From: "Chris Lofting" <ddiamond@ozemail.com.au>
To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: astrology-talk behavior
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 10:02:03 +1000
-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Lynch <aaron@mcs.net>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Date: Friday, 2 July 1999 3:52
Subject: RE: astrology-talk behavior
>A personal anecdote on this thread:
>
>
>Last week, I thought I was an "Aquarius." This was not based on any hard
>evidence, or even on 'lab' results. The only reason I ever accepted the
>label "Aquarius" was because that's what someone born in the U.S. told me.
>
>Several days ago, I went on a first date with a classical musician from
>Japan. When she asked what day was my birthday, I told her. She then said
>that I am an "Aries." She explained that this was a good sign, because she
>was "Aries" too. So now I am an "Aries." Who am I to say that one strain of
>astrology is superior to any other?
>
Here is a simple test, based on the format of the general typology and
excluding 'cosmic' influences. If you:
(a) favour facts over value and (b) favour asking 'what could be' (and so
more interested in what is behind things rather than the things themselves)
then you are a fire sign. This ties into the temperament categorisation of
problem-solver/solution-seeker
(c) favour facts over value and (d) favour 'what is' (the
sensation/expression) then you are an air sign. Temperament categorisation
is sensation seeker.
(e) favour values over facts and (f) favour 'what is' then you are a water
sign. Temperament categorisation is security seeker.
(g) favour values over facts and (g) favour 'what could be' then you are an
earth sign. Temperament categorisation is identity seeker.
There is a hierarchy of states here where the above 'map' to what are called
cardinal signs (a+b maps to Aries.) When you zoom-in for more detail you
find that, for example, Sagittarius and Leo are 'refinements' of Aries.
Aries are 'rationalists' from which emerge the more refined categorisations
of Engineer types (aka Sagittarius) and Organiser types (aka Leo) with the
latter more 'fire' than the former since the former is more into relational
analysis rather than object analysis. These object/relationship biases are
not so differentiated in the 'Aries' type.
We can directly map these categorisations to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI) where the Aries type maps to the general NT temperament and the
Sagit/Leo to the more particular XNTP/XNTJ types.
We can do this since both categorisation systems are based on dichotomies
and so elicit the same underlying sense of 'meaning'.
To take this further:
In the I Ching these 'fire' types map to a digram consisting of an unbroken
base line (yang) and above it a broken line (yin) (Aries). The refined forms
of Sagit/Leo map to trigrams, Sagit is "thunder" and leo is "fire".
A mathematics categorisation:
Aries maps to 'parts', boundary distinctions, rational numbers. ('this
from/to that')
Leo refines this whereas Sagit gets into dynamic relationships
(imaginary/complex numbers)
Astrology is a good typology system but loses it when it takes things
literally (and so gets rejected by the more 'scientific' minded.)
best,
Chris.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ddiamond
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