Planetary Patterns

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PLANETARY PATTERNS

Dane Rudhyar

As already stated, if the ten planets used today in natal astrology were absolutely evenly distributed, that is, if each planet was separated from the preceding and following ones by at least approximately the same space, there would be no accentuated function or area of activity. As there are twelve Houses (or Zodiacal signs) such an even distribution would still leave at least two Houses (or signs) unoccupied by planets, yet this fact could hardly be considered significant in a structural sense; and eventually man may discover two mote planets. Indeed, some astrologers, even today, use such as yet officially undiscovered planets on the basis of the testimony of clairvoyants, or of deductions made in order to account for what they consider the absence of indicators for specific types of events - a most questionable procedure.

Actually, it is very difficult to find a chart in which no planet is found to be less than 30 degrees from another planet. I personally have not seen any during the fifty years I have studied birth-charts. Marc Edmund Jones in his already mentioned book speaks of what he calls the Splash Type of pattern, but he defines it by saying that "any individual with his planets rather well divided around the wheel is said to belong to the Splash type"; and to find what he calls an "outstanding illustration" he had to go to the highly speculative chart of the visionary occultist, Jacob Boehme. In this chart we see a very exact conjunction of Mercury and Saturn only 17 degrees away from the Sagittarian Sun. In the Campanus House system, the three planets would be in the eighth House. This certainly cannot be called an even and unaccentuated distribution. The other examples of this Splash type are no more truly characteristic.

The perfectly even distribution seems to be an ideal, rather than a reality. The charts in which an approximation of this ideal is revealed belong in my judgment to a type which should be defined and evaluated in a different way. The planetary pattern in such charts fails to conform to a harmonic kind of distribution. It presents a picture of relative disorder. As we shall see presently there can be a highly creative type of disorder or disharmony; but in order to place this type properly in the series of pattern types we have to consider it as the last of the types.

The Hemispheric Pattern

As we have seen in the preceding essay in this series, the simplest way in which a whole can be segmented is by dividing it into two equal parts. Dividing by two produces the "opposition" aspect. As we are now dealing with the grouping of ten planets within the celestial sphere, which is projected in two dimensions as the birth-chart, the dividing-by-two operation refers to a planetary pattern in which all the planets are gathered within one half of the birth-chart - that is, within six contiguous Houses. This leaves the opposite six empty. The meaning of such a pattern is particularly strong and clear-cut when the planets are all on one side of either the horizon or the meridian, i.e., below or above the horizon, or East or West of the vertical axis of the chart.

The meaning of such a pattern seems rather obvious, for this type of distribution establishes an opposition between the two halves of the chart - between the empty and the full sections. But what should we understand here by empty and full? Everything depends on how we interpret these terms.

Planets in a chart represent modes of functional activities within an organized whole. Where a planet is, there we should find a focus of activity. If we consider a birth-chart from the point of view of "consciousness," it is clear that where there is activity there is also normally consciousness; i.e. , the person's attention is drawn to the type of circumstances and the conditions which call for such an activity. When a planet is located in a House the person's attention is drawn to the matters - the type of experiences symbolized by this particular House. When several planets are found in one House the "native" (the person represented by this chart) will face the various types of confrontations related to this House in a number of ways; that is, several of his functions will be involved - at one time, or in succession - in such experiences. The consciousness which he will draw from such experiences is likely to be complex.

Here again, however, we are confronted with one of the most basic concepts in astrology. Every astrological indication can have a negative as well as a positive meaning; and the potentiality of both is, indeed, always present, even if one seems totally to blot out the other. If several planets are in one House, the experiences referring to this House may be rich in their diversity; but they may also be confusing, or even bewildering. An individual's attention tends to be drawn to an area of his life which presents to him definite problems. He may solve successfully these problems, and as a result his experience will produce a rich, spiritual, conscious harvest of values. But the person may be unable to solve the problems and they may draw out much energy and over-focus his attention at the expense of other matters that also should be attended to.

Thus when all the planets are located within one half of the wheel of Houses he should expect that the native's attention and consciousness are drawn to all that this section of the chart represents. Yet the situation may not be as simple as that, for the "empty" section certainly does not need to mean a "blank space" in the life. To understand accurately the situation we have to look at it from a point of vantage which embraces both the occupied and the unoccupied halves and evaluate their relationship. This relationship can be interpreted as one between what is being actualized, and what remains still in a condition of potentiality, or even more between what needs an effort of conscious attention and what operates automatically without there being the need for willful or deliberate effort.

A divided life may be one of unresolved conflict leading to a more or less definite type of "schizophrenia," that is, to a break between conscious objective activity in the outer world, and subjective dream-consciousness in an inner world. But, if the consciousness of the person is able to reach a higher level of realization from which both the full and the empty, or the objective and the subjective, can be experienced as complementary parts of the whole, then a very positive situation may unfold. The full-empty and objective- subjective duality would be understood to mean a constant state of dynamic interaction, just as, in a doctrine of Lao Tze, Yang and Yin are interacting within the circle of the Chinese Tai Chi. This parallels what I wrote previously concerning the opposition aspect; for this aspect can mean either fulfillment and illumination, or a "divorce" or breakup of the relationship linking the two planets in opposition.

When one tries to apply such concepts to the chart of a particular person, especially of a person of whom one knows only the public image which often does not reveal the real personality one finds oneself always in a difficult and embarrassing position. How can one know how successful this person is, or has been, in reaching this integrating overview of the rhythmic interplay of objective and subjective, of actuality and potentiality? Especially in the case of a public figure like England's Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, such a person's life is deeply involved in the circumstances affecting his nation - just as his personality affects at least some of the main phases of the nation's collective welfare. We can only surmise how the specific character of such a person somehow fits in with the destiny of the nation, the latter having called for just this type of individual as a leader.

Harold Wilson's chart provides a perfect example of what I call the Hemispheric Pattern: All planets are located East of an opposition between Mars retrograde in Leo and in the third House and Uranus in Aquarius. Every House and zodiacal sign East of this opposition contains at least one planet; and the Ascendant in Cancer is surrounded by Pluto and Saturn. It is a clear-cut situation.

The Ascendant refers to the pole of individual selfhood, while the Descendant represents the capacity for relationship and the characteristic way in which a person enters into relationship. As the planets in Wilson's chart are mostly on the hemisphere controlled by the Ascendant, and moreover as the ruler of the Capricorn Descendant (Saturn) is just rising a very strong emphasis is placed in this chart on the individual factor on self-reliance perhaps to the point of obstinacy.

The Moon is very important in the twelfth House in that it mediates (by sextile and trine) the one opposition which defines the chart's pattern. Wilson seems to have a "karmic" task to perform, and he is doing what he can with great self-determination. This "doing" refers to the conscious actualization of his purpose of destiny; but it is polarized by the area of emptiness in the western half of the chart which refers to the potentiality of his life-situation. The "open" potentiality in this chart refers essentially to whatever belongs to the realm of relationship - relationship with partners, allies, and as well, enemies. The ex-Prime Minister's problem is how to integrate the ideas and personalities of other people with his own rather relentless and ambitious drive and how to keep open to what human relationships may bring while carrying on the purpose he has set for himself.

We find another typical example of Hemispheric pattern in the chart of Abdul Baha, the son of the great Persian Prophet, Baha'u'llah (18171892) whom the Baha'is all over the world regard as a "Divine Manifestation" and as the Law-Giver for the New Age. Abdul Baha guided the growth of the Movement after his father's death. He was born May 23, 1844 in Teheran, Persia around 0.43 a.m. with early Pisces rising. An opposition of Saturn retrograde at 7°17' Aquarius to the Moon at Leo 2°50' divides the chart, linking the twelfth and sixth Houses. All planets are below the horizon except Saturn and Neptune (Aquarius 23°42') in the twelfth House. The Moon is at the entrance of the sixth House (he was called "The Servant"). The Sun at 1°48' Gemini is in trine-sextile to the opposition. Other positions are: Jupiter rising at Pisces 28° 18', Uranus at 5°18', Aries, Pluto at 23°15'. Aries, Mercury retrograde at 10°39', Gemini, Mars at 24°27' Gemini, Venus at 16°54' Cancer.

In such a type of Hemispheric chart, the midpoint between the two ends of the opposition is important. It may be considered the "center of gravity" of the hemisphere of conscious activity. In this case it is the fourth degree of Taurus, which interestingly enough is the degree of the Part of Fortune, the point of greatest ease of happiness in the personal life. I should add here that while the Part of Fortune (or any Part) and the Nodes of the Moon and the planets do not count in determining the type of planetary pattern, their positions in relation to this entire pattern can be very significant. In the case of Abdul Baha the Moon's Nodes are practically identical with the chart's meridian, with the North Node in the Tenth House, thus in the unoccupied half of the chart.

The opposition of Saturn to Moon as the dividing line in this chart is very symbolical, and the position of Saturn and Neptune in the twelfth House is significant for a man who was more or less in prison for 40 years of his life (in Acca, Palestine). The polarization full-empty refers to the inner life vs. the outer, public life. The inner life of personal activity is defined by Abdul-Baha's relationship to the past, to his parental or spiritual inheritance or karma. In a sense he may be said to have absorbed the karma of his culture and religion; and he could do this because he could see this past in the light of the future Age of mankind. In him future and past interacted, as the unconscious and conscious realms interact in the individual who is truly open.

Another typical instance of a Hemispheric pattern is the chart of Claude Debussy (August 22, 1862) who gave a new direction to music around 1900. A broad conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in late Virgo opposes Neptune (often referring to music) at 31/2 degrees of Aries. As I do not know the birth-moment, it is impossible to determine which half of the chart is occupied by planets (Mars at Aries 19°, Pluto at Taurus 12°, Uranus at Gemini 21°, Moon in Cancer, Venus and Sun in Leo). Another case is Alice Bailey's chart June 16, 1880 - Manchester, England at 7:32 L. T.) which reveals, like that of Wilson, an occupied eastern half of the chart, most likely with a Leo Ascendant.

I believe that the term "hemispheric" is appropriate and particularly significant today when the world of Man is divided into two basic camps: the Have's and the Have-not's. The division is nearly hemispheric even if it does not follow the equator. It may well be that there is also in fact always a fundamental polarization between the northern and the southern hemispheres. The focus of the process of actualization of human potential may be in one of the hemispheres, while the other represents more the area in which the future potential is to be found in a latent state. "Global integration" can only be achieved significantly when potentiality and actuality are harmonized in a dynamic yang-yin type of interplay.

The Funnel Pattern

This is one of the most striking and interesting planetary patterns. All planets are gathered within one half of the celestial sphere (and often within an even less extensive area) - all except one. This one stands therefore isolated and constitutes what is called a "singleton." In the most characteristic cases this isolated planet is found separated from all the others by either the horizon or the meridian .

I am giving here two examples in which the same general disposition exists - that is, where one planet isolated in the fourth House broadly opposes all the other planets well above the horizon. These examples show most clearly that the basic factor in such a type of chart is the nature of the isolated planet. In the chart of the unfortunate last Russian czar, Nicholas II, this planet is Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius. In the chart of Sigmund Freud, it is Mars retrograde in Libra.

One can, of course, interpret such a gestalt in several ways, but it seems to me most significant to think of the pattern as a funnel, or in some cases a wedge. Obviously the symbol is most adequate when the isolated planet is in at least broad opposition to the "center of gravity" (or midpoint) of the group of all other planets. It occurs also in the chart of Clara Barton (Dec. 25, 1821), founder of the American Red Cross, where Mars is also the isolated planet, but in the sixth House and in the zodiacal sign, Virgo, in very broad opposition to a twelfth House Venus (the group of planets extend between a ninth House Mercury at Sagittarius 18° and a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter at Aries 20°).

What I wish to convey by the symbolic image of a "funnel" is the idea that the power generated within the grouping of the nine planets is brought to a focus in a thin stream which is released through the narrow opening of the funnel. In the above-mentioned charts in which Mars is the isolated planet, this Mars is to be seen as a particularly intense focus of activity because the power of all the other planets is concentrated and released at the point where this Mars stands in the chart.

In Freud's chart the release is through the fourth House,* which signifies not only the home, but the very roots of the personality and the basic feeling of security and identity; and Freud's psychoanalysis poured a stream of sharply focused revolutionary and cathartic energy into these roots and upset deeply the traditional sense of personal integrity of modern men and women. In Clara Barton's chart everything is focused into the field of service and health (Sixth House). The fact that in Freud's chart Mars is retrograde simply stresses the revolutionary meaning of the planet; that is to say, the power is turned inward.

*A chart with Scorpio rising is also being circulated in Europe; but I do not know on what birth record it is based. A Scorpio Ascendant is, of course, not at all impossible, considering Freud's work and his features.

When there is such an emphasis on a Martian release of energy, one can think of the planetary pattern as a "wedge"; the power distributed upon the wide surface of the wedge is focused at the sharp end.

In the case of the murdered czar, Saturn retrograde is the isolated planet in the fourth House. In him the karma of the old tradition of the Russian imperial power became focused. His life assumed the character of an expiatory ritual. It was a symbolic life. The ruling planet (Virgo rising) is the tenth House Mercury and Saturn is in opposition to it. The Sun is conjunct the Pleiades, traditionally an ill-omen. His Moon is conjunct Jupiter, but is squared by a conjunction of Venus and Uranus.

In the Czar's chart the planetary group is concentrated within some 96 degrees. In Freud's chart a similar condensation within a little more than a square exists. In none of the charts mentioned does the grouping of planets cover 180 degrees; but in some instances it may extend a little over such an area. It is essential, however, that there should be a nearly even distribution of the planets within the group, otherwise one should deal with another type of pattern. Preferably there should be no empty House within the group, and in no case more than one. Instead of one planet isolated there may be two planets in very exact conjunction. This is the case in President Eisenhower's birth-chart; a close conjunction of Neptune and Pluto around Gemini 7° opposes Venus, strong ruler of the chart and in square to Saturn and in sextile to a tenth House Jupiter. The conjunction here acts as a single planet.

The Seesaw Pattern

I am using the name given to this type of chart by Marc Jones because it is graphic. However, one should not think of the symbolic image of a seesaw as implying necessarily a constant shifting of activity from one end to the other, though it may be what takes place within the consciousness of a person born with such a type of planetary pattern. Much depends, of course, on how the ten planets are divided. Two planets may be found more or less separated in one half of the chart and eight in the other; but it may be that the planetary "load" is evenly divided, with five planets in each hemisphere.

The pattern is shown most clearly when the two groups of planets are almost evenly distributed on either side of an opposition aspect, or of a line linking the centers of gravity of the two groups. These two groups may be close aggregations of planets, or the planets in them may be more widely spaced; but each group should be separated from the other by no less than two empty houses, and there should be no more than one empty House within each group.

The chart of the Declaration of Independence, when Neptune and Pluto are included in it, is quite a good example of the Seesaw pattern. In the chart with Sagittarius 13 rising (which is by far the most significant one if one considers the character of the American people and the typical American way of life) Pluto and the Moon oppose the grouping of planets located within the trine of Uranus to a tenth House Saturn (our paternalistic Executive and our worship of the Constitution!). The pattern is not absolutely symmetrical, but the focalizing aspect is the opposition of Pluto in the Second House to Mercury retrograde in the eighth. Pluto here, of course, refers to the power of Big Business in opposition to the investments of the little man and small shop-owner (The eighth House is the House of business, for all business depends on contractual agreements, and various kinds of relationship - relationships represented in our heavily tenanted seventh House of marriage, divorce, installment buying, and wars).

When only two planets are found at one end of the Seesaw configuration, they tend to operate as a counterweight that may act as a brake, or as a deterrent, if one considers the progress of the action signified by the larger group. It can also be a means to achieve a deeper, more objective realization of what is being aimed at. If the two planets are relatively close but not in exact conjunction one can even consider them as the twofold opening of a funnel. In the U.S. chart with Sagittarius rising the power of the planets in the larger group can be said to be released through two openings, represented by Pluto (Big Business, and also gangs and organized crime syndicates) and by the Moon (the common people).

The birth-chart of the revolutionary thinker, Frederich Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 around 10:08 a.m., Rocken Thuringea, Germany) whose influence has been so wide-spread fails in some ways to be an exact Seesaw type; yet in terms of House distribution it belongs to the type, as each of the two groups is located in one hemisphere, and there is a strongly focalizing opposition of Mars near the Mid-Heaven to Jupiter. There are also nearby oppositions of Mercury to Uranus and the Sun to Pluto. The characteristic features of the opposition aspect are thus strongly marked, and Nietzsche's life ended in an insane asylum. It is interesting to note that in his case the Sun and the small planets (Venus, Mars and Mercury - all "rising before the Sun") were near the zenith, while the Moon (intercepted in the first House, in Sagittarius and close to its South Node) and all the larger planets were below the horizon, placing too great a pressure upon his inner life. The chart contained several quintiles and biquintiles, and an ominous septile between the Moon (Sagittarius 8°56') and Saturn (Aquarius 0°47').

Sometimes we find a Seesaw type in which the planets are disposed on either side of one strong opposition - let us say in Pisces and Scorpio while the opposition links two planets in Aries and Libra. This suggests a teeter totter in motion, an often repeated attempt at readjusting an uncertain equilibrium. The characteristic genius of the Seesaw type is as Marc Jones stated "a tendency to act at all times under a consideration of opposing views or through a sensitiveness to contrasting and antagonistic possibilities. The Seesaw temperament has its existence in a world of conflicts, of definite polarities." President Nixon's birth-chart belongs to this type: its three retrograde planets (Saturn, Pluto and Neptune) in the ninth, tenth and eleventh Houses "balance" all other planets in the fourth, fifth and sixth Houses, with Pluto opposing a conjunction of Mars, Mercury and Jupiter.

Triangular Patterns

So far we have dealt with planetary patterns which were an expression of a dualism of factors: i.e., the contrast between a full and an empty hemisphere - between one planet opposing an aggregation of all other planets - between two opposed groups of planets. Now we are to deal with patterns implying a triangular or trinitarian principle of formation.

The most obvious and ideal pattern is, of course, one in which we find the planets divided into three groups, each group occupying a House, which would be leaving nine Houses empty. Such a disposition is undoubtedly quite rare, but many charts can be found in which, for instance, six planets are bunched within two or three consecutive Houses, two planets are in a broad trine to the center of gravity of this group, and two more planets form trines to the larger group and the pairs of planets. Such a type of pattern is found in the birth-chart of the great Indian philosopher, poet, yogi and seer, Sri Aurobindo.

Then there are two other types of planetary patterns which, in a less obvious manner, belong to this category of patterns based on a trisection of the celestial sphere. In one of these types which has occurred fairly often in the recent period all planets are bunched up within a more or less exact trine, leaving the rest of the chart empty. This is Marc Jones' "Bundle" pattern. The complementary pattern is one in which a third of the chart is empty, and the other two-thirds are occupied by planets. Marc Jones called it not too convincingly the "Locomotive" pattern.

The Tripod Pattern

The foundation of such a pattern being the trine aspect, this type of distribution of the planets around the chart normally emphasizes all the characteristic features of that aspect. Sri Aurobindo's chart is most characteristic. It contains two grand trines: one, in fire signs, links the rising broad conjunction of Jupiter and the Sun in Leo, to Neptune in Aries (ninth House) and to the Moon in Sagittarius (fifth House) - the other, in earth signs, links Mercury in Virgo (second House) to Saturn to Capricorn (sixth House) and to Pluto in Taurus (tenth House). Six planets are clustered around the Ascendant; the two remotest planets, Pluto and Neptune, are on either side of the MidHeaven; and the Moon and Saturn retrograde - symbols of the past, of karma and of the relationship to the parents - are located on either side of the cusp of the sixth House.

The three interrelated groups deal thus, one might say, with the power of the present personality - a typical Leo-type of guru and leader the mystic future to which the public life is dedicated, and with the past, conditioned as it was by the special temperament of his parents and of his country. (He was one of the first radical champions of total independence from England).

As I wrote in the preceding essay, the number 3, symbolizes all modes of expression and of activity which have polarity as a basis, but in which polarity is transcended through understanding and often through some kind of vision. "Life" is bipolar; but the formed consciousness (mind) adds a new dimension to the dualities of life, the dimension of meaning and value - also the symbolic dimension. The trine is an aspect of growth in consciousness; through it the lifeexperiences are related to a larger frame of reference; they are seen in their functional relationship to a greater whole - whether it be a social, allhuman or cosmic whole."

All of this applies perfectly to Sri Aurobindo whose intense life - outer at first, then inner - has been totally dedicated to the bringing down into concrete manifestation of a new and "super-mental" level of consciousness and activity oriented toward a future condition of mankind.

Another great Indian personage, Sri Ramakrishna (born February 18, 1836 at 5:25 a.m.) who was the inspiration for the Vedanta Movement operating now in several American cities and retreats was also born at dawn (Aquarius 8° rising) with eight planets congregated between Neptune at Aquarius - and Pluto at Aries 15°; and with Saturn retrograde in the ninth House, and Jupiter retrograde in the fifth House, both planets being in "grand trine" in water signs. Ramakrishna was a pure mystic in the great Hindu tradition.

Pope Pius XII (March 2, 1876) had eight planets below the horizon in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth Houses, except a just risen Jupiter in Sagittarius, and a ninth House Uranus; but the "grand trine" in fire signs is too broad to be really effective. The great pianist and composer, Franz Liszt (his chart is used as an illustration in my book The Lunation Cycle) had eight planets grouped on either side of the nadir point of the chart, with Jupiter in the eleventh and Pluto in the seventh Houses (an imperfect "grand trine" in water signs).

An unusual chart is that of the French poet, Charles Baudelaire (April 9, 1821, 4 p.m.) in which a Hemispheric and a Tripod pattern are combined. The Moon in late Cancer (eleventh House) opposes a close conjunction of Neptune and Uranus (both stationary retrograde) in early Capricorn and the fourth House; and the seven other planets are in the seventh and eighth Houses, massed within twenty-two degrees. The Moon is in trine to Mercury, but the Uranus-Neptune conjunction is in square to Mars and Venus. The pattern is disharmonic, and hardly fits in the Tripod category, yet it presents three sharply defined centers of emphasis and of stress. Baudelaire's genius was indeed disharmonic and his main book is the well-known "Flowers of Evil."

The Cluster Pattern

In this pattern all planets are found in not more than four contiguous Houses - and generally within 120 degrees of the zodiac. A very typical chart is that of Benito Mussolini (born July 29, 1883, 1:10 p.m.) which I discussed in my book The Astrology of Personality (1936). All planets are located within the exact trine of Neptune in the seventh House to Uranus in the tenth. Two Houses contain four planets; the two others, one planet each. The emphasized section of the chart is the south-west quarter. The chart of the Czech statesman, Eduard Benes, is less condensed in terms of House distribution, yet all planets are gathered within a nearly exact trine of Neptune to Uranus, from the twelfth to the fifth House. Five planets are in the "karmic" twelfth House.

Obviously such a pattern denotes a concentration of the native's attention upon a definite area of operation. Whether it is correct to assume that the individual "takes a little central point in self and makes a vital impact upon the entire world around him" (Marc Jones) is rather questionable.

A person like Mussolini was the focal point for socio-political forces of great moment. He gained power by playing on the fears and insecurity of the middle class, and by a one-pointed determination to have his way, regardless of consequences, that is, without much concern for the whole situation of mankind. What is essential in this Cluster pattern is the fact that there are no opposition aspects, even a remote one. There is therefore very little objective awareness of the great issues at stake. The native may be driven by a highly focalized purpose, or a great Image (with Mussolini, that of the Roman Emperor), or some Power concerning whose nature he has little objective knowledge. This can be all to the good; but at best it is a limiting situation.

This Cluster pattern often appears in the ephemeris at certain times of history; but it does not seem too frequent among lists of "notable horoscopes," perhaps "success" often requires more than a somewhat blind concentration of activities; both a somewhat larger perspective and a certain type of inner tension may be needed. In such a Cluster pattern much depends on its center of gravity. In Mussolini's case Venus is at the midpoint of the exact trine between Neptune and Uranus; and Venus rules the seventh House with its Taurus cusp. What is interesting in this case is that the planetary pattern is defined by two universalisitc planets and focused by Venus in the ninth House. This means that Mussolini's concentration was defined by large social issues with an ideological character.

Fascism, in the modern sense, is an answer to the fear of Communism - or in general of any kind of chaos out of which a new order might emerge. Fascism is based on the worship of a simple, traditional "safe and sound" image of order - whether the order is political, religious, social or cultural. Venus is the Image-maker, the factor of value. In Mussolini's chart Venus is conjunct Jupiter in the House of religion, philosophy and law - and in the Zodiacal sign, Cancer, which limits and possesses in order to insure early growth of selfhood and security. The only square aspect is a broad one between Mars and the tenth House Uranus; and Neptune forms a quintile with Mercury and the Sun. Of course, the chart symbolizes primarily Mussolini as an individual rather than Fascism. Considering the environment he rose from, his life constitutes a tremendous "success" - even if one thinks of it in a purely negative sense. Nevertheless, as long as the ideal of Fascism is held as a vital social-political concept the image of Mussolini and of the type of man he embodied will remain in the collective Mind of mankind; and this is "success" however tragic the end - results.

The Open Angle Pattern

This pattern is the polar opposite of the Cluster. It is also based on a threefold division of the circle, but now the planets are scattered through two-thirds of the chart, and the remaining third is empty. While in the Cluster pattern there was focalization in terms of activity and a concentration of the attention upon a limited area of experience, in the Open Angle Pattern the focalizing factor is a particular type of openness to "transcendent" elements in the life situation; and in this connection the term, transcendent, is not to be considered as relating solely or even mainly to spiritual or mystical realizations or occult forces, but to whatever transcends the normal or traditional factors in any situation.

In other words, such a type of planetary pattern suggests a person who is busily engaged in well distributed activities, but who keeps within himself an area of openness to wider and, in a sense at least, more-than-personal or transpersonal influences or spiritual realizations. Through this open area of consciousness inspiration may flow, unless it is blocked by personal tensions or fears which the relationship between the planets should indicate. In such a pattern the planets should be as evenly distributed as possible in the occupied two-thirds of the chart. There should be no more than one unoccupied House. Two successive planets should not be at more than 60 degrees apart.

A good illustration of this type of pattern is the chart of the occultist, philosopher, creative artist, educator Rudolf Steiner (February 27, 1861 11 :16 p.m. - Kraljevic, Austria). In this chart the "Open Angle" is defined by the trine of the Moon in Libra to Venus in Aquarius, and the planets are well distributed in the occupied sector, only one House being vacant. There are quintiles, and the Moon is in bi-quintile aspect to the Sun.

The "grand trine" in Air signs is very broad, yet noticeable, and there are two oppositions, one of which becomes a T-cross in mutable signs. The Mid Heaven is surrounded by the only two retrograde planets, Jupiter and Saturn - suggesting an inward directed search for fellowship and for principles of organization. The mid-point of the empty Moon-Venus trine is about Sagittarius 19° which broadly completes the T-cross (Sun opposition Saturn, squared by Uranus). This point is thus, symbolically, the source of the transcendent inspiration which flooded the remarkable creative genius of this "universal" man. Being in the second House one could deduce from this that Steiner's genius had been "inherited" from the past - for the second House refers to whatever capacities or gifts (i.e., innate possessions) an individual person had within his total being at birth. Legacies or grants received during the lifetime should be referred to the eighth House which symbolizes the fruits of relationships. (Thus you could be disinherited by a parent to whom you have related in a negative manner.)

The chart of Henry Ford July 30, 1863: 2:22 p.m. Dearborn, Mich.) is interesting in relation to that of Steiner because the empty trine is also between Libra and Aquarius, and the Moon is involved in it; and the chart's Ascendant is also Scorpio. Henry Ford was two years younger than Steiner, and the lives of the two were obviously most different - and so were the Sun-signs and the Moon-signs. Ford had a powerful T-cross in Leo, Aquarius and Taurus; and he had a Full Moon type of personality. In a sense, he had his "vision" of what could be done industrially to alter the way of life of mankind, and he was successful in actualizing through work this vision.

Ford's chart includes also two oppositions; but these are linked by sextiles and trines; thus we have here a fine example of the organizational possibilities related to a rectangular configuration - one which, at a time, I have called (not too validly) the "mystic rectangle." There is really nothing "mystical" about it; it indicates rather a capacity for integrating two sets of conflicts (the two oppositions), so that out of this integration power of a sort is made available. The opposition of Saturn to Neptune reveals a potential conflict between individual-traditional and collectiveutopian elements in the personality. Ford was a strong individualist, who affected radically the patterns of life of his collectivity, and indeed of the whole world.

The Moon in the chart is in practically exact trine to the mid-point of the Jupiter-Saturn pair (Libra 11°). In such a case, the midpoint may be more important than either of the planets. Thus the mid-point of the empty sector of the chart could be said to be Sagittarius 11° - or Sagittarius 16° if one counts from Jupiter. In any case it is located in the first House and it broadly opposes Uranus. Henry Ford was a strong authoritarian and a self-made man in the American manner.

The Fourfold Pattern

In this type of planetary pattern the planets are divided into four groups, or into one group and three isolated planets (as in the case of governor Nelson Rockefeller), or into two groups and two isolated planets (as in the case of Lyndon B. Johnson). There are cases in which all planets are disposed quite precisely in a four-armed cross formation, but this is rather rare and the concept of a fourfold patterning of planets should be broader. Nevertheless, without at least a clearly defined T- cross one can hardly speak of a fourfold pattern.

The case of Nelson Rockefeller is quite graphic in that the fourfold distribution of the planets follow closely the pattern of horizon and meridian. The T-square is in cardinal signs; Saturn at 10° Aries (sixth House) squares the opposition of Uranus in Capricorn (third House) to a bunching of planets in Cancer and in the ninth House - Mercury, Venus, Neptune and Sun. The fourth angle (Libra Ascendant) has the Moon soon to rise in early Scorpio in square to the mid-point of the MarsJupiter pair in the tenth House. The zenith grouping occurs within a septile of Pluto to to Jupiter - a very interesting and challenging situation.

The chart has many squares but there are also two strong trines and one sextile. It denotes ambition and the will to face life "squarely" and to make one's presence felt. There is personal activity and Leo pride, yet the grouping of planets in Cancer, the rising Moon, and the predominance of planets in cadent Houses - particularly the ninth House - show a complex and sensitive mind. The situation is rather different in President L. B. Johnson's chart with the massing of planets in the first House and the rest of the planets in succedent Houses. The T-cross is in cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer and Capricorn) but the only two retrograde planets are in the Western hemisphere (which often correlates with definite psychological complexes) and the first House planets are not too closely related to the T-cross which is not even very exact. In other words, the individual ego is shown to be intensely self-assertive, and the personality not too well integrated and beset by confusion. One could well speak of aggressiveness and self-inflation. But of course there is strong personal power and the Leo will to use it.

The birth-chart of Carl Jung July 26, 1875, about 7:20 a.m. near Zurich) is another example of fourfold planetary distribution. It has a strong T-cross in fixed signs, and four groups of planets are found. The larger one is centered in the Western half of the chart and bounded by the square of Mercury-Venus to Jupiter; a triple conjunction of Neptune, Moon and Pluto is in the third House; and Saturn and Mars are isolated respectively in the first and eleventh Houses.

The Star Pattern

If it is rather rare to find a chart in which four groups of patterns occur on the basis of a perfect cross, it is presumably even more unusual to find a chart in which the ten planets would form a five-pointed star - or a six-pointed star. However, there are charts in which planets indicate four of the points of a five-pointed star, or five or six sextiles in a series are shown. What is more significant, the planets may be distributed in six Houses in alternation - or in some instances one of the four quarters of the chart may include four to six planets and the others may be evenly divided between the remaining Houses, but not in two successive Houses.

What I mean can be illustrated by the birthchart of Dr. Roberto Assagioli, founder of Psychosynthesis (February 27, 1888, noon, Venice, Italy). The tenth, twelfth, second, fourth, sixth and eighth Houses are occupied; and there are three separate opposition lines (Sun-Moon, Jupiter-Pluto, Saturn-Venus). These planets are linked by sextiles and trines; and a strong and highly integrative rectangular pattern is formed. A conjunction of Uranus and Mars in the fifth House disturbs the six-fold pattern, adding another point to the star. What we actually have is a group of four planets within a sextile in the Northwest quarter of the chart, and five other fairly evenly spread out centers, at least in terms of House positions.

Such a type of chart, even if it does not show a perfect five-fold or six-fold distribution of the planets, reveals an especially well-integrated or creative nature with broad interests - or at least the potentiality of it - provided the distribution is well balanced, or I would rather say "harmonic. " Any pattern of distribution produced by the regular process of dividing-by-two, dividing-by-three, dividing-by-four, etc., fits into this harmonic series of geometrical patterns. At the limit we have, of course, what I spoke of at the beginning of this study of planetary patterns, the perfectly even case of a tenfold pattern in which each of the ten planets is isolated and separated from the rest by about 36 degrees of empty space. But this is to be considered as a theoretical limit-situation; and I repeat that the situation depends on how many planets the astrologer uses.

There are however many charts in which the planetary pattern does not have a "harmonic", character. One can speak in these cases of a non-harmonic distribution of the planets. By non-harmonic I simply mean a pattern which does not fit in any harmonic classification, though it may approximate it in some respect. A situation also frequently occurs in which the chart could belong to two different types. In some instances both these types may be considered relatively valid; in others it may be better to think of a non-harmonic type. In all cases the situation reveals a basic ambiguity.

You may have, for instance, a clearly marked Hemispheric pattern, yet the planets within the occupied half of the chart may be sharply divided into two groups, separated perhaps by an empty square. If one of the groups is above the horizon, and the other below, the pattern could well be thought of as an unfocused Seesaw pattern. In this case the characteristics of both classes could be somehow combined. And there are several other possibilities of indefiniteness, each of which has to be approached as a special case.

Non-Harmonic Patterns

Any form manifesting a harmonic or rhythmic type of organization falls easily into a particular group or class; but when one deals with nonharmonic patterns and with unclear rhythms, the situation has to be considered as if it were unique. This evidently means, astrologically speaking, that one is confronted with a relatively unusual individual case - a case that does not fit into even the broadest categories of organization. What such a type of pattern suggests is therefore a person with a temperament, or a karma, stressing a rather unique way of responding to life and to society - a very special "destiny." One could speak here of non-conformism, but this might be misleading. The individuality of the person may be strong and accentuated yet able to operate effectively with a relatively normal type of life; but one may deal also with an eccentric character. And there is often no way of telling whether the individual may be a genius or a criminal. The House and sign positions of the planets and the aspects they make should give some clues, yet every astrological factor can be either positive or negative; thus one can never be certain of what the existential outcome of a particular pattern will be.

I shall present here two charts which illustrate two extreme cases, not mentioning at first the names of the persons to whom they belonged: the first reveals a very complex planetary organization which hardly fits in any harmonic classification. It has a particularly intriguing rectangular figure linking two oppositions: Saturn (and Sun) to Pluto, and Mars to Jupiter. The oppositions are very close, and there are quintiles between Saturn and Jupiter, and Mars and Pluto. There is also another quintile between Moon and Saturn.

The above-mentioned rectangle has therefore quintiles (of about 71 degrees) for its smaller sides; and it has bi-septiles (110 degrees) for its longer sides. Then there is a trine of Sun to Uranus and one of Mercury to Mars, plus sextiles made by the Moon. This is quite a fascinating chart, with Venus just rising and Jupiter in the first House; and a ninth House Part of Fortune in Libra opposed by Neptune which is squared by Uranus.

But now consider the other chart with its very strange pattern - even more unbalanced with Campanus cusps. Six planets are in Aries intercepted in the twelfth House, and squared b) Uranus in Cancer - but forming a "grand trine" with Mars and Saturn retrograde. Pluto rising in Taurus squares Mars in Leo. Jupiter is conjunction the Part of Fortune. One cannot classify this chart as an Open Angle type, in spite of the empty third of the chart. In a sense it shows a fourfold grouping of the planets, yet there is no T-cross and no opposition. The three isolated planets are too far from each other to define, in contrast to the Aries cluster, a Seesaw pattern; yet in a sense this twelfth House group stands apart, challenging the three isolated planets, or vice versa.

This strange chart is that of the French murderer, Landru, who killed a number of women he had attracted to his home, supposedly with promises of marriage, and disposed of the bodies by burning them. The other chart is that of the Irish nobleman who, under the name of Cheiro, attracted international attention as a reader of hands and as a prophetic seer, and became associated in this role with kings and famous people all over the world. Two interesting charts to study both non-harmonic and referring to "unique" individuals; yet what different types of individuals!

Of course, in studying these various classes of patterns I did not pay much attention to which planets were located in which parts of the pattern. But it should be obvious that even while the holistic astrologer is seeking to grasp the meaning (or shall I say the "message") of the form as a whole, he should be aware at the same time of the positions in the zodiacal signs of at least the Sun and the Moon; this, with reference to horizon and meridian. There is no living structure without its contents, and the main factors in the living organism are the two "Lights."*

*For a holistic study of the signs of the zodiac, the reader is referred to my book, The Pulse of Life. The cyclic relationship between the Moon and the Sun, is studied in another volume, The Lunation Cycle. A general approach to all the factors used in astrology is discussed in The Practice of Astrology, and in the earlier and far more extensive work, The Astrology of Personality.

Person Centered Astrology