by Robert Wilkinson
We have a total Eclipse Full Moon coming soon! This initiating, idealistic, active, inspired, and individualizing Full Moon illuminating balanced views occurs on Sept 27, 2015, at 7:50 pm PDT, 10:50 pm EDT, and Sept 28 at 3:50 am BST and falls at the 5th degree of Libra and Aries. As with all Full Moons, use the light you’ve been seeing and expressing since the New Moon, and give it form and focus through the ideals you began to experience in a huge way in 2010.
Today’s Full Moon post will be an overview of the Lunation and some of its primary qualities. In parts 3 and 4 we’ll cover the Sabian Symbols, aspects, distributions, and patterns.
We’ve now entered many months where the Full Moon Sun is not the same as the Sun sign of the previous New Moon. I’ll explain the importance of this later in this article. Because the New Moon preceding the Full Moon always represents the seed forms that are brought to surface at and after the Full Moon, please check out the recent New Moon articles The Partial Solar Eclipse of September 2015 Pt. 1 – Who Does it Affect and For How Long, as well as The Partial Solar Eclipse in Virgo Pt. 2 – What’s Happening in September 2015 and through the Spring of 2020 and The Partial Solar Eclipse New Moon at 21 Virgo Pt. 3 - Signs, Sabian Symbols, and What It All Means.
An Overview
This Full Moon helps us all see the Light of the 2009-2011 Saturn in Libra transit in new ways, as well as the crucial shifts that happened in the Summer of 2010 when Jupiter and Uranus both were in early Aries. This marks another significant turning point in the destiny of individuals and nations, given the aspects at work.
This chart has a mixed bag of aspects, with more than a few difficult ones. Venus is now moving forward, speeding up preparing to conjunct Mars and Jupiter. Now that Mars is in Virgo, it is concentrating the energy of its coming conjunction with Jupiter through the Sabian symbol of “a liberating ordeal.” Be practical and imaginative, and this Mars/Jupiter in Virgo can bring great opportunities, especially for those with planets in the first half of Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.
This is a Lunation that commands us all to accept a form of liberation and self-transcendence and be ready to jump into action when opportunity knocks. This Lunation is liberating, and many will find expressions of their Soul coming forth with great power. The favorable Pluto aspects indicate a great time for renewal, purification, and efficiency for those who stay clear about what roles they are playing and what roles they are not playing.
We’re definitely in the Jupiter in Virgo era, kicked off by last month’s Sun conjunct Jupiter at 4 Virgo. Whatever that conjunction was about will be set into motion a few days from now when Mars transits that degree, and again in early October when Venus crosses over that degree. Expect new openings, new truths, and go for the fellowship.
Is the Grand Irrationality A Factor in this Full Moon?
The Grand Irrationality, along with the other non-rational configurations that happen off and on, indicate that we’ve been living in an era of very heavy decisions determining the future destiny of humanity since 1993. To refresh you, the Grand Irrationality is a long wave configuration set into motion every time a planet makes a conjunction, septile, biseptile, or triseptile to Neptune and Pluto. Septile series aspects show us points in time when our future destiny is precipitated by critical choices made in the present.
This Lunation does not directly trigger the Grand Irrationality, since there are no septile-series aspects made to Neptune or Pluto, though the configuration was triggered several times in the days before this Eclipse, due to the Sun triseptile Neptune. The next time it will be triggered is when Venus and Mars are in late Virgo and early Libra, biseptiling Pluto and triseptiling Neptune.
Because this configuration involves Neptune and Pluto, the outermost spiritual planets, they show a long wave evolutionary crisis for the entire human race. Since 1993, at one point or another, everyone on Earth has experienced a nonstop energy of having to choose, at the bottom of our beings, the path to evolution or devolution, progress or regress, love or fear, joy or control. It’s why things have been so weird, irrational, and hard-edged.
At this time, the current seven “hot zone” spans that trigger the Grand Irrationality are approximately 10-14 Leo, 1-5 Libra, 22-26 Scorpio, 13-17 Capricorn, 5-9 Pisces, 26-30 Aries, and 18-22 Gemini.
We’re now out of the time period of the year when Neptune is in septile to Pluto, which is the main aspect anchoring the Grand Irrationality. Right now Neptune is still 54 degrees and 43 minutes away from Pluto, so they’re too wide to be in septile.
At this time, the Grand Irrationality gains strength as we move through Autumn and into Winter, and will again lessen in strength in the late Winter into the Spring and Summer. As I’ve explained in other articles, that means that in the Autumn and Winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) they operate as a simultaneous “pulse,” since they’re both aspected near the same time. But in the Spring and Summer we experience it as a rolling influence, with first Pluto aspected, and then Neptune at some time after that, depending on which planet is doing the aspect to these planets.
Important Factors
This Lunation brings us a mixed bag of forming aspects which I’ll discuss in parts 3 & 4. In this chart, we do have the Moon triseptile Jupiter and Mercury retrograde septile Saturn, both of which promise significant choices and forks in the road where they fall and rule in our charts. We also have some intense frictional aspects, as well as several 11th harmonic (elftile) aspects which show us how to transcend forms of duality through leaps of faith that lead to forms of mastery.
In this Full Moon, the span occupied by the inner planets (in this chart Venus in Leo through Mercury in early Libra) is 47+ degrees, and includes three signs. That makes that span very active these next two weeks (and 5+ years!). This month we have the 10 traditional planets occupying 7 signs, but in a very widespread and irregular distribution.
This Lunation, along with the inner planets, creates an occupied span that includes Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, and Aries, with a 1/3 span unoccupied. That creates a “Locomotive” Jones chart pattern, where we lead with Venus in Leo and close with Uranus in Aries.
So What is a “Locomotive Pattern” and how does it work?
This type of spread, with all the planets occupying approximately 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.”
Venus in Leo is the leading planet in the Locomotive. Take the humor, vision, and heart strengths you cultivated when Jupiter in Leo was the leading planet of the Locomotive in 2014, and find ways to relate to your world and others with appreciation and affection. Express your heart with courage, joy, and genuine conviction to make those potential Jupiter visions, truths, and virtues into reality.
We can use the Jupiterian joy and enthusiasm we experienced between June 2014 and August 2015 for the next few weeks begin to find ways of making those a part of our lives through the “capturing” quality of Venus, which occupies the same degree as Jupiter’s retrograde station in late 2014. Because the leading and closing edge of the Locomotive are both in Fire signs this month, keep opening to a genuine and natural self-expression, moving through experience coming out with the power of your true higher individuality. Be light, see light, live light, express light!
As the Locomotive keeps things out of balance, Venus at the front end is the means to find ways 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 effective action to ground the process while adapting to acquire future needs and protective devices.
As we open the span of experience with Venus in Leo, and close the span with Uranus in Aries, this is when a lot of the promise of the past 14 months can take shape quickly, leading us to ability to capture Leonine initiatives and be creative in expressing heart strength. With Uranus closing the span, we can complete our experiences with genuine and honest forms of original and/or unique self-expression.
Is the Sun Following the Moon, or the Moon Following the Sun?
We now continue the pattern of the Full Moon Sun falling in a different sign than the Sun of the previous New Moon. We’ve now completed the “normal” pattern we last experienced between September 2013 and September 2014, and are now in the “reversed pattern” we last experienced between June 2012 and August 2013, where the Full Moon Sun was in a different sign than the previous New Moon.
As I've explained in previous Full Moon articles,
... the Full Moon being in a subsequent sign than the previous New Moon indicates that what is released as realizations in the Full Moon period actually "prepares the ground" for the coming New Moon seed. Strange reversal of function, since you would think the New Moon provides the seed for the next Full Moon. But this set of Lunations works the opposite way....Another way to look at this is the Sun sign of the Full Moon is the same as and precedes the Sun sign of the next New Moon, reversing the usual way Lunations work. So the fulfillment of the Full Moon sets up the next "seed" to be revealed at the next New Moon....
The first New Moon in the new pattern had the Sun at 30 Aquarius, with the Full Moon Sun at 15 Pisces. The second New Moon was the Solar Eclipse at 30 Pisces, with the following Full Moon Sun at 15 Aries. The third had the New Moon Sun at 29 Aries, and the Sun at the next Full Moon at 14 Taurus. The fourth had the New Moon Sun at 26 Gemini, and the last Full Moon Sun is at 10 Cancer. The fifth had the New Moon Sun at 24 Cancer, and the Full Moon Sun is at 8 Leo. Last month we had the New Moon at 22 Leo, and the Full Moon Sun at 7 virgo. This one had the New Moon Eclipse Sun at 21 Virgo, and this Full Moon Eclipse Sun is at 5 Libra.
So we’ve ended the pattern of the “natural” order of Lunation Suns, offering us seeds shown in the first half, fulfillment in the second half, and have begun a new order of things. This one takes the “Seed Light” of the Divine Discernment and practical discipleship of Virgo and comes to a Full Moon illumination through the very high initiative energy of Aries!
See you in the near future with parts three and four, where we will explore the Sabian Symbols, aspects, and other important chart factors.
A New Look At Mercury Retrograde
Because this Lunar Eclipse happens while Mercury is retrograde, if you haven't already gotten your copy, you may want to buy a copy of the new expanded 2nd edition of my pioneering book A New Look At Mercury Retrograde, the 2015 winner in its category of The Indie Spiritual Book Awards.
The first major work on Mercury retrograde ever written, it offers in-depth information about Mercury retrograde people, Mercury retrograde in the various signs and houses, and what the entire Mercury Retrograde phenomenon is about. If you want to know what we can expect from Mercury retrograde in Libra, or the last one in Gemini, or the others in any other sign and the influence in the houses, it’s all in there.
By knowing more about 2014's Mercury retrograde periods in Pisces/Aquarius, Cancer/Gemini, and Scorpio/Libra, or 2015’s Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra, you may see patterns in what was going on in your life, what you were taking a new look at and why, and how this "looking back" influenced your choices as you moved through past events. And you can get a heads up by taking a look at the coming 2016 Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius/Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn/Sagittarius. It’s all in the book!
Here's the Amazon link to the page where you can order your paperback or ebook copy of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. It is an invaluable resource for understanding past, present, and future Mercury retrogrades, so get your copy today. Just make sure you get the 2015 edition, and not the 1997 first edition, since the second is a far superior product!
For more about Eclipses in general, how they are timed for effects, and other seldom considered considerations (con = "to be with" + sider = "the stars"), please check out the previous articles in this series:
Astrology in September 2015 - On The Threshold of a Total Lunar Eclipse at 5 Libra-Aries
© Copyright 2015 Robert Wilkinson
Huge amount of information and interesting too. AS usual, ready for the coming post!
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | September 25, 2015 at 11:49 AM
When we look at the lunar eclipse...are we looking at the moon house position or sun house position? Thank u for this!
Posted by: chickie | September 25, 2015 at 07:50 PM