The Biological and environmental influences in the natal chart

The Biological and environmental Influences in the natal chart

The Biological and environmental Influences in the natal chart
By Christos Archos M.Sc
Christos Archos M.Sc is an Astrologer, holding an M.Sc in Psychology. He has been a Professional astrologer since 2003. He has been engaged in astrology more than 16 years and he has worked mostly in Psychological astrology, synastry and relations and also with the personal development of humans. Counselor of many people, he was the first to introduce the 1st four year program of studies in astrology in 2006. He holds a diploma in Cognitive Behavioral therapy C.Dip. He believes that every human has the ability in his life to get rid of his bondages and change his life. “Astrology is the path for the discovery of our real self and the way so that we can create a life we deserve”.

Since 2003 as a professor of Astrology he has presented a lot of seminars in Greece and in other countries. He cooperates with many sites and magazines all over the world as myhoroscope.gr, eportal.gr, drosostalida.com, 4women.gr, omertanews.gr, omtimes.com, ascendinghearts.com. He is head of research in VAF institute and also an editor in Omtimes Magazine for the Humanity Healing foundation. He has written 14 researches and more than 200 articles in astrology. Finally he is a founder member of the 1st astrological association “Pame astrologia” and a member of NCGR.
Unlocking the mysteries of natal chart is something that people try to do for millennia. The most common problem is that astrologers cannot usually distinguish the environmental from biological influences. That is not only the reason limitations astrology may have but also the very nature of life itself.
Looking at life itself we find that environmental influences and biological influences dance together in the universe. Their bondages are sometimes so intense that it is hard to distinguish if something is a result of a biological influence or of an environmental. We need to understand the root of the problem, if for example it is a result of an environmental factor or of a biological one. Knowing this we can give a lot of help to all of these people which come to be consulted.
The problem may sometimes result from the environment but the roots are biological. For instance a person who is not faithful to his relationships because of the genetic factors he or she will encounter severe criticism and this is because of our society ethics. Also the problem of a person with homosexual tendencies does not come from his biological influences (and environmental partly identity) but from the criticism and the lack of the environmental support he has.
Looking deeper at the influences of the problems it will help us also to become better counselors. This also minimizes the threat of educating the client to be in need of continuing support. That is important because thousands of people although they learn to overcome their problems they finally become attached to the therapeutic process which is transformed to a suffocating bondage, inhibiting the client to flourish and discover his own nativity and environmental chances so that he can be developed.
Understanding the biological and environmental factors of the natal chart we will be able to understand which of the biological talents are capable of being in use through the help of the environment. We have seen hundreds of people in our private practice with great talents and with the ability to change the route of humanity but because of the environmental inhibitions or the environmental needs unfortunately they finally lack the ability to use them and remain inactive.
Of course there is the possibility using Transpersonal psychology and especially one of its techniques, which is the “empowering of the Will”, to help the individual to get over those possible inhibitions. But on the other hand educating EVERY astrologer in Transpersonal psychology it is not something realistic, but an astrologist needs to be familiar with the differences between the environmental and biological factors on the natal chart.
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
The basic biological factors are in our zodiac signs. It is true that the zodiac circle is the biological basis in the world. While the tropical zodiac is the fundamental evolutionary needs of humanity that are found in our planet. Sidereal astrology and its zodiac circle help us to look at the development of these biological factors through ages. But we will not analyze this further because it does not belong to the article’s subject.
Human’s life is not very long; the great changes of the sidereal zodiac circle are not of immediate interest for him because the years they need to be expressed are several millennia. What is interesting in the individual level is the tropical zodiac because it reflects the fixity of the environment he lives.
Planets in Signs reveal us several inherent characteristics. We understand that a person with Venus in Taurus is inclined to be more faithful to relations and more sensational than he could be a person with Venus in Gemini which is more intellectual and perhaps more unfaithful. These differences are very important especially when we look at synastry because when we find these differences it is hard to work in a harmonic way because persons are not able to work them constructively as they are natural inclined characteristics.
The same happens with all the planets in signs. The specific decanates, dwadashamsas, degrees of the zodiac, give us specific pieces of information about the person’s biological influences. Talking about biological influences we talk about everything that came as a result of previous factors which come from the external and internal world until the time of birth. From the time of human’s birth and later the human starts having direct influences from his environment. His parents’ behavior, his family, the region he lives, his country and the specific time in history affect him. Even if we had the ability to have the same horoscope at the same time the lives of those horoscopes would be completely different according to the needs of the environments they lived. A person in Constantinople in 1100 A.D would have a completely different life from a person who lived in the Amazon forest.
In biological factors we have to search the great “six chapters”. Each chapter is an axis which in our own primitive way of thinking we understand it as opposition while they are in fact the same thing.
The Aries and Libra axis has to do with the concept of “Encounters” and how the person is genetically constructed to react to these encounters. Looking further at Venus and Mars (the rulers of the signs) we will be able to understand how the person is constructed to interact with people. Encounter axis helps us to understand if the person is biologically able to fight for his own existence and if he can compromise and make alliances with people.
In The Taurus and Scorpio axis there are the Possession self – preservation ideas. If this axis did not exist the ability to look after ourselves and fight for our lives would not exist, as a species we would already be extinct.
In Gemini and Sagittarius axis there is the evolution of understanding from basic neural messages to complex philosophical thought. Here the human is able to be developed and go further through a series of mental steps. An astrologer can understand a lot about the intelligence of a person and his natural abilities of learning. Learning is a basic need for surviving because by learning we avoid dangers that may even put an end in our lives.
In Cancer – Capricorn axis we find the idea of tribalism. The ability to construct new ideas and identities socially and the emotion of belonging to a cultural group, which shares common interests and ideas, are found in this axis. If you want to lead you need to belong to a group. In this axis we can learn much more about the ability a person has in communicating with groups and leading them. It is of great importance because the genes need to have a chance to be transmitted in the future generations and one way to achieve this it is having strong leadership.

Leo and Aquarius is the axis of communication of personality. This is a significant axis especially with human species which has a complete personality system. In this axis we learn to form secure and stable personalities that will assist us to work with groups of people, we have to dissociate the idea of the group as it is in Cancer and in Aquarius. While Cancer has to do with Tribal grouping the Aquarius has a more developed idea in groups that are based on more abstract ideas.
Finally in the axis of Virgo and Pisces we find the existentialism of biological continuity. Here we find the ultimate act of continuation through genes even with the cost of losing our lives. It is one of the greatest biological abilities because while a person may not be able to transmit his own genes by sacrificing himself he may help another person close to his genes (his family) to continue his life. Also the ideas of generosity and morality are found here.

ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS
When an astrologer tries to make a natal chart it is known that it is basic for him to know the exact time and location of birth. Time and location of birth are in fact the central core of understanding the environment we live in. When we want to comprehend the society and the influences it has, we have to know the time and the place, for instance 1998 social structures are different from those in 1234 A.D. Without the specific location we are unable to find the Ascendant and in most of the house systems we are unable to find also the rest houses too. LOCATION is ENVIROMENT and the houses are the environmental factors that influence us. For this reason some astrologers identify the ASC as the persona, the mask we wear to face people, although I disagree with the way they understand the persona. Persona is not just a fake idol that has nothing to do with the real person; even the mask we wear can give us HUGE information about ourselves and about the needs we have and a result we adopt a specific mask. Although in 2012 we should not talk about Persona but about social identity theory and social constructed phenomena.
A planet in a house brings very important pieces of information about the way the environment affects us (in natal, progressive and direction chart). Our identities are not stable through time but they change. We know for example how severe lifetime events can change rapidly our lives and we can take a completely different way in our life.
While the personal planets involve usually personal events in our lives, the outer planets, especially the planets outside the Saturn orbit are usually connected with great events in society that influence people’s lives. For example the recent cycles of Planets like the 2008-9 opposition of Saturn and Uranus, the 2011 opposition of Saturn and Eris and the 2012 – 13 square of Uranus and Pluto is sure that will affect people in various ways because of huge social changes. But people’s lives will change in several ways through the houses which were influenced during those turbulent times. Changes can also happen in society through individuals’ actions. A strong personality with outer planets in his angular houses usually affects society because the houses bring severe power from the person’s psyche or individuality to the outer world. According to this, Napoleon was a product of his historical period but this was also a product of his actions.
Again the houses hold some common keywords with the zodiac signs but in different perspective. The 1st and the 7nth houses have to do with the way a person will act in his life in his relations and as identity in his environment. The 2nd and the 8th are connected with money and personal reserves; money is here intense because our society considers money in an important way. The 3rd and the 9nth houses are not like Gemini and Sagittarius, which, have to do with the ability to learn, but with the institutions such as schools and universities. The 4th and the 10nth houses have to do with the country and our social role in it. The 5th and the 11th have to do with our creativity and our belonging to people and finally the 6th and the 12th houses have to do with our service to the society, isolation and the possibility of being a scapegoat.
IS THERE ANY “I” OR SPIRITUAL POWER?
The questions are: are we just a by-product of our biological and environmental influences holding no ability to change our future? Are we just passive receivers of things? Do we have any real freedom of choice? What about the spiritual factor? What about the power of the soul and its destiny? What about the concept of reincarnation?
Of course these questions are philosophical and they are not easily answered. I think that these questions can only be answered through the individual’s personal perspective. A spiritual person will believe in a spiritual influence and he will see a reason behind all these, a teleological philosophy will run all over his astrology. On the other hand an atheist or an agnostic cannot see any need to put a spiritual power behind astrology. I am sure that both sides will have their arguments but this conversation is not something we need. On the other hand we can answer in the first part of the question. We know somehow that during our evolution humanity managed to obtain Consciousness, which as a result means that we also have personal freedom and unlike our influences we can change our lives. Of course we do not have the absolute freedom to do what we want; we have limitations which we need to respect to. This is also the main role of Saturn. But through the understanding of these biological and environmental limitations and abilities we can have an effective session for the individual. We can help people change their lives in a better way and help them unlock their true power.