This book contains the transcripts of two seminars on psychological defenses as seen in the natal chart. The first seminar, "The Psychology of Defences and Their Astrological Significators," starts with an introduction to Freud's oral, anal, and Oedipal defenses, as well as disassociation. Greene correlates these defenses to the four elements and looks at how each sign has its own approach to "its" defense. In the second seminar, "Saturn and Chiron as Defence Mechanisms," Greene looks at the similarities and differences in how these two planets show deprivation and wounding in our lives, and how we use them to try to protect ourselves from further pain.

Generally I enjoy reading Greene's seminar transcripts and this was another fascinating read for me. It was a change of pace to see astrology through a Freudian lens rather than a Jungian one (Greene acknowledges that most psychological astrologers take a Jungian approach, but says that Freud did more work with defense mechanisms.) I had put off reading this book for a while because I thought the topic might be a bit heavy—"How to see how defensive and neurotic you are through your natal chart!"—but Greene states early on that defenses are a healthy part of the psyche and can stimulate creative responses to the challenges we face. Only when a defense mechanism becomes destructive may it need to be worked with. While I learned a lot from both seminars, I thought the material on Chiron was especially useful; Greene explained Chiron's function in a way that finally makes sense to me. Although I agree with her that many people will be uncomfortable that Chiron's myth isn't pretty, the wound isn't justly received, and—possibly hardest of all to accept—it cannot be healed.

A fine book and worth the read if you can find a copy. It's out of print in paper and at this writing, the used book prices are astronomical, but it's also available as an e-book. ( )