The Bundle
Next among the planetary patterns is the Bundle pattern. With the Splash pattern, we looked at the most diffuse pattern. Now we look at the most compact pattern.
Marc Edmund Jones and Robert Jansky both claimed that the Bundle is the rarest planetary pattern. We know from the Astro Databank data that the Splash is the least common planetary pattern, not the Bundle. The Bundle occurs approximately three times as often as the Splash.
Jansky preferred the name Wedge pattern. He argued that all ten planets concentrate their energy to a point, as does a wedge.
Jansky also noted another remarkable quality of the Bundle pattern. He argued it could be called the Magnetic pattern. Bundle-type individuals often have the ability to draw others to them through a kind of personal magnetism. The more tightly bunched the planets, the stronger the personal magnetism. When these individuals become prominent celebrities, they have the ability to draw many fans.
The Ideal Bundle Pattern
In the ideal Bundle, the planets are distributed within the space of a trine. This often involves a stellium, although the presence of a stellium does not guarantee the Bundle pattern. A stellium can be found within several planetary patterns.
The birth chart of Paul McCartney is a near-ideal Bundle shape (Figure 16). The angular separation between Neptune and Venus is a little more than a trine. Paul McCartney certainly possesses the personal magnetism that Jansky described. Neptune is the trailing planet, imparting musical prowess. Venus as the leading planet is preoccupied with beauty and creativity. We’ll see with the charts of Igor Stravinsky and Ringo Starr how Neptune tends to be a high-focus planet in the charts of accomplished musicians.
Jansky suggests that an allowable orb of 10° is reasonable for the occupied area of a Bundle pattern. Any occupied area wider than 140° falls under the Bowl pattern. Any area narrower than 120° precludes the possibility of a trine. Very few charts with a Bundle pattern lack the defining trine.
The angular separation between the two rim planets determines the strength of the Bundle pattern’s influence. The rim planets themselves determine the character of the Bundle pattern.
There’s no possibility for any oppositions in the Bundle pattern. The individual must supply their own dynamic drive and direction rather than rely upon the natural disposition that an opposition gives.
The lack of a trine in the Bundle pattern can leave the individual with an inability to handle the challenges of life. What talents they do possess will be reflected in sextile and quintile aspects.
The Bundle pattern for Paul McCartney includes two high-focus planets: Venus and Neptune. These are the two rim planets. Venus is the leading planet, as it is the first planet that crosses the Ascendant as the chart is rotated clockwise. It’s the most prominent planet in the pattern. Neptune is the trailing planet, as it crosses the Ascendant last. It’s not quite as powerful as the leading planet, but it’s still very influential and needs to be considered in the interpretation of the Bundle pattern.
The Leading Planet
The leading planet is the high-focus planet in the Bundle pattern. These individuals will always bring much of their drive and energy to bear upon it. The energy the planet provides will assume great importance in life. For example, if the Moon is the leading planet, then emotional energy will likely define the Bundle individual. How the energy gets expressed will be dependent upon the sign of the leading planet. Where it gets expressed in the life of the individual will be determined by the house location.
A careful inventory of the aspects to the leading planet is crucial. Each aspect will affect its expression. Look especially for squares to the leading planet. Squares add dynamic drive to the leading planet. Their absence suggests a more passive individual.
The trailing planet is second in importance in the Bundle pattern.
The Trigger
Because the Bundle precludes a T-Square, Grand Cross, or Grand Trine, the square aspect assumes greater importance. When there is only one square aspect, it automatically qualifies as the trigger. If there is more than one square aspect, the square coming closest to 90° becomes the trigger. By planet, sign, and house, the trigger reflects the individual’s drive and motivation. As Jansky notes, when the trigger includes the leading planet, we find a more dynamic and driving individual.
The Thrust
I noted that the planets in the ideal Bundle pattern occupy a trine aspect. The midpoint between the leading planet and the trailing planet shows the ultimate thrust in life, the long-term objective (or destiny) of the individual (Figure 17).
Figure 17: The Thrust of the Bundle Pattern
No planet occupies the point of thrust in the Bundle pattern. This is what distinguishes the Bundle from the Fan pattern: the absence of a handle planet. It was the point of thrust from the tip of the occupied trine that caused Jansky to prefer the name Wedge instead of Bundle for this planetary pattern.
The sign and house of the thrust from the Bundle pattern show how and where the long-term objective will be revealed.
The Bundle Pattern Temperament
What immediate conclusion do we draw when faced with the Bundle pattern?
We might assume that because the planets are bunched together in the Bundle pattern, the individual will have a narrow focus of interests. This can be the case with this planetary pattern at its worst. More typical is a concentration of attention and energies in pursuit of a handful of interests. The individual is likely to develop special skills and expertise and then organize their time selectively.
The Bundle individual does not depend on external validation from others. As Jansky notes, they tend to be “self-obsessed with their own capacity” (Jansky 1977, 47) and do not seek or require much in the way of feedback. Their willingness to go it alone can give them a pioneering spirit. They might become leaders because they follow their own inner beliefs.
Individuals with the Bundle pattern can appear inhibited. This comes from the value they place on their own life and time. They often develop a well-integrated world about themselves in which they can function with great efficiency. They have the ability to draw and integrate others into their world. Should they gain sufficient prominence and attention, the Bundle type can become a magnetic leader and impose their will upon others. Benito Mussolini is one such egregious example.
Jansky notes that Bundle individuals have a very marked ability to make much from very little. The Bundle will almost certainly contain a number of sextiles, and sextiles represent opportunities. Bundle individuals have the ability to capitalize on each opportunity as it materializes and use it to maximum advantage.
Individuals with the Bundle pattern tend to be self-starters. They require no special supervision or support from others.
Quintiles aspects, which are commonly found in the Bundle pattern, suggest creative bursts of inspiration and creativity.
Counseling the Individual with a Bundle Pattern
Bundle individuals can develop universal concerns. This can lead to the belief that what’s good for them is good for everyone else. They can become self-righteous and develop an autocratic style, like Benito Mussolini (Figure 18).
Bundle individuals can earn recognition for their work by perfecting their special talents. They will go further if they limit their efforts to areas that exemplify their special expertise rather than spreading their attention to lots of different interests, as someone with a Splash pattern is wont to do.
Being aware of alternatives gives these individuals the freedom to choose different paths through life. If they allow themselves to be boxed in, they’ll miss opportunities. They need to learn to leave themselves options so they can back out of situations that would trap them.
Benito Mussolini’s natal chart is frequently used to illustrate the Bundle pattern (Figure 18). Neptune as the leading planet forms a near-perfect trine with Uranus as the trailing planet. Mars in a loose square with Uranus forms the trigger for the pattern.
The chart of Russian composer, pianist, and conductor Igor Stravinsky contains Neptune and Uranus as the rim planets, with Neptune as the leading planet (Figure 19). Uranus is also emphasized as the trailing planet. Stravinsky was one of the greatest innovators in music. Some of his work was so innovative that members of the audience walked out of initial performances.
The chart for Ringo Starr is a typical example of a Bundle pattern (Figure 20). The rim planets are Jupiter and Neptune (music). The angular separation between Jupiter and Uranus is wider than a trine, even slightly wider than Jansky’s recommended 10° orb.
Ringo Starr’s Bundle pattern possesses a powerful four-planet stellium in Leo in the fifth house, all in the space of just 4°.
Tom Jones is another singer with Neptune as the trailing planet and Jupiter as the leading planet (Figure 21). Jansky argues that the orb is too wide between the leading and trailing planets in this case. While the orb is 17°59', I would still classify this as a Bundle pattern. It is only the trailing planet that’s an outlier. I would start with the assumption of a Bundle personality and ask guided questions of the client to rule the Bundle pattern in or out.