The New Moon in Aries Pt. 2 - Signs, Sabian Symbols, and What It All Means - Aquarius Papers

by Robert Wilkinson

This article covers significant aspects, degree symbols, and other important factors in the recent Aries New Moon chart. This one is initiating, stabilizing, innovative, and will lead to attunement, vision, and a technique of focusing our potency to fulfill a potential. Embrace the adventure!

This Lunation, along with the inner planets, are now in the span the begins with Saturn in Sagittarius, runs through Uranus in Aries, and ends at Jupiter in Leo. The empty span between Leo and Sagittarius creates what is called a “Locomotive” Jones pattern. However, at the same time we see 9 planets between Sagittarius and Gemini, with Jupiter 64 degrees away from its nearest neighbor, making it again the “handle” of a “Bucket” Jones pattern.

This is one of the last of the long run of some combination of “Locomotive” and “Bucket” Jones patterns. Now that the inner planets are moving to fill the gap between Uranus in Aries and Jupiter in Leo, we are leaving the previous combination of patterns, and will confront several dramatic changes in future months as the planets move between “Splay” and “Splash” chart patterns

In this New Moon, the span occupied by the inner planets (in this chart Sun and Moon in Aries through Venus in Gemini) is 39+ degrees, and includes late Aries through early Gemini, making it a very tightly occupied cluster. If we look at the span between Neptune and Venus, we find 7 planets occupying 89+ degrees, still a very tightly compressed cluster.

This month we have 10 planets occupying 7 signs, which are not fairly spread out around the zodiacal wheel. As mentioned, we’re now basically in a combination of a “Locomotive” pattern, defined by planets between Saturn in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Leo, with a void in the empty third between Leo and Sagittarius, and a “Bucket” pattern, defined by all the planets between early Sagittarius and early Gemini, with only Jupiter in Leo well outside that span.

So What is a “Locomotive Pattern” and how does it work?

This type of spread, with all the planets occupying 2/3 of the signs with an empty third, creates an imbalance that leads to power if we can find the compensatory “weight” to make things move forward smoothly rather than rock side to side creating friction. Target what is needed, and provide compensatory energies accordingly.

As Marc Jones put it, “this type of horoscope reveals a balance of this sort in the life. A third part of things… consisting of a free span in experience, is set against a two-thirds part, embracing a related but limited span in experience…. The basis of the dynamic is found in the native’s resulting strong sense of a lack or a need, of a problem to be solved, a task to be achieved in the social and intellectual world around him.”

Dr. Jones states “The temperament reveals a self-driving individuality, an executive eccentricity that is not … unbalance but rather is power. It exhibits a dynamic and exceptionally practical capacity which is neither the broad universality of the Splash pattern, nor the special obsession with some particularly narrowed aspect of experience characteristic of the Bundle people.

He goes on to state “The Locomotive classification is … moved more by external factors in the environment than by aspects of its own character. The point of application for the powers of the self is shown … by the “leading planet,” or the one of the two in the empty trine which forms its aspect clockwise in the zodiac, irrespective of any distinction as “applying” or “separating.”

Saturn is the leading planet in the Locomotive. Take the humor, vision, and heart strengths you cultivated when Jupiter was the leading planet, and find more mature and structured ways of expressing these virtues. We can use the Jupiterian joy and enthusiasm we’ve experienced and now express that in forms of Sagittarian wisdom and understanding. Because the leading and closing edge of the Locomotive are both in Fire signs, keep opening your hearts to the joyous song of life! Be light, see light, live light, express light!

As the Locomotive keeps things out of balance, Saturn is now the front end to finding the way of initiating activity that must be accompanied by a compensatory “weight” to keep things moving forward rather than sideways. The more we work with the imbalances that can lead us to visions of truth, “response-ability,” and “structured adventure,” the easier it will be to use Saturn’s energies skillfully.

The Bucket Pattern and how it works

This is the last “Bucket” Jones pattern for a long time. As with the past two years, Jupiter is still the “handle” of the Bucket, so Leo energy is how we can best focus and express all the other planetary energies for the next 4 weeks.

A “Bucket Pattern” is a type of planetary spread with all the planets in about half the signs with one outside that span wide enough to be a handle. The energies of the occupied half are focused through the “handle,” or “nozzle,” in this case Jupiter, termed the “focal determinator.” The handle, or focal determinator, represents the way to greater effectiveness, the cause to be embraced, the lack to be filled, or the way to use the total energies of this time in a focused manner.

Dr. Jones states “the Bucket type indicates a particular and rather uncompromising direction in the life effort.” This pattern gives “interest in a cause,” with executive tendencies that will adapt allegiances to maximize results of the effort. He says “the Bucket type at its best reveals the real instructor and inspirer of others, and at its worst the agitator and malcontent.” This is the larger planetary pattern within which we’re all trying to do what we do.

We are also told this pattern is more about finding an effective release for energy within social settings, but also about the individual imposing their patterns on society rather than adapting to what is there. It’s about focused intention. So all of us can expect some sort of focused attention on the house where we have 17 Leo.

This is the power of focused dramatic expression that can rouse others to a greater feeling-state. With Jupiter's honesty of genuine natural expression leading the way, it’s important to remember the wise words of the great wit Wavy Gravy that if you don’t have a sense of humor, it’s not funny!

Element Balance

Of the traditional 10 planets, there are 5 planets in Fire signs, 1 in Water, 3 in Earth, and 1 in Air. This indicates a a huge emphasis on inspiration and practicality, with feelings and relatedness coming more from within than externally.

With the Lunation in Fire and both the leading and closing edge of the Locomotive in Fire, it’s time to flame on! Fire expressing in stable practical forms via Aries’ ruler Mars in Taurus shows that if we can find the steady pace, things will move forward in fine style. With so much Fire, this will generate a sense of light, warmth, and there’s just enough of an Air influence that the Fire should burn steady.

Air and Earth are “cool” elements, while Fire and Water are “hot” elements. With this distribution, things will be running a little bit hotter than usual, but the balance is close enough between hot and cold that things shouldn’t get too elementally extreme. Soon we’ll enter a time where there will be a lot more Air influence which will last until mid-Summer, when Water and Fire again preponderate, bringing much more volatility!

Saturn's Influence

I include separate sections on Saturn in two articles in this Lunation series since Saturn continues to wax in importance in all celestial events of these times. This is the fourth New Moon of the Saturn in Sagittarius era, which should continue to bring an entirely new energy to our Saturn experiences than what we dealt with between late 2012 and the end of 2014!

Of continuing importance was the August 2014 conjunction of Mars and Saturn. That began a two year period of serendipitous events related to where that conjunction fell in our charts.

Many have reaped gifts and blessings from their ability to use emotional intelligence to navigate through the fogs and mists of the collective field. We are seeing either what has been done well that transfigured us, or going through finishing something in grand style which will transfigure us in the future.

Some backstory: In 2012 Saturn helped us cultivate a new strength, came to a philosophical completion, and finish repairing or reconstructing something so that some final dues were paid and old karmas left behind. We grew into a new intensity, focus, emotional depth, and greater maturity relative to shared values, shared resources, deeper ability to commune with others as well as Nature and Spirit, and got a more structured connection and a more powerful Spiritual linkage with others and ourselves.

We ended the first phase of Saturn in Scorpio set into motion when it went retrograde at 12 Scorpio in February 2013 when Saturn moved beyond that degree October 2013. However, the Solar Eclipse at 12 Scorpio in early November 2013 has been shutting down parts of our life related to those lessons that we couldn’t take with us into 2014 and beyond.

We’ve now had many months of clearing out our emotional body through occasional intense purifications. While we may have felt very vulnerable from time to time, we’ve also been strengthened and become cleaner and cleaner over this period.

Saturn – Past and Present Forks in the Road of Destiny

Of some crucial note is that in 2012-2013, Saturn triseptile Uranus showed us how our individuality did or did not cooperate with our sense of purpose. We had opportunities to break free of fear through numerous irrational situations, and this helped us define our expression for years to come. We were shown how limitations could be renovated to express our unique qualities.

Some had to confront fear of loss with a willingness to be a pioneer in some realm where they could express their genius or unique qualities. Spirit walked with us during the times that configuration was in play, as it walks with us during times when other major septile series aspects between the planets occur.

The New Moon at 1 Aquarius in late January was important because of Jupiter biseptile Saturn, another non-rational aspect that put our vision at a fork in the road relative to our duties or limitations. This will happen again between mid-May and mid-June. Big changes have been and continue to be in the air, leading to a gigantic collision when Jupiter squares Saturn in July and early August!

The choices we make as a result of these non-rational aspects show us our “direction of destiny,” and determines if the Spirit will grow stronger and closer with you, or if you will move in directions away from Spirit. Given that most of this community is intentionally trying to live in harmony with Life, Nature, and each other, chances are that whatever you – yes, YOU the reader – are confronting will show you a deeper, richer, more powerful Spiritual life. Which is a good thing.

In this chart, we see the Lunation biquintile Saturn, showing interactive unique gifts through the attunement. Mercury is triseptile Saturn, putting our Mercury ruled planets and houses in a critical fork in the road relative to how we’re handing our Saturn lessons. This triseptile will most affect planets and angles near 2-6 Sagittarius, 24-28 Capricorn, 15-19 Pisces, 7-11 Taurus, 28 Gemini-2 Cancer, 19-23 Leo, and 11-15 Libra.

Mars quadranovile Saturn indicates some things will be left behind to embrace a greater adventure and/or understanding, while other things will have to be accepted due to spiritual reasons. Jupiter is now making its last tredecile to Saturn, which continues to offer us very unique and favorable interactive connections and events. This period fulfills blessings and gifts set into motion back in January and February. Jupiter will make only waning aspects to Saturn for many years to come as it fulfills the waning phase of their 20 year cycle that began with the conjunction in Taurus in 2000.

An Overview of Saturn’s Influence the Past 5 Years

Generally, when Saturn was in Virgo we learned lessons of Divine Discernment, practical functioning, and attention to detail as we were educated through learning to see life as a series of experiments. In Libra, we all went through a transfiguration in our ideals and relationships, and many started living elements of their Divine Archetype. That required some ability to do forms of repair and reconstruction work in the last half of 2011 and most of 2012 to pay some karmic dues and come to a philosophical completion.

Saturn taught us a lot about how to conduct ourselves at a higher, more elegant and/or formal way of relating to others in 2013. The Eclipse in Scorpio again put the light on those Saturn lessons, and since the Mars-Saturn conjunction of August 2014, we’re learning new Scorpio ways of applying those truths of our direct experience

We’re now almost done with the Saturn in Scorpio era, and we’ve all experienced deeper feelings about relationships. We’ve cleaned out, let go, purified, focused, dealt with death and loss, restructured how we share with others, and all those other Scorpio keywords that usually terrify the lower ego.

As Saturn co-rules rules Pluto (and the Lunation) in this chart in worldly affairs, it shows that when we are confronted with the need to deal with something or someone in an organized, efficient manner, reference Saturn in Sagittarius and the Fiery chain of dispositors mentioned earlier. Allow the focused intensity gathered the past 2+ years to be cut loose into a larger understanding of a bigger picture.

This brings short and long term pressure to bear on bringing forth a broader view of what we honestly believe can bring us to a more loving or heart-oriented future. Saturn in Scorpio taught us what we had to eliminate some things to find the emotional stability we now have. Now we can open to a greater view of why we had to let go of whatever or whoever to see where we want to go from here.

Naturally, the usual Saturn keywords will be crucial to effective behavior - patience, discipline, organization, patience, structure, maturity, patience, understanding, wisdom, patience, authority, responsibility, and of course, patience.

So as you open to the fourth New Moon of 2015, take a new look at what Saturn helped you let go of throughout 2013 and 2014, as well as the long term regenerative self-discipline that’s also been there, if you saw limitations with a mature eye. We deepened our regenerative life magnetism, or a deeper communion with some inner or outer element of our Being. Now it’s time to fly free!

Important Aspects

Remember that in reading a Lunation chart (as well as a horary, inceptional, electional, or any event chart) the forming aspects show things to come, while separating aspects show things already past. This section covers only forming aspects.

This New Moon has a lot of major aspects, as I outlined in part 1. Of most importance is that the New Moon is biseptile Jupiter, septile Neptune, and biseptile Pluto, activating the Grand Irrationality in a big way! This 4 week period will shake a lot of trees on the international level, and there will be important developments in the lives of nations. I gave you the hot zones in part 1.

Besides the aspects I’ve discussed earlier, we have Mercury in favorable aspects to Mars, Neptune, and Pluto, showing an ability to assess things in very practical, simple ways, released through its square to Mercury in Leo. With the squares from Mercury and Mars to Jupiter, keep it very friendly, focused, do the repair work that’s needed, and remember if you’re in an improvised experiment, it nears completion.

We also see Venus is active, with a novile to the Sun, sextile to Jupiter, septile to Uranus, square to Neptune, and biquintile to Pluto. Taken together, a very productive turning point where things are learned, things are launched, momentum is shifted, and old ways are left behind. The septile to Uranus will put some relationships at critical turning points. Most affected are planets and angles near 16-20 Aries, 7-11 Gemini, 29 Cancer-3 Leo, 20-24 Virgo, 12-16 Scorpio, 3-7 Capricorn, and 24-28 Aquarius.

Other than these, Jupiter is still trine Uranus and triseptile Neptune and Pluto, Saturn is sesquisquare Uranus, and Uranus is novile Neptune. The novile is the most stable long wave influence, which I discuss more about in my class “2015 Year Ahead.” Noviles are highly spiritualizing aspects, and this one indicates the emergence of a new vast spiritual awakening across the planets.

The Sabian Symbols for the New Moon

A New Moon sets the seed forms for what the following month will demonstrate. This Lunation falls at 29 Aries. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.

The symbol for 29 Aries is “A celestial choir singing.” According to Rudhyar’s notes from the Marc Jones class, this degree is one of “At-One-Ment of consciousness with cosmic powers” and “Harmonic understanding and faith in the order and meaning of life.”

In the Astrological Mandala he states this degree is one of “attunement to cosmic order,” where we who have “entered into a new realm of possibilities of action” need to learn “the harmonic principles operating” in that realm. He goes on to say that we who are “advancing ‘on the Path’ should seek to understand and realize (our) place in the vast scheme of (human) evolution, in the immense chord of the harmony of the universe.”

He continues that this symbol’s message is about learning “to listen to the inner voice” in order to find our place in the larger scheme of things. This challenges us to listen to “the voice of the whole,” where we sense our significance within the Universal Chord. This symbol is said to be in the Span of Examination, Act of Differentiation, and is the technical degree of the Individual-Mental level of the Scene of Potency.

Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this degree is one of our capacity to become “an immortal instrument for the enduring visions and aspirations which have created and now hallow the world” in which we live. He states “there are overtones here which transform every lesser aspect of experience” which call us as individuals “to give a spiritual dramatization to daily living” for ourselves and others “within every range of (our) power and skill.”

He offers us the keyword VENERATION. He states that when this degree works positively, it is one of “a gift for the effective articulation or manifestation of those eternal realities through which all people find themselves at one.”

It would seem that this New Moon is about us listening to our inner voice to find our unique place in the eternal and infinite scheme of things, and to frame our understanding that we are a unit of “the cosmic choir.” I have found that as we learn to sing in “the cosmic choir,” sometimes we sing harmonies, sometimes we sing unisons, sometimes we sing solos, and sometimes we should not be singing at all. This one can help us find our individual and spiritual potential through a vaster view of who we are in the bigger picture.

Transpersonal Spiritual Influences

Pluto

Pluto, the Cosmic Purifier, will be in Capricorn for many years. It continues to teach us deep lessons about practical, organized economy of energy and efficiency in sprouting seed forms of the new "laws of our lives" we can relax into. 2012 and 2013 were mainly about being organized in finding and demonstrating ways to get beyond fear and radiate harmlessness and mature fellowship with Nature, whether our own, another's, or Nature Herself.

As Pluto moves forward, it spends time in various narrow zones that it hasn’t been in for about 250 years. In April 2014, Pluto went retrograde at 14 Capricorn. 14 Capricorn is a technique for sorting out what’s valuable and what’s not in our past, so we can find a way to a greater assurance and “personal immortality” (as strange as that concept is!)

From April 2014 through January 2015, we reviewed lessons of seeing Nature Herself as a laboratory where we learn about how our system is constructed. We could “pierce through appearances” to see the magic at the core of things, and through a “keen vision” could find or demonstrate a “universal living touch.”

2014 mainly involved self-transcendence. We’ve now moved from showing care for our new dreams and recognizing life’s kindness in providing us with safe opportunities for growth into a new era of “group performance.” In this chart, Pluto shows we need exercise and “a robust enthusiasm in approaching life’s contests.”

Neptune

Neptune represents what is “in fashion” in the collective, where we get another glimpse through intuition and a greater feeling-connection of our positioning within a vaster field. Different cultures and subcultures interpret this global pulse in different ways. Neptune went stationary direct last November at 5 Pisces, showing that the collective field now has a platform of developing through “interchange of spirit and understanding on which groups are built,” “new self-development," and “discouragement mastered.”

Last Northern Hemisphere Summer/Southern Hemisphere Winter we were summoned to a form of rebirth through "hearing the call." We then did a review and had opportunities to get a new feel for our place in the larger social or collective field, experienced new ways of feeling a new dedication to “collective values” we want to uphold and defend, and many have perceived higher goals through a process of “self-testing.”

We have now gone deeper into our dedication, and this month shows us how we’ve attained a mastery of some aspect of our dedication, and are now released from old duties and responsibilities we’ve outgrown. Many will know they’ve transcended their old problems, and have gained more spiritual responsibility. Of importance is that this is the degree where Neptune will go stationary retrograde in June, so this theme will be directly important through early August, as well as into 2016.

Uranus

In 2013, our ability to embrace imagination, original thinking, and a self-generated individuality led us to an awakening of a new identity. We also may have had to confront any impatience we may have had at the pace of transformation. In 2013 and 2014, we learned to concentrate to understand old symbols in different ways, glimpse a new worldly order that could work for us as well as a new way of viewing our higher spiritual possibilities, move into a new way of self-expression, and understand a broader, higher, and truer way to view the dance of relationship from a more timeless perspective.

The Summer of 2014 began a period of withdrawing from unprofitable or frustrating interactions so we could understand the dance of relationship from a more timeless angle. We’ve been in full individualization mode since January, so continue to let go of impatience, abrasiveness, combativeness, and any fear connected to showing the world our new identity.

This month we get to learn how to live rhythmically and avoid extremes to preserve our potency. We can now catch our breath if we’ve recently achieved something significant, and understand how things in the past all fit into a larger narrative.

Thinking, then Feeling, then Deciding

We’ve been shifting between patterns for several months now. Last month’s New Moon Total Solar Eclipse actually continued the pattern from the previous month, providing us some small measure of continuity. But no longer, since the pattern changes yet again at this New Moon!

The past two months we’ve been leading with ideas, understanding, and vision, and following that mental process with decisions and actions. We then had to learn to sit with our feelings and bring them to the surface, getting clear about what we were feeling and why, before going back to the mind to find yet another vision or understanding.

This month the pattern changes so we will be leading with deciding, then thinking, then feeling. This will help us all to get it in gear, make decisions, and act on those decisions. Once we do our decision or action, these will lead us to a new understanding or vision on the basis of the action.

Once we get the understanding, communication, or vision, then we must learn to sit with the feelings and experience them, and get clear about what we’re feeling and why. So lead with deciding and acting, then move into a vision or understanding, and then name what you’re feeling. That way nothing will get bottled up through underuse, and you can move through experiences with power and clarity.

We’re still finishing a period since last Summer of flaming on via Jupiter in Leo while withdrawing from obnoxious and nasty people and situations, trusting our inner Truth, and seeing what’s culminated in a glorious transfiguration. Since Jupiter’s the handle and nozzle for expressing the energies of the other planets, go for the creative, playful, natural forms of expression, see how to expand your love, and find the humor and/or irony in situations.

The next 4 weeks will offer us all opportunities to come to a clear sense of who we are in a more profound and timeless experience of ourselves within a vast field of consciousness. This one can bring stability and an ability to rest and relax as we live between worlds. A great adventure calls us these next 4 weeks, so “Let go, let G*d!”

Comments

Thank you for yet another great and thought provoking article. With all this fire energy it feels like we have taken off from the tarmac. It is wheels up!

Posted by: dcu | April 21, 2015 at 06:48 PM