by Robert Wilkinson
This article covers significant aspects, degree symbols, and other important factors in this Leo New Moon chart. This Lunation Eclipse will open the door for various forms of compassion to come forth, which creates a universe of possibilities. There’s definitely a lot of Fire, and feelings will run high the next month (and 5+ years!) This moves the inspiration of the Grand Fire Trine into our worlds, with some receiving a mantle of power, while others will realize what cannot be propped up by ego alone.
As you understand by now, different months bring 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.
Like the last New Moon, this Eclipse is a Splay pattern, since we have a widespread distribution based in an anchoring tripod of the Grand Fire Trine! So for a while, we’re out of the Bucket and Locomotive patterns dominating past months, and enter into the very powerful energies of the Splay.
So What is a “Splay Pattern” and how does it work?
This month is fairly spread out in terms of planets in signs, since the 10 planets occupy 7 signs and are fairly spread out around the zodiacal wheel. This type of spread, with all the planets in odd angles to each other with differing distributions among the signs, creates a “Splay” Jones Pattern. As Marc Jones put it, “the arrangement is neither even nor symmetrical,” revealing “strong and sharp aggregations of the planets at irregular points.”
Dr. Jones states “This suggests highly individual or purposeful emphases in the life, where the temperament juts out into experiences according to its own very special tastes.” This pattern “makes its own anchorage in existence,” and has a quality of “rugged resistance to pigeonholing, either in the near conventional compartments of nature, or in the idea-pockets of associates.”
He goes on to state this pattern gives a “persistent emphasis on individuality,” and the “spokelike emphases of the planetary groupings” are random, but have a “tripod” footing and approach to life circumstances. He says this pattern “reveals a very intensive personality who cannot be limited to any single steady point of application.” This temperament is “particular and impersonal in its interests,” rather than “universal-impersonal” or “particular-personal.”
This implies that affairs will be diversely spread out, some will not mesh well with others, and there will be a “hub and spoke" quality to what happens these next 4 weeks and 5+ years). This spread shows a wide diversity of things going on that promotes individuality.
In this New Moon, the most intense occupied span (in this chart the Lunation plus Mars) is 3 planets in 8+ degrees, making that the major focus. Adding Venus and Mercury as the bookends, the expanded specific emphasis is the span between Venus at 25 Cancer and Mercury retrograde at 9 Virgo. This involves 5 planets in 43+ degrees, showing a lot of activity wherever it falls in our chart.
This month we have the 10 traditional planets occupying 8 signs, showing a widespread distribution with an intense cluster noted above. This month we have Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, and Aries 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 29 Leo. It is said that the last third (decan) of any sign deals with the individual, mental, and spiritual levels of life, and being the third decan of Leo it has a sub-influence of Aries. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.
The symbol for the 29th degree of Leo is “A mermaid.” In the original notes from the Marc Jones class on the symbols, Rudhyar ways this is a degree of “Pure longing for a new order of selfhood,” “critical point in emergent evolution,” and “Perspective; or a sense of incompetence.”
In the Mandala he goes on to say this is a degree of "a stage at which an intense feeling-intuition rising from the unconscious is about to take form as a conscious thought.” He says this symbols “suggests that the fire of desire of concrete and steady form burns at the root of all techniques of self-expression,” where “an unconscious energy archetype is reaching toward consciousness through the creator, as cosmic Love seeks tangible manifestation through human lovers.”
He states that this is “a great evolutionary urge,” and a “yearning for conscious form and solidity.” So the illumination available via this Full Moon is through the Light of going through some serious releases of love and/or creativity, where something involving heart Fire is seeking manifestation. He states this degree falls in the Span of Interpretation, Act of Stabilization, and Scene of Release on the Individual-Mental level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of “humanity’s insatiable appetite for experience (of)... self-assurance, and of the nascent eagerness of the soul for a ...personal participation in every possible facet of self-fulfillment.” This is about our “ineradicable purity” at core, and our need to repudiate compromise.
He goes on to state that this is about responding to our creative needs. He offers the keyword IMPORTUNITY, and states when operating positively, the degree is “a completeness of quickening to inner instincts of the being and a real willingness to trust them.”
So the theme of this New Moon Solar Eclipse is the light of a longing or expectancy about to take shape, with the power of Solar Fire driving a stabilized energy field of spontaneity, creativity, courage, heart strength, and nobility. Allow the Light of your individual creative expression take shape in the world as the Life and Love you ARE to come forth naturally and playfully.
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 chart has a very mixed bag of aspects, with some very frictional “minor” aspects and more than a few favorable ones. The primary configurations involve the Grand Fire Trine being fed by the Air of Jupiter, throwing a strong building and stabilizing energy into late Gemini and late Aquarius. Anyone with planets or angles in the last decan of Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius will be benefited by all that is promised by this eclipse.
This Lunation features only one opposition, Jupiter in Libra to Uranus in Aries, and one square, Venus in Cancer to Uranus in Aries. So Uranus builds, and releases through Venus. Just don’t “explode sideways” when planets transit the late degrees of the Cardinal signs, and accept the grace or mantle of power that IS your true part to play in the “Cosmic Choir” as you sing for your society.
The Eclipse makes an out of sign conjunction with Mercury retrograde, a decile with Venus, and a sesquisquare to Pluto. This shows a) things from the past will play a factor in this eclipse, and a delay must occur before the promise of the conjunction will be fulfilled; b) there are partially developed unique situations and gifts that will come forth as we accept the grace or mantle of power; and c) we can expect a lot of annoyance, aggravation, and agitation to be present in the atmosphere. Beware of corrosive people and attitudes, since that sort of irritation is bad for the nerve sheaths.
Besides the aspects listed above, other forming inner planet aspects include Mercury semisquare Jupiter (like the last New Moon but this time RX, continuing the ongoing friction); Venus is quindecile Mars, binovile Jupiter, and biquintile Saturn; and Mars in the Grand Fire trine and biquintile Pluto.
Outer planet aspects are a bit thin, and pretty much what we’ve been experiencing for a while. Jupiter is sextile Saturn and opposed Uranus; Saturn trines Uranus, and Uranus is exactly semisquare to Neptune. I believe this semisquare is entirely behind the inner hard choices all of us are considering right now in how our individuality fits into the collective atmosphere, and why there is so much friction between the transpersonal Uranian forces and the transpersonal Neptunian forces at this time.
So we’re still dealing with the “tensional awareness” 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 also has been and is expanding the hard edge of the imbalances and protests against perceived and actual injustice in our world, and our 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, throwing the harmonious void into Gemini, and it’s also resolved by Mars in Leo, throwing the harmonious void into Aquarius. That’s why I said earlier those with planets in the last part of the Fire and Air signs will do extremely well in the aftermath of this eclipse. Trines are stabilizing, and sextiles productive. This is helping us stabilize blending the established with the innovative while embracing new ways that will fulfill themselves as Saturn moves forward beginning soon.
Here I’ll note that there are a lot of exactly partile separating aspects, showing energies swirling at the center of the NOW! These are almost exact but separating at this Lunation: The Sun and Moon septile Jupiter, trine Uranus, Mercury biseptile Saturn, Mars sextile Jupiter, Jupiter biquintile Neptune, Saturn binovile Neptune and quindecile Pluto, and Uranus biseptile Pluto. These are all VERY powerful angles, and show many critical forks in the road of destiny have been hit in recent days, as well as unique and specializing opportunities.
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. 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 and biquintile (5th harmonic) and related 10th, 15th, and 20th harmonic aspects (decile, quindecile) 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.
Element Balance
Of the traditional 10 planets, there are 5 planets in Fire signs, 2 in Water, 2 in Earth, and 1 in Air. This element spread heavily emphasizes inspiration (Fire), with a balance between practicality (Earth) and feeling/experiencing (Water), with Jupiter in Libra being the only planet in the relatedness/communication element (Air).
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 feelings and actions. Feelings will run high, as will ideals burning bright! Again, with the harmonious Fire trine, shine the Love brightly, and joyously adapt, allowing Soul force to come up naturally and spontaneously.
Because Mars leads the Sun from Leo, this is a highly agitated and activated Eclipse! This is “Heart Warrior” or “Noble Defender” energy. It’s also impulsive, ego-driven, and is prone to leap before it looks. As the whole stellium is in the Aries decan of Leo, beware of the tendency to “ready, fire, aim.”
Still, with sensitivity and awareness followed by resolute action, great things can be accomplished in the aftermath of this Eclipse. Accept the grace and power, and if you find yourself in a situation where yours or another’s ego is confused, stop flapping around blindly and forcing things. Definitely be alert for those who believe they’ve had spiritual experiences which were in fact just ego puffery.
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 the same pattern that has been in play this past month. 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.
However, because Mercury is retrograde, don’t ignore the strange or roundabout signals it sends you. Also, when dealing with memories or echoes from the past, take it all dispassionately, and wait for further revelations and developments before making final judgments. On the other hand, don’t start second guessing your actions and decisions, since at best it will lead to indecision and at worst, doubt.
Summing Up
This is a time when many things will continue to burst forth, whether creatively or related to repair some things through rest, relaxation, and enjoying oneself in natural ways. Beauty is there to behold and/or create, and this can be an extraordinarily loving time for those who let their heart fire come up and out!
Be as playful as you can be, and don’t get bugged if you can’t do something, go somewhere, or connect with someone. Mercury is retrograde! This may bring returns from the past, or reflections on things and people long gone who helped influence who we are today. Review, rehearse, research, rewind, and re-thinking the plan are all great things to do.
Things may seem off balance somewhat, but if you can find the right “rhythm of response,” then you can glide between different activities without getting hung up by any one thing. Remember the Splay throws activity into diverse and often unrelated areas, so stay on your center as you move between different arenas of life. There is a lot of work to be done, so do it joyously, with an eye to being as loving and compassionate as you can be while the work done is being reviewed, or the work to be done is in the planning stages.
This makes manifest the heart Fire of this “Summer of Love 2017,” so be more outgoing, make connections, interact with those who share your Spiritual Lights, and be forceful in projecting your love and creativity into your world. Inspiration is up, relatedness is up, and since elements of the Soul realm have already begun to erupt in our lives, be loving, be beautiful, and BE the power of your radiant heart!
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. We are in a season of stabilizing stabilize electric Fire and distributive Fire, learning to 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 my 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
"A Mermaid Emerges From The Ocean Waves Ready For Rebirth In Human Form"
"Pure longing for a new order of selfhood”
“critical point in emergent evolution”
“Perspective; or a sense of incompetence”
"a stage at which an intense feeling-intuition rising from the unconscious is about to take form as a conscious thought"
"suggests that the fire of desire of concrete and steady form burns at the root of all techniques of self-expression"
“an unconscious energy archetype is reaching toward consciousness through the creator, as cosmic Love seeks tangible manifestation through human lovers”
“a great evolutionary urge”
“yearning for conscious form and solidity”
On a whim, I drove to the eclipse path of totality to see what it was all about. At the moment of the total eclipse I got a "download" and it was exactly all that. Even the incompetence part...followed by the feeling-intuition part!
Visiting the path of totality completely changed my life. I highly recommend it. I can't believe I ever thought I would be abandoned. Instead I found myself. Again.
Posted by: bomega | August 24, 2017 at 12:40 AM
So the grand fire trine will have an influence for the next 5 years? Great news!
Posted by: Diana | August 26, 2017 at 03:19 PM
I'm still processing everything that came up from the eclipse, and I'm still trying to implement the changes I really need now. However, I'm still amazed how how instantly transforming viewing the total eclipse was.
Robert: The next eclipse to take place over the US (April 8, 2024) will pass directly through Central Texas: half of San Antonio, most of Austin, and all of Round Rock and Georgetown are in the Path of Totality. Plus Fredricksburg and Kerrville are almost on the centerline! Maybe you or your associates could organize some sort of viewing party?
Posted by: bomega | September 03, 2017 at 03:07 PM