Mystic Rectangle help

[astromaeve]

Hi all,
I have been doing some self study of astrology recently and need some support from huuuumans with knowledge! I have a mystic rectangle in my chart that seems to involve every single one of my planets. This is where I am getting a little confused. In one corner I have saturn, neptune, uranus conjunct. This threesome is opposing my moon, which is conjunct mars, which is conjunct chiron. Out of that whole mass, I have the moon trine my sun, which is then conjunct venus, which is conjunct mercury, which is conjunct my MC, which is conjunct jupiter. The last corner is pluto, which is opposite the sun (and not any of the other planets the sun is conjunct).

I am confused about how all of these planets are interacting with each other, and IF they are. Since pluto, for example, is only opposite the sun and not the other planets the sun conjuncts, are those other planets considered to be a part of the mystic rectangle? And if not, how is this line of conjunctions affecting the sun, which IS a part of the mystic rectangle? So far I have been studying the individual conjunctions but am realizing this rectangle probably provides a bigger picture that I am missing. I am hoping one of you will be able to help out with that bigger picture!

And of course if there's anything else that stands out I would love to hear it and would greatly appreciate it.

I'll post here my chart using the placidus house system, and then another using the whole house system because I am not sure which one I prefer yet (the journey is long!).

Thank you!

[astromaeve]

Sorry, am not sure how to get the image of my chart to stay up there.

I was Born May 9, 1989 at 14:22 in New York, NY
gender: f

[Noel Eastwood]

hey, that does sound interesting, try a bit harder and get your chart up so we can look at it, sadly I just don't have time right now to go create one for you.

[astromaeve]

Aha, I can take a screenshot from my phone ... hopefully this works. Attached both house systems. Thanks!

[Noel Eastwood]

astrom, thanks, that's perfect, it makes it so much easier when the chart is there for us to look at.

OK, you're right and you're half right it's an interesting chart for sure, the orb for a sextile is about 4 degrees, some would use a tighter orb of 2 or 3 degrees and some a wider orb. If we tighten the orb we see that only some of the planets are in the Mystic Rectangle.

But having said that, they all basically contribute to each other anyway, no matter what patterns are formed in the chart. What you could do is just read the smaller patterns:- conjunctions, sextile or trine between 2 planets, then combine it with another planet which makes it three to look at at once.

When doing a reading with many planets in a pattern we never try to fit the whole lot in our mouth and try to chew and swallow, it just chokes us. We take small bites and let it gestate until we understand the smaller chunks, then slowly, over time, add another, then another. So in terms of your chart I wouldn't even try to do a reading in one go, I'd have to do it over a period of weeks. That's why astrology is so complicated, and why astrologers should be charging thousands of dollars for a reading. It takes expertise and time, a lot of time.

OK, I'm going to step aside and let you take a tiny bite and tell me what you come up with, I'll help. Let's start with Sun and Venus conjunct in Taurus in the 9th House. We'll stick to your Placidus chart because it is quite a balanced chart.

[astromaeve]

yayyy this is exciting!

Ok so sun conjunct venus in taurus 9th. The first thing I think of is teaching. I am still developing my place as a teacher and writer -- I used to think this meant standing in front of a classroom, which I've never wanted to do. Now I am starting to see what my personalized version of teaching may be. I think mostly the material of what id envisioned teachers teaching never interested me, because I had such strong associations btw teachers and school. As I gain knowledge in fields that I am actually passionate about and capable of teaching I see a place for myself as a teacher. I think the Venus conjunct sun in taurus lends itself to creativity and sensuality and an appreciation for the nicer things. I love to sing, dance, and write. I have also always been very archetypically "feminine" and think this has a place in that. As for their placement in the 9th house, I am usually studying something, sometimes obsessively, and I've always loved learning (tho not school). The things I like to study are more relational, as in I like to study relationships between things (hence my love for astrology -- maybe a 9th house thing?). Taking these passions seriously is relatively new because I'd felt a pressure to pursue things I wasn't interested in, but now that I am, I'm getting to understand this 9th house placement more. If the 9th house is about expansion and abstract thinking, I can see the taurean quality adding some stubborn charm to my values and philosophies. I am by no means conservative, but I do value stability. I am slowly (very slowly) learning to understand "stability" as an internal way of being more than an external state of being, so that I can carry it with me. I think having an internal sense of that groundedness will allow me to move around more freely thru travel, etc. I love the idea of travel often more than i actually love to travel, because I need creature comforts and sometimes I also just appreciate living life in a very slow way. I have lived abroad, and that works a lot better for me than visiting places for short periods of time.

So the sun in general is my vitality. It is conjunct to venus, my planet of love and creativity. And they are both in taurus, who is ruled by venus. in the 9th house. I gain vitality thru this creative pursuit of knowledge and expansiveness -- that whole studying of relationships (between people, things, people and things, etc).

In terms of romantic love, I can see this influencing my desire to be challenged towards growth in a relationship. I seek partners who will challenge me to expand, and who want to stick around to build a sturdy and reliable and stable partnership. I also seek partners who are open minded, and willing to talk about all things relative to the relationship. I see that as a 9th house influence. The stability etc is that taurean influence. And I guess here too you could say that i fuel my vitality thru creativity and in love relationships. There's a lot more in this topic but I think other things relate more to other planetary aspects.

[Noel Eastwood]

wow, well done, that was good

OK, now we're going to look at Moon in Cancer in the 11th House, she is in a wide conjunction with Mars and Chiron, who happen to be in the 10th House. Now this is a little complicated, so let's go slow and break this down. Start with Moon in Cancer, then Moon in the 11th, then add mars in Cancer in the 10th to your Moon, then add Chiron to them both. Slowly, consider the Planet + Sign + House for all of them, then combine one by one.

[astromaeve]

This is awesome. Thank you so much for guiding me through this!

Ok, so. The moon is associated with emotional processing, and of the two luminaries it is the faster moving one. This association with feelings comes from the fact that feelings are generally short lived and passing experiences, they're faster to "move." When the two luminaries are divided into gendered archetypes, the sun typically represents the masculine energy or father, and the moon represents the feminine energy or the mother. My moon is in cancer, the "crab," which is ruled by the moon. There are a lot of feelings, which I see referred to as being "moody" a lot. The moon is moving quickly through these phases of feeling, and deeply. I experience it as a sensitive placement, for sure. The sideways moving crab is that skepticism that I associate with cancer moon -- I am trying to protect the soft core beneath my crab shell and giving that side-eye from time to time, a little nervous to be my full vulnerable self because I feel things so deeply. I often pick up on other peoples feelings and energies very easily, sometimes unconsciously. It often happens that i'll tell somebody I feel very confused, and will realize afterward that it was their confusion I was feeling, not my own.
The moon is in my 11th house, which is the house of friends and organizations and hopes. I have a very close group of friends that I have known for a long time, and regardless of our differences we've stuck it out. I need and rely on the comfort and safety of community and friends. The deep and quickly changing emotions definitely come out in my friendships, although I am learning to balance this out more now. I used to project a lot of my emotional experiences onto other people, blaming them internally for why I was feeling the way I did. I can do this with larger society, too. This placement might also mean I am approachable in large groups, or that I am a welcoming presence in a larger organization. I could see this supporting the sun in 9th position and teaching. As for the bit about hopes ... I think there are other aspects influencing this more, but for now I'll say the moon's relationships to hopes and dreams might be dreamy and creative. Definitely different than saturn for example ... The moon here probably generates a lot of idealism, which I can definitely identify with.
Mars! Mars is a very different energy. Having mars in cancer probably softens a lot of its fire and warrior-like qualities. I could see this presenting itself in me as an "emotional warrior," so I am all about battle but it comes through feeling and emotions and vulnerability rather than sharp words and actions. Although I am fairly blunt and had to work on that as a kid. A lot of what I read gives the impression that cancer kind of dampens the energy of mars, which makes sense ... water sign and fire planet. My experience of holding boundaries and saying "no" is really wish washy -- sometimes I find it happens naturally and others it really doesn't at all and I feel awkward and uncomfortable and anxious (some of that turbulent moon/cancer quality). That said, mars is also adding fire to my moon. And in the 10th house. House of career and success and authority and the way other people see me. Mars here probably means strong professional drive and some perfectionism. I also def have an issue with authority. That its conjunct my moon, in the 11th house, might "marry" those two houses? And maybe puts an emphasis on a passion for larger causes, like social justice (which I am passionate about), indicating a career in this field (definitely the foundation of what I do).
Annnnd chiron. Oy vey. Ok, so chiron is the planet of deep wounds we're born with, and likewise also the planet of healing. Having this in my 10th house of career prob indicates I will do well in a profession related to healing (which is what I do). The 10th house is also however associated with saturn, while the 4th is associated with cancer, and that axis is associated with our parents. I guess 4th would be the mother and 10th would be the father. This is interesting because in my chart, chiron is in cancer in the 10th house -- meaning they've swapped. My parents' relationship created a lot of trauma for me to undo in my own life, however the big whopper of a chiron story is that my mom was diagnosed with early onset alzheimer's when I was 14 and died when I was 23. It was and still is very traumatic. And life with her before that wasn't so great, either. This is however a huge part of why I do the work I do, and how I am able to do it. It has informed a lot of my life experience and choices. I am hoping this is the big wound ... Because I don't want any others.

I dont know if chiron is conjunct my moon (I guess by some standards it is?) but that probably reveals a lot about my relationship with my mom. And also contributes to my path as an herbalist (and future medical astrologer!). Other chiron in 10th house things I've read are more about feeling the need to prove yourself in your career and maybe having a pattern of the crowds turning against you or something, which I don't relate to.

I have read that chiron conjunct mars creates a difficulty expressing anger, or maybe leads to outbursts of emotions. I could relate to this, but it doesn't strike me as super relevant. I do internalize anger, which is unhealthy, and have historically had a difficult time expressing anger in a healthy way towards my family. I've also read that the sacred warrior energy is strong with this conjunction, which ... sure. Haha. I can see that, though I guess I would consider this to be something I am growing into and not something that is very strong in me right now. And I'm not sure I entirely know what it means.

So all in all i'd say theres a strong theme around what I do for a living, and my passion behind it. I am an herbalist and love it and feel like i've found a very powerful part of myself by doing this work. There is also a strong theme around masculine and feminine energies, and potentially finding a balance there -- the archetypes all seem to be in play here. They're all strongly influencing each other. And that also lends itself to my experience with my parents and those archetypes.

[Noel Eastwood]

you are doing really well, OK, now Jupiter conjunct Mercury in Gemini both straddling the MC.

[astromaeve]

jupiter is the planet of expansion and luck, and it apparently makes bigger anything it touches. it is in my 10th house, house of career, success, and authority. it is in gemini, air sign, intellect, the twins, the talkative information giver, which is ruled by mercury, which leads me to ... jupiter conjunct mercury! Mercury, the planet of communication, ruler of my ascendent (and therefore my chart), connected to jupiter through this conjunction with an added second dose of mercurial energy because both are housed in one of mercury's signs. There is a lot of mercury going on. I think mercury being my chart ruler and being conjunct jupiter might give me an added dose of luck, potentially with health (i've read that the first house was often associated with the body). And because it is also conjunct the midheaven, also in gemini (ruler being mercury), in the 9th house (house of long distance travel, abstract thought, higher education, philosophy, etc) this probably adds further emphasis to my pursuit of the intellectual and philosophical.

I am not sure I would have identified with any of this a few years ago, it is only recently that i've started to really feel and understand all my mercurial tendencies. I think it is because, like I said, I felt pressure to do and study things I wasn't really interested in. Now that I am finding and respecting my niche, these qualities are really shining. I am starting to see myself as smart and intellectual and capable. I am also entering into my saturn return, so I think some of these midheaven aspects will reveal themselves further in the next few years.

I'm also attaching a version of my chart with all aspects drawn, because I realized I have a kite pattern involving the sun-pluto opposition, with the saturn/neptune conjunction, and my ascendent. and now I feel VERY overwhelmed because it seems like everything in my chart is infinitely connected to each other. i've also seen some pretty conflicting ideas about the kite energy -- one person says it denotes disasters, others say it acts like a bow and arrow with pluto in 3rd (another indication of an obsession with communication and mind expansion) shooting towards my sun in the 9th (conjunct everything blah blah oy vey).

but siiiigh, I know i'll have to go through it slowly, aspect by aspect anyways.