Exploring our
Full Self
Working with
the Antiscia
M
uch of Astrology focuses on
our external actions and inner
psychological interconnection.
Humans are far more complex than
these two arenas. It is my belief that it is
the journey of a human’s life to explore
all facets of experience. Much of these
deeper human realms can be found in
the use of Antiscia points.
Exploring the full range of our human
experience involves so much more than
the social actions we engage in daily. To
understand our “full” selves, we need to
reach areas of existence and experience. In
our client work, the Antiscia can be used to
discover and interpret the hidden parts of
personality. Furthermore we can aid our cli-
ents in defining sensitive times with, when
and how these hidden characteristics could
show themselves.
Also known as “Solstice Points,” the
Antiscia of planets represent our shadow
and reflections of ourselves. Knowledge
and use of the Antiscia date back to
Ptolemy and Julius Firmicus Maternus in
the 2nd century BCE.1
Shadow and reflections are archetypi-
cal in that every culture throughout time
has an association and symbolic reference
to shadows and reflections. Most recent-
ly “shadows” in the human psyche are
described by Carl Jung.2
A shadow, or a reflection, is not a real
object, but a representation and interpreta-
tion of an object. Such are Antiscia points in
a chart; they are a representation of uncon-
scious compensating values to those held by
The
Career
Astrologer
the conscious personality. The “shadow” often
represents one’s dark side - those aspects of a
person that exist, but are not shown normally.
To know our shadow is to know dimensions
of ourselves that we can explore.
It is important to note that Antiscia
points are just points; they have n