What brought you to astrology?
Involvement in developing a community-based response to the myriad, interlocking crises on the planet today led me to pursue studies at Antioch University Seattle in 2005. I was and remain interested in the cognitive and psychospiritual shifts that need to happen in order to adapt the technological adolescent human to life on this planet. A very difficult life change during those studies caused me to open more towards spirituality, and I enrolled in a class called Psychology and Spirituality. We were assigned the first section of Richard Tarnas’ tome, Cosmos and Psyche, which concerns the nature of worldviews and their transformation, but there was no mention of the astrological thesis in that section or in the class.
Reading that piece as a standalone was very impactful and completely shifted how I understood humanity’s various responses to planetary pressures and crises, so I picked up the book at the Antioch bookstore. Several months later, upon completing my reading of Cosmos and Psyche, my entire worldview had been transformed, and my compassion for self and for the world was taken to a new level. From that point on, astrology and archetypal cosmology began to inform my understanding of the psychospiritual and cognitive shifts in perception that seem to be required to alter the ecocidal/suicidal trajectory of the human species today.I went on to study with Tarnas in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness graduate program he founded at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. While there, I founded an astrology study group (Coniunctio) to facilitate peer learning and create a space for learning more about the practice of astrology, which cannot be taught at accredited academic institutions.
Why do you practice astrology? What makes it juicy for you?
I am somewhat surprised to be practicing astrology, as that was not exactly the intention behind the Master’s degree I earned. However, through astrology I learn so much about the beauty of the diversity of life and of experience, and sustain a true reverence for the multiplicity of experience. It consistently enriches my life and teaches me how to be a better person and of better service to creation.As a practitioner, I enjoy offering a bridge between the intelligence of the cosmos and individual people as well as groups of people. Initiating conversations with the vast intelligence revealed by the movements of astrological bodies seems to rekindle an ancient yet vital knowing and sense of belonging in many people, which can be hard to come by in modern cultures. While I have been offering personal consultations for the past four years, I am moving into turning astrology towards the ends of cultural transformation.
Our planet Earth is undergoing profound transformation, and it is a joy to begin to synthesize my 14 years of study and practice of nonviolent social change with the archetypal precision and insight of astrology. It is especially heartening that more than just pointing out “how messed up everything is,” I can use an astrological perspective to reveal that we are actually part of something larger than ourselves, that there is a great intelligence to tap into and participate in. The more difficult aspect of this is in accepting that humanity is not in control of that greater intelligence or divinity. As Saturn (death) and the outer planets symbolize, we are sometimes simply swept aside by forces greater than the individual or society. It is a delicate process to reconcile oneself to that, with perhaps as many phases as the Moon and no guaranteed outcomes.
What is your specialty, or focus?
Through a website called Real Imaginal, I aim to revitalize the human relationship to the planetary archetype of Neptune in a process of re-enchantment, which is defined in part by the attempt to regain a sense of belonging in a living, aware cosmos. Within the astrological perspective, there can be a subtle orientation to the realms of Neptune as patently UNREAL, where Neptune represents only delusion, deception, illusion, a worthless fiction, pervasive illness and paralysis. The inscrutable and amorphous quality of Neptune’s reality is interpreted as just a sham, a distraction from “what’s truly important;” an annoying bog to be filled in with other, useful things.
I think the origins of a one-sided, negative casting of Neptune reside in the privileging of a particular kind of clarity and knowing—for example, an interest in attempting to understand life through dissecting dead bodies rather than observing living beings and processes in their own autonomous functioning. On one level, it feels to me like an imbalanced relationship to Saturn, the planetary archetype which corresponds to the ordinary or the mundane and the expression of boundaries. Saturn’s crucial contributions of definition, limits and the appearance of concrete reality then function to negate Neptune’s reality rather than play along with it.For we humans must live by belief. The presence of belief seems fundamental to having self-reflective consciousness, which is the capacity to know that one is thinking, the capacity to be aware of oneself as separate. Neptune is inescapable, it seems. Even “no belief” is still a belief. This brings the motif of play into sharp focus, and I think it means taking Neptune seriously.Those who suffer with Neptune are often victims of a poor or limited understanding of both the varieties of “real” experience, and few good means of working with perception which diverges from what is considered normal. Mystical experiences are wholesale classified as psychotic episodes, for example, and can in fact become psychotic in absence of a suitable framework of understanding.Without ever denying or trying to avoid the more problematic facets that Neptune carries—as all astrological bodies carry—I hope by providing a different perspective on what is normal, and indeed challenging the whole construct of at least a few people who now suffer with Neptune can move towards a more generative and life-affirming relationship with that archetype.
Is there a planet, sign, or aspect you’ve been exploring lately that represents an archetype or energy that feels important to you right now?
I have recently conducted a Saturn Return Survey for the generation born with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune conjoined in Capricorn, specifically the years 1988-89, though that stellium of planets spans individuals born February through June 1988, and December 1988 through December 1990. I asked five questions in an attempt to gauge some of their experiences of common themes of the Saturn return, and I look forward to presenting on the results of the survey at the Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC) in March 2018.
Interestingly, the potentials of the maturation process specific to the Saturn return of this generation seem well reflected in current world events.
For example, around the world, instability and uncertainty is fueling a reactionary response to real crises of refugees of war, geopolitical machinations and the increasingly high cost of civilizations built upon massive consumption of resources. To translate this to the potential experience inherent in the Capricorn stellium during the Saturn return, the Saturn-Uranus in the Capricorn stellium would correlate to instability and change experienced as crisis, as various Saturnian realities reach a breaking point within the imagination or dream (Neptune) pursued by a culture. Many cultures are now questioning whose imagination or perhaps delusion (Neptune) will govern (Saturn) the future (Uranus).
In general, it seems that creating a new organizing vision or story or symbol (Uranus-Neptune) will not come easy—so says Saturn, who enters Capricorn at the end of 2017. In this climate, the Saturn-Uranus-Neptune generation is or will soon be experiencing the call to bring forth their greatest gifts, which may involve various ways of being a bridge (Saturn-Uranus) for a new vision (Uranus-Neptune) of reality (Saturn).
This generation certainly features a lot of very unique individuals who have a hard time fitting into society, yet feel the Capricornian urge to contribute to that society. I believe they have an important gift to contribute to the transition underway on this planet, yet internalizing their Saturnian authority will require a skillset, community support and practices that are rather uncommon in at least industrialized societies. In other words, discovering who they are and what they are to contribute is unlikely to be provided by ordinary social convention.
What is your picture of astrology in the future?
I see astrology regaining credence as the general breakdown in cultural, social and intellectual authority continues. Witnessing the rise in popularity of things such as the flat Earth theory, as well as intractable arguments around issues of equity and justice along with resulting polarization signals to me that we’re in a critical moment of integrating the implications of the quantum view of reality—at least in the industrialized world. The view of reality provided by quantum physics contradicts classical ideas of solidity, linear causality and a divide between knower and known, self and other, mind and body. It severely challenges the notion that there is only one correct way to view reality.However, just because a space will be created by the dissolution of old power structures doesn’t mean that it will be filled by only sound ideas and practices. As long as there are guardians of lineages who strive to incorporate and promote some measure of qualitative and ethical rigor in the practice, astrology could flourish as the old dominants of meaning and authority give way and with them, the superstition against astrology.
Are there any additional comments you would like to make about your lecture and workshop?
I am planning to make time towards the end of the lecture to offer a highly experiential practice based on systemic (family) constellations, which will allow all of us to enquire into the gifts of Saturn’s time in Capricorn. No experience with systemic constellations is necessary, and it is accessible to all.
If you discovered a new planet, or asteroid, what would you name it and why?
Mystery. Because it is both a necessary ingredient of a life well lived, and may be the most dominant feature of our times. Maybe mystery is so prominent now because it has been so shunned by a civilization that revolves around prediction and control of events. The return of the repressed must always be steeped in the great mystery.
Bio: Erica Jones, M.A. Integral Ecology, has pursued astrology since 2006, principally studying archetypal astrology and cosmology with Richard Tarnas. Erica incorporates ecological awareness and an engagement with mythopoetic dimensions to promote personal, social and ecological well-being, by synthesizing astrology with studies of mythology, depth ecopsychology, dream work and systemic (family) constellations. She currently engages astrology in social and cultural transformation in a workshop centering on cultivating skillful means of embodying the planetary intelligences of the upcoming Saturn-Pluto world transit. She also publishes online at Real Imaginal, which is devoted to the renewal of the planetary archetype Neptune. You can find Erica cultivating Soul on Vashon Island.