We are the music-makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.
(Arthur O'Shaughnessy)

Soul Seasons

If I had to reduce the wisdom of Astrology into one word or symbol it would have to be the Yin-Yang. This ancient Taoist symbol perfectly illustrates in graphic form the most basic energies of the Astrological cycles. In fact, Dane Rudhyar came to the same basic conclusion: “The Zodiac which is used in our Astrology has very little, if anything at all, to do with distant stars as entities in themselves… The essential thing about the Zodiac is not the hieroglyphs drawn on celestial maps…it is the human experience of change.” So, the fundamental symbol of Astrology is not the Signs of the Zodiac, or the Planets –it is the idea of CYCLES.




 The three basic cycles of Astrology quite perfectly echo one another –day, month, and year being divisible into four quarters by naturally occurring empirical processes of light vs. dark. Dawn, being the triumph of light over darkness can be seen to correlate with the first quarter Moon and the Vernal Equinox. Noon, as the height of the waxing Light cycle correlates to Full Moon and Summer Solstice. Dusk, like third-quarter Moon and the Autumnal Equinox, represents the triumph of darkness over light. Finally Midnight, New Moon, and Winter Solstice all represent the peak of the waning dark cycle.

Seen in this way time becomes not linear, but more like a spiral (reflected in our very genes), where each cycle leads to another and also builds upon the former. I have said that the Winter Solstice is a similar energy to Midnight -as the Sun crosses the Nadir. If you doubt the simple profundity of this assertion, ask yourself what it is we do at Winter Solstice/Christmas. To this day, we gather together with family/clan -symbolized in Astrology by the Nadir!



Astrology is a window into what the Native Americans called  "The Great Mystery." The Circle of Life; The Wheel of Rebirth; The Primal Cycle of Astrology-they are all the same cycle! This is why I find helpful the concept of “Evolutionary Astrology” used by Astrologers such as Native American, Jeffrey Wolf Green. To my knowledge, the Wolf is known to the Natives as a pathfinder. Mr. Green has certainly been that. In his books about Pluto and the Evolutionary Journey of the Soul, he looks at the cyclic relationships of Venus/Mars and Mars/Pluto as indicative of the souls place on the evolutionary wheel in terms of relationships. 

This makes good intuitive sense and can be productive with almost any pair of planets/functions. Eventually, as Mr. Greene found success with the Mars/Pluto cycle, I began to investigate the other pairs said to be “higher octaves” -which resulted in my identifying "the artist signature" in the heliocentric Venus/Neptune cycle. All of these Cycles can indicate Evolutionary unfoldment of specific processes over multiple lifetimes. After all. it makes sense that one could not possibly fully experience the human condition in a dozen lifetimes -let alone one. By using Astrology to identify the "Seasons of the Soul" -we can understand and put to better use both the karmic gifts and challenges we have brought with us across "the Great Mystery."

The Astrological Alphabet

The simplest way of finding these themes comes from what modern astrologers call the "Astrological Alphabet" -which was pioneered by Zip Dobbyns. The basic idea is that 12 sets of three symbols -are loosely associated with the same general type of energies -when we see a repetition of these very similar energies -this is something the astrologer should pay attention to.

For instance, take the chart of yours truly. As chronicled on the "about me" page -I have been known to do a little rambling in my time. We would expect this theme to invlove the Letter 3 -or Gemini/Mercury/3rd House placements. As expected,  I have Gemini on an angle of my chart (the 4th house of "home"!). I also have Mercury conjunct Venus (-who is in opposition to Uranus). I also have the dispositor of half the planets of my chart, Mars, in the 3rd House (he who rules all my Aries planets and Neptune in Scorpio -the focal point of my "bucket" chart). So this theme is repeated three times -and therefore embedded deeply in my chart.


Furthermore, upon closer inspection -this theme of the "letter 3" (the third sign, third house -and their ruling planet)  in the Astrological Alphabet -is very central to the reason you are reading this article! You see, -I have absolutely no planets in the signs of the Air element (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius). This is somewhat atypical for a writer -and a novice looking at this chart may say that this person has no chance becoming a successful writer. Yet, I have managed to publish in the most prestigious astrological journals and I have been invited to speak at largest astrological conference in the World! So, it seems to me there really is something to this "Astrological Alphabet."

In fact, it is this system that makes the often uncanny predictions of the Sun Sign astrologers possible. You may wonder -how can they tell what was likely to happen to me based merely on the month of my birth?!! Well, what they are doing is tracking the rest of the planetary pantheon as it moves in relation to your Sun Sign -so they are not tracking just a single factor -but tying 10 complex factors into a symbolical interpretation based on how many signs these 10  fall away from your Sun. This number -the number of whole signs removed from your Sun -gives them a reference point -a "key" -into the Astrological Alphabet.

For instance, let's look at the "Rebel without a Cause" -James Dean –Aquarius -1931.

He was rejected by his father who sent him away to live with relatives when he was 9 years old. He had a powerful Sun-Pluto aspect -a combination I also looked at in depth in my article on Johnny Cash & Evolutionary astrology (see triarchic astrology page). In Deans case, this aspect takes on a double dose of Scorpionic type energy. The Sun-Pluto angle is the closing quincunx -the Sun is 8 signs ahead of Pluto -so it takes on qualities of the 8th sign/house. With Pluto also being the planetary ruler of this letter -that's a double dose of Letter 8 -a lethal dose in this case. Notice also the emphasis on the Letter 3 -Gemini on an angle, 3rd house Sun, -and the Mercury opposition to Pluto ties the Letter 3 theme to the letter 8 theme -symbolizing perfectly Dean's tragic death in an automobile crash. And that's the whole point of the Astrological Alphabet -when we see different symbols saying the same types of things -we need to pay attention!


So, without further adieu, here is the very basic -yet extremely profound -Astrological Alphabet. Beware, for it is deceptive in its simplicity -because it applies equally well to every set of factors in the horosope. So, study it often!

                             The Astrological Alphabet

  Planet =What? House
=Where?		 Sign
=How?		 Aspect
=With?		 Season
of the
Soul
Letter 1 Mars 1st House Aries Conjunction Early Spring
Letter 2 Earth
Venus		 2nd House Taurus Opening Semi-Sextile Mid Spring
Letter 3 Air
Mercury		 3rd House Gemini Opening Sextile Late Spring
Letter 4 Moon 4th House Cancer Opening Square Early Summer
Letter 5 Sun 5th House Leo Opening Trine Mid Summer
Letter 6 Earth
Mercury		 6th House Virgo Opening Quincunx Late Summer
Letter 7 Air
Venus		 7th House Libra Opposition Early Fall
Letter 8 Pluto 8th House Scorpio Closing Quincunx Mid Fall
Letter 9 Jupiter 9th House Sagittarius Closing Trine Late Fall
Letter 10 Saturn 10th House Capricorn Closing Square Early Winter
Letter 11 Uranus 11th House Aquarius Closing Sextile Mid Winter
Letter 12 Neptune 12th House Pisces Closing Semi-Sextile Late Winter

References:

Glenn Perry, An Introduction to Astro-Psychology. 1998, The Association for Astrological Psychology: San Rafael, Ca.

Glenn Perry, Psychological Astrology: Theory and Practice. 1998, The Association for Astrological Psychology: San Rafael, Ca. pg.95.

Maritha Pottenger & Zip Dobyns -the founders of the Astrological Alphabet
-see: Astrology: The Next Step and Expanding Astrology's Universe

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