Tertium Quid: Exploring the Transcendent Function Through Personal Myth and Archetypal Astrology

Abstract

This research explores the nature of the transcendent function in the context of personal
myth as it is illuminated by one’s astrological profile, using active imagination to engage
directly with the planetary archetypes around the primary tensions and archetypal themes
that characterize the individual’s life experience, in order to cultivate a closer relationship
between the conscious ego and the unconscious. Grounded in the methodology of integral
inquiry, the research is a self-study that provides a phenomenological account of the
experience and applies the theoretical lenses of Jungian psychology and archetypal
cosmology to offer a hermeneutical interpretation of both the method and the results
generated. The synthesis of personal myth, archetypal astrology, and active imagination
to create conditions that invite an occurrence of the transcendent function offers a
valuable and viable approach to engaging voluntarily and intentionally in the
individuation process. The method makes the participatory and co-creative relationship
with the planetary archetypes more conscious, cultivating and nurturing a collaboration of
forces allied to manifest the teleological purpose of the Self. The resulting increase in
self-knowledge and awareness of oneself in relationship with and to the archetypes of the
collective unconscious provides an avenue for connection with the sacred dimension of
life that may serve to counteract a perception of alienation and separateness, replacing it
with a vividly felt sense, based on firsthand experience, of the interconnectedness and
underlying unity of all things.