(My
sincerest apologies to any "only children" reading
this. It's only a example of what might happen with an "only
child." I'm sure you're quite wonderful and not spoiled
at all. If it helps to mitigate your wounded feelings - I'm
the proverbial "youngest child" in my family. And yep, I'm a
spoiled brat! And, to make matters worse, I also have two "only
child" planets...)
(Here's the Richard Idemon method
of counting the elements that I still generally recommend for most
folks when determining the "uninvited guest" and "only child")
Inferior
Function
According to Richard Idemon, the "uninvited guests" and "only
children" in the birth chart are what's called (in Jungian, archetypal
terms) the "inferior" function. Nope, that doesn't mean they're
inferior in the sense of "worse than" or "less than." It does mean
that those elements (could be more than one using Richard Idemon's
method) are the elements that are the least developed or the least
under your "conscious" control. They're the uninvited guests - that
you thoughtlessly forgot and snubbed by not inviting them to your
birth chart party...
Superior
Function
Look, for a second, at the element that your birth chart is the
strongest in... This is your "superior" function...
Over
the course of time... you've likely learned how to be more "comfortable"
when dealing with this element. You tend have more conscious ability
to control and effectively express this element in your everyday
life. This element received a written, engraved invitation to your
birth chart party! This element is the beloved guest of honor!
Inferior?
Now, look back one more time at your "inferior" element... let's
say for instance that it's Water...
-
This
doesn't mean you don't have "feelings" or "sensitivity."
-
It
doesn't mean you have "worse than" feelings.
-
And
it certainly doesn't mean that you're "unemotional"
(despite what more traditional interpretations might have to
say about it). Being a "feeling" person does not necessarily
equate with being "emotional."
Lacking Water might mean that you feel less comfortable or adept
at handling/dealing the areas of your life related to feelings and
emotions. They are less under your "conscious" control.
Strong
in Water? A person whose main (or superior) function is feeling
(water) tends to make non-rational, subjective decisions based on
their sense of values and sensitivities, what is right and what
is wrong. How will the decision effect them? How will the decision
effect other people? Jung: "They merely ask themselves whether
a thing feels pleasant or unpleasant, and orient themselves by their
feeling impressions."
It's
quite likely that your "inferior" element (your uninvited guest)
will end up becoming the focal point of your journey. Your uninvited
guest element may end up becoming an over exaggerated and distorted
part of your personality and character that (if you're honest with
yourself) can embarrass the heck out you whenever it decides to
crash the party.
For
example: The number of people who don't have a lick of Air in their
chart - and who eventually went on to become great "writers" and
"thinkers" is way too long to list here... So - I repeat - that
inferior (in the "Jungian function sense") does not mean "worse
than" or "less than." The "uninvited guest" can ultimately become
your redeemer - but it will always remain a renegade and a "wild
card" that will never quite feel like it's under your control...
"You do not have an inferior function, it has you." C.G. Jung
The
Magic Thread
If all this "uninvited guest" and/or element stuff is foreign to
you - then there's a killer book floating around out there by Richard
Idemon called The Magic Thread. (Buy
it now at Amazon.com)
The
book is based on a seminar Richard Idemon and Liz Greene did together
many years ago. The book only covers the part of the seminar
that Idemon did. There's a tape series of the actual seminar that's
been out for a long time. The tapes series is now unfortunately
rather impossible to locate (due to the closure of Pegasus Tapes),
but just be aware that if you do find it, it will cost you some
pretty serious bucks. (If anyone happens to know how to currently
get a hold of any Richard Idemon tapes, then please contact
me.)
I'm just glad that some of Richard Idemon's ideas were finally published.
(Richard died back in the late 1980s.) So, now his unique ideas
and concepts are becoming somewhat more affordable and within the
reach of the general public (and not just us nutty astrologers).
The bad news is that his books are currently
out of print, and when you can find them, the sellers (shame on
them) are often asking exorbitant prices.
Haven't had enough?
Here's how to use the elements in chart comparisons and
"Looking for love in all the wrong places..."
(back to The Deep Menu)
back
to the Deep 
Have
you ever noticed... how in many of the old fairy tales, legends,
and/or myths - it's most normally someone who failed to get an invitation
to a party who ends up stirring up all sorts of trouble?
The uninvited guest predictably enough shows up, anyway... and then,
like any self-respecting gate crasher, they place a horrible curse
on the king and/or on the entire kingdom (sounds like a few of my
college parties). The rest of the story is then centered around
freeing and redeeming the king and/or kingdom from the horrible
curse of the uninvited guest (still sounds a wee bit like a few
of my college parties).