Mount Roineabhal Summit Rock Essence

Just eleven days after the essence was made, the day before the summit rock was returned to its rightful place, and in the early stages of its proving phase, the discovery of a new planet was announced, 2003 UB313, code-named 'Xena' after the Warrior Princess TV series (the female sacred warrior archetype). From initial estimates, "Xena" was some 25-50% larger than Pluto and was consequently hailed as our solar system's tenth planet by NASA and much of the media. In numerological terms, there is enormous significance in moving from a 9-planet solar system (9 being the number of completion, the end of a phase) to a 10-planet solar system (1 being the number of unity and new beginnings). However, whether or not 'Xena' was to be officially accorded the designation 'planet' remained under discussion by various committees of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for 13 (!) months before the IAU in conference finally voted to oust both Pluto and "Xena" from the status of planet within our solar system, demoting them to dwarf planets. 3 weeks later, on September 13th 2006, "Xena" was finally given her official name of Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord, and her primary moon, codenamed "Gabrielle", was named for one of Eris's daughters – Dysnomia ('lawlessness', but also meaning an inability to name)!

Eris is the largest of three recently-discovered Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) all announced on the same day by those indefatigable planet-hunters, astronomers Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz who also discovered KBOs Sedna (2003) and Quaoar (2002, without Rabinowitz). A triplicity discovered by a trio? The announcement was unplanned, and was made in a hurried response to a claim of discovery for one of the three KBOs, 2003 EL61, by a Spanish team of astronomers. (There is some dispute about this – once again, all is not quite as it seems.) The name Xena derives from the Greek for 'stranger'. According to John MacAulay, Gaelic historian and folklorist, the old Gaelic term for the Hebrides, "Innis Bhrighde, has long since disappeared from use, having given way to Innse Gall (The Isles of Strangers), a derogatory term from the time of the Norse settlement." (Alastair McIntosh, Soil and Soul) With the planet's official name taking an unprecedented 14 months to be announced, Eris's story echoes some of the characteristics of the summit rock's story. Perhaps it should have been named for Bhrighde ... Interestingly, there are close resonances. Briga is the old Celtic word for strife, akin to brig, strength, from which Bhrighde or Brigid is also derived, and in her guise as patron of warfare, Bhrighde appears to be the closest Celtic equivalent to Eris (although also representing far more than Eris). The day the essence was made was the day Eris turned retrograde at 21° Aries.

Interestingly, all three newly-announced KBOs fit right into the main formations within the essence's chart and are well and tightly aspected. (The new planetary bodies are marked in red on the illustrative graphics below where relevant, and were included for interest because of the synchronicity of their discovery announcement. No interpretation can be made yet since nobody has been able to plot and test the dynamics they might represent.)

General Chart Patterns

The chart has remarkable regularity. It features exceptionally stable patterns in the flow of energy, yet with enormous dynamism juxtaposed to those same stable patterns.

The chart is dominated by two prominent and precise grand trines (equilateral triangles of three 120° aspects) in the fire signs. Once again, the importance of the triangle is emphasised. This double grand trine – one between Venus, Mars and Pluto, the other between Mercury, the Moon and the Moon's North Node – is close enough to be considered as a unit and involves all of the planets believed to feature anorthosite in their geology: the Moon, Venus, Mars and Mercury. The only other planet involved in the grand trines, Pluto, is referenced in the geological term for bodies of magma that solidify underground before they reach the surface of the earth – 'plutons' or 'plutonic suites' – which is applicable to anorthosites and their associated distinctive contemporaneous rock types. Again, the symbolism is perfect.

There are also another 3 triangles in the chart – yods, or 'fingers of fate' – comprising a 60° (sextile) aspect at 150° (quincunx or inconjunct) angles to a third point. Yods "signify crises in which the energies have to be faced directly and specific courses of action taken in order for the energies to work out positively." (Robert Hand p147) These are between Black Moon Lilith sextile Jupiter inconjunct Uranus, between Transneptunians Admetos and Vulcanus, both inconjunct Pluto, and finally between the Transneptunian Apollon and Pluto inconjunct Admetos (though these latter 2 are less 'personal' to the chart; being very slow moving). The Apollon-Vulcanus-Pluto yod shares its apex with one set of points of the double grand trines (the Moon and Pluto) which are also conjunct the chart's Ascendent. This is shadowed by a 4th minor yod between Juno and the asteroid Niobe inconjunct the Moon. There is also a pair of dynamising oppositions to these points (from Hades and Vesta), which overall creates a double kite pattern containing a double yod. This adds a lot of emphasis to that particular subset of the overall pattern, making the Moon-Pluto-Ascendent conjunction effectively the focus of the chart. There are also oppositions to one each of the other 2 points of the grand trines, resulting in an effective grand sextile (a 6-sided figure of 60° aspects).

Prominent two-series aspects feature a multiple T-square between the Sun, Saturn, Vulcanus and the Vertex point at 90° to the Midheaven-Nadir axis which is conjunct an opposition between the Transneptunian Apollon and Mars. There are also another 2 T-squares – one between Neptune opposing Mercury at 90° to Juno, and another between the Moon (conjunct Pluto) opposing Vesta (conjunct Hades) at 90° to 2005 FY9, the third of the trio of newly-discovered Kuiper Belt Objects (including the dwarf planet Eris) announced during the proving of the essence. T-squares are intensely dynamic configurations.

There are also a number of 5-series aspects, including 4/5ths of a grand quintile involving some of the principal planetary groupings.

Interpretation

There is so much going on in this chart that to discuss every planet, point, aspect and pattern in detail would take several thousand words, despite the fact that the focus of the chart is so singular and strong. I've consequently provided a few notes below on the main features only. As pointed out in the description above, the chart has remarkable regularity, with exceptionally stable patterns in the flow of energy juxtaposed to intensely dynamic configurations. Overall this indicates that deeply ingrained and entrenched patterns of being where the energy flows easily have the potential to be overthrown to result in a new way of being and seeing more in line with a fundamentally integrated perception of reality less tied to dualistic conceptualisations and modes of action. This amounts to decapitation – the death of a way of thinking, and hence being, and transfiguration into a unified and integrated reality. There is particular emphasis on the transformation of attitudes towards the feminine and intuitive aspect of our being (see aspects to the Moon below).

I'm only an amateur astrologer, so I asked a couple of experienced professionals if they would help me summarise this chart, not least because the clarity of their perception is something I respect and trust. These are their summaries.

Interpretation from Janis Page

This chart for the Roineabhal essence is remarkable for its integration and complex multilevel dynamic aspect patterns. For all that, there are several essential motifs that emerge: the personal vs transpersonal, issues of security vs freedom, the call and the means for transformation and integration that surpasses those seeming dualities. The Sagittarius Moon and Pluto Rx on the ascendant, both applying toward each other is the pivot point for the chart as the apex of the kites, yods, and double grand trine. As Wendy notes, the ascendant is conjunct the powerful Great Attractor. The Moon and Pluto are both conjunct fixed stars in the constellation of Ophiuchus that often appear in the charts of those on the shamanic path. The Moon rules the 8th house, which Pluto rules in a natural wheel, and where the Sun resides in this chart – this strong Scorpionic 8th house thrust calls for deepening and transformation. Yet with the ascendant, Moon and Pluto in the sign of Sagittarius, natural ruler of the 9th house and with its ruler Jupiter within the 9th house, the call is for deepening and transformation but through freedom, higher mind and spirituality, moving beyond conditioning and limitations.

The Moon has to do with our inner being, our instinctual and habitual self, our emotional being, and also relates to the mother. Pluto is understood to relate to power and the abuse of it, and yet the only thing that really works with this intense and powerful archetypal being is surrender – not surrender in the sense of giving up, but surrender in the sense of letting go of resistance, surrender to Spirit.

We tend to see Pluto as a masculine energy, yet it is my feeling and experience that Pluto is pre-gender split, having a masculine but also a feminine expression. The feminine face of Pluto is the archetype of the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna is black for having gone through the fires of the underworlds of hell and having been transformed by those fires into a being of pure compassion, with a complete absence of need, and nothing to lose. Now there is power! There is also the archetypal being that can bring the patriarchy to its knees.

So here we have the more personal mother of the Moon conjoined with the deeper, chthonic mother of the Plutonian Black Madonna, together in the sign that calls for freedom. Will we heed the call to drop our garment of 'small self', of societal, familial, and cultural conditioning, to move to a core place of purity and authenticity? This call to essential being and authenticity is reinforced by the transneptunian being Hades holding a counterbalancing opposition to Pluto and the Moon. Hades is about core, bone-level authenticity, ancient and deep within and beyond space and time as we know them, and demanding and stripping away any pretense. Hades brings about the disintegration that is the final ending release of all things. These two Lords of the Underworld, Pluto and Hades, will be moving in opposition to each other, and they will bring many changes, especially as they both approach and cross the Universal or Aries axis. Pluto will cross the Aries axis as it moves back and forth into Carpricorn in 2008, and Hades will first cross into Cancer in the autumn of 2010, and move back and forth until the last cross in May of 2012, essentially remaining closely on the Aries axis for that entire duration of time.

A secondary aspect pattern further reinforces this call to break out of old structure, belief and limitations. This is Saturn at zero degrees of Leo in opposition to Chiron at zero degrees of Aquarius. Here we have Saturn, the lord of structure, boundaries and limitations, the Father archetype, the Lord of Karma, the Celestial Schoolmaster, Keeper of the Records, Father Time, and (my personal favorite) the Patron Saint of the Morning After meeting head to head with Chiron, the maverick, the one who holds himself to be the exception, the turning point, and the wounded healer. Chiron is a comet/centaur that flies between Saturn, the outermost of the ancient traditional planets, and Uranus, the first of the transpersonal planets. Here we see that Chiron is a bridgemaker, energetically moving at tremendous speed as if moving from a sound wave to a light wave, to make the leap from the personal to the transpersonal. Chiron is a centaur, half man, half horse. Here we see the bridgemaking transition embodied, with half the spine aligned to the horizontal, material axis, and the other half upright, aligned to the spiritual axis. This oppositional struggle between Saturn and Chiron is creating great havoc, but also great potentiality for breakthrough. On the 90 degree dial, Saturn and Chiron are also aligned with Admetos and Zeus, further underscoring this polarity. Admetos is slow, deep, ponderous. Admetos can make Saturn look perky! Yet there is tremendous power and potentiality to Admetos, though that power may not be readily externally apparent, as it is inwardly directed as compression, another form of transformation. If Admetos were to move quickly, the process of what is slow tempering would instead explode or combust. Then Zeus does relate to exactly those things – explosions, combustion, fire, volatility, seed or sperm, quickening, organization. The Uranian astrology classic "Rules for Planetary Pictures" says this of Zeus-Admetos. "First beginning, the act of originating – genesis. All beginning is difficult. To form, to work on, to shape, to form raw material. Tragedy. Lava, igneous. Interior of the Earth."

This all underscores and reinforces the dynamic we find with Moon-Pluto rising in this chart.

The Roineabhal chart and essence invite us. Are we willing to let go of everything that we think we know, everything that we think we are, and step into the void, into ancient knowing and complete freedom, into our true nature of instant unconditioned presence? The essence beckons us to do so.

The following additional detailed notes concentrate on the Sun, Ascendent and Moon, the principal 'personal' descriptors in the chart. The notes on each concentrate on the major 2-series aspects (conjunction, opposition, square). 3-series aspects (trines) to these points are dealt with separately in the final notes on the double grand trine.

Sun 26° Cancer in the 8th house, conjunct Saturn 0° Leo in 8th (and by extension Vertex 2° Leo in 8th), Vulcanus 23° Cancer in 7th, square Mars 24° Aries in 4th / IC 22° Aries and Apollon 23° Libra in 10th / MC 22° Libra

The Sun represents the will, drive, and purpose of an entity. It is in the sign of Cancer, a water, cardinal, feminine, receptive sign, ruled by the Moon. "Cancer completes the development of an individual as an individual [...] It does so by putting one back in contact with one's source, one's roots, the groundspring of all being." (Robert Hand p217) It represents fundamental needs – symbolises the need for emotional security, "for feeling that one's environment will support one's existence". "If the peace promised by the sign Cancer is to be attained [...] the negative conditioning from the home and past must be released and the contents of the unconscious mind [...] must be cleaned and purified. This is the function of Water; when this is done, the imagination must be employed to visualise the new home in which the consciousness will dwell." (Sakoian & Caulfield p80) Cancer has the task of changing old life for a new rhythm of expression. Main homemaking sign. Placing in the 3rd decanate (20° to 30°) signifies home is a place of spiritual healing and refuge. 26° is a critical degree for cardinal signs. Sabian symbol for that degree = "A violent storm in a canyon filled with expensive homes." Keynote (Rudhyar): A confrontation with a social upheaval demanding the reconsideration of static values. The house is the one in which the individual can be emotional and possessive about the affairs of the house. 8th house relates to joint resources, the nature of death, legacies, occult forces which are the internal causes of physical manifestation, mystical experiences, transformation of personal motivation, corporate money. The house containing the Sun is regarded as a place of power, as is the house containing the cusp of Leo, which in this chart is also the 8th house.

The Sun is conjunct Saturn, meaning that the energies of the two are combined. Saturn concerns the relationship of the individual to the collective; the structures, boundaries and limitations inherent in a particular consensual view of reality. Saturn maintains reality as we know it. Saturn's opposition to Chiron is a prominent aspect in the chart:

Saturn-Chiron opposition at 0° Leo/Aquarius. "It is said that when Saturn and Chiron align we “must encounter our own inner fear, rigidity and contempt for others, as well as our inherited and collective attitudes of repressiveness and ultraconservatism.” (Astrologer, Melanie Reinhart, from Chiron and the Healing Journey.) This Saturn-Chiron opposition calls us to attend to the wounds of the global community and to begin to understand our essential unity as a human family." (Susan Heinz)

Chiron is also conjunct the asteroid Nessus (1°Aqu41') representing the lusty and duplicitous centaur killed with an arrow dipped in the blood of the Hydra by Heracles/Hercules for attempting to rape his wife, and who's own venomous blood brought about the death of the hero and thereby reconciliation between Heracles (= 'Glory of Hera') and the goddess Hera who until that point had done everything in her power to destroy him. Nessus' orbit links that of Saturn and Pluto. Chiron's famous wound was also made by an arrow dipped in the blood of the Hydra, inadvertently fired at him by Heracles during a battle, and from which he was finally given relief by exchanging his life for that of Prometheus, the giver of fire to mankind. This conjunction of the 'good' and 'bad' centaurs linked by their wounding by the poisoned arrows of the slayer of the Hydra seems to call for the reconciliation of man's heroic and bestial natures through the healing offered in the venom of the snake.

The conjunction of the two centaurs and their relationship with snake venom connects directly to the Ascendent, Moon and Pluto in Sagittarius, despite there being no conventional astrological aspect between them. At the present time, due to the Earth's shift on its axis, the Sun's transit of the 30° portion of the tropical zodiac named for the constellation of Sagittarius does not actually correspond to where Sagittarius is in the sky. (See tropical vs sidereal zodiacs in the introduction to astrology for an explanation.) For much of the time that the sun is in the sign of Sagittarius, it is actually transitting the constellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, attributed to Aesculapius, the 'father' of medicine who's myth tells how he learned the secret of bringing people back from the dead by watching a snake restore another snake to life. Yet Sagittarius is the constellation of the centaur, so the Ascendent, Moon and Pluto's placement there makes a reciprocal referral to the centaur conjunction at 0° Aquarius. Once again, it emphasises inner personal transformation and healing.

Conjunct Vertex in 8th house = karmic or fated connection; turning point in life and a destiny over which we have no control; pivotal point or a sudden change of perception.

Sun is also conjunct Vulcanus which signifies amplifying, heating up, strengthening; accessing, activating and moving core lifeforce energy; the potential for great destruction or breakthrough healing; tremendous power and direction, but with neutrality; cuts through illusion or error with clarity and speed without much resistance or interference; can ignite life, or destroy it; release to balance where pressure has become too much, often allaying what could otherwise be much more far-reaching destruction; a well-directed blast of Vulcanus can "wiggle awake the Sun" – awaken someone's individuality and Essence out of the collective societal slumber... it can help one to align with it and connect to Spirit. (Janis Page)

Square Mars = challenge is to use will and power potential in a wise manner, aided by Mars in Aries where Sun is exalted giving loving creative thoughts to "initiate action that will open up new avenues for the expression of the potential of the Sun." (Sakoian & Caulfield p 166) Sabian = "The possibility for man to gain experience at two levels of being." Keynote: The revelation of new potentialities. And square IC: Sabian "A pregnant woman in light summer dress." Keynote (Rudhyar): Fecundity (Fertility/Productive) inner fulfillment.

Square Apollon the sacred geometer, the teacher of life and life processes in Libra, Sabian "A butterfly with a third wing on its left side." Keynote: The ability to develop, for inner strengthening, new modes of response to basic life situations. A call to wake up, move, and join the dance of life in joy and possibility – dazzling! Conjunct MC "Chanticleer's voice heralds sunrise." Keynote (Rudhyar): A creative and joyous response to life processes.

Ascendent at 14 Sagittarius, exactly conjunct the Great Attractor, conjunct Moon at 18° Sagittarius (and by extension Pluto at 22° Sagittarius) in the 1st house, conjunct Cupido at 9° Sagittarius in the 12th house, square Uranus at 10° Pisces in the 2nd house

Ascendent signifies self-awareness and self-image, view of reality, and way the individual deals with the nowness of each moment. 1st house corresponds to all interfaces that have to do with transmission of energies from inner to outer; the mask we present to the world. Sabian symbol: "The ground hog looking for its shadow on Ground-Hog Day, February 2." Keynote: The value of anticipating new turns of events and ascertaining future prospects. Groundhog Day is also the Celtic festival of Imbolc – Bhrighde's feast day. Ascendent in Sagittarius is the higher inspirational mind; concern with the ideas around which human society is built; spiritual/philosophic leadership, forceful and self-confident, enthusiastic and vital, exercising judgement and understanding distilled from experience, letting go of destructive unconscious habits of past. Also contains potential for self-destruction. The sign is mutable (adaptable), positive, masculine = initiative from within. Must have freedom and independence. All fire signs need to learn the lesson of love. Straightforward, never subtle, idealistic, full of righteous anger, non-conformist. Insights border on prophecy. Motives originate in thought rather than feeling. Ruled by Jupiter = the seed of growth and expansion and the promise of that which will make one whole. Co-ruled by Neptune = piercing the illusory nature of material existence.

Conjunct Great Attractor (exact) = enormous magnetism. "The most enigmatic and gravitationally potent point known in astrophysics to date." Hugely polarising effect, creating intense attraction or repulsion. Impact far beyond imagining. Ability to see round things, clears the way. "Attention goes to those things that allegedly attract the essence of one's spirit. This attraction intends to lead to a yet unseen consciousness, platform, doctrine, agenda or purpose for being." "Unique to the GA is the ability to hold opposite points of view without conflict. The commonality can be ascertained and a thread of consciousness can link between the polarized extremities." (Philip Sedgwick) Brings in different levels of consciousness. Radical. It pushes us to the roots of who we are, and lets us see others for who they are. Prominent in the charts of people who feel as if they are in some way alien from the rest of the human race. (Philip Sedgwick/Eric Francis) Conjunction with Pluto: "The message is clear: deal with your stuff. There is no point trying to hide who you are, what you believe (Sagittarius!), what you want and what you need to fulfill your evolutionary growth (Pluto!). There is no need to drag along what you don't need. Freedom may be a struggle, it may be a profound responsibility, scary, questionably real and not guaranteed, but that's no reason not to try. Ultimately, freedom is inevitable, and we only get the choice between whether to seek it in life, or in death." (Eric Francis) The Great Attractor also has the effect of spreading the influence of a conjuncting planet much wider than would normally be the case.

Conjunct Pluto = regeneration of self-image, attitudes towards pleasure, bringing to higher level of expression. Experience in handling of collective resources. Concentrated power. Demands that desires (Mars) are lifted to higher expression. The residue of old conditioning must not be allowed to poison the ongoing process of life. Pluto = stage of life where actions or activities that have been going on unconsciously suddenly become the basis of active consideration. Pluto in Sagittarius signifies transformation in philosophic, religious and political ideals. Pluto rules 8th house of collective resources, corporate money, inheritance and co-rules Aries with Mars (in the chart it's in trine to 8th house and Aries, signifying easy flow of energy between them). Rules underworld and large corporate structures. Pluto is the ruler of Scorpio, so the houses where Scorpio is found are the departments of life where its transformative potential can be employed. Scorpio = 10th/11th houses; 10th = business and political power structures, 11th = goals objectives, group associations, occult, scientific and humanitarian interests. Pluto in fire sign = dramatic revolutionary change, but behind the scenes. Manifesting Plutonian energy = intended by universe to fulfill cosmic purpose. Associated with transformers: healers and therapists.

Conjunct Moon in 1st house = transformation in unconscious assumptions and attitudes, heritage, conditioning, environment.

Conjunct Cupido in 12th house = significator of cooperative bonding and community in the house of psychological health, karmic inheritance and relationship to the collective unconscious.

Square Uranus in Pisces in 2nd house. Revolution and breakthrough in the house of personal security. Instability in relationships.

Moon at 18° Sagittarius in the 1st house, conjunct Ascendent at 14° Sagittarius and Pluto at 22° Sagittarius, opposed Vesta at 19° Gemini in the 7th house, quintile Pallas at 6° Libra in the 9th, quincunx Juno at 18° Taurus in the 5th and asteroid Niobe at 19° Cancer in the 7th.

Moon = archetype of the matrix, source or origin of things, also container, medium in which things become manifest. Yin – defines the circumstances and conditions under which the yang energy can manifest. Motherhood, nurturance, instinct, intuition, home, belonging, homeland, reflex behaviour, the people of a country as opposed to its rulers (Sun). The energy of an alternative path, creative submission. In Sagittarius/1st house brings a desire for freedom and exploration of the spiritual and philosophic underpinnings of the personal experience of existence, less attachment to tradition and roots.

Conjunct Ascendent = emotional/unconscious/feeling-led attitude to personality.

Conjunct Pluto = instinctive and largely unconscious transformation.

Opposed Vesta = tension (and transformation via conjunction with Pluto) in the unconscious foundation of spiritual truths and cultural values. Vesta is the "keeper of the flame", Goddess of the Hearth (cf. Bhrighde). When the Sun is at 19° Gemini, Vesta's position in this chart, it is right in the middle of the goddess's feast days ('Vestalia') between 7th-15th June.

The minor aspects to the Moon (the quintile and quincunxes) are interesting for the fact that they are all formed with representatives of aspects of the femine, the asteroids Pallas, Juno and Niobe. Along with the transformative conjunction to Pluto (in the guise of Black Madonna), the opposition to Vesta, and the trines to Venus (conjunct Mercury) and Eris (conjunct Mars), these aspects seem to redefine the nature of how the inner-instinctual-intuitive-feminine is perceived, individually and collectively.

The quintile aspect (72°) has the colouring of Pluto, Venus and Mars and signifies concretisation, the turning of inspiration into creative expression, so the Moon's quintile aspect with Pallas in the sign of balance and the house of social concepts and civilised values suggests wisdom and intuition, logic, applied strategy, original thought and a warrior-like ability to escape from masculine domination applied creatively and concretely to the idea of the Moon. The change indicated is nothing short of the raising of intuitive wisdom to equal rank with rationality and logic, also indicated by Mercury's presence in the mix. Pallas's conjunction with the Transneptunian Zeus, the agent of quickening, penetration and purification, adds considerable power to this already powerful aspect, as does the Moon's conjunction with transformative Pluto.

The Moon's trine to Venus (and Mercury) and Eris (and Mars) suggests easy flow of energy in relation to love (and intellect/communication) on the one hand and the female warrior archetype (and the will to put that principle into action) on the other.

The yod comprising Juno (representing marriage and long-term commitment in the sign of earthiness/persistence in the house of 'home') and Niobe (representing female hubris, excessive identification in progeny and an emphasis on quantity rather than quality in the sign of 'home' and house of marriage and partnerships) in quincunx to the Moon is asking for the traditional concepts of the feminine, maternal and intuitive in society to be revisited and resolved in favour of a deeper personal authenticity and empowerment, which is dynamised by the opposition to Vesta (tradition and cultural values), and empowered by the trine to 'Xena'/Eris (female warrior archetype), who's discovery was revealed during the course of the essence's proving, and conjunction with Pluto (power and transformation).

This comprehensive redefinition of the yin matrix is a massive and crucial theme in this chart, and speaks directly to the presence of the energy exemplified in the goddess Bhrighde which is so prominent in the mountain's story.

Double grand trine between Moon (18° Sag), N Node (17° Aries) and Mercury (19° Leo) and between Pluto (22° Sag), Mars (24° Aries) and Venus (24° Leo)

Trines (and other 3-series aspects) are traditionally interpreted as beneficial aspects, but what they signify is easy flow of energy. This can have its negative aspects every bit as much as its positive ones. An easy flow of energy is also where energy can get stuck, tracking the same path again and again and resisting needed change. A grand trine is a configuration with a lot of stability and denotes patterns of relationship which, while easy to fall into and go along with, are deeply entrenched and difficult to move out of. 3-series aspects can also signify patterns of chronic illness.

However, these stable configurations can be dynamised and destabilised by oppositions to any of their points, and the double grand trine has oppositions to all its points. Oppositions bring clarity and understanding by the tension of opposites.

To understand this double grand trine, it can be considered both separately and as a unit. Its placement in the fire signs indicates qualities of extraverted energy, enthusiasm, creativity and leadership.

Pluto-Mars-Venus: the transformative potential inherent in the duality of masculine and feminine. Power struggles between will and compassion. The brutality and abusive potential in male-female relationships.

Moon-N Node-Mercury: the application of intellect and understanding to the unconscious matrix and its karmic connections. The communication of the nature of that matrix and its karmic roots instinctively and emotionally. Entrenched ways of perceiving the nature of the unconscious and our origins (both degraded in western society).

The oppositions clarifying and energising these patterns are:

Moon opposition Vesta: the "keeper of the flame", the unconscious foundation of spiritual truths and cultural values, energises the unconscious matrix.

Pluto opposition Hades: the god of transfiguration opposes his realm. Transformation dynamised by ancient tribal consciousness, disintegration, shamanic consciousness, that cuts through all pretense and 'civilisation'. "This is primordial and ancient resonant bone, not niceties of external form" (Janis Page)

Mars opposition Apollon: "The Sacred Geometer, master of divine proportion, measure and harmonics, all of which are manifestations of the unfolding expression of universal laws and principles" (Janis Page) dynamises the principle of will and action.

Mercury opposition Neptune: imagination, mystical inspiration and intuitive understanding energise the intellect.

References and Further Reading

Robert Hand. 1981. Horoscope Symbols. Para Research, Gloucester, MA.
Frances Sakoian & Betty Caulfield. 1989. Astrological Patterns. Harper & Row, New York &c.
Meditations on the Transneptunians by Janis Page
A Crack in the Cosmic Egg by Eileen Nauman

© Wendy Howard, November 2005
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