Hey Brenten! I love these descriptions. Especially your Libra 9th "COEXIST" bumper sticker, which just feels too accurate. I also really liked how you mentioned the potential for projection in Leo/7th house. Perhaps this can go both ways: projecting and being projected onto. 

I was thinking the same about Pisces/2 and Taurus/12. I imagine Taurus/12 worshipping their things and Pisces/2 being okay with living very little. But depending on the given person, these two may attributes may switch or be the same. I guess we never know until we meet the person we're reading right? 

Virgo in the 8th house is also a beautiful and very resonant description. Thank you for these poetic reflections. 

Taurus 4th - A strong connection to the physical earth as home. An identification with Gaia as the mother and nurturer of this life and recognition of the gifts of the physical world that Gaia provides. There might be routines of putting feet into the dirt as a means of emotional recharge. Or allowing birdsong and sunshine to ground oneself in presence and safety. Out of balance, this might alienate a person from the very real social realm and keep them ignorant to complexities of human social life.

Scorpio 10th - There's an energy of recognizing the impermanence of all man made structures and allowing for those rules to change. Also perhaps there is a fueling of personal mission and authority via recognizing the transformative power of activism and social change. A person could get lost in overthrowing the social status quo that they forget to relax in the peace of nature. The Taurus 4th house earth ecosystem teaches that everything is already in harmony and nothing needs to be done. Be simple and let go of power struggles.

Gemini 5th - An intention here to gather and process information in an arena where recognition can be given and true selfhood can be expressed and seen. Perhaps this is someone who finds ways to show off what they know, like a trivia buff. They might become over inflated and proud, the "know it all" person. They can learn to not over focus on being seen as intelligent by zoom ing out to see that they are one small human being with limited knowledge.

Sagittarius 11th - Plato's phrase "all I know is that I know nothing" comes to mind for this. There's a liberation from the need to have all the answers or a synthesized belief. There's sincerity in releasing the need to form universal truths, on the high end. On the low end, one might become detached, and maybe nihilistic, that they give up inquiry and exploration altogether. However, the attention one can receive from displaying their knowledge to any type of audience, seen in the polarity, might energize this person back to life.

Cancer 6th - This pertains to how one cares for their own emotional stability and subsequently serving others in the same way. Do they have a cadence of personal emotional care via confiding in trusted friends or journaling their feelings? Are they growing in emotional capacity and healing themselves a little bit each day? Once they learn these lessons for themself they can share those gifts with others and the healer archetype emerges. They might start to drown in the seas of their emotion if they stay there too long, they need a structure to help them keep their head above water.

Capricorn 12th - This is about establishing structures and timing that facilitate transpersonal experiences. If I wake up at 4am and meditate for an hour each day for a week, then I will experience some sort of union with the divine. This archetype might over focus on the schedule at the expense of their spiritual psychology. Is the structure supporting spiritual growth or is it disconnected from the purpose? On the high side, they can establish long term dedication that supports productive spiritual growth. The cancer polarity reminds the sailor to contact the water and the weather rather than just the boat. Create alignment between the structure and true emotional and spiritual reality.

Hi Brenten,

Aquarius 1st- A desire to liberate from others opinions and to stand alone in objective personal choice. I'm thinking this could be someone who is very detached and can intellectually debate their position quite well. Intuitively, this pattern might push people away when used too often or in the wrong context.

Yes, its essence is to be true to oneself, one's path without concern with what it looks like. There can be defensivness if one projects that their individuality is being stifled from the outside.

Leo 7th- A intention to identify with and creatively express oneself through relationships. This polarizes Aquarius 1st house, by pulling an individual closer to others rather than pushing away. They might aim to create a unique relational dynamic that expresses the collective will of themself and their other person. A potentially myopic focus on me and my relationships and perhaps a lack of overall clarity of the truth of what's literally occurring in the relationship. On the low side the individual could be holding onto an internally crafted image of the relationship rather than the direct and living perception of it.

Excellent. There is potentially a high focus on mutual dignity and respect. One issue can be being overly identified with the approval/adoration/affection from another. Also giving to another according to how one wants to be given to, not according to the needs of their partner. 

Pisces 2nd- A knowingness of the Tao through tangible earthly moments, like watching an apple fall from a tree. The experience is of the mystery and infinity of the universe but it's experienced through something simple and common. This could also be through witnessing natural beauty and becoming lost in it. I'm wondering if this is more Taurus 12th house, though.

Naturally they are both similar. The essence of Pisces 2nd house is our self esteem and value and pleasure/embodiment in life comes from surrendering to the truth/ from the source. There can be a deep sense of contentment and peace in one's solitude, not needing more than what is given and an underlying trust that all is provided for in God. One of my first teachers Adam Gainsburg once called this signature "Homefulness". See my comments on other's posts for more on sexuality, discrimination etc.

Virgo 8th- The daily task of self refinement regarding ones dedication to their evolution and growth. Polarizing Pisces in the 2nd, which is blissed out yet ineffectual when encountering transpersonal phenomena. This archetype seeks to be effective and skillful when encountering the edges of reality, using these experiences as fuel for growth. They might have a task list full of intense experiences that could end up overloading them with un-integrated experiences. This invites the pisces 2nd house polarity to just chill out and look at the beauty around you without needing to do anything or go anywhere.

One issues with Pisces 2nd is lack of effort. All resources will run out if you are just expecting it all to work out. There might be a need to embrace the greater complexity of life: to share your resources, get involved in business, engage in energy exchange to circulate one's inner resources out in the world. Cultivate one's work in life and share it with others. Basic things like the need to make money/survival crisis might push the soul into Virgo 8th house which says there needs to be effort put into the details and cultivate one's self, become deeply self-aware of one's own inner soul reality. So there's a deep draw towards the inner psychological realms here as well. Embracing Virgo 8 might mean the innocence of Pisces 2nd is lost.

Ultimately this brings the inner resources out into circulation and makes them more available to the soul. Otherwise Pisces 2nd house can be this stark duality between abundance and purity everywhere vs total poverty and lack.

Aries 3rd- A yang approach to learning and information exchange that is self driven and active. There is a reaching into the sea of information for the data that this individual wants. A metaphorical spear fisherman, that is hunting the fish of information, if you will 🙂 In conversation, there might be a feeling that this person is directing it to get what they personally want out of it, rather than a balanced exchange.

Yes, and thus can be somewhat self-oriented in terms of their own intellectual impulses for learning/communicating/ whatever they are desiring to get out of it. Another issue is a lack of perspective. This is a hyper solo driven mind that might be impulsively drawn to study one thing one moment and then impulsively drawn to another thing but might lack the larger perspective as to what they really want to learn and WHY they want it, what are they truly seeking to know? It might not get very far and might use up a lot of energy in it's impulsivity. This can be difficult in relationship of course

Libra 9th- This is the COEXIST bumper sticker 🙂 A focus on making sure all beliefs are heard and respected. There might be challenge with navigating conflict when it comes up especially when looking at 9th house issues like religion or politics. There might be a muddying or blending of these belief systems to force harmony that end up denying their originality and flavor. There needs to be a mosaic of subcultures rather than a monolith without any variation.

That's so funny. It does resonate with the co-exist bumper sticker from the POV of accepting and validating other people's pathways. Yes to the essence of what you said. To refine one part: the muddying or blending of belief systems feels more like a Pisces 9th house issue. Here it's more about dishonesty (9th house) relative to the need to be liked/approved of/ be in affinity with others (Libra). So the need to be agreeable and thus not necessarily listening (Libra) to one's own inner truth. There can also be a hyper awareness of the validity of different cosmologies, thus not being able to really know what is true for oneself.

The pattern of dishonesty can result in alienation within relationship. Not feeling known or understood and thus have difficult time really being present and honest with other people. The key is to understand that intimacy and truth/truthfulness are the same thing. Potentially, these souls can be excellent teachers in that they can hear others, offer guidance but with respect to each person's path, without alienating others.

Thank you for your efforts Brenten! I can tell you have a very strong intuitive grasp of these archetypes. Keep going. Check out my responses to other students, and please feel free to ask questions on anything that needs further clarification.

@ari thank you for your thoughtful responses!

It's interesting to reflect on the relative ease or difficulty I have with articulating certain archetypes. Some of them feel self-evident and integrated while others are foreign and take some math. Looking at the polarity definitely helps clarify.

Your video reference to Krisnamurti for Sag 11th was spot on. Similarly, I read the Gospel of Thomas yesterday, which I hadn't known about and really enjoyed sinking my teeth into. I'm here for these nuggets that simultaneously teach me astrology and feed my spirit, so thank you! 

I'm finding some difficulty in separating sign and house, for example, how Pisces 2nd is different from Taurus 12th. In your many years of experience it seems that you can intuitively link a signature without showing the math to get there. I'm wondering what exactly is the pure equation to synthesize sign + house. I've heard Steven Forrest say that sign is the how or motivation and the house is the where or context, but I'm losing that distinction in how you articulate these signatures at times. Another example would be Cap 12th which you perspicuously call "spiritual discipline", but could this phrase not just as equally apply to Pisces 10th? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Absolutely 

Think of the sign as the style, the orientation. The house as the what or where.

House is the essence. Sign is what expresses in it.

So a sign acts in a particular way in that area of life experience of the house. The reason why I don't put so much emphasis on the getgo in differentiating the two, is because, for example, Pisces 10 and Cap 12 will each have similar qualities and at the level of interpretation we're working with now, I don't feel it's too important to be able to distinguish between the two.

As we look at planets in signs and houses, and even more so, as we practice looking at real charts, these differences will become more apparent.

However since you are bringing this forward, I will meet you there 100%. Pisces 10th corresponds to bringing forth Pisces in the area of 10th house. So this corresponds specifically to our work in the world, career, responsibilities, social roles etc. This can express in so many ways but to pick one quality of it: one's work will be to serve the masses. So setting up institutions that serve all people regardless of who they are. On the other hand one can lose oneself in a sort of martyrdom by way of taking responsibility to save everyone. This can lead to a need to retreat from the world and dissolve (Pisces) the roles (10th house). Or there can be a lack of discipline and boundaries because Pisces doesn't want to be defined, thus 10th house situations (job, family, work, roles) where the soul feels left behind, weak, unable to fully engage or feels lost in it all.

12th house is dealing with disillusionment, orienting towards absolute meaning. Here we are learning to orient time/space/structure/authority/discipline towards Truth. This can mean amongst 10,000 things, retreating from the world to meditate on timeless reality and wake up from the dream of separation just as much as it can mean doing work that serves to dissolve any sense of separation. It can also mean neglect or atriphication (12th house) of healthy boundaries and structures leading a soul to feel lost and without guidance.

You can see that both are very similar and kind of express the same issues. It's the planets and the personal context with the chart that makes it all more real. But they all both look very much the same.

Oh you used Pisces 2nd as your example. Either way, hopefully you get the gist. Feel free to delineate the two right here if you'd like. 

Pisces 2nd

Taurus 12th

Follow the orientation of house = essence/where. Sign = style.

@ari I'm drawing from this that starting with an understanding of the house container and then narrowing it to the sign expressing within it is an effective way to go about this. Before I had been starting with sign, which was less concrete than the house, in my opinion. The sign modifies the house.

Taurus 12th - This is about finding security and pleasure in the process of disillusionment or non-dual/transpersonal states. Or perhaps using the body or literal sensation in meditation as a means of accessing these states of consciousness. Perhaps a lower expression of this would be complacency due to a routinized comfort in this process of tuning into the Truth. That pattern of keeping things unchanged could create a foggy-ness and a sense of confusion rather than direct access to Truth. The solution is to realize that the only thing constant is change and to accept that security comes by not trying to hold onto a specific body/sensation experience but by continually allowing whatever experience is present.