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| Group Type: Family The Family Group is a group which provides continuous emotional input, positive or negative, to your life. The role of the family is to serve our need for emotional involvement. This group may not be of one's blood family; it can be a chosen "family", in which the bonds are formed out of the members' need for emotional interaction. Whether of blood or choice, these family-bonds cannot be broken by the strong emotions of anger or love, but will only disintegrate in an atmosphere of apathy, coldness or absence of emotion. The people with whom you cry and laugh, who know you for what you are, faults and all, are your family. This group is different from your Hunting groups, in that the Family Group will not reject you for your failures; and it is different from Gathering Groups, because it will tolerate strong antisocial attitudes in its members. Group Type: Hunting Group A Hunting Party is a group designed to focus on a common goal. All the energy of the group will be focused on this goal, with many meetings, discussions, plans and, eventually, action leading to the "hunt". Individuals are expected to show skills that are related to this hunt, and status in the group is gained through the performance of extraordinary acts in order to gain the group's objectives, or by displaying superiority in the relevant skills. Victory is shared by all, not just the Hunting Party but also members of the larger community who look to the hunters for associated status, or a share of the spoils. Defeat, where the goal is not achieved, is a loss for the larger group and all those connected to the larger group. The most obvious example of a Hunting Party is, of course, the sports team. A team will focus on the common goal of winning the trophy. Status in the team based on the skill of the members. Victory, although it may be achieved through the superior skills of only one member, will be shared by all, including the team's fans. Business sales teams, and mountain climbing groups that want to conquer a mountain - these are also examples of Hunting Parties. Group Type: Gathering Group A Gathering Group is a passive hunting party. Gathering is the gentle, sociable, non-aggressive method of doing work. There are no victory dances, and there can be no defeat. There may not be any real planning or leaders. Status in the group is based on a members' work and as well as their social skills, in other words, their ability to fit in with the group. Although work skills are considered the most important the social skills of kindness, caring and laughter are also considered to be a very good ingredient. We form Gathering Groups whenever we ease the burden of work by doing it with friends. We form Gathering Groups from business alliances, when we agree to work with others in order to pool our resources for the mutual benefit of all members. Indeed, whenever there is a group project which is non-competitive, it is a Gathering Group. Group Type: Play/Peer Group A Play/Peer Group is a non-productive group which benefits the individual by encouraging self-expression. Cooperation, learning, helping, and enjoyment are the themes of such groups. Status is gained from one's social abilities and the demonstration of the capacity to care for others. In our modern lives these are groups of casual friends, as well as groups formed for the pursuit of a common interest, such as studying something. Loosely bonded, members drifting in and out of the group without drama, and the avoidance of strong emotions, are the hallmarks of a Play/Peer Group. Friendships that form in a Play/Peer Group may eventually create Family Groups, as emotional bonds, and the mutual expectation of emotional support, deepen. Peers may decide to work together and thus form Gathering Groups; or the Peer group may put together a basketball team and thus develop as a Hunting Party. For Play/Peer Groups are the seeding areas from which we form other types of group. Group Type: Tribal Elders The Tribal Elder Group is the group that governs. Status in the group is based, not on physical ability, but rather on mental ability and steadiness, wisdom and experience. The group's success comes from its ability to make wise decisions, with confidence in the outcomes of action based on such decisions. Such groups are meant to be impartial and dispassionate. In modern life, these groups are all forms of government and all forms of administration, right down to the local school committee. Thus a committee elected by the members of a larger group is a Tribal Elder Group, and will try to function in that capacity. Whether it succeeds or fails, whether it breaks down from personality clashes or achieves wonderful things for its larger community, will depend on the compatibility of the pieces of the jigsaw that the members together form. |
"Probably the single most important ingredient in the success of the human race is our ability to work in groups. This ability is part of our evolution for, by forming family groups we managed to evolve and become the dominate species on this small planet. So deeply embedded in our chromosomes is this group-forming reflex that it has become the unconsciously-assumed base of human life. However, we are not a herding animal. We prefer not to relinquish our individuality when we socialize, and because of this need to feel personally unique and different from others, while pursuing with them common goals, understanding and feeling comfortable within our groupings is paramount. In sum, we form groups of individuals who cooperate together. We form tribes. Within a tribe there will be sub-groups, each group serving some purpose in the individual survival of all members of the tribe, for what is good for all the individuals will be good for the tribe. Although human cultures are these days more sophisticated, and most of us consider ourselves to be civilized in ways inconceivable to our cave-dwelling ancestors, those early instincts are still with us and are reflected in both our deep need to function in groups, and in the very nature of the groups that we form. Working astrologically with groups, therefore, requires firstly an understanding of the nature of the group under consideration, and secondly, a sensitivity of judgment about whether the resulting astrology reflects the inherent (unconscious) intent, and supports the activity, of that group. Each person will bring their birth-chart to the group, and each birth-chart consists of planets, luminaries, angles and midpoints. A single birth-chart can have up to 100 points that it can contribute to the group. So, in a group of, say, six people, there will be about 600 points in all. From that potent mix of midpoints and planets, patterns will form and solidify, like crystals in a super-saturated solution. When a pattern is formed it becomes a dominant theme in the group. If the group activity is consonant with this pattern, then all is well. However, if the group objectives are not supported by such a pattern, then the group will develop internal conflicts, which will probably result in the group's dissolution. Thus the potential of a group to fulfill its purpose is governed by the astrological patterns formed by that group. If the pattern supports the type of group formed, then all will be well. If, however, the pattern is contrary to the group's purposes, the group will be ostensibly one type of group, but internally driven to try to function as a quite different type of group. A Family, for example, trying to perform as a Tribal Elder Group; or a sports team (Hunting Group) turning into a Play/Peer Group. So groups are very risky business, yet we are born into them, live in them, work in them and socialize in them. If they go wrong, they can cause us major personal problems, bring us anger and frustration, and cause job or career loss. And, in the final analysis, a wrongly-functioning group can even cause wars. Conversely, a well-functioning group can smooth and enrich the lives of all the individuals served by it." |
| Astrologer Bernadette Brady has developed the text for a report writing system that is incorporated within Astrolabe's Jigsaw2 research program software. It delineates patterns within five different types of groups of 3 or more persons based upon the zodiac positions of combined natal planets, midpoints and harmonics. The results are most interesting. The sign and house emphasis is outlined within each group report, and a mythological interpretation accompanies the emphasized sign in the Family Dynamics Report , a story line that will tend to play out in the real life interactions and individual lives of the members of the family You can view sample reports by scrolling to the bottom of this page. Below is a list and explanation of available group reports. |
| See Sample Reports |
| If you are interested in these group dynamics reports, e-mail me to inquire, Placing "Group Dynamics Reports" in the e-mail header...Thanks..:-) |
| A growing awareness of and need for group associations of a more conscious sort is strongly making its presence felt in many of our lives at this time. Group Dynamics Reports Could... Be used as a tool in family therapy situations where the roles of individuals may not be clear, and/or for a better understanding of the dynamic at work. Help in committee or other related decision making bodies to better ascertain the skills each member brings to the group, as well as to see how the individuals may function together as a unit. Confirm or support senses that already exist about a group dynamic, shed further light upon a group dynamic; uncover more subtle influences. Encourage a deepening understanding of how initial group purpose is supported or altered when individuals come and go from the group. Encourage an understanding of what to expect from the groups we are involved in, and a better understanding of the energy {thus individuals and groups} at work. Assist in developing a deepening understanding of energy and cause and effect in general |
