elements, polarities, modalities and orientations in the horoscope: Part 4

today's topic: orientations

Most people who start studying astrology are aware of the elements in a chart. Some may be aware of modalities and polarities. Few that I have met(myself included) are aware of a sign's orientation. The orientations refer to the 3 stages of relationship between the individual and their environment. They correlate with the evolution of the twelve astrological signs. It's how we meet the world.

The three orientations are: PERSONAL, INTERPERSONAL and TRANSPERSONAL

The first stage, PERSONAL, is related to birth or infancy. A newborn's primary focus is on getting their needs met: food, clothing, warmth,personal contact. It sees itself as the center of the universe and its sole purpose is to assure its well being.
The first four signs of the zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer) correspond to the PERSONAL stage.

The next stage is INTERPERSONAL. As the child matures they become aware of other people and that they too have legitimate needs. In this phase, the child becomes a social individual, learning to interact with a wide variety of individuals.
The next four signs of the zodiac (Leo,Virgo,Libra,Scorpio) correspond to the INTERPERSONAL stage.

The final stage is TRANSPERSONAL. In this stage, the individual seeks to understand their relationship with the universe. They must accept their physical mortality and find a more spiritual connection.
The final four signs of the zodiac (Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces) correspond to the TRANSPERSONAL stage.

Like the elements and modalities, the orientations show both positive and negative applications.

An exaggeration of the PERSONAL orientation will result in a person who becomes selfish and egocentric. Those deficient in this orientation have a difficult time fulfilling their rudimentary survival needs.

An exaggeration of the INTERPERSONAL orientation results in a person who may become too other-directed, losing touch with their own personal sense of self. Lacking this orientation results in a person who is denied their need for human contact.

An exaggeration of the TRANSPERSONAL orientation may result in a person who is out of touch with the world. A person who is so concerned with the meaning of life that they forget about taking care of practical matters like paying the rent. The person lacking this orientation, experiences a lack of connection with the world as a whole and thus will lack a spiritual perspective towards life.

As before, look at your child's planets putting extra emphasis on the personal planets(these are: sun, moon, mercury, venus, mars and ascendant[rising sign]) making a list of the orientations then look at the rest of their planets(jupiter, saturn,uranus,neptune and pluto) See how evenly distributed the orientations are (ie: My son has his sun, moon, mercury and mars in personal signs, his venus,ascendant and saturn are in interpersonal signs he has no personal planets that are transpersonal but does have his jupiter, uranus, neptune and pluto there. All in all, pretty balanced but my guess is he will be more concerned about meeting his personal needs first, and with all the cancer energy he has I can assure you him getting fed is priority numero uno!!!)

In the next lesson I will tie all 4 lessons together and give numerous examples.

KEYWORDS FOR THE ORIENTATIONS OF THE ZODIAC

PERSONAL
(Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer)
focused on personal wants and needs

INTERPERSONAL
(Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio)
social, focused on others

TRANSPERSONAL
(Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces)
universal, focused on ideals and abstractions