The three fields of the solar system

The figure opposite represents the three fields of the solar system. The central field, which lies within the Earth’s orbit, includes the Sun, Mercury and Venus. The middle field includes Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The system Earth-Moon lies between the central field and the middle field. Finally, the far field contains the planets invisible to the naked eye: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

Thanks to the work of the astrologer Jean-Pierre Nicola, we now know that the planets belonging to the same field have points in common. Let’s start with the far-field planets: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, each in their own way, sensitize us to the unseen, subtle, underlying realities: the unconscious, the mysterious, the hidden structures. The planets of the medium field sensitize us to concrete, tangible, material realities: it is the domain of facts, of lived experience, of direct action. Finally, the central field planets sensitize us to apparent realities, symbols, to pictures, to language: it is the domain of social life, of appearing, of the dissemination of representations.

This grouping of planets by “families” makes it possible to better understand the role and function of each, and to simplify interpretation. When the trio Sun-Mercury-Venus dominates in a chart, we can deduce that we are dealing with a spontaneously sociable individual, concerned about appearances and living in a world where images or language occupy a dominating place. If it’s the trio Mars-Jupiter-Saturn who dominates, we are dealing with a realistic, active, pragmatic individual. Finally, if it’s the trio Uranus-Neptune-Pluto who dominates, we are dealing with an individual “branch” on the invisible, the imaginary, being determined according to subtle and unconscious motivations.

The levels of real

Each of the three fields of the solar system therefore sensitizes us to a level of reality. What is the reality? Take the example of the sea. If we are content to contemplate it, we only perceive its surface: swell, waves, foam. If we jump into the water, we will have a more concrete, lived experience of it, in the form of the sensations and perceptions of a swimmer in waters of medium depth. Finally, the sea is also the dark and agonizing depths populated by real or imaginary monsters, unknown creatures. The global reality of the sea is all this: its apparent surface, its lived reality, its mysterious depths that excite our imaginations.

Depending on his natal chart, each of us is more or less sensitized to this or that level of reality. There are those who prefer watch and talk (Sun-Mercury-Venus), those who prefer act and experience (Mars-Jupiter-Saturn), those who prefer foresee and imagine (Uranus-Neptune-Pluto). The organization of the sky at the time of our birth encourages us to select, to favor certain levels of reality, that is to say certain information from the outside world: we do not all take our information from the same source source. With a dominant Sun-Mercury-Venus, the source level that we favor is that of knowledge already known, of social contact (books, newspapers, conversations). With a dominant Mars-Jupiter-Saturn, the source level that we favor is that of the concrete realities that we have tested and experienced. Finally, with a dominant Uranus-Neptune-Pluto, the source level privileged is that of invisible realities to which one has access only through intuition or imagination.

The R.E.T. is an empty structure that can be applied to many different fields. The table opposite gives you some illustrations. The three columns ‘R’, ‘E’ and ‘T’ concern either the source levels or the target levels. Take the first line, which contains the words “to know”, “to experience” and “to be”. The verb “to know” is up to standard Representation: to know someone or something is to be able to represent it to oneself, to have an idea or an image of it, it is to be in the domain of the known. The verb “to experience” is up to standard Existence: to experience someone or something is to feel its tangible, concrete existence, it is to find oneself in the domain of the knowable through sensitive experience. Finally, the verb “to be” is up to standard Transcendence: the domain of Being is that of the invisible, the unknown, the mystery. Basically, we know nothing about the Being-in-Self of people and things…

The R.E.T.

“So we need a new tool. As precious as the microscope and the telescope were in scientific knowledge, but which would be intended, this time, for all those who try to understand and situate their action […]. This tool, I call it the macroscope (macro, large and skopein, observe). […] let us therefore use the macroscope to take a fresh look at nature, society and man. In his field of vision, organizations, events, developments are illuminated in a completely different light” (Le Macroscope, Joël de Rosnay).

The macroscope exists, astrologers have encountered it. It’s not just a “symbolic instrument”: it is inscribed in the very structures of the solar system and rooted in planetary meanings. for astrology conditionalist indeed, the organization of the solar system is the macro matrix perceptions and conceptions that men have of visible and invisible, concrete and abstract, actual or virtual realities.

Each knowledge, scientific or otherwise, develops its “reading grid” phenomenons. For the physicist, everything tends to be reduced to the physical; for the biologist, biological ; for the psychologist, psychological and for the religious, witty, etc. The multiplicity of fields of knowledge and investigation, their increasingly advanced specialization make it increasingly difficult to have a global understanding of Man and his environment, this Universe where he is born, lives and dies. With this in mind, it is essential to develop knowledge that “amplifies what connects, brings out what brings together” (Joël de Rosnay).

All these ways of knowing, however diverse and specialized they may be, have one thing in common: they were imagined, discovered or invented by the inhabitants of planet Earth. And the Earth is part of a system: the solar system. Knowing that the bigger structures the smaller, astrology postulates that the organization of the solar system offers a unitary model for decoding the experience-universe. Unitary and not unique, because, as the neurologist notes Henri Laborit, “each level of organization has its own structure”, irreducible to others.

The planetary meanings have, over the centuries, been discovered by the intuitions and observations of generations of astrologers who preceded us. From these intuitions and observations, our ancestors endeavored to deduce a unitary model. It took some thousands of years before, from the multitude of empirical data compiled by them, this model finally emerges.

To understand how the planetary meanings are organized, contemporary astrology has the R.E.T. (pronounce “errity”, word initials Representation, Existence, Transcendence) discovered by the astrologer Jean-Pierre Nicola. We will later have the opportunity to return to these notions to clarify them.

The Real as Representation, Existence and Transcendence

The world around us can, in a first approach, be considered as a pure representation (initial ‘R’): an image that is imprinted on our retinas, a sign or a text that our eyes capture and reflect, a flat, smooth, featureless appearance, like a photograph. And the show remains a show as long as we remain, motionless, contemplating it.

Let’s get moving, let’s go from here to near, let’s meet the outside world: it then transforms into concrete and palpable reality, punctuated by resistant objects, solid materials, contrasting reliefs. The world is no longer a pure spectacle, it acquires existence (initial ‘E’): we can experience it, confront it, experience it, feel it “at close range”.

The material solidity of the world seems self-evident… and yet, the solid aspect of matter is a relative illusion. There subatomic physics demonstrated that this “solidity” was actually due, on a more subtle level of reality, to the dizzying speed of electrons around their centers of attraction. What is the world that we experience through the field of our perceptions, when we go beyond the limits of sensible experience? A complex and enigmatic universe of corpuscular-wave phenomena, infinitely closer to immaterial mathematical equations than to the solidity of our daily matter. A world transcendent (initial ‘T’), very real but imperceptible, except to the eye of the mind. Physicists call it the “big real”, the esotericists the “hidden nature” and the mystics make it the domain of angels, gods and demons…

Source levels and target levels

Each level of reality is a source from which we get information. According to the R.E.T. system, the Planets of the center field (Sun, Mercury, Venus) encourage us to draw our information from the source of the Representation level (field ‘R’: the visible, the apparent, the obvious, the conscious), the Planets of medium field (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) at the source of Existence level (field ‘E’: the concrete, the experimental, the material, the lived, the subconscious) and the Planets of far field (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) at the source of Transcendence level (field ‘T’: the abstract, the invisible, the hidden, the unconscious). Each planetary function belonging to the same field therefore has its source level. Within this field, it has its particular function, which is called the target level: what it does with the information it has drawn from its source level, how it processes it. In the table below, the source levels are represented by squares and the target levels by round. The yellow symbolizes the level Representation, the red level Existence and the blue level Transcendence. Each planet thus has a specific action (target level) within its field (source level).

Depending on whether we consider their source levels (capital letters ‘R’, ‘E’ and ‘T’) or their target levels (lower case ‘r’, ‘e’ and ‘t’), each of the planetary functions belongs to two families. Three planets having the same source level and different target levels form a family “extensive” (dissemination, deconcentration); three planets with the same target level and different source levels form a family “intensive” (polarization, focusing).

The circular model makes it easy to visualize the dynamics of passage from a source level to a target level. The diamond model, less dynamic than the previous one, has the advantage of making possible an immediate visualization of the formula of each planetary function. This diamond is divided into nine squares corresponding to the nine Planets. The Moon, which as we have seen is a special case as a satellite of the Earth, occupies a square apart, at the upper point of the highest square occupied by the Sun.

Planetary functions of the R.E.T.

Sun and solar function

Let’s keep the verb “to know” of the table above and do not leave the column Representation: the source level and the target level are then identical, there is repetition. It is therefore “re-know knowing it”, that is to say, to maintain and perpetuate what is known and accepted, to imitate models, to repeat the obvious, to reproduce images, to take words at face value, to reinforce its principles, his convictions, his faith or his certainties, to keep identical an ideal, an appearance, a goal, a formula, a cliché, a certainty, a theory, a discourse, a single and unique point of view. These processes refer us to the solar function in the R.E.T.

Venus and venusian function

Let us now interact the column Representation and the column Existence. If the verb “to know” is the source level, the verb “to experience” is the target level. It is therefore “experience know it”, that is to say to feel emotionally (existence target level — lowercase initial) the impact of words and images (Representation source level — Uppercase initial). Example: a film is a pure Representation consisting of a succession of images and dialogues. When I’m in a movie theatre, my source level is the movie I’m watching. This movie will trigger in me (target level) affective reactions such as laughter, tears, fear, etc. By reacting emotionally to this film, I realize the operation “existence of Representation”, which is the formula of the venusian function in the R.E.T.

Jupiter and jupiterian function

The opposite operation is possible: passing from the column Existence to column Representation, “to experience” becomes the source level, and “to know” the target level. It is therefore “know the experience”, that is to say, to transform into words, images, concepts (target level representation) what has been lived, felt, experienced (source level Existence). Example: when I take a photo of a poppy, I transform the poppy quivering in the breeze among the ears of wheat (Existence) into a flat, fixed image (representation). I do the same operation when I describe (representation) what I felt while drinking a good wine (‘Existence). In both cases, I performed the operation “representation of Existence”, which is the formula of the Jupiter function in the R.E.T. system

Mercury and mercurial function

You can also jump directly from the column Representation (source level) to the column Transcendence (target level). It is then a question of converting the “to know” in “to be”, that is to say, to move from the known to the unknown, from the simple to the complex, to seek out the mystery hidden in words and images, to question the obvious, to multiply points of view. Example: reading a book (a book is a collection of words, therefore of Representations) leads me to ask myself an infinity of questions that I would never have asked myself if I had not read it, and which thus encourage me to modify my initial point of view (my image of the world). I thus carry out the operation “transcendence of Representation”, which is the formula of the mercurian function in the R.E.T. system

Uranus and uranian function

Conversely, passing from the column Transcendence to column Representation, I perform the operation “know the being”: simplify the complex, describe the invisible with words and images, go from the unknown (‘T’ source level) to known (‘r’ target level). Example: theology is the discourse (logos) on God (theos). By describing, by modeling this invisible being that is God, the theologian strives to situate in the field of the known (representation target level) the immaterial and unknown being that is God (Transcendence source level). Another example: the famous formula E = MC2 discovered by Einstein is a simplified representation (‘r’) of the mysterious laws of cosmic physics (‘T’). The operation “representation of Transcendence” is the formula of the uranian function in the R.E.T.

Neptune and neptunian function

Now let’s go from the column Transcendence to column Existence, in order to perform the operation consisting of “to experience being”, that is to say to feel a sensation (‘e’ target level) of mystery (‘T’ source level), to react emotionally, sensorially, epidermically to invisible or impalpable phenomena. Example: I embark on an action (‘e’) guided by a deep intuition that nothing seems to justify (‘T’). Another example: I feel strongly, viscerally the presence (‘e’) of an absent or distant being, to the point that I know that he will soon call me or give me a sign in some way. The operation “existence of Transcendence” corresponds to the formula of neptunian function in the R.E.T.

Saturn and saturnian function

Conversely, passing from the column Existence to column Transcendence, we go in search of what there is to be in what we experience: wouldn’t there be a subtle dimension to discover (‘t’) by questioning the materiality of things, the feeling that we have persons (‘E’)? The experience, the experience (‘E’ source level) are a source of questioning, complexity (‘t’ target level). Example: I am an apprentice mechanic and I disassemble an engine (‘E’) to see how it works (‘t’). Another example: I analyze and dissect (‘t’) the feelings I have for the person I live with (‘E’). The operation “transcendence of Existence” that I thus realized corresponds to the formula of the saturnian function in the R.E.T.

Mars and Mars function

By not leaving the column Existence, we “experience the experienced”. We exist at close range, we are at the heart of the raw action (‘E’ source level) and the sensations it provides (‘e’ target level), we are in the world of material phenomena as we perceive them with our five senses, of concrete experience and the immediate reactions it arouses. Example: I act because I can’t do otherwise or anything other than act, that’s all. Another example: everything for me is reduced to a duet or a physical duel with the beings and things around me, and I take the situations where I find myself head-on. The operation “existence of Existence” corresponds to the formula of marsian function in the R.E.T.

Pluto and plutonian function

To perform the last operation, just stay in the column Transcendence. It is therefore “be the be”, that is to say, to reinforce and maintain (‘t’ target level) the invisible, the mysterious, the subtle, the unspeakable, the profound, the unknown (‘T’ source level). The absolute distance (‘T’) is renewed (‘t’). Well-hidden secrets (‘T’) remain well-hidden (‘t’). Example: I am face-to-face with myself, in my authenticity of being metaphysical, inalienable and inaccessible to anyone other than myself. Another example: at its deepest level (Transcendence source level), the real always retains an inviolable part of the unknown (transcendence target level). The operation “transcendence of Transcendence” corresponds to the formula of plutonian function in the R.E.T. system

Moon and lunar function

Unique satellite of the Earth, the Moon occupies a special situation, different from that of the Sun and the planets. In a pictorial way, we can say that it receives, during the month it takes to travel its orbit around the Earth, all the planetary influences that it retransmits in a global, undifferentiated way. The “lunar” does not distinguish between being, experienced and knowing, but considers and receives them as a compact whole, a homogeneous block, an indivisible mass. For him everything fits. The lunar function illustrates well the physical concept of “non-separability” (absolute indivisibility and interdependence of all elements of reality). There lunar function therefore occupies a special place in the R.E.T.

The planetary trios R.E.T.

The planetary functions are grouped into trios according to their identical source level (capital initial) “big R”, “big E”, “big T” and their common target level (lowercase initial) “small r”, “small e”, “small t”. The planetary functions each having an identical source level and an identical target level (Sun-Mars-Pluto) form the trio “Extensive power” “big P”, complementary-opposite of “intensive power” “small p” from the moon. You will find detailed presentations of the characteristics of these trios in this section and those of the planetary trios in Signs in this one.

R.E.T. Planetary Quartets and Quintets

The quartets group the planetary functions excluding an ‘R’, ‘E’ or ‘T’ level of the R.E.T.; the quintets group together the planetary functions whose members have in common the same level ‘R’, ‘E’ or ‘T’ of the R.E.T.

Concrete examples of application of the R.E.T.

The R.E.T. and the communication

▶ We are in representation and at a high level of nervous reactivity when we are in society, when we communicate with those around us through codes, words, signs, images, models, symbols, norms and forms which are all systems of Representation.

▶ There are other forms of communication: for example, through concrete exchanges with our natural and cultural environment: acts, experiences, sensations, direct and emotional confrontations with the beings, things and situations that surround us, everything which falls under the Existence, a medium level of nervous reactivity and gives us the feeling of existing stronger.

▶ Finally, we also communicate with our natural environment through incessant and multiple chemical and electrical messages of which we are almost never aware, but which allow us to maintain our unity and our bodily homogeneity. We also communicate in a subtle and paradoxical way: through our silences, our voluntary or involuntary unsaid words, our ulterior motives… even through our telepathic messages. This is the universe of Transcendence, and the lowest level of nervous reactivity.

The R.E.T. and the meeting

▶ Representation: for the first time, I meet someone. At first, I form an image of it, I listen to its language, I am sensitive to its appearance and our relationship is structured by the social models in use in our culture.

▶ Existence: The (re)presentations being made, we pass to another level, that of Existence: we make love or war, we both experience each other in our lived experience and in our actions, in our shared sensations and experiences.

▶ Transcendence: Finally, a third level (the most complex and difficult) makes us sensitive to the Transcendence of the other, that is to say to the mysteries of his soul, to his secrets, to the invisible journey of his thoughts and feelings. deep.

The R.E.T., solids and voids

Representation, Existence, Transcendence… these three levels of reality — or perception-conception of reality, can bring us contradictory information. Continuing the previous example, I can be seduced by a pleasant appearance and a brilliant speech (Sun-Mercury-Venus, ‘R’), only to be disappointed by the concrete experience I will have of others (Mars- Jupiter-Saturn, ‘E’), but on the other hand find a deep complicity with him in the imaginary, the unspoken, the subtle and the invisible (Uranus-Neptune-Pluto, ‘T’).

Likewise, with someone who doesn’t “said” Nothing a priori (Representation in negative), I can share strong and pleasant experiences (Existence in positive), while remaining insensitive to his moods or hidden depths (Transcendence in negative), etc. You can even imagine and observe what the various combinations of these three levels applied to human relations can give.

The R.E.T. and the Numbers

The R.E.T. also allows you to decipher information from the outside world according to their quantity.

▶ If I only receive one piece of information (‘R’ level, Sun-Mercury-Venus), everything is clear, neat and simple: it can only clearly impose itself on my consciousness. Think how easy it is to be alone with a unique idea…

▶ If I receive two pieces of information (‘E’ level, Mars-Jupiter-Saturn), things get more complicated: they can reinforce each other (in duet), contradict each other (in duel), or result in an ambiguous and uncertain dosage of similarity and contradiction (duo-duel). Think about the married life, which requires reconciling two points of view in general and at least significantly different!

▶ Finally, from three pieces of information, the door opens to multiple and complexity (‘T’ level, Uranus-Neptune-Pluto). The plurality of information leads to the unknown, the undecidable, the unverifiable: enough is enough! By sticking to three, the threshold of large numbers, think of the complications, uncertainties and secrets that the presence of a third party (lover or child) introduces into the life of a couple…

The R.E.T. and energy-space-time-structure

The table opposite gives you some other examples of R.E.T. in the natural repositories that are the energy, the space, the time and the structure and summarizes the applications of the four repositories of the S.O.R.I. (Subject, Object, Relationship, Integration) at the R.E.T. The R.E.T. is indeed a macroscope whose prospective power goes far beyond astropsychology! This is undoubtedly where the esotericism, eternal and contemporary, of astrology resides.

Application of the S.O.R.I. at the R.E.T.

▶ In the frame “Subject”, the three levels of the R.E.T. are related to levels of nerve susceptibility. The high level is related to involvement, the medium level to presence and the low level to absence, hindsight.

▶ In the frame “Object”, the three levels of the R.E.T. are related to planetary influences, from the central to the most distant stars.

▶ In the frame “Relationship”, the three levels of the R.E.T. relate to… Representation, Existence and Transcendence. The R.E.T. is thus designated as a tool of communication relating the nervous excitability of the Subject and the planetary signals.

▶ In the frame “Integration”, the three levels of the R.E.T. are related to symbols and especially to the most abstract of them: numbers. In this standard, the R.E.T. turns into “U.D.M.” (Single-Duel-Multiple).

Now all you have to do is read the “astro-psychological profiles” induced by the planetary functions, knowing that these are defined both by what they are (the levels of reality to which they sensitize us) and what they are not (the levels of reality which do not not concern).

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  Next article — The lunar function (homogeneous wholeness)