The psychological profile of professions

Each profession, especially if it is very specialized, has its psychological profile. Watchmaking requires precision and meticulousness; a good soldier should be combative and courageous; it is better that a politician, a journalist or an actor master well the art of public speaking and that of communication, and that a cook has an innate sense of harmony; scientific research requires rigour, patience, solitude; a competent entrepreneur must be organized and endowed with a good dose of authority, etc.

Of course, this psycho-professional profile is ideal: in reality, there are imprecise and casual watchmakers, cowardly soldiers, mute and introverted politicians, journalists or actors, cooks producing infamous grubs, talkative scientists and sociable, messy business leaders unable to be obeyed, etc.

In addition, the profession that we practice depends to a very large extent on our original social background: the sons and daughters of CEOs are more likely to become CEOs than the sons and daughters of plumbers. Sex and sexual conditioning also have a powerful influence: little boys dream of being firefighters or police bikers, little girls nurses or childcare workers.

Innate Abilities and Acquired Skills

From the moment of our birth, we inherit innate abilities, both genetic and astrological. Let’s leave aside the first (without underestimating their importance) and look at the seconds.

Each star of the solar system is related to certain very specific aptitudes: the Moon predisposes to harmony, receptivity, conviviality; the Sun to clarity, to will, to exemplarity; Mercury to curiosity, playful spirit, spontaneous communication; Venus to affectivity, to the aesthetic sense, to voluptuousness; Mars to combativeness, realism, dynamism; Jupiter to pragmatism, public speaking, a sense of organization; Saturn to rigor, to patience, to reflection; Uranus with hyper-precision, conceptual cerebrality, maximum autonomy; Neptune with intuition, presentiments, a sense of the collective; and finally Pluto with coldness, a sense of complexity and a taste for the unknown.

We are not all equal: depending on whether one or other of these stars dominates at the birth of an individual, the corresponding innate aptitudes are underlined, brought into relief. It will be up to experience and family and school education to develop them effectively or not, by extending them or associating them with acquired skills. For example, it would be preferable, ideally, for a chartered accountant to be “saturnian”: his innate skills (rigor, patience, reflection) then correspond perfectly to his acquired skills and to the psychological profile of this profession.

But in fact, not all accountants are “saturnians” and all “saturnians” do not have the vocation to be chartered accountants, and it is better to deal with a non-Saturnian, but competent chartered accountant, than to entrust this task to a “saturnian” who has not acquired these skills. In astrology as in all fields, everything is relative, conditional.

Stats and Professions

It is therefore not the stars that decide the profession we exercise. And yet, through the innate abilities they trigger, they exert a certain influence on the way we experience our relationship to our profession. Which? This is not the question initially asked Michel Gauquelin, a psychologist and statistician whose father had a keen interest in astrology. This researcher wondered if the alleged astrological laws could be verified, and if so, if they were “true”.

In the early 1950s, Michel Gauquelin and his wife Françoise assume that psycho-professional profiles should correspond to astro-psychological profiles, which according to astrology are determined by the rising, setting, upper or lower culmination of the stars on the horizon. To test this hypothesis, they classify the professions into a few broad categories: sportsmen, politicians, actors, scientists, soldiers, religious, and begin to collect from the Civil Registry tens of thousands of birth data (date, time, place) of celebrities in these fields, data which he then subjects to rigorous statistical processing.

The results that the Gauquelins obtain by this method confirm the “astrological laws” for five celestial bodies (Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). Famous actors, playwrights, politicians, military leaders, executives and journalists are born more frequently than average with a Jupiter ruling ; among scientists, doctors and priests, we observe a percentage of “saturnians” very superior to that of ordinary mortals; top athletes, business leaders, but also military leaders and doctors very frequently have a Mars ruling ; finally, a lunar dominant appears in writers and politicians. Conversely, a statistically significant proportion of scientists and doctors “sulk” Jupiter; actors, journalists, writers and painters are less “saturnians” than the average, etc.

An astro-professional orientation?

This is a considerable surprise, given the enormity of the starting assumption. Subsequently, the Gauquelins’ research will show that the more the character traits of a group of individuals correspond to the psychological profile of their profession, the more the position frequencies of the corresponding planets on the horizon or on the meridian increase. To achieve such results, the astrological fact must also be enormous, although invisible…

There is therefore an undeniable correlation between astro-psychological profile and psycho-professional profile, a correlation that defies the laws of chance. But this correlation is very far from being systematic: it is not significant enough to allow, for example, to establish a professional orientation prognosis. Besides, not everyone can be a writer, politician, doctor, athlete, scientist, soldier, actor or priest.

The Gauquelin statistics show above all that the more our character traits coincide with the psychological profile of our profession, the more likely we are to excel in it, which is basically very logical. This phenomenon only concerns a minority of individuals. In addition, no one is obliged to resemble their profession, to identify with it 100%. Our existence is not limited to our professional life. After all, if we devote between a quarter and a third of our time to the latter, we devote about as much to sleep and to go about our leisure, areas where we can also invest our innate abilities.

The “pros” and the “antis”

Nevertheless, it is impossible not to take this phenomenon into account, if only to understand that some people cannot invest themselves fully in a profession that does not correspond to them, which is not an extension of themselves. themselves, and that others, on the contrary, flourish there so completely that their profession is almost like second nature to them.

We therefore have just as much right to be “pro” than “anti”. The stars do not decide everything. In this area, the weight of socio-cultural conditioning and economic realities that determine the labor market is clearly greater than that of the planets. But if you hesitate in your career choices or in the professional orientation of your children, you will lose nothing by consulting a competent astrologer (it’s rare, but it does exist). Given the skills acquired, he will be able to help you make the least bad choice, if not the best: for our personal development, it is better to have a job that we love and in which we can at least recognize ourselves…

Astro-recruitment

If graphology, which is however very far from being an exact science, is commonly used by recruiters, astrology is only very marginally used, contrary to the legend. When this happens, thanks to the CV that you send him, the recruiter can communicate to one your native contact details. All he has to do is ask the Civil Registry what time you were born. It is a simple administrative formality, completely legal. He can then establish your natal horoscope and only has to determine, taking into account your diplomas and professional experiences, whether or not your profile “astro-psychological” corresponds to the profile of the position to be occupied.

The astro-recruiter can have a decisive influence on your access to employment and on your career. Without you suspecting it, its verdict can be fatal or favorable to you. A question then arises: is he competent? We have to admit that no. Most astrologers are appallingly incompetent, and the more ignorant and venal they are, the more likely they are to be found in astro-recruitment. Their influence in this field is perhaps even more pernicious than that of many graphologists.

The law obliges recruiters to communicate to job candidates, if they expressly request it, the results of the aptitude tests they have passed. Astro-recruitment is one of these tests, but when it is used, recruiters almost never mention it. You have the right to contest its merits, and to request a second opinion. But be aware that recruiters never look favorably on this challenge to their skills and authority (even and especially if they are completely incompetent). You will appear in their eyes to be a complainer, a protester if you assert your rights. Needless to say, they will never hire an individual with such a “astro-psychological profile”.

Astro-recruitment, deception or reliable method?

Over the past fifteen years, the globalization of the economy and technological changes have profoundly changed the labor market. While the number of jobs offered by companies decreased considerably, the latter demanded more and more advanced professional specializations from their employees.

In the old full-employment society, recruiters paid little attention to the psychological characteristics of employees. It was enough that they had the diplomas and skills corresponding to the job they were applying for they were immediately hired. Only the cabinets of “headhunters”, specializing in the recruitment of senior executives and business leaders, used psychological assessment tools such as aptitude tests, but also astrology, graphology and numerology.

It is no longer the same today. More and more highly qualified young people are entering an increasingly tight job market. Recruiters and employers are spoiled for choice of candidates and recruitment methods. With equal diplomas and skills, the “psychological profile”, the “personal motivations” of the future employee become essential selection criteria.

Only very unskilled trades still escape psychological selection. Whether we deplore it or welcome it, astrology, numerology and graphology are now commonly used to sort out and choose the ideal employee.

From birth, a competent astrologer (this requires long years of study) can thus foresee what will be the essential characteristics of the “astro-psychological profile” of an individual. Of “astro-psychological profile” to “competency profile”, there is only one step, which recruiters who use astrology (there are many of them, many more than one would think, but rarely boast about it) have taken. A slow and introverted temperament risks being incompetent if given a position that requires dynamism, liveliness and initiative; conversely, an offensive and extroverted temperament may suit that of a leader of men.

Above all, do not think that astro-recruiters are satisfied with your date of birth, generally mentioned on your CV, to evaluate your astro-psychological profile. This information only allows them to know your Sun Sign, i.e. the Sign that the Sun passed through when you were born. This is quite insufficient: it is obvious that humanity is not reduced to twelve “zodiacal types” and that all Taurus, for example, do not look alike. The serious evaluation of astro-psychological skills is much more complex than that, and requires taking into account, in addition to the position of the Sun, those of all the planets of the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto). To do this, the astro-recruiter must construct your birth chart.

To do this, he needs to know the exact time you were born. Nothing easier to obtain. Thanks to your CV, he already knows your day, your month, your year and your place of birth. All he has to do is write to the Civil Registry services of your place of birth to request a Civil Registry extract mentioning the time at which you were born. It is a simple administrative formality, completely legal. Armed with this capital information, he can then establish your natal horoscope. Thanks to the astronomical tables he uses, he will then know if you were born at the rising of Mars or Saturn, and will draw astro-psychological conclusions: a “marsian” is rather energetic, combative, impulsive, while a “saturnian” is characterized more by hindsight, reflection, caution.

He then only has to determine, taking into account your diplomas and professional experience, whether or not your astro-psychological profile corresponds to the profile of the position to be occupied. If the position in question requires the skills of a skilful negotiator or a courteous diplomat, the individual whose horoscope indicates that he was born at the rising of Mars is likely to see his CV and cover letter go straight to the trash: he will be seen as potentially too aggressive for a job that requires flexibility and verbal skill. On the other hand, with equal diplomas and skills, the candidacy of an individual born at the rising of Jupiter has every chance of being favorably received, since this planet, when it is dominant, makes people sociable, ambitious and good at language.

Of Men and Seasons

“We were born at a given time, in a given place, and we have, like the famous vintages, the qualities of the year and the season that saw us born”, said the great Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung speaking of astrology. “Very well, do you think. But what do these phenomena have to do with my job search or the development of my career?”

If all people born under the same Zodiac Sign are not identical, they nevertheless have a certain number of points in common. Some recruiters are well aware of this, since they use astrology as a candidate screening tool. It is therefore essential that those who apply for a job know the qualities and defects which are attributed, rightly or wrongly, to each Sign. They will thus be able to better highlight the innate strengths and skills that they owe to Heaven, and try to compensate for their weaknesses or turn them into real assets. Before introducing you to the “psychological types” specific to each season, a reminder: an astral chart only expresses tendencies, which culture and training can significantly modify, and not absolute truths. In addition, we are only discussing the influence of the Signs of the Zodiac here, while that of the planets is much more decisive in evaluating the “psychological profile” of an individual… And now, something concrete!

The spring type

If you were born between 21st March and 21st June, under the signs of Aries, Taurus or Gemini, you belong to the spring type. If the Signs of Spring are dominant in your astral chart (consult an astrologer to be sure), you have a lively, mobile, extroverted nature, always ready to adapt to what believes, to what is in progress. become. You instantly mobilize your energy, you get off to a quick start and are eager to act. Professions that suit you: those that require a sense of improvisation, spontaneity, rapid reactions. Avoid: jobs that require knowing how to apply the brakes, cut contact, those that require consistency and perseverance.

The summer type

If you were born between 21st June and 21st September, under the signs of Cancer, Leo or Virgo, you belong to the summer type. As long as the Signs of Summer are valued in your chart, you have a slow, patient, tenacious, persevering nature. Cautious and circumspect, constant in your passions as well as in your projects, knowing your limits well, you know how to master the unexpected, ward off chance and never lose sight of your objectives. The professions that suit you: those that require a sense of organization, the ability to control, regular and repetitive activities. To be avoided: jobs requiring skillful maneuvering, flexibility in social relations, rapid seizing of opportunities.

The autumn type

If you were born between 21st September and 21st December, under the signs of Libra, Scorpio or Sagittarius, you belong to the autumn type. As long as the Signs of Autumn dominate in your chart, you have a lively, flexible, extroverted nature, skilled in weaving through the baffles and getting around obstacles. Skilled in your human relations, you have the art of dodging and diplomatic withdrawals and a very subtle selectivity. The professions that suit you: those that require maneuvering skills, interpersonal skills, a sense of compromise and negotiation, a taste for contact. To be avoided: trades requiring patience, caution, long-term construction, tasks that are too routine.

The winter type

If you were born between 21st December and 21st March, under the signs of Capricorn, Aquarius or Pisces, you belong to the winter type. As long as the Signs of Winter dominate in your chart, you have a calm, cold, phlegmatic nature which makes you more resistant, more enduring and more rigid than the average. With your immutable and systematic defense systems, it is very difficult to destabilize you, to influence you. The professions that suit you: those that require an imperturbable coolness, the ability to be firm in your refusals, not to be distracted by circumstances. Avoid: jobs requiring quick reactions, frequent improvisations, a lot of presence of mind.

The equinoctial type

If you were born under the signs of Aries, Virgo, Libra or Pisces, you belong to the equinoctial type. The length of the days is substantially equal to that of the nights: you therefore clearly distinguish one thing (the day) and its opposite (the night). Your sense of opposites gives you a good ability to choose between antagonistic values or situations. You don’t mix tea towels and napkins, pros and cons, white and black. Offensively or defensively, you know how to make choices. Professions that suit you: those that require knowing how to decide, choose, decide, pose clear alternatives. To be avoided: professions requiring a spirit of synthesis, the simultaneous pursuit of too many objectives.

The solstitial type

If you were born under the signs of Gemini, Cancer, Sagittarius or Capricorn, you belong to the solstitial type. The duration of days or nights reaches its maximum: you therefore rather tend to perceive in all things a preponderant pole which encompasses or overhangs the others. Your sense of syntheses gives you a good aptitude for syntheses, generalizations, gatherings. You have the art of finding commonalities that transcend antagonisms. The professions that suit you: those that require knowing how to bring together, federate, pilot or manage multiple activities statically or dynamically. To be avoided: trades requiring an analytical mind, choices and clear-cut positions.

The mid-season type

If you were born under the signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius, you belong to the mid-season type. The length of the days is significantly longer than that of the nights (and vice versa) without however reaching the upper limit: you therefore tend to perceive in all things unequal proportions, good or bad doses. Your sense of combinations gives you a good aptitude for balanced choices, measured concessions, subtle compromises or the skillful management of conflict situations. The professions that suit you: those that require knowing how to dominate without crushing, knowing how to manage power relations effectively. To be avoided: trades requiring the refusal of compromises, those where the discussions of carpet merchant are out of the question.

Mixed types

Pure types, whether spring, summer, autumn or winter, are rarely encountered. Most often we are dealing with mixed types. Only the meeting with a competent astrologer will allow you to know if you belong to a pure type or to a mixed type. It is therefore essential that you provide him with your date, your place and your precise time of birth so that he can make your Chart.

Let’s imagine that you are a mixed type “spring-winter”: you will then alternate, for better or for worse, enthusiasm and phlegm, excitement and inhibition, speed and slowness, dynamic openings and systematic closings. You will then have to learn to manage dynamically and to the best of your balance the very contradictory tendencies that cross you.

Are astrologers competent?

The astro-recruiter can therefore exert a decisive influence on your access to employment and on your career. Without you suspecting it, its verdict can be fatal or favorable to you. A question then arises: is he more competent than the graphologist? We have to admit that no. Most astrologers are appallingly incompetent. Two astrologers faced with the same natal horoscope can very well give opposite verdicts. As for graphology, it is the reign of the most total arbitrariness. The more ignorant and venal the astrologers are, the more they are found in astro-recruitment. Their influence in this field is most of the time even more pernicious than that of the graphologists.

You can therefore imagine the worst: the use, by your recruiter or your prospective employer, of the services of an incompetent graphologist and astrologer. You then risk seeing your application refused for reasons as obscure as they are irrational, even though your training and professional experience correspond perfectly to the job profile. Conversely, the lucky one chosen for hiring will only have been selected on the basis of a “astro-grapho-psychological profile” quite whimsical. It’s iniquitous, unfair, implausible, but that’s often how it happens.

Only a meager handful of astrologers truly know their subject. These almost never do astro-recruitment and there is obviously no question for them to put “the wrong person in the right place”: it would be inefficient for the company and detrimental to the psychological balance of the individual. On the other hand, they think that, for example, an impulsive and go-getter individual can perfectly learn, on the job, the trade of diplomat provided that he is given the time. And if the function he occupies allows him to learn to control himself, perhaps he will even become, over time, the best of diplomats, because he knows much better than a born diplomat, the cost of lacking diplomacy in human relations. Obviously, for such an astro-recruitment to be possible, human and civic enterprises would be needed.

What are the parades?

A forewarned man is worth two, according to the proverb, the smartest of you already say to yourself that it is enough to go and consult an astrologer to ask him to establish the natal horoscope which will best correspond to the profile of the job they are applying for. Provided with this viaticum, it will suffice to include in the documents sent to the recruiter or the employer a disguised and transformed extract of birth certificate, including a carefully modified birth time so that the astro-recruiter falls into the trap. If you use this subterfuge, you have a one in two chance of succeeding. It is enough that the astro-recruiter is not too curious, and does not request communication of a birth certificate to the Civil Registry services of the town hall of your place of birth. But you are not off the hook for all that: the astrological profile drawn up by the astrologer you have been consulting may not correspond at all to the one that the astro-recruiter will establish, either because one of the two (usually the astro-recruiter) is incompetent, or because both are as ignorant as the other (this is the most frequent case).

On the other hand, if the astro-recruiter does the process of verifying the birth certificate that you have communicated to him with the Civil Registry services, you are cooked: you then pass for someone dishonest and a liar, which is not the “astro-psychological profile” ideal for any job. On this side, there is no parade. Whether you cheat or not, it is the reign of arbitrariness and the lottery. It is therefore better to remain honest. But what to do then?

The law obliges recruiters to communicate to job candidates, if they expressly request it, the results of the aptitude tests they have passed. Astro-recruitment is one of these tests. You have the right to contest its merits, and to request a second opinion. But be aware that recruiters never look favorably on this challenge to their skills and authority (even and especially if they are completely incompetent). You will appear in their eyes to be a complainer, a protester if you assert your rights. Needless to say, they will never hire an individual with such a “astro-psychological profile”.

What to do then?

On an individual level, therefore, there is little you can do to counteract the influence of astro-recruiters. It is the public authorities that should legislate to democratize and make recruitment procedures more rational. Alas, in a free-market and free-competition society, the pharmacies of “recruitment consulting” do what they want, and, in the most total irrationalism, join the services of astrologers, graphologists and numerologists who do and say anything, thinking much more about their number of matter only to individuals of flesh and blood whose careers they compromise. All you have to do is hope. Hope that your future employer does not use an astro-recruiter. If he uses one, all you have to do is highlight your diplomas and professional experience, asking that you not be judged on a robot-astro portrait, but on the ground, where you can your proofs, where no astro-recruiter can harm you. This happens most of the time. So all is not lost!

Article published in issue No. 1 of the Astrologie naturelle (December 1997) and in Astrologos No. 7, October 2001.

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