by Robert Wilkinson
And also the Vernal Equinox down under!! The Autumnal Equinox occurs Sept 22 at 1:02 pm PDT, 4:02 pm EDT, and 9:02 pm BST. This marks the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. It is said that a chart done for this point in time offers a snapshot of the cosmic and literal weather for the next 3 months.
Today is the last day of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the last day of Winter in the Southern. If you’re wondering how I reconcile the seemingly opposing energies between the hemispheres, when you’re done here please take a look at The Mirroring of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Year Cycles in Astrology. It may help readers “down under” see how the important points of seasonal change, though opposite in physical manifestation, actually have similar challenges at each point of shift. And yes, I'm already thinking of doing a small book on the subject, stripping the signs of their usual attributes and taking a more universal approach to the subject of the changes of the seasons.
There is an old tradition that offers us two times when "the year begins," one at the Vernal Equinox, the other at the Autumnal. Perhaps that tradition came from explorers who saw the seasons flip between the Northern and Southern, going from the beginning of warm to the beginning of cold as they moved up and down the latitudes.
This is an excellent time for looking at what has ended and what is emerging. We up North have done our Summer labor, and are reaping the harvest of what we've done and not done. In the Southern latitudes, they're beginning to plant the seeds that will grow over the next 180 days.
So if you're "down under," it's the beginning of Spring and beautiful weather. Just remember to have a little compassion for us up here when December 21-22, the Winter Solstice, rolls around and we're freezing while you're enjoying the beach!
Whether North or South, keep following through on the new roles, new initiatives, new feelings, new flow, and new ways of relating to others on more refined levels you’ve already begun to experience since Spring, since the season to come is the time to transfigure our future into more perfect forms. Regardless of where we live, what follows explores elements we all can expect to experience over the next 13 weeks.
The charts for the Solstices and Equinoxes provide guideposts for what we can expect the following 90 days in the way of weather, both actual and symbolic. The Autumn Equinox chart shows 3 planets in the first decan of their signs, 4 in the second decan of their signs, and 3 in the third decan. This indicates a three month period of activity involving more emotional, social, and cultural focus, with a balance between an individual-mental focus and an actional, physical, and material focus.
The nights will now begin to be longer than the days for 6 months to come in the Northern Hemisphere, with lengthening days in the Southern. The Sun is now in Libra, promising enhanced and expanded relationships and social interactions. We can find new ideals, new ways of measuring and evaluating the balance in things, and new perspectives that offer us a well-rounded understanding.
Aspects and Configurations Shaping the Season to Come
The outstanding quality of this Equinox chart is the quantity of strong aspects across several harmonic series. We have septile series aspects dominating the chart, with Moon septile Mars, Venus septile Jupiter, and Sun triseptile Uranus! This involves the rulers of EIGHT of our houses, showing we’re all going to see some critical choices and changes in the next 90 days!
There is a major frictional configuration at work this season. Jupiter opposition Uranus and Mars opposition Neptune are creating a Frictional Rectangle, since Mars makes a very tight semisquare to Jupiter and a close sesquisquare to Uranus, and Jupiter makes a very tight sesquisquare to Neptune and Uranus makes a very tight semisquare to Neptune. This will be a major spur to action, with friction and pressure on any planets or angles we may have near 10-15 degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, as well as 25-30 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn.
Besides the septile and octile series aspects just mentioned, other forming aspects at the Equinox include the Moon semisquare Mercury, sextile Venus, quadrelftile Neptune, and quintile Pluto; Mercury square Saturn; Venus quindecile the Sun, conjunct Mars, tredecile Saturn, and opposed Neptune; Sun quindecile Jupiter, binovile Saturn, and quadranovile Neptune.
Outer planet aspects include the semisquares, sesquisquares, and oppositions mentioned above, as well as Mars trine Pluto; Jupiter binovile Pluto; Saturn trine Uranus, binovile Neptune, and quindecile Pluto; and though I mentioned it above, the key to the current widespread upheaval is Uranus is exactly semisquare Neptune (being triggered by transits through mid-Virgo!)
Moon semisquare Mercury and Mercury square Saturn will be challenging, since a lot will erupt in the coming season which requires surrendering the memories of the past to refocus on the now. Our “will to wholeness” will break up old complexes, and we all should experience a call to new social experiences thanks to Moon sextile Venus.
Thanks to Moon in Scorpio it will be an intense season emotionally, with great promise for regeneration of life from loss, and practicing focused magnetism, deliberately letting go of material, emotional, and mental things to create voids that will attract what we need in the future. Discipline the mind and speech in positivity, and Mercury square the VERY favorable Saturn will provide good releases for that energy.
Of note are the quantity of “minor” aspects, adding up to major influence! There are 2 septiles, 1 triseptile, 1 tredecile, 3 quindeciles, 3 binoviles, 1 quadranovile, 3 exact semisquares, and 2 close sesquisquares.
The binovile and quadranovile are very powerful spiritual aspects, indicating all of us will come to “counterpoint” realizations in our various quests for truth and realization, as well as accept some opening for spiritual purposes, while rejecting other possibilities because they are spiritually unsuitable for us. The tredecile is an aspect of serendipity and interactive unique gifts and circumstances, and the quindecile is the beginning of a shortcut to a gift and a unique understanding.
As I explained earlier, we have several septile series aspects in play these next 90 days, and because of the planets involved, it will affect all signs except Gemini and Virgo. All these aspects will put various parts of our lives at critical forks in the road, where we will make important choices shaping our future destiny.
As you can see, the primary influences over the next 3 months include several major forks in the road accompanied with partial gifts, spiritual realizations, and more than a few situations where we’ll have to demonstrate a leap of faith in order to surmount some form of duality. The semisquares will bring “gut check” situations to us wherever they fall in our charts, with Mars sesquisquare Uranus and Jupiter sesquisquare Neptune keeping thing agitated in the collective atmosphere!
The three septile series aspects cover a lot of degree zones! Venus septile Jupiter involves 2-6 Virgo, 24-28 Libra, 15-19 Sagittarius, 6-10 Aquarius, 28 Pisces-2 Aries, 20-24 Taurus, and 11-15 Cancer. The Moon septile Mars continues to activate these signs a few degrees forward, involving 10-14 Virgo, 1-5 Scorpio, 23-27 Sagittarius, 15-19 Aquarius, 6-10 Aries, 27 Taurus-1 Gemini, and 19-23 Cancer. The span is moved forward again with Sun triseptile Uranus trigger zones including 29 Virgo-3 Libra, 20-24 Scorpio, 12-16 Capricorn, 4-8 Pisces, 26-30 Aries, 17-21 Gemini, and 8-12 Leo. As you can see, it will be a nonstop series of major forks in the road wherever these aspects fall in our charts!
Jones Pattern, Dispositors, and the Lunar Phase
The planets in this chart are still in the Locomotive Jones pattern, like the recent New Moon. As Venus in Virgo is still the lead planet, and Uranus in Aries still the closing planet, you can find out more about how this pattern works by going to The September 2017 New Moon at 28 Virgo Pt. 2 - Signs, Sabian Symbols, and What It All Means.
At this time, Mercury in Virgo is the final dispositor for all the other planets except Neptune in its own sign. That makes Mercury a very powerful backdrop to the energies of the other planets. Because it is on the degree of “A volcano in eruption,” we will see many thing “erupt” in the next 3 months!
Regarding the 17th degree of Virgo, in the original Jones class notes from “The Astrology of Personality,” Rudhyar says this is a degree of “Irresistible outbursting of pent-up impulses, creatively or regeneratively,” “breaking up of complexes,” and “will to wholeness.”
In the Astrological Mandala, he goes on to say that this degree symbolizes “the explosive energy of long-repressed contents of the subconscious.” He states this is about “the dramatic release of energies” which have been repressed by the ego, leading to a catharsis. He goes on to say this is about a “form of purification by fire,” releasing the “inner pressure of the karmic past” in an explosion!
He speaks of “the objective confrontation with an image of the karmic past is replaced by a subjective irruption of repressed memories,” where “everything must be released from the psyche seeking to attain the transfigured state.” He says this degree falls in the Span of Experimentation, Act of Stabilization, and Scene of Education on the Actional level.
Dr. Jones says this is a degree of the “constant expansion of self and nature” which fundamentally involves “physical force and the blind urge of life to continue to be.” He goes on to state that “implicit in the wonder and destructiveness is (our) ease of self-recovery in the critical phases of (our) experience, often aided by the sheer violence with which (we) act to meet some major issue.”
He says the “irresistible outbursts may be merely the total mobilization of (our) deeper potentials.” He offers us the keyword EXPLOSION. He states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree “is creative passion as a rejection of superficiality and a genuine ordering of self.”
Because Mercury is square Saturn, some very important choices will be made, bringing the old Saturn in Sag issues, ideas, and interpretations to a point of culmination. Cultivate your “spiritual rapport” with others, be a good juggler and communicator, go for a social renewal, remember the “venerable standards” you examined in 2009 and 2010 that show you what’s you’ve upheld between then and now, and by late February you’ll see you’ve succeeded in embracing “a new life order.”
Venus rules the Sun, and so this Equinox facilitates a more loving approach to all life and relationships. As Venus is at 4 Virgo, the backdrop to the Light will be about finding techniques and actions that help us get over prejudices, expectations, and presumptions about others. See your commonality with others, cultivate a spirit of good fellowship, and get above contrasts, seeing others as distinct expressions of the life you share together.
The New Moon Lunar phase indicates this season will open new instinctive ways of living and interacting. A New Moon phase brings an impulsive urge to act on the emerging seeds forms, and we are told by Meyer that the process is “projection of one’s personal ideals and concepts … upon the outer world.” As I mentioned earlier, the Lunar Sabian Symbol clearly indicates the leaving behind of old people and the past in general as newer relationship dynamics open up. Surrender, remember, and you may catch glimpses of immortality.
With the element distribution, there should be a huge emphasis on practicality and grounded activity, since we have 4 planets in Earth. The rest of the elements are in perfect balance, so inspiration, interactions, and connectedness should be experienced in well-rounded ways. While Mercury square Pluto may be narrow or pessimistic at times, the Moon quintile Pluto will help us get to the core of things and quickly turn away from corrosive or stuck attitudes.
Overall, the Moon, Venus, Sun, Saturn, and Uranus are all primarily beneficial, despite the fact that the Moon, Sun, and Venus are all in the signs of their “fall” (opposite their exaltation). Detachment, Divine Discernment, and a balanced approach to Life are the antidotes, especially when combined with gratitude, enjoyment of simple pleasures, taking the initiative to welcome going new places, meeting new people, and breaking new ground, and radical compassion and forgiveness for self and others.
Mercury is a bit stressed over all that will blow up and out, but the force can be directed to social-emotional rebirth by moving the physical into the mental as a prelude to action, maintaining a healthy balance between mind, body, and Spirit, and taking a wide view at how you’re already living a new life, far different than you were this time last year.
So take a look at the vision of a transformed life and world being offered to you as you catch glimpses of a greater sense of community and connectedness. Open to a new archetypal role or vision, let yourself be transformed, and breathe easy as your will to wholeness breaks up old inner problems.
Much will be unveiled in the next 90 days that’s directly related to the recent Mercury retrograde period. Mars at the Equinox is the same degree as Mercury’s retrograde station, showing a lot will be made known in the coming season. I suspect there were things that happened then that will become inflamed in coming weeks, and whatever was set into motion between late July and mid-September will now be activated!
Transcendent visions and experiences lifting us out of duality and separateness can be found by those who follow the ideal into the depths to generate the void so their Spiritual Magnetism can attract exactly what is needed in this season. Get over preconceptions, let yourself be educated in dynamic releases and transformations, and soar to the heights. Buena suerte, and Godspeed!!
Aum and blessings as we stand on the threshold of a new season of life!
Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend
Because Saturn is important as the structuring leg of the Fire trine with Uranus, by knowing how to manage Saturn’s energies we can see how to blend past and future in stable structures perfect for expressing our emergent Uranian individuality. We have just finished a season of stabilizing Electric Fire with Distributive Fire by Friction, and learned to express it in loving, creative forms of Solar Fire between July and September during the Grand Fire trines.
You can learn more about mastering the Saturn and Uranus part of you to take command of your destiny in 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
Thanks Robert!
Blessings be to all
Posted by: Nic | September 22, 2017 at 07:31 AM
Hi Robert you refer in your article The Mirroring of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Year Cycles in Astrology."(As an aside, there is also an ancient "clockwise" zodiacal system where the elemental sequence is the same, but are assigned to different houses, which would make them work out differently in worldly affairs. I discovered this system through an obscure section of the Secret Doctrine regarding ancient zodiacs, and my old friend Carl Payne Tobey turned me on to his variation of this system back in the 70s. The clockwise chart has important implications for all of us, but that's another article (or book) for another time.)"
Fascinating, can you say a bit more about that at this time or how to find out more information about it until you write a book or a full paper on that topic. As I understand through the Bailey material that the reverse of the wheel turns us in an anticlockwise direction where in earlier consciousness we travel clockwise and then one day reverse in Libra. Can you comment if what you're referring to relates to this or to something else. Much appreciated for further clarification. Regards Burke Hunter in the Southern Hemisphere Aotearoa/NZ
Posted by: Burke Hunter | September 22, 2017 at 10:23 AM