Astrology and Alchemy - the Occult Roots of the Mbti
Sounding Board
Psychologists and managers may be surprised to discover that the origins of the world’s most widely used psychometric instrument lie in pre-modern systems of knowledge.
Astrology and alchemy – the occult roots of the MBTI by Peter Case and Garry Phillipson
There appear to be no reputable investigations into the influence of astrology and alchemy on organisation and management, which is surprising given the continuing popularity of astrology. Aside from some research into how marketing executives are using astrology to target products and services more effectively, a small number of business books written by professional astrologers and some interest in the financial world, the field remains largely unexplored. Why does astrology appeal to the executive world? Where and how is it being deployed, and what are the organisational consequences? In this article, we look at the sociological and organisational dimensions of astrology and offer a theoretical justification for researching astrological interests and practices using Gibson Burrell’s ‘retro-organisation theory’. We also apply retro-organisation theory to an analysis of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), one of the most widely used psychometric instruments in the world today. Astrology and alchemy are still very much taboo in the academic world. There is a real danger of attracting ridicule or even contempt from the academic community simply for daring to express a professional interest in these subjects. Our purpose is to look at some of the unacknowledged ways in which this pre-modern cosmology informs patterns of conduct in order to contribute to a better understanding of its influence in the organisational world.
61
EBF issue 17, spring 2004
The renaissance of spiritual and occult understanding
In justifying his own ‘astrological experiment’, Jung observes: “In no previous age, however ‘superstitious,’ was astrology so widespread and so highly esteemed as it is today”. Although
Psychologists and managers may be surprised to discover that the origins of the world’s most widely used psychometric instrument lie in pre-modern systems of knowledge.
Astrology and alchemy – the occult roots of the MBTI by Peter Case and Garry Phillipson
There appear to be no reputable investigations into the influence of astrology and alchemy on organisation and management, which is surprising given the continuing popularity of astrology. Aside from some research into how marketing executives are using astrology to target products and services more effectively, a small number of business books written by professional astrologers and some interest in the financial world, the field remains largely unexplored. Why does astrology appeal to the executive world? Where and how is it being deployed, and what are the organisational consequences? In this article, we look at the sociological and organisational dimensions of astrology and offer a theoretical justification for researching astrological interests and practices using Gibson Burrell’s ‘retro-organisation theory’. We also apply retro-organisation theory to an analysis of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), one of the most widely used psychometric instruments in the world today. Astrology and alchemy are still very much taboo in the academic world. There is a real danger of attracting ridicule or even contempt from the academic community simply for daring to express a professional interest in these subjects. Our purpose is to look at some of the unacknowledged ways in which this pre-modern cosmology informs patterns of conduct in order to contribute to a better understanding of its influence in the organisational world.
61
EBF issue 17, spring 2004
The renaissance of spiritual and occult understanding
In justifying his own ‘astrological experiment’, Jung observes: “In no previous age, however ‘superstitious,’ was astrology so widespread and so highly esteemed as it is today”. Although