The Inner Planets: Building Blocks of Personal Reality

by Liz Greene

The inner planets--Mercury, Venus, Mars--are the foundations of what psychology calls the ego, the sense of personal self. In this fourth volume in the Seminars in Psychological Astrology series, Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas discuss the value of the inner planets as they symbolize important aspects of personality. We are not trained to give value to our private needs, feelings, and qualities. Indeed, because of their intensely personal nature, they are often suppressed or overlooked as irrelevant to society. Likewise, the inner planets have tended to be given less attention by psychological astrologers--for they are the personal planets. The authors show us that in order to give the most that we can to our interactions with the rest of the world, we must first understand our own needs and have a healthy ego-- a personal authenticity. Their book teaches us the process of understanding how these three planets actually represent our individuality, and how they directly color the energy of the rest of our horoscope. Greene and Sasportas blend the processes of astrology and psychology in a unique and important way in this in-depth insight into the archetypes represented by the inner planets.

Genres: Astrology, Psychology, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Mythology, Spirituality, Science

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Liz Greene is held in high esteem by astrologers all over the world, professional and non-professional alike. She is a prolific author of books and various publications and has been instrumental in shaping modern psychological astrology.

She holds doctorate degrees in psychology and (as of 2010) in history and is a qualified Jungian analyst. She also holds a diploma in counselling from the Centre for Transpersonal Psychology in London, and a diploma from the Faculty of Astrological Studies, of which she is a lifetime Patron.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

this might be my favorite astrology book so far, because its given me a clear, straightforward picture of the Inner Planets' meanings and how to interpret them in the chart. Much better in this regard than how many other astrology books work. The presentation is that of a transcribed seminar/workshop, so it's conversational and to the point, which helps a lot. I like the psychological perspective, though sometimes it is so dominant in the presentation that tidy theory likely replaces actual experience, a real peave of mine. Despite this occasional weakness, it's still my favorite. I can really understand the language, what they're talking about. it's not numbers and abstract ideas and planetary chearleading, which is how a lot of astrology books turn out. There just aren't many books on Mercury and Mars - everyone wants to write about Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, the outer planets, and odd things like Chiron, the asteroids, and TNOs. As Howard and Liz point out, the inner planets, along with the Sun and the Moon, represent our ego, and that still is pretty darn important and relevant.

[Julya Savina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One word: Wow! This book is in the format of the seminars in which the information was given (right here in Zürich years and years ago!) It has a natural flow of information that doesn't just provide cook-book style details of each placement of the inner planets -Mercury, Mars, and Venus - but is a generative conversation that includes psychological and philosophical musings and citations to broach a topic which is useful to not only astrologers but also a lay-audience with a thirst for psychology and the variances between people.

In short, I loved it and will be digesting this information for a while longer. I've also decided to pick up the other books from these seminars (The Luminaries, Dynamics of the Unconscious, The Development of Personality) and will devour them as much as I can.

[Edward Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome collaboration between two revolutionary psychological astrologers - the constant reiteration of a systematic approach to astrology was a reassuring an response to many tedious questions. This book is lecture-based, so there is often input from the audience, but for the most part is a personable, and respectful rap between Greene and Sasportas (who passed away soon after the publication). They were especially inciteful toward the role of Mars, sharing a mythological approach to understanding the Arian red planet.

[Aline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mainly about Mercury, Venus and Mars, their archetypes and aspects to each other and other planets. They also talk briefly about Chiron, some minor aspects and analyze the charts of Diana and Charles as an example. At the end there is an q&a from the audience.

I'm sad that this seminar series is over now. What Liz and Howard are saying about astrology is so interesting I could read this all day long.

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know much about different astrology schools but this astro psychology is quite convincing, if only because its principle is to use astrology as a tool to better listen to people and guide them to work on their issues.
The link between mythology/ astrology and psychology is astute and always bring an interesting light to inner planets concepts.

The book is a series of conferences so it also includes exercices and exchanges with the audience, which makes it good learning material.
To read again !

[DeanJean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving this 3.5 stars. Greene and Sasportas really do have a knack for getting to the planets' essence, Liz even more so. I particularly liked her Venus seminars, because I didn't understand the mysterious links between pleasure, enjoyment and values and she helped to flesh that out.

This, like their other seminars, is a mish-mash of stuff. The main part of the book is split into the mythological and symbolic representations of the planets, their aspects and how they behave in the houses. Some example charts are also given, to illustrate how the planets work in tandem. And, as again, there are tidbits scattered everywhere. A few examples include the explanation of the Yod aspect pattern, the archetypal meaning of Uranus, how Venus and Mars are expressed in men and women.

What got on my nerves, however, was some of Greene's psychological perspectives, especially those concerning sexuality. I maintain a cynical ambivalence with regards to the understanding of our sexuality, since we seem to think that we understand everything (for which history has consistently shown to be untrue) but reading about penis envy in 2019 only provoked ludicrous laughter from me, not illumination. Having said that - if there's an updated version of this book, I would be very interested in re-reading it.

[Ivonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buen set de ensayos sobre los planetas personales. Gran libro para principiantes en el mundo de la astrología, o para quienes quieren ganar profundidad en los temas psicológicos del horóscopo personal.

[Maureen Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great book for leaning about your Mercury, Mars and Venus placements. I was able to understand myself a lot better after reading this book, and how each human has their own energetic pattern they work with. If we could all understand this, I think it would be a much more peaceful world.

I do prefer the chapters by Howard Sasportas rather than Liz Greene, as some of her topics were based on biases from the early 90's while Howard's words seem to mainly stand the test of time.

A must read for any beginning astrologer.

[Jon Adler · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid!! same problems / critiques as with all the CPA books, since it can get a bit exhausting reading transcripts for hundreds of pages. overall though? solid.

i particularly liked their diagrams of venus & mars with respective signifiers. i thought the Mercury section was also really helpful—maybe it stands out in memory because it was shortest.

this is my first time reading one of the volumes Howard contributed to, and it was a fun change of pace to follow the dialogues between him & Liz.

[Amylyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Both Liz and Howard gave insights into things I had either long forgotten or hadn’t pondered before. Every page had me thinking more and more and inspired me to do more digging into the topics discussed. Highly recommend.

[minx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though written comparatively long ago (they predict that the Duke and Duchess of York won't divorce), this book is chock full of useful information for the modern astrologer who wants to dig deep into Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

howard sasportas y liz greene son posiblemente mis astrólogos favoritos. aprendí demasiado de los inner planets gracias a este libro. mis capítulos favoritos fueron los de venus. sé que va a ser un libro al que voy a volver una y otra vez. 10/10

[Laianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview of Mercury, Venus and Mars that entertains and illuminates in equal measure. The lecture transcriptions from Howard and Liz are easy to follow and the content spans mythology, symbolism, and real-world context. A must-read for any amateur astrologer who already knows the basics.

[Shayla M. Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly inspiring text! The chapter on Venus is excellent . Liz Greene shares a visualization exercise that I highly recommend to reconnect to one’s inner and outer Venus archetype. It’s an easy and simple read

[Renée · Rating 1 out of 5]

A transcribed lecture/seminar. Needs some heavy-handed editing/organising. Awkward to read. Almost as though the goal is obfuscation rather than education...

[Diana Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for anyone interested in psychological astrology.

[Nguyễn Đình · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tương đối ổn

[Ruud · Rating 4 out of 5]

De informatie in dit boek is goed. Ik heb er veel van geleerd. De manier van schrijven spreekt mij minder aan. Het kan beschreven worden als een transcript van meerdere presentaties.

[Kitija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divi mani favorīt-astrologi. Jaudīgs tandēms. Grāmata sarakstīta lekcijas formātā, iekļaujot dialogus ar auditoriju.

[Mónica Salamanqués · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso! Como todos sus libros se aprende y profundiza, siempre con el análisis de Jung aplicado

[Juliemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the lecture type books the best and this book does a great job of giving you the feel of being there, I looked for more books with these 2 authors because of reading this. Excellent info and dialogue.

[Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this during quarantine , what a sexy fun book. this is absolutely for the girls to have fun with

[Bekki Shining Bearheart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another must-read by Liz Greene.