by Robert Wilkinson
This article covers significant aspects, degree symbols, and other important factors in this Cancer New Moon chart. This Lunation can help us secure what we need as we get out beyond the known and familiar. This continues our reorientation, and shows how strong and flexible we are. This Lunation consolidates a lot in our lives and moves us forward with caution.
As you understand by now, different times give us different Jones Patterns, depending on the position of the Moon and the inner planets relative to the outer planets. These patterns operate their own independent influence, regardless of which planet is in which sign.
Currently, the outer planet occupied span begins with Jupiter in Libra, and proceeds through planets in Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, and Aries. This is a hemispheric distribution, with all the planets in almost half the signs. That means past patterns have been mainly influenced by the position of the inner planets, shifting the pattern every so often.
This New Moon brings us back to a Bucket pattern that predominates when the Moon is in any sign except Virgo, Libra, or Scorpio. The past 2 New Moons have been a transitional blending of the Bucket with a Locomotive pattern, and this one returns to a Bucket.
The Bucket Pattern and how it works
This Lunation is still 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 Libra, 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 14 Libra.
As an aside, Jupiter has at some point been the nozzle for a Bucket pattern for the past 4 years. It was the handle when in Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and Libra, giving us a long run of learning how to focus all the other energies through Jupiter. So it’s the same handle, but with a different expression each year during those parts when Bucket patterns happened.
Of importance is that Saturn leads the occupied span in the Bucket. This indicates that we’re all approaching our daily existence through the filter and lessons of Saturn. While things can be heavy with this placement, as I offer in my book on Saturn, it’s also the gateway to perfecting your personality and taking command of your life.
While it leads the occupied span and continues in its extraordinarily favorable trine to Uranus, look at your "response-ability," to see what you can do, or need to do, or need to learn to do, to anchor the new life that is opening. Saturn leading the occupied span in a strong Fire trine to Uranus (closing the span of outer planets) shows we’re all cultivating heart strength, heart power, and wholeheartedness in our lives.
This is a very favorable time to understanding how to innovate what is established, how to stabilize the new, and seeing that in linking “the above and the below” through recent crises, we are now being pulled by the NN into experiencing the “blessings that come after the death of useless things.” Find the right rhythm of adjusting to the new conditions, see things from the widest possible angle, and you’ll know what to do after you “see the rainbow.” Those who are responsible in their actions will receive great blessings and unexpected good fortune.
In this New Moon, the most intense occupied span (in this chart the Lunation at 3 Cancer and Mars at 12 Cancer) is 4 planets in 10+ degrees, making that the major focus. Adding Venus, the expanded specific emphasis is the span between Venus at 19 Taurus and Mars. This involves 5 planets in 54+ degrees, showing a lot of activity wherever it falls in our chart.
This month we have the 10 traditional planets occupying 7 signs, showing a widespread distribution with an intense cluster noted above. This month we have Libra, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Cancer represented, with no planet in the other signs.
The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon
A New Moon sets the seed forms for what the following month will demonstrate. This Lunation falls at 3 Cancer. It is said that the first third (decan) of any sign deals with the actional, physical, material levels of life, and being the first decan of Cancer it has a sub-influence of Cancer. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.
The symbol for the 3rd degree of Cancer is “A man all bundled up in fur leading a shaggy deer.” In the original notes from the Marc Jones class on the symbols, Rudhyar ways this is a degree of “the pioneering, trail-blazing instinct urging (us) to get out beyond all things,” and “plunge into virgin possibilities in life.”
In the Mandala he goes on to say this is a degree of "the need to overcome stagnation and ‘cold’ during trial of endurance,” and states this symbol is about “the difficult phase imposed by the new allegiance upon the reoriented consciousness.” He says a deer symbolizes the creative power of the mind, and that “the new path may lead to cold regions requiring insulation from harsh circumstances.”
He goes on to offer that “the will leads the mind on toward the spiritual North of the soul.” So the illumination available via this Full Moon is through the Light of going through “a period of trials,” where we “may seek to escape (our) limits by venturing forth toward an idealized goal,” and that this phase represents “a testing of the will.” He states this degree falls in the Span of Expansion, Act of Stabilization, and Scene of Decision on the Actional level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of “the pioneer or trail-blazing instinct in the human heart,” and of our determination to strengthen ourselves in our individual roots. He says here we repudiate “normal experience as unnecessarily self-limiting in its accepted opportunities and boundaries.
He goes on to state that we find life rewarding as we go from the known to the unknown which provides us a true challenge. He offers the keyword INDOMITABILITY. He goes on to state that when operating positively, the degree is “unlimited self-reliance in and through every possible phase of self-expression.”
So the theme of this New Moon is through the Light of accepting “the virgin possibilities of life,” as well as that it will be a period of trials in unfamiliar realms. Accept the challenges presented to you, be strong and flexible, don’t look back, and be infinitely self-reliant!
So this is a turning point in the new life revealed since late April, in a time when we are all experiencing the power and love of the Fire trine stabilizing the outer planet span. Ride the specialized waves of intensified spiritual energies that are awakening you to your individuality and unique part to play in the One Life we all are together.
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 mentioned in part 1, the Lunation makes several very powerful oppositions, creating a lot of potential awareness but also polarization. We have the Moon, Sun, Mercury, and Mars all opposing Pluto! That’s a very intense polarization, and requires a lot of clarity, self-discipline, and concentration, as well as the ability to know truth from falsehood, and keep the potential as a beacon despite the limiting conditions and/or other people’s corrosive or unhelpful “suggestions” or “opinions.”
Thank heaven the opposition is mitigated for the most part by Mercury and Mars trine Neptune, giving a natural intuition and attunement to the larger field. This throws a very favorable void into mid-Virgo, assisting organization and self-initiative in practical adjustments, or at the least, the ability to intuit when you’re following the plan and when you’re off course.
The New Moon is obviously conjunct Mercury and Mars, making for a complex planetary formula at present. It is also semi-square Venus and bielftile Uranus, so the oppositions and trines dominate the overall energy. There is a partile just separating tredecile of the Lights with Neptune, giving us a specializing serendipitous quality in the next 4 weeks as well.
Beside those just mentioned, forming inner planet aspects include Mercury conjunct Mars, square Jupiter, and quintile Saturn; Venus is biquintile Jupiter, partile separating biquintile to Saturn, bielftile Neptune, and trine Pluto.
Outer planet aspects are a bit thin, and pretty much what we’ve been experiencing for a while. Mars is square Jupiter and quadranovile Saturn; Jupiter is opposed Uranus, closely quincunx Neptune, and square Pluto; Saturn makes no forming aspects, and Uranus has one, a semisquare to Neptune.
The 5th harmonic 5 pointed Star pattern continues via Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn! This is a very powerful configuration active at this time and in coming weeks, so open to unique gifts and events. This will show beneficial events to those with planets or angles near 17-22 Taurus, 29 Cancer-4 Leo, 11-16 Libra, 23-28 Sagittarius, and 5-10 Pisces.
Mercury quintile Uranus also will open 5 zones of specialization and gifts for those impacted. These are 23-29 Aries, 5-11 Cancer, 17-23 Virgo, 29 Scorpio-5 Sagittarius, and 11-17 Aquarius. This will sharpen the wit, the mind, the perception, and the ability to synthesize the parts into the whole. Expect flashes of brilliance if you have a planet or angle in one of these zones.
Besides the Cancer-Capricorn opposition, we also have “tensional awareness” as a result of the long term Jupiter opposition Uranus, liberating us into new visions, new truths, new adventures, new ideals, and new ways of being in relationships. This is giving a lot of what IS a hard edge, where the task is to find the balance, perspective, or healthy proportion to keep everything reasonable and harmonious as we make progress.
This opposition is resolved via Saturn in Sag making a trine to Uranus, and as I said, though it’s separating, a quintile with Jupiter that was just re-triggered by Venus making a biquintile to both Jupiter and Saturn. Very powerful! The trine is stabilizing, and the quintile specializing. This is helping us stabilize blending the established with the innovative while opening to unexpected good fortune, since the Bluebird of Happiness will visit all who have done their needed adjustments!
So while there are a host of traditional power aspects in play in this New Moon, there are very few spiritual aspects. We see 1 quintile, 2 biquintiles, 1 quadranovile, and 3 trielftiles.
The novile (9th harmonic), septile (7th harmonic) and elftile (11th harmonic) series all feature spiritual aspects. All novile series aspects represent gestative energies that can lead to great spiritual realizations. While there are no septile series aspects in this New Moon, they represent forks in the road of destiny, while the elftile series aspects represent issues requiring we resolve some sort of duality by making a leap of faith to attain a form of mastery over that type of duality.
The quintile (5th harmonic) and related 10th, 15th, and 20th harmonic aspects are all specialization aspects. You can find more by going to Astrology Class on the Specializing Aspects Pt. 1 – Quintile, Tredecile, Decile, and Biquintile, and Astrology Class on the Specializing Aspects Part 2 – The Quindecile and the Vigintile.
You can find out more about the spiritual aspects (septile, novile, and elftile series) by referencing this brief overview of the Spiritual aspects, complete with glyphs for all of them, or purchasing the much more extensive in-depth class on the spiritual aspects, including the septile (7th harmonic) series, novile (9th harmonic) series, and elftile (11th harmonic) series aspects. If you want the class with powerpoint graphics and accompanying recorded tracks, email me.
Element Balance
Of the traditional 10 planets, there are 2 planets in Fire signs, 5 in Water, 2 in Earth, and 1 in Air. This indicates the element spread heavily emphasizes feeling (Water), with a balance in inspiration (Fire) and practicality (Earth) and a serious lack of relatedness/communication (Air). The only mitigating factor is that Jupiter is the Air planet, and the handle of the Bucket, so it’s what we need to get a handle on things, and release the energies of the other planets in healthy, balanced ways.
Air and Earth are “cool” elements, while Fire and Water are “hot” elements. With this distribution, things will be extremely hot, with lots of inspired as well as practical feelings. Again, with the harmonious Fire trine, feel and spread the love, and joyously adapt, taking rest and relaxation when you’re done doing whatever needs to be done.
Because Venus leads the Sun from Taurus, keep it simple and steady, cultivate your garden of life and mind, and show care for what you value. This is the time to allow your imagination to come forth spontaneously, or at the very least, embrace your natural enthusiasm and/or creativity. We continue to be in a unique and inspired time, with great opportunities to make new inner and outer connections.
The current sequence at present of Deciding, Feeling, and Thinking
We’ve been through several different sequences over the past few months. There are six patterns, and each has their strengths and weaknesses. We’re now in yet another pattern. As a process of moving through events, this New Moon has shifted again, showing that over the next 4 weeks the most effective “firing sequence” for approaching life and experience involves first feeling our way into decisions and actions. After we decide and/or act, it will be important to get new information to come to a new vision or understanding. Once we get the right view or understanding, then a new feeling-experience will naturally arise that points the way to the next action.
So over the next 4 weeks we’ll still be leading with our feelings, then making decisions on the basis of those feeling experiences, followed by new information, new ideas, new interpretations, and new views. We’ll be “feeling our way” into new experiences, then deciding and acting on the basis of those feelings. After a decision or action, then we’ll have to find newer, more up to date information, facts, and understanding so we can get a new vision.
So learn and teach through anecdotes, seeing how others handled things practically, or how you handed things practically in the past. Let your thinking and communicating and envisioning follow your actions, and let your feelings follow a new understanding, a new perception, or a new view.
Summing Up
This is a turning point, where you may feel like you’re in a trial of endurance, but really it’s just the past feeding the future, and a great practicum in being both strong and flexible. The oppositions can bring very high awareness of the polarities involved, and bring us to our primal innocence as we accelerate our growth. See all “dances of relationship” as giving you a chance to get beyond fear and the need to “hide,” and having seen the essentials beyond those things which conceal the form, open to a new dedication.
Even though things are breaking apart at the end of a long cycle, those who can accept the challenge of individualization will find they have adopted a new identity, and have tremendous power to defend what need defending. Cancer is “active defense,” and this New Moon will highly activate our skills in maneuvering forward, backward, and side to side. Though there will be high sensitivity, there will also be a tremendous number of tender moments. Those will open your heart, and show you how you’ve linked “the above and the below” in your life.
Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend
Because Saturn is important as a stable leg of the Fire trines happening during these months, it’s a great time for seeing how to blend past and future together and craft your future destiny. Then you’ll be ready to stabilize that electric Fire and distributive Fire and express it in a loving, creative form as the inner planets move through Leo between July and September during the Grand Fire trines. You can learn more about mastering the Saturn and Uranus part of generating your future destiny by taking a look at the material I present in my new book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend Saturn helps us give form and structure to our quest for Self-realization, and in Sag, will help bring an “expansive structure” to the Uranian energies infused with concentrated doses of spiritual energy that is making our spiritual life come alive.
Our inner Saturn gives us the power to take command of our lives and destiny. Saturn shows us those things we must master to 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.
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.
© Copyright 2017 Robert Wilkinson
As always, very helpful and clear. Thanks Robert.
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | June 23, 2017 at 10:14 AM