by Robert Wilkinson
This Full Moon takes us to new views of our life order as we leave behind a 25 year period of many things not making sense. Take the initiative to live your new life, role, or Light, and this turning point will take root in a new emotional intelligence. Despite others predicting a tough Full Moon, I think this one will be stabilizing, harmonizing, and give a new perspective on recent tensions.
This initiating, active, gestative, and grounding Full Moon occurs at 5:37 am PDT, 1:37 pm BST on March 3I, and falls at the 11th degree of Aries and Libra. Continuing the theme that proceeds at each Full Moon as they move through each polarity, this one gives us the ability to find a new worldly order in our lives, anchoring it in practical understanding and stabilized appreciation for what we’re moving into.
Today’s Full Moon post will be an overview of the Lunation and some of its primary qualities. In parts 2 and 3 we’ll cover the Sabian Symbols, aspects, distributions, and patterns.
An Overview
This Full Moon in Libra-Aries will move us in new directions even as it gives us a chance to reflect, review, and/or rehearse some things yet to be made clear. This is a “back to the future” Full Moon due to the Mercury retrograde, where we may discover a new identity has already been revealed before now, but we missed it because our attention was more focused on the past than the present. Here we organize our light into power, expressed in a gentle, easy balanced way.
We now are again dealing with several important outer planet aspects that weren’t active in Jan-Feb. We have now moved into a new phase of the off-again, on-again Rhombus Diamonds anchored by Uranus semisquare Neptune which is now forming anew.
In the last Full Moon it was activated by the Moon sesquisquare Uranus and opposed Neptune, again giving us 3 points of a Rhombus Diamond Octile with its “cutting, grinding, and polishing” quality, and throwing a void into late Libra. The Rhombus is created by a combination of two oppositions, two semisquares, and two sesquisquares. This anticipated the BIG one to come this September, when this configuration will happen again due to all four point being occupied by transiting planets.
Get used to this agitation in the general atmosphere, since we have planets conjunct Uranus while semisquaring Neptune in April and May, culminating in mid-May when Mars enters Aquarius and semisquares Neptune and squares Uranus. This will generate major friction!. The difference is that the semisquares are internal friction, whereas sesquisquares are external friction.
We are now in phase two of Jupiter semisquare Saturn. We had one a few weeks ago, and this is the second in the sequence. This indicates the Jupiter-Saturn cycle which began with their May 2000 conjunction at 23 Taurus is beginning to disintegrate.
Still, the seeds of what will commence at the Great Mutation of 2020 are beginning to take shape. 2020 features Saturn conjunct Pluto at 23 Capricorn, followed by Jupiter’s two conjunctions with Pluto at 25 Capricorn that Spring and Summer, culminating in the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at 1 Aquarius in December. I’ll write more about that very important period in coming months.
We’ve now moved into a time period of shifting Jones pattern. The patterns change mainly due to the position of the Moon, and at this Full Moon, we’re in a temporary “Splay” pattern. I’ll explain more later in this article.
With Saturn in Capricorn and Mars in Capricorn, we continue a stable pattern of dispositors. I’ll discuss the ruling dispositors in another article. The bigger shift is that at this time, Neptune leads the Sun, showing that sensing the vast tides in collective consciousness is the way to the Light. This indicates a transformational Lunation, where we move beyond appearances while focusing on necessities.
Is the Grand Irrationality A Factor in this Full Moon?
The Grand Irrationality, along with the other outer planet non-rational configurations that happen off and on throughout the year, indicate that we’ve been living in an era of very heavy decisions determining the future destiny of humanity since 1993. To refresh you, the Grand Irrationality is a long wave configuration set into motion every time a planet makes a conjunction, septile, biseptile, or triseptile to Neptune and Pluto. Septile series aspects show us points in time when our future destiny is precipitated by critical choices made in the present.
In this Full Moon, it’s front and center, due to the Moon partile separating triseptile Neptune. This shows two weeks of another “fork in the road of destiny” for people and nations, based in where this falls in the chart. Here we look back on recent major choices and changes to get a roundabout look at a future that’s already begun.
This is the next action beat in the cycle, which at this time of the year is very strong since Neptune and Pluto are only 53+ degrees apart. Many decisions and developments these next two weeks may not make much sense, but it will be related to developments to come in late April and early May when Mars conjuncts Pluto and septiles Neptune. Each of these represents a “fork in the road of destiny” for those affected, as well as humanity as a whole.
At this time, the current seven “hot zone” spans that trigger the Grand Irrationality are approximately 16-20 Leo, 7-11 Libra, 28 Scorpio-2 Sag, 21-25 Capricorn, 13-17 Pisces, 4-8 Taurus, and 25-29 Gemini.
We’re now slowly moving out of the configuration, and we’ve already hit a point in time when Neptune and Pluto are beginning to form a long term sextile, as they were for most of the last half of the 20th century. At this time, the Grand Irrationality gains strength as we move through Autumn and into Winter, and will again lessen in strength in the late Winter into the Spring and Summer. (Right now they’re 53d 46m apart, their closest orb for centuries to come.)
As I’ve explained in other articles, that means that in the Autumn and Winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) they operate as a simultaneous “pulse,” since they’re both aspected near the same time. But in the Spring and Summer we experience it as a rolling influence, with first Pluto aspected, and then Neptune at some time after that, depending on which planet is doing the aspect to these planets.
Because this configuration involves Neptune and Pluto, the outermost spiritual planets, they show a long wave evolutionary crisis for the entire human race. Since 1993, at one point or another, everyone on Earth has experienced a nonstop energy of having to choose, at the bottom of our beings, the path to evolution or devolution, progress or regress, love or fear, joy or control. It’s why things have been so weird, irrational, and hard-edged.
Planetary Distribution
In this Full Moon, the span occupied by the inner planets (in this chart the Sun at 11 Aries through Venus at 1 Taurus spans 19+ degrees. This span will be most active in our charts. Add Neptune on the front end, and the span involves 5 planets within 45+ degrees, so the areas between mid- Pisces and early Taurus will be very active these next two weeks. We hit maximum compression in March, with all planets between Jupiter at 24 Scorpio and Uranus at 27 Aries, making a very powerful triseptile between the bookends which I’ll discuss in the section on aspects.
At this time we have the 10 traditional planets occupying 6 signs, in an uneven widespread distribution with the Moon far enough away from the occupied span to make it a “Splay” Jones pattern. Currently, the outer planet occupied span begins with Jupiter in Scorpio, then moves through Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, Neptune in Pisces, and Uranus in Aries, with the inner planets now occupying Capricorn, Aries, and Taurus with the Moon outside it all at 11 Libra.
So What is a “Splay Pattern” and how does it work?
This type of spread, with all the planets in a widespread irregular distribution among the signs jutting out in distinct areas of the chart, creates a “Splay” Jones pattern. Even though it’s not a perfect example since there’s no “tripod” occupancy, it’s still a “Splay” as it doesn’t fit any other pattern.
As Dr. Marc Jones put it, “the arrangement is neither even nor symmetrical,” revealing “strong and sharp aggregations of the planets at irregular points.” He offers that “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 2 weeks. This spread shows a wide diversity of things going on that promotes individuality.
Is the Sun Following the Moon, or the Moon Following the Sun?
The late July 2017 New Moon in Leo was the final Lunation since June 2016 where the Full Moon Sun fell in the same sign as the Sun of the previous New Moon. That pattern happened between June 2016 and August 2017 and before then, between September 2013 and September 2014.
This is eighth Full Moon since the period between October 2014 and May 2016 where we again are in a “reversed pattern” of the Sun of the Full Moon occupying the sign after the New Moon Sun. So we’re now in “the other” New Moon/Full Moon sign expression.
We finished the period of the “natural” order of Lunation Suns at the August 2017 Solar Eclipse in late Leo and began the new sequence, since that New Moon Sun was in Leo, but the subsequent Full Moon Sun was in Virgo. Since the New Moon offers us seeds in the first half of the month’s lunar cycle, and fulfillment in the second half, we now are in a sequence with the “Seed Light” of Pisces coming to a Full Moon illumination through the current Sun in Aries and Moon in Libra.
Because the New Moon preceding the Full Moon always represents the seed forms that are brought to surface at and after the Full Moon, this begins the fulfillment of the theme of the recent New Moon at 27 Pisces. You can learn more about that New Moon in Pisces by going to The New Moon at 27 Pisces Pt. 1 – What’s Happening in March-April 2018, and The March 2018 New Moon at 27 Pisces Pt. 2 – Signs, Sabian Symbols, and What it All Means.
Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend
Because Saturn is now in its home sign of Capricorn for the first time since 1991, it is the final dispositor of all planets transiting Capricorn and Aquarius from now through 2023. It was the ruler of the last two eclipses, making it an important factor for the next few years, and it will continue to play a different and powerful part in world affairs between March and November because Mars will be transiting those signs during that time. That makes Saturn a major force to be reckoned with in 2018!
Add the fact that it’s doing a very interesting dance with Uranus all of 2018, and once they come back into trine between May and October involving Capricorn and Taurus, and it will be the next chapter in us learning how to blend past and future together and craft your future destiny. After the 2017 Fire trines between these planets stabilizing Electric Fire and distributive “Fire by Friction,” this will provide practical grounding to our efforts.
This will help us organize and simplify our Saturn-Uranus “dance of individualization” in our charts. You can learn more about cooperating with Saturn and Uranus to create your future destiny by taking a look at the material in my book “Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend.” Saturn helps us give form and structure to our quest for Self-realization, and in Capricorn, will help bring an “organized personal 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 how 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. Even those with little or no understanding of astrology will benefit from understanding why you had to make certain choices at crucial times that shaped your life in profound ways.
Each time you read any section of this book you will find new insights about your power to steer your personal evolution. You will understand how to throw off all the attitudes and memories which have held you back from finding and living the life and purpose. Through your journey of self-discovery, you can find ways to live your life on your own terms, and fulfill your purpose for being alive as an Eternal having human experiences!
If you’ve haven’t already gotten your copy, you can go to the Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend page on Amazon and this should be all you need to order your copy. It’s also available on Amazon as an ebook on Kindle, so if that’s more to your liking, go for it! I’ve been told people who live outside the US can get their copy much faster by going through Amazon. If you would, whether you’ve gotten the ebook or the paperback, please write a review on the Amazon site, since the more reviews, the more of a boost they give it.
On A Final Note
See you in the near future with parts two and three on this “back to the future” Full Moon where we will see a new life order already revealed before now. Again, let go of concern over appearances and do what must be done because it’s a necessity. In a roundabout way, the next two weeks are a rehearsal for what is to come after mid-April, and this one helps us see the role(s) we were born to play, so play them gladly!
This Full Moon will move many things forward, even if there is some gear grinding due to the Cardinal T-square. Have a sense of humor and/or irony, be strong yet flexible, search for the mystery or revelation, and allow your Soul to continue to speak! This gives us a chance to reflect on recent new beginnings, and find a new way to approach things that may have gone by too fast in the recent past. So joyously embrace your new life role(s), enjoy playing your part, and remember we’re now in the end game of receiving a promise of redemption we’ve been waiting for these past 20 months.
Because Saturn is tredecile Uranus, serendipity is in the air in unexpected and unusual ways! We are in a time of attuning to our invisible helpers while facing facts and embracing a new identity. When you feel most alienated, remember that we are as surrounded by Life and Love as a fish by water. Take a look around, and you may find friends and allies you never noticed were there. Refuse to play to any sense of loneliness or isolation, and you’ll find others in your spiritual web are all around you. Find healing through setting the vision for your future, and get ready to leap into the “known unknown.”
I’ll see you soon when we’ll discuss Sabian Symbols, aspects, and other important chart factors.
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
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