The Natural Disposition

[Guest guest]

One of Dr. Marc Edmund Jones' major contributions to astrological theory was a set of techniques (described in Essentials of Astrological Analysis) for grasping the meaning, the feeling, the sense of a birth chart as a whole. His Temperament Type (7 chart shapings) technique is well-known; his Natural Disposition technique less so, but is worthy of serious study.

 

THE NATURAL DISPOSITION

 

by Bob Makransky

 

According to the Yaqui Indian sorcerer Don Juan (quoted from The Power of Silence by Carlos Castaneda), the entire human race falls into three categories. Although he describes the three types in the most negative terms, nonetheless the most likely astrological correspondence shows through quite clearly:

"People in the first class are the perfect secretaries, assistants, companions. They have a very fluid personality, but their fluidity is not nourishing. They are, however, serviceable, concerned, totally domestic, resourceful within limits, humorous, well-mannered, sweet, delicate. In other words, they are the nicest people one could find, but they have one huge flaw: they can't function alone. They are always in need of someone to direct them. With direction, no matter how strained or antagonistic that direction might be, they are stupendous. By themselves, they perish.

"People in the second class are not nice at all. They are petty, vindictive, envious, jealous, self-centered. They talk exclusively about themselves and usually demand that people conform to their standards. They always take the initiative even though they are not comfortable with it. They are thoroughly ill at ease in every situation and never relax. They are insecure and are never pleased; the more insecure they become the nastier they are. Their fatal flaw is that they would kill to be leaders.

"In the third category are people who are neither nice nor nasty. They serve no one, nor do they impose themselves on anyone. Rather they are indifferent. They have an exalted idea about themselves derived solely from daydreams and wishful thinking. If they are extraordinary at anything, it is at waiting for things to happen. They are waiting to be discovered and conquered and have a marvelous facility for creating the illusion that they have great things in abeyance, which they always promise to deliver but never do because, in fact, they do not have such resources."

These three different types of personality were described by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones (in somewhat less caustic terms) under the rubric of a simple yet powerful technique known as the Natural Dispostion.* What the Natural Disposition reveals is the aspect of everyday life which excites the greatest interest and enthusiasm, whether this be for people (mutables – Don Juan's first class), projects (cardinals – the second class) or ideas (fixed – the third class). The differences between the three types are most apparent in the kind of conversation each prefers: mutables tend to talk (and gossip) about other people and their lives, and shyly avoid talking about themselves or their own feelings. Cardinals tend to eschew conversation altogether unless they can talk about themselves, in which case they become animated and voluble. Fixeds tend to keep conversation on a formal, abstract, or intellectual plane; and in any event, they keep their distance.

These three archetypes are often recognized in psychological literature. For example, in the best-selling self-help book I'm OK – You're OK author Thomas Harris describes what he terms "life scripts" or "life positions", which correspond to the three types of Natural Disposition – fixed, cardinal, and mutable respectively – as follows: "The script may call for a life of withdrawal, since it is too painful to be around OK people. These people may seek stroking through make-believe and engage in an elaborate wish-life of if I and when I. Another person's script may call for behavior which is provoking to the point where others turn on him (negative stroking), thus proving once again I'M NOT OK. This is the case of the "bad little boy." … A more common way to live out this position is by a counterscript … This person is eager, willing and compliant to the demands of others."*

Divergent Natural Dispositions can become a perennial source of friction in close relationships: each person comes to believe that the other one occupies him or herself with trivial matters (projects, ideas, or people) rather than taking care of business and attending to the truly important stuff of life (people, projects, or ideas, as the case may be).

Although the Natural Disposition is an easy technique to learn and apply, it provides a great deal of insight into natives' slants of interest in everyday life – what animates them and provides them with the feedback that nourishes their self-esteem. Moreover, it's often useful when looking at natives' progressions and transits to keep their Natural Dispositions in mind, since the doings in a cardinal native's life tend to be outward events – triumphs and defeats; the doings in a mutable native's life tend to work out through relationships; and the doings in a fixed native's life tend to be inward and psychological.

A horoscope has a simple Natural Disposition whenever there are oppositions in only one of the three quadratures – cardinal, fixed, or mutable (there can be more than one opposition – as e.g. in a grand square - but all oppositions must be in the same quadrature). For this analysis we will use wide orbs: 17° when the sun is involved in an opposition aspect; 12° 30' when the sun is not but the moon is; and 10° when neither of the lights participates in the opposition. Oppositions are to be taken only between planets (i.e. Chiron, asteroids, angles, etc. are not considered). Oppositions between planets in different quadratures (across the line of the sign, e.g. from 29° Aries to 1° Scorpio) are disregarded.

The opposition is the basis of the Natural Disposition technique because it is the paramount aspect – so much so that Dr. Jones considered the absence of oppositions in the horoscope to be a definite handicap in the life of a native. Oppositions are aspects of self-consciousness: thus a lack of oppositions implies a lack of inner conflict, but also a lack of objectivity and self-perspective. There is no way natives lacking in oppositions can ever see things from the other fellow's point of view. Like horses with blinders, their vision is limited to the path beneath their feet. And since (as Chogyam Trungpa put it) a sense of humor means seeing both poles of a situation as they are, from an aerial point of view, natives lacking oppositions also lack a real sense of humor. They can laugh at, but not with. Natives lacking oppositions shy away from commitment and contention (i.e. opposition) and prefer not to confront life directly (allow themselves to get too carried away about projects, ideas, or relationships.

If your horoscope has oppositions only in the cardinal quadrature (i.e. between planets in Aries – Libra or Cancer – Capricorn) then you have a Cardinal Natural Disposition. You pay attention primarily to projects, activities, situations – the transient business of life. You thrive on excitement and challenge, and are the least cautious of the three types. You are cocky and self-dramatizing, and love to make a big impression. You have boundless optimism and self-confidence, and considerable swagger and panache. You tend to see the world as spoils to be seized and enjoyed. You are restless, impatient, and opportunistic. You are not big on subtleties or nuances, but you can quickly spot any opening that will further your personal ambitions. In relationships you are gregarious but impersonal. You have a dominating, challenging presence. You may have a tendency to pigeonhole people, or to regard them in terms of the use to which they might be put. You cherish your independence, and therefore shy away from entangling commitments. Since you shoot form the hip, you often lack a sense of the consequences your actions might have on the feelings and sensibilities of others, so that the other types tend to see you as being unconcerned and callous. You are coolheaded and unflinching, and never feel yourself to be compromised even in defeat: you merely pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and hurl yourself back into the fray.

 

If your horoscope has oppositions only in the fixed quadrature (between planets in Taurus – Scorpio or Leo – Aquarius) then you have a Fixed Natural Disposition: your slant of interest in everyday life lies in its ideals or potentials; hence your life tends to be more psychological than eventful. You prefer a grooved or routine existence to a constant stream of happenings. You have a deep sense of dignity and pride, a firm sense of direction in life, which consists not so much of consciously articulated goals as of an unswerving fidelity to your own inner voice (your sense of private destiny). Albeit a bit eccentric, you are highly attuned to your own feelings, hence your moods don't go up and down with the world quite as much as those of the other two types, and you have by far the richest inner life. At the same time, you are the most self-obsessed and the least responsive to the now moment, except when the spotlight happens to fall upon you. You are detached, calculating, and hold yourself firmly in check. The other types tend to see you as being an inhibited, stuck-in-the-mud fuddy-duddy. You tend to idealize the world and your role in it: you see the world as merely the ongoing confirmation of your own hopes and fears. In relationship you are introverted and reserved – not relaxed in a group. Usually you don some social mask or hide behind some wonted stereotype or posture in dealing with other people. You can be disarmingly frank, perceptive, and intense when you are dominating the proceedings, but maintain a rather dainty or supercilious reserve otherwise, as if you were somehow exalted above the common hustle and bustle of everyday existence. Albeit brusque and aloof in manner, you are patient, tenacious, and have a deep sense of integrity.

 

If your horoscope has oppositions only in the mutable quadrature (between planets in Gemini – Sagittarius or Virgo – Pisces), then you have a Mutable Natural Disposition: your slant of interest in everyday life lies in people and relationships. You are spontaneous, artless, and candid, and have a childlike sense of wonder and delight. You are genuinely interested in your neighbor and are solicitous for the well-being of others. Casual conversation with casual acquaintances is your staff of life (whereas Cardinal and Fixed types find this sort of chit-chat utterly boring unless they are talking about themselves). You possess an innate humility and a true desire to serve. You have a soft quality, a feeling of good will, and an attitude of nurturing and cherishing. You are by no means as egocentric as the other two types: you are instinctively self-effacing rather than self-promoting. You possess a refinement and delicacy of feeling, and are quite susceptible to emotional undercurrents. You are easily hurt or disappointed. You tend to view the world as both a refuge and an obligation, rather than as an object of control. Because you define yourself in terms of relationships and the measure of acceptance or rejection you receive from others, you tend to lack the robustness of the other two types. Your life lacks cohesion and a sense of direction beyond vague yearning and hope; hence the other types tend to view you as flaky, with a butterfly's attention span. But you possess a deep trust in the essential goodness of things, and a faith in the ultimate triumph of virtue.

 

If there are no oppositions in your horoscope; or when there are only oppositions across the line of the sign; or when there are oppositions in all three quadratures (as might happen, for example, in a grand sextile), then you have No Natural Disposition, i.e. no consistent slanting of interest in terms of projects, ideas, or relationships. You are self-contained, with little need to assess your current status in terms of your interactions with the world around you. This means increased inner stability and self-adequacy; less inclination to be constantly putting your ego on the line; relative freedom from nagging doubts or the painful apprehension of failure. You tend to see life in its chess-game aspects, hence you are more effective in manipulating the world to your own ends than are natives who possess Natural Dispositions. You have an air of extreme gravity or seriousness, but none of the intensity of the three types of Natural Disposition, and nothing of their spirited joie de vivre. You are bent upon your own purposes, hence tend to be detached from and out of tune with your environment. You are the abashed or perplexed spectator of the drama of life rather than the eager, whole-hearted participant. You are the loneliest, most anguished of the types, but also the most steadfast and quietly determined.

 

When oppositions occur in two different quadratures but not the third one, there occurs what Dr. Jones terms a Natural Disposition by Negative Indication. In this case the slant of interest in everyday life is shown by the third, unaccented quadrature, but with a twist. The difference between the positive and negative indications is that the former show a free, unconditioned channeling of interest and attention (towards projects, ideas, or relationships); whereas the latter show a conditioned response motivated by ulterior objectives, as if these natives were trying to compensate for a felt psychological lack or need. They try to resolve the conflict for their attention created by the competing demands of the two emphasized (by oppositions therein) quadratures by responding through the neutral, unemphasized quadrature. Thus the negative indication reveals an intellectualized or conscious construct, a balancing or juggling, where the positive (simple) indication reveals a spontaneous, knee-jerk response to a given stimulus. The delineations for the three types of Natural Disposition by Negative Indication are largely the same as those for the positive types, except here there is an exaggerated self-consciousness. The symbolism (thought form) stays the same, but the feeling (light fiber) reverses: i.e., if the positive indication is heavy, then the negative indication is light; if the positive indication is nasty, then the negative indication is nice; and vice versa. These are far more complex individuals than the positive types, possessing an odd mixture of innate wisdom, clear intuitive perception of human nature on the one hand, and a flagrant self-indulgence and self-stroking on the other. At the same time there is an air of world-weariness or effeteness about these natives which contrasts markedly with the eagerness and expectancy of the positive types.

 

When oppositions occur in both the fixed and mutable quadratures (but not in the cardinal quadrature), then you have a Cardinal Negative Natural Disposition. Your focus of interest (as that of the positive type) is in the excitement and clatter of everyday life; you have same the cockiness and love of challenge; but you have a decreased ability to just shrug things off and remain unaffected by the consequences of your behavior. Rather, life cuts you right to the bone. You possess the idealism of the fixed types together with the warmth and humanity of the mutable types, and the result is a desire to plumb life to the depths and to experiment with the more extreme possibilities of human experience. You are attracted to the foreign and exotic and dangerous; as a result, your life exhibits unusual features and you frequently find yourself on the brink of being overwhelmed and swept away by the situations you encounter. The conflict going on inside you reveals itself in your shifts between blithe, nonchalant insouciance and intense self-justification and defensiveness. Like the positive cardinal type you find your psychological equipoise in the feeling that you're on the inside track of life, or one step ahead of the game.

 

When oppositions occur in both the cardinal and mutable quadratures (but not in the fixed quadrature), then you have a Fixed Negative Natural Disposition. Your interest in everyday life (like that of the positive type) lies in meanings and potentials, but in contrast to the extreme dignity and self-absorption of the positive types you have a lighter spirit which seeks meaning in the moment, in whatever is at hand. You possess the headlong adventurousness of the cardinal type together with the sensitivity of the mutable type, and the result is a species of "I do my thing and you do your thing" guiding philosophy, which neutralizes the competing demands on your attention and places you on a plane above the confusion. The conflict going on inside you is shown by your alternation between straightforward reasonableness and pig-headed quixotism. You view life as a drama in which you have the leading role, and you find it all rather amusing and entertaining.

 

When oppositions occur in both the cardinal and fixed quadratures (but not in the mutable quadrature), then you have a Mutable Negative Natural Disposition. Your focus of interest (like the positive types) is in people and relationships, but without the warmth and tenderness of the positives; rather, there is here a detachment and cunning. You are genuinely democratic, sympathetic, and attuned to the feelings of others, but with an element of artfulness and shrewdness absent in the positive mutable type (who is more like a puppy). This is because the two emphasized quadratures – cardinal and fixed – are concerned mainly with the manipulation of power; you resolve the competing demands for your attention by placing yourself at the disposal of other people. The conflict going on inside you reveals itself most clearly in your mood swings: you are alternately charming, ingratiating, of service; and then thorny, brusque, and vain. You're a bit of a rascal, and you know it and are proud of it. Though you tend to preen yourself you have a winning alacrity and assurance.

 

**********************************

 

For more articles by Bob Makransky, see www.dearbrutus.com => Makransky Miscellany => Astrology Articles.

 

To to Bob's free monthly astro-magical E-zine, send an e-mail to:

MagicalAlmanac-