“There are several pieces on your blog about people who get bullied, but not on bullies themselves. I was wondering, how do you think this shows up in a chart? Most of the people I’ve run into who exhibit this behavior are very aggressive, power hungry, and lack a basic respect for other people – they treat them like objects (to be controlled). What I’m talking about is extreme and vicious, cut-throat, will not stop at anything to in type behavior. I’ve seen this in the work place, and it frequently shows up
as domination, manipulation, intimidation – your average adult bully. What’s your take on this behavior?”
Thanks for the question, it’s a good one. I have thought about it for several days and am sorry to say I have no answer. At first I thought it was because I don’t know any bullies. I have had to deal with them but it’s always been swift and I have no birth data. I guess you could say I am not interested in bullies… they bore me.
But as I thought about this some more I’ve pretty much concluded this is not something you can see in a chart. It’s sort of like mental illness. People point to this or that in a chart and offer a diagnosis but I don’t think there is anyway to tell how someone is going to use the energy they have available to them and I am a prime example.
People have free will, that is all there is to it.
Anyone else?
My experience of the past few years (romantically and professionally) has led me to wonder about bullying too – I’ve encountered bullying, and in the workplace, I’ve displayed my fair share of it too. Learning about my own Sun/Pluto issues has helped open my eyes to some of this. And the thing I keep coming back to, over and over, isn’t astrology, but just that inner sense that bullying indicates woundedness. I can tend to my own wounds, and it’s worked miracles.
I think Pluto could be tied based on recently reading a book. With Pluto tied to wounds, the book indicated that essentially there can be a kind of victim / perpetrator spectrum – where it could go one way or the other. And that the thought on the perpetrator end could be something like “I had suffer / survive through this and so you can / should too.”
I just have to say that there are different kinds of bullies, and the obviously power-hungry one is just one type.
I would guess it has something to do with power/dominance aspects in the chart, combined possibly with aspects of detachment and a lack of empathy. People who enjoy picking on other people, enjoy the dominance, don’t feel the other person’s pain (or enjoy it).
I would agree with Jennifer. I have Pluto conjunct my north node in the second house in Virgo, and I Have seen more than my fair share of bullies – but to me it is a total power thing and it is worth sitting down and reading Freud to understand agressive human behavior, power and dominance. I have also been very fortunate to work with some very good men in all male environments and they curb that kind of stuff pretty quick. When I had Saturn transiting my 11th house of group associations and my Moon in Gemini – I was bullied in the work place and it it was horrible. Looking at all this I knew it would lift when saturn went into the 12th house – and it did I switched jobs. I also knew the minute I got myself out of the middle of that mess, the people who were bullying me would start in on each other – and that is exactly what they did. I was protected by a mentor there the whole time and she told me what happened after I left.
My take on it – it is a power thing. You have to stand up to them as well -. I am not sure what the signatures would be – I know I related it to my own development – ie – I am here to learn about right use of power (pluto conjunct north node and Sun in the 10th house) and the problems occured during a Saturn transit.
Bullies always pick on someone they perceive as weak – that is why the guys always smack it down as soon as it rears its ugly head.
Oh – and I guess the only other thing I can say is if you are dealing with one – you can never ever project the aura of being weak or a victim, as they go right into that.
Thanks so much for addressing my question Elsa. I agree, it is like a mental illness. Thanks for all the helpful comments from everyone!
Althera – I think it’s a Pluto phenomenon too. Transiting Pluto is on my DSC and entering my 7th, so I guess I am seeing (and learning) a lot about power one-on-one and in partnerships at work and everywhere else.
K – me too. This has been a life-long problem. The Pluto transit has just made it ridiculously obvious with extreme bullies. My normal MO tends to be Neptunian (natal Neptune conjunct DSC) and I do all the typical things: escape, tune out, ignore, confuse, hide, etc. And this has worked somewhat in the past, but not anymore. You are right that they see me as being in a position where I’m unable to fight back, and they exploit it. I also work in a male environment, and have learned so much from men! They are much more sensitized to aggression and can spot it so easily. I’ve watched and learned, and now I do what the guys do – I meet the first sign of aggression with some of my own. And I see that bullies don’t stay where they may lose face, it threatens their sense of power. They set up shop where they can reliably and comfortably dominate, surrounded by people who never challenge them. They are easily threatened by open competition and the possibility of loss!