by Robert Wilkinson
This article covers significant aspects, degree symbols, and other important factors in this Aquarius New Moon chart. This one will bring messages from Spirit, and the release of everything that interferes with our integrity. There are blessings for those who take leaps of faith to transcend duality, and find mastery, so let go, let God!
We’ve now left the long period of Jones patterns that shifted between Locomotive, Splay, and Buckets, and now have entered a long term modified Bowl pattern, anchoring the main way the energies express. A Bowl is defined as all the planets occupying one half of the signs with the other half unoccupied. The current span begins with Jupiter in late Virgo and runs through subsequent signs, ending with Uranus in mid-Aries. While it’s not an “ideal” pattern of all planets within a 180 degree span, it’s close enough.
This Bowl will dominate for about 2 weeks at a time, when the Moon is between Virgo and Aries. The pattern will shift when the Moon is between early Taurus and late Leo. During those 2 weeks, it will again make a Locomotive, Bucket, or Splay, depending on what sign the Moon is in.
Because Mars is now in mid-Scorpio and in sextile to Jupiter, we have a blend between the Bowl and a Bucket pattern (with Jupiter as the handle). This will dominate February, March, and April, and by May we’ll be back in a Locomotive pattern, except when the Moon is Cancer, Leo, and Virgo in late Feb and mid-to-late March, when we’ll have See Saw chart patterns. To note, these patterns operate their own independent influence, regardless of which planet is in which sign.
In this New Moon, the span occupied by the inner planets (in this chart Mars in Scorpio through the Lunation in Aquarius) is 90+ degrees, making it the major focus in our charts. The most intense part includes Mercury, Venus, Pluto, and the Lunation, a cluster with 5 planets in a 32+ degree span.
This month we have 10 planets occupying 7 signs, which are fairly spread out around the zodiacal wheel. We have Virgo, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, and Aries represented, with 6 planets clustered between mid-Capricorn and early Pisces. That’s the major focus of action these next 4 weeks.
So What is a “Bowl Pattern” and how does it work?
This type of spread, with all the planets occupying approximately half of the signs with an empty half opposite the occupies half, creates a “special type of conscious selfhood,” which Dr. Jones says “marks the Bowl type of temperament. He goes on to state “Fundamentally it is an extreme self-containment,” which “holds things, and a Bowl individual is one who always has something to bear.”
He goes on to state that with the Bowl, “the whole dynamic of man, his total power of achievement, arises in his instinctive realization that he is set off against a definite part of the world, that there is a complete segment of experience from which he is excluded in some subtle fashion. The Bowl not only holds something, but also places whatever it holds into relationship with a larger consideration.”
Dr. Jones continues that “the occupied segment of the Bowl horoscope reveals the activity and organization of the self, since planets are significant according to their place by sign and house, and the unoccupied segment becomes a challenge to existence, or the need and emptiness to which the native must direct his attention. The outstanding characteristic of the Bowl temperament is its marked sense of what is self-contained in contrast with what the self cannot hold, and this take an everyday form in an advocacy of some cause, the furtherance of a mission, an introspective concern over the purpose of experience.”
He concludes his explanation of how the pattern works with “The Bowl native always has something to give to his fellows, whether literally or psychologically, whether constructively or vindictively, because his orientation to the world arises from division; that is, frustration and uncertainty. The leading planets, determined in exactly the same way as for the Locomotive pattern, give a point of application, and shows where and how the native seeks to carry out his mission or gain his everyday justification for existence.”
He brings up another important point of analysis, as he states “the leading planet is of secondary importance in the Bowl pattern, unless it is found in a strong opposition or cosmic cross. The fundamental attack on the problems of life by the Bowl individual is indicated more significantly by the tilt or house-position of the Bowl-segment.”
He concludes this section by stating “the Bowl character is definitely more self-expending, or self-seeking, and more practically interested in what things mean and what they are. It continually throws the emphasis from the signs into the houses. It a general way the Bowl tends to ‘scoop up’ things and initiate experience when the position of the leading planet ranges from the fourth cusp, up and over the ascendant, to the midheaven cusp, and then inclines to “capture” things or consummate various phases of life when the leading planet is placed similarly from the tenth angle down over the descendant to the nadir.”
With Jupiter as the lead planet in this Bowl pattern, open to experience with a discerning eye to what fits where in the bigger picture, and organize a plan or series of plans that will yield practical innovation or the ability to “apprentice” in a way that opens doors to a larger life and effectiveness. Jupiter teaches us lessons involving Wealth v Poverty, and how our consciousness shows whether we are “grasping circumstances with abundance or neediness.
With Jupiter leading the planetary parade, we can see if we’re using time, energy, or money effectively, and open to the eternal abundance of the Universe and accept what we need when we need it. And because Jupiter always searches for truth and bestows mercy according to our faith, be led back to your innocence, or allow your divine discrimination to help you see techniques of learning and teaching innocence in some emotional or social context.
The Bucket Pattern and how it works
Because we’ll also have elements of a Bucket pattern in play for quite a while, I figure you’ll also benefit from learning about this Jones pattern and how it works. The planets in this chart make a Bucket Jones pattern, since Jupiter is far enough away from the nearest planet to become a nozzle for the focus of all the other planetary energies. Since the “handle” of the Bucket involves the sign Virgo, that energy helps us focus the energies of all the other planets.
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 22 Virgo.
We also had this situation of having two different Jones Patterns in play at the same time a while back. Jupiter was the nozzle then as now, but was in Cancer at that time. It then became the nozzle, or handle, when it was in Leo. Now it’s in Virgo. Same handle, different expression.
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 20 Aquarius. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.
The symbol for the 20th degree of Aquarius is "A big white dove, a message bearer.” In the Astrology of Personality," where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, 20 Aquarius is said to symbolize "the blessing of every effort by the ‘Holy ghost’ of revealed significance,” “exaltation of all individual efforts,” and “celebrity.”
In "The Astrological Mandala" he states the keynote is "the answer of spiritual agencies to thorough, sustained and victorious individual efforts.” He says this is the fulfillment that comes, along with a message from Spirit, whenever we have “courageously and with indomitable spirit” gone through some crisis. He also offrs that this is a degree of finding peace after some accomplishment, where we may see a blessing pointing us to the future.
He continues that “every real spiritual victory (we take) in our development is the result of a victory over forces of inertia or destruction, and that “what the ‘message’ is depends on the particular situation, but the white dove always signifies peace; at the very heart of this peace is the certification of individual worth and victory.” He says it falls in the span of Perspective and is the culmination degree on the Actional level of Management in the Act of Capitalization.
According to Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, this degree is a symbol of our “recognition of a transcendental or superior wisdom” from which we can “receive inspiration and assurance,” based in “inner faith” where our “ever-constructive attitude of mind” can strengthen us. He offers “there are always secret signs of divine favor for a faithful heart, and they are no less real because the reason is able to dismiss them as a mere oversensitiveness to the prompting of a wholly naïve insight.”
He offers us the keyword CONVICTION. We are told that when positive, the degree is "a facility for ordering all personal desires in a cosmic framework and a gift for knowing when to act and what to do.”
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.
As I outlined in part 1, the Lunation makes one important aspect, a quincunx to Jupiter, but there are many more “minor” aspects that will prove of great importance in our spiritual development at this time. And of course, Venus trine Jupiter will set many favorable energies in motion for any planets or angles we may have in the last third of Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.
The major aspects involve Mercury semisquare Neptune, Venus trine Jupiter, Mars sextile Jupiter and tredecile Neptune, Jupiter triseptile Uranus, opposed Neptune, and trine Pluto, Saturn is square Neptune, and Uranus is still novile Neptune. All novile series aspects introduce an element of gestation, whether something is going into it or coming out from a gestative period. All novile series aspects hold the promise of realization and revelation, pointing us toward whatever spiritual pulse governs the planetary interaction.
Jupiter is far and away the strongest and most harmonious force in the chart, given the aspects. The opposition-sextile-trine opens a very favorable Cancer energy, with this “tension of opposites” supported by the Venus trine Jupiter and Mars sextile Jupiter.
The intriguing thing about this chart is the number of obscure specializing and spiritual aspects in play. Besides the noviles (and trinoviles) mentioned above, we also have the Lunation bielftile Saturn, helping us to leaps of faith to master some duality involving the Aquarius and Sag sectors in our charts. We also have two 20th harmonic Vigintiles from the Lunation to Neptune, and an important 15th harmonic Quindecile from Mars to Saturn.
The Vigintile (18 degrees) and Quindecile (24 degrees) originated with Kepler, and are sub-harmonics of the Quintile. I have composed two articles exploring the 5th, 10, 15th, and 20th harmonic aspects that will post tomorrow and Thursday, so enjoy!
Since there are so many spiritual aspects in this Lunation, if you want to know more about the septile (7th harmonic), novile (9th harmonic), and elftile (11th harmonic) series aspects, when you’re done here you can check out The Spiritual Aspects – Novile, Septile, and Elftile Series. I also have a recorded class for those who want more on these important aspects.
In this chart, we have only one septile series aspect, but it’s very powerful! Jupiter has been and continues to be in triseptile with Uranus, showing a new level of pioneering cooperation (or lack thereof!) has been reached in our world at large.
This is a long range influence, and is exact or very close between late November and mid-February, indicating a threshold state of pioneering, cooperative-collective group work. Whatever is promised during this time should be in major motion by late August and early September.
The degree spans most affected include 20-24 Virgo, 11-15 Scorpio, 3-7 Capricorn, 24-28 Aquarius, 16-20 Aries, 7-11 Gemini, and 28 Cancer-2 Leo. If you have a planet or an angle near these zones, you can bet you’ve hit a major fork in the road of your destiny, so get ready to “join together with the band.”
Element Balance
Of the traditional 10 planets, there are 2 planets in Fire signs, 2 in Water, 4 in Earth, and 2 in Air. This indicates a major emphasis on practicality and “real world” affairs, with a balance between inspiration, experience, and relatedness.
Air and Earth are “cool” elements, while Fire and Water are “hot” elements. With this distribution, things will be running in a curious sort of balance, with the Earth element making it cooler rather than hotter.
What's the proper sequence at present of deciding, feeling, and thinking, with an Overview of the Lunation
We’ve been through several different sequences since January. There are six patterns, and each has their strengths and weaknesses.
As a process of moving through events, the most effective “firing sequences” for moving through life and experience for the next few weeks involves first feeling our way into ideas, perceptions, view, and interactions. Once we’ve gotten a new idea, vision, or understanding, then we have to make a decision and act on it!
Try not to overplan too far into the future. Take your feeling-knowing one step at a time, and keep things in balanced motion, even if they go all over the place at times. Move from experience to knowledge, communication, or vision. When you feel something, then get the information you need that allows you to see the one step you need to take to move everything forward one step.
Once we’ve made a decision and acted on it, then a new feeling will naturally arise showing the next thing to learn about, communicate, or understand. So feel, flow, and experience, since these will lead you to ideas and views that will in turn lead to the next decision which will naturally lead you to the next experience.
A New Look At Mercury Retrograde
Mercury is still in its shadow span, giving all of us reminders that we haven’t yet cleared the retrograde zone. Because it rules Jupiter in Virgo which leads the Bowl chart and serves as a nozzle for the Bucket qualities, it exerts a very strong influence on all things Jupiterian, as well as all initiatives happening during these months.
If you want to know what the recent Mercury retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn was about, as well as all the other signs and houses, 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 the coming Mercury retrogrades in Taurus and Virgo, it’s all in there.
As I’ve mentioned before, it is written for both astrologers and laypeople. I have just about everything you could want to know about Mercury retrograde, including how it works, what it means, celebrities who have it in their charts, historic events that happened during Mercury retrograde, and what signs are involved in future Mercury retrograde periods.
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 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!
Summing Up
The Virgo energy leading the occupied half of the map should help us be practical in how we express the new adventures initiated when Mercury, the Sun, Mars, and Venus were in Virgo making their conjunctions to Jupiter between August and October. This should bring a grounded practicality and productive use of power that will be a permanent part of our tool box in 2016.
The next 4 weeks will offer us signals from Spirit that will help us release powerful forces. Just stay in touch with your integrity, and since Venus is on the same degree as last month’s New Moon at 20 Capricorn, we should see concrete manifestations related to that Lunation.
This should continue to bring us all opportunities to act within a larger group purpose, and/or see how we fit into the “Cosmic Choir” however that manifests in our life. With both Mercury and Venus in Capricorn, this period continues the promise of power, influence, recognition, and effectiveness for those who work with diligence and accept responsibility, and should bring an easy, natural, and organic stability, growth, harmony, and understanding where we have Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Pisces in our chart.
As with last month, this is a very productive period, and all of us will be educated in ways that will help make solid progress in 2016. Find the right way to manage energy, and take a new look at the values and ideals you venerate and are willing to live for the rest of your days. This is about standards to be lived as examples for others also walking that way, and being diligent and adaptable in experiments in social living. Much that is designed and structured at this time will yield major results between August and October 2016.
The next four weeks show a lot of great growth where we have mid-to-late Earth and Water signs in our charts. Be open to the blessings that will come, embrace a greater vision and role to play, focus your power in practical ways, and be bold in asserting your individuality as you move through the quickening.
© Copyright 2016 Robert Wilkinson
Thanks Robert. Very clear, very helpful too in these times of deep change for humanity and for myself. Loved reading you here in Barcelona!
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | February 10, 2016 at 07:16 AM
Thank you Robert, that was very helpful. I found your explanation of the Bowl and Bucket Jones patterns of particular interest.
Bright Blessings!
Posted by: Zephyr | February 11, 2016 at 01:20 AM
I find the bowl pattern of interest. It reminds me of something I read, I think it was Isabel Hickey, that wrote something of sagitarius and living in a world within a world. It has me thinking about different cultures. The cultural that both strengthens resolve of those who subscribe to it and also separates themselves from other cultures if the subscriber chooses to see it that way.
Posted by: caliban | February 21, 2016 at 10:32 AM
Cannot locate the author of 'world within a world' but it was not in reference to sagitarius. It was defining saturn in sagitarius. Oops.
Posted by: caliban | February 21, 2016 at 12:16 PM