How to Recognize
Planetary Patterns
A natal chart must be seen as a whole before an intelligent understanding of its parts is possible. Cookbook delineation is always possible using whichever astrology text lies close at hand. The problem with the cookbook approach is the absence of context. The Sun might lie in Aries, for example. The cookbook delineation will report the typical attributes for the Aries Sun, but the expected personality traits for the Aries Sun might not manifest for the individual client before us. Other features in the natal chart might instead be more powerful influences over the individual’s psychology.
What is a planetary pattern? It’s quite simply any distribution of planets around the birth chart that makes a recognizable shape. We’ll be exploring eight basic planetary patterns in this book: the Splash, the Bundle, the Fan, the Bowl, the Bucket, the Locomotive, the Seesaw, and the Splay. These patterns reflect basic psychological drives. They suggest an individual’s characteristic response to the world.
In her book The Art of Chart Interpretation, Tracy Marks says that not all birth charts have planetary patterns. Fewer still have clearly defined patterns. She goes on to say that when the pattern is not obvious to the eye, the pattern is less likely to be important in the overall interpretation of the natal chart. In her book Aspect Patterns, Stephanie Clement disagrees with the statement that the absence of a planetary pattern is quite rare.
Just how common are the eight basic planetary patterns we’ll encounter in this book? We can turn to the Astro Databank for an answer. The Astro Databank contains many thousands of natal charts for notable individuals around the world. While generalizing from notables to everyone is perhaps a stretch, there’s no reason to believe that notable individuals are any more likely to have a readily discernible planetary pattern than the rest of us. The chart search feature for the Solar Fire 9 astrology software includes the eight basic planetary patterns we’ll encounter in this book. The results are tabulated in the following chart.
|
Planetary Pattern in Natal Chart |
Percentage |
|
The Splash |
0.59 |
|
The Bundle |
1.54 |
|
The Fan |
2.93 |
|
The Bowl |
10.42 |
|
The Bucket |
7.58 |
|
The Locomotive |
31.25 |
|
The Seesaw |
13.89 |
|
The Splay |
15.63 |
The empirical truth lies between the observations of Marks and those of Clement, as 83.92 percent of all charts in the Astro Databank collection possess one of the chart patterns we’ll explore in this book.
In each chapter devoted to a particular pattern in this book, you’ll find descriptions that identify the individual planetary pattern. You might find that none of the planetary patterns resemble the natal chart in front of you. That could just mean that particular chart falls in the 16.08 percent of charts that don’t match any of these basic planetary patterns. That is, after all, one chart in six (approximately).
Marc Edmund Jones applied very specific criteria to distinguish the different planetary patterns. Still, when we examine actual birth charts, the boundaries between these planetary patterns can become blurred. A practical example is the distinction between the Bowl pattern and the Bundle pattern.
Here we see the natal chart for Al Jardine, an original member of the Beach Boys (Figure 1). His chart pushes the boundary for the Bundle shape with Uranus and Mercury forming a partile trine. That keeps all of the planets within the space of a single trine, a requirement of Jones’s definition of the Bundle shape.
There’s a point where the boundary between the Bowl and the Bundle becomes blurred. What if Al Jardine’s Mercury was at 10 Libra 30 instead of 4 Libra 30? If we rigidly applied Jones’s definition, we would no longer have a Bundle pattern. Nor would it meet the criteria for the Bowl pattern, since that requires the chart be divided in half by the distribution of planets. Would we then relegate this birth chart to the shapeless category?
The situation is analogous to choosing orbs for aspects. There is no absolute right or wrong answer. A few degrees wide of the mark for a particular planetary pattern and most astrologers will conclude it still falls within the same planetary pattern. What if a single planet falls way outside of the Bundle pattern, for example? The astrologer must then rely on practical experience to inform their judgment, not the rigidity of a mathematical specification. When in doubt whether a planetary pattern applies, a few discerning questions posed to the client can help sort it out. Our goal is to fit the proper planetary pattern to the client, rather than the client to the planetary pattern.
Ideal planetary patterns are rare. Flexibility is required to determine when conditions are sufficiently satisfied for a particular planetary pattern. For example, a major condition for the Bowl pattern is a rim opposition. The leading and trailing planets are separated by 180°. (Leading and trailing planets here refer specifically to the planetary pattern and not the conventional definitions of leading and trailing planets from natal interpretation, i.e., the planet that directly precedes the Sun clockwise.) What are we to make of an even distribution of planets that span just 165°, an aspect that Noel Tyl refers to as a quindecile? Do we dismiss the chart as an example of the Bowl pattern? Most astrologers would conclude, “No.” Such a planetary pattern resembles the Bowl shape more than any other shape and—more important—better than no shape at all. We would likely assume the psychology associated with the Bowl shape applies and proceed to ask questions of the client to confirm our hunch.
It’s important to remember the purpose of planetary patterns: quick and reliable delineation. They serve as a useful guide to chart interpretation because they have broad application and provide immediate, credible insight into a client’s basic psychological orientation.
There is the occasional chart that makes us pause and consider. Instead of having the attributes of a single planetary pattern, it instead has attributes from multiple shapes. In that case, we need to fall back on discussion with the client to determine which traits apply.
There will often be aspect patterns present within planetary patterns. Aspect patterns are recognizable shapes that form from multiple aspects. An example is the Grand Trine, which is the product of three individual trine aspects. Aspect patterns are examined in greater depth later in this volume, but they will be noted in context here, too. For example, the ideal shape of the Bucket pattern includes a Grand Cross aspect pattern.
A word of caution before we proceed. Only the ten planets are considered when we talk about planetary patterns. Most astrologers include the North Moon Node (and maybe the South Moon Node as well) in their natal charts. Some include the Part of Fortune. The same is true for asteroids and for planetoids like Chiron. These are all significant chart features, but they play no role in defining planetary patterns.
High-Focus Planets
Most planetary patterns have one or more high-focus planets. These are generally the planets that the eyes are drawn to when we examine the natal chart.
Several of the planetary patterns include a high-focus planet. Obvious examples include the handles for the Fan and Bucket patterns. Less obvious examples include the leading and trailing planets for the Bowl pattern. We will cover the high-focus planets in detail, as they can come to dominate the chart.
High-focus planets are another way that planetary patterns lead us into the natal chart. Robert Jansky called these planets “high focus” because planetary patterns immediately focus our attention upon these planets, once we become familiar with the pattern. Marc Edmund Jones used the term focal determinator for high-focus planets.
Any of the ten planets can be a high-focus planet. Their interpretation is done with customary astrological delineations: we consider the nature of the planet, its mode of expression by sign, and its area of focus by house.
Aspects to a high-focus planet can have added significance. They can offer convenient energy release mechanisms for the high-focus planet. Lance Carter is a noted astrologer on radio, in newspapers, and on the internet. He corresponded with Jones while doing his own research. Carter notes that these “aspects show the special tendencies, habits, unique attitudes, and personal characteristics of the client” (Carter 2010, 21).
The farther that a chart pattern and especially its high-focus planet(s) is from the ideal, the weaker or more diluted the effect will be upon the client.
Salvador Dali possessed a Bowl pattern chart (Figure 2). Two planets stand out: the planets that form the rim of the Bowl’s shape. In Dali’s case, that’s Uranus and Neptune.
The high-focus planet(s) is/are the most significant planet(s) in the individual’s chart.
Uranus is the leading planet (sometimes called the cutting planet) in the Bowl pattern in Salvador Dali’s chart, as it is the first planet to cross the Ascendant as the chart is rotated clockwise. It’s the most compelling planet in the chart. Neptune is the trailing planet, as it crosses the Ascendant last. Neptune is also highly significant in the chart. The nature of the leading planet and the trailing planet make a major difference when interpreting the Bowl pattern.
The presence (or absence) of an opposition between the two rim planets strengthens (or weakens) the Bowl pattern’s influence.
These rim planets determine the character of the Bowl pattern. The Bundle pattern and the Locomotive pattern also possess rim planets.
A planet alone or separated from the others in a hemisphere is a singleton planet. The handle of the Fan or the Bucket pattern is a singleton planet. The singleton is a natural high-focus planet.
There are secondary factors that guide the astrologer to planets of secondary focal emphasis.
High-focus planets can be subject to hard aspects. When that’s the case, extra care is required in the delineation. Hard aspects can be motivating when handled properly.
According to Lance Carter, high-focus planets that are retrograde in the natal chart might demonstrate their influence on the individual in a more personal way. Events might occur prematurely. Things might not go according to plan. Flexibility and personal dedication are required. Even then, the individual might not have great success until later in life.
The Sun as Focal Planet
The keyword for the Sun as high-focus planet is assertion. These individuals possess great confidence. They need to act with purpose, perform acts that fulfill their potential, and use willpower to shape situations to their advantage. When the Sun is in a position of high focus, the individual is in an excellent position to fulfill their goals.
Natural leaders with a regal bearing, these individuals almost always seem to be in charge regardless of the situation. Not lacking in self-confidence, they frequently assume they know what’s best for everyone. This can be a delusion.
When the Sun is badly aspected or poorly positioned, the individual can be erratic. When things go wrong, they can become anxious or hot-headed. Exercise and sports can help them blow off steam. Meditation can help center them.
The Moon as Focal Planet
The keyword for the Moon as high-focus planet is feeling. According to Robert Jansky, great intensity of purpose and drive is characteristic of these individuals. Everything they do has a purpose. They bring a great deal of energy to anything they attempt.
Individuals with the Moon in high focus can be too sensitive for their own good. They can be emotionally high-strung, with moods that are easily swayed by events. The mind can be unsettled, shifting quickly from thought to thought. Decisions can depend on how the individual feels at the moment.
They have the ability to relate to almost anyone in an intimate manner. They must guard against a tendency to manipulate people, however. They might have manipulated their parents as a child. Since they are highly sensitive to the emotional environment around them, the Moon as high-focus planet enables them to influence events to bring out the best for everyone.
Some have a deep-seated need to be taken very seriously. This can cause them to demand the complete attention of others.
Reacting on the basis of their emotions is common. They can feel compelled to take a stand without a lot of thought. This can land them in trouble.
Mercury as Focal Planet
The keyword for Mercury as high-focus planet is reason. These individuals feel compelled to act intelligently and to reason their way to solutions. Direct and forthright, their comments can sometimes hurt the feelings of others. They should resist the impulse to say whatever comes to mind.
Effective communication is typical when Mercury is the dominant planet in a natal chart. Their mind is their greatest tool to gain control over life’s circumstances.
They can think and act quickly, but they need to guard against acting too rashly. It’s fine to learn from mistakes. However, mistakes can be costly when made too often. Sufficient thought needs to go into any decision.
Flexibility is important when Mercury is powerfully placed in a chart. Life’s circumstances might change many times during a lifetime, so it’s best not to get too attached to any one particular way of thinking, relating, or acting.
Mercury retrograde individuals march to the beat of a different drummer. They are their own person. Their thinking might be on a different level from that of others around them. Misunderstandings, short tempers, and careless actions can be recurring issues in their lives. Accidents can be common, so they need to take great care concerning their environment.
Venus as Focal Planet
The keyword for Venus as high-focus planet is relationship. Venus as the most influential planet inspires the individual to search for a lover, mate, or spouse who can complement them. They need to bond with someone in an intimate way to feel fulfilled. They come on to a potential partner in a very intimate fashion.
Venus as the most influential planet encourages them to act creatively and to enjoy sensual pleasures.
Social standing is a preoccupation. Nice clothing and fine jewelry are prized, since these validate their personal worth. Beautiful things require a profession that provides the necessary resources to buy them.
These individuals require cohesion between the people they care for. They need to belong. Disunity with or among people around them makes them unhappy.
When Venus is direct, self-love leads to love of others. Joanne Wickenburg argues that Venus retrograde reverses the process. Individuals are unable to appreciate their own self-worth until they evaluate their life in relation to others. Self-love results from comparison. Stated differently, their sense of self-worth comes from without rather than from within.
Mars as Focal Planet
The keyword for Mars as high-focus planet is initiative. As Jansky notes, these individuals seem to rise to any challenge and have the ability to persevere in the face of great adversity.
These are individuals who are not afraid to take chances. Their pioneering spirit often places them at the forefront of their profession. They’re able to accomplish tasks that others might consider impossible.
They can shock others by their impulsive nature. They can rashly rush into dangerous situations. They need to cultivate caution.
These are individuals who thrive on controversy. They’re likely to quarrel until they get their way or until everyone gives up. This can have negative consequences for interpersonal relations. They need to learn there’s a place for competition and a place for compromise. If they want to work with others in the long run, they need to look for opportunities to compromise.
Mars retrograde enhances the assertive, combative, “me first” impulses. There can be a tendency to go too far in an attempt to get what they want. This tendency needs to be dialed back for positive, long-term relations to develop. Control issues are common when Mars is retrograde. The individual can become obstinate and unbending in their effort to maintain control. Anger management issues are also common when Mars is retrograde.
Jupiter as Focal Planet
The keyword for Jupiter as high-focus planet is enthusiasm. Life is an adventure for these individuals. They have spontaneous urges to experience all life has to offer.
They’re interested in everything. An important life lesson for them is learning to narrow the scope of their attention. Specialization makes them ready for advancement and promotion to greater responsibilities.
A powerfully placed Jupiter can lead to overindulgence. Because things tend to come easily, they can become lazy. They need to learn to tame their desires and maintain a strong work ethic.
These are individuals who know what the right thing is to do. It’s not enough to make a significant profit if it’s accomplished by questionable means. Prestige is important, too.
Jupiter as a strong planet contributes luck and opportunities. It takes more than luck and opportunities to succeed, however. The individual also needs to know what to do when opportunities arise.
When Jupiter is retrograde, its expansive tendencies begin to exceed realistic limitations. The urge for expansion must be tamed. Jupiter retrograde also suggests that what society considers an opportunity might not be consistent with the individual’s inner needs.
Jupiter retrograde urges the individual to reject society’s philosophical systems. They will instead want to define their own philosophies, their own sense of morality, their own perspective on religion, etc.
Saturn as Focal Planet
The keyword for Saturn as high-focus planet is discipline. These individuals feel compelled to act responsibly.
Establishing long-range goals is typical when Saturn dominates the natal chart. Marc Edmund Jones characterized these individuals as willing to sacrifice short-term advantage for the achievement of long-range goals.
The establishment of personal reputation and professional standing is a typical Saturn influence. These individuals don’t let problems stand in the way. They confront them head-on and solve them systematically. They might not see immediate results, but they accept that they’re in the thick of things for the long haul. They see themselves as survivors who can make it.
These are individuals who don’t take the easy way out. They choose difficult tasks as a way to refine their skills and discipline their talents.
These individuals need to develop their competency in specific skills and learn the limits of their talents.
A powerful Saturn retrograde inclines the individual to be strongly influenced by society’s rules. Saturn’s messages of responsibility and conscientiousness are powerful influences. Strong authority figures are greatly influential.
Uranus as Focal Planet
The keyword for Uranus as high-focus planet is independence. These are individuals who tend to be seekers of new truths, willing to try the new and unproven in order to discover something better or more meaningful.
They’ll tend to position themselves at the forefront of change. Uncommon ideas can lead them far afield from more conventional points of view. Their actions might be condemned as wild or radical.
They’re self-willed and independent. With Uranus providing the main clue as to why they’re sometimes iconoclastic, its location in the chart indicates where those attitudes are likely to be felt.
Uranus retrograde attracts unstable, unexpected, or chaotic experiences. The urge to create change and reform is heightened when Uranus is retrograde.
Neptune as Focal Planet
The keyword for Neptune as high-focus planet is imagination. These individuals tend to be dreamers capable of generating insights and discoveries when they develop the willpower to act and carry out their plans.
They can be extremely idealistic about what they want from life. They can be in love with the whole wide world. Inclined to dream about life, they’re not necessarily ready to live an active life. Highly sensitive, they can feel overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities and its harsh realities.
There can be a tendency to try to escape from reality by using psychotropic drugs or alcohol.
Neptune retrograde intensifies Neptune’s function. The unconscious is stimulated and dream activity is often intensified. Everything that Neptune represents becomes an issue in the individual’s life.
Pluto as Focal Planet
The keyword for Pluto as high-focus planet is transcendent. These individuals need to get to the root of social problems. Unlike the revolutionary tendency of Uranus, Pluto works to solve problems a bit at a time through the application of everyday common sense.
With Pluto as a major influence, these individuals might see the worldwide implications of what they do on a personal level. Joining with other like-minded individuals helps them feel they are making a difference.
When Pluto has great authority in a natal chart, the individual will be obsessed with living life to the fullest. They develop a compelling vision of what they want to accomplish and know how they’re going to go about doing it. They feel they’re fulfilling a destiny.
The flip side of lucid moments of self-actualization is depression over what they can’t accomplish and who they can’t be.
Pluto’s goal is to create global evolution. Individuals with Pluto retrograde see the need for global change more objectively than do those with Pluto direct.
Classification of Patterns
The eight basic planetary patterns can be organized into two broad groups: the bipolar group and the tripolar group.
The bipolar group includes the Bowl, Bucket, Fan, and Seesaw patterns. The geometry of these patterns allows only for the slight possibility of a Grand Trine. T-Squares and oppositions are frequent in these patterns. The tendency is to form two distinct planetary groups centered about two points of focus or just one solid group in one hemisphere of the natal chart.
The tripolar group includes the Locomotive, Splay, Bundle, and Splash patterns. Their basic geometry is that of the trine (120°). For all except the Bundle pattern, there exists the possibility of a Grand Trine
The Splash Pattern Preview
The planets are fairly evenly distributed around the chart wheel in the Splash shape. A chart free of planet clusters is rare, however. More common is the sort of pattern we see in Paula Abdul’s chart (Figure 3). Several of the planets are splashed around the chart, while others cluster together in the same houses.
Individuals with a Splash shape fall into one of two temperaments: they develop a well-rounded personality with a diverse set of interests or they tend to get spread too thin, too scattered about.
Paula Abdul appears to have fallen into the former category, demonstrating a wide range of creative talents. She’s a successful singer, dancer, choreographer, and talent show judge.
The Bundle Pattern Preview
The planets all lie within the space of a trine in the Bundle shape. It’s quite common for a stellium of planets (an aspect pattern discussed in depth in chapter 11) to appear within the Bundle shape.
Individuals with the Bundle shape tend to have a narrow scope of interests. They’re noted for their special skills and expertise.
The chart for Olympic downhill skier, and entrepreneur Jean-Claude Killy is a classic example of the Bundle shape pattern, where the planets stretch from 3 Gemini 23 to 3 Libra 03 within the space of a single trine aspect (Figure 4).
The Fan Pattern Preview
The Fan shape, sometimes called the Sling shape, augments the Bundle shape with a planet opposing the center of the bundle of planets. This opposition serves as a handle and assumes great importance when we interpret the planetary pattern. There is a strong duality between the handle and the cluster of planets.
Richard Branson is an English business magnate, investor, author, and philanthropist (Figure 5). His natal chart is typical of the Fan planetary pattern.
The Bowl Pattern Preview
The Bowl shape is among the easiest to identify. It is also among the most common shapes. All of the planets are evenly distributed within a hemisphere of the chart. In the textbook case, the two rim planets form an opposition.
The Bowl individual is a self-contained person. Able to remain calm in the midst of turmoil, they’re able to finish tasks they’ve begun.
The chart for author and poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning has a wide rim opposition between Moon and Venus (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The Bucket Pattern Preview
In the ideal Bucket shape, we start with a Bowl planetary pattern and add an isolated planet that forms an opposition to the center of the Bowl shape. As with the Fan shape, the handle of the Bucket shape assumes great importance. The concentration of energy is high in the Bucket shape.
The presence of a T-Square or Grand Cross in the Bucket shape adds organization and structural strength.
The birth chart of Napoleon I is typical of the Bucket shape (Figure 7). While the rim planets don’t form an opposition, Uranus in the handle is widely opposed Jupiter.
Figure 7: Napoleon I Bonaparte
The Locomotive Pattern Preview
The Locomotive shape occurs when the planets are evenly distributed around two-thirds of the natal chart. The dynamic imbalance between the occupied portion of the chart and the unoccupied part lends power to this pattern.
These individuals are able to design their own destiny and fulfill it.
Former President Jimmy Carter possesses a Locomotive planetary pattern (Figure 8). Eight of the signs are occupied with planets, six between the Jupiter-Pluto quincunx.
The Seesaw Pattern Preview
The Seesaw pattern occurs when two groups of planets roughly oppose each other.
Life can be a continual balancing act when the Seesaw shape is present. The individual can expect shifting situations and will need to be flexible about their priorities.
These individuals can be either a team player or the go-it-alone type.
The classic Seesaw shape is evident in the natal chart for playwright Noël Coward (Figure 9).
The Splay Pattern Preview
The Splay planetary pattern is sometimes called the Tripod shape. The distribution of planets is neither even nor symmetrical. The planets cluster into three distinct groups.
Splay pattern individuals often have an agenda in life that others don’t understand.
Lord Byron’s natal chart possesses a Splay shape (Figure 10).
