The Importance of Vessels & Containers
The power of containment through the lens of the upcoming Jupiter-Saturn square and the recent Cancer Season, as book-ended by two full moons in Capricorn.
Cancer Season has now given way to Leo Season and the wild Mars-Uranus conjunction of July 15th is increasingly getting smaller in my review mirror, but honestly I still feel like I’m trying to catch my breath - and catch up on life - as I attempt to squeeze this monthly Substack post into very end of July!
This year I’ve been thinking a lot about different forms of “containment” and the symbolism of boundaried objects like vessels and containers - which allow something to be safely held and carried.
Cancer Season reminded me of this theme, and the upcoming Jupiter-Saturn square in August also speaks to me of the powerful, constructive quality of containment.
The lunations of this recent Cancer Season were unique in that it was bookended by two full moons in Capricorn (instead of just one as per usual). Cancer Season opened with a full moon at 1° Capricorn on June 21, 2024, and it closed with a full moon at 29° Capricorn on July 21st.
In a way, these two full moons at the edges seemed to place Cancer Season (and the Mars-Uranus chaos and break-throughs) in a kind of cosmic container or vessel.
Other than mommy-daddy symbolism and related themes (Cancer and Capricorn are basically the parents of the zodiac), containers and vessels are the key symbols that I associate with this zodiacal polarity.
Looking ahead to August, I’ll first offer a quick overview of the upcoming astro before diving deep into the various supportive containers and vessels that are invoked by both Cancer and Leo Season this year.
There are two stand-out transits and alignments for Leo Season and the month of August.
One, which I’m not going to talk much about in this post, is the Mercury retrograde in Virgo → Leo, which begins on August 5, 2024 and hits its midpoint cazimi with the Sun (and Vesta) in Leo on August 18th/19th, while both of them square Uranus in Taurus, and oppose the Full Moon in Aquarius (creating a fixed T-square).
Expect something of the following:
A process of external or internal pressure to change or make a bid for greater freedom and independence is culminating with some measure of clarity as the process pushes back against the magnetic pull of homeostasis and maintaining status quo, while dramatic revisions and reconsiderations are underway which are invoking deep and passionate devotion.
The second major cosmic transit/alignment in August, is the powerful mutable T-square that involves Mars and Jupiter in Gemini, squaring Saturn in Pisces, and squaring Venus in Virgo. This is alignment is very strong for approximately two weeks, from about August 10th - August 24th.
Remember the Great Saturn-Jupiter Conjunction of December 21, 2020?
Well, this important planetary cycle that began 3.5 years ago, is now letting go of its training wheels and learning to ride a bike without them.
This symbolic graduation to a big-kid bike is marked by the first-quarter square in the sky between these two. By mid-August,Jupiter in Gemini will be at a 90 degree angle to Saturn in Pisces - both at 17 degrees in mutable signs.
As above, so below: this means that whatever new beginning was starting to rumble and percolate into your life by the end of December 2020, it is now preparing to step into its new and evolved form.
The Universe is clearly determined to make sure we don’t overlook the first of a set of three stretching moments of growth as the training wheels are removed.
The cosmos has set up a nail-biting suspenseful show for mid-August: the scandalous lovers of the sky, Mars and Venus, will dance among these two great gods and further burn ablaze with their heat and desire, this tense yet productive conversation of expansive, curious visions, and down-to-earth pragmatism with reminders of realistic limitations.
Saturn, ruler of Capricorn (and Aquarius), is the planet of containers and containment.
As Jupiter in Gemini reaches in every direction, dispersing its energy chaotically and longing to consume the entire horizon of possibilities, Saturn in Pisces firmly states:
“Stop spreading yourself thin. Create a sturdy, leak-proof vessel for your enthusiasm and your visions. Held within this form, your dreams now have a vehicle in which they can set sail with clarity, direction, and focus.”
The Symbolism of Vessels & Containers: An Introduction
I love the word vessel. It is a gorgeous word that lands so elegantly whenever I think it or say it.
Vessel is a synonym for “container” - which is defined as “a hollow object, such as a box or a bottle, that can be used for holding something, especially to carry or store it” - but the word vessel also invokes images that extends beyond this shared meaning.
According to Cambridge Dictionary, a vessel is:
a large boat or a ship
a curved container that is used to hold liquid
a person who has a particular quality or who is used for a particular purpose (e.g., “as a young and spirited politician, he seems a worthy vessel for the nation's hopes”)
a tube that carries liquids such as blood through the body (e.g., “blood clots clogged the blood vessels”)
We often think of a container-type object or form as being designed simply to hold and store something.
On a surface level there may appear to be something static and stagnant about containers and the concept of “containment,” when actually, as the multiple meanings of “vessel” so clearly illuminate, a container is frequently used to effectively put something into motion and propel it forward.
For example, these are some other synonyms for container:
bag, bottle, bowl, box, bucket, can, canister, capsule, carton, crate, cauldron, dish, jar, jug, kettle, package, packet, pail, pot, pouch, sack, storage, tank, tub, utensil, vase, vessel, vial… (Thesaurus.com)
Consider how we put our belongings in a bag to carry them with us; how we fill a bucket with water to bring it back to our campsite and boil it in a kettle to make it hot; how we fill a jug or glass with juice in order to be able to drink it; how we insert medicinal substances into a capsule so we can swallow it; how we fill a crate to ship possessions overseas; or how we fill a parcel or package with gifts to mail them to relatives.
Just as a vessel can refer to a boat or the tubes circulating vital blood and oxygen through our bodies, contained spaces can move energy, just as they can hold, store and protect it.
The word “vessel” reminds me of Cancer (and Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, transiting Pisces specifically), while the word “container” is one that I associate more with Capricorn, but the element of movement that is referenced by both words reminds me of the cardinal quality of both Cancer and Capricorn.
The polarity of Cancer and Capricorn is oriented toward securing safety for whatever they are nourishing and building. Therefore, this polarity deeply appreciates the boundaries, structure, and especially the protection that different kinds of life containers provide with their defined edges.
However, cardinal signs are here to initiate and take action in new directions. They are here to MOVE in a clear direction with intention. Containers help us guide something in a cohesive way toward a certain direction - just like the container of a cup helps to relocate nourishing liquid to the container of our physical bodies.
I recorded this quote a long time ago and can no longer find the full reference (aside from the attribution to Dr. Foust), but I think it is a lovely description of what healthy containment offers us on a personal and individual level:
Boundaries contain the sense of self, of “who we are.” This sense of self is a bodily felt sense, rather than being only an idea, a cognitive/verbal construction. A healthy containment is reflected in the capacity to know and enjoy the experience of who we are, to acknowledge and tolerate our various physical, energetic, cognitive, affectual and emotional states.
Containment preserves our sense of inner integrity, of “this is me.” It maintains our difference without denying connection and unity.
Containment is internally directed, for it refers to having a vessel or container for the free flow of energy (physical, affectual, or cognitive) within one’s self. The energy is not automatically discharged or directed toward another, but is contained. However, the energy is not “held” or blocked; with a healthy containment, it circulates freely throughout the body. ~ Dr. Foust
Here Dr. Foust is also emphasizing that healthy containment does not mean we (or some area of our lives) is stagnant or static. Healthy containment enables a healthy flow of energy and growth - blood vessels are a good example of this.
Conversely, without healthy containment in our lives through the use of sturdy and safe intentionally crafted vessels, the risk is fragmentation, instability, disorientation, loss of a sense of self and grounded center, experiences of overwhelm and collapse, blurred and messy boundaries, loss of direction and clarity, difficulty with moving forward in a cohesive, organized way, and the lack of the necessary protection required to grow vulnerable new beginnings and reclaim resources from the expensive energetic demands of responding to external threats and distractions.
Vessels, Containers + a Retrospective on Cancer Season and the Month of July
With the recent full moons that landed at 1° Capricorn on June 21, 2024, and again at 29° Capricorn on July 21st, throughout Cancer Season one particular area of our life may have been challenged to adjust the edges and boundaries of a life container in order to more effectively hold something important.
Too, we may have been challenged to better design the containers in our lives in order to facilitate movement toward a certain direction and goal.
Look for the house in your birth chart that contains Capricorn for more clues as to what area of life this theme of containment landed within.
These two side-by-side Time Magazine covers with their stark, boundaried, “container-type” vibes, are particularly potent representations of the two full moons in Capricorn that book-ended Cancer Season (not to mention that Saturn-ruled Capricorn is also the sign with the strongest association with Time itself).
As indicated in the caption, the cover image on the right was published digitally on June 28th, the day after the disastrous presidential debate.
Of course, June 28th was a week after the first full moon, but it still felt like an opening act to Cancer Season with its reminders that the vessel of the Presidential position needed some major adjustments and strengthening if it was to guide the United States (and the world) toward a better future. This container ideally needs to be “filled” by an individual possessing qualities that were not represented in the debate, let’s just say (imho).
The cover image on the left was published on July 21st, the day President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race - which, as so many astrologers have noted, was also the day of the second full moon in Capricorn, conjunct Pluto in Aquarius no less, suggesting a major ending was occurring as an important container was restructured.
The cardinal polarity of Cancer-Capricorn propelled some major movement within its associated containers and vessels, as aptly illustrated by these Time magazine covers and the shifts in power that took place in the United Sates.
Speaking of movement, in the second half of Cancer Season, contained by the two full moons in Capricorn, we had the Mars-Uranus conjunction (conjunct the star Algol) in Taurus, on July 15th.
Mars-Uranus was the central vibe of the month.
This chaotic, dramatic, and daring duo likely stirred up some kind of storm for all of us mid-month. This energy would have been most potent from approximately July 10th to about July 20th as Mars hit the edgy 29th degree of Taurus before shifting into Gemini (and as Mercury moved into square Uranus and we had a global IT crash).
In the therapeutic field we talk about therapists holding the container of space for someone to work through big emotions and nervous system dysregulation.
I picture the two full moons in Capricorn as two therapist figures, holding a sturdy energetic container for us to process the wildness of Mars-Uranus in a safe environment. I do hope you felt this grounded space amid all the disorienting events that may have landed for you in July!
Numerous astrologers tracking US politics have predicted that some kind of dramatic public event involving Trump would occur around the day of the Mars-Uranus conjunction on July 15th, because this is what that time period looked like for his birth chart:
Uranus and Mars were finalizing their conjunction during the weekend of the assassination attempt, right on Trump’s midheaven; a point of high visibility that reflects one’s public reputation, social roles, career, vocational direction and legacy.
The conjunction occurred on the fixed star Algol, the so-called “demon star”, which represents the head of Medusa, a tragic figure who was killed by Perseus in Greek mythology.
Today, the star Algol has a symbolic association with “loosing one’s head” literally or metaphorically.
So Mars (which is associated with guns, violence, blood, and punctures) met with Uranus (shocking, bizarre, rebellious, and chaotic) in Taurus (the sign that rules the ears-nose-threat trio in medical astrology) conjunct Algol (a violent indicator of potentially losing one’s head) closely conjunct Trump’s midheaven (his public reputation), while square his natal Mars + Ascendant in Leo (his physical body, his need to be seen as a hero, his passionate explosions of prideful anger)…. and… well, we all know what happened.
I mean, we kinda know what happened. There’s a ton of conspiracy theories swirling around this event, which also feels very Uranian to me.
At any rate, including conspiracy theories in the mix, the whole thing played out weirdly like textbook astrology.
Uranus can also be like an uncanny, bizarre, hard-to-believe lucky break, and perhaps the containing influence of the two Capricorn full moons were offering some protection.
As a Canadian, I don’t follow US politics closely. The energy is whack and I’d like to keep my distance on all fronts, to be honest! However, certain US news is hard to miss.
There are many astrologers who are tracking political developments in the US very closely and following along with sharp analyses. I’ve briefly made some correlations here (which have been made by others as well), but in general I will leave this job up to to those who are dedicated to the topic!
Astro-political analysis is easy to find online, but I will suggest this article by Kelly Surtees, which highlights a few important transits that Kamala has going on right now, if you have an interest in going deeper on this topic.
There’s also the July forecast offering from The Astrology Podcast - which was recorded in June - where they preview the upcoming transits.
At 1:31 they begin discussing Mars-Uranus, and at 01:44:18 Chris Brennan says:
"So there could be some explosive stuff with respect to him [Trump] that week that we’ll be following."
I will give into temptation and make another soft prediction here just for the heck of it:
As I mentioned, on August 18th, the Sun and Mercury Rx will conjoin in Leo at 26 degrees, opposite the Full Moon in Aquarius and square Uranus in Taurus, which perfects on August 19th. Once again, all of this strongly activates Trump’s midheaven and Leo Ascendant + natal Mars. I would expect to see him in the spotlight again in a dramatic and shocking way… which isn’t much of a prediction since I feel like this has happened frequently over the years! However, it is a noteworthy transit that I could see lining up with a debate with Kamala, for example.
Okay, enough of US politics!
How did Mars-Uranus show up for you throughout mid-July?
Did you feel held, protected, and guided forward by the two Capricorn full moons offering some containment for the explosive chaos?
When Mars and Uranus are as loud as they were throughout the middle of July, life can feel like it is moving at a very fast pace. Everything may feel urgent (like a "crisis"), and especially with Uranus involved, we may feel pulled here and there to put out fires in our life.
Conflict and tension with other people is common, as are shocking revelations and discoveries (of both the positive and challenging kind).
Unfortunately, within a few days of Mars-Uranus conjoining, I received some erratic and surprising communications from an older relative whose health status has changed dramatically in the last few months, unbeknownst to me. I also received news that someone my age who I had known in childhood, had died suddenly that Monday. A family member nearly closed on a house, but then their lawyer dropped them in a confusing way without warning. There were sudden and surprising staff changes in my work context.
Especially with Mars and Uranus conjoining in Taurus, you may have noticed animals and pets acting strangely and out of character - or some other surprising animal-involved event. For example, for the first time ever, a deer got stuck in our fenced-in garden (specifically constructed to keep them out) via the one garden gate that was left open that evening. The deer then panicked (after munching down) and had to be carefully ushered out again.
Higher anxiety and panic attacks tend to be more likely when Mars and Uranus come together.
I noticed a lot of health-related issues with this Mars-Uranus conjunction. When the heat of Mars energy moves through the body, inflammation, fevers, heatstroke, burns, stings, punctures, cuts, and accidents, are somewhat common.
Uranus conjunct Mars is like an extremely powerful electrical current. It’s a lot of energy to move through. I have seen seizures correlate with Uranian transits numerous times for example, or bizarre fainting episodes and sudden shifts in bodily functions that typically maintain homeostasis.
Uranus can ramp up all of the Mars-related physical symptoms and give them a weird or “sudden” twist.
I encountered numerous incidents of people getting stung by wasps as Mars was just separating from Uranus in the final degrees of Taurus. However, it was this story of getting stung by a wasp (that same week) that really stood out to me:
I love this wasp sting story as an example of how yes, Mars (and Uranus) have an affinity with painful wasp stings, AND, both planets are also experts at moving energy and emotion!
Mars and Uranus could have come along and provided the breakthrough that maybe you didn’t even know you needed!
Many people had confrontations and clarifications during the Mars-Uranus transit that were a long time in coming. Personally, I had a breakthrough with my ongoing ancestry research, and I moved around a lot of money and paid off a credit card (money and resources were a theme with the conjunction occurring in Taurus). I also had a surprisingly effective therapy session that moved a lot of energy just a day after Mars-Uranus perfected.
Like the healing poultice of plantain that I convinced my brother to put on his wasp sting, I hope that after you used that Mars-Uranus transit to move some stuck energy, you found comfort in safe and secure containers in your life that could offer grounding and anti-inflammatory care!
Vessels, Containers + the Jupiter-Saturn Square of August
As I was preparing this blog post this week, I made an Etsy sale.
This was extremely unexpected.
I started an Etsy account over a year ago to hold the name for the herbal business I hope to eventually launch. I added some herbal smoke bundles to the account in order to keep it open, but there was literally only ONE product listed, with NO sales, and NO reviews.
Who buys from a year-old Etsy account with one product, no prior sales, and no reviews?!
Someone does, apparently!
Anyway, this sent me scrambling to figure out packaging. Cute and personalized packaging makes a huge difference with Etsy sales.
So I went shopping for the perfect cardboard box.
The timing of this was an interesting synchronicity that made me think about what makes a good container…
…it all depends on what you want the container to hold.
I wanted my container to hold bundles of dried flowers in a way that would preserve their integrity while they made their way to my customer in the U.S.
I was looking for dimensions around 7 x 7 x 2 inches, made from corrugated cardboard, and hopefully not costing so much that it would dig into my profits. Yet I didn’t want to re-use a box because the aesthetics were important to me in this case.
The herbal smoke bundles are a bit fragile so I needed to ensure the interior was packed in such a way that they wouldn’t roll around.
These are all unique criteria that I applied in order to achieve a certain goal.
If I wanted a container or vessel that would bring liquid to my lips to drink, I would need to use a different set of criteria to guide my search.
As Jupiter and Saturn close in on their square this August, it is important to consider what Jupiter is trying to expand and invite into our life - and consequently, what Saturnian criteria needs to be applied to make sure we are constructing a suitable vessel in which growth and movement can occur.
I have benefited so much from this Saturnian analogy of vessels and containers. I apply the concept to nearly all areas of my life because I find it so helpful.
Here are some examples of vessels that offer protective, nourishing, or instructive containment for an important substance or action in our lives:
Physical somatic vessels that hold and move life force energy, whose edges and boundaries are typically maintained by tissue or skin: the human body, the animal body, the womb, the mother’s body.
The circular image of the birth chart - a reflection of the solar system and the embodiment of space-time intersecting at a particular location and date - as a vessel for the soul and its life journey in this incarnation.
Global containers of time: the lunation cycle with the new and full moons holding the edges; the solar year defined by the four quarters/seasons; the Gregorian calendar book-ended by January 1st and December 31st; astrological transits delineated by sign shifts, aspects, and changes in direction; the 24-hour day with a sunrise and sunset at the edges.
Schedules, habits and daily routines as individualized containers of time.
Relationships as a vessel for trust, shared love and intimacy, interaction, play, mutual support and self-discovery - which create their unique shape and function via shared interests/activities, proximity and frequency of meeting, depth of connection or desire, formal social roles, explicit or unspoken commitments, agreements and expectations.
The therapeutic container, whose edges and boundaries are created and held by the therapist in order to create a safe and stable space of healing for the client.
The dwelling place (e.g., house, apartment, room) as a container of space that shelters, protects, and holds the opportunity for restorative rest. The edges and boundaries of this type of container are typically quite obvious and tangible - e.g., solid walls, property lines, fences.
Vessels of money: bank accounts, piggy banks, budgets, investments, credit cards, wallets. The edges of these types of vessels usually appear as numbers and amounts, as well as passwords and policies.
Social media profiles as vessels of identity typically defined by personal images, videos and written words, and guarded by passwords.
Email accounts as containers of communication and personal information - their definition and shape is found in the inbox and another digital folders, as well as the characters on either side of the “@” sign.
Community as a container for multiple people with shared goals and values, holding its shape with agreed-upon guidelines, spoken or unspoken.
Religious practices and sites as a sacred container for devotion, worship, identity-development, and an ongoing relationship to a historical tradition and divinity. The edges of these containers are usually delineated by important structures and buildings, sacred texts and song, religious leaders, and regular gatherings. Unfortunately, the perceived need to protect the defining edges and boundaries of this type of container have often led to violence and wars.
Rituals as vessels that invoke the unseen world, thus vastly expanding the size and transformative potential of the contained space. This supernaturally expanded space, stretching beyond the material world while anchored in place by symbolic action and spiritual supports, has the capacity to hold us securely as we cross thresholds in life that would otherwise feel overwhelming. A skillfully constructed ritual vessel ensures we reach the other side of the threshold in one piece, without leaving fragments of ourselves behind.
Consider what houses Jupiter and Saturn are traveling through in your chart and what types of sturdy-yet-flexible containers they are calling for. (hint: look for the Gemini and Pisces houses)
If your 4th house is being activated by these transits, maybe the container of your dwelling space is feeling too constrictive - perhaps you need a more flexible container, or one that is in a different shape or location.
If your 2nd or 8th house is being activated by Saturn and Jupiter, it may be that in order to increase abundance in your life you need to place your finances in a more defined or safer container.
If your 7th or 11th house is being activated by Saturn and Jupiter, you may be re-assessing your relational containers - which ones feel too constrictive or which ones have edges that are too blurred and undefined? How can you co-create secure and stable relational containers that support and nourish mutual growth and expansion?
Thinking of these different areas of life as a container or a vessel can effectively create a bridge from the symbolic to the material world, and facilitate practical action as we navigate this first quarter square between Jupiter and Saturn.
I bring this analogy into my life all the time. I even draw the image of a jug or container of some shape when setting goals - I write my goals inside of it.
Once you’ve located the area in your life where you want to build or repair a container and what aspect of Space-Time is going to be held within it, there are some other things to consider.
Because here’s the key:
When we take the time to carefully plan, design and prepare our container, we can more easily invite and welcome that which we want to fill the container with.
What is the long-term function, purpose, or vision for this container? How does this change its shape and materials? Is its primary mission to protect something? To safely incubate a new beginning? To collect something? To carry something? Does it need to be flexible so it can shape-shift to fit into both small and large spaces?
We might use a woven basket for picking herbs, but we wouldn’t use a woven basket for holding water. Similarly, we want to make sure we are clear on the function and purpose of this container so that we design it with care and intention.
How will you open and close your container in order to maintain its shape and function? Teachers do this with icebreakers and feedback forms. Religious leaders achieve opening and closing with prayers and song. I typically divide my day into “four containers of time.” I open and close each one with intention and a small symbolic act.
We need to be able to rely on the vessels in our lives to do the thing they are designed to do. This means regularly assessing them to see if they are maintaining their form, function, and strength - and making repairs and adjustments when necessary.
Saturn and I want you to know the immense value and benefit of well-defined and clear containers in life that are designed with intention and tended to with care!
One final thing I want to mention is that although I’ve discussed vessels and containers as symbolically associated with the Cancer-Capricorn axis and the planet Saturn, it is actually the sign and constellation of Aquarius - which is Latin for “water-carrier” - that features a literal vessel in its imagery!
The symbolism of the overflowing jug of water is also captured in the hopeful and visionary Star card in the RWS Tarot deck, which is associated with Aquarius:
I recently watched an IG story where an astrologer was documenting the countless jugs and vases of all kinds that were aesthetically on display in their aunt’s home - she is an Aquarius Sun!
There’s a teacher I’ve been following online for a long time who was also born with the Sun in Aquarius and her publicly-stated vision is: a planet that can provide clean water for all humans 500 years into the future. This vision is something she is committed to contributing to - and it is beautifully Aquarian!
The Cancer-Capricorn polarity (and Saturn) is still what first comes to mind when I think of the symbolism of vessels and containers.
However, if Cancer and Capricorn are the energies that build and tend to the vessels and containers of our lives, perhaps it is in the sign of Aquarius where the work we have invested is poured out in ways that contribute to the broader world and humanity as a whole.
P.S. While preparing this blog post I searched my archives for previous writings on Cancer, Capricorn, and the concept of containers. If this topic interests you, you may also be interested in these posts:
Very interesting. There's a lot to ponder. Thank you.
I read a book about the planetary transits people experience in each decade of their lives. What confused me was why everyone experiences the same transits at the sametimeof our lives, despite the fact that we were all born at different times. How does that work?