Zodiac Signs As
Developmental Stages

By Glenn Perry

Abstract: Zodiac signs symbolize behavioral traits, motivational principles, archetypal characters, states of mind, and personality types. More fundamentally, they represent stages in a lifespan developmental model. Our zodiacal model is similar to models created by Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Lawrence Kohlberg. Each sign corresponds to a specific phase of human growth while presenting distinct psychological tasks and challenges at each stage. The sequence of the zodiac depicts a natural progression of awareness wherein each stage transcends but includes the perspective of the previous stage. In this paper, observations from research in developmental psychology are given for each sign-stage, revealing how correlations between signs and stages are self-evident. It is precisely this self-evident quality that makes the strongest case for the validity of the zodiac as a lifespan developmental model.

I had been a practicing astrologer for several years before I decided to go back to school to become a licensed psychotherapist. That was 1977. One of my required courses was developmental psychology. Well versed in the structure of the zodiac, I could not help noticing that the meaning and sequence of developmental stages as described by various theorists – Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg in particular – were surprisingly consistent with the meaning and sequence of zodiacal signs. As Yogi Berra put it, “Some things are just too coincidental to be a coincidence.”

For the next forty years, I chronicled and researched these various coincidences. In the end, I was forced to conclude that zodiac signs are developmental stages—intrinsic phases of psycho-spiritual unfoldment. Because each stage expresses the archetypal essence of its corresponding sign, a sign’s stage is inherent to its meaning. 

The identity between sign and stage is underscored when we consider that a zodiac sign literally symbolizes a phase of Nature. The zodiac not only signifies the cycle of the four seasons, but each season is subdivided into three phases (months), making for a total of twelve stages in the annual cycle. Because seasonal phase and zodiacal sign share an underlying essence, each phase of Nature displays the same qualities we observe behaviorally in its corresponding sign. Spring gives us the meaning of exciting Aries, mid-summer of sunny Leo, mid autumn of brooding Scorpio, early winter of taciturn Capricorn, late winter of mushy Pisces, and so forth.

Likewise, we might say, there are four seasons of life: early childhood (Aries, Taurus, Gemini), late childhood/early adulthood (Cancer, Leo, Virgo), middle adulthood (Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius), and late adulthood (Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces). Applied to the human life cycle, the sequence of signs constitutes a natural lifespan developmental model comprising twelve stages extending from birth through old age.

This is not to say that signs are only developmental stages, as there are multiple other ways they can be conceptualized. First and foremost, signs are motivational drives — intrinsic needs that underlie related behavioral traits. They also emerge as feeling tones that signal when a particular need is taking precedence. Signs are associated with personality types, an association especially emphasized with Sun signs. Of course, every planet makes its own contribution to personality, and each planet’s expression is subtly shaped by the nature of the sign it occupies. Outwardly, signs manifest as types of people, places, things, and events.

In their most fundamental sense, however, signs are simply phases of a whole cycle, specifically the 12-phase annual cycle of Earth-Sun (zodiac). Significantly, this same 12-phase cycle is repeated in the diurnal cycle (houses), as well as in the synodic cycles of planetary pairs (aspects). House and aspect meanings ape the core meanings of zodiac signs precisely because they represent the same 12-fold division of angular relations between phases of a 360° cycle. Rulership in astrology is largely based on attribution of related meanings to variables of the same angle. For example, the sign Capricorn, the 10th house, and the closing-square share a kinship of meaning because each represents the last 90° of their respective cycles.
                                                                        
Given the ubiquity of the 12-phase cycle in astrology, perhaps it should not be surprising that the human life cycle can also be divided into twelve stages, each corresponding in proper sequence to its associated sign. At each sign-stage, certain drives and tasks become pre-eminent, which catalyze the actualization of a specific psychological function represented by the planet ruling that sign. Development of this function to its full, mature expression constitutes the primary task of that period (though with effort any function can continue to develop over time).

Virtually all developmental models hold that each subsequent stage signifies an increase in awareness over previous stages. In our zodiacal model, each sign-stage likewise transcends but includes the developmental achievements of its antecedent stages. “Transcend but include” is the fundamental principle. In this way, consciousness incrementally expands and deepens throughout the life cycle. The individual thereby gains a progressively broader, more comprehensive understanding of life (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Consciousness widens and deepens
through each phase of the life cycle.

Coincident with growth of awareness is the subjective sense that time is accelerating. This experience appears to be universal. With each new stage, there is a widening and deepening of awareness accompanied by a quickening of time. The older we are, the more we see and the faster time passes. In effect, each sign has its own unique perspective in time and space, and this perspective is intricately tied to that sign’s psychology.

Based on research in life-span developmental psychology, it appears that each sign-stage is approximately one year longer than the stage that precedes it. That is, the psychology of each sign correlates to progressively longer periods of development, stage by stage. Since time moves slowly in earlier sign-stages and gradually accelerates with each subsequent stage, our subjective experience of time remains equal for each stage even as the stages themselves expand in objective, chronological time.

For example, if the Sagittarian stage of 44–54 spans ten years while the Cancerian stage of 9–14 spans only five, then subjective time at age fifty passes at roughly twice the speed it does at age twelve. Yet each stage feels equivalent in length. In effect, every stage is subjectively experienced as equal, even as successive stages lengthen in actual years (see Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Signs as Developmental Stages

That signs are developmental stages is foundational to understanding the Developmental Age Method, which reveals how planetary house positions indicate specific ages and turning points along the path of development. In subsequent articles, the Developmental Age Method will be more fully explicated. For now, let us look at the correlations that provide evidential support for why zodiac signs are developmental stages.

Below, observations and explanations drawn from research in developmental psychology are given for each sign-stage. Correlations between signs and stages are mostly implicit but will be self-evident for anyone who understands the meanings of signs.

It is precisely this self-evident quality that makes the strongest argument for the validity of the zodiac as a lifespan developmental model. Each stage description applies as fully to the sign as to the stage, reflecting their essential identity. The developmental meaning of a sign expresses its psychological essence; a sign’s meaning is its developmental meaning. It follows that the sequence of zodiacal signs reveals the structure of development itself.

It should be acknowledged that this brief article is more of a rough outline than an exhaustive academic treatment. For this reason, I have not provided notes and references, though resources are listed at the end. I intend to address the topic more completely in a forthcoming book. 

Aries―Birth to Two. Infancy is characterized by learning to assert, move, and explore. In so doing, infants discover their relationship to the world on a purely physical level. Hungry for raw experience, they are instinctively attracted to novelty.

In their own way, infants seek adventure.  Their two-year mission: to explore a strange new world; to seek out new faces and new experience; to boldly go where no baby has gone before! Unavoidably and massively egocentric, their understanding of time and space can be summarized as “me, here, now.”

The impulsivity for which Aries is renowned is consistent with the contracted time-space orientation that characterizes the infant’s perceptual capacity. Since only the ‘eternal now’ exists, impulses are unrestrained and must be satisfied immediately―either that or be prepared for a loud scream! There is no capacity to delay gratification, tolerate frustration, or soothe oneself if distressed. Because their every need must be fulfilled by the environment on demand, infants necessarily have an illusion of omnipotence.

There is little evidence of premeditated thought at this stage since infants are not yet able to create internal representations of their experience. Time is a blur of new perceptions and experiences in the immediate present. A moment cannot be stopped and held in one’s mind, which is why memories typically do not form until after age two, which commences the Taurus stage. 

Unable to retain experience in conscious memory and retrieve it as needed, an infant’s existence―that is to say, their sense of being―is reduced to whatever momentary experience they are in. If it is a good experience, being is all-good; if it is a bad experience, being is all-bad. Neither good nor bad experience can be modified by memory of prior experience. This is why infants can explode into rage one moment and just as quickly move on to happy engagement the next. In developmental psychology, this is called “spitting” wherein experience is either all-good or all-bad with little in-between.

Since the freedom to move, explore, and assert is essential to survival, Aries is the principle of action. It follows that infants are doers; emphasis is on what can or cannot be done. Knowledge is attained by experiencing sensations associated with motor actions, such as crawling, pushing a ball across the room, and learning to walk by the 2nd year. A rudimentary form of self-agency develops―the sense that the self is a cause of movement and can affect external objects.

The end of the Aries stage is marked by the attainment of “object permanence”, which is the capacity to recognize that objects have an existence separate from one’s perception of them. The infant gradually learns that he is separate from his surroundings and that aspects of his environment continue to exist even though they may be outside the reach of his senses.

The key achievement of this stage is “basic trust”, which develops if infants learn to trust that their assertions will be successful in getting the world to respond as desired to their wants and demands. If infants successfully develop basic trust, they sense themselves as strong and capable. Conversely, if their predominant experience is that caregivers are inconsistent, neglectful, or rejecting—and thus the infant’s continued existence is not assured—the opposite occurs: fear that the self is incapable, that the world is unresponsive, and that one’s survival is uncertain.

Taurus―Two to Five. By the Taurus stage, the toddler has lost its illusion of omnipotence and there is a firming up of boundaries as the self becomes increasingly aware of the otherness of the world at large. Toddlers begin to discover the limits of their own body and see themselves as merely one object in a world of objects.

While there is a rudimentary form of thinking at this age, it is inordinately simplistic, egocentric, and rigid. Only one dimension of a phenomenon can be grasped at a time, such as height or width but not both (centration). Emotional experience continues to be split into all-good or all-bad, although if development proceeds optimally this will change about mid-way through this stage.

Because there is limited capacity to differentiate between subjective experience and objective reality, thought and thing are not yet fully differentiated. Hence, this is the period of magic in which anything thought can become real. That is, thoughts about things are not distinguished from the thing itself. A puppet thought to represent mommy really is mommy and mommy can be influenced to provide what the self wants.

Emergence of the capacity to hold and possess objects are developmental landmarks of the Taurus stage. At the most basic level, the child pos­sesses a body, and thus a body-self that is differentiated from the external world. The capacity to hold and possess enables development of bladder and bowel control, for now the child can “hold it”, as contrasted with the Aries stage in which the child evacuated on impulse. This newfound capacity to hold also enables the child to possess objects and form at­tachments that assure its security. Toddlers typically form intense attachments to transitional objects, such as a teddy bear or doll. Most importantly, there is emergence of the corresponding ability to retain memories as images, feelings, and thoughts.

If development proceeds normally, the toddler will have developed a capacity for self and object constancy by the time it reaches four years old. Object constancy means the child will have successfully internalized a stable mental representation of a positive mothering figure (good object) that it can use as a resource to comfort itself in the face of mildly frightening or frustrating experiences, just as if the mother were present. The capacity for object constancy also enables the self to retain a memory of the external object as good even when their current behavior is frustrating/bad. Likewise, self-constancy means the child can retain a positive image of the self as good (good self) despite momentary distress with its surroundings.

After attaining self and object constancy, toddlers become comparatively self-possessed. By holding on to a positive ob­ject-image (object constancy) and positive self-image (self-constancy) despite distressing encounters with significant others, the child develops a capacity for frustration tolerance, delayed gratification, and self-soothing. It is precisely because the child can hold in awareness a memory of the “good” self and the “good” other that it can tolerate negative interpersonal experiences without collapsing into an all-bad self-other state.

Whereas the capacity for self-soothing was wholly absent during the Aries stage, it should be present in rudimentary form by the end of the Taurus period. Toddlers develop the capacity to experience ambivalent emotions towards both self and others. Experience is no longer split into “all good” or “all bad” but is a mixture of both. Able to reassure and hold on to themselves, children begin to mellow out in comparison to the Aries stage. These developmental achievements are hallmarks of a successful resolution of this period.

However, if there is too much change, instability, or traumatic impingements between two and five, the toddler may not adequately develop self and object constancy and will tend to see the world as depriving, unsafe, and unpredictable. They may, to varying degrees, continue to split experience into all-good or all-bad, suffer limitations in their ability to self-soothe, lack internal stability, and remain inordinately concerned with possessing objects and people for the security that can be derived from them.

Gemini―Five to Nine: Prior to age five, information is coordi­nated and integrated primarily through the five senses. By middle childhood, there is an ability to detach from the senses and move onto a mental level where perceptions can be organized into discrete categories and sequences that represent the phe­nome­nal world. Accordingly, between ages 5-6, children enter school.

Thought and thing are now more fully differentiated. Although thinking is still ego­centric, the child is adept at using symbols (mental images and words) to signify objects and events. Children at this stage can comprehend more than one dimension of an object simultaneously, such as height and width.

An emerging ability to reason and figure things out on a purely mental level is the primary developmental thrust of this period. Yet, Gemini-age children are still relatively unaware of their inner feeling realm. The capacity for introspection and self-reflection (Cancer) has not yet awakened, which is to say they are still lacking in emotional intelligence. Consequently, they often blurt out questions or make statements without awareness of their emotional impact on others. Words erupt spontaneously in a manner that is relatively outside their volition or self-control.

During this Gemini period of middle childhood, children cannot think about thinking; that is, thinking is not yet its own object. Accordingly, their understanding remains relatively shallow and preoccupied with the concrete, empirical realm despite their insatiable desire to learn.

Although this type of learning is largely rote (imitative and repetitive), re­search indicates there is a greater capacity to assimi­late information between five and nine than any other time of life. Vocabulary increases exponentially. Gemini-stage children are constantly asking “why this, what’s that?” And when not asking questions, they are reporting observations and communicating their ever-accumulating knowledge to anyone who will listen.

The obsessive need to differentiate one thing from another―to question, label, and classify―is most apparent during this developmental period. By the end of their eighth year (3rd grade), children should have effectively learned to read, write, and communicate knowledge, which is the main developmental achievement of the Gemini stage. However, developmental interference at this stage―trauma, neglect, or lack of opportunity―may impair the child’s capacity for learning and result in subsequent difficulties with focus and communication.

Cancer―Nine to Fourteen: This is the latency phase of childhood, “the quiet interlude,” or preadolescence. The birth of the emotional self occurs during this period. There is now the capacity to contain rather than act out feelings; thus, preadolescents have a greater internal locus of control. They become more introverted, quiet, calm, pliable, receptive, and reflective. Able to introspect and evaluate the significance of feelings, there is increased sympathy for others. This new, emergent capacity establishes the foundations of conscience and social awareness. A moral sensibility arises that is rooted in an understanding of how other people might feel in response to their behavior.

Memory also deepens and matures, and with it the cognitive capacity for “reversibility”. By age 10, children are able to fully understand how numbers and objects can change and then return to their original condition. For example, they recognize that a single phenomenon such as a quantity of water can transition into multiple forms, such as pouring from a tall-thin to a short-wide container while still remaining the same quantity. In effect, there is a new ability to think backward, to reflect, and to access memory as a guide to correct understanding. The capacity to reflect also allows children to connect more deeply to their own insides, to know what they are feeling about a particular experience or topic and be able to communicate that feeling to others. In this regard, Cancer is primarily a period of building a foundation for authentic self-expression, the latter being the dominant theme of the succedent Leo stage.

The child’s new, emergent capacity for introspection means that thinking has now become its own object. This is meta-cognition, thinking about thinking. Thoughts and feelings can be contained in awareness long enough to become a subject of inquiry in themselves. Learning is no longer predominantly rote as in the Gemini stage, but allows for a deeper, more complex form of reasoning grounded in the child’s subjectivity, felt sense, and imagination.

An ever-deepening awareness of the inner world allows the preadolescent child to contain, suppress, and regulate impulses with an aim toward behavior that evidences true emotional intelligence. In this way, they assure belonging and avoid rejection, which is the primary goal of the Cancer stage. Failure to develop the capacity for self-attunement may lead to problems accessing and containing feelings, understanding the emotions of others, and thereby fulfilling needs for closeness and belonging.

Leo―Fourteen to Twenty: The process of identity consolidation reaches a climax during the teen years. This is evident in the adolescent’s self-conscious­ness, in their concern with appearance, image, and popularity, in their trying on of various roles, in their need to be an individual yet accepted by peers, in their attraction to heroes and role models, in their in­sistence upon choosing their own values, beliefs, and customs, and in their urgent need for attention and validation.

The teen years mark the beginning of romance, courtship, proms, parties, theatre, and a more serious approach to team sports, all of which constitute opportunities for performing, winning accolades, and feeling appreciated. More so than any other stage of life, adolescence is a social time for having fun and enjoying oneself with friends.

It follows that a primary task of the Leo period is to differentiate a sense of self from the family matrix. In the preceding stage (Cancer), emphasis was on the need to belong to a family, school, or neighborhood. Conversely, adolescents are notoriously uncomfortable with any display of subservience or emotional dependency. Subordination to parental commands is construed as a threat to their personal will; thus, adolescence is characterized by re­bellion against parents and authority.

Unlike the introspective Cancer period when psychic energy went inward, adolescence is characterized by comparative extroversion. If separa­tion from the family is supported and the individual is encouraged to be their own authentic self―that is, make their own free choices―then a cheerful confidence develops. With confidence comes honor, self-respect, pride, playfulness, a healthy sense of entitlement, and the ability to express oneself creatively. Developmental interference during this stage may result in lifelong problems involving coherence of identity (who am I?) and self-esteem (am I worthy?).

Virgo―Twenty to Twenty-seven: The Virgo period marks the end of adolescence. Young adults are either entering the work force to learn a trade or craft, or they are choosing their college major to gain the requisite knowledge for more advanced employment. This is a time of apprenticeship, of being a novice in search of a mentor. In effect, Virgo signifies the birth of the worker-self wherein the primary focus is on developing a skill that can be of use to the community.

In comparison to the exuberant party atmosphere of adolescence (Leo-stage), this is a comparatively modest, humble time of life. After 20, one is a grown-up of sorts, but still at the bottom of the adult hierarchy. Of primary importance is learning to manage the myriad tasks that adulthood requires, such as housework, yardwork, paying bills, renewing driver’s license, maintaining health (personal hygiene, diet, exercise), servicing the car, fixing appliances, and so on. By age 20, one should be capable of handling these and similar tasks. If not, adulthood will be compromised accordingly.

Just as Virgo represents the repair and maintenance system of the psyche, so the focus during this period is on self-improvement and fixing whatever impedes a healthy lifestyle, including and especially finding a job. Whereas the Leo stage entailed prideful performance before an appreciative audience of peers, the Virgo period requires a more critical, faultfinding approach to the ego-self, which now becomes an entity that can be viewed objectively for purposes of improvement.

Young adults must learn the world does not owe them a living. It is imperative they find a way to contribute and be of service. And because the Virgo-stage is a training period, there is a high likelihood of making mistakes. Failure to be hired for a job, gain acceptance to a preferred graduate program, or pass a licensing exam can be a humbling experience. Accordingly, the overriding concern is with efficiency and competency. Otherwise, one will be unable to achieve and sustain gainful employment, which would constitute a failure of this developmental epoch.

Libra―Twenty-seven to Thirty-five: By age 27, individuals have served out their Virgo apprenticeship and feel ready to take their place in adult society. In the Libra stage, one emerges into full adult status as a social equal.  It is not just one’s own equality that has importance, but recognition of the true equality of others. Young adults awaken more fully to the realization that it is in their interest to place other’s needs and happiness on a par with their own.

By the Libra phase, we are more willing to abide by social mores and are committed to supporting the social contract for its own sake. Good be­havior is defined in a stereotypical manner in terms of roles in social/work relationships. To be “good” is to demonstrate fairness, keep agreements, and show respect for moral authorities. Treating others as equal in value to oneself is the basis of all relationship and especially of partnership, whether in marriage or business.

Accordingly, ages 27-35 are prime marrying years. Generally, work identity is well established by the start of the Libra stage; thus, one has a means for earning a livelihood, which has traditionally been regarded as a prerequisite for a sound marriage (particularly for men).

As with adolescence, the Libra stage is an intensely social period. However, parties are no longer the raucous beer bashes of the teen years, but more for networking, intermingling in polite society, and making social connections that facilitate achievement of life goals. Maturation of social skills―etiquette, congeniality, diplomacy, fairness and cooperativeness―is the hallmark of this period. In short, it is time for public relations in both the literal and occupational sense of the term.

Scorpio―Thirty-five to Forty-four: Scorpio signifies the middle phase of adulthood. Developmentally, this stage is associated with the midlife crisis when the individual must come to terms with his or her own mortality, re-examine deeply en­trenched beliefs, and confront potentials that have gone unrealized. Prior to age 35, one’s physical powers remain more-or-less intact. But after 35, physical prowess is on the wane. There is a sense of time running out and that one is on the downside of the mountain.

When the midlife crisis erupts, individuals must face where they have compromised their integrity. Being authentic becomes more important than complying with other’s expectations. Libran concessions and stereotypical role-agreements of the prior stage come into sharp awareness and precipitate a crisis of identity. Unhealed wounds surface to be healed; buried potentials emerge to be embraced at whatever cost. Whether a marital crisis, career quandary, or health emergency, there is regression in the service of transformation. This can be experienced as an ego-disintegration (death) followed by reintegration (rebirth) into a new, more complex and integrous sense of self.

If the crisis is confronted and successfully resolved, there is a sense of self-renewal, empowerment, and new depth of awareness. Developmental psychologists regard this period as “regenerativity”, meaning it is the age not only for regenerating identity, but for the rearing of children. For by raising children, we are regenerating ourselves—often reliving, redoing, and healing through our children―and passing our genes on to future generations.

The 1999 film, American Beauty starring the execrable Kevin Spacey, exemplifies the Scorpio stage of life, albeit in the failure of the adult characters to achieve greater integrity. Spacey plays the character of Lester, a 43-year-old sexually frustrated suburban father who has a midlife crisis when he loses his job and becomes infatuated with his daughter’s best friend.

Sagittarius―Forty-four to Fifty-four: According to Laurence Kohlberg’s 20-year study, the devel­opment of moral values is an evolving configuration that reaches its full flowering during this stage. As people ap­proach the last quarter of life, there is an effort to determine moral values and principles that have valid­ity apart from the authority of the group holding these principles, and apart from the individual’s own identi­fication with the group. For these reasons, the Sagittarius stage of life is a period of increasing influence and wisdom.

Unlike the Libra-Scorpio stages, the individual is no longer identified with society; rather, society becomes the ground for an assessment of morality that is mediated by a higher authority. This final authority is one’s own capacity for moral meaning-making. More so than at any other period, the desire for truth and justice is paramount and the indi­vidual is concerned with teaching, advising, and guiding the next generation.

This is a time of maximum influence, of heightened political awareness, of insightfulness and philosophic concern, of deeper wisdom and improved judgment, and of coming to approve of oneself ethi­cally and morally independent of other people’s stan­dards. In short, Sagittarius is the stage where our capacity for abstract thinking and moral reasoning reaches its climax.

By now, children are out of the house and may have children of their own, conferring grandparent status upon those who have reached the Sagittarian stage. New possibilities for one’s life come into focus, and hope springs anew. It is an expansive time both psychologically and financially, the latter affording opportunities for travel or even going back to school. If all goes well, there is an increase in general contentment and a feeling that life is good.

Capricorn―Fifty-four to Sixty-five: Having moved through the period of personal ex­pansion represented by Sagittarius, one arrives at the zenith of one’s existence. Studies indicate that the average age of individu­als in the upper echelons of business and politics is 54, precisely the start of the Capricorn stage. This is when people take stock and hopefully see that they’ve made an impact and achieved something of lasting value. Over the next 11 years, efforts will be made to polish, upgrade, and more permanently establish that success.

Generally, there is a sense of being part of the establishment, whether one wishes to be or not. This is somewhat unavoidable, for 54-65 is the age of the establishment wherein tried-and-true policies hold sway and order is maintained in accord with established principles. To whatever extent a person is capable of achieving a position of authority, they are most likely to attain it now.

This often entails dealing with subordinates, for Capricorn is intrinsically hierarchical. As always, the challenge lies in constructing a life-system in which all levels are aligned and working together at peak efficiency. Time and resources are managed in the service of an ultimate goal. This is not limited to profession alone but applies to the structure of one’s life as a whole.

As a developmental stage, Capricorn is also about recognizing limitations, especially of time, capability, and longevity. Whereas the previous (Sagittarian) stage swelled with unlimited possibility, the Capricorn period is more sober and realistic. Time is not infinite and there are limits to what can be accomplished in the time remaining; hence, one is apt to economize and focus on what is essential.

At 54, the question is: What remains for me to accomplish? What is my plan for the final push up the mountain? By the end of this stage, the question becomes: Have I realized my potential? Achieved what I set out to do and fulfilled my destiny? If a person answers in the affirmative, he or she basks in a sense of lasting accomplishment. If not, there is likely to be despair, regret, and guilt over failure to make the most of one’s life.

Aquarius―Sixty-five to Seventy-seven: Aquarius signifies the retirement years when the individual, having passed beyond the pinnacle of career success, steps back and considers the ultimate significance of his or her life. An accretion of wisdom over the years has broadened one’s perspective so that by age 65 there is maturation of the capacity for “seeing whole” (holistic thinking).

Such an objective overview affords not only a spatial but temporal capacity for appreciating how all things change and are but transitional stages in an eternally unfolding evolutionary process. Accordingly, there is potential for breakthrough to a more inclusive awareness, as well as an abiding concern for the future welfare of collective humanity. 

With career fading into the background, the playing field is leveled, and one achieves a new status that is radically open. Aquarian-stage adults enjoy a relative freedom from responsibility during this period and can do or be anything. With the relinquishing of external symbols that previously defined identity―status, position, career―and no longer strapped to burdensome duties that defined the Capricorn stage, there is freedom to shift course; in effect, to rebel against one’s previous life.

Consequently, this period tends to be liberating. Worries about being laid off, terminated, or not getting promoted, recede into the past. There is a detachment from ego-identity and less concern for what others think. Post-retirement years are characterized by outspokenness, eccentricity, experimentation, and relative independence from consensual morality. Ruth Gordon’s character “Maude” in the cult film Harold & Maude epitomizes the Aquarian stage of life.

No longer preoccupied with personal goals or issues of success/failure, there is a natural tendency to think about succeeding generations. Focus turns to the big picture and what is ultimately important for humanity at large. What trends are worth supporting, and which are not? What still needs to be invented, achieved, or developed? Rather than being a leader in a particular field―the 10th house stage―awareness broadens to perceiving the system as a whole; that is, standing apart and seeing where life is headed, where it needs to go, and how best to light the way with others of like mind. This may entail alignment with group activities such as civic organizations and fraternal orders dedicated to worthy causes.

If there is a danger to this stage, it is being overwhelmed by too much change along with an accompanying sense of personal insignificance. There may be a tendency toward withdrawal and isolation as a consequence of overattachment to one’s prior life―career, friends, or family―and subsequent failure to adapt. Or one becomes so involved in the world of politics, causes, and global developments that immersion in the life of the collective substitutes for lack of a personal life.

If the individual fails to evolve by embracing a broader sense of identity and purpose, then he or she may drift into stasis, cutting off from meaningful involvement with others and becoming increasingly isolated and irrelevant.

Pisces―Seventy-seven to Ninety (or end of life): Finally, with Pisces, we come to the end of the life cycle as the individual prepares for that final surrender to the divine mystery that is our source. As the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces symbolizes the end of life and thus endings in general. This is a period of natural decline and relative passivity, as there is a gradual loss of vitality, focus, and drive. It is during this stage that human beings are ultimately required to transcend the body and accept the inevitability of death. For in the end, we are all victims of old age, a gradual loss of health ending in demise.

Yet, some people display a remarkable capacity to remain active and productive right to the end, even taking up imaginal activities such as painting, photography, or engaging in voluntarism and charitable pursuits that relieve the suffering of others. There may be an attraction to peaceful and beautiful surroundings, a reverence for Nature, or engagement in meditative activities such as walks in the park, feeding the ducks, or excursions to the beach to commune with the rhythms of the sea. More than anything, there is a deepening appreciation for the sublimity of solitude.

The probability of sickness and institutionalization (hospital, convalescent home, hospice center) is greatest during this period, especially toward the end. A slow drift toward incapacitation forces one to increasingly depend on others for sustenance and support. As a coping mechanism to numb the pain of infirmity or loneliness, substance dependency is common. Elders must have their “meds” which oftentimes includes copious amounts of alcohol as well.

During this stage, the individual is especially vulnerable to victimization by scam-artists who exploit the uncertainty and porous boundaries that characterize the elderly. Other losses may occur, too, such as deaths of spouse and friends. Accordingly, octogenarians frequently feel marginalized, forgotten, and abandoned. Since “endings” is a Piscean theme, there is more than the usual amount of sadness during this stage, involving not only loss of health and loved ones, but of all that one has accumulated and achieved.

Perhaps for these reasons, the imaginal self predominates and fantasy substitutes for reality. An inward retreat and blurring of space-time incline one to drift, dreamlike, between conscious and unconscious, past and present, inner and outer reality. This can be disorienting, of course, and the spacey confusion of the aged is well known. Gradual deterioration of cognitive functioning may culminate in dementia in which octogenarians suffer progressive impairments to memory, thinking, and behavior. There may be a slurring of speech―impaired ability to articulate―and difficulty recalling words and facts.

If ever there was a time for spirituality, this is it. Certainly, it is a time for reconciliation and letting go of the past, of useless attachments, of spent goals and unfulfilled aspirations, and even of people. Not only must one have compassion for oneself, but ideally for others, too; there is no time left (nor energy) for fighting battles or engaging in recriminations. Any harboring of grievances or bitterness creates a contraction that runs counter to the thrust of the period, which is to “let go and let God” – or, more simply, to forgive.

If this can be achieved, a sense of inner peace and sublime serenity emerges. The ultimate requirement of this stage is to relinquish the body and dissolve back into the source from which one comes. Depending upon one’s degree of faith, people do this with varying degrees of grace. Failure to forgive and let go of grievances may constitute incomplete lesson assignments to be retaken in the next incarnation when the great cycle begins anew.

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Resources:

Berger, Kathleen S. (1983). The Developing Person Through the Life Span. New York: Worth Publishers

Fowler, James W. (1981). Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. New York: HarperSanFrancisco

Levinson, Daniel J. (1978). The Seasons of a Man’s Life. New York: Ballantine Books.

Miller, Patricia (1983). Theories of Developmental Psychology. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman & Company

Sheehy, Gail (1976). Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc.

Tyson, Phyllis and Tyson, Robert (1990). Psychoanalytic Theories of Development. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press

Valiant, George E. (1977). Adaptation to Life. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company

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