by Robert Wilkinson
This Full Moon will move us into heart strength, demonstrated through a greater vision and spiritual wisdom. This Full Moon has three oppositions, two of them on the Leo-Aquarius axis, and two of them separating. We will be slowing down, and going back and inward, to find the power to integrate all within us and in our world that needs integration.
This Full Moon is reflective, reorganizing, rearranging, and takes us to the threshold of a new life adventure. Due to Saturn’s disposition of the Moon and Mars, we need discipline, maturity, and a sense of patience as we begin to move into unfamiliar realms. The next two weeks (and 6 months!) fulfills the Light of Integrity we’ve been enjoying since the New Moon, and with understanding of the altered pace of the process, we should be able to reveal healing powers that we’ll use in the future.
As things begin to be removed from the areas of our lives affected by early Leo and Aquarius, driven by the revolutionary energy of Uranus in the Fixed T-square with the Lunation, expect a LOT of early Scorpio action dislodging a lot of things during the months this Eclipse is in play. There’s going to be tremendous friction due to the T-square coupled with Venus making a semisquare and sesquisquare with the Full Moon, creating the “Rhombus Diamond” octile energy I described in yesterday’s article.
We may all expect a fair amount of “cutting, grinding, and polishing” in life sectors involving early Leo and Aquarius and mid-Virgo and Pisces. As I noted in that article, we don’t have a perfect Rhombus Diamond as the Moon is novile Neptune and the Sun makes no aspect to it. But we do have Sun opposed Mars, Venus semisquare the Sun and sesquisquare Mars, and Mars semisquare Neptune, even if it is wide. So generally speaking if we have anything between 1-6 Leo-Aquarius, or 16-21 Virgo-Pisces, we’ll experience the Rhombus effect, with related friction to anything we may have between 1-6 Taurus-Scorpio or 16-21 Gemini-Sagittarius.
Though many things may feel like a “false start” at present due to 5 planets retrograde (with a SIXTH coming soon!), it’s really a time to make sure of the plan, make sure it can be executed, and take care of ancillary things that will support the renewed effort beginning in late August. We continue to be mentored to see how our strengths can now allow us to be a living representative of a greater reality for others, and become the Avatars we aspire to become.
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. We’ve now begun a period of the year when we’ll have more and more oppositions that involve the inner planets. We’ve already had the Sun, Venus and Mercury opposed to Saturn and then Pluto, and have just experienced Sun opposed to Mars. At this point we won’t have another non-Lunar opposition until September, when the Sun opposes Neptune, followed by Venus opposed Uranus and Mercury opposed Neptune.
Dispositors - What's the Backdrop to the Energies?
The Moon is in Aquarius, making Saturn in Capricorn its worldly ruler, and Uranus in Taurus its Spiritual Ruler. The Sun is in Leo, making it its worldly ruler, and the Moon its Spiritual Ruler. Both Sun and Saturn are in their own signs, making them at home and each of them their own “final dispositor.”
This makes Saturn VERY important in this Eclipse, and a key component of the Wisdom being poured out to the world at this time. Looking at how the “chains of dispositors” are structured at this time, we see Mercury, Venus, and Uranus are ruled by the Sun, while the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto are ruled by Saturn. Thus all the planets are ruled by the Sun in Leo, Saturn in Capricorn, and Neptune in Pisces, which is a standalone final dispositor of itself.
By looking at how “chains of dispositors,” “final dispositors,” and “mutual reception” are in play between the planets, we get a clear picture of the backdrop for how each planet operates. 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 5 Leo and Aquarius. It is said that the first third (decan) of any sign deals with the actional, physical, material levels of life, and as the Lunation is in the first decan of those signs, invokes a sub-influence of Leo and Aquarius.
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 5th degree of Leo is “Rock formations at the Edge of a Precipice.” According to Rudhyar’s notes from the Marc Jones class, this degree is one of "permanence of basic elements in nature underneath temporary changes and emphases,” “endurance,” and “steadiness of self-knowledge.”
In the Astrological Mandala, he says this symbol is about “the structuring power of elemental forces during the long cycle of planetary evolution.” He offers that “the vast periods of geological evolution” show us “the slow yet magnificent work of elemental forces as they mold landscapes and canyons, rocks, and mountains.” He states “this symbol points to our need to acquire a much vaster perspective on what we are able to do.”
He goes on to infer that as we behold how Nature works, we can understand the planetary consciousness, and in humility and impersonally accept our limitations “as creators of forms and mental achievers.” It is said to fall in the Span of Assurance, and is the degree which fulfills the actional-physical level in the Scene of Combustion in the Act of Stabilization.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, states this degree is about the nature of “reality in crisis, offering a challenge … as it pyramids in ramifying involvements until action or decision becomes an immediate necessity.” He continues, “There is no possible sustainment of individuality without an acceptance of difficulty as significant and an accompanying realization that every shift in orientation is a demand for some enlarged self-discovery.”
He goes on to say that “Personality only achieves its stability at the threshold of the risks it is willing to take.” He offers us the keyword of ENDURANCE, and states when operating in a positive way, this degree is our “genius for initial aplomb and ultimate competency in the face of all danger.”
It seems from this symbol that we’re going to have the Light of learning to see basic enduring elements in the outer world as well as our inner world, and find a reasonably steady self-knowledge. While it seems some difficulty is associated with this degree, it is merely for the purpose of our own quickened evolution through the choices we must make, and the “enlarged self-discovery” this leads to.
The Lunar degree symbol for the 5th degree of Aquarius is "A council of ancestors.” In the original Jones class notes Dane Rudhyar published in The Astrology of Personality, he states this is a degree of “The rich ancestral heritage of every individual, which is the potent foundation of character,” and “direct, real inspiration.”
In his "Astrological Mandala," we are told that this degree is one of “the root foundation of past performances which power and sustain whatever decision is made in a crisis by an individual.” He goes on to state “the whole past of (humankind) stands behind any individual effort, especially in times of critical decisions.” He offers that all of us are more dependent on our “ancestor’s achievements – or oppressed by their failures and lack of vision – than (we) usually believe.”
He continues that through this process, we either find “an individual foundation of individual strength, or the inertia” keeping us from transcending our limitations, and that by “relying on precedents” we can “tap the power of our deepest roots.” He says this is in the Span of Defensiveness, and is the culminating degree on the actional-physical level of the Scene of Contribution in the Act of Capitalization.
Dr. Marc Jones says this symbol is one of “the enduring reality” which we create and accept, and of our “immortal dependence on the characteristics which have proved their value” and re-embody themselves continually “in the hearts and minds of one generation after another.” He says this is about “the individual as a challenged to the world at large, since the whole of (our) background mobilizes itself continually” to serve us and “facilitate a further refinement of potentialities incarnate” in our persons.
He states “Self ultimately must fulfill itself,” and offers us the keyword ANTECEDENCE. He says when this degree is working positively, it’s one of “power through absolute self-integrity.”
From these symbols it seems we can see the Light of Nature’s enduring processes and shapes showing us what endures and the time it takes to make it so expressed through the integrity and strength of our ancestral heritage. Take a long at your “long game” and whether it will accomplish what you want it to.
Are you tapping the power of your spiritual ancestry? Are you relying on the truths of your Path and the strengths you’ve acquired along the way? Mobilize and fulfill your potential, even as things fall apart and away from you these next few months!
TransPluto, Divine Mother, and the Tests of Human Redemption
Both Neptune and TransPluto represent very vast fields of feeling and connectedness beyond individual control. Neptune is the oceanic field of collective consciousness in which we all swim, and TransPluto is an almost incomprehensibly vast Divine Mother energy which redeems all things, brings grace to all circumstances, and is beyond even Death itself. When these two planets make an aspect, it shows us how the collective field is relating to Divine Redemption.
Many important collective developments related to these themes began to surface between 2009-2012, when Neptune in Aquarius was in very close opposition to TransPluto, or Divine Mother. That’s a major factor in why things became so polarized during those years, where the “tension of opposites” began to bring forth lessons in our Oneness, our need to share, and the human collective consciousness faced its need to embrace compassion and learn Viveka, or Divine Discrimination, especially when TransPluto was at the first degree of Virgo. Since that important opposition, we’ve all experienced intensified opportunities to join together in the Great Mother and realize our interrelatedness on a feeling level with All-That-Is.
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 4, 2014, when TransPluto left Leo for many centuries to come, and entered into Virgo for the next century.
TransPluto, or Divine Mother, danced between 1 and 2 Virgo between July 2014 and Oct 2017, showing us the larger view of what we are learning about how we conceive of God the Mother. The symbol for 1 Virgo is about how our ideas and ideals shape the outer forms in our lives, as well as how we act. It’s about picturing “the salient features and the overall meaning of any life situation,” as well as the Path of discipleship and other forms of training.
So one of the two great themes Divine Mother has taught all of us these past several years was to see life as a whole, and find meaning in seeing the significant features of the whole picture. We have had to understand the value and function of differences, and seeing how our personal integrity has allowed us to make our ideals real through accepting some sort of responsibility.
TransPluto then made its first entry into 2 Virgo October 2014, and we began humanity’s “liberating ordeal.” That initial visit was between October 2014 and mid-January 2015, and began the themes of the “crucifixion” of our sense of ego-separateness so that compassion and understanding could come forth. We are told it symbolizes “eminence at the cost of struggle,”’ which certainly seems to be very much the case as humanity redeems the promise of its better nature.
It was at 2 Virgo between October 2014 and mid-January 2015, after which 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 again. In mid-May 2016 it went stationary direct at 1 Virgo, and then re-entered 2 Virgo in early August 2016. It remained at 2 Virgo until the end of March 2017 and then retrograded back to 1 Virgo between April and the end of June 2017.
It then again entered 2 Virgo until October 11, 2017, when it entered 3 Virgo, which we are told is a degree of “Two angels bring protection,” symbolizing inner powers and “divine help when human efforts fail.” Its occupancy of 1 Virgo is now complete, and this is the next phase in our collective “liberating ordeal,” promising relief, protection, as well as the manifestation of unexpected latent powers.
This should bring forms of security via “the simple and consistent convergence of all good things toward their own kind.” This is a type of conviction that guarantees “an effective fulfillment of our dreams.” With the planet symbolizing Divine Mother expressing help via guardian angels, it should provide us a welcome relief from some parts of our “liberating ordeal.”
It went stationary retrograde at the end of November 2017 at 3 Virgo, and re-entered 2 Virgo on Jan 19, 2018. It’s been at 2 Virgo since then, and went stationary direct in mid-May 2018 on that degree. It will continue to occupy 2 Virgo until Sept 6, 2018, when it re-enters 3 Virgo again. As you can see, while we dealt with themes related to 1 and 2 Virgo for a long time, we’re now moving into themes related to 2 and 3 Virgo for many months to come.
Planetary Cycles Bringing Forth Divine Mother
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. One major set of cycles were set into motion When Saturn conjuncted TransPluto at 28 Leo in August 2007, and of course Saturn’s SD point at 2 Virgo in May 2008 is currently being transited by TransPluto. Those Saturn-expressed TransPluto Leo lessons will hold sway until their next conjunction at 9 Virgo in Sept 2037.
Another important cycle was set into motion when Jupiter conjuncted TransPluto at 1 Virgo in August 2015 in Virgo, beginning 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!
Related to that Jupiter conjunction, Venus went stationary retrograde exactly conjunct TransPluto in late July 2015, also at 1 Virgo, 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 2015, and found “beauty of form” when Venus transited it again 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 each time the inner planets transited those early degrees in 2016 and 2017. Related to this, please take a new look at the Mars-Jupiter cycle set into motion by their conjunction in mid-Virgo between October 2015.
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.
See you soon with part 4 covering aspects, planetary sequencing, and other important factors in this Full Moon!
Previous Articles in this Series:
Astrology in July 2018 – On the Threshold of a Total Lunar Eclipse at 5 Leo-Aquarius
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Hi Robert, great posts about the lunar eclipse. This lunar eclipse is conjuncting my natal Saturn at 5.41 degrees and my south node at 3.20 degrees Aquarius in the 8th house. Lots going on, but not quite sure where it’s going or how to interpret. Could you provide any insight? Many thanks.
Posted by: Heather | July 26, 2018 at 05:44 PM