BEGINNING & ENDING PLANETS – An Introduction to forthcoming book

BEGINNING AND ENDING PLANETS by Lynn Koiner LPMAFA

A Beginning Planet is one that is the earliest by degree in the chart.  This does not involve the sign, only the degree, but the planet must occur between 0 and 5-6 degrees of a sign.  A Beginning Planet shows where the individual is young in their experience of the energy of that Planet and, therefore, it is not always used well, especially when starting or in a new situation.  Some of my students have commented that the Beginning Planet is where they feel dissimilar, not fitting in with others.  Often, as I will discuss later, we had to teach ourselves how to use the Beginning Planet.  In my observations of my own Beginning Planets, I feel that they are quite naive or “not fully ripened” – but they also show how we begin new cycles in our lives.

An Ending Planet is the one that is the latest by degree in the chart but the planet must be positioned between 24-25 and 29 degrees.  There is an energy that may be over-developed by the individual and, as a result, it can become distorted.  With the Ending Planet, the individual must and does learn to let go of the tendency to hold onto the planet’s energy.  But, individual may go to extremes with the Ending Planet before releasing the energy.  Some students observe that they feel compelled or even forced to do this.

Of course, there can be more than one Beginning and Ending Planet in the chart but they must be positioned in these early or late degrees.  In my own chart, I have Jupiter at 1, Neptune at 5̊ ̊ and even the Sun at 6.  However, only Jupiter at the earliest degree influences how I begin new ̊ cycles.

When there are many Ending Planets in the chart, it describes an obsessive type of personality that must go to extremes with everything before they can let go.  They must go to the precipice before they can take that leap of faith, let go and move on.  To be honest, this is really a style of action and, as with an Ending Mercury, it is a process that they must go through before they feel sufficiently secure and comfortable enough to move forward.  This is not a pattern that needs to be changed but rather a pattern of behavior demonstrated by the Ending Planet.

With the Beginning Planet, there may be a compulsive or instinctive style to its manifestation because the individual may not know how to regulate the planet’s energies. For the Beginning Planet, there is a lot of insecurity surrounding any new cycle or activity.  This may be due to an innate insecurity about life on planet Earth. The Beginning Moon needs more time to adjust; however, the Beginning Uranus seems to adapt well to this style – possessing a pioneering spirit.   For Uranus, the insecurity can arise through being the first one to do it, all alone, not quite accepted by others in their pioneer role.  The Beginning Moon must tend to the issues and needs of its sign before it feels secure enough to move forward.

Feedback from the audience has shown that Beginning Planets are often self-taught qualities.  This is most obvious with the Beginning Saturn wherein these people always comment that they taught themselves everything about responsibilities.

Without Ending Planets, there is no mechanism for knowing that a cycle, activity or situation is coming to an end.  There can be a panicky, “What’s going to Happen!?” feeling, especially when there are several of the insecure Beginning Planets.

With many Beginning Planets, I feel that these people do not have much experience with life on Planet Earth.  This does NOT mean that they are not “Old Souls,” just not old in the 3dimensional earthly experience.  They often seek out partners who act like parents, often partners with strong Ending Planets.  When there are several Beginning Planets, there are several possibilities for beginning a new cycle.

Alice A. Bailey stated that, by the year 2000, many new Souls would incarnate to this planet simply to raise the frequency of this planet, to elevate its vibration.  She actually states that these would be Ray IV Souls, souls who are extremely sensitive to color, sound and vibration.  They are more interested in     mediating conflict and stress than creating it.

The concept of Beginning and Ending Planets works with progressions, occurring around the time when the progressed planet changes signs.  This also works the transiting cycles, as outer planets change signs.  If there are stressful transits to a Beginning Planet, this can cause health issues to arise.  When the transiting Pluto at 1 ̊ Capricorn squared my Jupiter at 1 ̊ Libra, I took on many new responsibilities.  These new responsibilities were important to my personal and professional development but the stress of the “new” triggered health issues – bronchitis and a reoccurrence of the Epstein-Barr Virus.  These health issues can also occur with stressful transits to a planet at 28 ̊ or 29 ̊ of a sign when the individual is having a difficult time letting go of an old situation.

Gil Navarro described transiting planets in late degrees as the “End of the Rope” degrees.  People often feel a pressure to change, desperate and compelled to end something…so they feel that they are at the end of their rope.  The criminal personalities can act out of desperation which can be observed in the news.

When planets are transiting the very early degrees of a sign, often we need time to adjust to the new energies.  I am specifically thinking of the day, January 12, 1996, when Uranus entered the sign of Aquarius.  It was like someone turned up the electrical juice, time speeded up and I personally felt out of sync with the energies.  Working with old Earth sign energies, I would give myself two hours to work on a task only to find that I did not have enough time.  I often felt that I was running in place!  By the time Uranus had moved to 4 degrees, I had finally adapted.

In 2008-09, as Pluto changed signs, those individuals with early degree Cardinal signs felt pressure and stress in adapting to any new situation.  Unlike later degrees, a transiting hard aspect to a planet in early degrees does not mean that the new activity will not be successful.  I only describe the stress of learning to do something totally differently.  It is stressful until the individual “learns the ropes,” so to speak.

Lars Karlssen in Sweden has observed that, when the Progressed MC enters 29, these individuals feel that they are living under the threat of company downsizing or losing their job.

The 29 ̊ is the hallmark of the Ending Cycle, a threshold and precipice degree, letting go in order to move into a new experience in life.  This degree is not always an ending but it sometimes manifests when something comes to a head, comes to a finalization or point of fruition.  Michelle Adler used an example of Michael Crichton who, when most of his progressed planets entered the 29^th degree, had the #1 movie, Jurassic Park (based upon his book), a #1 paperback book, DISCLOSURES, and a #1 TV show, ER.

I have added some new insights about the Beginning Planets, observations that are a result of my workshops on this topic.  I find that the difficulty with Beginning Planets is that the individual had to teach his or her self how to use the planet – the parents may not have been effective in teaching the individual about the planet.  This is most obvious with a Beginning Saturn.

The sense of responsibility is always self-taught.  If they learned well and they were encouraged by the parents, they learn to be highly responsible individuals.  If a parent tried to protect them or discourage them from the learning process, they have a very difficult time with responsibilities.

Joanne Wickenberg, a long-time astrologer for whom I have great respect,  commented that Dane Rudhyar likened planets in very early degrees to the “new phase,” which is associated with functioning more spontaneously or instinctively…but with little objectivity.   In other words, there is an “act first and understand why you did so only after the fact.  With the energy of the Beginning Planet, they are a bit naive and somewhat unsophisticated.

Joanne added this insight: “I have Saturn, Venus and the Sun at 0-1-2 degrees of Cancer and this is the story of my life.  I never fully know what I am doing but things seem to work out well when I do things spontaneously on gut instinct.  If I think too long about something or try to create a sophisticated plan of action, things never work as well.”

Rather comments on the late degree planets as operating more objectively, as if there was more awareness of the historical significance of potential action before action is taken.  It is important for these people to have a plan before acting.  The “Balsamic Phase” energy in very late degrees is associated with one who is planting seeds for the future and, as a result, may be out of step with the rest of the world.

EXAMPLES:

✮ One woman replied that her earliest planets are at 6̊.  “I do feel that they are “baby planets” where I still need a lot of work.

There are always anomalies to the descriptions that I give for the Beginning and Ending Planets.  I am always interested to hear these stories.  The actually do not contradict my statements but expand the view and experiences of the Beginning and Ending Planets.  My readers are encouraged to write to me at lynn.koiner@gmail.com with any anomalies or insights.