Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology

Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric soon replaced all of the more complex
Astrology theories held at the time. To this day, all
of our ephemerides are first calculated
by Michael Erlewine
in the “helio” and then translated into the
Most of us learn in grade school that familiar geocentric zodiac positions.
Nicholas Copernicus was the man who
Why did the astrologers of the time not
first demonstrated that it was the Earth
learn to use the heliocentric system as
which circled around the Sun and not
more than a calculation device, in the
vice versa, and that with that discovery,
way we are now learning to do? A
all of the many alternative theories and
detailed answer would take an article of
explanations of apparent planetary
its own, but here is our general
movement took a giant step backward
impression of what did happen, and it
and became obsolete. Before we get
might serve to shed light on this point.
into why the heliocentric chart is
attracting the attention of astrologers all Copernicus received the first copy of his
over the world at this time, let us give a major work, De Revolutionibus on his
brief sketch of the history and roots of deathbed. Because of his failing health,
this fascinating concept. the final preparation had been entrusted
to his pupil Rheticus, who, himself
Most intriguing is one conversation that
unable to see it all the way through
is recorded between Copernicus and his
publication, had given the work to
great pupil Rheticus. Rheticus was
Osiander, a Lutheran preacher
urging the master concerning the
interested in astronomy. It appears that
importance of making observations of
Osiander, alarmed at the disturbance
the planets with all imaginable accuracy.
which the heretical ideas of Copernicus
(Copernicus is somewhat famous in the
might cause, added a prefatory note of
history of astronomy for being a
his own (which he neglected to sign) to
careless observer.) Copernicus
the effect that the principles laid down in
answered that minute accuracy was not
the book were but an abstract
to be looked for at that time in history
hypothesis convenient for purposes of
and that a rough agreement between
calculation. It should be noted that only
theory and observation was all that he
the most advanced mathematicians
could obtain. He devoted his time to
among the astronomers of the time were
questions of theory, rather than to the
able to read Copernicus’s books, and
measurement and recording of celestial
that there was no popular explanation or
events. It is interesting for us to note --
summary of ideas that might have fired
and perhaps the moral of the story --
up astrology’s “poets” with the
that the heliocentric theory that
revolutionary nature of the heliocentric
Copernicus formulated was indeed
idea. The preface inserted by Osiander,
capable of explaining all of the
but believed by readers to have been
centuries’ accumulated observational
written by Copernicus, seemed to
records to a degree of precision beyond
suggest that here was a mere
man’s experience. In other words,
calculation device: a convenient method
Copernicus put his finger right on the
to calculate and arrive at the correct
key concept that explained all planetary
geocentric planetary position.
movement, and this very simple idea
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
To sum up the essence of this, the helio
theory was understood and shared by
only the most advanced mathematicians
of the time and never reached the
heralds of the people, where it might
have been turned into poetry and song
to fire up the public imagination. If that
were not enough, the book (which was
dedicated to the Pope) was soon put on
the Index of banned books, where it
remained until the edition of 1835! The
heliocentric conception became the
exclusive property of the more erudite
among astronomers, and the idea was
fed to the general public through an
academic filter that failed to pass on any
of the esoteric meaning and possible
spiritual significance inherent in the idea
itself, if indeed there was any
appreciation at this time of the esoteric
meaning. The situation has remained
the same until recent times.
Somewhere along the way, the
astronomers parted company with the
astrologers: where before there was
One, now there were two. The
astrologers remained in possession of
their geocentric astrology and came to
forget the mathematics and astronomy
that was once their possession and is
still their heritage. They failed to
assimilate the heliocentric conception,
but remained in firm possession of the
ancient wisdom -- or so we like to
believe.
On the other hand, the astronomers
assimilated the heliocentric theory, but
somehow lost sight as to how this
knowledge related to them in their
personal (geocentric) lives. They ceased
to relate the planetary motions to their
individual lives, and no longer spoke in
public about what all of these motions
might mean. This also continues to the
present day, and the official
ephemerides of the astronomers no
longer even list the geocentric zodiacal
positions of the planets. However, this
great separation is dissolving as
scientists again begin to speak of what it
all means to them, and as astrologers
move to regain the astronomy and
mathematics they surrendered centuries
ago.
Let us turn then and take a look at what
the helio chart is and why astrologers
are discovering its value at this time in
history. Many astrologers are not clear
on just what a heliocentric chart is --
how it differs from the geocentric chart,
and how it is to be calculated. So let’s
begin right there.
Modern astrology, as we have inherited
it, is geocentric, or Earth centered, and
the natal chart with which we are
familiar is a map of the Earth’s view of
the solar system in its journey around
the Sun. The helio chart (not to be
confused with the so-called “solar
chart”) is a map of the same birth
instant; the same planets and the same
zodiac, except as they are viewed from
the center of the Sun, rather than from
the center of the Earth. The “geo” chart
is a diagram of the Earth’s perspective
of the various planets as seen from
within the solar system, while the helio
chart is a diagram of the entire solar
system, as if viewed from high above
the system. The two view-points could
be compared to a snapshot of a bicycle
wheel take from the middle of one of the
spokes of the wheel (geocentric), and
another taken from high above the
wheel, with the hub as a center
(heliocentric). The geo, or Earth
perspective, relates all planetary activity
to the Earth as the center of our
universe, while the helio map is a map
of the solar system conceived as a unit
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
or whole, and it relates all motion to the
Sun center, with the Earth as one
member of the whole. The difference is
one of perspective or attitude. Neither is
“better” than the other, for each gives us
different information about our life.
A key concept with which to approach
helio astrology is that it is more than just
another astrological technique; it
represents a different kind or level of
information. There is great emphasis
within astrology today on holistic and
transpersonal considerations when
approaching natal interpretation; that is,
on interpreting the chart as a whole
rather than as only a conglomerate of
parts. We have come to know in these
times that our whole system is alive,
whether it be our ecological system or
our solar system, and that all parts have
a living interaction. We have reached a
point where we can see the importance
of an inquiry into the life and nature of
the solar system conceived as a living
entity. The life and destiny of this
system is our life, too. We are willing to
suspend for a moment our rather
exclusive relating of all celestial activity
to the Earth as center in favor of
inquiring into the general state of health
of the body, in order to better
understand its relationship to a
particular organ about which we may be
most concerned. At this point, let’s take
a look at the geo and helio charts of an
individual and see how they represent
different views of the same
phenomenon.
We have chosen the late Howard
Hughes because he was a unique
individual, and because there is good
contrast between the patterns in his
geocentric and heliocentric natal charts
(figures 1 and 2, above). We include a
third chart, a schematic diagram to help
illustrate how the positions in the two
charts were derived. If you look at this
schematic (figure 3, above), you will find
the Sun in the center of the chart and
the Earth (a circle with a cross in it) and
planets in orbit around the Sun. This is a
view of the heliocentric arrangement of
the planets on Hughes’ birthday. (Since
we don’t have a birthtime, these are
noon positions.) The heliocentric
positions are shown by solid lines from
the Sun center through the planet to the
degree of the zodiac degree. It is clear
that the geocentric chart is a picture or
diagram taken from within the system,
while the helio seems to be some sort of
grand overview of the solar system.
In Sun-sign language, the Earth sees
the Sun to be in Capricorn, or, in other
words, Hughes’ Sun-sign is Capricorn;
his Earth, therefore, is in Cancer. Please
take enough time to examine this chart,
until the difference between the geo and
helio perspective is clear.
As an example of how these views can
differ, look at Hughes’ geocentric Mars,
which is conjunct Saturn in Aquarius,
and yet, in the helio view, Mars is not in
Aquarius at all, but in Aries, and is the
focus of a very strong T-square. The
basic whole-chart patterns are, as you
can see, very different. The most
prominent whole-chart configuration in
the geo chart is the traditional “wedge”
(an opposition linked to a trine and
sextile aspect), but in the helio we have
two very perfect T-square
configurations. Both charts are quite
significant and elicit a valid interpretation
of the nature of Howard Hughes. Before
we launch further into the theory of the
helio chart, let’s cover drawing up the
helio chart.
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
There is no way you can transform your
geo chart into its helio equivalent; the
formulae involved are far too complex
for the average astrologer. You will need
to purchase special heliocentric
ephemerides of planetary positions, and
a list of all such publications (and where
to order them) is found at the end of this
article. Once you have secured an
ephemeris, nothing could be easier than
constructing a helio chart. There is no
sidereal time to be calculated for helio
charts. The same procedure you now
use to calculate the planet’s places in
the geo chart is all that you will need to
calculate helio positions: in other words,
interpolation between two given values
of zodiac longitude, based on the
interval of time-elapsed simple
proportion. Further, more detailed
instructions for erection and lay-out of
the helio chart can be found in our little
heliocentric ephemeris, The Sun Is
Shining, included in the above-
mentioned list.
There are some significant, easy to see
differences between the geo and helio
chart interpretation, as any newcomer to
the helio approach can testify. First
there is the absence of the Moon: the
Moon is part of the Earth system and is
not considered as separate from the
Earth in the helio chart. from the
vantage point of the Sun, the changes in
motion of the Moon would, in fact, not
be distinguishable from the Earth
motion. The Moon, in other words, is
always to be in an eternal conjunction
with the Earth and cannot ever form any
other aspect with it. And then there is
the fact that you have no ascendant, no
mid-heaven, and no houses -- heaven
forbid! All of these old standards are an
exclusive parts of geo or Earth-centered
astrology and have no direct bearing
upon the helio chart. How’s that for
difference! There is also no retrograde
motion here, but only the forward or
direct motion of the various planets as
they move in orbit about the Sun.
What, you may ask, is there to helio
interpretation? The helio system (as I
myself can well remember) can seem
very austere on first approach. It gives
one the same feeling that some of the
astronauts must experience working in
zero gravity -- nothing to hang on to!
Fear not, though! If your are able to
persevere in your study of helio beyond
the very great sense of loss you may at
first feel -- resulting from the absence of
houses, etc. -- a new and inspiring
quality will occur to you. The major
concern of helio astrology is the very
regular and direct motion of the planets
as they circle around the Sun forming
and endless, ever-changing,
kaleidoscopic series of grand aspect
patterns through the zodiac. Having lost
the more particular concerns of the
Earth-centered astrology, we are faced
with attempting to understand the
whole-chart patterns or gestalts formed
by the solar system at any given
moment. Interpretation of the whole-
chart pattern becomes a matter of
practical necessity in helio astrology,
and as a result, we are forced to
exercise conceptual muscles we have
perhaps never used before.
With the pure energies of the entire
Solar System mapped out before us, the
traditional aspect configurations, such
as the grand trine, mystic rectangle, and
T-square, begin to take on new and
awesome -- perhaps luminous --
significance for us. A cardinal concept
begins to occur to us, one with far-
reaching effect; that of interpretation of
the great or more inclusive life of our
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
solar system in terms of basic
archetypical patterns formed by the
planets. These are the basic patterns
that mediate and signify the life-force
manifesting itself through all persons on
Earth, Mars, or for that matter, in any
other part of the Solar System: a sacred
map of higher consciousness. Is the
helio chart, then, you may ask, a map of
God’s life? No, not of God’s life, but it
seems to be a map of the saints’ or
masters’ lives. And that is a thought. But
before we get too far ahead of
ourselves, let’s spend a moment on a
metaphysical consideration of the two
systems.
There can be no question in anyone’s
mind that the helio chart and the
approach it requires represent a more
inclusive reality than the geocentric
system does. It concerns itself with
energy and activity that is impersonal or
transpersonal, affecting all persons
energy at the level of the solar system,
rather than the Earth. This energy, as
manifested in the helio chart, is shared
by all planets. And any future colonies
we might establish in space would all
share the same helio chart:
consideration of a specific locality within
the solar system is not the concern of
the helio chart. There is general
agreement among those astrologers
who use and have investigated
heliocentric astrology that the Earth-
centered natal chart is somehow a chart
of the personality and the circumstances
in which each individual is involved, and
that the helio chart refers to some larger
or more fundamental energy and self --
call it an inner nature, deeper self, the
“true I,” or what-have-you. All agree that
the helio, in fact, represents a different
ordering of information. It has been the
traditional suggestion of most of the
world’s great religions that as we work
with and in and through our particular
personality, as we accept and make use
of its possibilities, we will discover the
true self. We find this self in and through
the limitations of our personal lifetimes.
Much of astrology in its modern form
has been a study specifically of
personality (on a global level), while our
inner or deeper self has been referred to
as simple or undifferentiated experience
shared by all persons. In other words,
each of us refers to his or her inner self,
and all more or less agree that we mean
the same thing, that we refer to the
same One.
However, with the discovery of Pluto
and the rise of modern psychology in
this century, there has been an
important and fundamental change in
our understanding of the self -- our
common self, the inner self we al share.
We have had increased awareness of
this inner self, and this new information
has been protruding and emerging into
our consciousness over the last
decades. My point here is not only that
we are now able to share an awareness
of a common self, but that this self is
now capable of being described, even if
only in the manner of the proverbial
blindfolded men, grasping onto different
parts of the same elephant. And, most
important, we realize that selfhood is
differentiated into basic “types of self.”
These are the archetypes that until now
were only described in words and
pictorial images, and were not able to be
measured. The helio chart is a symbol,
a diagram or mandala of these great
entities of our lives. To make sure the
importance of all the above is clear, let
me rephrase it a bit as follows.
Our astrological tradition with its
geocentric frame of reference concerns
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
itself above all with the particular
circumstances of individual life here on
Earth. Reference to the higher or inner
self is not so much indicated or found in
the geo chart itself, but must often be
brought out by the intuition of the adept
astrologer. We did not have a chart of
this larger life, this inner self -- the
“vision face-to-face,” as it were. Until the
opening of our mass subconscious to
self-awareness, and the subsequent
development of psychology and psychic
sciences, we did not know at a
conscious level, that there were kinds or
types of the One Self; that between the
Creator, at one pole, and our personal
lives at the other, was a panoramic
expanse of archetypes, or saints’ or
masters’ lives, to be known within.
We cannot prophesy whether the
ancient world of Atlantis will emerge
somewhere in one of the world’s
oceans, but we do know that some great
continent is rising up into the ocean of
consciousness, allowing us to perceive
and know its basic form. This rising into
consciousness of what has been
beneath or sub-conscious has been the
major concern of modern psychology
since its inception. It is psychology, in
fact. All of us are seeing more into the
inner or deeper self than we ever did
before. Perhaps this “deeper” or “true”
material was the experience of but a few
saints or men of genius in past
centuries. We cannot say, but we do
know that it is becoming available to the
many in these times. In other words, we
seem to be experiencing some kind of
mass initiation into deeper
understanding at this time, and not by a
small and select group of mankind. As
astrologers, we should be able to testify
to the quickening our field has
undergone in the last decades, as more
and more astrology comes to focus and
into its own, ready to perform a crucial
task in the not-so-distant future.
Let me sum this up: the roles of
astrologer and psychologist will merge
in coming years; indeed, the are doing
so already. Astrology will be discovered
to be the most appropriate formal
notation for the concerns of psychology,
much more efficient than the countless
words and theories now invoked to
explain the life of the psyche. The
function of the astrologer/psychologist in
the latter part of this century will be,
above all, to minister unto those coming
into greater spiritual awareness; to be a
kind of cosmic midwife, or midwife of the
spirit. Astrologers will assume (or
resume) a more priest-like function in
society. The public impression of
astrology as hocus-pocus will fade as
the tide of spiritual newcomers grows
stronger and the demand for individual
attention increases. It will no longer be
possible for us to afford only a few great
astrologers in a generation capable of
unraveling the nature of the individual
and the truth (or “dharma,” if you like) if
this Earth existence. Necessity will
dictate that we have many astrologers,
as the spirit of group work takes hold. In
other words, genius will be found to be a
quality common to all men and women,
in which all, through right understanding,
may participate. We are sure that many
of you will grasp the nature of what is
being written here and may even concur
with it! Some, on the other hand, may
feel taxed by an overdose of
metaphysics. As an antidote, in that
case, let me give you more particular
information about the interpretive
techniques of helio astrology.
The Interpretive Techniques
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
We would like to show in more detail the
technique used to elucidate the
archetypes or soul-types found in the
helio chart. The greatest attention is to
be given to the whole-chart patterns
present in the solar system, regardless
of what planets happen to create the
pattern, or what signs of the zodiac are
being occupied. The signs are
secondary consideration here, though
they may be interesting and valid. A
whole-chart pattern is defined here as a
series of major aspects that link together
to form one pattern that reaches all 360
degrees around the chart. Examples
familiar to astrologers would be the
Grand Trine and the T-square
configurations. Such patterns refer to
the archetypes or soul types we are
talking about.
In beginning work, we make use of only
the traditional major aspects --
conjunction, opposition trine, square,
and sextile -- to form whole-chart
patterns, and these aspects, when
linked together, form certain basic
patterns or wholes. We have pictured
these “building block” patterns in figures
4A & 4B (above).
We repeat that our research shows that
the basic archetypical pattern,
regardless of the signs and the planets
involved, is the single most important
factor to comprehend for a successful
entry into helio astrology. Within our
definition of archetypes, the most
important questions to be answered
when looking at the helio archetype of
an individual or even is this: does this
whole-chart pattern constitute a cross
through the Sun, like a T-square, or
does it lack the cross and avoid sending
a cross through the center, as in the
grand trine? After years of research in
examining thousands of helio charts,
and through fifteen hundred individual
chart readings performed with helio and
geo natal charts side by side, the single
most important idea to emerge form it all
is the simple question: is there or is
there not a T-square in the helio chart?
The square and the trine have been,
throughout the history of astrology, the
two basic aspect archetypes (hard and
soft, bad and good, etc.) used to define
the basic nature of an individual as
reflected in his chart. In our helio work,
we do not focus on the solitary trine or
square, but consider these aspects only
when they contribute to form a larger
whole-chart pattern. This does not mean
that a simple square unconnected with
other major aspects is not important, but
when aspects link together in some
resonant pattern, they seem to be
outstanding indicators of the nature or
“chemistry” of that moment.
Our technique involves drawing out the
helio chart on a 360 degree wheel and
connecting the major aspects (drawn in
with colored pencils: red for squares and
oppositions, green for trines and
sextiles. The next step is to see if these
aspects link together to form some
larger pattern that we can call in
archetype. These patterns, when once
they are drawn in, help to raise the
archetypes above the level of the other
aspects drawn in colored pencil. This
process is described in detail in several
of the publications listed at the end of
this article. It should be noted that the
care and the colors used to draw out
these archetypes amounts to a form of
meditation for most students, and that
much of the information and inspiration
found in the helio work comes from the
contemplation and absorption of the
correctly constructed and drawn
diagram. Remember that we have in the
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology

helio chart a mandala or sacred diagram failed to sustain life when it came down
of the great energies of our solar to practice? Other flashes result in a
system. body of technique being formed that
may satisfy and serve us for our entire
Let us turn now to an investigation of
life time -- or for many lifetimes,
our previous -- and hopefully intriguing! -
perhaps. Some incarnations, in other
- statement that the helio archetypes
words, are more strong and have a
appear as a map of the lives of the
long-lasting physical existence than do
saints and masters: one implication
others. In the helio chart, these are
being, in other words, that one’s helio
represented by the T-square whole-
type can indicate to what sort of “school
chart configurations.
of yoga’ or philosophy a student
belongs, or falls heir to. The questions as to where we go when
we are between incarnations (out of
There is so much awareness these days
of reincarnation, past lives, and the like, work!) is best solved by looking into the
mini-lives we all live within any given
that perhaps you would enjoy a
lifetime. An example: if I have a real
discussion of how the helio chart might
idea about my astrology -- a good
relate to this very popular concern.
moment of inspiration -- and succeed in
People seem to agree that there is such
bringing this idea into my practice
a thing as incarnation -- the soul
through actual chart technique, such
entering the body -- and that it might
that I may try to test the idea, what may
even be possible to do it again or,
happen? The idea may prove to have
somehow, to reincarnate. There is much
been a very true idea and serve me well
more confusion in our mind when we try
for a lifetime, or it may work (and this I
to explain where we go between
know well) for a while, prove too
incarnation, what we do there, and so
awkward of ineffectual, and have to be
forth. Incarnation can be reduced to a
phased out. When the idea ceases to
reckoning of the many physical bodies
hold good for me, it frees all of the
walking around throughout the world,
energy I have involved in it, and I have
but it is much more than that. There are
to go search once again to satisfy my
man kinds of bodies other than the
craving for a more secure astrological
physical body that serve as vehicles
technique. The unresolved quantity of
through which to experience life,
energy must always seek to satisfy
through which to come to know oneself.
itself. There I am again, with my original
For instance, astrologers have each
desire unsatisfied, and driven to search
gathered and built around themselves a
all over again. Our point is that we are
body of technique and knowledge,
all the time investing in and forming
through which they can feel and know
small vehicles or bodies in which we
life in astrological terms. In all areas of
live, and out of which to get some
life we are constantly creating various
satisfactory knowledge of the self. Some
vehicles in and through which to learn
are more successful than others.
and live. Some vehicles or bodies that
we form are more successful and last Our larger lifetimes or cycles may be
longer than others -- they are the more looked at with this same principle in
true. What astrologer among us has not mind. Some individuals represent a
had some hot astrological flash that more physical and solid incarnation of
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
the self than others, while others are
very insecure and feel but little involved
in life at all. The helio trine types are
more at home in the mind, or mental
self, and imagination; they spend a large
part of their life, in effect, out-of-the-
body, roaming the halls of the mind. The
T-square types, on the other hand, are
so wrapped up in themselves, so
wonderfully selfish and unconscious of
themselves as anything more than a
presence, that they are indeed a marvel
to behold. Many public figures like
movie stars and politicians have this
sense of presence and lack of self-
consciousness that makes them so
watchable and, we must admit, lovable.
They bring out the spectator in us and
we enjoy caring and serving and being
around them. They feel good. They are
living masters of this physical realm, for
they know from constant experience
what life is from a very feeling, intuitive,
and physical point of view.
Watching all of this, trine types are
anything but lovable and feeling-
oriented, for they are watchers -- the
see-ers and prophets of whatever there
is to be seen. They do not feel
comfortable being looked at and do not
assume objective form with ease. They
are ever subjective, awake, and self-
conscious, and can describe in minute
detail what life looks like from their more
meta- or transphysical perspective.
The disembodied spirit, ever so
sensitive to the rise and fall of the
physical “beast” in us, is on some grand
rollercoaster ride, sensitive to every last
thing and to everybody. Plowing through
all this like some huge ship through life,
T-square types dominate in the physical
world; they are the monarchs of this
realm. They have no choice, for they
are, in a literal sense, bound to learn
what it feels like to live and to feel alive.
Like a great queen bee, the T-square
type is surrounded and accompanied
through life by the loving attendance
and care of the less-physical types who
crowd around to hear the tales of the
flesh (and of the desires of the flesh), to
get a feeling of what it is like there, “on
the inside.”
These basic archetypes, trine and T-
square, are the yin and the yang of
astrology. Within any whole we can
sense the two poles or opposite
charges, and in the astrological chart
these have been, throughout the
literature and history of the field, the
trine and the square aspects as types
for the easy and yard, the yin and the
yang. “Opposites attract” and “sames
repel” is ancient wisdom. And the
chemistry involved in the exchange and
communion between these great
opposites, these streams of life leaving
and entering the physical body like a
vast circulatory system, is what helio
chart comparison is all about. Popular
wisdom sings the same tune when it
tells us that there are just two kinds of
people in the world -- those who are
born to love (trine type) and those who
are born to be loved (T-square type).
These are the great streams of our
consciousness, like Ganges and Kashi.
These are the approaches to life that we
call evolution (T-squares) and involution
(trines). The T-square, bound to the
physical, seeks to express himself and
to evolve into a more aware and less
feeling (more thoughtful) existence,
while the trine types feel the need to
involve themselves with matter and to
take on form: to have a more feeling and
less speculative existence.
Given the accurate helio chart, a very
great deal of information of immense
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology
value to clients is forthcoming,
pertaining to the dharma (the “school of
life” or yoga) to which we belongs, of
which he is already a representative.
What are the lessons and kinds and
qualities of experience they can expect?
What, in fact, they will seek out: the
nature of their individual “yogas” or their
marriages (yoga=union) to this world.
Table 5 (page 10) is a list of keywords
that may prove helpful. Once you have
grasped the yin and the yang, the
opposite types in astrological terms,
almost any questions and concern may
be examined in this light. Even the most
complex helio chart pattern can be
reduced to a dominance of either the T-
square or the trine archetype. Once the
dominant archetype for a chart is found,
information of great value to the client is
available regarding what they are or
have to do in this world (their
archetype), and what they lack or want
to do (the opposite archetype or quality).
A balance between these two opposites
is the straight, narrow gate through
which each of us must pass, the middle
path or balance we must find.
The very best image that we have found
to represent the unity of the yin and
yang concept is the familiar honeybee
during hibernation. In winter, the
honeybees cling together to form a large
sphere of solid bees. They sustain this
configuration throughout the cold
weather. In the very center of this
massive ball of bees, something very
special is always happening. The bees
in the center perform, both day and
night, a feverish kind of dance. The
endless activity of this dance generates
precious heat that, radiating outwards,
warms the entire ball of bees and keeps
them from freezing. When the bees
dancing in the center tire, they are
replaced by other bees who take up the
dance. In other words, the whole sphere
of bees is in constant revolution and
circulation. The bees that tire fall asleep
and, over time, are worked outwards
from the center to the very edge of the
sphere. Here the cold awakens them
and they burrow back to the center and
take up the work of the dance once
again -- an endless process.
Another good image of the endless
process of incarnation and out-of-the-
body experience that is our life in this
world is as follows: we are like a vast
spaceship in endless voyage through
eternity. At any one time, some of us
have more physical incarnations and
form the very body of the spaceship
itself. Others, of a more reflective and
less physical nature, care and serve and
tend to the welfare of those more
objective physical incarnations. Much
like the ball of bees, this great ship of
life moves through the great silence that
is our eternal life process. Those who
identify and represent the body and form
awaken and work themselves through
life, toward a more aware and reflective
life, while those who are born aware and
out-of-the-body work to lock themselves
into form and to find peace in simple
existence and action. These two great
streams of life-waves form the One Self
and life process. Within this one eternal
process are the two great opposites or
poles, the yin and the yang, that we
have represented in this article in the
form of the T-square and trine helio
archetypes. The red-blooded, solid, and
more arterial types (T-square archetype)
are ever working from within the body
out toward the periphery to a more
refined state and life, while the finer
green-blue of the veins of our life (trine
and wedge archetypes) work from
 Our Roots in the Sun – Heliocentric Astrology

outside the body (from the periphery) in Of the Flesh / Of the Spirit
toward the heart and center of the body
(our incarnation). These two great
steams in life identify the circulation or Michael@Erlewine.net
life process. and the root of all this
circulation (and this has been the theme
of this article) is the heart of the body of
our solar system, the Sun: a mass of
pure and radiant energy. The
contemplation of the endless mandala of
the solar system (heliocentric astrology)
in terms of two eternal archetypes, in
endless combination and exchange,
brings a new and welcome dimension to
modern astrology. A dimension that will
help to complete and enhance the
knowledge of our essential life and Self.
Keywords for the Polar or Opposite
Archetypes
T-Square Helio Archetype / Trine Helio
Archetype
Yang / Yin
Time / Space
Red Blood Cell / White Blood Cell
Careless / Careful
In-the-Body / Out-of-the-Body
Sense / Sight
Evolving / Involving
Wants Out / Wants In
Eternal Guest / Eternal Host
Born to be Loved Born to Love
Object / Subject
Seeks to Express Seeks to Impress
Intuitive / Reasoning
Love the Mind / Love the Body
Material / Mental or Spiritual
Dense / Subtle