Returning to Soul Astrology

Article by Bradley W. Kochunas: If the abundance of books on a specific subject measures the pulse of popular culture, there is a seeming revival of soul as a topic of cultural interest. Four years after its release, Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul continued on bestseller lists, and his more recent work, Soulmates, has done well in its release. Moore's mentor, James Hillman, has seen his works reissued by a major publisher; and Hillman's colleague, Robert Sardello, has also witnessed his writing move into popular print. In addition, browsing the religion and New Age sections, the number of books with soul in the title appears to have increased markedly over the last several years. The immense profusion of these works suggests a renewed claim to bring soul back to the attention of the postmodern consciousness, to reawaken the sacred in our everyday lives.

Moore offers that what we suffer from is a loss of soul. But what is soul and what does it mean to suffer its loss? Following Moore and Hillman, I would like to keep soul vaguely defined, diffuse, and ambiguous, except to say that I do not mean the soul to be a theological entity or some kind of spiritual substance of the person. Rather, soul is more a perspective on things, the imaginative possibilities within our natures, that part of us that deepens events into experience.1 To quote Heraclitus (6th century B.C.E.), "You could not discover the limits of soul, even if you traveled every road to do so; such is the depth of its meaning."2 Therefore, rather than attempt to precisely define the meaning of soul, I would prefer to circumambulate and amplify it for understanding.

I would contend that soul's absence denotes a loss of depth, meaning, and attachment. In a society driven by disposable consumerism, we have lost a deep understanding of lack, of doing without, of making do, of abstinence, celibacy, solitude, restraint, and limitation. Americans tend toward expansive, growth-oriented, manic, Jupiterian lifestyles and leave no place for Saturnine melancholia. In an effort to increase the levity and leisure in our lives, we have neglected the gravity of existence. We move restlessly about, disposing of dwellings, vehicles, relationships, possessions; changing our beliefs, families, and lifestyles as easily as changing undergarments; and pursuing the fantasy of growth and progress. Read the rest here.