One of the most exciting, yet daunting features of astrology is the use of timing techniques.
Exciting because each timing tool can reveal a new layer or a new angle that another one doesn’t provide. Daunting because how do you know which one to specialise in or focus on?
Ask one hundred astrologers and you’ll get one hundred differing opinions about which timing technique is the best one. Some will say transits, others will say secondary progressions. Then you have astrologers that say solar arc directions are better than secondary progressions.
With the renaissance of traditional techniques so far this century, profections are now popular and a lot of astrologers fancy zodiacal releasing. Then there are circumambulations through the bounds, triplicity lords and firdaria. I’m sure some of these you’ve heard of and some of them may be new to you.
Unfortunately, as these old techniques got dusted off from the tomes of history, techniques that are also traditional and had been alive and well for some time became discarded.
One technique I ABSOLUTELY adore and I don’t assess anyone’s chart without it are the secondary progressed lunar phases. The reason I find them so helpful is because it doesn’t seem to matter which of the abovementioned techniques you subscribe to, the SPLP tend to have the final say, like a closing argument in a court of law.
In theory, it seems so simple. The distance between the Sun and the Moon at a certain age in years is the position the Sun and Moon held in days after birth.
For example, if you’re 35 years old then you want to find the lunar phase when you were 35 days old. If you were born on a New Moon, then you would have had your secondary progressed lunar return at approximate 27 1/3 years old. Another 7 days = 7 years (35) and it would be the first quarter Moon. Thus, if you are 35 years old and were born on a New Moon, you’d approximately now be in the first quarter phase via secondary progression.
TIP: when looking at your secondary progressed lunar phase, you are calculating from the secondary progressed Sun to the secondary progressed Moon. Forget about the natal positions for this!
So why are the secondary progressed lunar phases so good?
When you think about it, the Sun and the Moon are the CORE features of our astrological make up, sans the ascendant.
Astrology charts aside, the Sun and the Moon form the primary rhythms of life here on earth. The meaning, the symbolism and the lived visceral experience of our relationship to the lights simply cannot be dismissed.
Since the dawn of time the Sun / Moon relationship inspired pagan festivals, religious celebrations, the creation of calendars and the awe of mankind.
The waxing phase was the time to plant and hunt. The waning was the time to enjoy the harvest and batten down the hatches before the cycle begins again.
Does it not make sense that their phases through the course of your life would not describe the ups and downs and the ebbs and flows of your life? When is it time to charge forth with your goals and ambitions? When is it time for you to consider scaling back, giving back or in some cases, leave something behind?
The reality is, it doesn’t really matter which timing tools you choose to use. If you don’t factor in the use of the SPLP, just like in a court of law, you’re missing the cosmos’ closing arguments.
In my opinion, it’s this reason – and many more I won’t go into here because I did that already, that a vast majority of astrologers called the USA election wrong. So few astrologers seem to use the secondary progressed lunar phase as their final piece of cosmic evidence before making their call.
NOTE: At this point in my article, I could put a disclaimer explaining how my astrological judgements are not political endorsements, but I’m not. I’m going to assume you’re an adult and you’re here for the astrology.
Let’s have a look at The Don and Kamala here.
DJT
Trump is in the SPLP of the Crescent Moon. This is my favourite phase to inform my clients that they are in or about to go into.
Just like the first silver sliver of the Moon we see after a period of darkness, this phase is about emergence.
After a period of darkness, usually lasting around 7ish years, there is light back in your life. There is a sense of hope that all the trials and tribulations of those recent years are done and the result of your efforts are about to arrive.
This is still a new phase of the Moon, but it’s waxing so the light can only increase. A little bit like a toddler learning to walk, you’re starting to take your first steps. Yes, you still need support and you’ll fall over a few times, but soon, you’ll be running!
Trump being in this phase was favourable for him to win. Unlike the 2016 election he won saw him in the Balsamic Moon phase – of loss and darkness. Some may say that is representative of what some of the country felt at the time. On the personal front though, I’d imagine DJT found this period to be difficult and it’s likely he lost much more than he stood to gain.
The 2019 election saw him very new into the New Moon phase. Despite being back in the waxing part of the cycle, there wasn’t enough light to take a hold.
There’s a sense of awareness in the Crescent Moon phase. With just a little bit of light, you can see what you couldn’t see in the previous dark phases. On the theme of support that is akin to the Crescent phase, Trump had enlisted a team to support him in the race for Presidency. With a little bit of light, he now has awareness of what he can correct, fix and change as opposed to finding his way in the dark in his previous term.
As I tell my clients, of course there will be ups and downs, but the trend you can expect now is onwards and upwards!
Kamala
Kamala is in the Full Moon phase via SPLP. This is also the phase she was born under. Despite the Moon having maximum light when full, it is considered on the waning side of the cycle.
At the time of the election, Kamala was about 16 months into her secondary progressed Full Moon phase.
This phase relates to a time of life filled with turning points. Of climax and anticlimax. Of concrete achievements or failures. It is often a period of a career high point or the realisation of a long-held dream.
The Full Moon phase via progression can be a public phase, which was proved. However, the success and high fortune can also be plagued by scandal.
When the Moon grows full, there is a feeling that a limit has been reached which can bring a sense of relief. If you saw her succession speech, she seems relived rather than disappointed. Either way, a result arrives during a Full Moon – the realisation of endings or that something didn’t work out. For some people with they reach this phase they’re sitting pretty enjoying the view from the top.
When the Moon is full the light is at its brightest. You can see a situation for what it is, one way or another.
In people’s lives often see massive turning points which result in a detachment or separation of some kind, either professionally or publicly or in their personal life. Divorces are common as well as career peaks and endings.
I won’t go deeper into the other astrological factors in play for either Harris or Trump. However, if the choice is between a small, yet waxing Moon or a Full Moon losing light, I’d be considering all other astrological technique through the lens of what the Moon is doing.
You might find using the power of the secondary progressed lunar phase helpful in client work or for observing the seasons of life under the moon.
They are most certainly an indispensable part of my own professional practice. To learn more, I have a downloadable workshop on the natal and secondary progressed lunar phases on my website.
