by Robert Wilkinson
This distributive, preparative, idealistic, and extraordinarily favorable and productive Full Moon at 25 Virgo-Pisces will help us get closure so we can open to newer more ideal activities and possibilities. This one sweeps away the past and offers concentrated doses of spiritual energy.
At a Full Moon, that which has opened since the previous New Moon surfaces in a public form, and heads toward the culmination and fruition symbolized by the second half of any cycle. First half, birth into form and field. Second half, culmination and completion of the purpose of that cycle.
That’s why it’s important to regard the New and Full Moon charts as “God’s Footprints in Time,” since one follows the other in an unending sequence of births of newer and newer seeds. The New Moons show us the seeds that will flourish under the reflected light of the Full Moon.
Full Moons heighten feelings, due to the opposition of the Moon and the Sun. This particular Lunation has two other forming oppositions, showing an increase in “the tension of opposites,” but each are resolved by a third planet resolving the tension into productivity and specialization. The overall lack of hard aspects shows we can use this time to get a lot done despite and because of all that will be stripped away in the next 4 months. And of course, with Mercury retrograde, many things will take a roundabout route, or the past will come forward in precise ways educating us in listening to our inner voice.
Dispositors - What's the Backdrop to the Energies?
The Moon is in Pisces, making Jupiter in Libra its worldly ruler, and Neptune in Pisces its spiritual ruler. The Sun is in Virgo, making Mercury its worldly ruler and the planet beyond TransPluto its spiritual ruler.
Jupiter in Libra is ruled by Venus in Libra, making Venus the final dispositor of the Moon. Venus is also the final dispositor for the planets in Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aries. The Sun in Virgo is ruled by Mercury in Virgo, making it the final dispositor in the chain. These two are the dominant “chains of dispositors” ruling all the other planets. You can find out more about dispositors in general, chains of dispositors, and mutual reception by going to Astrology Class – What Is A Dispositor and What Is Mutual Reception Between Two Planets?
The Sabian Symbols for the Full Moon
This Full Moon falls at 25 Virgo and Pisces. It is said that the last third (decan) of any sign deals with the individual, mental, and spiritual levels of life, and as the Lunation is in the third decan of those signs, invokes a sub-influence of Taurus and Scorpio.
The Sun is the Light, while the Moon gives form to that Light. With the Sun in Virgo, we are illuminated by expressing efficiency, humility, practicality, and willingness to train to express a perfected service. The Moon in Pisces shows the Light of Virgo will take form through the Piscean qualities of compassion, forgiveness, and doing closure rituals that will create the space for new archetypal energies to take shape in the future. This marks the end of some old Virgo things so the promises offered during Jupiter in Virgo can come forth.
Since the Moon always focuses the light of the Sun in specific forms, the degree symbols for both are important. The Sun degree is the illumination or enlightenment of the Lunation, whereas the Moon shows us the potential forms that enlightenment will take. Though I’ve given you a sense of what this is about up to now, here’s where we go into detail.
The Solar degree symbol for the 25th degree of Virgo is "A flag at half mast.” In "the Astrology of Personality," where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, 25 Virgo is said to be a symbol of “The ability to carry a task through to consummate completion,” “deference to past achievement,” and “cultivation of public spirit.”
In the Astrological Mandala, he says this degree involves “the social acknowledgement of a job well done and a destiny fulfilled.” This is a symbol of the recognition an individual can expect from the social or cultural group they belong to after they complete some form of duty or responsibility of value to that community. He says this is a degree of “social immortality,” or identification with an archetype associated with the function performed.
He says this is a degree of “finding one’s place in history,” or cultural memory, as long as one’s task is carried “to its ultimate fulfillment.” This is a degree of finality of some form of service where we are given “public recognition.” He says it falls in the span of "Experimentation,” and it’s the final degree of the emotional-cultural level of the scene of Education in the Act of Stabilization.
According to Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, the degree is one of “the sure rewards that stand ready for whatever proves of worth.” He states “the highest of everyday values for the common (person) are created in a public service which has its first compensation in the individual’s self-fulfillment… (as) some measure of immortal contribution to history.”
He continues with “reputation is the subtle coin by which personality creates an enduring wealth for everyone, to be preserved no less in death than life.” He offers us the keyword of RESPECT. He states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree is "achievement in a full transcendence of selfhood.”
So we enter a two week (and 4 month) period of seeing the Light in some task we’ve carried to completion that will now get recognition, or some task we need to carry to completion in the future that will make our mark on our world. This is the light of experimental education on the social or emotional level, with a promise of cultural immortality for those who do a service the collective needs.
The Lunar degree symbol for the 25th degree of Pisces is "The purging of the priesthood.” In the "the Astrology of Personality," where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, 25 Pisces is said to be a symbol of “ability periodically to cleanse from all selfish dross the channels for spiritual service,” “true vision,” and “Soul reformation.”
In the Mandala he offers that this degree is one of “the power of the Soul to intervene in the personal life and to induce necessary catharses.” He states this symbol is about eliminating negative ego attitudes and “dogmatic rules and habits which not only have become empty of inner meaning, but very often have been perverted by the demands of the … emotional nature, and by the … rationalizing intellect.”
He goes on to say that “a purging or catharsis is needed to restore not only fresh and creative spontaneity, but even more the contact with the Soul and the God-ordained dharma.” He tells us this is part of the “final consummation of the process” of actualizing some potential that requires “moments of crisis and purification.” He says it falls in the Span of Protection, and is the final degree in the emotional-cultural level of the Scene of Perpetuation in the Act of Capitalization.
Dr. Jones says this degree symbolizes “the penalties that await whatever may fail to prove its worth,” where we must demand “an absolute integrity for (our) spiritual or immortal insights,” and not tolerate those who fall short of our ideals “in those who elect to be custodians of (our) higher and invisible treasures.”
He states that we must “approach the problems of (our) own regeneration through a dramatization of potentials (we) recognize but cannot altogether instrument,” while not “tolerating their depreciation.” He offers us the keyword REFORMATION. We are told that when positive, the degree is "revolt against all superficial exaltation of human nature.”
So the Lunar degree should help us express the Light through forms of purification so our Soul can come forth unimpeded by personality and egoic considerations. This should help us renew our contact with our Higher Self, and eliminate old rules and habits that have no place in our future. In any case, we will all come out purified in major ways over the next 4 months!
TransPluto, Divine Mother, Neptune, and the Polarization in the Collective Atmosphere
In the Full Moon charts of 2009-2012, Neptune was in a very close opposition to TransPluto, the planet symbolizing Divine Mother Energy. That’s a major factor in why things became so polarized during those years, teaching humanity compassion and the need for Viveka, or Divine Discrimination. This has offered all of us opportunities to join together in the Great Mother and realize our interrelatedness on a feeling level with All-That-Is.
The energies of Divine Mother will only grow stronger throughout this century, and these will be demonstrated each time the planets make significant aspects to TransPluto. In this chart TransPluto is still at 2 Virgo, giving us another experience of the 2nd step in our entry into this new Virgo era where Divine Mother takes center stage and shows us the long term future of humanity.
We are now revisiting the lessons of the last times it occupied 2 Virgo. The first time we went through this “liberating ordeal” was between October 2014 and mid-January 2015, at which time it retrograded back to 1 Virgo. It re-entered 2 Virgo in early September 2015, and stayed at that degree until February 2016, when it retrograded back to 1 Virgo.
In mid-May it went stationary direct at 1 Virgo, and then re-entered 2 Virgo in early August 2016. It remains on this second degree of Virgo until the end of March 2017, when it again retrogrades back to 1 Virgo. As you can see, we’ll be dealing with themes related to 1 and 2 Virgo for a long time to come.
So we again re-visit the themes of 2 Virgo, where the Divine Redeemer is giving us ways to demonstrate a higher and broader level of discernment through accepting experiences that liberate us so that “compassion and understanding” may come forth. Give up all that suppresses your compassion and spiritual understanding, and you will find both inner strength and invisible help in the future.
In terms of the larger Era, we’ve now ended the TransPluto (Percephone, Parvati) in Leo era that we knew from September 20, 1935 through July 4, 2014. The transition period where this planet danced at the last degree of Leo and first two degrees of Virgo began October 2011 and ended July 2014.
On July 4, 2014, TransPluto left Leo for many centuries, and entered into Virgo for the next century. Because 2 Virgo symbolizes “a liberating ordeal” and the planet occupying that degree symbolizes Divine Mother energy, I would think that would mean we all will be tested to allow compassion and understanding to come forth as humanity stands at the crossroads of time.
Of some importance is that Saturn squared TransPluto from December 2014 through June 2015, and again in late September and October 2015. That severely tested our ability to be far sighted, compassionate, and discerning in seeing the larger redemptive possibilities of this time in history. However, the first two months of 2016 Saturn made a waxing biseptile to TransPluto, showing that time was a huge turning point in finding responsible, future oriented truth teaching ways to demonstrate this “Divine Mother energy.”
Mars biseptiled TransPluto the last 4 days of August and first 5 days of September, triggering previous Saturn biseptiles to that planet involving lessons of huge “crisis of compassion and connectedness” for humanity. This activated the forming direct biseptile of Saturn to TransPluto of Jan-Feb 2016, the Saturn retrograde biseptile of May-June 2016, and heralded and activated energy that will be structured in the coming final Saturn biseptile to TransPluto between mid-October and mid-November 2016, promising major shifts and “liberating ordeals.”
After that, Saturn makes a tredecile to TransPluto from late November through early January 2017. This is also part of a long wave sequence of serendipitous relationship pulses between these two important planets. The first tredecile was made when Saturn went stationary retrograde in March. This activated when Mars made its tredecile to TransPluto from September 5-14.
The tredecile is an aspect of “serendipity,” and indicates some very unique and specialized interactive gifts. That means the earlier tredecile between Saturn andTransPluto set up what will happen when Saturn makes the tredecile again in November and December 2016.
Also, when Jupiter conjuncted TransPluto in August 2015 for the first time in Virgo, it began a new 12 year cycle of how these “Divine Mother energies” will manifest. It also began a new long wave era, since Jupiter will conjunct TransPluto in Virgo every 12 years until the 22nd century!
To finish this brief section, Venus also went stationary retrograde exactly conjunct TransPluto in late July 2015, setting up Venusian manifestations of Divine Mother that will show each and every time 1 Virgo is transited. That means the Venusian Divine Mother promise of late July 2015 was expanded, or set into motion somehow, by Jupiter's transit of 1 Virgo in mid-August, and then took expression due to Mars’ transit of that degree in late September, and found “beauty of form” when Venus transited it in early October 2015. Those two conjunctions have dominated the Virgo landscape in our charts since then, and the Mars-Jupiter cycle will continue through their next conjunction in mid-Scorpio January 2018.
So we’ve officially entered a different Spiritual Era that will last through July 2107, when it leaves Virgo for good and re-enters Libra for the first time in many centuries, also after a few years of dancing on the cusp of Virgo and Libra. I offered you a bit more about this vast spiritual energy field in Astrology in the Age of Aquarius - Transpluto, a.k.a Divine Mother, Parvati, and Percephone.
A New Look At Mercury Retrograde
Because we’ll still be dealing with Mercury retrograde through September 21-22 (and to some extent for the 2 weeks after that while Mercury is still in its shadow zone), if you’re new to the site and haven’t already obtained your copy, you can find out all you need by getting a copy of my award winning 2nd edition of A New Look At Mercury Retrograde. It offers in-depth information about Mercury retrograde in the various signs and houses, and what the Mercury Retrograde phenomenon is about.
By knowing more about 2014's Mercury retrograde periods in Pisces/Aquarius, Cancer/Gemini, and Scorpio/Libra, as well as 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 taking a look forward beyond the current retrograde we see Mercury retrograde in Capricorn and Sagittarius in December 2016 and January 2017. It’s all in the book!
Here's the Amazon link to the page where you can purchase a paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. You can also get a Kindle ebook at that site, or go to Barnes and Noble for a copy on Nook. (Please note that if you go to amazon, make sure you're ordering the 2015 edition, and not the earlier one. There are plenty of used ones for sale, but they are far inferior to the newest edition.)
This closes part 3 on this Eclipse Full Moon. Part 4 will cover important chart factors, aspects, configurations and more, which I'll give you soon.
Previous articles in this series:
© Copyright 2016 Robert Wilkinson
Thanks Robert. It is a great map of things happening, at times it seems more like a radiography than a map. Lol! That is also a very good thing both individually and collectively.
Ready for part 4
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | September 16, 2016 at 11:55 AM
"He states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree is "achievement in a full transcendence of selfhood.”"
Whoa. This eclipse is exactly conjunct my Asc/Dsc (by 7 minutes!). But "achievement in a full transcendence of selfhood" isn't *quite* where I'm at yet in my life! ;)
Posted by: bomega | September 16, 2016 at 10:06 PM
"revolt against all superficial exaltation of human nature.” This tickles me for some reason. The Thing. Okay now I feel giddy. A new take on a very old redundant movie.
Posted by: caliban | September 17, 2016 at 09:44 AM
From a famous Jupiter person...
Century 4 - 24
Oui soubs terre saincte dame voix faincte
Humaine flame pour divine voix luire
Fera les seuls de leur sang terre tainte
Et les saincts temples pour les impurs destruire...
Posted by: sue | September 19, 2016 at 08:48 AM