A Depth Psychological Approach to Astrology

"Its value is obvious enough to the psychologist, since astrology represents the sum of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity."

C.G. Jung

I understand and approach astrology from a depth psychological perspective. My training and study is primarily in Archetypal and Evolutionary Astrology. I value the profound foundation and framework astrology provides for the discovery of self-knowledge, the soul's evolutionary path,  and life purpose. I believe the insights offered through astrology are meant to be used for higher understanding of ourselves and our place in creating and sustaining the greater good.

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I originally learned astrology using the Koch and Placidus house systems, but in 2020 I switched to the Whole Signs system. The switch was for a number of reasons, but primarily my clients' nodal path stories are far more accurate in Whole Signs... because with Whole Signs the house placement of the South/North Nodes may move to the next house. Your Sun and Moon or planetary house placement may also change to the next one versus where they are with Koch, Placidus, or Porphyry. Please feel free to contact me with questions about this. peggyschick@gmail.com.

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In this paragraph, I used to list all of the astrology teachers that have influenced me the most. The list kept getting longer and longer, and I stopped listing people completely because I was afraid I would miss someone important. These days, I realize the teachers I am the most grateful to are Jupiter, Pluto, Chiron. Their instruction is loud and clear, and I am their grateful student and interpreter.

In my view, astrology is not and should never be used as a deterministic or fatalistic tool. We are in charge of our lives, after all. Our astrological charts are not in charge of us. Each person's chart provides a framework of understanding and deep insight into their personality, their life, their work, and their soul's path. Our charts help us better understand our behavioral patterns, challenges, and yearnings.

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Good astrology is not represented in the "horoscopes" and pop astrology we see in newspapers and magazines. Not even close. An individual person's natal chart is far more complex (and far, far more interesting!) than that. A responsible astrological interpretation reveals uncanny, very personal truths. I like to put it this way: a catch-all horoscope is to astrology as a french fry is to the whole of French culture! (Not even truly French. Not truly astrology, either.)

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Astrology is a wisdom tradition, based on and experienced through empirical observation over 5,000 years. It is archetypal, it is an art, and it is a symbolic language. It was used by Plato, Galileo, and Jung, among countless other respected minds. Astrology continually evolves to reflect culture and society in the contemporary age.

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There is a beautiful, synchronous patterning linking a person's unique approach to life and the position of celestial bodies at the time and place the person was born. It is proof that we truly are children of the universe. Cultural historian and Professor of Philosophy and Psychology Richard Tarnas wrote in his 2006 book Cosmos and Psyche, after conducting thorough analysis of astrological data, "The coincidence between planetary positions and appropriate biographical and psychological phenomena was in general so precise and consistent as to make it altogether impossible for me to regard the intricate patterning as merely the product of chance."

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That astrology can't be proven by the scientific method was once a point of frustration for me, as someone who grew up in a family of engineers and studied biology in college. I used to have the goal of one day researching the science behind astrology, to understand how it could possibly work, to make it valid. But after giving readings to so many intelligent, educated people, readings that bring already insightful people a new level of self-knowledge, I decided I don't need science to make astrology valid. In fact, that it can't be validated by science makes astrology all the more meaningful to me.

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We and The Cosmos share archetypal patterns. It's a phenomenal mystery why this is so. But by understanding these patterns we gain an amazingly helpful set of psychological tools for understanding ourselves. When we understand ourselves, we can then put the fruits of our own individuation into the collective psyche--out into the morphic field, as biologist and author Rupert Sheldrake describes it--and make the world a better place.

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I believe we are at the cusp of experiencing a profound transition in global consciousness, as we recognize and remember that there is more to our lives than meets the eye on the average day. Many of us are open to this higher awareness and are making it a part of our regular way of being, so that in channeling our highest vibration, we may help humanity as a whole. Everyone has the higher awareness within them, and it is my hope that by introducing more people to the rich insights offered in astrology I will help them make meaning of their lives, and help make their human experience more loving and more aligned with Mother Earth as the planet we need to reconnect with most.

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