"That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below" - Hermes Trismegistus

"Astrology represents the summation of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity." C. G. Jung
 
 

In 1910, not long before Jung was to break with Freud, he met a remarkable young woman named Antonia Wolff.  She first came into Jung's life as a patient, but upon completing her treatment, became a student of Jungian psychology and a lifelong friend of Jung's.

This brilliant, intuitive, and sensitive young woman also came to symbolize to Jung an aspect of his own Anima during a very difficult period in his life.  The Anima is the feminine aspect of a man's soul and this component of the psyche plays an important role in the process of individuation.

After Jung's break with Freud in 1913, it was Toni who especially helped Jung to work through this difficult period of psychological crisis in his life.  She helped and encouraged him to continue to work with, analyze, and interpret the mythological images and symbols which surfaced in his dreams and visions.  She was a great source of support at a time when he was nearly overwhelmed by what was emerging from his unconscious.

Before his break with Freud, Toni also had a profound influence on Jung's life, opening him up to new ideas and insights.  Toni was a deeply spiritual young woman with a serious interest in the study of religion and philosophy.  She opened the door for Jung to new aspects of Eastern philosophy and also to the study of astrology.  Astrology was a subject of serious interest at this time in Europe and Toni was a gifted interpreter of natal charts.  By 1911, Jung had also trained himself to interpret astrological birth (natal) charts.

Jung's mythological studies fueled his belief in a collective unconscious.  They also inspired his interest in astrology.  "Astrology, like the collective unconscious with which psychology is concerned, consists of symbolic configurations; the 'planets' are the gods, symbols of the power of the unconscious." C. G. Jung, Letters 1951-1961, p.24

Jung made use of Astrology in his practice.  When he found he had trouble in getting a clear understanding of a particularly difficult patient he would have the birth chart of the individual drawn up and he would analyze the natal chart psychologically.  Jung himself said: "As I am a psychologist, I am particularly interested in the particular light the horoscope sheds on certain complications in the character. In cases of difficult psychological diagnosis, I usually get a horoscope in order to have a further point of view from an entirely different angle. I must say that I have very often found that the astrological data elucidated certain points which I otherwise would have been unable to understand."

Jung did not feel that the Sun sign was terribly significant on its own.  He was much more interested in the seasonal and planetary influences than the Sun sign.  He once said: "We are born at a given moment in a given place, and like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season in which we are born. Astrology does not lay claim to anything else."

Jung's interest in Astrology did lead him to do a great deal of research on the topic and he would spend long hours into the night studying charts and the mythology of astrology.  Jung wished to share this with Freud, but was concerned because he sensed that Freud would not approve of his astrological studies.  This was also of great concern to Freud and it was part of what led to the end of their relationship.  We have two letters that Jung sent Freud on this topic.

Jung to Freud:
 

"At the moment I am looking into astrology, which seems indispensable for a proper understanding of mythology.  There are strange and wondrous things in these lands of darkness.  Please don't worry about my wanderings in these infinitudes.  I shall return laden with rich booty for our knowledge of the human psyche.  For a while longer I must intoxicate myself on magic perfumes in order to fathom the secrets that lie hidden in the abysses of the unconscious."
- Freud/Jung Letters, p. 223, May 8, 1911

Jung writes again to Freud:
 

"My evenings are taken up very largely with astrology.  I made horoscopic calculations in order to find a clue to the core of psychological truth.  Some remarkable things have turned up which will certainly appear incredible to you.  For instance, it appears that the signs of the zodiac are character pictures, in other words libido[1] symbols which depict the typical qualities of the libido at a given moment."
- Freud/Jung Letters, p. 226, May 12, 1911

During this period, Jung was writing his "Symbols of Transformation."  It was the publication of this book, the first part in 1911 and the second in 1912 that led to their final break.  It was Jung's belief that humanity, in all times and cultures, had engaged in the spiritual quest to be at one with the Divine Self.  Freud saw myth and religion as childish illusions to be outgrown.  In 1913 Jung was ejected from the Freudian community.  Freud felt they could no longer work together, for they were going in two different directions.  Freud wrote Jung: "I propose that we abandon our personal relations entirely.  I shall lose nothing by it, for my only emotional tie with you has long been a thin thread -- the lingering effect of past disappointments."  (January 3, 1913, The Freud/Jung Letters.  Penguin Books, 1991.  p. 295.)

As for astrology, Jung believed that archetypal reality interacts with our daily lives through synchronicity.  Synchronicity is the process which unites two factors, archetypal forces and external events.  The unconscious is the agent of this union of archetypal and material reality.

The birth chart is a map of the soul.  It illuminates the relationship between the individual and the cosmos at the moment of birth.  All things born in the moment carry the imprint of the moment.  The birth chart is a way of understanding the archetypal forces (planetary influences) at work within us.  Working with the birth chart and the planetary transits influencing us throughout the cycles of our lives can help us to know and realize the Divine Self.

1) libido - emotional or psychic energy that in psychoanalytic theory is derived from primitive biological urges and that is usually goal-directed

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