Two astrology books that influenced my philosophy are the KISS Guide to Astrology and Alan Oken’s Complete Astrology.

Alan Oken’s book goes into detail about planets’ and signs’ relationships to mythology, symbolism, seasons, colors, anatomy, and even occupations.

The KISS Guide has beautiful mythical paintings of the planets and signs personified. For me, this gave astrology a kind of emotional context that nothing else has. In Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine mentions the felt sense, and how images can evoke emotions and physical sensations in the body, giving us access to information that goes beyond purely logical thought.

After consulting these books, Aquarius is no longer just a list of keywords. It becomes a collection of images, stories, colors, and associations that combine to evoke an inner understanding of the feeling of Aquarius.

Once the signs and planets begin to feel this vivid and alive, astrological placements become like different characters within a person.

Recently in therapy, I started doing some parts work using Internal Family Systems.

An individual human being is not a flat cardboard cutout. We are filled with competing impulses pulling us in different directions every hour of the day. One part wants to move forward. Another part is afraid. Another wants recognition. Another wants security.

Both astrology and IFS give those different impulses symbolic personalities.

Throughout the I Ching, there are references to the superior man and inferior man, along with descriptions of how each behaves. Taken at face value, this could seem to mean harshly eradicating all that is inferior. But I don’t think the goal is to destroy or suppress the so-called “inferior” parts.

In IFS, there is a notion of “the Self” that is the calm, wise, compassionate presence that leads the inner parts without trying to get rid of them.

With astrology, we can become aware of all of our placements and our inner mythology. As we gain this awareness, we can allow these different voices to exist without letting any completely take over. We can become more conscious of the story taking place inside us.

Instead of being confused, overwhelmed, or even angry about our own contradictions, we can begin to give ourselves more space to listen to our feelings and then consciously choose a response that honors our whole Self.