or why astrology doesn’t make sense and why it works well for us that way….
The greater the tension between the pairs of opposites, the greater will be the energy that comes from them. C.G. Jung, “On Psychic Energy,” CW 8, par. 49.
Transcendent function: A psychic function that arises from the tension between consciousness and the unconscious and supports their union.
Tertium non datur: The reconciling “third,” not logically foreseeable, characteristic of a resolution in a conflict situation when the tension between opposites has been held in consciousness. (See also transcendent function.) from The Jung Lexicon by Daryl Sharp, http://www.psychceu.com/Jung/sharplexicon.html
“As a rule it occurs when the analysis has constellated the opposites so powerfully that a union or synthesis of the personality becomes an imperative necessity. . . . [This situation] requires a real solution and necessitates a third thing in which the opposites can unite. Here the logic of the intellect usually fails, for in a logical antithesis there is no third. The “solvent” can only be of an irrational nature. In nature the resolution of opposites is always an energic process: she acts symbolically in the truest sense of the word, doing something that expresses both sides, just as a waterfall visibly mediates between above and below.” [C.G. Jung, The Conjunction, CW 14, par. 705.]
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Psychology, Symbolism, and Resolving Tension
In modern times it was Jung who first described the psychological nature of inner conflict and how this is mirrored by outer conflict. He thought the way through for humankind, the way to avoid mass annihilation, was for individuals to be able to creatively stand the tension of their own inner conflict and paradoxical nature. This would then relieve the collective tension that periodically breaks out in war.
Where does this collective tension come from? Is it a function of civilization? It seems that the more laws we create and the more rigid our social structures become, the more we provoke discord. Human beings can only bear so much control from the outside before rebelling, consciously or unconsciously. At a certain point, controlling people from the outside does not result in more harmony, but in fact, in less.
This is because we each already suffer from inner discord. This may be a natural part of being human. We relieve this inner tension in various ways, some of which are healthier than others. Using tools of psychological and spiritual development (such as observing one’s inner conflict with compassion), can enable us to come to terms with the paradoxes within our own natures, and this often allows the sense of inner tension to calm down and to manifest in creativity and other forms of positive outcome.
But without psychological knowledge and a conscious quest for wholeness, too much rigidity from the outside makes living unsupportable. And this is what we are currently creating: an impossible world. The suicide rate among young people is rising rapidly, as is anti-social behavior among the same group. Usage of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication to ameliorate and suppress inner tension is widespread. The general level of tension is going up, not down, despite the advances of modern technology that supposedly free us from boring chores and repetitive tasks, and the absence of war in the immediate lives of people in the West (although the guilt from the wars being waged on our reluctant behalf probably generates a deep level of subconscious tension).
Each of us have core dilemmas that are hard to work out when confronted head on. We want to love well and live in harmony, yet find ourselves fighting, competing with, and judging other people. We want to live balanced lives but find ourselves over-extended and exhausted. We don’t want to be in debt but the cost of living and particularly of putting a roof over our heads means that pretty much everyone is indebted one way or another. We want to be kind to our parents, partners, and young children, but find ourselves impatient and irritable with those we love best. We say we want to be healthy, but can’t resist our desires. Over time we often grow out of these tensions, but then replace them with others, usually anxieties about loved ones and the physical body.
Perhaps all these tensions are at root existential, arising in the beginning out of the consciousness of death: unlike animals (as far as we can tell) we live with the awareness that one day our lives will cease, and we don’t know what will happen next. Kierkegaard and Nietzsche described this core issue that later Sartre named existentialism, and saw it as the intrinsic dilemma of conscious existence. The existential psychologists see existential angst as the root of malaise. Developing spiritually is a common sense tactic to cope with the impossibility of living with the tension of being alive in our current form for a finite period of time.
In dreams we attempt to resolve inner conflict, to bridge opposing ideas and concepts that produce tension in the conscious mind. In the dream state we experience the parts of ourselves that we suppress in waking life, and our dreams are often preoccupied with contact with those rejected elements through fighting, sex, or conversation.
Astrology can also be of help. Even though to the rational mind astrology appears ridiculous, in fact, there is a strong rational argument for its use as a symbolic system. In addition, experience tells us that considered use of its information helps us both to understand ourselves and also to navigate the times in which we live.
