Opposing Neptune and the Grand Sextile

This post is going to be a journey. I’m not sure we’ll reach a destination today.

As I was looking at charts this morning, a pattern started to emerge. This Grand Sextile is an event that has a start, a middle, and an end. It is a gateway—a rite of passage.

If you remember back to my discussions on the first Grand Sextile, the moon moving through the 6^th corner establishes our window. The moon only spends 2 ½ days in the sign of Taurus and a bit more than half of that within orb of the Grand Sextile. So, via the moon, we have just over 24 hours for this formation.

Consider, that within these hours, three additional oppositions occur! Yesterday, I used the opposition between Venus and Uranus to anchor the chart. Well this evening, Mercury opposes Neptune; and tomorrow evening, the sun opposes Neptune; these are bookends and span 26 ½ hours—a window that significantly overlaps the one created by the moon.

Both the Grand Sextile and the Grand Cross contain oppositions with in them: three and two respectively. They have one axis in common. This means that the full event consists of four axes:

• Sun/Mercury opposite Neptune (Grand Sextile)
• Moon opposite Saturn (Grand Sextile)
• Jupiter opposite Pluto (Grand Sextile and Grand Cross)
• Venus opposite Uranus (Grand Cross)

The Jupiter-Pluto opposition is the common axis. However, this opposition is the weakest. Pluto and Jupiter were more than 3 degrees past peak before the weekend began! The other three reach exact opposition during the full event. Here’s the timing:

1. Mercury opposite Neptune @ 6:13 pm Sunday
2. Moon opposite Saturn @ 8:52 pm Sunday
3. Venus opposite Uranus @ 12:56 pm Monday
4. Sun opposite Neptune @ 8:43 pm Monday

So, what now? What do we do with all of this data? That’s just the question I asked myself earlier. I created charts for the two Neptune oppositions and then looked at all three (including the one from yesterday) side-by-side. Still, nothing significant jumped out. Yes, I saw ways to tie one chart to the other. I noticed patterns relating to the Ascendants and rulers; the points that sat on the Descendant; and the points that joined the Vertexes. But again, these did not add more information; they simply confirmed earlier observations.

I then decided to consult the Tarot. I asked spirit if it was worth writing about these observations…and that’s when it got interesting.

Look at the card in the middle of the spread: the Two of Pentacles. Doesn’t that resemble an opposition in an Astrology chart?

Below it we see the Three of Cups: the start, the middle, and the end as represented by three oppositions as I had first laid out.

The sun is in one opposition, and the moon is in another, and both of these cards showed up. They are also the only two Tarot cards that are actual Astrological orbs!

And consider the two pages. In my Tarot-to-Astrology convention, the Page of Cups represents Scorpio, and the Page of Pentacles represents Taurus. In our charts, the North Node and Saturn sit in Scorpio, and the South Node and the moon sit in Taurus.

Looking more closely, we see two towers in The Moon, two columns in The High Priestess and two wands in the Two of Wands. All three of these cards hint at gateways and rites of passage.

So, without even reading the cards, I already got my answer—a definitive “yes!”

Now let’s look a bit closer. The Moon tarot card—in meaning—more closely resembles Neptune in Astrology, rather than the moon. The card highlights fogginess. There is not enough light to clearly see everything. At The Moon, we must draw upon our intuition to complete the picture. Our basic senses are simply not enough.

By my reckoning, the start of the Grand Sextile is the exact opposition between Mercury and Neptune. This is when our logically thinking mind disagrees with our intuition. Or maybe, it just can’t make sense of it. Sometimes gentle guidance tells us to go in a direction that doesn’t seem to be in the right direction. It’s one of those times when the only way to find out is to follow—or not—the guidance.

The High Priestess, below The Moon, tells us that there is much more going on below the surface than we can see. We may never know the significance of this formation. It’s not for the mind. It is for the soul!

Weighing opposites—as indicated by the Two of Pentacles—is what is apparent. I discussed some of that yesterday. Whenever oppositions appear, opposites are highlighted. Solving the opposition is what we’re called to do.

The challenge is in celebrating the oppositions. Contrast is a grand teacher! If we didn’t know what options existed, how could we make the best choices?

The Two of Wands in front of us (in the near future) tells us that the way will be shown. This directly relates back to The Moon card. At The Moon, we are urged to proceed forward even when we cannot see very far ahead. At the Two of Wands, we now have enough light to see!

The Page of Pentacles relates back to the Page of Cups. At the Page of Cups, we hold a desire. Maybe we don’t yet know how to express that desire, or satisfy it. But we feel it well!

At the Page of Pentacles, we now hold in our hands, an object that was created from our desire. This card is in the guidance position. It is telling us to reach for that experience, which refers back to something I mentioned yesterday about pursuing the dream. And remember my post called To Have and To Hold – The Moon within the Grand Sextile? Go back and read that too!

The ultimate outcome of the reading—and thus the gateway of the Grand Sextile(s)—is The Sun. At The Sun, we bask in the sun; we bask in the experience of having what we want! The sky is clear. It is pleasantly warm. The Sun depicts a toddler on a horse. This refers back to The Fool card. At The Sun, we are encouraged to soak up the experience. Toddlers know how to play and have fun. They remind us that joy is found in experiencing what is in front of us. It needn’t be complex or sophisticated.

All of that Water energy we’ve been bathed in all summer is waning. As this Grand Sextile falls away, so do the Grand Trines. It is the gradual drawing down of water—at least until planets start dipping into Scorpio.

Enjoy the 26 ½ hours of this formation and post comments to tell us of your experiences.