Defining Soul-Centered or Esoteric Astrology

Consciousness and Earned Wisdom

It’s valuable to view our lives from a broader, multi-incarnational perspective. In large part, we are who we are because of the learning experiences we have had in our past. This prior experience is what most significantly accounts for our tasks in this lifetime. A simplistic example is that we burned our hand when we touched a hot pot, and we learn that heat burns, and so we avoid touching something hot.

When viewed from a multi-incarnational perspective, experience is even more relevant. The collective learning of the entirety of the lifetime becomes earned wisdom. Perhaps the individual’s life energy has been focused on lessons around right-relationship with financial resources, or around a balanced use of personal will. The entirety of the experience of that lifetime is carried through as part of their wisdom. Individual consciousness is the earned wisdom of all the previous lifetimes of experience in all prior incarnations. This is the reason that each of us carries a different and unique degree of consciousness. We are bringing with us all of our unique prior life experiences.

Esoteric Astrology seeks to factor consciousness into the analysis of an individual’s astrology. We begin to understand ourselves astrologically related to our consciousness through this lens.

Vibratory Influence

Everything is vibration. Just as we experience the powerful, energetic vibration of the sun (indeed we could not exist without its emanation), so also the planetary bodies of the solar system impact us, however more subtly. Each planet, planetoid, and constellation is unique in its energetic expression, and so influences us differently.

The way these celestial bodies influence the individual relates to their place on the spiritual path (this is another term for consciousness) and how much control the soul has over the personality’s drives and activity. Let’s consider Pluto conjunct the natal sun in the fourth house as an example.

• For an individual who has not yet awakened to their higher spiritual identity, this transit might involve a major remodeling of their kitchen so that they can feed, nourish, and nurture friends and family in a more elegant or practical kitchen.
• The same transit for someone awake to a higher spiritual purpose might be experienced more internally, perhaps as a deep and lasting transformation related to their family of origin. As a result of the influence of Pluto, they might recognize their connection to the larger human family as a whole.

This dynamic applies to all of the planetary bodies.

For most of us, our main task is to align and coordinate our personality vehicles. The components of the personality vehicles are the energy (etheric) physical body, the emotional body, and the mental body. These vehicles must work together in a coordinated and organized way for us to be effective in the world. During this phase of our development, exoteric or traditional astrology is a very useful tool to help us understand ourselves, our drives, and needs more deeply.

Explore more about spiritual awakening and the process of soul – personality fusion. 

Traditional or Exoteric Rulership

Traditional astrology is more appropriate for those who have not yet awakened to their higher spiritual purpose. Its focus on the energy emanations from the planetary bodies helps us to understand the personality life and how its aspects (the physical/etheric, emotional, and mental bodies) are working to coordinate and become successful in the world.

Traditional astrology helps us to more deeply explore who we are, how we interact in the world, how we build relationships and work within our social systems. The forces emanating from the planets and their influence on our day-to-day life are more significant here.

Traditional Astrology: Sun – Moon – Ascendant

In traditional astrology, the Sun represents the ego or personality self. We can consider this representative of the individual’s identity and nature. The sun sign provides essential clues for the quality of your expression in the world. The primary task here is in coordinating the personality vehicles for integration and, ultimately, awakening to the higher spiritual being. The lower three chakras are very active at this time in our development.

The Moon represents the emotional life. It provides clues to the feeling nature, unconscious impulses or instinctual drives, and how you nurture and feel nurtured. The sign and placement of the moon may also provide clues to childhood.

The Ascendant represents the persona and how you present yourself to the world. It can describe your identity, clues to your actual physical appearance. In a very practical way, it indicates your physical self. The ascendant is what your life is about.

Soul-Centered or Esoteric Rulership

Soul-Centered or Esoteric Astrology is relevant for those who are awake to their higher spiritual influence and more intentionally working on manifesting the soul and its purpose in their life. There is typically a significant degree of coordination and successful work between the vehicles of the personality.

When the personality has become significantly coordinated, the soul makes contact. At this point in the incarnational cycle, the individual has reached a level of effectiveness where the soul can begin to work in the substance of form. The energy of the lower chakras begins to lift to the corresponding chakras above the waist. The Heart center begins to open, and the solar plexus energy begins to lift to the heart. Sacral center energy raise to the throat chakra, and the Base chakra energy lifts to the crown.

Once awakening occurs, the influence of the planets themselves begins to diminish, and this will continue as soul-infusion progresses. The governing force (energetic influence) becomes the energy flowing through the planets from the constellations beyond. The transpersonal planets of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto begin to have a more direct influence on the individual.

Esoteric astrology, also known as Spiritual Astrology or Soul-Centered Astrology, will become increasingly relevant as more individuals awaken to their higher spiritual nature.

Esoteric Astrology: Sun – Moon – Ascendant

The Sun indicates what is probable in the individual. The Sun’s sign and placement holds a quality of resting identity for the individual. It indicates the personality, its quality, temperament, and the problems to overcome for the sun to express most purely. Most importantly, when the Sun sign is expressed at its highest vibration, it provides the way to access and activate the soul point (ascendant).

The Ascendant indicates what is possible in the lifetime, or the urge of the soul for the lifetime.  It provides important clues to the inner life of meaning, the soul’s purpose for incarnating, and the highest possibilities for this lifetime. It is the indicator of what the goal to be achieved. Rather than being indicative of the physical body (although that still may be applicable), it represents the Causal Body, or the container for the soul, its stored wisdom, and karmic imprint.

The Moon in Esoteric Astrology indicates the past, limitations, and the way that the personality can inhibit the soul. The strong connection between the moon and our emotional body provides us with some clues as to why this would be so. If our emotional body is not under our control, it can imprison us in outdated patterns that impede our effectiveness. The Moon’s sign and house placement holds essential clues to Karmic inheritance and how to achieve liberation from previous patterns (this and past lifetimes). When the challenges and patterns of the moon remain unresolved, the moon can indicate the prison of the soul.

Hierarchical or Spiritual Rulership

Hierarchical or Spiritual Rulership is only relevant to those who are fully spiritually infused. The soul is the absolute governor of life, and the personality works as a partner. I focus rarely focus on this level of rulership because, quite frankly, it is exceptionally rare. I don’t personally know anyone who’s soul has this kind of grip on their life. If you are wondering if this is relevant for you, here are a few questions that might help to discern if a focus on hierarchical rulership would be a good fit.

• Do you operate from a place of total selflessness and governance by spirit that is sometimes referred to as discipleship (think Mother Teresa)?
• Is your work in the world changing the course of humanity as a whole (think Abraham Lincoln)?
• Does your work in the world have a global impact (think Jane Goodall)?