by Robert Wilkinson

In yesterday’s Equinox article, I made mention of a configuration going on right now that symbolizes the collective agitation and angst. In case you haven’t seen it, or blew through it, today we take a brief look at this Cosmic gear grind!

As I offered, there is a major frictional configuration at work this season. Jupiter opposition Uranus and Mars opposition Neptune are creating a Frictional Rectangle type of configuration, since Mars makes a very tight semisquare to Jupiter and a close sesquisquare to Uranus, and Jupiter makes a very tight sesquisquare to Neptune and Uranus makes a very tight semisquare to Neptune. As per its shape, rather than call it a rectangle, I have termed this a "Rhombus Diamond."

This will be a major spur to action, with friction and pressure on any planets or angles we may have near 10-15 degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, as well as 25-30 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. If you have a planet or angle near these spans, then you definitely have a simultaneous conjunction, semisquare, square, sesquisquare, and/or opposition happening!

These are all phases of the 8th harmonic angles, aka “Octile” series. These “hard angles” spur us to action, whether we want to or not. Semisquares deal with personal inner crises, both public and private, while sesquisquares create friction, agitation, and irritation in our world that involves others. In my experience sesquisquares are not necessarily associated with times of crisis, but they do seem to be times of no rest and spurs to act that may be inconvenient and aggravating. They definitely aren’t calm!

The usual “Rectangle” configuration involves 4 planets, with 2 oppositions, 2 sextiles, and 2 trines. (They’re only “Mystic Rectangles” when they involve the Sun and/or Moon and 1 Transpersonal planet.) They operate out of a doubled awareness (opposition), a doubled productivity (sextile), and a doubled stability and/or understanding (trine).

The “Octile Rectangle,” actually a “Rhombus” or “Diamond” configuration, also has the doubled awareness of 2 oppositions, but rather than have doubled harmonious aspects, they have doubled frictional aspects. So rather than a smooth tacking into the wind to make progress (to use a sailing metaphor), the Octile aspects create frictional “headwinds and sidewinds,” where each tack may create a problem we MUST deal with, or even swing the boom around to hit us in the head!

With octile aspects, even small things that ordinarily wouldn’t be a problem become an annoyance. As you can see, with a pair of “Tensions of Opposites” at work, during these Octile Rhombus diamonds we have to really focus on keeping things as stable and harmonious as we can despite the frictional side winds.

The Tension of Opposites involves polarized oppositions and/or realizations involving Aries (Uranus) and Libra (Jupiter), and Pisces (Neptune) and Virgo (Mars and soon to be Venus). As noted, we have Mars now semisquare Jupiter, closing their old cycle, and sesquisquare Uranus, generating emergent interactive friction on a social level. We have the ongoing Uranus semisquare Neptune, showing the widespread collective crisis discussed in each Lunation article. This is now coming into acute focus by Jupiter making a very tight sesquisquare to Neptune.

The thing about this particular configuration is that Uranus semisquare Neptune will be operating for quite a while, anchoring any other planet coming into an octile series aspect with either of them. Jupiter right now is expanding the friction, therefore throwing many things into imbalance. Jupiter opposed Uranus is a test to keep on track, and not “explode sideways” in temporary but strong “psychic storms.”

Jupiter sesquisquare Neptune is agitating the collective fog, restoring perspective to some, while throwing others into a different rhythm of life. As Jupiter is still in the decan of “Expiation,” we ALL are “paying dues” in some way, wherever Jupiter is transiting in our charts. Any friction we’re experiencing now is a test to stay balanced, stay calm, keep things in perspective, and not yield to the collective edginess shown by Uranus semisquare Neptune. Have courage, and all will turn out perfectly in the end, even if the ride there was a bit bumpy at times!

Anyway, Mars is the current trigger for the current frictional Rhombus diamond, and we can see the combination of Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune at odds with each other in the current events dominating the news. So ride this one out in good spirits, since Venus will (hopefully) bring its harmonizing influence to the Rhombus in a week, and by October 6 Jupiter will be past the sesquisquare to Neptune.

Just remember that the transits through late Libra will activate the opposition to Uranus and sesquisquare to Neptune, throwing the void into mid-Virgo. Whatever you’ve learned during the inner planet transits creating this Rhombus diamond will be valuable tools to use when they move through late Libra.

© Copyright 2017 Robert Wilkinson