Century of Self, a set of 4 on-line videos (links below) was recommended to me recently. I watched them two per sitting, greatly impressed. I must have been fully engaged to have been patient enough to watch the whole four hours without skipping anything!
Century of Self originated in 2002 as a BBC TV documentary series written and directed by Adam Curtis. The films are also available in DVD format. They explore Sigmund Freud's theory of the subconscious and how it has been successfully exploited during the 20th century and beyond in the areas of consumer manipulation and social control.
The BBC's brief overview of the four episodes is HERE.
Episodes are
#1: Happiness Machines
#2: The Engineering of Consent
#3: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed
#4: Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering
Links to on-line videos of the episodes are at end of this post.
The concept of "self" is, of course, central to much astrological interpretation. Astrology assists people to understand themselves. What astrology cannot do, though, is indicate what might be being done to us by others, while we are busy studying ourselves. Deciding exactly how to approach this topic astrologically is tricky, but there's a lot to be learned from Century of Self, one way or another. Let's see what develops.
First, a brief synopsis of Century of Self, with clips from a review by Paul Shepherd.
Leading roles:
Sigmund Freud, neurologist/psychoanalist, born in Moravia, Austrian Empire (now part of the Czech Republic).
Anna Freud, Sigmund's daughter.
Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud's nephew, Austrian-born, influential pioneer in the field of public relations.
Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-American psychoanalyst, pioneer of sexual freedom.
Tentacles of their influence have reached out through many decades, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Focus of attention on "self" and away from "society as a whole" is key.
At centre stage, the starting premise of Sigmund Freud regarding the unconscious: that humans
A blend of techniques arising from the ideas of Freud, Bernays and Reich remains in place, both in business and, more importantly and dangerously, in politics today.
Any idea of manipulation and control of the minds of others is an anathema to me, and I suspect it's the same for everybody, if they stopped to consider it. It can only be that they are not, and have never been, aware that this has been going on - and for many decades. I wasn't fully aware until now, apart from realising that advertising is a mild form of mind manipulation. I ought to add here that, perhaps, at the start, there may have been no ulterior motive involved - simply a genuine attempt to construct a better system by those who believed they had superior intellects. But were those making decisions fit to be the deciders? Is anybody? Eventually, their own human nature could, and did surface with a different agenda, far removed from the good of society.
I'd like to discover how such long-term influence has been able to take a hold in a diverse and vast country such as the USA and a small but historically independent one like the UK. Can astrology help here? Do I investigate the natal charts of the Freuds, Bernays and Reich? That can be a start, but will it throw any light on how their influence has been so powerful and long-lived? Perhaps some connection to the slow-moving outer planets which represent long spans of time will emerge. Perhaps.
Here are the natal charts of the 2 Freuds, Bernays and Reich. Clicking on the images will enlarge them. (Note: Place of birth for Reich is set as near the coordinates given at astrodatabank as possible. All but Sigmund Freud's chart are set for 12 noon - birth times unknown, so ascendants and Moon degrees are not accurate.)
SIGMUND FREUD
Sigmund, although at the root of this discussion, is really "odd-man-out" astrologically. He belonged to the generation before that of the other three characters. He planted the seed.
Bearing in mind that Freud himself had, as far as we know, no aspirations to control directly, he simply presented the theory upon which the "empire" was built: that humans need control.
Freud was mainly a blend of Taurus/Gemini, grounded, determined with the soul of a communicator. His passionate, investigative Scorpio ascendant seems, to me, to be what links him most to those who came later. That's all I'll say about him, in this context. Millions of words have been written in connection with other aspects of his work and his astrology, and are available elsewhere.
ANNA FREUD
Anna carried her father's work into the next generation. She never married, and in Century of Self is described at times as a rather unpleasant character. In her chart we see the symbol of her generation: Pluto conjunct Neptune in Gemini. I've noticed, and commented several times on the blog that Pluto in Gemini people in all spheres, the arts, sciences, politics, seem to carry within them "something extra special", for good or ill. When Pluto conjoined Neptune in Gemini an exta layer was added to the characteristics of this already gifted group to which Anna, Bernays and Reich all belonged.
Sun in Sagittarius was opposed in Anna's chart by Pluto/Neptune in Gemini. Moon could well have been in Gemini matching her father's Moon. The Scorpio planets, Mars, Uranus and Saturn make up a formidable stellium (cluster) they are the planets of energy/aggression, rebellion/change and restriction/limitation, and uneasily blended in the sign ruled by powerful Pluto, the dwarf planet with with dark connections.
EDWARD BERNAYS
Bernays, using his uncle's theory, became the driving force in development of a method of "people control": feeding the desires of the masses to repress other urges. Later his ideas were opposed by William Reich's theory that "it's the repression of unconscious drives that is the cause of trouble."
Sun in the last degrees of Scorpio with Pluto/Neptune in opposition - repeat of a similar in Anna Freud's chart, this time also taking in Mercury/Venus. This opposition, in Bernays' case, forms part of a T-square involving 90 degree (challenging) aspects to Jupiter in Pisces, possibly reflecting some of the challenging situations to his leadership arising from Wilhelm Reich's opposing theories.
Pluto and Scorpio are a common denominator thus far.
WILHELM REICH
Here's a chart of a slightly different flavour. There was, in all probability though, an opposition similar to that in the previous two charts, involving the Pluto/Neptune conjunction, this time Moon instead of Sun being part of it (Reich's Moon would lie somewhere between 13 and 28 Sagittarius. As to Scorpio input: Uranus was in late Scorpio conjunct Saturn in early Sagittarius, and in harmonious trine to Sun and Mercury in early Aries.
Reich is described at Wikipedia as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry.
COMMON DENOMINATOR throughout ~ Scorpio and Pluto/Neptune: powerful, deep, long-lasting elements, motive hidden from view, dark and often paranoid. Sex, also connected to Pluto/Scorpio involved too, via the theories of Reich.
If we are in the midst of decline now it is due to a serious lack of integrity in certain individuals discussed above. Astrologically those individuals shared some of the most powerfully dark zodiacal and planetary "flavours".
The truly unconscionable element in all of this is the notion that any individual(s) should have the power to secretly dictate, manipulate minds, in such a way as to benefit one section of society over another section....or for any reason whatever.
The public is not to blame for what happened in the past, and what still happens today. The public is, in fact, victim of a near atrocity in my view. We need to take control of our own minds, or others will be ready to do it for us.
Links to on-line videos of the 4 episodes of Century of Self:
Century of Self originated in 2002 as a BBC TV documentary series written and directed by Adam Curtis. The films are also available in DVD format. They explore Sigmund Freud's theory of the subconscious and how it has been successfully exploited during the 20th century and beyond in the areas of consumer manipulation and social control.
The BBC's brief overview of the four episodes is HERE.
Episodes are
#1: Happiness Machines
#2: The Engineering of Consent
#3: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed
#4: Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering
Links to on-line videos of the episodes are at end of this post.
The concept of "self" is, of course, central to much astrological interpretation. Astrology assists people to understand themselves. What astrology cannot do, though, is indicate what might be being done to us by others, while we are busy studying ourselves. Deciding exactly how to approach this topic astrologically is tricky, but there's a lot to be learned from Century of Self, one way or another. Let's see what develops.
First, a brief synopsis of Century of Self, with clips from a review by Paul Shepherd.
Leading roles:
Sigmund Freud, neurologist/psychoanalist, born in Moravia, Austrian Empire (now part of the Czech Republic).
Anna Freud, Sigmund's daughter.
Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud's nephew, Austrian-born, influential pioneer in the field of public relations.
Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-American psychoanalyst, pioneer of sexual freedom.
Tentacles of their influence have reached out through many decades, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Focus of attention on "self" and away from "society as a whole" is key.
At centre stage, the starting premise of Sigmund Freud regarding the unconscious: that humans
were motivated more by irrational sexual and violent urges than by rational thoughts, and therefore democracy was not a matter of allowing people to choose for themselves between a range of different policies, rather they had to be guided towards the 'correct' choice by an elite composed of people in command of the theory. People just like Edward Bernays.Freud's theory was taken up by his daughter Anna, and exploited by his nephew Edward Bernays as a tool of psychological, political and social control, for benefit of Big Business and political elites. The development of marketing techniques, later adapted and modified by Reich's theories was where it all began.
Bernays set to work for major corporations, with one of his most spectacular successes being to help break the taboo against women smoking. He paraded a group of attractive young ladies through New York smoking and bearing the slogan 'March for Freedom'. Anyone criticising the idea of women smoking would now appear to be against freedom, and the numbers of women taking up the habit shot through the roof.
After this success Lehman Brothers and other big New York banks financed the development of department stores, confident that they could use the techniques pioneered by Bernays to persuade people to purchase a range of products that left to themselves they may very well not have bothered with. This period also saw the introduction of the techniques of product placement and psuedo-scientific product endorsement so familiar to us today. All of this dubious activity in the capitalist economy was one of the main factors leading to the bubble which ended in the Wall Street crash of 1929.........
The psychoanalytical theories of Wilhelm Reich also fed into this stream, despite his being a convicted fraudster with some very strange beliefs. Reich argued that the release of orgasmic sexual energy was neccessary for the mental health of the individual and society. After the defeat of the New Left in the political conflicts of the late 1960s and early 70s, Reich's theories gained a mass influence as many former activists turned in on themselves. The thinking now was that perhaps you didn't need to go on demos., hand out leaflets etc., what was required was to change oneself, though not neccessarily in the traditional, transcendental sense. A myriad groups emerged, all promising that they had the correct technique for the re-discovery and re-moulding of the Self.
A blend of techniques arising from the ideas of Freud, Bernays and Reich remains in place, both in business and, more importantly and dangerously, in politics today.
Any idea of manipulation and control of the minds of others is an anathema to me, and I suspect it's the same for everybody, if they stopped to consider it. It can only be that they are not, and have never been, aware that this has been going on - and for many decades. I wasn't fully aware until now, apart from realising that advertising is a mild form of mind manipulation. I ought to add here that, perhaps, at the start, there may have been no ulterior motive involved - simply a genuine attempt to construct a better system by those who believed they had superior intellects. But were those making decisions fit to be the deciders? Is anybody? Eventually, their own human nature could, and did surface with a different agenda, far removed from the good of society.I'd like to discover how such long-term influence has been able to take a hold in a diverse and vast country such as the USA and a small but historically independent one like the UK. Can astrology help here? Do I investigate the natal charts of the Freuds, Bernays and Reich? That can be a start, but will it throw any light on how their influence has been so powerful and long-lived? Perhaps some connection to the slow-moving outer planets which represent long spans of time will emerge. Perhaps.
Here are the natal charts of the 2 Freuds, Bernays and Reich. Clicking on the images will enlarge them. (Note: Place of birth for Reich is set as near the coordinates given at astrodatabank as possible. All but Sigmund Freud's chart are set for 12 noon - birth times unknown, so ascendants and Moon degrees are not accurate.)
SIGMUND FREUD
Sigmund, although at the root of this discussion, is really "odd-man-out" astrologically. He belonged to the generation before that of the other three characters. He planted the seed.Bearing in mind that Freud himself had, as far as we know, no aspirations to control directly, he simply presented the theory upon which the "empire" was built: that humans need control.
Freud was mainly a blend of Taurus/Gemini, grounded, determined with the soul of a communicator. His passionate, investigative Scorpio ascendant seems, to me, to be what links him most to those who came later. That's all I'll say about him, in this context. Millions of words have been written in connection with other aspects of his work and his astrology, and are available elsewhere.
ANNA FREUD
Anna carried her father's work into the next generation. She never married, and in Century of Self is described at times as a rather unpleasant character. In her chart we see the symbol of her generation: Pluto conjunct Neptune in Gemini. I've noticed, and commented several times on the blog that Pluto in Gemini people in all spheres, the arts, sciences, politics, seem to carry within them "something extra special", for good or ill. When Pluto conjoined Neptune in Gemini an exta layer was added to the characteristics of this already gifted group to which Anna, Bernays and Reich all belonged.Sun in Sagittarius was opposed in Anna's chart by Pluto/Neptune in Gemini. Moon could well have been in Gemini matching her father's Moon. The Scorpio planets, Mars, Uranus and Saturn make up a formidable stellium (cluster) they are the planets of energy/aggression, rebellion/change and restriction/limitation, and uneasily blended in the sign ruled by powerful Pluto, the dwarf planet with with dark connections.
EDWARD BERNAYS
Bernays, using his uncle's theory, became the driving force in development of a method of "people control": feeding the desires of the masses to repress other urges. Later his ideas were opposed by William Reich's theory that "it's the repression of unconscious drives that is the cause of trouble."Sun in the last degrees of Scorpio with Pluto/Neptune in opposition - repeat of a similar in Anna Freud's chart, this time also taking in Mercury/Venus. This opposition, in Bernays' case, forms part of a T-square involving 90 degree (challenging) aspects to Jupiter in Pisces, possibly reflecting some of the challenging situations to his leadership arising from Wilhelm Reich's opposing theories.
Pluto and Scorpio are a common denominator thus far.
WILHELM REICH
Here's a chart of a slightly different flavour. There was, in all probability though, an opposition similar to that in the previous two charts, involving the Pluto/Neptune conjunction, this time Moon instead of Sun being part of it (Reich's Moon would lie somewhere between 13 and 28 Sagittarius. As to Scorpio input: Uranus was in late Scorpio conjunct Saturn in early Sagittarius, and in harmonious trine to Sun and Mercury in early Aries.Reich is described at Wikipedia as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry.
"Later in life, he became a controversial figure who was both adored and condemned. He began to violate some of the key taboos of psychoanalysis, using touch during sessions, and treating patients in their underwear to improve their "orgastic potency." He said he had discovered a primordial cosmic energy, which he said others called God, and that he called "orgone". He built "orgone energy accumulators" that his patients sat inside to harness the reputed health benefits, leading to newspaper stories about "sex boxes" that cured cancer...." See hereHe believed that the inner self should be encouraged to express itself, rather than be repressed and controlled. A movement arose from this and developed rapidly in the USA using self-help programmes, books etc. The so-called "Me Generation" emerged. Corporations saw a new opportunity here: to encourage people to feel they are unique individuals, then sell them ways to express their individuality, using techniques developed by Freudian psychoanalysts to read their inner desires.
COMMON DENOMINATOR throughout ~ Scorpio and Pluto/Neptune: powerful, deep, long-lasting elements, motive hidden from view, dark and often paranoid. Sex, also connected to Pluto/Scorpio involved too, via the theories of Reich.
If we are in the midst of decline now it is due to a serious lack of integrity in certain individuals discussed above. Astrologically those individuals shared some of the most powerfully dark zodiacal and planetary "flavours".
The truly unconscionable element in all of this is the notion that any individual(s) should have the power to secretly dictate, manipulate minds, in such a way as to benefit one section of society over another section....or for any reason whatever.
The public is not to blame for what happened in the past, and what still happens today. The public is, in fact, victim of a near atrocity in my view. We need to take control of our own minds, or others will be ready to do it for us.
Links to on-line videos of the 4 episodes of Century of Self:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6718420906413643126#(For viewers in the UK, if strapped for time, I'd recommend starting at episode 3, but the background presented in the first two episodes does shed a lot of essential light on what came next.)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-678466363224520614#
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6111922724894802811#
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1122532358497501036#
