Finding the way home
Wikipedia defines Psychology as follows:
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences. Psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.
Ψ (psi), the first letter of the Greek word psyche from which the term psychology is derived (see below), is commonly associated with the science.
It was in the year 1879 when the physiologist, philosopher, and psychologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) founded the first experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany. This date is considered the historical referent that marks the emergence of psychology as a separate branch of philosophy.
On the other hand, we have astrology, of which we have a historical background of its existence and practice of more than 4000 years ago. Famous astrologers in history we can name Michel de Nostradame, known for Nostradamus, Claudius Ptolemy, William Lilly, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, each one of them known for other characteristics and for been participants in relevant world historical events.
Since time immemorial, man has been interested in the movement of the stars, but not because of their movement itself, but because it was a relationship between what happened in the heavens and what happened on earth. Although it may create controversy, astrology was the forerunner of astronomy. This is stated only for the simple reason that human beings always seek the cause-effect relationship in things. It is not common for someone to waste time analyzing something that has no consequence on their person or the environment. This is precisely the essence of psychology, looking for the cause that is causing a certain situation.
Having laid the foundations of what psychology is and its practical use, let’s see the parallelism with astrology and, with the natal chart.
When a person consults a psychology professional, it does so because there is a behavioral problem, a relationship problem, personal dissatisfaction, depression and/or several other situations that make it difficult to navigate the daily life. Usually, a psychologist is not consulted because everything is fine.
There are different branches of psychology from different theories developed over time to which each professional adopts according to their approach. Psychology tries to find the reason for the malfunction of the person’s actions through the relationship of past events and the present situation or environment.
For physical deviations from the normal functioning of the brain, there is psychiatry which uses drugs to correct an electromechanical malfunction of the brain, an area in which psychology does not enter.
When the person accesses a therapist, it is because it is seeking help outside its environment to understand what is happening and is trying to find a solution. Before psychologists existed as such, priests were usually the ones who gave this help, based on a religious approach. In the East and Asia, elders were the source of wisdom to turn to.
On the other hand, astrology, beyond the fact that it can be consulted in the face of a problem or a situation that affects the person, provides information and basic characteristics of the person just by consulting the natal chart. That can be done at any point during life.
We could say that astrology provides ‘preventive’ information regarding the characteristics of the person regardless of the state they are in. The natal characteristics are the basis with which we arrive at this plane, and from that moment on, it is indicating certain characteristics of the personality.
An example is worth a thousand words.
If in the natal chart the person was born with a Saturn opposite the Moon, this undoubtedly indicates a bad relationship with the mother. This condition could happen at a conscious or unconscious level, but the condition is irrefutable. To understand how bad this condition is, additional information including the houses involved and/or additional aspects in the natal chart have to be analyzed. Depending on the results, this condition can lose some weight or take on great proportions in the person’s life.
This aspect is part of the person, and the energies can manifest in different ways, but if the person knows their natal predisposition to this, it can be of great help to manage it over time.
Without trying to oversimplify the subject, let’s consider the aspects of Saturn and the human evolution process. If we talk about the natal Saturn-Moon relationship, at the age of 7 the native will go through a period that can mark the relationship with the mother (or mother figure). At 14 years of age another complicated period occurs, with the next one at 21. The emotional development of a 7-year-old child has been taking shape since it was born, and it is during this period that certain mental patterns are affirmed. At 14, beyond the hormonal change that occurs and the emotional imbalance that this causes in any adolescent, the aspect of Saturn in transit with the Saturn-Moon axis does not make this period any easier to handle.
If we talk about being able to handle the natal aspect, only after acquiring a certain maturity, the native can understand its own mental structure and from that point on see how this can be handled. It cannot be expected that a child or an adolescent can change a complicated natal aspect since they do not have enough life experience or maturity to do so. On the other hand, if the mother of that child is aware of this condition, she can work on her relationship with her son/daughter, since she knows what perception her son or daughter have of her.
What was mentioned is just an example, to give an idea of the type and scope of information provided by astrology.
In the same way that a psychologist cannot provide a solution to a problem, it can only work the way so the patient can discover the origin of the problem, similarly, astrology can provide information on the natal conditions a child, an adolescent or a mature person have to deal with according to its natal chart. Astrology will not provide a solution; it can only provide information for self-discovery.
When consulting a psychologist or an astrologer, in both cases, each one will be able to contribute in addition to their knowledge of the subject, their life’s vision, their own experiences, but is important that objectivity and neutrality has to be maintain in the consultation. In some cases, this does not happen.