In the whole of astrology, I’m most fascinated with opposition. My son’s chart is dominated by an opposition that lies across this ascendant/descendent axis.
The video is illustrates how oppositions in a natal chart behave. It’s also about polarizing viewpoints. O made this video in 2012. I see my sadness in it. Woah.
People are still polarized, unfortunately. But if you want to understand oppositions, here’s 2:28 story that will illustrate the phenomena. As a bonus, anyone in the psych business and get a load of what happened here.
Do you have an opposition in your chart?
Okay, figured out the sound now – duh! 🙂
Wow! He didn’t even know you and made a snap judgement! I would have felt offended but that’s just me. Do you know what sign the therapist is?
I only have 1 opposition (Neptune-ASC) and I don’t really see it in my life but my father is full of oppositions and he always complains that people at work never know what to do or always go to him crying because of insecure feelings and all… I told him that maybe it’s because he always feels so confident and sure of himself that he keeps meeting the opposite. He also has Mercury opposite Saturn-Pluto and he always says that when I talk I’m rough!! I have Mercury square Saturn-Pluto so maybe he’s right but I believe that I learned it from him!! 😉
Dawn, I don’t know his sign but I did confront him.
I have Neptune Opposite Venus (1st/7th houses) I never thought about how it played out in my chart. I really love the example of your son.
I’m impressed that you would give a personal example like this, but you need to say more. On the face of it, the therapist’s saying you were wrong was flat-out inappropriate, no matter which side you are on. Maybe your son is too young to understand that legitimate values do come into conflict, but the therapist should be able to appreciate that — and you and his father as well.
I agree with Kevin and I’m glad you confronted the therapist. I guess that further constellated the aries/libra opposition for your son and so I wonder how this session played out in the end for him.
classic!
Experience and education don’t necessarily make a good fit for a therapist. It’s like any intimate relationship. I once went to a therapist who was highly recommended by someone whose ability to judge these things I respected a lot. I knew in the first couple of minutes that it wasn’t going to work.
The therapist overall was very, very good. When I confronted him he instantly got it – this really stunned all 3 of us when it happened which is sort of the point. But he was no hack, that’s for sure. He was extremely competent and effective but once this happened it did degrade the therapy… I mean the therapist was polarized against my son’t mother and my son, like I said is very loyal so he didn’t like or trust him so much after that.
I had a similar thing when I went to couples therapy once. I told my story, he told his and the therapist turned around and started berating the man. I was stunned and so was the man. We left the session (our first) and outside I told him I thought it was jacked and we never went back.
Back to my son’s therapist, we showed up in his office with some very heavy duty issues and strong personalities and frankly I don’t think someone with less experience could have helped us at all, They’d have just been in over their head. This guy tapped his whole 30 years, I’m telling you and for this I am very grateful. Both my son and I were satisfied is what I am saying. We know people are human.
oh gack. i’m glad the therapist managed to catch himself that quick. it can be easy enough to make judgements, but one of the overriding principles throughout my psychology degree was how essential it was to let the other person make their own judgements… (the idea was more, listen and reflect what you hear…) you can twist people’s brains up big time by putting your stuff on them in a situation where you’re perceived to be an authority… :/
Well the other thing I wanted to highlight here is how polarized the COLLECTIVE was (is). Not only did he pick a side, he insinuated to my son that I was stupid at least in this instance, and any sane person could see that… 🙂
Further, he revealed himself in that he was shocked at who was on what side which showed me he’d been dealing with his projection of me all along.
At this point in the therapy to continue would have been more a service to him then to us. My son runs pretty deep, he’s got some very keen instincts and told me within a week or so, he thought he’d gotten what he wanted from the therapy and in fact he had.
The guy really did us a lot of good. Sometimes you just have to know when to quit and both my son had the same read on the situation.
For the record, I’d go back the guy as would my son. His experience was / is supreme. It is not that easy to find 30 years experience and he was very clear-headed…. and then he lost his mind and we were all sort of surprised and sympathetic.
:). Amazing therapist story.
But I also want to say that Elsa, you “read” my oppositions when I was all screwed up over divorcing the ex and it might have been the most helpful thing I ever heard. I hadn’t even thought of oppositions except from what I read in canned readings. Thanks for that. It really changed my thinking and made me intensely aware of what I had been doing with those things. I still go back to that sometimes, thinking, ah, see? You’re doing it.
Thank you, eva. 🙂
On the bright side, when your son is learning to accept duality and opposing viewpoints. He won’t be upset when someone holds a different viewpoint. He will think duality is normal. I have a huge opposition in my chart so does my husband. In both case, we had parents were polar opposites. I don’t get upset when someone disagrees with me. OTOH, a female acquaintance thinks that when I disagree with her, I am attacking her. I am not. I am merely expressing my viewpoint. I don’t expect her to change her viewpoint.
Off topic here, but what else is new. Just wanted to say that I enjoyed the reference to the saturn uranus opposition of yor. Really put things in perspective. Am not saying this for political reasons, but the prez’s statement about coming too far to go back now really frames my saturn uranus opposition experience in retrospect.
Side note: I found it amusing that the first computer I signed onto, at this place I’m at, did not let me access this site because it doesn’t allow access to the “occult or paranormal”. What the hell does that mean anyway?
Do I have an opposition in my chart? Oh yeah, several.
I’d say the most significant one is Chiron/Venus on the Ascendant opposite Uranus on the Descendant.
I enjoyed one relatively normal partnership in my teenage years, but nothing even close to normal since. Well, what’s normal? I would like to think it is steady, present, willing to work through issues. That’s what I’ve observed in the successful relationships of my parents, siblings and friends.
I scare the pants off my hopeful partners after attracting them with that wounded Venus pretty. I don’t know why, and I do understand that my lack of understanding is probably the real issue. I don’t think this combination will be resolved in this lifetime–it’s too big.
Hilarious! Maybe…
My only opposition is Jupiter↔️Sun/Mercury (I’m a “bucket.”) Jupiter will make its return in a few weeks, of course opposing Sun/Mercury once again. Fun times ahead, I hope…
I have pluto opposite sun, venus, mercury and a mercury opposite midheaven. I only want to complain about venus opposite pluto which seems the trickiest to deal with. I still have a lot to learn and to grow more, from an emotional point. I don’t mind the rest. Wouldn’t change mercury/pluto even if sometimes it has its bad sides too, the sun one is kind of loose but I still pay attention to it like an afterthought. The mercury mc opp/conj ic is a good one. I like to read at home and I never stop finding things and information interesting, which can’t be that bad.
I have Pluto in Leo conjunct my MC. Pluto is almost exactly opposite my Sun in Aquarius in the 3 rd house.
Pluto is also the ruler of my chart.
Somehow it feels as if I don’t always “own” my Pluto. It comes about when I project power on to other people, I think, instead of claiming it for my own.
Interesting. I never thought to “own” my Pluto, this will be my first experience with a transit or aspect. Natal Pluto is in my first house (Leo ASC), I think I must project a lot of Pluto energy (in addition to Leo, but I’m a Cancer). More learning ahead!
Natal Chiron and Jupiter oppose my Capricorn stellium, except for Mercury.
I have a Sagatarian Ascendant, and my Sun and Uranus in Cancer are conjunct on my Descendant, and both are out the Cusp, to make it even more confusing!
Sun/Moon oppo 12th/6th… I never fully agree with anyone…lol OTOH, I never fully disagree with anyone either… Father was kicked tot he curb when I was 6mos old…never knew him, and he was never replaced. Now that my mother has passed, and I’ve been reviewing our lives I’m wondering if i unknowingly took up the vacant postition, because she and I definitely had our clashes over the years, but the bond was unbreakable. I’d say the last 20 were the best years of all…still clashing once in a while, but with far far less frequency. Miss her. 🙂
The only opposition I have is my Uranus on my ascendent, and Chiron on my decendent, but my mom’s chart is all oppositions. It makes sense that she had her favorites of us 6 girls, and a few scapegoats. Me having mostly conjunctions, I really fought for the truth, but once I realized that she was making up scenarios where her favorites were not guilty, and I had to be responsible since her baby could never be responsible, I was outta there. Here is one example. I earned a 4 year scholarship including everything to the university, but she refused to help me accept it and because I had the temerity to call my dad and tell him in an attempt to get 100$ month pledged to help me out. So I never went to university, but she helped every single one of my sisters get through university, and they got no scholarships at all. What a mind f#$%.
If you’re still following Elsa-; Charlotte, would love to know how you are doing. I like what you said about, the problem possibly being too big for you to handle in this lifetime, and I like your take on this, it’s realistic and healthy.
Reply to Susan Steffan,
My older brother was always ‘let off’. He was out one day, and I was at home bored to tears (probably about 10 years old) and I dragged out this ‘mechano set’ my brother had been given. On the outside of the box was this structure illustrating what could be built with this set. So I followed the directions to the letter, and built this elaborate crane. My mother was so impressed, she called my father to see, and he asked me if ‘I’ had really done it! My reaction was to look around the empty room, and say “there’s no-one else here”. My father looked away contemptuously.( I didn’t understand, but think I deconstructed the item, as I sensed, that my brother would find a way to punish me:) It certainly wasn’t my intention to ‘ show him up’- I just wanted something to do. I have always minimised my achievements for fear of unpleasant repercussions. Now and again I receive praise and encouragement, but I know to keep a low profile;- almost to the point of anxiety. What a mind f#$%