Conflict Aspects?
Maritha Pottenger
Astrology has a long history of ambivalence about so-called “conflict” or “challenging” or “hard” aspects. In the “good old days,” life was simple: squares were “bad” and that was that. Squares and oppositions meant trouble. The open-minded astrologer who does even a hundred charts rapidly realizes that many highly successful individuals have horoscopes with lots of squares and other “conflict” aspects.
The next development was a swing to the opposite extreme. “Squares show energy that is needed to achieve. People without squares are lazy and won’t do anything.” That overgeneralization also proved to be untrue if people only took the time to look at charts and correlate them to people’s lives.
The next stage was “All aspects are just energy. You can do whatever you want; it is up to you.” This is sufficiently general to be hard to combat. After all, in a sense, all of LIFE is energy—differently applied. However, it is our experience that squares (and oppositions and quincunxes) do have some inherent meaning: they point to different drives, different sides of human experience which—by their very nature—tend to conflict. That is, it is difficult to do these drives together—at least to their fullest extent. (We can, of course, compromise, by doing a little bit of each, or by doing them in different times—taking turns, or at different places in our lives.)
In a sense this position can be reduced to “all aspects are energy,” but that generalization will lead you astray by making it sound TOO easy. (My favorite quote from Virginia Satir: “Life is simple; it just ain’t easy!”) It is important to RECOGNIZE and attempt to CONSCIOUSLY DEAL with the inherent conflict and ambivalences of squares, oppositions, etc. If we dismiss them as “just energy,” we may take too lightly an issue that requires quite a bit of discipline and effort to integrate.
However, it is equally destructive to become seriously alarmed when certain aspects appear. Unfortunately, there are still many astrologers who become terrified by certain transits (“Oh NO, Saturn is going to be square my Sun for MONTHS”) in their own or their clients charts (“Poor dear is undergoing her Saturn Return and has Uranus opposite her Ascendant”). Some set themselves up for self-fulfilling prophecies because of their beliefs about synastry (“So I referred him out because his Saturn fell on my Moon and his South Node squared my Sun and his Pluto opposed my Mars so I just know doing a reading for him would be hopeless.”).
Challenge aspects are just that—a challenge to our ingenuity and self-discipline to find ways to incorporate ALL the different sides of life, making them complementary and fulfilling rather than limiting and conflicting. Challenge aspects are a neon sign in the sky to areas we ought to examine more closely. Once integrated, these different sides of our nature can help one another out. All conflict aspects, when blended in a reasonable manner, show sides of our psyche which are helpful to one another. Life is wholeness and the more different (and sometimes contradictory) sides of our being we can include, the more versatile, effective and self-actualizing we become.
This article will examine conflicts to the fire letters (1, 5, 9) of the astrological alphabet. We will take up the other elements in future issues. The natural conflicts in the zodiac (the square, opposition and quincunx) point to areas of life that—despite their conflicts—DO need each other. It is quite common that an overdose in one area of life can often be BEST served by expressing the nature of the natural opposition, square or quincunx. Examples will give some mundane (outer world) possibilities along with psychological principles. The outer reflects the inner. If we experience conflicts involving certain individuals, they are keys to the associated issues in our lives. Once we reach an inner balance, the outer balance follows naturally.
LETTER ONE
The natural conflict aspects to Letter 1 show other aspects of the psyche which must be balanced with self-assertion and self-expression for a full life. Even though conflict aspects may be initially experienced as pointing to areas of ambivalence (“I want it, but I don’t” or “I want this, but I also want that—which conflicts”), once we make room for both, by a compromise position or through taking turns, we create a fuller, richer life.
Doing what I want (Letter 1) must be balanced with what others want (opposition to Letter 7), the rules and roles of society (square to Letter 10) and my dependency and nurturance needs and instincts (square to Letter 4). Personal power (Letter 1) must be balanced with shared power or joint power (quincunx to Letter 8). Spontaneous action (Letter 1) has a place, but so does careful, painstaking, step-by-step analysis and accomplishment (Letter 6).
In the following table, think of each line as a sentence, such as “The SELF-WILL of Letter 1 must be balanced with the SOCIETAL LIMITS of Letter 10.”
LETTER CONFLICT ASPECT LETTER
1 squares 10
self-will |
societal limits |
drive |
discipline |
gas pedal |
brakes |
personal wants |
responsibilities |
spontaneity |
caution |
“me” |
authority figures |
personal hobbies |
career |
impulsiveness |
patience |
1 squares 4
independence |
dependency |
loner instincts |
nurturing instincts |
“me” |
home and family |
assertion |
protection |
extroverted |
inward |
“me” |
nurturing parent |
courageous |
sensitive |
pioneering |
preserving the past |
1 opposes 7
self |
other |
acting |
reacting |
loner |
partner |
self |
grandparent |
action |
thinking |
impulsive |
fence-sitting |
assertive |
cooperative |
me first |
other-directed |
1 quincunxes 6
quick |
painstaking |
begin & move on |
thorough |
self-expression |
work |
what I want |
colleagues’ needs |
spontaneity |
discipline |
free, unconfined |
precise orderliness |
impulsive action |
productive efforts |
focus on personal desires |
focus on flaws to correct |
1 quincunxes 8
initiation |
completion |
personal power |
shared power |
immediate action |
obsessing over next step |
direct, open |
secretive |
expressive |
inward |
“me” |
mate |
freedom |
intimacy needs |
once over lightly |
to the end |
LETTER FIVE
The natural conflict aspects point to parts of life which need to be balanced with Letter 5 in order to have a fuller life. Being “special” (King or Queen for the day) must be balanced with a sense of the equality of all humans (Letter 11). Loving and giving to lovers and children (Letter 5) needs to be equalized with personal pleasure pursuits (Letter 2). Being a star (Letter 5) has to make room for a deep intimate relationship of shared power (Letter 8). Close, loving attachments (Letter 5) are not everything; a sense of faith in the universe and unconscious trust in something bigger than personal power (Letter 12) are also essential. Creative zest and outthrust (Letter 5) must be brought into reality through hard work and applied competence as personal will again meets the limits that are part of the nature of the world (Letter 10).
LETTER CONFLICT ASPECT LETTER
5 squares 8
onstage |
hermit |
children |
mate |
King or Queen |
equal |
extravagance |
thrift |
indulgent |
self-controlled |
expressive |
secretive |
power as creative joy |
power as self-mastery |
investing |
return on investments |
5 squares 2
risk-taker |
security-oriented |
emotional |
practical |
dramatic/exaggerative |
down-to-earth |
love |
pleasure |
indulging loved ones |
indulging self |
sexuality |
sensuality |
wanting to do more |
complacent/satisfied |
focus on love |
focus on possessions |
5 opposes 11
heart |
head |
King or Queen |
equalitarian |
lovers |
friends |
children |
friends |
love relationships |
causes/groups |
passion |
detachment |
pride in self |
self-proportion |
larger than life |
objective |
5 quincunxes 12
self-importance |
self-effacement |
extraverted |
inward |
easy to read/obvious |
mystical/unclear |
ego-involved |
One with universe |
love relationships |
spiritual needs |
self-confidence |
faith in Higher Power |
confront |
Retreat |
play |
Pray |
5 quincunxes 10
grandiose |
facing limits |
creative outbursts |
step-by-step |
love relationships |
career demands |
love of power |
power = responsibility |
gambling instincts |
cautious |
self-confident |
self-blocking |
ruler (“I have a right to what I want”) |
executive (“I carry out the law”) |
children/childish |
parents/authoritarian |
LETTER NINE
The natural conflict aspects point to areas of life which require integration in order for us to have the most fulfilling experiences. Honesty and bluntness (Letter 9) are appropriate at some times, while compassion and “stretching” the truth (opposition to Letter 12) are appropriate at other time. We need both an intellectual, conscious faith (Letter 9) and an emotional, unconscious faith and trust (Letter 12). Our ideals and long-range goals (Letter 9) have to be in harmony with the consensual reality of people right around us (opposition and square to Letters 3 and 6), especially our capacity to handle the nitty-gritty details of life (square to Letter 6). The broad reach for ultimate understanding (Letter 9) requires the nourishment of a secure home base and solid emotional support (quincunx to Letter 4). The restless, expansive quest orientation (Letter 9) would exhaust us if we lacked the ability to sometimes relax, kick back, take it easy and just enjoy life’s simple pleasures (quincunx to Letter 2).
LETTER CONFLICT ASPECT LETTER
9 squares 12
conscious faith |
unconscious faith |
intellectual world view |
intuitive understanding |
truth/bluntness |
compassion/tact/lies |
exploring outer world |
exploring inner world |
rational |
intuitive/psychic |
education |
inner wisdom |
insatiable/expansive |
contemplative/absorptive |
in-laws/grandchildren |
societal victims |
9 squares 6
ideals/long-range goals |
immediate reality |
overview |
details |
in-laws/grandchildren |
colleagues |
quest for meaning |
duties at work |
looking for the best |
looking for flaws |
faith/trust |
testing/skepticism |
intellectual understanding |
real life experience |
wheeler-dealer |
pragmatist |
9 opposes 3
long-range goals |
short-range goals |
higher education |
early education |
formal learning |
informal learning |
in-laws/grandchildren |
siblings/relatives |
knowledge about meaning |
knowledge for its own sake |
inspirational |
everyday |
fraught with significance |
casual/flippant |
Higher Truths |
consensual reality |
9 quincunxes 2
spiritual needs |
sensual/material needs |
great schemes |
sensible/down-to-earth |
aspirations |
possessions |
expansion |
complacency |
morals/ethics |
pleasure principle |
faith in Higher Power |
rely on physical senses |
in-laws/grandchildren |
personal pleasures |
adventurous |
solid/stuck-in-the-mud |
9 quincunxes 4
exploring world |
secure home base |
in-laws/grandchildren |
children/home/family |
world-citizen |
super-patriot |
risk-taker |
plays it safe |
broadened horizons |
roots |
travel |
stay at home |
intellectual |
emotional |
expressive |
holding in |
honest/blunt |
protective/empathic |
Naturally any of you could expand these tables and concepts. I hope that you will explore further the ways in which “conflict” aspects can be supportive of one another, and point to drives/areas of life which need one another for the fullest, most satisfying existence.