Like the last Full Moon, this Wesak Full Moon is a seriously heavy activator, and brings understanding and stability in multiple areas of life.

The next two weeks brings this year’s “Buddha Wisdom” which brings the power to “see whole” if we learn to concentrate.

This stabilizing, innovative, specializing and healing Wesak Festival Full Moon which will bring high individualization and the emergence of techniques to overcome inertia and “hard external circumstances” occurs at 9:56 am PDT on May 12 and falls at the 23rd degree of Scorpio and Taurus. We are now in a several month run of Full Moons with an emotional-social emphasis, and this one will help us see our worth in concrete ways as we embrace the new beginning of the Neptune in Aries era.

Today’s Full Moon post will be an overview of the Lunation and some of its primary qualities. In parts 2 and 3 we’ll cover the Sabian Symbols, aspects, distributions, and patterns.

An Overview

This Full Moon is the second Lunation of the Neptune in Aries era. This is the last Full Moon with Saturn in Pisces for a few months, so while there are signs and signals that we’re at the end of the end of an old era, we still have some things which have to “dis-integrate” as the new pulse is being established this Summer. And of course with the North Node in Pisces, we’re learning from our past Saturn and Neptune in Pisces experiences.

So while this Full Moon is still one of transitions, there is far more emphasis on what’s emerging than what’s past. This is the last “tidal shift” Lunation until September. This Full Moon solidifies and confirms many things, with a revolutionary wisdom to be claimed while making needed adjustments and sacrifices.

This is the fifth Full Moon with the North Node in Pisces, showing we’re in a time of building through Pisces energies as we “let go, let God” and bless the passages. This helps us purify and “go our own way” as we move into a broader effective service of some sort. Many will see the crystallization of their “dreamed future” this month, with many things swirling until finalization in early 2026.

As with all Full Moons, use the light you’ve been seeing and expressing since the New Moon, and give it form and focus through anchoring those themes in expression. This Full Moon brings the Light of the dynamic initiative of the Taurus New Moon into the transmutations needed to be effective in anticipating the future.

Is the Sun Following the Moon, or the Moon Following the Sun?

This Lunation is the eleventh Full Moon in the current cyclic sequence where the Sun is in the same sign (Taurus) as it was in the Taurus New Moon two weeks ago. This is “the normal order” of the Sun/Moon relationship cycle, as the Light of the New Moon is in the same sign as the Light of the Full Moon.

There are two patterns; one is when the Full Moon Sun is the same sign as the previous New Moon Sun, and the other is when the Full Moon Sun is in the next sign from the Sun in the previous New Moon. The Sun was in the same sign in both the New Moon and Full Moon, the so-called “natural” order, from August 2021 with the New Moon Sun at 17 Leo and Full Moon Sun is at 30 Leo to late March 2023 with the New Moon Sun at 1 Aries followed by the Full Moon at 17 Aries/Libra.>

This shifted back into the “reverse order” sequence in April 2023 with a New Moon at 30 Aries followed by the Wesak Festival Full Moon Sun at 15 Taurus. That ended in June 2024 with the New Moon at 16 Gemini and the Full Moon at 1 Cancer/Capricorn. The new period began as the New Moon in July had the Sun at 15 Cancer, and the following Full Moon Sun was at 30 Cancer. You can find out more about the “seed forms” of the Taurus New Moon two weeks ago by going to the archives.

Past As Prologue

As you know from other articles, 2020 was the last year of a 200 year Earth era, with Air power building that year launching a 200 year Air era on the December Solstice with Jupiter conjuncting Saturn at 1 Aquarius. However, we will still be “under the beams” of the powerful conjunctions in Capricorn, since between January and March 2020 we began new Saturn/Pluto, Jupiter/Pluto, Mars/Jupiter, Mars/Pluto, and Mars/Saturn cycles. The first of these launched a new 33 year era into motion.

Due to these conjunctions in late Capricorn and both Mars/Saturn and Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions at 1 Aquarius, as well as several very important conjunctions since then at the same degree, we are in a long term period of finding wisdom by understanding transfiguration and enlightenment as verbs rather than nouns. We’ve now officially taken the first step into the coming Aquarian era.

While this is not yet “The Age of Aquarius,” this is the final intensification of those energies which will sprout seeds in the second quarter of the century which will take us across the threshold of the Great Age soon after 2050. And to note, there will be plenty of people and ideas from the Age of Pisces which will continue into the next century as part of the bridging process from past to future as humanity discovers new Aquarian ideas and sheds old Piscean ones.

Planetary Distribution

At this Full Moon, the inner planets are all inside the occupied outer planet span. All the planets occupy 7 signs with a hemispheric distribution and the Moon outside that span. We have all the planets between Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo, and Scorpio.

This creates a situation where we have all the planets between Pluto at 4 Aquarius and Mars at 12 Leo, with the Moon well outside the span at 23 Scorpio, acting as a handle or “nozzle” for the expression of all the other planets. This creates a classic “Bucket” Jones pattern.

So What is a “Bucket” Jones Pattern and how does it work?

A “Bucket Pattern” is a planetary spread with all the planets in about half the signs with one outside that span wide enough to be a handle. The energies of the occupied half are focused through the “handle,” or “nozzle,” in this case the Moon, termed the “focal determinator.” The handle, or focal determinator, represents the way to greater effectiveness, the cause to be embraced, the lack to be filled, or the way to use the total energies of this time in a focused manner. The Moon is how we're going to "get a handle on things," or focus the potential of the rest of the planets, so if you have any doubt, express Scorpio!

Dr. Jones states “the Bucket type indicates a particular and rather uncompromising direction in the life effort.” This pattern gives “interest in a cause,” with executive tendencies that will adapt allegiances to maximize results of the effort. He says “the Bucket type at its best reveals the real instructor and inspirer of others, and at its worst the agitator and malcontent.” This is the larger planetary pattern within which we’re all trying to do what we do.

We are also told this pattern is more about finding an effective release for energy within social settings, but also about the individual imposing their patterns on society rather than adapting to what is there. It’s about focused intention. So all of us can expect some sort of focused attention on the house where we have 23 Scorpio.

Is the Grand Irrationality A Factor in this Full Moon?

No, and blessedly, will never be a factor activating the collective for the rest of our lives. This was a 30 year phenomenon which has now passed out of orb, and we are finally back to Neptune sextile Pluto and the coming Uranus sextile Neptune and trine Pluto. The spiritual field has shifted for the better!

If you want to know more about this hard edged Special Evolutionary configuration in play for three decades, I created an article which sums up the three versions of the Grand Irrationality in play during those years. I discuss what it is and which zones of the zodiac have been most impacted and when. You can find all you need to know about this configuration associated with widespread irrationality and hard-edged “forks in the road of destiny” we’ve all confronted at various times by going to The Grand Irrationality is Over (1993-2023).

This evolutionary configuration has been activated over the years when any planet moved through any of the hot zones of the configuration. However, even though it’s ended remember that almost everyone on Earth born the past 30 years has this in their charts! So we’ll still have it working in the background for years to come.

Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend

We are finishing the long voyage of Saturn’s transit of Pisces. This is the last Lunation with Saturn in Pisces until September. When Saturn transited Aquarius in 2021 and 2022, we got shortcuts to illumination and the spiritual power of gratitude and appreciation. We’ve learned about compassion and forgiveness in Pisces, and now must do our own thing in our own way as we flow with the universal current.

Saturn, ruler of our Capricorn and Aquarius sectors and any natal or progressed planets we have in those signs, now helps us see the relationship of the parts to the whole. Jupiter, ruler of Saturn, is on a degree of making progress despite outer limiting conditions. So there’s still opportunity in our communications and what we learn and what is shared with us, so be open to techniques of “tacking into the wind” and you’ll make progress regardless of outer difficulties!

Though Saturn can feel heavy and bring serious life lessons, it is the part of us which can take charge of our lives and destiny by using its virtues in the right way and time. Our ability to steer our “ship of personality” into its rightful “role of destiny” always brings us to new parts to play on the stage of Life.

Saturn makes favorable aspects to Uranus for many months to come, helping us blend understanding with originality. I explain how Saturn and Uranus work together to awaken us to our Higher Powers so we can embrace our destiny in my book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. Saturn helps us give structures so we can find greater awareness and effectiveness. In recent years we saw how to make a greater contribution to our world. Coupled with Uranus having awakened us to a new time, a new way, and a new day, we’re “breaking on through to the other side” into an unfolding Higher awareness.

The book was written for both astrologers and non-astrologers. Even those with little or no understanding of astrology will benefit from understanding why you had to make certain choices at crucial times that shaped your life in profound ways.

Each time you read any section of this book you will find new insights about your power to throw off all the attitudes and memories which hold you back from finding and living the life and purpose. If you’ve haven’t already gotten your copy, you can go to the Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend page on Amazon and this should be all you need to order your copy. It’s also available on Amazon and as an ebook on Kindle, so if that’s more to your liking, go for it! If you would, whether you’ve gotten the ebook or the paperback, please write a review on the Amazon site, since the more reviews, the more of a boost they give it.

On A Final Note

See you in the near future with parts two and three on this revolutionary wisdom-producing Full Moon which continues our momentum into the future while helping us transmute lower energies into natural magic. Keep letting go of what’s done, and move with the direction the tide is flowing.

We’re in a time when past, present, and future are all entangled in a great ocean of finality, where things are becoming clear in some ways while others seem very obscure. Keep letting go of the ghosts of the past, and there are major gifts to cultivate and/or receive by staying focused on the positive potentials despite the limiting conditions.

Venus is a key player due to it being trine Mars for the next month and quintile Jupiter in this chart. As Venus in Aries is ruled by Mars in Leo and are in trine in early to mid-Fire, it will benefit all planets we have between 7-14 degrees of the Fire and Air signs.

If you want to know more about your Venusian power to shape your likes and affections into enjoyable interactions and friendships, please consider getting a copy of my book The Magic of Venus: Friendships, Soul Mates, and Twin Flames. It is the most comprehensive book on Venus ever written, and explains why we attract who we do and how to create more satisfying relationships in the future. You will understand the foundations of long term healthy relationships and friendships, why Soul Mates come into our lives, and how to dance with your inner Beloved and mirror that to your world.

And now, a bit of final backstory to where we are today.

A View of How We Got Here

Where we have late Capricorn and early Aquarius in our chart is the focus of future decades due to a tremendous number of important conjunctions there in 2020 and 2021. Those conjunctions marked the beginning of a new chapter in our spiritual journey at a fork in the road of our collective destiny.

2020 was about forging our connection with the World Soul and a greater dedication of some sort. 2021 began a new collective era of Aquarian values and the emergence of long wave spiritual group efforts. We now are wiser and have deeper heart connections with our Brothers and Sisters.

See you soon with parts two and three on this Full Moon which will bring revolutions, vision, the telling or busting of lies, and a clear vision of how to use humor to find objectivity. See everything symbolically with an eye to teaching others and being taught. Remember a new era began with our seeing the “white dove flying over troubled waters,” initiating a new 15 year era of new life, new lands, and new ways 2 years ago. You can find out more how all signs are affected by going to Jupiter Conjunct Uranus at 22 Taurus in April 2024 – How Are All Signs and Planets Affected?

Next up, Sabian Symbols, evolutionary configurations, and other important chart factors.

This article explains past, present, and future compressions, where they fall, and who they affect. The Great Compressions of early 2020, 2021, and 2022

This one explains the January 2020 compression and the multiple conjunctions setting themes for decades! The Great Compression of January 2020 – Mercury, Sun, Saturn and Pluto all Conjunct in Capricorn

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

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