So here we are with conflict in the aftermath of last week’s adversity.

In Hexagram 6: Conflict from the I Ching, which is in play for this next week of Virgo,* heaven and water are moving in opposite directions. We had a similar dynamic going on back during Gemini season, when earth and heaven weren’t aligned. “As above, so below” isn’t happening.

There was recently a lot going on in Virgo. There was the New Moon last week, and Mercury just stationed direct, meaning the retrograde is over. I don’t know about you, but I was feeling low energy late last week as Mercury came to a standstill during the end of the retrograde. Maybe the conflict in Hexagram 6 will help me wake up!

Regarding conflict, this hexagram reminds us that we must face the conflict within if we want to be able to conquer the danger from without.

As Jung said, “And the man at peace with himself, who accepts himself, contributes an infinitesimal amount to the good of the universe. Attend to your private and personal conflicts and you will be reducing by one millionth millionth the world conflict.“

Steve Myers, the author of one of my favorite typology books, says: “The more we recognise the conflict as being within ourselves, the better we are able to deal with any actual conflict there may be in the world. This can in some instances lead to more conflict, at a conscious level. By learning to engage in an inner dialectic, we can recover the lost art of disagreement that not only develops ourselves but encourages more constructive debates in society- ‘a sane and normal society is one in which people habitually disagree though agreement is equally important.’

That all sounds great, but how best to attend to your personal conflicts? An “inner dialectic” immediately brings to mind the parts work technique of Internal Family Systems and the Jungian practice and active imagination, where one dialogues with inner dream figures. It’s all the more motivating to know that this inner work can help us in real life dialogue with people.

From a personality typology perspective, John Beebe’s 8 function model shows us our inner conflicts. The “opposing personality” function is the opposite of our “hero” – the strongest, dominant function – and is a source of inner conflict. Also, people who have your opposing function as their hero function are people with whom you might more easily disagree. This knowledge makes it easier to navigate difficult encounters with others.

Plus there is the inferior function – “life’s great problem” as Marie-Louise von Franz said. The type of person we can’t stand most often resembles our inferior function. Then there is the “senex” shadow function, which can lash out at others; it is opposite our parent function and therefore is similar to a critical parent.

From an astrology perspective, the location of Mars in your natal chart, and aspects other planets make to Mars, give you some insight about how you handle conflict.

One of my favorite takes on Mars is from Howard Sasportas: “If you are chronically ill or depressed, I would encourage you to examine closely the house Mars is placed in your chart. We don’t normally think of Mars as a significator for illness or depression, but these states can be caused by an “unused” Mars. Perhaps becoming more active, expressive or assertive in that domain will unblock you, improving your health and vitality, and get you going again.”

If we get going again, then we can flip the script so that “as below, so above.”

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References:

Myers-Briggs Typology vs. Jungian Individuation by Steve Myers

C.G. Jung Speaking by C.G. Jung

The Inner Planets: Building Blocks of Inner Reality by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas

*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese text, are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.

An empty lake is the image of oppression for Hexagram 47 of the I Ching.

The other image for this hexagram is of trees growing in a tight space and being unable to spread their branches. This symbolizes those times when we are trapped and isolated or feel like we can’t reach out to others.

There is some encouragement here for us in this image, however, as Hilary Barrett writes in her translation of Hexagram 47: “The great person finds good fortune in constancy to an inner ideal. This is the supreme test of character: whether you can hold to your purpose when there is no encouragement, no confirmation from outside, but only your own inner resources. The lack of outward signs of progress does not mean that you are wrong or that the world is wrong. Rather than resenting the walls, concentrate on the life and growth within them.”

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to pause again and enthuse about how much I like that the I Ching uses imagery from nature.

Astrology does, too, with animals being the symbols of several of the signs, the four elements of air, water, earth, and fire, the effects of the Moon and Sun, and so on, but it’s easier to overlook this. That is why I often advise astrology students to frequently step away from the astrology books and videos and develop an experiential relationship with astrology. One practice I recommend is tracking the daily movements of the Moon and seeing how they play out in your daily life.

Anyway, we are in a mercurial time of year with it being Virgo season hosted by Mercury.* Mercury likes to look at the parts of things and is into being analytical and theoretical. It and can suffer from paralysis by analysis, which is but one way we can oppress ourselves.

From a typology perspective, this is like the axis of introverted thinking (seeking understanding above all) with its opposite of extraverted feeling (connecting with the feelings of others).

Jupiter, the opposite of Mercury, is, among other things, known as a “remover of oppression,” as author Robert E. Svoboda describes it. It prefers cohesive wholes rather than breaking things into parts and analyzing them.

Jupiter is considered to be in exile in Virgo, which reminds us of that tension of opposites between Mercury and Jupiter. That doesn’t mean we should try to dial down the Mercury in our lives right now or lean more on Jupiter. In sessions with clients I often say astrology isn’t about “shoulds.” Rather, it’s simply about becoming more conscious of those opposites, letting them be, and thereby becoming more at peace with the tension.

Above all, our inner guidance can help us during times of oppression. As Jungian analyst James Hollis says: “Something in us always knows what is right for us and is undertaking measures to bring that confluence of will and nature about, even as it may be oppressed by the burdens and incursions of the outer world or opposed by our behaviors and treatment plans.”

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References:

I Ching: Walking Your Path, Creating Your Future by Hilary Barrett

Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times by James Hollis

The Greatness of Saturn by Robert Svoboda

*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese text, are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.

One of the things I’ve learned in the second half of life is that time is circular, not linear.

This has been a lesson of astrology. There are planetary cycles that repeat at certain intervals. For example, Jupiter spends approximately a year in each sign and is currently in Taurus. You could review the last time Jupiter was in Taurus 12 years ago to gain insight into what might happen for you this time and apply any wisdom previously learned.

Hexagram 64: Before Completion of the I Ching is the final hexagram. And yet it basically says we are similar to how we were at the beginning. It helps us to review the past and, of course, astrology is one way to do that.

So often the focus in astrology is to offer archetypal predictions of the future. My favorite thing to do as an astrologer, however, is to help people make sense of their past and offer a meaningful narrative about what they have been through.

When you make harmony with your own past, including any unfinished business of your ancestors that may have been passed on to you, you have more clarity about yourself and are therefore more capable of accepting others for who they are.

Mercury is retrograde in Mercury-ruled Virgo right now. Retrogrades are a good time for review of the past and, of course, Mercury is the planet associated with that kind of analytical work, especially in Virgo.

Hexagram 64 uses the image of a fox crossing the river only when there is solid ice. If the fox instead crosses when the conditions aren’t right, and gets its tail wet, then the fox’s effort is in vain.

The lesson here, per Richard Wilhelm’s translation, is that “deliberation and caution are the prerequisites of success…Thus the superior man is careful in the differentiation of things, so that each finds its place.” That is very Virgo.

There are daily opportunities to excavate one’s history and help tune into the conditions in your soul so as to better make those figurative river crossings. James Hollis recommends asking yourself the following questions in your journal each day, so I will close with these:

“What got touched today? What generated a significant amount of energy? Where did that energy come from? What did that touch in my history? What satellite issues might that have activated?”

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*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese text, are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.

References:

I Ching or Book of Changes translated by Richard Wilhelm

A Life of Meaning: Relocating Your Center of Spiritual Gravity by James Hollis

So here we are, the first day of Virgo season, and Hexagram 59: Dispersion/Dissolution recommends that we become less rigid by having a religious type of awe:

Through hardness and selfishness the heart grows rigid, and this rigidity leads to separation from all others. …Therefore the hearts of men must be seized by a devout emotion. They must be shaken by a religious awe in face of eternity – stirred with an intuition of the One Creator of all living beings, and united through the strong feeling of fellowship experienced in the ritual of divine worship.”

The I Ching, Richard Wilhelm translation

This reminds me of what Jung told Bill W., the founder of A.A. (Alcoholics Anonymous). Jung told Bill W. about his experience with an alcoholic patient who became sober after meeting with Jung for a year and a half. The patient later relapsed.

Jung’s conclusion was that the patient’s situation was hopeless “so far as any further medical or psychiatrict treatment might be concerned.”

He also said, when asked if there was any hope: “there might be, provided he could become the subject of a spiritual or religious experience – in short, a genuine conversion.”

This led to the famous Step One of A.A: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our live had become unmanageable.” And also Step Two: “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

So what does any of that have to do with Virgo? Virgo’s planetary host is Mercury, and one would normally associate spiritual experience and converesion more with Jupiter, Mercury’s opposite.

When you look beyond the stereotypes, Virgo is about the fluidity between spirit and matter. Virgos are working to be of this world while not being of this world.

Virgo is adaptable and not rigid, because it is one of the four mutable signs. It is mutable because it will be handing off to Libra, where the amount of darkness during the day will become greater than the amount of light.

We just left Leo season, which, among other things, is associated with the heart. Leo is a fixed sign, not an adaptable and mutable one. So if you are leaving Leo with any traces of rigidity of heart, Mercury, Virgo’s host, might just be a good antitodte. Mercury is like a spirit guide and helps bring change.

I’ll leave you with three questions from Hilary Barrett’s commentary on this hexagram:

Where and how can you be less rigid?
Where are the walls in a current situation you are facing, and what can you see as they dissolve away?
As energy and vitality is liberated from old boundaries, where will it go?

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Schedule an Astrology Consultation | Subscribe to the Monthly Depth Books Newsletter | Contact Me

*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese text, are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.

References:

I Ching: Walking Your Path, Creating Your Future by Hilary Barrett

The War of the Gods in Addiction by David Schoen

I Ching or Book of Changes translated by Richard Wilhelm