Jung, Mythology, and Astrology

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I wanted to know more about the historic lineage from Greek to Roman mythology, Carl Jung, archetypes to modern astrology. What is the connection between these?  How is Hermes related to the planet Mercury and why?  I recently found a great book to help me begin to better understand this, Mythic Astrology, Archetypal powers in the Horoscope, by Ariel Guttman & Kenneth Johnson, Llewellyn Publications, 1998.   

Here are some quotes from the book that create a certain lineage from ancient mythology to modern astrology.  This information is fascinating to me and forms the basis for our modern astrological interpretations.  Read through this to gain insight to this progression of symbols, psychology, and consciousness.   Modern astrological readings are based on these ancient and deep roots.

“Jung argued that the gods and goddesses of ancient mythology were symbolic of deep motivating factors in human psychology, elements which were shared by all humanity.  Jung postulated a level of consciousness, which he named collective conscious, shared by the entire human race. (Man and His Symbols).  It is the collective unconscious which creates the powerful symbolic images that lie at the heart of our deepest psychological processes and which Jung called the archetypes.” pg. 3

“Jung believed that symbolic or archetypal realities interact with the events of our everyday lives through a process called synchronicity.    He described this as “an acausal connecting principle,” meaning a process which links two factors (the cosmic symbol and the worldly event) without any apparent or physical cause for that link.  The union between reality and symbol takes place in an internal, psychological level, and the unconscious in the active agent which shapes the union.” pg. 3

“…astrologer Dane Rudhyar argued that the moment of an individual’s birth is perhaps the most synchronistic moment of all, for it marks our entry into a larger cosmos, both physically and symbolically.  As a diagram or image of that moment, the natal horoscope or birth chart is also the image of our symbolic relationship with the cosmos around us; it places us, as individuals, in the archetypal scheme of things (The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar), The birth chart diagram itself lends credence to this notion, for it is unquestionably a kind of mandala.” pg. 3

“The word mandala is Sanskrit in India and Tibet, it describes a symbolic picture or a diagram used as a tool in meditation.  A mandala is a symbol of wholeness, or psycho-spiritual unity; to meditate in a mandala aids the seeker in the search for that wholeness or unity.  A mandala is generally circular, since wholeness or oneness is conceived of as a circle, without beginning or end. “ pg. 3

 “A horoscope is a diagram of the sky at a particular moment in time.  …a horoscope represents the birth of a human being, you are the mandala.” pg. 4

“The planets, as we have noted, are named for the gods and goddesses of Rome, all borrowed from Greek mythology, and each sign is associated with one or more of these gods and goddesses.  Though astrology was born in Babylon and influenced by Egypt, it has come down to us primarily through Greek thinkers and writers.  When we consider the psychological or archetypal meanings behind planets and signs, we are considering the world-view of Greek myth.” pg. 4

“The Greeks had a complex mythology, which included the story of creation and the birth or appearance of the presiding deities of human affairs.  Each god and goddess had a specific function and was honored through celebrations, offerings, holidays, prayers and rituals. These pagan rituals later came to reflect the sophistication of Greek philosophy, and to embody a metaphysical rather that a purely ritual paganism.” pg. 5

“ …with the emergence of the Roman Empire, the Romans borrowed many of their deities from the Greeks.  The names and costumes were changed to reflect Roman style, but the meanings changed little.  Greek Hermes became the Roman Mercury, Hera became Juno and so on. The planets whose circular paths in the heavens orbit around one central deity, the Sun, have the Latin names of the gods and goddesses of Rome.” pg. 5“

Astrologers have generally been content to link the planets and signs with the Greek deities in a very general way.  Mercury is about the communication because Hermes/Mercury was the messenger of the gods; Pluto is about the process of death and rebirth because Hades/Pluto was the god of the underworld.  We believe that this is only the beginning, and that the key to proper understanding of all the astrological symbols – planets and sign – lies in a deeper understanding of all the mythic archetypes upon which the symbols are based.  To richly experience the myths which lie at the heart of astrology is to gain a deeper and more spiritual perspective on the art itself.” pg. 6

“Astrology has indeed evolved into a psychology of myth.  “Mythology is a validation of experience, giving it its spiritual or psychological dimension” according to Joseph Campbell (Thinking Allowed, Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove). 

When properly examined and understood, astrology offers the same spiritual and psychological dimension as myth.” pg. 6

Follow this blog as I continue to read and explore this book.