What is needed is a map of the individuality and its potential for positive development which will help the owner by clearly sign-posting problematical areas of the life that need help and nurture. A better understanding of how to manage these areas can then be sought and beneficial strengths successfully realised as a consequence. There is only one map for the totality of a human being which can be fully effective in helping to achieve this and this is the horoscope or "map of the birth hour". This is because astrology is a multi-faceted symbolic language which can link the physical, the emotional and the spiritual through one principle and describe, also, the practical ways in which the link can be most harmoniously maintained. Everything that can be experienced in a person's life is contained within the astrological birth chart and there are many techniques today which can help astrologers to navigate through their lives and through the lives of others who seek their guidance. Understanding the language of astrology and how it may apply to one's own birth chart is a lifetime study - probably more than one lifetime, if you believe in reincarnation - and, often, the most precious learning comes through our individual trials and tribulations and personal suffering. An understanding of astrology does not protect one from these experiences but it can be incredibly helpful in managing them towards the best possible outcome and so being of benefit through the challenge in the long term. In the horoscope, the areas that act as sign-posts to the understanding of self esteem and/or the lack of it are the second house, the sign on the house cusp and its ruler but Venus, as a natural significator of harmony and ruler of the natural second house is also very important. This area of the horoscope is traditionally associated with clothes, possessions and personal money. Modern astro-psychology locates the sense of self worth and the personal value system, here. It was at a time of great personal stress and very low self esteem that I was researching and developing the Astro Fashion Profile - an approach to astrology which examined the psychology behind fashion choices as shown in the birth chart. Looking back on that time, I would say that the Astro Fashion Profile research was a physical expression of the quest for a better personal self image but, at the same time, as I approached 40 years of age, I was inwardly struggling with a reluctance to shed an outer image and style in order to adopt a different one in harmony with my changing (and ageing) body! It was not until that transformation was complete some eight years later that the Profile itself was launched as a fully developed service. In the meantime, and as a result of facing up to and managing my difficulties I had moved from pure astrology into astrology and health psychology. My work, here, showed me the importance of understanding real individual needs relating to good self image and the vital role astrology can play in reducing personal stress through this approach. The Profile is produced through the medium of a computerised programme and provides fashion pointers on such areas as personal and professional style, colours, fabrics, textures and shape. It also involves some degree of sexual psychology as it explores personal fantasy images, too. It is necessarily light hearted in its tone because it is designed to inspire and uplift and to some extent, entertain. Although these may seem small objectives, they are important triggers which can increase the level of awareness of one's own self esteem. During test market research, our guinea pigs gave us some very interesting feedback. Trying unusual colours recommended in the profile for one woman and a combination of recommended shapes, patterns and fabric for another resulted in very flattering comments from onlookers: "You look much younger/brighter/ better…" and this was very pleasing to the women receiving the compliments who then began to see these qualities perceived by others in themselves. They began to feel more attractive and so they became more attractive because they were comfortable with the images they were beginning to see. One of the most famous fashion icons of this century is Diana, Princess of Wales. Her personal Astro Fashion Profile colour palette is unusually broad: red, lemon, blue, pink, green or russet, lilac tending to blue, silvery sheens, dark colours such as charcoal grey black or dark brown but also sky or electric blue and vivid tones, generally. Her fashion profile describes her overall style as "Sophisticated" and looking especially at her best in "attractive, harmonious lines". In her personal life, dressing simply for herself, the Profile describes her as favouring clothes that were casual, adaptable and comfortable but yet still signalling that she was different, independent and unselfconscious in outlook. It suggests that she needed a style which expressed her desire to experiment, reflecting her strong sense of independence and individuality. One of the fantasy images chosen for her
in the Astro Fashion Profile is "Diana the Moon Goddess" and
she came to be revered by the public as something of a living embodiment
of this deity. She was able to look quite stunning in all these
different shades. At the beginning of her life as a royal she did not
always show these qualities in the images she created but towards the
end of her life these descriptions are vividly appropriate and reveal
that she was developing an increasingly attuned sense of self esteem
reflected in the clothes she wore and the way in which she wore them. A
simple astrological look at the second house in Diana's chart shows her
chart ruler Jupiter, within it indicating the importance of that house
and all that it signifies. Not only does she have her chart ruler,
Jupiter, there, but also her sun ruler, the Moon. The Moon is associated
with reflections and her feelings and moods were always reflected in her
style and self presentation. She has a strongly emphasised second house
relating specifically to very personal astrological energies which might
explain why clothes and image became the vehicle through which she both
sought and communicated her changing sense of values. The designer,
Jasper Conran, remembered the Princess's discussions with him about his
designs for her as always including the question "What message will
I be giving out if I wear this?"[1] Most importantly and, I think,
most poignantly, Saturn close to the cusp shows that age brings wisdom
in matters connected with this part of her life and that the development
of her personal self esteem - sign-posted to her public through her
evolving fashion images - was, perhaps, the greatest and most important
lesson she was able to learn while she was with us. Pat Harris qualified as an astrologer with the Faculty of Astrological Studies in 1982 and was its PR Officer from 1983 to 1999. In 1997, she received her Master's degree in health psychology from Southampton University. She has written various articles on Northern Ireland and the Anglo-Irish relationship which have been published in the Astrological Association Journal, the Irish Astrological Journal, Realta and the Celtic Astrologer Journal. In 1998, she launched the Astro Fashion Profile, a 17/18 page personal fashion guide for women based on the astrological birth chart. Pat studied for her PhD at Southampton University in the applications of Astrology to Health Psychology. Astro Fashion Profiles can be ordered by telephone: 01962-713134 or by email: harris@interalpha.co.uk. Cost: £20 plus £1.50 p+p in the UK. Or visit Jonathan Cainer's web site. |
