C.G. Jung. In such a way in-fact that the two clarify and enhance one another. Both rooting deeply into the primal experiences within the collective subconscious; in the archetypes.
Joseph Campbell, Marija Gimbutas and Erich Neumann have, among others elaborately displayed the deeply ingrained motives that manifest within ancient crafts, stories and arts.
Erich Neumann writes in the Great Mother*; "The symbolic imagery of the unconsciousness is the creative source of the human spirit in all its realizations. Not only have consciousness and the concept of its philosophical understanding of the world arisen from the symbol but also religion, rite and cult, art and customs. And because the symbol-forming process of the unconscious is the source of the human spirit language, whose history is almost identical with the genesis and development of human consciousness, always starts out as a symbolic language." (p.17) As a physician and psychiatrist Carl Jung founded a structured foundation of the human psyche.
For now, sharing this simplified version, I would like to focus on the division between personal unconscious and collective unconscious. Dra Karen Hamaker- Zondag writes in "Psyche en Astrologisch Symbool"; "In this collective unconscious lies the source from where all collective motives everywhere around the world spring, these motives, as seen before, can at the same time play a vital role in the personal psyche." (p.3)
Archetypes & Symbols
When we google wikipedia on Jungian archetypes we find the following; "Jungian archetypes are defined as universal, primal symbols and images that derive from the collective unconscious, as proposed by Carl Jung. They are the psychic counterpart of instinct......" Dra. Karen Hamaker- Zondag writes in "Psyche en Astrologisch Symbool"; "The best way to describe an archetype is as an 'underlying idea' or an 'immaterial idea' which already exists before the material form appears, just as the idea of a crystal structure is present in a chemical solution before the process of crystallization takes place."
Many of the great thinkers and scientist mentioned above, have pointed out that there are very few archetypes. Jung later calls them 'archetypes an sich' is mentioned in dra Hamakers work*. She writes; "The phrase archetype is often used in literature as the potential outcome: the archetypal image or the archetypal display. This is one of the many sources of confusion around this conception that is already difficult to comprehend." (p.4) On page 8 of the same book* she writes; "The archetype an sich is essentially psychic energy concentrated together, from where a symbol the appearance displays so that the archetype is made visible." Wether one perceives a symbol as a symbol is subjected to the perspective of the observer.
The astrological system can be read as a meaningful bundle of symbols, which perforce have an archetypal nature. Dra. Karen Hamaker- Zondag writes; "There will always be people who, due to their attitude to symbolism, have the ability to penetrate the world of symbols and the deeper meaning of several facts. To these people astrology as a language of symbols will be naturally accessible, at least to them the meaning of symbolism can support psychological development. At the same time there will always be people who aren't drawn to symbolism, and therefor don't perceive facts and appearances to have any deeper meaning, hence they stay what they are in the tangible world and the experiences though the senses. People who aren't familiar with the symbolic nature of the consciousness, will naturally have less to no interest and understanding for people who do live with a symbolic nature............. Within these complete polarities of psychological consciousness, and their polarized worldview accordingly, lays the deeper cause of the big issue around the 'belief' in astrology and the possibility of its effectiveness."
In my next blog I will take you by the hand and guide you trough the astrological framework, thank you for reading this.
Source:
* Psyche en Astrologisch Symbool, Dra. Hamaker- Zondag ISBN 90-6378-001-X
* The Great Mother, Erich Neumann ISBN 978-0-691-16607-0
Image above : Abyssus Volatile Fixum Inferior Superior, reddit.com
Image below : Image of the Human psyche by Carl Jung, Tumblr
