planets and astrology symbolism zodiac: moon ,sun, mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune, pluto,

astrocartography,
astrology and planetary symbols

Astrocartography home

<IMG height=1 alt="" src="" width=1>

The Role of the Least Aspected Planet in Astrocartography.

Planetary Symbolism in Astrocartography and Transcendental Astrology,

by Robert Couteau.

All text © Copyright 2005 Rob Couteau

IV. On the Nature of the Transcendental Energy

2. Summary of Planetary Symbolism

Moon: The personal soul

The Moon corresponds to the notion of a personal soul, as opposed to the universal soul or
anima mundi (Neptune). The placement of the Moon in the birth chart symbolizes the area in
life where we are most sensitive to external stimuli, emotional undercurrents, and psychic or
sensory impressions that affect our security and well-being. A psychologically integrated
Moon energy reflects the formation of a strong emotional foundation, which, in turn, will
foster a sense of peace and tranquility.
        The Moon symbolizes the period of intrauterine life: a stage of intense psychic
impressionability and sensitivity. It rules the early life, when we are imprinted by the psycho-
logical field of our parents: in particular, by the mother (or by the parent who assumes a
maternal role). A well-integrated Moon reflects a positive experience of maternal imprinting,
while a poorly integrated Moon reflects a series of challenges to one’s stability during this
early, largely preconscious, period. In the latter case, later in life a need will arise to create a
positive imprinting (and a deprogramming of negative patterning), so that a supportive
emotional foundation can be established.
        The Moon is sometimes associated with material security. Indeed, emotional stability is
enhanced if the material dimension of life has been properly attended to. In addition, material
comforts engender sensory impressions that trigger new dimensions of soul. Therefore, the
materialism of the Moon need not be a vulgar or meaningless one, but may instead lead to a
creative use of resources that enhance our spiritual and worldly experience.
        The silvery light of Luna symbolizes the dimly lit consciousness of early childhood: a
rich, fecund realm of psychic impressions that an adult consciousness may have difficulty
reexperiencing. Within this valuable terrain, we will discover a range of feelings that were left
unattended for decades and that hold potential for further growth and development (especially
regarding the most personal dimensions of soul). These include emotions and perceptions that
will enrich our lives but that have been left to lie fallow and undernourished. Harmonious
transits to the Moon symbolize opportunities for furthering the development of positive
aspects of the childhood psyche, while difficult transits symbolize the encounter with
infantile, childish, and regressive tendencies that are in need of integration and development.
        The Moon rules unions of all kinds, particularly those that are mutually supportive and
that generate feelings of closeness and warmth. Relationships in which one partner assumes a
maternal role are ruled by the Moon. (Unions of sensual intimacy and romantic love fall more
under the Venus symbolism.) Finally, one’s relationship with one’s soul is largely determined
by the energy of the Moon. A foundation of internal tranquility and well-being will guarantee
that our relationships are based on healthy emotional values as we look within–and not
obsessively to others–to nurture, fortify, and sustain the values of the personal soul.

MORE: In-depth essay on the MOON

Sun: The individual self

The only one of the astrological “planets” that is, in fact, a star, the illuminating power of the
Sun signifies the dawn of consciousness and the creation of an individual self. The Sun
symbolizes the strength to emerge from the maternal psyche (Moon) and to pursue one’s
destiny. At its core, the Sun represents the hero: the impulse to venture forth and to impress
our uniqueness upon life through creative acts rendered in time. The path of the Sun–arcing
across the sky–symbolizes this ongoing heroic process of individuation: the opportunity to
incarnate into specific form and to express a pattern of meaning in our movement through
time, space, and the vicissitudes of daily life.
        The position of the Sun in the birth chart symbolizes an area in life where, through the
application of will, we will achieve success and where our identity will be clearly focused and
readily expressed. The Sun symbolizes the center of consciousness: the ego-complex, the
focal point of awareness. Through its specific character, style, and point of view, the “I”
discovers its own radiant vitality and strength. The exhilarating process of dramatically
following one’s destiny and of dynamically expressing the self is largely determined by the
solar principle.
        At the foundation of the Sun’s individualizing, self-actualizing tendency is an energy that
propels the birth, growth, and emergence of self from its dependence upon the biological
mother. Psychologically, the Sun signifies the emergence of the nascent ego-complex from an
all-enclosing maternal psyche and the ego’s assumption of a separate identity, path, and
purpose.
        The Sun rules the individual expression of a transpersonal nature: the Divine Self
uniquely portrayed through individual life forms. “The incarnation of God in man” would be
the Western expression of such an idea. The poet Mallarmé expressed a similar notion when
he wrote: “I can do nothing other than undergo the developments which are absolutely
essential if the Universe is going to find, through me, its identity.” Jung expressed this idea
when he said the purpose of mankind was to increase the consciousness of God:
paradoxically, through an integration of the transpersonal dimension in our personal lives.
        While the “individual self” lies at the core of the Sun symbolism, the final paradox is
that, through the unique path that each separate, sentient being must take, the ultimate goal of
the spiritual force is realized: to shed uniqueness and to transform the personal, idiosyncratic
identity to reveal the transcendent nature of the higher Self (Pluto). Yet, this is accomplished
only by focusing ego-consciousness on tasks that match one’s talent, ability, and destiny. By
assuming a special identity and by fashioning the proper means of portraying the self, we
partake in the process of incarnating yet another aspect of the infinite, eternal, transpersonal
Self. The personal self, symbolized by the Sun, anticipates the final spiritual goal: manifesting
the Divine Self through the dramatic expression of fully individuated life.
MORE: In-depth essay on the SUN

Mercury: Cognition and interpersonal communication

The placement of Mercury in the birth chart symbolizes a particular form of communication
through which we express something essential about ourselves.
        Mercury rules cognition and communication. This includes the reception (yin) and
expression (yang) of ideas: the collection and dissemination of information. Because an
orderly, systematic, and logical approach is necessary for the performance of such functions,
Mercury is associated with reason, logic, and the formal expression of thought (e.g.,
language).
        All modes of communication are ruled by Mercury: verbal discourse as well as non-
verbal signs and symbols. The essence of Mercury resides not in the particular language
system but in the impulse to communicate, through whatever means. Through the learning of
skills and techniques (a kind of language), talents may be expressed (a form of
communication). An example: a carpenter who masters the “language” of carpentry. Using
various tools (its alphabet), he expresses himself (communicates) through the making of a
table (his statement; discourse). His orderly, logical approach, based on learned skills,
techniques, and the careful observation of data (measurement of height, length, width etc.)
involves the Mercurial principle of gathering and assessing information and expressing ideas
(design, blueprint, and final product).
        Mercury defines the self through the communication of ideas that reflect core values and
ideas. When “coupled” with the yin planets, Mercury lends eloquence to the expression of
beauty, harmony, and all that is most personally valuable (i.e., soulful) in life. For this reason,
I disagree with astrologers who feel that Mercury is not involved in communicating feelings.
Someone with a well-integrated Venus may possess great depth of sentiment, but a problem in
giving form to such feelings will arise if Mercury is not consciously integrated as a psychic
function. With Mercury and Venus working in unison, however, the soul is expressed through
a graceful, eloquent language: one that finds its order and meaning in skillful, indirect, and
“subtle” (Venus) approaches.
        In creating language systems and in helping us to refine various abilities and skills,
Mercury serves to connect human beings with one another and to further their spiritual
growth. Through various cognitive skills, we grow less isolated as we express our essential
self and deepen our soulful awareness of others.
        Again, the core of Mercury is found not merely in the language system or mode of
expression: it is found in the essence of what one is communicating through sign, symbol, and
gesture.

MORE: In-depth essay on MERCURY

Venus: The interpersonal soul

The placement of Venus in the birth chart symbolizes the ability to extend one’s feeling into
the interpersonal realm, particularly through expressions of sensual, intimate union and
romantic love. Beyond the Moon’s rulership of nurturing, weaning, and gently pushing forth
the nascent personality, in Venus we reach a new level of feeling-toned sophistication: one
having less to do with maternal love and more to do with romantic union and interpersonal
expressions of Eros. Through this form of interactive soul-union with others, the emotional
foundation of the personal soul (Moon) is interpersonally expanded and refined (Venus).
Through the exchange of feelings, values, and a sense of shared meaning with others, we are
touched by the ineffable presence of grace, harmony, and purpose; proportion, elegance, and
beauty.
        Such soulful qualities are experienced through love and through other mediums, such as
art and creativity. They can range in intensity, beginning, for example, with a feeling of well-
being toward another that gradually evolves into intimacy, passion, and genuine love.
Elegance, diplomacy, and grace are Venusian qualities that generate closeness and warmth;
increase interpersonal harmony and relatedness; and effect powerfully felt unions that
diminish the sense of separateness and isolation that casts a shadow between individuals.
        The desire to achieve a symmetry, balance, and harmony of feeling is a keynote of the
Venus effect. An unpleasant opinion voiced by another; an unappealing aesthetic arrangement
in one’s environment; a discordant display of emotions between those in conflict: all call the
Venusian energy of “rectifying balance” into play. Venus rules the diplomatic instinct, which
seeks to “smooth things over”: to restore a sense of unity between discordant elements so that
“outer harmonies” trigger an internal harmony, as well. Venus guarantees that poise, grace,
and elegance of bearing are the means through which one-sided views are questioned and
reshaped to their proper perspective.
        Venus symbolizes the personification of the soul: either internally, through oneself, or by
projecting the soul-image onto someone who embodies its qualities. By encountering a facet
of our own emotional depth in the image of another person, we are naturally touched in a
profound manner: one that draws us out, toward the other, as we are lured by the potential for
meaningful union.  

MORE: In-depth essay on VENUS

Mars: The interpersonal self

The placement of Mars in the birth chart symbolizes the manner in which we assert the self
interpersonally, especially in one-to-one or small group situations. Mars symbolizes the
ability to forcefully grasp and possess the object of one’s desire. It rules the libido for work,
competitiveness, and sexual expression, especially the experience of sexuality as an
instinctual, biological drive. Mars is related to its complementary symbol, Venus, in that the
“beautiful form / excites the libidinous urge” (Venus / Mars). Mars rules the psychic process
that individualizes through the experience of separation: by competing, we define who we are
by matching our prowess against another; by working with others, we separate tasks
according to individual ability: working separately, yet in tandem, so that a final product
emerges from an interactive form of labor.
        The sum of such interactive efforts results in the structuring of the collective: an intricate
organization of labor occurring on a broadly based societal level (all of which is symbolized
by the next yang planet, Saturn). By properly channeling our energy for work, Mars
anticipates the symbolism of Saturn, in that the sum of our labor leads to the acquisition of a
special role in the social-collective network.
        Mars determines one’s ability to protect and maintain distinctive self-borders from the
intrusion, corruption, or aggressive incursion of others. This includes psychological threats,
such as falling under the sway of another person’s will or being assaulted by the
psychological content that others project on us. The capacity to deflect such physical and
psychological attacks and to energize, increase, and extend one’s will, drive, power,
determination, and independence is accomplished through an integration and evolution of
Martian energy in one’s life.
        Mars rules action and adventure: initiating movement and selecting a direction that leads
to greater accomplishment. Mars symbolizes “taking the first step” when confronting the
challenges of life. Through Mars, we are driven to overcome obstacles and to obtain the
object of desire. In the gratifying act of possessing the desired object, we extend the perimeter
of the self through the expansion of the will. Thus, Mars anticipates the “expansion and
growth” principle symbolized by its planetary neighbor, Jupiter.
        While the Sun (the most personal yang planet) symbolizes the heroic process of indi-
viduation, Mars rules the adventures we encounter along the way. It portrays the qualities we
need to embark on the adventure of life: courage, fortitude, and endurance; energy, stamina,
and vitality; and the dynamic will to push forward, even in the face of hardship, disquietude,
and uncertainty. Through such tests, which strengthen and determine our inherent prowess
and fighting spirit, Mars guarantees that the ego (Sun) will be further steeled, expressed, and
developed in the interpersonal arena of life.
        Mars rules the burning of desire: desire that must be extinguished through its fulfillment,
so that egoistic concerns are transcended to make way for an encounter with something
beyond the merely personal, egocentric, or worldly nature. Yet the ability to transcend such
egocentric desires can be actualized only if one has developed the fortitude, resilience, and
courage to face life’s demands. To survive the shattering experience of life (symbolized by
Pluto, the final yang symbol), one must first develop such character strengths. This is
accomplished through the cultivation of powerful Martian instincts, energies, and desires.

MORE: In-depth essay on MARS

Jupiter: The societal soul

The placement of Jupiter in the birth chart symbolizes the manner in which the soul evolves
beyond the experience of interpersonal intimacy (Venus) to expressions of soul within
cultural institutions (Jupiter). These include institutions that preserve the “wisdom of the
ages,” such as those of higher learning; philosophy; art; religion; and general culture. When
one encounters such forms of “codified soul wisdom,” the personal (Moon) and interpersonal
expressions of soul (Venus) advance to a more sophisticated level, now seeking to express
themselves in relation to the higher consciousness embodied in codified ethical, artistic,
religious, or cultural expressions wrought through the ages (Jupiter).
        The expansion of personal soul values (Moon; e.g., paying attention to one’s innermost
feelings) and interpersonal soul values (Venus; e.g., concern for the romantic partner) into
broader societal concerns (e.g., a concern for collective social justice) enables one to embody
the “collective soul” values of Jupiter. Often, this occurs through the enactment of a role that
personifies a classic Jupiterian interest (e.g., a social role concerned with humanitarian issues;
the expansion of artistic or cultural education; patronage of religious or spiritual institutions).
A teacher who shares his knowledge of cultural traditions; a professor who promulgates
philosophical wisdom; a patron who sponsors a major art retrospective: all promote
“culturally codified soul experience.”
        Through the enactment of a meaningful social role, the soul is empowered as it
participates in the process of furthering the values, moral insights, spiritual doctrines, and
cultural knowledge of the ever-expanding social-collective soul. The attribution of “power”
that is associated with Jupiter-oriented roles has at its source this function of standing at the
crossroads between what is personally (or interpersonally) valuable and what is of ultimate
value to the living soul of society-at-large.
        Jupiter rules the impetus to expand the range of opportunity and life experience: to
“expand one’s horizons.” By increasing our receptivity to and awareness of the opportunities
offered in each circumstance in life, we are following Jupiter’s impulse to expand the
perimeters of the personal soul. By promulgating the ethical, philosophical, and religious
knowledge preserved in cultural institutions, Jupiter promotes a spiritual expansiveness that
dissolves the limits of ego-bound identity.
        In this sense, Jupiter foreshadows the encounter with the final yin planet, Neptune,
whose effect transcends the personal- (Moon), interpersonal- (Venus), and societal-soul
(Jupiter). Through Neptune, a transpersonal aspect of soul is directly experienced.
Traditionally, this is described as a compassionate, blissful, or rapturous embrace with an
inexplicable, extratemporal, absolute dimension of life: the grace of divinity; the divine
essence; the mysterious presence of the world soul or anima mundi.

MORE: In-depth essay on JUPITER

Saturn: The societal self

The placement of Saturn in the birth chart symbolizes how we can most effectively work
within the limits of reality in order to achieve what is possible in a given lifetime. Saturn
symbolizes the repository of collectively accrued “objective” knowledge: the known structure
and organization of the world. By utilizing such information constructively, we effect
significant accomplishments: ultimately, by adding our achievements to the repository of
knowledge composing the social-collective self.
        Saturn rules social mores, codes of behavior, and modes of social organization that, over
time, have proven to be effective in creating stability, structure, and order. Therefore, Saturn
is associated with practical, conservative, and authoritarian approaches to accomplishing
tasks, fulfilling duties, and working in carefully defined boundaries of time and space. Self-
discipline, character strength, work, and responsibility all serve as internal anchoring
mechanisms that keep us properly related to and focused on the demands of reality. Without
such sobering internal ballast, one would lack an overall mortal context within which to
properly live, operate, and function in society as a whole.
        While overidentifying with the restrictions imposed by Saturn’s “laws of limitation”*
will lead to anxiety, inhibition, or rigidity, a mastery of Saturn’s lesson of adjusting to reality
will lead to greater freedom. Through the informed manipulation of the known patterns of
reality, the subjective world of imagination, intuition, and vision is permitted a structure
within which to manifest in the objective world of time and space. By admonishing us to
conform to laws that govern what can be practically accomplished in the three-dimensional
world, Saturn prepares the stage for the next level of symbolism, signified by its neighboring
planet, Uranus. By mastering such restrictions and fixed limits, we can actualize the
reformations, innovations, and inventions symbolized by Uranus.
        Saturn primarily directs itself to accomplishment within the social-collective. The
assumption of a professional role through which one partakes in a social hierarchy is the usual
mechanism through which Saturn’s energy is channeled, connecting the individual- (Sun) and
the interpersonal self-identity (Mars) to the larger social network: the spirit of social-
collective organization (Saturn). Saturn’s upholding of the status quo is linked to the
Plutonian Zeitgeist: the prevailing spirit sweeping through the transpersonal unconscious
(Pluto), which, in turn, leaves its mark on the manifest social organism (Saturn).
        While Uranus destabilizes outmoded forms of social organization and collectively held
beliefs (creating reformations, reversals, and shocking innovations), Saturn’s ultimate purpose
is to maintain reliable structures that provide a practical means of organizing such
methodologies, beliefs, and innovations. Saturn’s stable structures promote the longevity of
such things but only once these reversals have become the accepted norm and are integrated
into the scientific, governmental, and economic systems of the day.† Until such a time, the
tendency of Saturnian energy is to hold fast to and to conserve the old form, largely through
restrictive measures that inhibit unexpected alterations in the recognized social structure. In a
similar fashion, within individual life, Saturn crystallizes and conserves patterns of behavior
that lend themselves to the effective, practical functioning of our lives, so that, in time, we
will labor successfully toward our greatest accomplishment.
____________________
* Alan Oken uses the expression “the law of limitation” in his book, As Above, So Below,
when referring to Saturn and the “conservation of matter and energy” (see p. 297).
† In the words of William James: “A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous and then
dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows.”

MORE: In-depth essay on SATURN

Uranus: Transpersonal communication and intuition

The placement of Uranus in the birth chart symbolizes how we will liberate ourselves from
the constraints of the past; how we will catalyze our future personality and potential; and how
we will spark greater freedom in those around us. Psychologically, Uranus represents the
teleological function of the psyche: that which pushes us forward, as beings “directed toward
an end or shaped by a purpose.”
        The energetic medium of Uranus–its modus operandi–is the dynamic reversal: a sudden
shift from one extreme form of behavior, perception, or ideation into an opposite way of
being. Through this seesawlike action of energetic reversal, Uranus seeks to alternate currents
of psychic energy until a nondualistic or transcendent “third” form is manifest: a reformation
into a more sophisticated, conscious level of expression. In political life, a typical example of
such Uranian dynamics is found in the case of a dictatorial regime that is overthrown
(reversed) by a revolutionary movement. Viewed from a broader historical perspective, the
movement from one extreme form of organization to another eventually results in the
emergence of a transcendent form: ideally, one that is not as extreme as either opposite and
that incorporates the best elements of each to create a more manageable (more consciously
operating) organization or structure.
        In everyday life, Uranus manifests in continually shifting interests, relationships, or
patterns of behavior. All this should be viewed as part of a larger pattern in which the indi-
vidual is searching for a reformation of character that expresses all that is most unique and
liberating to the self- and soul expression. From one extreme modality to the opposite
modality of being, we swing back and forth until proper equilibrium is achieved.* When a
behavioral reformation has outlived its usefulness, however, Uranus will again attempt to
destabilize the now rigid structure, so that we are “shocked” into a revivifying flow of life’s
precious, vital energy.†
        The final Uranian goal is the individuation of society itself. This is achieved through
individuals who bring forth innovations that promote freedom, movement, and growth.
Working through an individual and a collective impetus for reformation, Uranus promotes
visionary patterns of change. Such reformations affect the life of the individual (who is
always concerned with obtaining greater personal freedom) as well as the spirit and soul of
the social collective.
        At the base of this “unexpected, unusual, or shocking” leap in evolutionary growth, we
must posit a Divine intuition or transpersonal “transmission” of thought: one channeled
through cognitive functions (Mercury; the lower octave of Uranus) but one that is divinely
inspired: “received” by the individual yet originating at a source far beyond him. For Uranus
proposes a realignment of personality that supersedes our previous identity, transporting us to
unexpected outlooks: to things that were once difficult to imagine. Presenting us with a reality
that surpasses our personal history or self, Uranus rules the instinct that introduces us to the
future–as yet unimagined–Self.

____________________

* In a similar fashion, the scholar Joseph Campbell spoke of creative or innovative mythology
as “shattering and reintegrating the fixed, already known, in the sacrificial creative fire of the
becoming thing that is no thing at all but life.” The Masks of God: Creative Mythology, p. 7.
† The dynamic reversal of conditions is expressed through the unfolding energy patterns (or
“hexagrams”) that compose the “chapters” of this book. In the West, this notion is expressed
by the ancient Greek idea of enantiodromia, a “running opposite or counter to,” promulgated
by the philosopher Heraclitus. “Fate is the logical product of enantiodromia, creator of all
things” (Stobaeus, Eclogae physicae, cited by Jung in Psychological Types, p. 425, para. 708.)
In modern psychological literature, Jung notes that enantiodromia is synonymous with “the
emergence of the unconscious opposite in the course of time.” (Ibid., p. 426.)

MORE: In-depth essay on URANUS

Neptune: The transpersonal soul

The placement of Neptune in the birth chart symbolizes an area in life where one is likely to
seek mystery or enchantment; express compassion or empathy; or transcend the personal
sphere of consciousness in favor of ecstatic, mystic, or blissful encounters with another
person’s soul or with the transpersonal soul of the world itself. Through Neptune, the
Jupiterian experience of what is of value to the societal soul–the ethical and cultural “wisdom
of the ages”–is expanded to a point of “dissolution.” This ineffable experience is described
(yet always inadequately!) in portraits of spiritual ecstasy: in the transcendence of ego-bound
consciousness; in revelations of aesthetic epiphany; or in the mystic rapture of an encounter
with the godhead (the inexplicable experience of the “moment” of eternity).
        Few encounter Neptune in such a direct manner, perhaps because such experiences will
produce deleterious effects on those who are spiritually unprepared for such an encounter. In
everyday life, Neptune rules dreams, fantasy, imagination, and enchantment; as well as
illusion, deception, confusion, and the loss or dissolution of self. Through such experiences,
the focal point of consciousness is diffused, blurred, and expanded beyond the confines of its
ordinary, personal perimeter.
        Neptune manifests in yin-oriented collective trends (e.g., fashion, arts and culture, and
spiritual movements) that sweep through society or that culminate in international or global
tendencies. In a similar fashion, broadly based (yet yang-oriented) transcultural movements
such as world wars or discoveries that mark profound points of transformational history are
symbolized by Neptune’s astrological neighbor, Pluto. Through Neptune and Pluto,
governmental (Saturn) and cultural tendencies (Jupiter) are swept aside by global currents: the
“Plutonian Zeitgeist” and the Neptunian anima mundi or “world soul.”
        Neptune is usually well integrated in those who are profoundly empathic with others: for
example, those devoted to professions requiring a continual outpouring of compassion. Such
professions require a considerable amount of self-sacrifice and self-abnegation on the part of
the practitioner. Yet through such actions, consciousness is expanded by opening itself to
psychological states extending beyond ordinary personal concerns. By transcending the
limited scope of egocentric desire and by embracing the psychic situation of another person,
the center of perception is shifted–from the self-identity to a deeper level of soul.
        As the planet symbolizing the transpersonal soul, Neptune is concerned not only with the
welfare of a particular person but also with channeling compassion and empathy toward one’s
fellow creatures in the greater world-at-large. This transpersonal concern instills a rather
strange, otherworldly aura to the “Neptunian.” Such people serve as conduits for what are
essentially archetypal forces: energies that restore the experience of soul empathy and soul
union in an otherwise alienating and soul-fracturing world. At the foundation of such
experience is the world soul or anima mundi: the “soul foundation” upon which all human
feeling is based.
        Neptune symbolizes the experience of what is sometimes referred to as “God,” the
“sacred,” or the “other world,” especially in terms of what Rudolf Otto called the mysterium
fascinans: the beatific, alluring, enchanting face of God; the blissful experience of the Sacred
Absolute; the uplifting, life-affirming aspect of the “wholly other.”
        In the final stage of astrological symbolism, Pluto signifies the other side of the face of
God: the mysterium tremendum. This includes the fracturing, horrific, and annihilating nature
of the world: of the sacred fate of all beings who suffer the agony of birth and death in their
metamorphosis from one realm of the transcendental to the next. Through Neptune’s
dissolution of ego-bound consciousness, we are readied for the Pluto’s destruction of
outmoded forms of identity, which clears the path for a further incarnation of the spirit.

MORE: In-depth essay on NEPTUNE

Pluto: The transpersonal self

The placement of Pluto in the birth chart symbolizes an area in life where we feel consumed
by the search for an ultimate truth and by a need to achieve greater spiritual understanding.
The drive to willfully pursue meaning in life has, as its ultimate goal, the transformation of
our character in a far-reaching and deep-seated manner. Through the exploration of a hidden
aspect of ourselves or of the world, discoveries will be made that profoundly alter the way we
view the self and its relationship to cosmos. Pluto governs this in-depth reorientation of
identity as it is forced to extinguish, metamorphose, and renew itself, often in the face of
nearly overwhelming insight into the ultimate nature of reality: specifically, those final
questions of life, death, and the often painful, traumatic experience of encountering the
transpersonal will of the universe.
        Pluto symbolizes how we will transform in-depth: how we are transfigured and reborn.
And how we respond to life’s constant demand for such (often painful) transfiguration and
renewal, in ourselves and in others. The positioning of Pluto in a particular house, sign, and
degree will portray the manner in which we are drawn to specific kinds of transformation.
Therefore, Pluto is a portal in the birth chart through which one may connect with the
“deepest darkest secrets”: not only of our own psychological character but also of the
transpersonal spirit that animates the phenomenal world.
        In everyday life, unfolding stages of growth have a fracturing effect on the identity.
Bereavement and loss accompany the death of a loved one; the sacrifice of familiar yet
outmoded ways of being; the casting aside of cherished, yet no longer appropriate, aspects of
personality. When the spirit embodied in a human being has completed a certain level of
development, a kind of death must occur for a new spirit, a new level of psyche to manifest.
For this reason, Pluto is associated with physical death: the disappearance of one life form to
make way for another.
        The transpersonal perspective of Pluto reveals that life has, besides its personal
dimension, a cosmogonic aspect: the collapse and reincorporation of life energies, making
way for new worlds, new forms, new patterns of being emerging and dissolving in a dance of
energy that flows from one hidden field to the next. In the horrible personal experience of life,
in which we are torn apart, crushed, annihilated, and extinguished, the wisdom of Pluto
reminds us that, in this process, we come that much closer to comprehending the experience
and revelation of the crucified god. By withstanding the shock that transforms the self in such
a manner that it is broadened and enlarged, Pluto assures us of a more potent reemergence: of
deepening insight, and even wisdom, gained through the tenuous medium of consciousness.

MORE: In-depth essay on PLUTO

Summary of Planetary Energetic Evolution

Spirit . Soul
(Yang Planets): . (Yin Planets):
. . .
Sun . Moon
Individual self: Personal soul:
egocentric individualization, the intrapsychic emotional
self-expression / -creation foundation; personally
supportive unions
. Mercury .
Cognition & communication:
intellectual formation and &
comprehension (lending
form & order to cognition &
consciousness)
Mars . Venus
Interpersonal self: Interpersonal soul:
interactive separation & interpersonal intimacy &
specialization relationship
Saturn . Jupiter
Societal self: Societal soul:
organization of scientific & organization &
institutionalization objective institutionalization of cultural
truths & subjective truths
. Uranus .
Transpersonal intuition,
inspiration,
communication:
reformation and
restructuring of
cognition and
consciousness
Pluto . Neptune
Transpersonal self: Transpersonal soul:
metaphysical transformation, cosmic dissolution, reunion,
reconstitution, renewal incorporation
Mysterium Tremendum . Mysterium Fascinans

Excerpts from 'Summary of Planetary Symbolism'

have appeared in Astrolore magazine.

Next Section:
IV. On the nature of the Transcendental Energy

 
Revised & updated:
5 August 2005

 
To obtain your own astro-map &
analysis, please inquire here.

I. Introduction

II. Transcendental Biographies    |    III. Transcendental Events

IV. Psychic inflation    -    Summary of Planetary Symbolism

   -    Transcendental Planets        

V. Nodes / the Triple-zero Transcendental    |    Appendices: Orbs / References / Data

Additional Maps    |    Notes    |    Bibliography    |    FAQ

 Postscript:

I. Interview in Astrolore    |    II. Transcendental Nations    |    III. American Presidents & LAP
Saturn

IV. World Events    |    V. Numinous Consciousness    

VI. The LAP as a metaphor of the soul    |    VII. Zones of Intensity    |    

VIII. Complete Index of Names and Events    |    IX. Order Charts / Home Page / Contact

X. Search this entire site    |    XI. Purchasing Books about Astrology

|      Home Page: Astrocartography      |

Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and astrocartography, zodiac, symbolism, planets and
astrology