The Yod Formation
The rather unusual yod formation consists of two quincunx (inconjunct) “aspects”, each one attached to either end of a sextile aspect and focused on a third planet tied to the two forming the sextile. The two planets in sextile can be seen by the geometry of the formation to act as the base or foundation of the complex, while the third is the point of release or expression; the geometrical base of the formation is also the base of the psychological complex.
All astrological formations involving three or more planets in mutual aspect to each other, even when the grouping is irregular in form and not symmetrical depict a “psychological complex,” by which we mean that the three planets are activated simultaneously by a fourth directed or transiting planet. The three in the formation act in unison (whether harmoniously or in discord), each one stimulating the other in a repetitive pattern of behavior or response. Thinking, feeling and/or acting may all be involved.
Jung describes a complex as a grouping of psychic elements about emotionally-toned contents. He goes on to say that a complex consists of a nuclear element and a great number of secondarily constellated associations. It is observed that the nuclear element is always in the unconscious, while the constellated associations may be unconscious or conscious. In other words the conscious elements, if they are present, can serve as tattletales pointing toward the unconscious nucleus of the complex. A complex, in psychiatry, is considered to involve repressed contents. There is some element of fundamental conflict within the person, often sexual in nature but sometimes involving other areas of life experience, that demand resolution during infantile stages of growth and the answer is repression. This then encourages the behaviors associated with the complex to emerge unconsciously, perhaps in sublimated form. Because the nuclear element, and probably the associated elements – to a greater or lesser degree – are unconscious, repressed, they tend to express themselves automatically or autonomously, resulting in behaviors beyond conscious control.
For example, in an “authority complex” early experience with authority may have been so psychologically painful as to be repressed. The person will automatically respond to authority just as he originally did – although he will not be aware of this – usually resulting in either rebellion or submission as a habitual response to authority.
The yod formation, because it is formed of two quincunxes which in their nature “do not behold each other,” can be particularly difficult to deal with. It is quite disruptive, confusing, and tends toward negative behaviors that build on themselves cyclically...in the form of the notorious “vicious circle.” Thus, a web of frustration envelops the native; the more the person struggles against the strands of the web, the more entangled he becomes until movement (relief) is reduced to a minimum – life comes to a standstill and there seems to be no way out.
The quincunx, taken alone, usually signifies a burden of guilt stemming from past sins of either inaction or transgression. This feeling of guilt or sin, buried in the unconscious, leads to a desire for atonement or remission which often expresses itself as a compulsive need to sacrifice the self for the benefit of another. Personal desires may be set aside and obligations to another assumed as the means to forgiveness. The native seeks approval through “unselfish” service to others. The quincunx produces pressure and strain, uncertainty and confusion, and frustration or disappointment as a result of failed efforts which then leads to a sense of anxiety born of the failure. The native then seeks to “get it right” by making additional efforts that once again bring disappointment and increased anxiety. The person is trapped in a vortex that carries him ever deeper into frustration and anxiety. The quincunx typically expresses this quality of psychological quicksand. The formation has something of the quality of the story of Jonah.
The relationship of the quincunx to the urge to self-sacrifice and penitence (unconscious in nature) can result in physical pain and suffering. Here we find the reason the inconjunct is often tied to health issues. The cause is often psychosomatic. Unconsciously, the native feels that his self-sacrifice is inadequate, that forgiveness has not been earned, and bodily complaints emerge in an unconscious attempt to sacrifice the self to such a degree that the original sin can be forgiven through pain.
If, in a given horoscope, the quincunx is exceptionally emphasized, then it may show some prominent feature of the life that is characterized by this urge to redemption through self-sacrifice. Although all quincunxes denote this sort of quality, it is only when they come to prominence or special emphasis that their effects become a determinant in the life. The yod formation carries within it such an emphasis.
The yod, especially if it is prominent in the chart, brings a life of frustrated and wasted efforts (or affects some particular area of life in this way.) It is fraught with ambiguity and uncertainty, with feelings of “something being wrong” while just what is wrong and why escapes us. The formation creates disharmony and uneasiness in body, mind or both. Pursuit of opportunities and goals is subject to recurrent disruption. Often, this formation brings sudden, deep and irrevocable changes to the life, or events or conditions that require major readjustments. The attention may be diverted from primary concerns toward annoying but consuming side-issues.
The attached chart is of a male, aged 39. No birth time is given.
The chart shows remarkable overall symmetry. In fact, this chart shows a “unitary complex” that includes every planet in the map, with the unitary complex itself divided into two distinct sub-complexes. Two planets, Mars and Saturn, stand apart from the main body of eight planets which is contained by the trine of Jupiter and Pluto – the other six planets lie inside this trine, which has its midpoint at Neptune. Both Mars and Saturn are retrograde – the only retrograde planets in the map. Note that Mars and Saturn are in sextile aspect and form a yod with Neptune at the focal apex. Mars is square Jupiter, while Saturn is in partile square to Pluto (there is a second partile square, Mercury-Jupiter.) There are two oppositions in the chart, one each to Saturn and Mars. Observe the aspect lines in this chart and the symmetry jumps right out at you.
In this chart, then, the yod formation occupies center stage. Neptune is central. And not only are there the two quincunxes to Neptune, but Mars is quincunx Pluto and Saturn is quincunx Jupiter. The map is “tightly bound” in an exceptionally symmetrical pattern structurally reinforced by quincunxes, four in total. The central pointing in this figure is effected by the yod.
There is also a very unusual rulership pattern present here, and along with the pattern of aspects, it divides the chart into two very clear and distinct sub-patterns, or complexes. Venus and Mars share disposition of the upper complex; Moon and Saturn share dominion over the lower one. All of these chart rulers, all four of them, are in their detriment. Neptune is the only planet among the ten to participate in both complexes by aspect through the sextiles to Jupiter and Pluto, as well as its position at the focus of the yod. Neptune stands at center and divides the two complexes physically (spatially) while participating in both.
Venus is disjunct because she beholds no major aspect. Sun is besieged (actually under duress) by the malefics Pluto and Uranus. The will is trapped between “compulsion” and “rebellion” and is in his fall; the will is ineffectual because its energies are spent in fruitless rebellion against the compulsions of life.
We mentioned that a feeling of guilt is at the root of the yod’s energies, creating the compelling need for forgiveness. Does this chart substantiate “guilt”? Yes, it does. The partile square of Saturn to Pluto, using simple keyword techniques of interpretation, says “Extreme Guilt.” The Moon-Saturn opposition withholds love and demands “appropriate behavior,” and if that behavior is not forthcoming (it never is – the demands are too great) then love is withheld and guilt is heaped on the “inadequate” native. Venus disjunct and in Scorpio implies a cutting off in relationships as well as a sense of abandonment and rejection.
What about the life of this subject? When his two children were quite small his wife abandoned them all; he has raised the two kids as a single parent with very little help from anyone. Looking at the chart only superficially, Venus is disjunct and in Scorpio (failure of relationship, coupled with abandonment) and the yod demands “self-sacrifice for another” – the children. The man lives in constant severe pain due to two separate accidents. The pain has led to dependence on medications, which leads to further deterioration of the life.
The main problem with the yod is that it tends to remain unavailable to consciousness. The service to others that it demands is given out of the controlling guilt rather than by the liberated will. I believe Jung said that as long as we act unconsciously we are at the mercy of fate.
The way out of the yod is basically by means of submission and renunciation. The powerlessness of the native, when finally recognized and accepted, must lead to complete submission to a higher power and renunciation of the demands of the ego. The formation requires the development of faith and trust in Providence. This formation demands that, in some way (as seen here), the self must be sacrificed to the service of others. When such service is given in a truly selfless manner guided by the personal will, redemption is at hand.