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A deck to explore archetypes according to Jung's psychological theories.
Made in 1983, the llustrations include astrological and psychological meanings according to Carl Gustav Jung's psychoanalytic theories. Each card represents an inner personality, behaviour and motivations, in a deck meant to symbolise the twelve personalities associated to astrological archetypes, along with all of their combinations. Twelve major cards are assigned to the zodiacal signs, and 66 minor ones to a specific planetary relations.
The deck
The authors, Peter Orban and Ingrid Zinnel, counted on Thea Weller's painting art to design 78 cards of 3.14" x 4.92" (there's also a pocket edition of 2.31" x 3.57"). They're not numbered and, instead, the deck's manual indicates the archetype associated to each one of them. The cards also hold within the astrological symbols of signs and planets.
The designs include several types of elements: scenes from Europeen lifestyle, religious components, mythical Greek figures and even characters from traditional story tales, like Pied Piper and The Sleeping Beauty. Although some specific cards include or allude to Eros, The Moiras, Pythia and The Furies, Mnemosyne is the main mythical figure.
The cards' designs display shadows frequently, which indicates where the deck's spirit can be found. Mnemosyne ("memory" in Greek language) is the mother of Muses, as well as the name of the card representing Cancer-Sagittarius relation, or Moon and Jupiter, memory and consciousness. The deck's spirit is for inner development, private exploration, so the authors don't think of it as a forecasting game: the cards were made to recall the memories of the different personalities alluded to by Jung in his theory. Those personalities are deduced by considering signs, planets and their relations. Symbolon precisely refers to synthezise the conscious experience with what remains separated, by remembering symbols of the collective memory, so the unconscious (what is repressed, denied, projected, splitted off) becomes consciousness.
Besides archetypical and shadow references, the cards also include several background elements, some of them decorative, some others with an evokating function. For example, Strategist shows a man and a chess board (the archetype belongs to Mercury's double rulership, or Gemini-Virgo relation). The man seems to have six eyes, although he doesn't look at the board with any of them. His two main eyes are more closed than opened, his glasses are too down to focus his sight through them, and the eyebrows seem like two arched eyes looking straightforwards although with a sad expression. His strategy doesn't seem too benefitial, if considering the planet is usually associated to the mind and intelligence. Maybe the card recalls the trickster, as the archetype who plays tricks and hoaxes, although inside of a game that is not being played. Strategist seems to be playing with major cards' archetypes: Mediator (Gemini), Mother (Cancer), King (Leo) and Servant (Virgo). At his feet, under the table, the opposites: Preacher (Sagittarius), Master (Capricorn), Jester (Aquarius) and Angel (Pisces), which join Seducer (Scorpio), although only Seducer and Angel have not fallen.
Another important characteristic is that several cards assigned to Pluto include relevant background elements for a reading. They are fictional or realistic elements, of complete or partial shapes. Abortion (Moon-Pluto, or Cancer-Scorpio) includes two cold witnesses of an already born baby (which is a murder rather than an abortion). Disaster (Venus in Libra-Pluto relation) is characterized by two disrtusful figures although connected by a dominating third figure whose claws grabs them both from behind. Depression (Saturn-Pluto, or Capricorn-Scorpio) displays a man inside of a cave, who is complemented by a headless figure, another one hanged by the neck, and the subliminal image of an either hanged horned animal on one of the walls, like a hunt trophy.
Use of the deck
The deck comes along with an explanatory manual describing each card position for a 3-cards reading: a problem (initial position), the way out of the problem (middle position), and the result (final position). The questions may be related to specific situations or events, relationships or more generic subjects.
Since each card also includes astrological symbols, the archetypes may symbolise birth charts! The major cards show a sign and its ruler, and the minor ones two signs and their rulers (signs always at the top, planets always at the bottom). Houses and aspects may also be considered. The risign sign's and Midheaven's rulers are the most important ones and, among the aspectations, the most exact ones are the strongest.
Mandala of houses
Composed by 12 archetypes by overlapping the birth chart to the Zodiac at rest. At rest, signs and houses are considered to be in natural relations. Aries is the Ist House (initiative), Taurus the 2nd House (wealth), Gemini the 3rd one (communication), Cancer the 4th (home), Leo the 5th (creativity), Virgo the 6th (rutines, service), Libra the 7th (couple), Scorpio the 8th (death), Sagittarius the 9th (purpose), Capricorn the 10th (society), Aquarius the 11th (friendship), and Pisces the 12th (retirement).
The archetype of each house is identified by gathering the house at rest with the sign where that house is in the birth chart. The chart's rising sign is always the 1st House. For example: if Gemini rising, the 2nd House (Taurus) is in Cancer. The archetype for wealth is:
Two Faces of Eve
Subjects: conflict, emotional ambivalence, two souls in a breast, wife and mistress.
Meaning: making a decision by facing two inner sides or characters (lover or mother). Both are distanced from each other.
Place of the planet
Gather the sign it rules with the sign of the natural house associated to the house it's emplaced on the birth chart. For example: if Plutoin Aquarius in the 12th House, gather Scorpio (Pluto) & Pisces (12th House). The person's retirement is characterized by:
False Halo
Subjects: the good and the evil, the idea of sky, fallen angel.
Meaning: Idols are shadows to be unmasked. They're next to the light's characteristics, so they both can be easily noticed and reconsidered as being part of the same thing. Shadow and light are definitory to each other: idols are not sacred.
Function of the planet
Gather the sign of the planet in the birth chart with the sign it rules. For example: if Pluto in Aquarius in the 1th House, gather Aquarius & Scorpio (Pluto). Pluto works under the form of:
Phoenix
Subjects: Metamorphosis, birds feathering, downfall and resurrection, disorientation, changing the skin.
Meaning: Outdated ideas and mental patterns will be left behind. Many situations will be no more. The past life will be gone. The mind is determined and has been set free from old circumstances.
Analysis of the planet
Gather the sign of the planet in the birth chart, with the sign of the natural sign corresponding to the house where it's emplaced on. For example: if Pluto in Aquarius in the 12th House, gather Aquarius with Pisces (12). The Phoenix (Pluto's function) is analyzed through the lens of:
Grail
Subjects: salvation, eternal search, lost knowledge, the unconscious, archetypes, primordial searching.
Meaning: Questions taking to wrong paths. Finding out that there're no answers.
Influence of the Rising sign and planets
Find the chart's ruler or choose a planet of interest, and make a list of the aspectations. Then focus on each one of them, one by one.
There's different types of aspectations. Conjunctions (0°) are of a Solar kind, and are associated to Leo. Sextiles (60°) are of a Venusian kind, associated to Taurus and Libra. Noviles (40°) are of a Martial kind, associated to Aries. Squares (90°) are of a Saturnine kind, associated to Capricorn. Trines (120°) are of a Jupiterine kind, associated to Sagittarius. Finally, oppositions (180°) are of a Lunar kind, associated to Cancer.
Once the aspectation has been chosen, gather the sign associated to the type of aspectation with the sign ruled by the other planet in the aspectation. For example: if interested in the Sun's influence, and Sun-Venus sextile has been chosen, gather Taurus (sextile's sign) with the two signs ruled by Venus (Taurus and Libra). There'll be several archetypes symbolising the Sun's influence produced through Venus. One of them will emerge under the form of the Lover (Taurus & Taurus), another one as Golden Cage (Taurus & Libra) and a third one as Couple (Libra & Libra).
Lover
Subjects: The value of holding, sociability, physical attractiveness.
Meaning: Giving a value to the own and developing it. Giving in and receiving pleasure. No need to change but reconsidering.
Couple
Subjects: Other people, relationship, compensation, Symbolon, mirror, supplement.
Meaning: Looking at other people and seeing a mirror where they look at themselves, too. Finding oneself in the others and bringing the own inner partners back into balance: dealing with and combining them.
Golden Cage
Subjects: a relationship as a prison, jealousy, holding on and buying loyalty.
Meaning: Possessing and being possessed inside of a convenient and unchanging situation. Mutual fertilization and growth are possible if allowing more freedom.
Birth chart's dialectic
This way to understand the birth chart is based on the 3-cards spread: there's a problem (the rising sign or Asc), a way out of it (solution, the Sun's sign) and a result (MC or Midheaven's sign). As it happens with planets, each archetype will be expressed in a specific place, according to a specific function. For example: if Gemini rising, Mercury in the 4th House, Sun in Leo in the 3rd one, MC in Taurus in the 10th one, and Venus in Gemini (MC's ruler):
Mediator is a problem at home (Asc's ruler in the 4th H), is expressed as Articulation (Gemini & Cancer: Asc's sign gathered with the sign of the natural house where the ruler is in). The problem functions as a King (Sun in Leo's archetype) under the form of Actor (Gemini & Leo: Asc's sign gathered with the Sun's sign).
Mediator
Subjects: intellect, contacting, actor, lightness.
Meaning: Missing Mercury's wings and most of his lightness. Looking at the situation and facing facts, from an objective and neutral point of view. Connecting the conscious and the unconscious.
Articulation
Subjects: speaking about feelings, as a way to connect the mind with both body and heart.
Meaning: Staying at the surface for avoiding getting in contact with feelings. Setting free from emotional terrors by facing them and talking about them.
King
Subjects: power, the will, glory, generator, creativity, sexuality.
Meaning: Where vibes, power and life are. Meeting the own identity, the self and all of its expressions. Returning to strength and vitality, so a new day begins. Being the heart inside of matter.
Actor
Subjects: self-role, borrowed identity, theater, intellectualising.
Meaning: By playing a role, a mask hides the own identity. By playing a game, it may also be found out. The game is for not identifying with it.
King is the way to solve the problem, and can be found where the person finds communication (Sun's house: 3) under the form of Actor (Leo & Gemini; Leo is always gathered with the sign of the natural house where the Sun is; the 3rd one corresponds to Gemini). Along the way, the King will always work as King (Leo & Leo; Leo always gathered with the Sun's sign, Leo).
Finally, the solution or product emerges as Lover, who is expressed in social areas (where the MC is: 10th H), under the form of Responsibility for the Creation (Taurus & Capricorn: MC' sign gathered with the sign of the natural house where it is; the 10th corresponds to Capricorn), although working as Golden Girl (Taurus & Gemini: MC's sign gathered with the sign where the ruler is; Venus rules Taurus, and is in Gemini).
Lover
Subjects: The value of holding, sociability, physical attractiveness.
Meaning: Giving a value to the own and developing it. Giving in and receiving pleasure. No need to change but reconsidering.
Responsibility fo the Creation
Subjects: responsibility for the world, cherishing, what is right.
Meaning: Feeling good while being next to the creatures of the world.
Golden Girl
Subjects: Cinderella, female competitor, value, Pechmarie, the beauty and the ugly, cult to romanticism.
Meaning: Self-esteem depends on comparisons.
Archetypes & symbols
Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961, Leo) was a Swiss psychoanalyst related to Sigmund Freud during his first years in the field. later, he founded his own perspective on analytical psychology, by widening the concept of individual unconsciousness and introducing a collective dimension of it. He also conceived the concept of libido out of the sexual connotation that Freud had exclusively assigned to it.
The emphasis on the connection between the individual psyche and cultural expressions made him include concepts from diverse areas: Anthropology, Alchemy, Arts, Mythology, Religions and Philosophy. Finally, he concluded that the psyche is expressed at different levels: consciousness, personal unconsciousness and collective unconsciousness. The Ego is in consciousness, the psychic place where the identity is found, providing time-space awareness. Whereas the individual unconsciousness is formed by both individual aspects as well as collective ones. The last ones are those culturally inherited, from one generation to the following ones, and work as universal psychic structures transmitting Humankind's psychological legacy.
That psychological inheritance may be appreciated in the individual experience and behaviour as archetypes. The psyche has a trascendental function when provides symbolic means for the unconscious to turn conscious by active ways. Those means may take the forms of myths, symbologies, dreams, speaking and some behavioural patterns. Any of them may embody an archetype under the form of an event, a figure or a subject. But an universal archetype doesn't necessary function as a symbol in the personal life: the experience make a collectively recognized archetype function or not as a symbol for personal development.
The process of individuation was another important concept in Jung's theory, and refers to the development of the Self-being by working on collective archetypes and personal complexes. The Self-being is the principle unifying the psyche, is both personal and transpersonal, and embraces consciousness and unconsciousness. It's the place where developmental impulses come from, which will synthezise all of the just mentioned characteristics: development of individual-collective potentialities, and those of the Ego (consciousness) with what is repressed (personal-impersonal).
Beyond their usage in analytical therapies, archetypes also considered for designing trademarks' profiles, advertising campaigns and acting roles. That's why many times they've remained associated to genre stereotypes, even confusing their eventual functionality as a mean for synthesis with identifications of a massive kind. In most of the people, when an evoked archetype functions as a symbol to connect the experience, it's due to a partial identification with some of its traits, or several of them.
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