Th e Cosmic Egg Timer Introducing Astrological Psychology by Joyce Hopewell and Richard Llewellyn HopeWell Knutsford, England First published in the U.K. in 2004 by HopeWell. Second revised 2011 edition was reworked and improved and did not include the cartoons from the original. This third edition further revised 2018, with illustrations newly in colour. HopeWell 130 Grove Park, Knutsford Cheshire WA16 8QD, U.K. Copyright © Joyce Hopewell & Richard Llewellyn 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, sorted in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Edited by Barry Hopewell. Cover image courtesy of agsandrew and Shutterstock. ISBN 978-0-9956736-2-5 Dedicated to Bruno and Louise Huber, pioneers of this wonderful new synthesis of astrology and modern growth psychology. About the Authors Richard Llewellyn began studying astrology with the Mayo School, gaining their Diploma in 1981. On discovering the work of Bruno and Louise Huber at their Astrological Psychology Institute (API) in Zurich, he became inspired by their psychological approach to astrology, soon gaining the API Diploma. Supported by the Hubers Richard co-founded the UK-based correspondence school API(UK) in 1983, served as principal and then principal emeritus for many years. He also completed a three year professional training with the Psychosynthesis & Education Trust. Joyce Hopewell’s early career was as a teacher and social worker. After being awarded her API Diploma in 1987 she took over as principal of API(UK) in 1991, and has been principal emeritus of the newly formed Astrological Psychology Association since 2006. Joyce has a Diploma in Personal Psychosynthesis, has featured in a popular monthly astrological psychology programme on local radio, and produced a regular blog on astrological psychology. Both Richard and Joyce have extensive experience of astrological counselling, course tutoring and facilitation of experiential workshops in astrological psychology and psychosynthesis. Each has spoken at international astrology conferences. Contents 1. Introduction 1 3. The Five Levels of Human Existence 12 4. Looking at the Whole Chart 19 5. Aspect Patterns 28 6. The Planets and Psychological Drives 45 7. The Signs 61 8. The Houses and the Environment 80 9. Nature versus Nurture 97 10. Life Clock 110 11. Psychological and Spiritual Growth 122 12. Bringing It All Together 132 Bibliography 154 vi 1 1. Introduction “The basic concept of astrological psychology is based on the understanding of man as a whole; he has a psyche which is linked with the environment, but he is also a spiritual entity who can be responsible for itself.” Bruno and Louise Huber, API code of ethics There is today an increasing desire of people to understand and develop themselves, and find their own true role in assisting humankind to find a just and sustainable way of living on the Earth. There are many paths towards this goal, including various religions, philosophies and psychologies. This book focuses on one of these – astrological psychology. Since ancient times astrology has helped people to understand themselves and their place in the universe. The twentieth century saw the development of the modern science of psychology. As this unfoldment proceeded, there came an increasing awareness that astrology and psychology can offer complementary insights into the development of the human being. Pioneers in investigating this convergence were the Swiss astrologers and psychologists Bruno and Louise Huber, who developed their own simplified psychological approach to astrology after years of research in collaboration with Roberto Assagioli, founder of the growth psychology known as psychosynthesis. The method developed by the Hubers both cut down and extended traditional approaches to astrology. The most important and best correlated features of astrology were included, and less important features omitted. Radical new approaches were incorporated – notably the use of colour and intuitive images in the birth chart, the psychological meaning of patterns of aspects, recognition of cycles of energy in the astrological houses, the Family Model which enables understanding of key childhood influences, and the Life Clock which highlights influences at work at different times of life. The result is a powerful tool, both for self-understanding and for helping others in their own lives. Detailed exploration of the Huber approach invariably changes the lives of those so engaged, and enables them to touch the lives of others. 2 The Cosmic Egg Timer The Hubers’ teachings were initially presented in the German language. They founded the Astrological Psychology Institute (API) at Zurich in 1968, offering courses leading to a professional Diploma qualification. After studying extensively with the Hubers, Richard Llewellyn and Pam Tyler founded an English-language correspondence school of astrological counselling in 1983. Since then over a thousand students from across the world have passed through this school, originally API(UK) and then the Astrological Psychology Association. Joyce Hopewell was for many years its Principal and is now Principal Emeritus. As well as being prime source material for those learning astrological psychology, we hope that this work will be of interest to the general reader seeking more insight into themselves and their own growth process. It should be of particular interest to astrologers and psychologists/ counsellors who are not familiar with the Huber approach, but wish to gain an insight into it. Making effective use of this book You are likely to gain much more from this book if you read it in conjunction with looking at your own birth chart, drawn in the Huber style. If you do this, you will not only better understand the material presented, but also find out more about your own inner self – who you are, where you have come from, where you are going and what might be the blockages to your own growth. You could also look at the charts of one or two family or friends, perhaps gaining some insight into what makes them tick. But beware that the chart does not dictate what you are; it shows potential that may or may not be realised in any particular human being. We hope that this taste of what can be unveiled and achieved will whet your appetite to further your study and practice of this exciting approach to astrological psychology. Be aware that you will need to study the subject in greater depth before you can consider using this approach in a practical counselling situation. For resources to help your further study, see the website www.astrologicalpsychology.org. 3 2. Astrological Psychology in Context “Astrology must be reborn and must perform again for our modern world, made chaotic by an unbridled and false individualism and by the sudden opening of psychological dams, the task of practical integration that has always been its own.” Dane Rudhyar, The Astrology of the Personality 1936 Historical Context Occasionally on a clear night, even in the modern world, you might happen on a dark place, miles from any bright lights. Standing there, are you not awe-struck by the wonder of the heavens? Surely there is meaning, as well as beauty, here. In these days of electric lighting it is easy to forget just how important the stars and planets were for our ancestors. The heavens were naturally the subject of observation and speculation, and correlations were often noticed between events on earth and configurations of the heavens. It seems likely that the Sumerians established the basis of modern astrology around 6000BC. Since then astrological ideas have gone through periods of popularity, and through periods of neglect and denial. A notable flowering came in the ancient Greek era; in 560 BC Asklepius established at Kos the first of many temples based on three prime disciplines – astrology, mythology and interpretation of dreams. Astrology was then a prime tool for understanding the human psyche. In the second century AD Ptolemy established a synthesis of Hellenistic astrology/ astronomy that has been influential to this day. After the so-called Dark Ages, the 15th century European Renaissance was fired by the rediscovery of Greek ideas, leading to the religious Reformation and the rise of modern science. Astrologers such as Johannes Kepler and Marcilio Ficino were prime movers in this process, as was the alchemist Isaac Newton. This rise of science has led to the technological wonders of the modern world. However, with the coming of the so-called Enlightenment, the new scientific emphasis on objectivity, reductionism and materialism soon began to dominate public discourse in the West, generally disparaging astrology and even spirituality. 4 The Cosmic Egg Timer The last century has seen the culmination of a number of trends which apparently threaten the future of humanity itself – massively rising world population, an aggressive capitalism founded on the oil- based economy, leading to environmental degradation and massive species loss, destruction of indigenous communities and their way of life, not to mention ever-more-destructive and inhumane methods of warfare. Humanity is in crisis. Our civilisation, as many in history, is threatened with various disasters largely of its own making. What can be done to address such a crisis, and how can astrology, often denigrated through the ages by both religion and science, help? Psychology and Spirituality Just as the 20th century began to see the worst fruits of materialism, it also saw the green shoots of a new and sustainable way of looking at things. With the creation of the science of psychology in the early 1900s, notably through the work of Sigmund Freud, we began to understand what makes human beings tick. Carl Jung’s psychology moved on and embraced symbolism and dreams, adding the concept of synchronicity – meaningful coincidence. The psychological knowledge of the Greeks was being reclaimed and carried forward. Increased exposure to Eastern religions was also leading to new ideas of spirituality gaining ground in the West, driven by major figures such as H. P. Blavatsky and Alice Bailey. Roberto Assagioli began to bring these threads together by establishing the psychology of psychosynthesis, which takes into account the transpersonal or spiritual dimensions of experience. Assagioli developed a model of the personality – the Egg – that encapsulates its conscious and unconscious aspects and its link with the divine. In the middle of the Egg is the conscious personal self, surrounded by its field of conscious self awareness (the Assagioli’s Egg