This essay first appeared on the original Concordance website. The occurrence of this sequence was the
impetus for Jan, Phil Gruber and myself to take to the road for a six nation tour of Europe in ’04 to speak about it.
“Festivals are not merely the commemoration of historical events or personalities.
They are in and of themselves, each year, spiritual events carrying significance
that grows and deepens with the developing phases of human evolution.”
— Rudolf Steiner
The Grand Quintiles of October
Johnny Mirehiel
Perhaps you might remember that the chart of November 8, 2003 contained a Total Lunar Eclipse that coincided with the appearance of a Grand Sextile pattern, comprised of the Sun, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Chiron. That chart was the basis for what came to be known as The Harmonic Concordance. My understanding of that planetary picture projected an “astro-Spiritual best case scenario” for the outworking of the dynamic energies that the chart’s metaphors described. It found expression in a gathering of many millions of people worldwide – calling, in one voice, at one moment of time, for Unity Consciousness, the descent of individual God Conscious awareness and a Healing for Mother Earth.
In this piece, I would like to bring yet another astrological configuration to your attention. I feel it offers a similar opportunity for such a gathering, and for such a purpose. I present this information for your consideration, comments and contributions to the dialogue on these charts.
The Discovery
It seems that Jill Whitman of Toronto, who describes herself as “…more of a novelist than an astrologer,” was doing some research on possible future Quintile patterns when she came across the chart of October 1, 2004. (The Quintile series of aspects is not readily apparent, even to the trained astrologer’s eye. They arise from the division of the 360° circle by five. The two divisions that are up for discussion here yield aspects of 72° and 144°.) I encourage anyone interested in this subject to read astrologer Ed Gillam’s posting of his correspondence with Jill concerning it and her subsequent astrological finds. (http://www.asteria.freeserve.co.uk/grandquint/). Jill also has recently put up her own site, which may be found at http://www.grandquintiles.co.uk/. There she details her discovery and subsequent research.
To summarize Jill’s initial findings as described in her correspondence with Ed, I begin with the Grand Quintile chart of October 1st. A tight GQ is formed that day. Because the pattern appears among the positions of five planets it is not location specific, and will be in effect all over the planet. As I have used tighter orbs than has Jill, the pattern will be formed, at Greenwich, between the hours of 10:02 am and 3:22 pm, as the Moon passes from 13° Taurus 03” to 15 ° Taurus 19”. As it does, it closes the last leg of a five-pointed star/pentagram in aspect to Saturn, the Sun, Pluto and Uranus.*
The chart for the mid-point of that passage:
(Orbs: 1° 45″ applying, 1° 00″ separating, for both the Quintiles and Bi-Quintiles)
Jill’s research also led her to discover a similar pattern on October 28th, with Jupiter stepping into the vacancy left by the Sun, between 6:47 and 11:49 pm, again BST at Greenwich. Again applying the tighter orbs that I use, the pattern will be in place during the Moon’s transit from 12°45″ to 14°37″ of Taurus. At its maximum, it will look like this:
(Orbs: Quintile = 2° 10″ applying‡, 1° 00″ separating;
Bi-Quintile = 1° 50″ applying, 1°00″ separating)
Of course, using the larger orbs, which a number astrologers would, the pattern will be in place for both Grand Quintiles over a wider range of degrees and for a longer duration of time. This does not diminish the fact of their appearance.
Further still, the correspondence between Jill and Ed also brought to our attention the fact that on the morning of the 28th at 4:07 am, BST, another Total Lunar Eclipse will occur, also in Taurus/Scorpio as was the case with the Concordance Eclipse, only some 17 hours before the onset of the second Grand Quintile.
In my own research of this astronomical oddity (which uses a more conventional allowable orb for the quintile series than does Jill’s), I have found that the pattern, as it appears in the charts above, is exceedingly rare. Rarer still is the appearance of a Total Lunar Eclipse on the same day as one of these configurations. A scan of the dates provided by Jill suggests that there might not be another like it in the 2,500 years that her research has thus far covered.
Add to that the tidbit that there is a Partial Solar Eclipse (the line of which crosses over North Korea, BTW) on October 14th, the midpoint date between the two GQs, and we have quite a spectacular set of astrological events in store for us this October. Indeed, in terms of actually “seeing” some form of physical manifestation during this 28-day span, it is quite possibly an even more potent time than was the Concordance.
All Planets and Tight Orbs
A dear friend, when I told her about this new pattern, chuckled and said, “You mean that this configuration doesn’t have that little piece of space junk, Chiron, in it?” Well, no, it doesn’t. The use of Chiron in the Concordance chart was one of the two major objections that I heard from some in the astrological community about it. Obviously, not every, perhaps not even most, astrologers use Chiron as a planet. I used it because I have seen it at work, with power and impact, in hundreds of client charts. But it is not present in these charts.
The second objection to the astrology that I applied to that chart was that the orbs in it were too wide to effectively complete the pattern.¦ That objection does not apply here either. Using the standard orbs built into the Solar Fire program (3° applying, 2° separating), the pattern is readily seen. However, many astrologers employ tighter orbs for the “minor” aspects. Reducing the orbs to 1°45” applying and 1°00” separating, the configuration still appears on October 1st. In order for the true Grand Quintile to appear in the October 28th chart, one must extend the applying orb to 2° 10″.‡
The Quintile Series
Robert Hand and Bil Tierney, both referencing John Addy’s work on harmonics, have noted a certain destructive quality to the Quintile series (72°, 144°), based on charts of such notable bad guys as Robespierre and Hitler. They do, however, also note that there is a positive and creative quality inherent in it. Hand, for instance, says that he associates the five-series with transformation and “…the fundamental energies of change [and]…ability to turn creative inspiration into concrete end-products.”1 Tierney tells us that in the early esoteric schools of astrology, “…the quintile was considered to symbolize an aspirant’s creative soul alignment with the Will of the Cosmos, suggesting that quintiles have occult, transcendental undertones.”2 He further suggests that quintiles fulfill their lofty universal potential once we have struggled to become more self-realized. Both authors speak of a drive and determination to create associated with the Quintiles. Yet another perspective, offered by A.G.S. Norris tells us “…the quintile aspect is of…importance in delineation from a spiritual point of view…”3 Summing up and in short, the Quintiles instill the spiritual drive to create a transformative and positive transcendental experience emerging from the energies of the interacting planetary pair.
Now, let’s consider the (Bi) Quintile pairings found in the October 1st chart, borrowing heavily from Robert Hand’s explication of the planetary pairs: the Moon to Saturn, the Sun, Pluto, and Uranus; Saturn to the Sun, Pluto, and Uranus; the Sun to Pluto and Uranus; and Pluto to Uranus. A summary look at the pairings reveals:
| Moon to Saturn | the spiritual drive to create and transform feelings of isolation and loneliness into a transcendental experience of wholeness and unity. |
| Moon to Sun | the spiritual drive to create and transform the inner psychological between the male and female within the psyche. |
| Moon to Pluto | the spiritual drive to create a powerful drive for emotional transformation through subconscious desires. Moon to Uranus = the spiritual drive, dictated by the feelings, to transform the emotional need for freedom and unusual experiences. |
| Saturn to Sun | the spiritual drive to transform limitations on free will, principles of right and wrong, and one’s experience of structure and personal limitation. |
| Saturn to Pluto | the spiritual drive to transform circumstances that are rigid, restrictive, and extremely difficult. |
| Saturn to Uranus | the spiritual drive to transform the tension between restrictions and the desire for freedom from physical bounds. |
| Sun to Pluto | the spiritual drive to create a transformative experience in regard to issues of power and effective forms of regeneration. |
| Sun to Uranus | the spiritual drive to transform the desire for unique self-expression, limitations, and restrictions of the past in a sudden, original, and unconventional way. |
| Pluto to Uranus | the spiritual drive to create a sudden, complete and total transformation of situations of long-standing cause. |
| (One might also wish to include the Bi-Quintile between Venus and Chiron, which, although separating, is still within an allowable orb of less than 1°. Doing so would incorporate the feminine aspect of Venus into the predominately masculine grouping found in this Grand Quintile.) A brief reading of that Bi-Quintile pairing might go like this: | |
| Venus to Chiron | The spiritual drive to create a transformative healing through the power of Love. |
The Rare Second Grand Quintile
In the Grand Quintile on October 28th, a fast moving Jupiter will come to the position that the Sun had occupied in the first, joining the Moon, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto to form the second five-pointed star/pentagram pattern. This will change the energy of the planetary picture, bringing the expansiveness, optimism and God awareness that Jupiter represents to the moment. Replacing the Sun in the above summary, Jupiter’s addition can be read thus:
| Moon to Jupiter | the spiritual drive to create and transform the positive flow of nurturance and generosity through the emotional connection to the Spiritual plane. |
| Jupiter to Saturn | the spiritual drive to transform with the purpose to establish a state of balance between the physical status quo and the desire to expand into something larger. |
| Jupiter to Uranus | the spiritual drive to create a transformative experience that suddenly breaks through restraints in the drive for true spiritual freedom. |
| Jupiter to Pluto | the spiritual drive to transform and improve one’s status in their chosen societal element and the creative merger between one’s chosen goals and the subconscious drive that compels us to strive to attain them. 5 |
Of course, there are a raft of other interesting planetary “inputs” at that moment which modify the statement of the pattern. The comments that I have put forward here obviously and admittedly present my spiritual “best case scenario” of the these two charts. Again, we invite commentary on any and all of those other points of input, from those of every astrological persuasion.
I would like to point to the following in connection with the Harmonic Concordance chart. The major contact point between the Concordance chart and BOTH of the GQs is the MOON ( HC M = 16° Taurus, GQ Ms = 12° to 16° Taurus for their duration). Those should be transiting conjunctions in anybody’s book. Now, the Moon is the PRIMARY Feminine element in astrology. The primary function of the Feminine energy is the manifestation of FORM. Astrologically, since one of the major qualities of the Concordance chart was the UNION of the Masculine and Feminine energies, this transit suggests to me a “spiritual best case” wherein what was CONCEIVED in that Concordance “Union” will be given BIRTH through the Feminine energies in the GQ charts.
Another Total Lunar Eclipse
As mentioned before, as if the GQ configurations are not enough of an astrological signal that big things are a’brewin, the Taurus/Scorpio Total Lunar Eclipse on the morning of the 28th and the Partial Solar Eclipse on October 14th, (on the mid point date between the two GQs) should light up astrologers’ radar screens the world over.
Chart set for the Total Lunar Eclipse Maximum
October 28, 2004, 4:07 am, BST, (GMT – 1 hr) Greenwich, England
Because of the coincidence of the Taurus/Scorpio Total Lunar eclipses in both the Concordance chart, and in this chart of October 28th, and because they are quite nearly one year apart, I have taken the liberty of calling the sequence “The Harmonic Concordance II.” Once again, we are encouraging the global tribe of Modern Mystics to re-unite in yet another prayer of conscious intent and Gratitude.
The conscious intent that we held at the Concordance was a threefold call for Unity Consciousness, Healing for ourselves and, most importantly, for Mother Earth, and for the descent of individual God Conscious awareness. For the Concordance II celebration and prayer, may I suggest that, along with re-invoking those intents, we specifically add a fourth, for the reawakening of the Divine Feminine – in our own and all of Hu-manity’s consciousness.
Recalling the recent Venus Crossing of this past June 8th, which carried with it much Feminine energy, Phil Gruber pointed out to me that the five-pointed star pentacle has long been considered to be a Feminine symbol, and dates back to the Babylonians who associated it with the Goddess Ishtar. Considering that, and our heightened awareness of this Feminine energy due to the Crossing, it seems to be a perfectly appropriate addition for Concordance II ceremonies.
Of course, considering this very active month of October, any of the above mentioned days would be well suited to another gathering of the worldwide spiritual community. But, once again, we are presented with a single ideal moment that is most appropriate for a global prayer of conscious intent: the perfection of the Total Lunar Eclipse, at 4:07 am (GMT), on October 28th.
Please join with us in broadcasting these prayers of intent to the Universe, in gatherings with others or in your private Celebration and Prayer.
The Caveat
In order to see this quintile, astrologers must extend the orbs for the Quintile aspect to 3° 30″. I understand this to be a controversial move for many astrologers. Indeed, it was an idea that I myself had rejected upon first reading Linda’s message. I wrote and told her so, but the image stuck with me for couple of days, and I decided to revisit it in detail just in case I might want to incorporate the information into the teaching that we are currently doing about these wondrous times.
As a matter of fact, a good sized handful of astrologers discounted the existence of the Harmonic Concordance Grand Sextile because I had used orbs (5° 35″) for the Sun and Moon that they considered too wide to be effective. In the face of that particular criticism, I was happy that aspects in the first two GQs fell within tight orbs. But in spite of it, I am going to set aside my previous stance vis-à-vis the allowable orb for the Quintile series, and agree to the wider orb of 3°30″. Doing so dramatically enhances the elegance of the Sequence.
For me, therefore, there is this third astrological event that fits perfectly, and logically, into this VERY powerful sequence of what I am calling the Concordance Grand Quintile Sequence. I take the liberty to use this term because the Harmonic Concordance has become a recognizable metaphor among the Spiritual Community of Conscious Seekers to whom we speak which captures the essence of the Collective of Spirit in these times.
The Third Quintile
If one were inclined to accept the Quintiles’ orbs as being 3°30″, then the 3rd GQ exists. Here’s the chart, mid-way between the moon’s entrance onto the Star Pentagram pattern (5:39 am UT/GMT) and the time of its passage out of it (9:46 am). Note the degree of the Moon.
First of all, it seems to me that it is perfectly in tune with the “Trintizing” quality associated with three of anything found throughout the Spiritual Literature of the Ages, and that is at the core of the Ascended Relationship. On those grounds alone, I could embrace it as legitimate in the astrology that I practice. Indeed, the presence of the Quintiles in these charts has also encouraged me to give this aspect a greater power than I had formerly ascribed to it. This in particular because I now see, retrospectively, that my own exact Moon/Venus Quintile has been working in my life all along.
It has even been suggested elsewhere that the current interest in the application of the Quintile aspects might be analogous to the times of the discovery of Pluto and Chiron. When first encountered, practicing astrologers were slow to take up the use of those two bodies as planetary energies. So too may be the case with the recognition of the heretofore lightly regarded Quintiles. Along with the inquiry into the weight of these Quintile aspects, this investigation might also see a reconsideration of their allowable orbs of effectiveness. And since this time has been heralded as one of the return of the Divine Feminine, is it not also an appropriate moment to re-embrace the Quintiles within the pantheon of aspects that astrology calls “the basics?” It is also interesting to note that the astrological school which most readily embraces the primacy of the Five aspect series is John Addey’s “Harmonic Astrology.” It seems that the time is right to revisit this most feminine of aspects, (the components of Her Star Pentagram) and its rightful place in the astrological hierarchy. Just as the Divine Feminine is returning to Consciousness now, so too should her aspect.
The Five Station Sequence
Considering this context, one could actually say that we are currently in a “five-station” sequence of events associated with the five-energy of the Quintiles.
Station One = 1st GQ – October 1st
Station Two = Solar Eclipse – October 14th
Station Three = Total Lunar Eclipse – October 28th
Station Four = 2nd GQ – October 28th
Station Five = 3rd GQ – November 25th
Each of these events gives us an opening through the window of the Taurus/Scorpio sign pairing. The Venus connection (harkening back to her dramatic retrograde conjunction with the Sun of last June 8th), is apparent here too through her rulership of Taurus, highlighting our truest values and our spiritual intentions concerning relationships, balance and harmony. And let’s not forget that this pairing is a VERY important point in our spiritual and physical evolution as it anchors in the heart of the first of the traditional Four Horsemen.
There is also the internal evidence of the connection between the 3rd GQ and the other members of this Quintile family. It is associated with its sisters by its Moon’s connection to the very degrees of the Taurus/Scorpio Moons in the other charts. (Note that the Moon is the primary Feminine energy in a chart.) Therefore it is also connected to the other “Moments” that preceded them in their astrological lineage (i.e., the original HC event, the 8/11/99 Solar Eclipse, etc).
That the Grand Quintile Sequence happens three times, EXACTLY within two Lunar cycles, should also be noted. The very fact of the precise lunar cycle of these charts encourages us to make that long awaited shift to the truer Lunar Calendar.
All in all, this third Quintile definitely belongs in the mix and, as the final offering in the sequence, may offer the ultimate pay-off to it.
Yes, it is indeed a time of great JOY, HOPE and LOVE.
In Gratitude,
Johnny