Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Carl Jung's Astrology Transits In Red Book Years


Carl Jung wrote the "Red Book" in the years from 1914-1930. In 1913, after his break from Freud, Jung had transiting Neptune within 3 degrees of his natal sun sign (3 degrees Leo) with both transiting Jupiter and Uranus crossing over his acendant which is at 4 degrees Aquarius. These transiting planets activated his natal t-square to Neptune (Sun square Neptune and opposing Asc) creating a psychic earthquake which evolved into a deep confrontation with his unconscious, and the writing of the Red Book.
For Jung, the years of 1915-16 began the activation of his Uranus Opposition--when transiting Uranus opposed his natal Uranus. This is a time when he was called to realign himself with his truest life path and purpose, and to break away, not only from Freud, but from any of his old paradigms and ways of thinking that held him back. With Saturn transiting over his IC at this time, and moving into his fourth house, it certainly wasn't an easy time, and the effects were felt very close to "home."
Transiting Jupiter crossing the ascendant was helpful at this time because it stimulates the pursuit of philosophy and Truth and expands one's way of thinking and perceiving. Jupiter enlarges one's thinking and is traditionally seen as a planet which positively encourages us to go beyond limits.
At the same time that these transits were occuring, the progressed Moon was traversing through Jung's 8th house of death and rebirth, and conjuncting his South Node and his natal Jupiter.
In later posts I'll be talking about the meaning of these transits and progressions, as well as in my workshop this Saturday at the Boston Jung Institute. Hope to see some of you there! Anyone notice other transits worth mentioning?

3 comments:

  1. This period coincided with his second progressed New Moon in mid-Virgo in his Seventh House, and the following years of the "Crescent" Progressed Moon phase carried forward into his Eighth House.

    As I understand it, the progressed lunation cycle is more related to the highly subjective work of making "sense", or "meaning" out of our individual life experience, whereas transits, of Saturn and the outer planets especially, are more related to "outward" events and circumstances--the context within which our individual experience occurs.

    From that perspective, these years are the "germination" stage of a whole new cycle of growth in Jung's subjective realization and acceptance of his life's meaning and purpose. His subsequent comments about the pivotal nature of that period seem to bear this out.

    I do find it interesting though, that neither his natal chart itself, nor contemporaneous transits or progressions,... none of it seems to be very focused on or concerned with the Twelfth House, the archetypal reservoir of the "collective unconscious" which is what he apparently thought he was exploring. What's up with that?

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  2. Hi Martin~
    The 4th and 8th house as well as Pluto are all areas in which the unconscious is activated. My sense is that his Uranus opposition stirred up what was being repressed before this time, namely a more direct confrontation with the unconscious. And natally his Moon is conjunct Pluto so this realm needed to be explored sometime...and the Uranus transit, plus the progressed Moon in the 8th house stirred the pot...it awakened the dormant energies of Pluto till the time was right. I'm open to hearing more ideas/comments on this if you or anyone would like to add to it....,

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