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controlled territory, and established dominance hierarchies’ (Leary 82). The first stage of second-circuit development is the one in which the infant learns to use his or her muscles in an effort to cover ground. It is therefore symbolized by animals who survive by means of stealth, rapidity, and agility. In the second stage of the second circuit, the toddler begins to walk and senses the complex political hierarchy in which he lives; he begins to select the appropriate response to emotional and political situations. The final stage of second-circuit development is symbolized by animals dependent on discriminating social differences and fitting into the social web, such as lion prides and primate groups. In order to dominate through political linkage (who is friends with whom), the autonomous toddler becomes willing to adjust to the group. In this final stage, the style in which the toddler reacts to emotions and the interpersonal ego developed will persist into maturity.
Semantic Circuit The third circuit is concerned with personal reality formation, symbol manipulation, and communication. It is symbolized by the Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio, and the Paleolithic hominid who learned to master his larynx in order to communicate, learned to manipulate the materials around him, and learned to use fire creatively. In the first stage of third-circuit development—sy
mbolized by the Virgo, the caregiver, speaker, and mother of the Zodiac—the child receives symbols and artifacts presented by the adults in her life and learns to mimic them; thought and action are repetitions of thoughts and actions passed on to her. Primitive human groups never evolved past the point of using symbols irrationally, as magical repetitious tokens, though there must have been those who did or we never would have come as far as a species as we find ourselves now. This can be observed in the difference between the rote philosopher, who learns intelligent scripts and repeats them thoughtlessly, and the one that comes up with new philosophies and writes new scripts.
The second stage of this circuit is the one in which the individual learns to integrate, relate, evaluate, and coordinate symbolic ideas, words, and actions. The child now perceives the world through manipulation of word magic, superstitious symbolism. This stage is symbolized by Libra, the order-keeper and mediator of the Zodiac. Though it is not complete regression (the latter circuits remain activated), adult regression into this stage of development is common and is well-depicted in the film, “Cast Away,” where Tom Hanks’ character, faced with a new and
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