Understanding the Summer’s Grail Astrology

The Magic Circle by John William Waterhouse. Wikimedia Commons

This July, Uranus, Pluto, Neptune and Jupiter will form a perfect pattern shaped like a brazier, chalice or grail that spreads across the signs between Aquarius and Leo via Aries and Gemini. This perfects around 18 July depending on where you are in the world, but it is already active now.

All the fast moving planets, and the four major asteroids, and Chiron, are participating in this grail, or perhaps they are caught in the web of this net. Interestingly, Venus, the planet of women, peace, love, money and social relations, will be the first to perfect that grail, ahead of Jupiter, from Leo (13-19 June).  She’s joined by the Moon 17-18 June, too. Aside from the Moon, Venus will also be the first to float fully free, released into Virgo on 9 July.

Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter  all changed signs this year. That is why this pattern is so early in degrees. Chiron and Saturn will be slightly more widely involved, but frankly what’s 4° between friends.

Compared to the pandemic
In January 2020, the North Node, Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn, Ceres, the Sun and Mercury lined up in Capricorn, the sign of cardinal earth. They were soon joined by Pallas Athena and when the planet of action Mars reached Capricorn in mid-February 2020, COVID started to spread like wildfire across the globe.

Uranus, the planet of both human ingenuity and human error, had recently moved into Taurus, making a smooth trine to all the planets in Capricorn, and Jupiter and Neptune were in a lovely sextile aspect. When you get these smooth aspects, it means obstacles are removed, and things flow very fast, like a river when it bursts through a dam. 

The reason I bring up COVID is not because I am expecting another pandemic, necessarily, but because that was the last time we had a major outer planetary pattern, as we are experiencing this summer. Since it’s easily within living memory, we all know what it feels like to be swept along collectively by a huge tide.

A big difference between 2020 and now is that, back then, planets were bunched up in one sign, Capricorn, cardinal earth. In particular, two planets associated with prison, fear and death — Pluto and Saturn — were in conjunction in a winter sign. I think for many of us, for me anyway, the biggest memory of COVID is the lock down. These planets describe that exactly. This time, the planets are opening out like a flower, spread across half the sky. 

The Beginning
Another important point is that this current pattern is early in the signs. We are at the start of something, which will start now but unfold over a long period. Because of the breadth of this pattern, changes are bound to happen in multiple ways, and then ricochet around the Zodiac. 

All the planets involved — except Chiron — are in fire and air. Fire and air at their most basic represent action and thought, the wands and swords of the tarot. One of the most important pieces of ancient technology developed by our ancestors was the fire pot, which meant they could carry fire with them as they roamed the great world. And as the faster moving planets move through Gemini and Leo, they lock in to the grail structure itself, but even when they are in Taurus or Cancer, they are within the mesh of the pattern.

Long Change
What is more, the core triangle between Pluto, Uranus and Neptune will be around until about 2030. Just to be clear, Neptune and Pluto are often in sextile to each other. They were repeatedly for much of the 1950s, 70s and 80s, then they had a hiatus and now they are back again, ready to sing that song in a different key. Between now and 2032, they will make 13 exact aspects connecting fiery Aries and airy Aquarius.

Pluto and Uranus will trine five times between now and 2028, and there will be three sextiles between Uranus and Neptune between now and 2027. 

So you see this is a long period — and frankly, as they were in the 1960s for example, Pluto and Neptune will be close enough to sextile until at least 2038, even though the aspect is not perfect.

Flammable
However, this is the summer when it all gets going. Until 9 July, when Venus bursts through to Virgo, all the planets and the asteroids — except the Moon which changes signs every couple of days — will be on one side of the sky. It means that all the other signs — from Virgo to Capricorn are looking into that wide-mouthed grail. You are either part of the bowl, or looking into it, and probably both.

This fire and air bowl looks hot and dry, flammable, and we need to look to the water and earth to control it. What is water? Feeling. What is earth? Sense.

What is fire then? Instinct. And Air? Thought.

You are probably familiar with the Myers-Brigg test. Well, it’s based on the work of Carl Jung who was looking at astrology and alchemy for his psychological categories. In a society, we need all four elements to be working for it to function. Too much of one or two and we become overly mental or physical or emotional

The tension holding the edge of this bowl is between Pluto in Aquarius and Jupiter in Leo — from 29 June. Aquarius is, of course, a sign associated with technology, the future, networks, community and the collective. It’s also said to be the common person; that is who an Aquarius was in Roman times —  the water carrier was the lowest of jobs. Leo is the king, the individual, a hand-wrought crown, personal creativity, heart. So we are looking at one of the great axes of society. The worker vs the elite, the water carrier vs the emperor.

But the planets involved don’t quite echo that. They add great complexity.

Pluto is wealth, power, focus, a plutocrat and king of the underworld. Jupiter is wisdom, justice, excess, a teacher and king. When these two oppose each other across that axis — as they will in July, and by sign for the coming year — what happens? 

You could say that Pluto means power to the people, and that is definitely one facet of this, but it’s also about the power of technology itself, and Pluto is working with Uranus (genius) in Gemini (communications) closely now. Uranus in Gemini plus Pluto in Aquarius looks, among other things, a lot like mass surveillance; and innovation to do with flight, remote viewing. And that’s interesting because of the shape of this pattern — a dish, a satellite dish. So are Pluto in Aquarius and Jupiter in Leo clashing, or in alliance? 

This is astrology, so the answer is always the same — both, or all of the above. 

If Pluto and Jupiter are working together, using technology to control the population on the one hand, then the populace is also responding. The sovereign individual is Jupiter in Leo, uniting with powerful communities, Pluto in Aquarius, to liberate (Uranus) with information (Gemini). Certainly with the asteroid Juno involved, and soon the Sun in Leo, this looks like a power struggle.

You see how we can play and manipulate the symbolism — and how nothing is inevitable. We have choices.

This extremely powerful aspect pattern dominates the sky this summer and may offer each of us choices on a personal level — and collectively. It is also unfolding. It is an aspect that speaks of becoming, offering, generosity, open heart and open mind. A fire pot, or censor, was used to carry life-giving energy from one campsite to the next, or, now, from one generation to the next — but it needed to be controlled, cared for and fed…

For more on Juno and Pluto, watch this.