by Robert Wilkinson
This article covers significant aspects, degree symbols, and other important factors in the recent Pisces Solar Eclipse New Moon chart. This one is distributive, wisdom-inducing, and helps us see what we stand for, what we’ve trained for, and ultimately, how to get above and beyond the strife of consensus reality.
This month we’ve moved out of the long term modified Bowl pattern, anchoring the main way the energies express. This one brings us back to the Bucket pattern, with all the planets occupying one half of the signs except for Jupiter, which serves as a handle or “focal determinator.”
We’ll be back in the modified Bowl at the coming Lunar Eclipse Full Moon, since we’ll have an occupied span that begins with Jupiter in late Virgo, with planets in 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 moves from Virgo through Libra, Scorpio all the way to 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.
The alternating Bowl and a Bucket patterns (with Jupiter as the handle) will dominate February, March, and April 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. By May we’ll be back in a Locomotive pattern. To note, these patterns operate their own independent influence, regardless of which planet is in which sign.
In this Total Eclipse New Moon, the span occupied by the inner planets (in this chart Mars in Sagittarius through the Lunation in Pisces) is 107+ degrees, making it the major focus in our charts. The most intense part includes Mercury, Venus, Neptune, and the Lunation, a cluster with 5 planets in a 23+ degree span.
This month we have the 10 traditional planets occupying 6 signs, which are fairly spread out around the zodiacal wheel. We have Virgo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries represented, with 6 planets plus Chiron clustered between late Aquarius and mid-Aries. That’s the major focus of action these next 4 weeks.
The Bucket Pattern and how it works
Because the Bucket pattern will be in play off and on for the next few months, we can benefit from learning about this Jones pattern and how it works. As I explained above, with all the planets on one side of the zodiac and Jupiter in Virgo far enough away from the nearest planet to become a nozzle for the focus of all the other planetary energies, it becomes the “handle,” or nozzle for focusing the energies of the rest. 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 19 Virgo.
We also had Jupiter as the handle of a Bucket pattern off and on through the past two years. In 2014, 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 in 2015. Now it’s in Virgo. Same handle, different expression. It would seem we’re all learning a lot about how to manage Jupiter’s energies as the nozzle for the fire hose!
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 19 Pisces. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.
The symbol for the 19th degree of Pisces is "A master instructing his pupil.” In the Astrology of Personality," where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, 19 Pisces is said to symbolize “Release from race karma,” and “transmutation of everyday facts into intelligence.”
In "The Astrological Mandala" he states this is a degree of “the transfer of power and knowledge which keeps the original spiritual and creative Impulse of the cycle active and undeviated.” He says this is “the supreme technique necessary for the continuation of all manifestations of power and spiritual understanding. The transmission is from person to person; it follows a general, unchanging pattern, yet it operates in terms of particular and individual circumstances.” He offers us the keyword of Investiture, and says this degree falls in the Span of Protection, Act of Capitalization, and Scene of Perpetuation on the Actional-Physical level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of "the unlimited potentiality of existence in any larger dimension,” where our intelligence demands “self-refinement and self-orientation” to find a greater understanding. Here life encourages our “initiative of spirit” by which we find life’s bounty.
He goes on to say that our "personality comes into its own as it is able to direct its own destiny.” He offers the keyword ELUCIDATION, and states that when operating positively, the degree is "high executive ability through patient investigation and genuine psychological insight.”
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 mentioned earlier in this series, the Lunation makes two important aspects, those being a tredecile to Mars and a conjunction to Chiron. It also makes a quindecile to Venus, but the two main aspects show a focus on healing wounds and serendipitous interactions accompanying our on-going intensification.
The major aspects involve Mercury opposed Jupiter, binovile Saturn, novile Uranus, conjunct Neptune, and septile Pluto. These indicate tremendous spiritual energies in play, as well as the Grand Irrationality. We also see Venus quintile Saturn, septile Uranus, and novile Pluto, Mars sesquisquare Uranus, trielftile Neptune, and semisquare Pluto. The outer planets are dynamic, since Jupiter is square Saturn, opposed Neptune, and trine Pluto, Saturn is trine Uranus (even though it recedes before making the exact trine), and Uranus is 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” specialized via the Mars tredecile to the Lunation.
The intriguing thing about this chart is the number of obscure specializing and spiritual aspects in play. Besides the noviles (and binoviles) mentioned above, we also have a quindecile and a trielftile. The Vigintile (18 degrees) and Quindecile (24 degrees) originated with Kepler, and are sub-harmonics of the Quintile. You can find out more about the 5th, 10, 15th, and 20th harmonic aspects in recent articles, so if you want to know more, 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 the powerful septile between Mercury and Pluto, as well as the Venus septile Uranus, opening another set of points where choices will be made and forks in the road of that path of destiny will be encountered. The degree spans most affected include 20-24 Virgo, 11-15 Scorpio, 3-7 Capricorn, 25-29 Aquarius, 17-21 Aries, 8-12 Gemini, and 29 Cancer-3 Leo. If you have a planet or an angle near these zones, get ready for major decisions!
Element Balance
Of the traditional 10 planets, there are 3 planets in Fire signs, 4 in Water, 2 in Earth, and 1 in Air. This indicates a major emphasis on inspiration and feelings, with some practicality and very little relatedness. Feelings will run very high as a result of this Eclipse, and with the emphasis on Fire and Water, we have a very volatile combination that creates steam power when focused or fogs and mists when uncontained.
Air and Earth are “cool” elements, while Fire and Water are “hot” elements. With this distribution, things will be running hotter than usual, but at least we have a strong Earth trine to stabilize the volatility!
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.
Summing Up
The Virgo energy serving as the focus for 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 (and 5+ years!) will offer us signals from Spirit that will show us wisdom at the end of a cycle, and put the focus on a larger experience of life and an ability to “pick up and deliver spiritual power.” This Eclipse will be active for many years, and being in Pisces, offers us a chance to become skilled in navigating the dreamscape of our current collective reality.
This Eclipse marks the beginning of many endings. Some will find a way to get above and beyond the strife and ugliness of urban life. Others will find political power and/or protection. Everyone will become intensified, and there is a duty to be reborn or renewed in some collective context. A great lesson will involve the willingness to come out of “doubt and despair,” and make our lives conform to “spiritual and natural law.”
With the Lunation opposed Jupiter, find your place of greatest service, refuse to allow things to get overblown or exaggerated, and find ways to keep the momentum and initiative in your own hands. This should be excellent for leaving behind old ambivalence and hesitancy, and find a role where you can dramatize your motives and skills. Keep finding your central order so you can integrate your expanding interests and not get lost in too much going on.
Go for any opportunities to expand your compassion and empathy, and activities of a humanitarian nature. This is going to be great for big picture awareness focused through specific activities that require attention to detail. Just don’t take on too much as you develop skill in focusing spiritual energies.
We are still in the heart of a very productive period, and all of us are being educated that will help make us 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. We are still developing 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 what nurtures you or provides you the means to supply your needs, embrace a greater vision and role to play, and focus your power in practical ways.
Remember that endings are always followed by new beginnings. We cannot lose what it truly ours, and whatever we let go as a function of time, maturity, and fulfillment creates the space for newer, more appropriate things to manifest that are perfect for our evolved Self.
© Copyright 2016 Robert Wilkinson
Liked positive words. Nicely put. New moon is beginnings after all. ...and my mind is little relaxed already...
Posted by: helina | March 10, 2016 at 10:46 AM
Thanks Robert for all the post on the Eclipse and the lunation. So clear and full of useful information. You posts have been very important and useful guides at this time of deep change.
Blessings be to you Starreader and to everyone else.
Posted by: Nic | March 10, 2016 at 11:00 AM
Thank you Robert! You are so generous and brilliant
Everyone is blessed and illuminated by your articles!
You are so good!!!! Toward the One, love Dee
Posted by: Dee Kelly | March 10, 2016 at 02:45 PM