The psyche is brilliantly designed. The subconscious monitors the overall safety of the system. When a strong external influence demands change in the psyche — but the psyche itself resists that change — the subconscious can create a compensatory programme that takes the hit while preserving the system’s integrity. For example, the subpersonality the Guilty Self or the Loser.
Imagine someone close to you systematically lets you down and deceives you. You confront them, and in response they burst into tears, tear their hair out, and drown in guilt. Yet after all that drama, nothing actually changes. What happened here? You tried to influence the person, to awaken their conscience — in other words, to trigger change that would require them to make an inner effort and adjust their behaviour.
But your impact was completely absorbed by the subpersonality the Guilty Self, which took on all the tension and negative charge, leaving the rest of the psyche untouched. The person cried, suffered, repented — but remained the same. And the next time they let you down, the same programme will be activated and cry: “It’s all my fault again!” — thereby diverting the energy away from real transformation.
Similarly, the programme I am a Loser absorbs all the frustration related to dissatisfaction with one’s life, while allowing the person to change nothing.
Astrologically, this is symbolised by the exaltation of the Moon in Taurus. The Moon represents the subconscious programme responsible for maintaining the functioning of all other programmes. Its exaltation in Taurus, probably the most stable and inert Zodiac sign, shows that this programme is not inclined to change unless absolutely necessary, preferring stability and continuity. When people speak of “leaving one’s comfort zone,” they are in fact referring to this Taurean stagnation.
