By Marguerite dar Boggia
Dr. Roberto Assagioli was noted for his formulation of Psychosynthesis. It is a spiritual and holistic approach to psychology. It had developed from psychoanalysis.
Assagioli was born in Italy from a middle-class Jewish family. When he was approximately two years of age his father died. His Mother remarried Alessandro Emanuele Assagioli soon thereafter. An opposition of the Sun and Moon (usually signifying a separation of parents) is an indication of a very strong personality. It may not be an amiable personality at all, but it is strong.
A dominant integrated personality is required by the soul. How else can the soul express itself?
I obtained the time of birth from a disciple connected to the Rainbow Bridge Group, headed at that time by Norman Stevens. His wife, Josephine Stevens, was an astrologer and worked with Alice A. Bailey, (the amanuensis for the Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul.) Josephine obtained the names of all the disciples of the Tibetan Master, mentioned in Discipleship In the New Age, by Alice A Bailey. (It is published by the Lucis Publishing Co.) Pages 138 to 152 in Volume One, relate to Assagioli.
Sun in Pisces is appropriate for an aspirant/disciple who is empathic, compassionate, sympathetic, service-oriented and spiritually inclined. Sun conjunct the MC expresses as a Leo. He has determination is self-confident, courageous, fun-loving, and generous. The ascendant in Cancer denotes his nurturing, caring, loving tendencies, his extreme sensitivity and responsiveness to the soul. Mars in the 5th house and co-ruler of the 5th house, trines the ascendant. He uses this energy creatively in his profession and in writing theses and books . The ruler of the Ascendant, the Moon, is conjunct the IC, adding to his empathic, understanding and compassionate nature.
His parents were highly educated and artistic exposing him to the arts and sciences while a youth. By the time he was 18 he spoke 8 languages: Italian, English, French, Greek, Latin , German, Russian and Sanskrit. His third house of intellect is ruled by the strong angular Sun, which is in a grand trine with the ascendant and Mars. Uranus quincunx Mercury contributed to intuition. With both planets being retrograde, he was able to reflect and be introverted.
Moon in Virgo endowed him with practicality and an ability to deal with details. The Moon being in a grand cross suggests he needed to develop discrimination, especially in choosing his associates and workers. An angular Moon plus a Cancer ascendant demonstrated as exceptionally caring and loving of people and all things of nature. One of the most common manifestations of planets in Virgo, is through the healing arts, nutrition, natural medicine and the caring professions.
The Sun is disposited by Neptune in the 12th house. It is conjunct Pluto.
This demonstrates as inspiration and enlightenment by the soul. Sun is also disposited by Jupiter in its own sign of Sagittarius. He strives to commune with his Higher Mind. He meditates. Jupiter disposits all of the planets except for Mars and Neptune.
Jupiter rules philosophy and higher Mind; hence his interest in the soul and in the workings of consciousness. As a young medical student, Assagioli presented his MD dissertation on psychoanalysis. He was a member of the Zurich Freud Society, the group of early psychoanalytical pioneers. Jupiter, co-ruler of the 10th house of career, is in the 6th house of health and work. This contributed to his great inclination to serve mankind in the capacity of a doctor.
He has a fantastic chart! Not only does he have a Grand Cross with Sun opposition Moon and Jupiter opposition Pluto, a Grand Rectangle with Pluto sextile Saturn and Venus sextile Jupiter and Venus trine Pluto and Juptier trine Saturn, but he also has two finger of God aspects or yods, with the ascendant and the descendant at the point of the yod. He also has a grand trine with the Sun, ascendant and Mars.
Here is how his chart worked out in his life: Saturn, ruler of the 7th house of relationships, sextiles Pluto and Neptune. He had a happy marriage of 40 years. His only son died at the age of 28. Saturn squares Mars in the 5th house of children. During World War II his family farm was destroyed and he and his family fled underground. Venus opposes Saturn in the 2nd house of money and inconjuncts the Moon in the 4th house of real property. He had challenges involving his family. His son had ill health.
In 1938 Assagioli was arrested and imprisoned by the Fascist government of Mussolini, due to his Jewish heritage and his humanistic writing. The best thing that happened to him, was that he was placed in solitary confinement for over a month. He meditated and communed with his soul while in confinement! It was at this time that he developed his theories of psychosynthesis.
It encompasses the whole man: creativity and will, joy and wisdom, as well as impulses and drives. It gives special importance to the Transpersonal or Spiritual Will. (It emanates from the real Self or Spirit. Spirit uses the Soul as its vehicle. The Soul uses the personality as its vehicle. Man is a threefold being. )
Here is how the aspects of the grand cross relate to his imprisonment: Sun (authority figures) squaring Pluto (being controlled) and squaring Jupiter (belief systems, religion) and opposing the Moon, ruling the ascendant (himself).
The aspects of the grand rectangle in fixed signs correlate to his inexorable will, his indefatigable creativity and perseverance to accomplish his goals of developing psychosynthesis. Venus and Pluto rule the 5th house of creativity. They are in trine aspect. Jupiter and Saturn are in trine aspect. Jupiter co-rules the MC (career) and hard-working Saturn is the natural ruler of the 10th.
The yod to the ascendant involving Jupiter in the 6th house of health, sextile Venus in the 8th house of transformation, manifested as devitalization and a health problem.
Here is what the Tibetan Master said in His letter to Assagioli in January, 1935 on page 139 of Discipleship in the New Age Volume One:
“You have the problem of a devitalized etheric body and also of a heart attached to many and hence unduly strained and taxed by others. There are many demands upon your sympathies. . . . .
“The problems of the etheric body will yield to treatment if the suggestions made to C.D.F. are noted and if the diet (in your case) is carefully controlled and regulated. . . You have necessarily at this stage, the vices of your second ray1 virtue. You suffer from attachment and from a too rapid identification with other people. This can be handled if you stand steadfast as a soul and do not focus as a personality in dealing with people—both in your home circle and in your world service. You need to bear in Mind that your relation is with souls and not with temporary forms and so you must live detached from personalities, serving them, but living ever in the consciousness of the soul—the true sannyasin.” And on page 144:
“Meditate constantly upon the will—consecrated to active, loving service. It is the use of the will that is of importance to a disciple, for the rightly directed will is the controller of force and the disciple works in the realm of forces….”
And on pages 151-152 the five of his six rays were given with an explanation of his problem.2
After the war, life improved for him and his family. He founded various foundations dedicated to Psychosynthesis in Europe and North America.
The soul’s purpose is shown by the esoteric ruler of the Cancer ascendant. It is Neptune. Neptune conjuncts Pluto in Gemini. His willpower must be as strong as steel. He must use it to serve others to find their Inner Selves. Inspiration will guide him in his theories and writings. Neptune trines Venus in Aquarius. He is destined to bring new values and ideas into his work, to help human beings to strive for inner joy and self-transformation. (Venus is in the 8th house). Neptune sextile Saturn in Leo will give him discipline, strength and confidence to work. Neptune opposing Jupiter in Sagittarius suggests that his work may relate to the higher Mind and the soul. Neptune quincunx Mars is the aspect of a world savior. Mars, in the 5th house of creativity, will save and serve mankind through his books.
Five planets in mutable signs emphasize his adaptability, an ability to relate, communicate, and bring harmony into his life. His joy came from within. He could see the Self in everyone else. He elicited the joy of self-realization in those who came to see him. He saw God everywhere and in everyone. He was never alone. He had correspondents and friends all over the world. (Venus in Aquarius)
His four planets in fixed signs gave him perseverance, determination and willpower to accomplish his goals. He lived to the age of 86. He died on August 23, 1974.
To verify the accuracy of a chart, I look for the eclipses before death. There was a solar eclipse on 12/24/73 at 2:40 Capricorn, exactly on his descendant; another solar eclipse on 6/20/74 at 28:30 on his ascendant and a lunar eclipse on 11/29/74 at 7 Gemini on his Equatorial Ascendant.
Assagioli was born on Feb. 27, 1888, 12:10:30 PM, Venice, Italy, -01:00 CET 12E20; 45N26,
Marguerite dar Boggia presently serves a Membership Secretary for ISAR. She was the past Secretary and Director of ISAR for over 30 years. She was a co-founder of UAC, and served as its first Secretary and Director. She also served as Registrar at the first UAC conference in 1986. She was the past publisher of Kosmos, the ISAR journal. She offers online, free, 3 pages weekly of the Esoteric Studies as was known by Pythagoras. She can be contacted at www.FreePythagorasTeachings.com
References:
1 For information on the rays, see The Seven Rays in www.FreePythagorasTeachings.com under Articles.
2Discipleship in the New Age Vol. 1 Pages 151-152, Publisher, Lucis Trust Co.
“In dealing with the rays that control and dominate your life, I would remind you that your first ray of Mind gives you undoubted mental influence. This is felt most strongly by all who contact you. Being definitely in touch with your soul (which is in its turn under the second ray influence), you have a combination of forces that are definitely useful, both to yourself and others. Your mental body is governed by the first ray.
“Your astral body is as definitely a second ray aggregation of energies and hence the influence of love which you carry everywhere with you. I would remind you, however, that when the soul and the astral body are both on the same ray, there is always a fascinating balance problem. There will be in such cases, a tendency to a lack of balance in the total effect of the equipment and with this—as well you know—you have constantly to deal.
“The physical body is of the seventh ray type but is so controlled by your fourth ray personality that—in a most peculiar sense—it has little life of its own. It is negative to an amazing extent and this again constitutes a definite problem. Our rays, therefore, are:
“1. The soul or egoic ray—second Ray of Love-Wisdom.
2. The personality ray—fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict.
3. The ray of the Mind—the first Ray of Power or Will.
4. The ray of the astral body—the second Ray of Love-Wisdom.
5. The ray of the physical body—the seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order or Magic.”
