A Bucket Planetary Pattern consists of all the planets except one within a 180° semicircle—the "Bowl"—and the remaining planet, the “Handle,” positioned by itself in the remaining half of the chart. As with the Bowl Planetary Pattern, the two planets at the lips or rim of the Bowl may or may not be opposed; if they are, their opposition, as with the Bowl, is known as the “rim opposition.” In order to be considered a Bucket, the handle planet may not be conjunct either of the rim planets, nor may there be an open space exceeding 65° within the Bucket. If the handle planet is within 12° of either rim planet, the chart must be considered a Bowl. And if a second planet is conjunct the handle planet, the chart may still be classified as a Bucket pattern as long as the conjunction is within 3°. The presence of a T-square or grand cross in the Bucket adds organization and structural strength to the Bucket. Should either be present, be aware of its emphasis in quadrature (cardinal, fixed or mutable); that characterizes the mode in which the native approaches life and the issues symbolized by the Bucket. Information about quadrature emphasis is given in the page on T-squares. 

The Handle Planet is the most important planet of the Bucket Pattern, focusing the energy of the nine Bowl planets and acting as their point of release, in a manner described by the sign and in the life arena described by the house of the Handle Planet. In the Bucket, the "cutting" planet (the clockwise planet in the rim opposition) is of secondary importance. With the Bucket Pattern one tends to direct his or her efforts towards a single purpose, and to emphasize self-projection.

If your Handle Planet is directly above the center of your Bowl, you are highly directed and can go to great lengths to achieve your goals. If a core opposition—an opposition from a planet in the center of the Bowl to the Handle planet—is also present, you have a great, single-minded ambition as well.

The Bucket is the second most frequently occurring of all the planetary patterns, and indicates an effective capacity for some special activity. Celebrities with Bucket Patterns are/were Mary Astor, James Blish, Carroll Burnett, Glen Campbell, Johnny Carson, Prince Charles, Ted Danson, Betty Davis, Mimi Farina, Joseph Fiennes, Bobbie Fischer, Peggy Fleming, Judy Garland, George Gershwin, John Glenn, Jean Harlow, Woody Herman, Jeremy Irons, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Kevin Kline, John Lennon, Kenny Loggins, Rod McKuen, Joni Mitchell, Marilyn Monroe, Wayne Newton, Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, Diana Ross, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Jane Russell, Theodore (Dr.) Seuss, Cat Stevens, Erich Von Stroheim, Jules Verne, George Wallace, Andy Warhol, Walt Whitman, Jonathan Winters and Ron Ziegler.