by Robert Wilkinson
This “First High Moon” awakens much, with the Tension of Opposites bringing extremely productive awareness along the Aries-Libra axis. This will awaken a balanced expression of our “Lover-Relator” archetype, where those who are on a path of Self-realization may live our uniqueness in an elegant, balanced way. Major life changes have already been set into motion, and the next two weeks gives us a great review on how we’ve been educated in a greater Truth and sense of purpose.
An Overview
This is a particular dynamic Full Moon, with lots of swirling energies as planets begin or end their retrograde periods. This will bring many reviews, reflections, remembrances, and a new understanding on things dead and gone. Whether a new view of recent endings, or how recent endings relate to more distant endings, or how long ago endings freed us to become the individuality we’ve been learning to express since the Summer of 2010.
The Axis of Awareness of “Self-Not-Self” is resolved and strengthened by the very powerful Sun conjunct Uranus trine Saturn, showing us all the way to blend past, present, and future. This will help us see the harmony in linking the established with the revolutionary, the structure with innovation, so anything that doesn’t blend Saturn and Uranus in a stable understanding is out of alignment. This Full Moon can help all of us to understand our higher, greater purpose and what we’ve prepared for that will spring forth in concrete forms in May.
The Moon making a bielftile on route to a sextile with Saturn is very productive, and strengthens our ability to resolve a duality in bringing together that which is aesthetically pleasing with that which is functional and practical. Though the Moon is separating from its conjunction with Jupiter, Jupiter is still in a forming quintile to Saturn, making Saturn extraordinarily favorable in this chart. Time to move past the old “Ring Pass Not,” and be joyous in our adventure into a new life and a new world!
We’ve all attained a level of mastery over our personality vehicles through how we trained these past 7 years, and this Lunation will awaken a great promise appropriate to that training. The Moon will show us new ways to care, and new things to care about, by taking a look back at what we used to care about.
This month has almost no frictional aspects whatsoever, so it should be a great time to understand the love and wisdom we’ve been receptive to since the New Moon, and build on it to experience more fully the joy of being liberated from burdens we no longer needed to bear. This has allowed us a creative integration, as well as a healthy balance between our physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual worlds of expression. Take a look back to see what must still be pruned, or how what was pruned from our lives in the past allowed us and others to see more clearly our purpose.
Why Are Full Moons So Important?
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. As noted, this particular Lunation has one other opposition, involving Moon opposed Uranus. This requires cutting through the ambivalence of Libra, and being decisive in responding to opportunities to express your truth, vision, or sense of balance about a circumstance. Rise to opportunities, don’t get lost in daydreaming or wishful thinking or theoretical fantasies, and get clear about what will appeal to others and how to do your part in the play. Keep it simple and straightforward, and efficiency and alertness will work to your advantage.
Dispositors - What's the Backdrop to the Energies?
The Moon is in Libra, making Venus in Pisces its worldly ruler, and TransPluto in Virgo its spiritual ruler. The Sun is in Aries, making Mars in Taurus its worldly ruler, and Pluto in Capricorn its spiritual ruler. Venus is ruled by Jupiter, and Jupiter is ruled by Venus, setting up what is termed a “Mutual Reception,” a very powerful self-reinforcing close energy loop.
This Mutual Reception rules all the other planets in the sky except Neptune, the spiritual ruler of Pisces, in its home sign. So it too is the “final dispositor” in its own oceanic realm. Pluto is ruled by Saturn, which is ruled by Jupiter. Uranus is ruled by Mars, which is ruled by Venus.
So this month, there is no “chain of dispositors” or “final dispositor” but rather a transitional situation where Venus and Jupiter are the temporary rulers of all the other energies. 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 22 Aries and Libra. 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 Sagittarius and Gemini.
The Sun is the Light, while the Moon gives form to that Light. With the Sun in Aries, we are illuminated by opening to a dynamic pioneering self-sufficient self-initiative, seeing what to do and how to do it with urgency and immediacy. Aries is the first sign, and breaks out of the ambivalence and procrastination of Pisces into its own realm that forever renews itself.
The Moon in Libra shows the Light of Aries will take form through the Libra qualities of balance, perspective, proportion, fairness, justice, and well-rounded understanding. Libra is how we find a reasonable and diplomatic way of moving rhythmically though the jarring bumps of life, as well as dealing with jarring bumps in human personalities and relationships. This Full Moon will show us how to express the Light of our Individuality in balanced, generous ways in our world.
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 22nd degree of Aries is “The gate to the garden of desire.” In the original notes from the Marc Jones class on the symbols, Rudhyar says this degree is one of "joy and utter lack of inhibitions in objective life,” and “self-exaltation or bondage to the craving for happiness.”
In the Mandala, he goes on to say that this degree is about “abundance made possible by human togetherness and cooperation.” He offers that this is “a symbol of apparently wide-open and effortless fulfillment,” where as we join with others, we can in time fulfill at least some of our desires.
He continues that at this stage, “the goal of happiness dominates the consciousness of cultural man, the more validly so the more modest his desires,” making this a symbol of “cosmic optimism.” He states this degree fall in the Span of Examination, Act of Differentiation, and Scene of Potency on the Social-Cultural level.
Dr. Jones says this is a degree of “uncompromising faith in the fact of (our) being, and of (our) naïve optimism as life opens up one or another of its opportunities for (us).” He states this symbol is one of “self-fulfillment in the realization that there are always unlimited days ahead and that immeasurable frontiers are yet to be crossed.”
He continues by offering that “personality forever reassures itself by an enhancement of its dreams and a strengthening of its deeper expectations.” He offers us the keyword PROSPECT, and states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree is “a high quickening to every possibility of individual discovery and experience.”
The Lunar degree symbol for the 22nd degree of Libra is “A child giving birds a drink at a fountain.” In the original Jones class notes from “The Astrology of Personality,” Rudhyar says this is a degree of "intuitive understanding of simple souls in spiritual matters,” “youthful life-enjoyment,” and “fresh grasp of the soul’s needs.”
In the Astrological Mandala, he goes on to say that this degree symbolizes "the concern of simple souls for the welfare and happiness of less-evolved beings who thirst for life renewal.” He says this symbol is one of human work bringing a life giving substance to birds, who often symbolize spiritual thoughts. In this, the birds no longer have to find the water, but instead the human brings the water to the birds.
He states “the connection between ‘child’ and ‘birds’ implies a spontaneous, naïve rapport at the spiritual level, a soul-touch at the level of pure feelings.” Continuing, he offers “what you received from the Infinite, you can give to the finite beings that thirst for it,” and we can “transform wilderness into a garden, with fountains and singing birds,” giving us the keyword “solicitude.” He says this degree falls in the Span of Revelation, Act of Group Integration, and Scene of Reconstruction on the Social-Cultural level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of “uncompromising faith in the friendly relationships characterizing the world at large, and … optimism as (we) find that (we) can take advantage of … life’s opportunities whenever (we) choose to do so.” He tells us this is a symbol of “self-fulfillment in the discovery that there are always the fruits of everyday to justify the simple fact of selfhood, and that there are also the responsibilities which provide a consummation for the ideals and the inner nature.”
He offers the keyword SOLICITUDE. He states that when operating positively, the degree is "the creative concern for others by which any individual comes to experience his own immortality.”
So we get the light of limitless opportunities that could offer us various forms of fulfillment, coming forth in friendly relations between us and the natural world. Go for the optimism, go for the adventure, ask yourself what you care about and thirst for, as well as be open to what others care about and thirst for. Here is the Light of focalized social power taking shape in the reconstruction of trust between beings.
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 has retrograded back to 1Virgo, giving us another experience of the initial step into this new Virgo era where Divine Mother takes center stage and shows us the long term future of humanity. As it is still conjunct the North Node, we are all being pulled toward a greater liberation from ego, a greater compassion, or a redemption we’ve wanted for a long time.
We are now revisiting the lessons of the last times it occupied 1 Virgo after the past few months of another phase of our “liberating ordeal.” 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 remained at this second degree of Virgo until the end of March 2017, and now it has again retrograded 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 the Divine Redeemer again re-visits the themes of 1 Virgo, which include “the shaping power of idea or ideal over outer form and behavior” and “completeness of realization.” It also involves “the capacity to picture to oneself clearly the salient features and the overall meaning of any life situation,” as well as learning lessons of “significant form” and seeing “life situations as wholes of experience, and to discover their meaning by distinguishing their most characteristic features.” See how you have embraced a greater maturity, personal integrity, and accepted responsibility to find an “effective self-assurance and an ever-clear vision of each emerging opportunity in life” since 2014.
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 2016, triggering previous Saturn in Sagittarius biseptiles to that planet involving lessons of “crises 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 was structured in the final Saturn biseptile to TransPluto between mid-October and mid-November 2016 giving us major shifts and “liberating ordeals.”
Saturn made a tredecile to TransPluto between late November 2016 through early January 2017. This began 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 2016. 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 and TransPluto set up what’s happened in recent weeks, when Saturn made the tredecile again in November and December 2016. This sequence will be resolved this Summer when Saturn goes SD at 22 Sagittarius, creating a “hot spot” tredecile that will be activated by future transits.
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 2015, 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 were given new value, new power, and new understanding with the inner planet transits over those early degrees between late July and late August 2016. The Mars-Jupiter cycle set into motion in October 2015 in mid-Virgo 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.
Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend
Because Saturn is very powerful in this chart via the trines with the Sun and Uranus opening up huge love energies via the void in Leo, it plays a big part in our ability to see how to restructure what is into forms that can harmonize with what will be made manifest this Summer. It’s also on the degree where it went stationary retrograde on April 5/6, marking a threshold of the larger Saturn in Sag lessons we’re all learning. Because Saturn is such a powerful force right now, if you don’t already have a copy, you can find more about how to make Saturn’s virtues part of your lives by getting my book “Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend.”
This book takes an entirely new look at our inner Saturn and the power it gives us to take command of our lives and destiny. If Saturn represents all that limits us and holds us back, it’s only because we must master those lessons so we may become spiritual adults and fulfill our purpose for being alive on Earth. By knowing our Saturnian strengths, we can overcome fear and any sense of victimization or powerlessness.
It was written for both astrologers and non-astrologers, and gives the reader the power to understand why some things happened when they did. Throughout the book, it offers ways for us to “make friends” with this part of our existence and take command of our destiny. As you read each chapter, you’ll become more aware of all the factors assisting Soul growth through understanding how our Saturn lessons relate to Dharma (our Highest Spiritual Function) and various types of karma, both those we cause and those which are "Sacred Wounds" leading us to a greater compassion and understanding.
And as you've just sampled, we explore the concept of Saturn representing our Ring-Pass-Not, or that part of us which is limited while we learn certain lessons related to our understanding of who we are and why we can or cannot do certain things. As our Saturn expands its understanding and wisdom, then our Ring-Pass-Not expands so we can find purpose and meaning in each chapter of life. It is the secret to our power to guide our own evolution as we become conscious of the meaning of why we are on Earth.
The second part of the book examines how Saturn cycles mark major points of choice and change throughout life, and what we can expect when Saturn makes conjunctions, squares, and oppositions to our planets and Ascendant. There are tables assisting the reader to know when Saturn was in each sign, so even those with little or no understanding of astrology can track the timing on their major life changes. There is an entire chapter dedicated to the Saturn Return, perhaps the most important times in life when our decisions profoundly shape our future.
Part two closes with a chapter on one of the most crucial factors in our personal unfoldment: how the progressed Moon and transiting Saturn cycles track each other throughout life and relate to our emotional growth, and a chapter on a global phenomenon happening since 2003 impacting everyone on Earth. The Epilogue offers a few insights about living “the spiritual life,” and opens dimensions of higher and broader possibilities of personal evolution, regardless of which path to Truth we may be on.
This is a book you will reference many times for many reasons, and each time you pick it up you’re sure to find undiscovered gems of insight on each page. This book can help you throw off all the attitudes and memories which have held you back from finding and living the life and purpose you’ve been searching for since you were young. Welcome to the journey of self-discovery, and finding your power to live your life on your own terms, fulfilling your reason for being alive as an Eternal having human experiences!
Please order your copy today! You can go to the Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend page and order your copy of either the paperback or the ebook. It's also available as an ebook on B&N's Nook. I’ve been told that people who live overseas can get their copy much faster by going through Amazon. And if you would, please write a review on the Amazon site, since the more reviews, the bigger the boost on their site.
See you soon with part 3, covering aspects, planetary sequencing, and other important factors in this Full Moon!
© Copyright 2017 Robert Wilkinson
"Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend." It is a beautiful presentation of esoteric astrology and philosophy, very clear and accessible. It is unique, not an astrology text per se but more a manual on how to deal with life. One rule for astrologers is to never outline a problem or challenge without giving a way to meet it or navigate the territory. This book offers wisdom and guidance to traverse the terrain; confirmation for effort.
The comments on karma, disillusion and fear bolster courage. His book is a guide for those points in life, a guidebook for living fully and fearlessly; it could be subtitled "How to Master Life."
Posted by: Bonnie Orgren | April 14, 2017 at 07:07 AM
Hi Bonnie - Thanks for the glowing review! Much appreciated. Not to presume, but would you consider writing this as a review on the amazon page for the book? I hear it helps the exposure.
Posted by: Robert | April 14, 2017 at 08:23 AM
Will do Robert
Posted by: Bonnie Orgren | April 14, 2017 at 08:42 AM