About the Class
Despite being commonly dismissed as a pseudoscience, the symbolism of the Zodiac is enormously informative. Irrespective of one’s belief or disbelief in astrology, the zodiac’s structure is rich with psychological insight.
Jung recognised as much. Early in his career, Jung wrote to Freud explaining that he was “looking into astrology, which seems indispensable for a proper understanding of mythology. There are strange and wonderous things in these lands of darkness”.
The zodiac comprises twelve signs, most of which are animals, such as the ram, the bull and lion, but also human and inanimate figures such as the twins, the water-bearer and the scales.
Each of these signs is related to a myth, a development phase and a set of characteristics. Far from haphazard, the zodiac signs appear to be carefully organised and may be studied as such.
The simplest angle is to explore the zodiac as a set of opposites. The qualities of one sign tend to complement those of its opposing sign. The most fascinating perspective, however, is to explore the zodiac as a process or cycle of psychological development.
Although the zodiac has no beginning or end, we will begin with the highly ego-centric sign of Aries (often considered the first sign of the zodiac) and will follow the developmental paths through to the nebulous sign of Pisces.
In this session, we will explore the zodiac as it describes a process of both individuation and collectivization.
