Conflict Aspects?
Maritha Pottenger
This article is the final one in the series begun with the Virgo 1986 issue. The thesis is that although conflict aspects point to competing sides of lives, they also indicate drives which NEED one another. The goal of integration requires not ignoring any side of a conflict, but finding ways and means through which to express all the myriad sides of our being. Life continually offers us tests of our capacity to synthesize, to take turns, to moderately express our sometimes contradictory drives in fashions that are fulfilling.
This issue will examine conflicts with the water (4, 8 and 12) letters of the astrological alphabet. Conflict aspects (squares, quincunxes and oppositions) show us fundamental human drives which can seem contradictory or at odds with one another, and yet still need each other. Too much of one may be solved by doing a bit more of another. A complete life will include all facets. The examples given here will cover outer world potentials as well as inner possibilities. The outer reflects the inner. Conflicts with various individuals in our lives can point to inner struggles crying for integration within the psyche. The more balanced we can be internally, the easier external balance becomes.
LETTER FOUR
Conflict aspects to Letter 4 show other sides to our nature which must be balanced with our desire for nurturance, dependency, emotional security, and a sense of roots. Balance requires being able to look after others, but also being able to lean on other people. It encompasses emotional attachments without smothering or excessive neediness. Integration includes establishing a nest, a sense of home, of family which provides a psychological ground of security, safety and trust.
Home, family, and domestic issues must be balanced with career ambitions, pragmatism and the desire for control (opposition to Letter 10). The emotional desire to protect and/or be protected must be integrated with personal freedom and independence (square to Letter 1) as well as the drive for equality and partnership (square to Letter 7). The emotional, absorbing instincts of Letter 4 are complimented by the detached, individualistic drives of Letter 11 (a quincunx). The home-oriented, nesting drives of Letter 4 are complimented by the adventurous, truth-seeking, exploring themes of Letter 9 (a quincunx).
In the following table, think of each line as a sentence, such as “The nurturing focus of Letter 4 must be balanced with the hard-nosed approach of Letter 10.”
LETTER CONFLICT ASPECT LETTER
4 opposes 10
|
home/family |
career |
|
compassion/sensitivity |
pragmatism |
|
dependency |
dominance |
|
mother(ing) |
father(ing) |
|
inner needs |
outer achievements |
|
unifying/sharing |
linear/hierarchical |
|
family attachments |
place in society |
|
softness/vulnerability |
control/authority |
4 squares 1
|
attachments |
go it alone |
|
dependency/nurturance |
freedom |
|
home/family |
personal desires |
|
assimilative (“chewing cud”) |
spontaneous/impulsive |
|
supportive parent |
self |
|
inward |
extroverted |
|
timid/cautious |
courageous/rash |
|
sense of history/past |
pioneering |
4 squares 7
|
home/family |
partnership |
|
parent (role) |
partner (role) |
|
dependency/nurturance |
equality |
|
absorbing |
space between |
|
blood ties |
chosen connections |
|
protective |
just/fair |
|
unconscious |
conscious |
|
family systems |
social realities |
4 quincunxes 9
|
home/roots |
the open road |
|
dependency/nurturance |
freedom |
|
protection/gentleness |
honesty/bluntness |
|
emotional |
intellectual |
|
parent |
in-laws/grandchildren |
|
cautious/careful |
risk-taker/gambler |
|
inward/introverted |
outward/extroverted |
|
seeking security |
seeking truth |
4 quincunxes 11
|
emotional attachments |
independence |
|
parent/child |
friends |
|
family ties |
humanitarian instincts |
|
emotional |
detached/intellectual |
|
personal |
transpersonal |
|
absorbing/unifying |
individualistic/separate |
|
seeks security/familiar |
seeks change/experimentation |
|
caring/protective |
objective/fair |
LETTER EIGHT
The natural conflict aspects point to other drives in our nature which need to be balanced with Letter 8 for a full, happier life. Self-control and self-mastery can be carried to an extreme if we deny our desire for pleasure, indulgence and physical gratifications (opposition to Letter 2). The deep, unifying, merging instincts expressed with a mate of Letter 8 require the complementary individualism and uniqueness of Letter 11 (a square). The deep, probing instincts of Letter 8 also require the counterpoint (another square) of Letter 5’s zestful outpouring of love, self-expression and creativity. The shared power of Letter 8 must be balanced with the personal power and willfulness of Letter 1 (a quincunx). The depth, intensity and to-the-death attitudes symbolized by Letter 8 are appropriate sometimes, while the light-hearted, carefree casualness of Letter 3 (another quincunx) are more appropriate at other moments in life. There is room for all.
LETTER CONFLICT ASPECT LETTER
8 opposes 2
|
self-mastery |
self-indulgence |
|
intimacy drives |
material desires |
|
“ours” |
“mine” |
|
intense/passionate |
laid-back/easygoing |
|
emotional |
practical |
|
mate |
possessions |
|
depth understanding |
comfort |
|
money from others |
self-earned money |
8 squares 5
|
inward |
outward/spontaneous |
|
equal partners |
King/Queen |
|
self-mastery |
self-expression |
|
secretive |
on stage |
|
mates |
children |
|
thrifty/controlled |
extravagant |
|
return on investments |
investments |
|
power as a path to transform the self |
power as joy |
8 squares 11
|
intimacy |
independence |
|
emotional |
intellectual |
|
intense |
detached |
|
do-the-death |
runaway |
|
mates |
friends |
|
security |
risk |
|
change through digging deeper |
change through moving forward |
|
self-controlled |
free-wheeling |
8 quincunxes 1
|
intimacy needs |
personal freedom |
|
inward/reflective |
spontaneous/rash |
|
mate |
“me” |
|
contemplation |
action |
|
thorough |
moves on quickly |
|
secretive |
open/direct |
|
shared power |
personal power |
|
buried resentments |
open anger |
8 quincunxes 3
|
finishing/enduring |
once over lightly |
|
intense |
lighthearted |
|
deep, committed |
casual, flippant |
|
mates |
relatives |
|
emotional |
mental |
|
total focus |
curious about everything |
|
secretive/hermit |
articulate/social |
|
depth |
breadth |
LETTER TWELVE
Conflict aspects indicate facets of our own being we need to incorporate along with our desire for infinite love and beauty (Letter 12). Our idealistic side must be balanced with the practicalities of life and the nitty-gritty demands of work and health (the opposition to Letter 6). Our mystical, intuitive side is complimented by our capacity to understand other people and communicate easily and freely with those around us (square to Letter 3) as well as our quest for meaning, understanding and truth about life (square to Letter 9). Too much loss of ego boundaries (merging with the Universe) can be balanced by taking center stage through our creative acts which bring applause and admiration (quincunx to Letter 5). Faith and the pursuit of a dream have their place, but so do close, sharing relationships (quincunx to Letter 7). We must build our lives in such a fashion as to have a bit of everything.
LETTER CONFLICT ASPECTS LETTER
12 opposes 6
|
mystical/idealistic |
realistic |
|
faith in God |
“do it yourself” |
|
cosmic experiences |
tangible results |
|
gurus/victims |
co-workers |
|
intuitive |
logical |
|
focus on the positive |
flaw-finding |
|
wholistic |
bits and pieces |
|
unconscious guidance |
practical routines |
12 squares 3
|
intuitive |
rational |
|
need for inspiration |
social needs |
|
God/Goddess |
relatives/neighbors |
|
Oneness/unifies |
compares/contrasts |
|
sensitive/gentle |
flippant/casual |
|
trusts/has faith |
questions |
|
unconscious |
conscious |
|
Ultimate Answers |
everyday experience |
12 squares 9
|
kind/compassionate |
honest/blunt |
|
intuitive |
intellectual |
|
exploring within |
exploring outside |
|
inner wisdom |
education/learning |
|
victims/rescuers |
in-laws/grandkids/teachers/ministers |
|
unconscious faith |
conscious faith |
|
contemplation |
searching |
|
Perfection is reconnecting with the Source |
Perfection is to be found by active seeking/searching |
12 quincunxes 5
|
one-with-universe |
special/royal, personal pride |
|
inward/contemplative |
expressive |
|
need for inspiration |
need for applause |
|
mystical/many-layered |
clear/obvious |
|
faith in a Higher Power |
self-confident |
|
pray |
play |
|
spiritual needs |
desire for human love |
|
retreat/avoid |
face/confront |
12 quincunxes 7
|
spiritual needs |
partnership needs |
|
unconscious |
conscious |
|
victims/helpers |
peers/equals |
|
unifying/blending |
opposites/polarities |
|
Higher Power |
people |
|
nonverbal understanding |
verbal sharing |
|
global |
linear |
|
Higher Truths |
consensual reality |
Naturally, all of these tables could be expanded with your own ideas and insights. I hope that you will explore these concepts further and discover additional ways in which “conflict” aspects can be supportive of/complementary to one another. All the parts contribute to the Whole; our task is to make the best synthesis we know how from day to day.