hinting at a very intense parental involvement in the development of personality. The discussion that follows from this is obvious: for example, Neptune in the fourth house square the Ascendant, mostly easterly orientation - let's talk about what is meant here, about childhood confusion and the role that it plays in a sense of self-protection. Or a Mars-Pluto conjunction in Leo Midheaven square the Ascendant in Scorpio, a clear south orientation - let's talk about this militancy, need and ability to fight back: what does it mean, why is it necessary, what do you get from it, how difficult is it to rule?

Tense aspects to MC (and IC) will form from the Ascendant-Descendant region. This also connects the development of individuality with family tension, with the effect of “overflowing” in relationships. Questions following this line of observation will surely bring the horoscope to life.
The phenomenon of Saturn retrograde

The concept of Saturn retrograde, which I have been presenting for over twenty years, is very important. When Saturn is retrograde, it is almost always an indication of a legacy of inferiority acquired in early childhood and associated with an authority figure (usually a father) who somehow dropped out of the picture early or was present but passive or tyrannical - or any combination of these - and therefore never bestowed her authoritative love.

This observation is almost always supported by the dynamics of the significators (rulers or planets in particular houses and how they relate to other planets) among the houses, i.e. the significator of the one0th and / or fourth house (parental houses) in a tense aspect (conjunction, square, opposition) with another planet or angle. And then other houses immediately come into play: relationships, through the significator of the 7th house (relationship or marriage with a figure replacing a parent, again and again?); self-worth profile (2nd); the need to feel worthy of love (oneoneth); comfort in giving love (5th and eightth); interruption of education (significator of the 9th); mentality, relatives (3rd); shadow-hidden ego-presence (one2th); interaction dynamics (6th). A developmental scenario is beginning to emerge, and we will see this in detail when case studies presented in this book.

In the context of the historical development of this introductory chapter, an important question arises: Saturn is retrograde for long periods of time, many thousands of people are born during these periods, do they all face these complex problems of family dynamics?

Unfortunately, the answer must be yes. But times are changing. The phenomenon of Saturn retrograde сейчас отражает соображения семейных ценностей in наше inремя. This symbol of Saturn in particular (because of its paternal archetype) has "expanded" to adapt, to assimilate, to reflect the very difficult questions of development in our environment, in our age. It may gradually change in the next century as the family dynamic settles and requires a change in the "spread" of the Saturn symbol.

Indeed, this phenomenon is also connected in a significant way with situations in the past, but the manifestations then were different, the needs and social conditions were different. The authority figures were probably harsher or more distant, but these conditions were then the norm, they were predictable, and the family dynamic learned to deal with them. Now paternal figures behave differently under our social modifications of male passivity, alcoholism, Don Juanism, tyranny; home conditions have changed, increasing unpredictability (eg, multiple marriages and father figures).

But the bottom line is that in our current process of social development, we need an authority figure who loves us and provides guidance so that our value profile is strong and well-formed for receiving and giving love, forging relationships, and for professional competitiveness. And this need we have is different in its expression when the Moon is in Cancer or Leo, in Pisces or Sagittarius. We are learning to deal with all this in terms of our Moon and its placement in sign and aspects.

The astrologer must consider these questions in order to most accurately reflect the client's life. It becomes not so much a matter of describing the state of affairs, but rather an assessment of the spread of the situation, the degree of manifestation. This is not a negative or gloomy, but a motivational state; it is an opportunity for improvement through understanding, and we we will discuss this in detail later.

There is an important psychoanalytic insight, which I have often found to be confirmed in counseling, that a nagging, unhappy parent—let's say a father—projects his own weakness onto his children, finding flaws in everything they do. Perhaps he wants the children to suffer because he himself suffers. Children with such a parent often have trouble learning to love themselves because they experience intense anger. It often happens that children themselves adopt the parent's projection style and then humiliate others.

The study of such a situation encourages the client to be objective, able to see parental problems in himself. Then you can work on getting the client out of the firing line of punishment or neglect.

Sometimes the client says: “This went on throughout my childhood, but now we have kind of come to peace and everything is relatively good ...”. Is it true? After all, so much was formed in childhood? Has this pain carried over into adult relationships? Is your client imitating childish behavior with their own children by repeating and continuing the pattern?
Axis of lunar nodes

My work with the lunar nodal axis continued for two decades, confirming again and again that any planet that enters a configuration with the lunar axis by conjunction or quadrature speaks of a huge maternal influence from the point of view of the planet or point entering the configuration. The issues discussed here are obvious: “Prince Charles, there is an indication in your horoscope that we should discuss a strong motherly influence and its effect on your development” (Moon in Taurus in the one0th house, ruler of the one2th house, conjunct with the axis of the Lunar nodes) 3.
Needs

Planets are symbols of needs that need to be met. When I introduced the theory of needs into astrology 27 years ago, I wanted to strengthen the planetary symbols, turn them from boring descriptors into active force symbols for development. The planets do not force anything to happen, it is the needs we have that need to be satisfied.

The tense aspects to these symbols of needs correspond to what develops and happens in life. Everything is controlled by the energy of the Sun (by sign) - its light shines everywhere - in synthesis with symbolized by the Moon (by sign) by the dominant need of the individual. This will be shown repeatedly in examples throughout this book.
Defense mechanisms

We all need protective behaviors to move relatively safely from childhood to adulthood. The most common problem is that defense mechanisms turn into long-lasting patterns of behavior that are still active—and often actually defining the individual as a whole—when functionally they are no longer needed to such an extent. This draws energy away from other activities, creates an imbalance and undermines growth and self-fulfillment.

The main defense mechanism is idealism. Whenever one, two, or three of the inner planets—Mercury, Venus, or the Sun—are in conjunction with each other (even in contact through the midpoint pattern), we can expect idealism to be of the utmost importance in life development. When Neptune forms a conjunction with the Moon, or when Neptune is east (the last to rise before the Sun when moving clockwise), this is also an indication of idealism. Idealism will serve as a support for the personality against adversity, real or imagined. When this conjunction is aspected by Jupiter and/or Neptune, idealism usually takes on a strong spiritual connotation.

Idealism depicts what is longed for, but the process of idealization often creates distortion. Distortion overemphasizes, confirms the projection, making it more powerful. When idealism is so strongly focused (many clients will say, “Oh...idealism...” or just stare at you very intently), it is not solid in reality and therefore often turns into fantasy, into personal reflection. Idealism very easily gets in the way of reality, satisfaction with something real, natural, accessible, especially in relationships. (Remember: being unrealistic almost always means being idealistic.)

A woman who approached me with a Mercury-Sun-Venus conjunction in Scorpio in the 7th house trine Uranus in the fourth house, with the Moon in Cancer, defended her parental situation with great eloquence until she exhausted all the beautiful words and began to show through truth. Then I said to her: "Please tell me how you feel when I mention the word 'idealism'."

Her reaction was instant: “Oh, I'm a romantic! I think that my life should be like what I read in books and saw in films. It just has to be like that, and when it’s not, it’s hard for me.” I suggested that this makes relationships difficult, as few people can live up to expectations. She agreed, and I added, “Unless, of course, you idealize every relationship you enter into.” This cooled the conversation for a moment, and then we were able to get down to business.

Grand trines are classic defense mechanisms of self-sufficient behavior. The closed circuit of practical (earth), emotional (water), motivational (fire), or social (air) self-sufficiency usually involves the Sun or Moon, and in its closed circuit works against the relationship one so desperately needs but is not prepared to meet. When the grand trines do not include the Sun or Moon, the behavioral construct operates independently of the Sun-Moon behavioral profile and appears to be a separate life-behavior area (an enthusiastic person during the day who is gloomy and cries alone at night).

In the horoscope of the woman who approached me, Saturn retrograde was the ruler