Robert Couteau (born 1956 in
Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...
) is an American astrocartographer (practitioner of a particular form of
locational astrology) best known for his theory of the Least-Aspected Planet (LAP) in
astrocartography
Astrocartography (called "astrogeography" in Europe in earlier years) is a method of locational astrology, by which specific geographic locations are associated with expected differences in personal life circumstances.
Technique
Developed and pop ...
and
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
.
Although the professional astrology community's response to the theory of the Least-Aspected Planet has been overwhelmingly positive, several astrologers have disagreed over methods of applying the theory in astrology and astrocartography.
Least-Aspected Planet
The concept of the LAP, first advanced in 1998, proposes that the
horoscope
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
planet that receives the fewest
astrological aspects is the
keynote or focal point of the birth chart. In the analysis of
planetary lines in astrocartography, the rising, setting,
Imum coeli, and
midheaven lines of the LAP represent geographic areas
of greatest potential for the native. The theory was initially
developed by analyzing accurately recorded horoscopes of historical
personalities, and it has also been successfully applied, in
mundane astrology, to the study of historical events.
The complete text of this research was made available as a free e-book in 1998, and many excerpts of it were later published in online and print journals over the next decade. The essay ''The Role of the Least-Aspected Planet in Astrocartography: New Insights Into the Spirit of Place'', which introduced these ideas, was featured in Matrix Software's ''Learn Astrology'' archive (originally, ''Astro-Talk'' magazine) later that same year.
In 2000, the Jim Lewis Slayden Foundation, devoted to the legacy of the founder of modern
astrocartography
Astrocartography (called "astrogeography" in Europe in earlier years) is a method of locational astrology, by which specific geographic locations are associated with expected differences in personal life circumstances.
Technique
Developed and pop ...
,
Jim Lewis, hosted an
essay by Couteau titled ''The Least-Aspected Planet in Astro*Carto*Graphy: A Metaphor of the Soul'', which discusses how the LAP symbolizes the “overall archetypal pattern” residing “at the very core of the chart” and cites
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
as a primary influence.
The University Centre for Astrological Research (C.U.R.A.) in Paris published two more essays on the subject: Couteau's ''An Introduction to Astrocartography'' (with an introduction in French by Patrice Guinard) and ''Beyond the Trigger Effect: A Personal Note on the ‘Numinous Consciousness.’''
The latter work explores the writing of
Rudolf Otto, the scholar
of comparative religion who first coined the term ''
numinous'',
and it attempts to link Otto's ideas on religious experience to
traditional astrology and Least-Aspected Planets. This essay was later translated into Spanish by Gerry Hache and published in C.U.R.A. as ''Mas allá del efecto disparador''. In 2002 the Finnish astrology magazine ''Astro Logos'' published Couteau's lengthy essay ''Transcendental Mercury'' as a two-part feature in its summer and fall print editions (translated as “Transsendenttinen Merkurius”).
The essay describes the various ways that Mercury may manifest as
either a Least- or Most-Aspected Planet in astrology and
astrocartography. In 1999 ''Anima Mundi'' magazine hosted his essay
“Transcendental Mars,” which explores the same dynamics in the Martian complex and lists various celebrity personalities with a Least-Aspected Mars whose life and work was epitomized by the symbolism and astrocartographic proximity of that planet. In 2004 excerpts from Couteau's work on Least- and Most-Aspected Pluto were published in the book ''The Astrology of Film: The Interface of Movies, Myth, and Archetype'', by Bill Streett and Jeffrey Kishner.
In October 2006 The Mountain Astrologer featured a review of the complete text of ''The Role of the Least-Aspected Planet in Astrocartography. Planetary Symbolism in Astrocartography and Transcendental Astrology''.
Other print magazines that have featured Couteau's work on the subject
include ''Astrolore: The Astrology Magazine'', published in Poole, England, and the ''Celtic Astrologer: The Journal of the Dublin Astrological Centre''. In 1999, in the summer and fall editions of ''Aspects'' magazine, astrologer Claudia Dikinis published a two-part article titled “Election 2000” that cited Couteau's statistical findings, namely that Least-Aspected Saturn appears with higher frequency than other horoscope planets in the birth charts of American presidents.
[''Aspects, A Quarterly Astrology Magazine'', summer 1999, “Election 2000 - Part 1”; fall 1999, “Election 2000 - Part 2.”]
References
Further reading
* Couteau, Robert ''The Role of the Least-Aspected Planet in Astrocartography. Planetary Symbolism in Astrocartography and Transcendental Astrology''
External links
Dominantstar. Official website.Astro*Carto*GraphyThe Jim Lewis Slayden Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couteau, Robert
Living people
20th-century astrologers
21st-century astrologers
American astrologers
American astrological writers
American male non-fiction writers
1956 births