Theos-Talk Archives (August 1995 Message tl00171)

This weekend I read GIFTS DIFFERING, the handbook to the
Myers-Briggs types, and FOUNDATIONS OF PERSONALITY by Karen
Hamaker-? (forgot what's after the hyphen) who tries to
integrate Jung's personality theory with astrology. These are
two systems in which I have a fair amount of faith, so was
interested to see them blended. Unfortunately, the author
seems to derive empirical claims for her theory on a deductive
basis, but does not test them.

She basically starts out by equating the four elements with the
four functions, viz.: fire=intuition, water=feeling,
air=thinking, earth=sensation. Then she lays out a way of
scoring one's natal positions by sign and house and thereby
measuring the "strength" of the four elements. These relative
strengths are then presumed to yield one's personality type.
Neat, huh?

The problem is that for me at least, the equations don't work.
By both sign and house, I'm heavily water-dominated. The
author would say this makes me a feeling type. But the
Myers-Briggs (not just the test but the type descriptions)
clearly have me an INTJ, which is an intuitive type with
auxiliary thinking. Feeling is unconscious, introverted and
not at all the predominant function. I know several water sign
people who have in common introversion and intuition but none of whom are
feeling types. This makes me wonder if fire is really feeling
and water intuition, rather than vice versa.

Has anyone else tried to relate astrology to Jungian types?
What do you make of the connection?