4.2. The negative attributes

Every single one of the ‘planets’ – the archetypal characters  – has attributes that are not just positive they are negative as well.  The Strategy of the great Work that is Creation and Destruction, requires that there is always Contrast.

The opposite of the creative more positive attributes are the so-called negative more destructive attributes, but here we need to be a bit careful about judging what is positive and negative.  Much creation is not possible unless there has been destruction.  All life is a bit like a building site, we can’t build a  new castle unless the old castle has been cleared away and demolished.  Even if we decide that the new castle is not a bad foundation for the old one, some destruction is still needed, perhaps the gutting of the interior or the removal of a wing or two.  This is what Pisces activity is all about.

World War I and World War II were terrible events in the history of the world with millions killed and wounded, but they swept away all the restrictions that women had been placed under.  Before these wars, most women did not have the vote, did not receive a proper education and were denied jobs.  They were a sort of slave labour dependent on men for their livelihood and support.  After the wars, women [50% of the population remember with exactly the same intelligence as men] managed to get the vote, managed to get educated and after an even more bitter battle still not fully won, managed to get jobs.

So occasionally good can come from apparent destruction.  It took the decimation of the male population to achieve equality for women. 

What relevance does this have for the attributes?  It means that some people are given negative attributes to give them the ability – when it is needed -  to destroy.  Thus, for example,  Jupiter attributes include the extremist and the uncompromising, the voracious and the self righteous.  Mars attributes include combativeness and recklessness, impatience and brusqueness, and sexual excess.  If we are tasked to do a testing type role  - Scorpio – we need all the destructive attributes that are available.  And one of the most intriguing of the dark side Entities is the Black Moon. 

So I am going to give my person the characteristics of the Black Moon, a set of characteristics that can be used by them [or against them] any time, and I will put the characteristics in Taurus, just for fun.