Barbault’s Basket… or is it a Cat’s Cradle?

Including the Asteroids Borasisi and Juno and Exploring The Lull of Doom and Gloom Astrology/CosmologyThe relationship phenomenon of Lying Flat

The astrology of July is truly fascinating. Every astrologer is talking about it – “Barbault’s Basket” – a RARE astrological configuration. I haven’t seen a post that includes the asteroids, so here I throw my two cents’ worth in…

Barbault’s Basket, named after the late astrologer Andre Barbault who wrote extensively on it, is the shape of a basket formed with the major outer planets all at 4 degrees and forming trines and sextiles. Two of those planets are in opposition – Jupiter and Pluto. There are many articles on this astrological configuration; all see a huge shift in society – some see it as good, others, looking at the context within which we find ourselves, are not altogether sure. Barbault himself was very optimistic. And yet it does seem hard to imagine.

So will the asteroids provide some clarity? There are just three that join the picture. Here is what we are dealing with:

• • • • Neptune conjunct Borasisi – 4 Aries
      • Uranus – 4 Gemini
      • Jupiter – 4 Leo
      • Pluto conjunct Juno – 4 Aquarius

Also, on July 19, there is a short window when the Basket (or Cradle) turns into a Star of David

• • • • Moon – 4 Libra
      • Asteroid Sauer – 4 Sagittarius

 

Neptune conjunct Borasisi

At the July full moon in 2025, with all the planets newly in their respective new signs, I wrote about the asteroid Borasisi. In that post I wrote:

Borasisi is conjunct Neptune at 4 degrees of Aries. Borasisi was the mythical personification of the Sun in the fictional religion called Bokononism described in the book Cat’s Cradle. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was published in 1963 and can be described as dark humour or satire. It’s also considered a classic, touching a nerve in the Zeitgeist in the midst of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear destruction; the book is now a staple in high schools and universities, studied by thousands of students across North America.

At its heart, the story is about unchecked scientific discovery and meaning found through a twisted, fabricated religion based on a mythology of the planets.

The religion, called Bokononism, is named after Borasisi, the mythological name of the Sun in the book.

“Borasisi, the sun, held Pabu, the moon, in his arms and hoped that Pabu would bear him a fiery child. But poor Pabu gave birth to children that were cold, that did not burn… Then poor Pabu herself was cast away, and she went to live with her favourite child, which was Earth.”

If you haven’t read the book (or you have and you forget), here is a summary:

The Cat’s Cradle explores and satirizes issues of science, technology, the purpose of religion, and the arms race, often through the use of morbid humour. The first-person narrator, a professional writer, frames the plot as a flashback set in the mid-20th century, when he was planning to write a book called The Day the World Ended. He describes his concept for that book as an account of what people were doing on the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The story revolves around Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the fictional founding fathers of the atomic bomb, who left behind a deadly legacy in the form of “ice-nine,” a highly lethal chemical that can freeze the entire planet. The narrative follows the narrator’s research into the events surrounding the atomic bomb, which leads him to become the president of a small island in the Caribbean and ultimately to the destruction of the world. A central theme of the novel is Bokononism, a fictional religion that is self-aware about being made-up. Followers of Bokononism find meaning in the lies of the religion, which offer a way to cope with the indifferent machinations of the real world. The novel also critiques the senseless futility of war and the dangers of scientific advancements without ethical considerations.

The title of the novel is derived from the children’s game “cat’s cradle,” which is played by making a series of shapes with a loop of string between one’s fingers. In the novel, Newt Hoenikker (the dwarf son of the scientist Felix Hoenikker) recalls his father showing him the cat’s cradle when he was a child. But Newt reflects that there was no cat, and no cradle — just a meaningless pattern of string. He reflects that it’s a cradle of lies!!

A cradle of lies!

I should mention that a basket in astrology is also called a cradle – named for the pattern it makes, not with string, but with the sextiles and trines crisscrossing and making that cradle pattern within the chart.

Cat’s Cradle, the book, essentially embodies the energy of the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in its potential negative expression. Saturn in Aries is discipline and control (Hoenikker’s scientific pursuit), which is challenged by reckless impulses (the unchecked creation of Ice-Nine). It embodies the Neptune in Aries conjunct Borasisi, where illusions (Bokononism) and the destruction of those illusions when confronted with the reality of a global disaster caused by Ice-Nine reflect our current disillusionment.

The book continues to touch a nerve in the Zeitgeist… do I need to name all the ways?

The fictional religion where Borasisi is worshiped in this satirical science fiction book brings in themes of Science vs. religion, the absurdity of war and the search for meaning. In the book, society follows a faith that is knowingly false but comforting. And, strangely, it’s comforting because the male god has rejected and banished his wife (the moon) and children (the Earth and the planets). They are comforted by a religion based on a withdrawn, divorced parental god who blames and rejects his goddess, and in so doing, they are lulled into doing nothing about their corrupt world.

I mean… does it sound familiar?

Yet with Barbault’s Basket we are in the midst of sextiles and trines, and these energies always open opportunities… but they can also make us complacent. The basket is good if we make it good and bad if we sit at home reading Cats Cradle, allowing ourselves to be lulled by doom-and-gloom astrology – and there is lots of it!

Also inherent within the cradle is tension – it has one opposition! I’ll return to the oppositions shortly. But first, a look at the second asteroid in the mix… Juno.

Pluto conjunct Juno

We are in the midst of a global “relationship recession”. People are choosing to ‘quietly quit’ (stop putting in the effort) or stay single, or to use the Chinese term, “lay flat”. The problem is we have lost our social skills (smartphones, working at home and COVID), and things cost too much. The term Lying flat (Tang Ping) really captures it…. it is a phenomenon that apparently originated in the world of work as a rejection of the “rat race,” extending to homeownership, marriage, and career…. It’s much easier to just do nothing!

If you look closely at the myth of Juno, she was long-suffering, defined by constant jealousy and anger at her cheating husband, Jupiter, and by deep insecurity about her beauty and looks. For too long, relationships have been modelled after this insecurity and co-dependence. Yet there is a hopeful angle on the relationship recession… a deep transformation is happening in relationships…. ‘Wildflowering’ is an approach that allows relationships to develop without labels or pressure. An approach that was once called frienship. In the context of relationships, it is revolutionary and very Aquarian. And then there are ‘nun girl summers’ that see women taking a break to focus on themselves.

Within the relationship recession is the potential deep relational transformation… It’s very Pluto conjunct Juno. It holds within it the potential for more emotional clarity and ultimately, once we evolve out of it, more balanced and egalitarian relationships.

If we evolve out of it!

We are now moving toward healthy co-creative relationships, or nothing at all.

The idea of the Twin Flame comes to mind here. Twin Flames are the concept that our souls have a twin. Twin Flames meet each other to heal trauma and karma, with the relationship catalizing and speeding up that process. The ultimate goal of the twin flame is to come together after this healing and, as a power couple, serve humanity, bring about global awakening and usher us into the new golden age.

You can see how deeply healed co-creative relationships could help heal our world… but it requires us to do the work!

So the question is: are we embracing this transformation to transform ourselves and to aid the overall transformation of the world… or are we lying flat?

Now let’s look at the momentary Star of David

The Star of David

 

The Star of David is a configuration of sextiles and trines that appear like a Star … it’s also called a Merkaba.

On July 19, 2026, the moon will join in on the action, reaching 4 Libra. The Moon moves fast, but it can help to trigger events. The moon in Libra, again, brings in the theme of relationships. The only spot left that needs a planetary body to complete a Star of David is 4 Sagittarius… and there we find the asteroid Saucer.

First, about the Star of David – This configuration is composed of two interlocking Grand Trines connected by six sextiles. It also has three oppositions within it.

The oppositions represent the tensions that we must integrate in order to take advantage of the opportunity of the star. They are:

• • • • Jupiter opposite Pluto
      • Moon opposite Neptune
      • Sauer opposite Uranus

Jupiter opposite Pluto is probably one of the most volatile aspects in astrology. Jupiter expands whatever Pluto is doing. Remember Juno is also with Pluto. This could be the Twin Flame power couple taking the world by storm! But it’s also, and probably more likely, a deeper rebellion of people ‘quietly quitting’…. lying flat on the expectations of life… opting out as rebellion!

The Twin Flame idea is also challenged by the tension with the Moon opposite Neptune. The Moon in Libra is relational, and this brings me to an important point about the twin flame phenomenon… nobody believes in it anymore. Wasted time, profound disappointment, disillusionment about what is healthy, with the realization that toxic behaviours were normalized under the pretense of something profound and soul-fated, have left many disillusioned.

Yet healthy power couples do exist! And they may save us!

Finally, the Sauer/Uranus tension

Astrologer Eric Francis has some strong opinions on its expression astrologically. He discovered the asteroid Saucer is named after “Dr. Carl G. Sauer — a flight dynamics engineer who worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory — the private entity behind NASA, which is part of Caltech University — starting in 1952.”

Sauer, he says, is related to engineering and carefully planned trajectories. According to Francis, it was on the ascendant with Mercury at the moment the first plane hit the Twin Towers on 9/11. It has led him to believe that the event was engineered… and has also led him to delineate Sauer as showing up when events and plans are engineered.

If I’m honest, I’m with Francis on this one.

Uranus in Gemini has brought AI and digital technologies to the forefront. These are technologies that have been long planned/engineered and earmarked for social and economic transformation… some even say the transformation of humanity – Cyborgs! Yet, while it seems the Dr. Felix Hoenikker’s, “Papa” Monzano’s, and the other cast of amoral, indifferent, selfish, and misguided characters designing society have the upper hand, Uranus, the planet of upsets and the unexpected, may throw a wrench in long-held plans with Uranus opposing Sauer!

But the well-planned always have a plan B and C…. they have contingencies…

…and so must you!

So it seems that the basket provides an opportunity within which society is deeply changing. With the asteroids we get a picture that includes a tension between apathy, beliefs, new ways of relating and the idea of opting out of life, aka Lying Flat.

Opting out never really means opting out… instead it places the control in the hands of whoever feels driven to take advantage of the opportunities present…

There are opportunities. We live in powerful times that will shape the world that we are now stepping into. They depend on you doing your internal work and taking responsibility for the world that you want to live in.

You get to decide if it’s a Basket or a Cat’s Cradle!