Transcript: EPISODE 63 | Mars Enters Taurus (and There Was Much Rejoicing!)
Read the show notes hereJen: Welcome to the Big Sky Astrology podcast, with April Elliott Kent and me, producer and cohost Jen Braun. Hey friends, Jen here. Today is January 4th, 2021. And here with me, as always, is my friend – who’s working on her vision board for 2021 – astrologer April Elliott Kent. Hi April.
April: Hey Jen. I’m not really. I’ve never had a vision board. Have you had one? What do you put on them?
Jen: I did have one at one point and then I burned it.
Jen: It felt so good.
April: Did it? You were liberated from the vision. What I did do for a while was, I had a Pinterest board that was of things that I really liked. I think it was one year when Venus was retrograde, I started this because I was feeling very anesthetic. Like I couldn’t get in touch with what I liked. So I started this vision board, I guess, on Pinterest with the things that just bring me pleasure and delight when I look at them.
Jen: Well, that’s excellent.
April: If you were to have a vision board for 2021 Jen, what are a couple of the things you think you might put on it?
Jen: I’d like to see some friends and family that I haven’t seen eyeball to eyeball. And let me put you on that list – perhaps we’ll actually meet in person in 2021.
April: Jen, wouldn’t that be fantastic? Oh my gosh. Well, I keep hoping to get to Colorado for this conference that’s been already put off once and it’s supposed to happen in August, and that gets me that much closer to Minneapolis.
Jen: You’re about halfway here.
April: Yes. Well, it’s something at that point.
Jen: Yes.
April: Wouldn’t that be great? My dream is one day we get to do a live podcast episode.
Jen: That would be awesome.
April: Wouldn’t that be great?
Jen: Maybe we’ll do it from the conference.
April: Exactly. This is what I’m thinking. That kind of thing. That would be good for this year.
Jen: And Denver would be a good place to go because I have people there.
April: There you go. Well, let’s keep that in mind as aspirational. Let’s put that on our mutual vision board for 2021.
Jen: Great. I love that. I’ll pin it up there right now onto our mutual vision board.
April: I like it. Well, we realized we had not given shout-outs lately to any of our National Days. We liked to recognize the National Days…
Jen: Hence, my introduction.
April: That’s right. This week brings National Vision Board Day, which is the second Saturday in January. And this year is January 9th. But the one that I really liked was on January 10th Jen, because that is National Save the Eagles Day. And you know why I want to celebrate this day. Do you want to tell our listeners about it?
Jen: Does it have anything to do with me?
April: Yes.
April: You know it does.
Jen: It would seem, I am not able to leave the house without either seeing an eagle or hearing something about eagles on the radio. They’ve been following me around, it seems like. And at one point, I asked my wife, Joanie, “Do you ever see eagles?” And she said, “No.”
April: I’ve seen one in the zoo. Literally. I’ve not seen one anywhere else. We do have them here apparently, from time to time. I haven’t seen one but they’re everywhere for you.
Jen: Well, I’ll take it.
April: We’re thinking it has to do with Jen’s Scorpio planets. And in particular, your Scorpio ascendant, because the eagle is one of the many symbols for Scorpio. It is such a complicated sign, it has to have two or three different symbols for it. So we will celebrate Saving The Eagles. I mean, I’m assuming they mean the bird and not, like, the Eagles… is that a football team?
Jen: I believe there are some Eagles football teams. So shout out to the Eagles fans out in the audience as well.
April: I want to say Philadelphia, I don’t know. It’s not my sport. So I couldn’t say. Well, a shout-out to everybody and welcome to this new year. This is our first podcast that is well and truly in 2021. And we’re very excited to be starting this new year with our listeners and bringing you the weekly astrological news.
Jen: Indeed. Well, how fantastic is that to be doing this for a second year now?
April: It’s pretty thrilling.
Jen: It’s great.
April: It’s pretty thrilling, pal.
Jen: Yes.
April: You know, we started in 2019. I mean, it was at the very end of the year, but now it’s like, it feels like three years, even though we’re in our second year.
Jen: It’s true.
April: Pretty great.
Jen: Yes. Well, should we kick it off? We have a long show sheet.
April: We really do. We have a lot to cover. And it begins on January 4th with a conjunction between Mercury and Pluto at 24° and 19 minutes of Capricorn at just about 5 o’clock in the evening here, about.
Jen: Pacific Time, that is.
April: Yes. Pacific Time. Thank you for that.
Jen: Of course.
April: Well, when I look at Mercury with Pluto, I think this is really about getting down to it. This is getting down to brass tacks with whatever you’re working on. It’s about intense focus. It’s a good research combination. For instance, if there is something you’re wanting to learn more about or really get into the nitty gritty of it, that’s a really good aspect for it on January 4th.
Jen: Which makes me think about Scorpio, actually.
April: Well, it should, Pluto is the modern ruler of Scorpio.
Jen: Right.
April: So that makes sense. It’s a little like having Mercury in Scorpio, I suppose. And it is a good time for getting real about things.
Jen: Which makes me think of Capricorn, which is where this is.
April: Exactly. Capricorn’s a pragmatic sign. I think Mercury together with Pluto is also a very resourceful combination. The thing that I like about Capricorn is it makes me think of that tarot card with the magician. Oh! I wonder what the Faunabelle Tarot card for the magician is?
Jen: I don’t know.
April: I think I looked at it. No, I can’t remember what it was. We’ll have to look that up.
Jen: Okay.
April: Our first non-imaginary sponsors, Faunabelle Tarot.
Jen: Of course. Shout-out to them!
April: Yes. Because, it makes me think of the magician card where you have the magician… he has the table in front of him with all the tools of his trade of alchemy and so forth. And I think of that with Capricorn. Capricorn is so resourceful and it can take whatever it has and make something of it. Capricorn is the sign that you put them in a kitchen and you say, “You’ve got to get something on the table to eat in 20 minutes.” And they will open up the cupboard and they’ll see this unlikely array of ingredients and they whip something up from it. They can always come up with a solution to things. And so, this is a good time for doing that kind of thing. If you are inclined to make a vision board or something of that nature for 2021 or even fine tuning your resolutions, whatever it might be, this is an excellent aspect for that. Because you’re going to get to the core of what’s really important for you for the year.
Jen: Okay. And the ruler of this would be Saturn because Saturn rules Capricorn, newly in Aquarius. What does that tell us?
April: Well, it gives a little cuisson of innovation.
Jen: Tres bien.
April: Oui. It just says that there was a little more of a hint of innovation than we would just get with Capricorn. Capricorn is good at just putting the pieces together, but Aquarius puts the pieces together in a way nobody could have foreseen. This is also some long-range planning too, which is something we associate with Capricorn, but more so even with Aquarius. And we were talking last time about resolutions and about five-year plans and this kind of thing, and this has maybe a little bit of that spirit with that Aquarian flare. That’s a good catch my friend.
Jen: Thank you so much.
April: Yes. Jen, do you know what time it is now?
Jen: What time is it?
April: Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it!
April: Oh, I don’t know. I think we’re losing our flare on our Moonwatch theme, here and there. Yes, Moonwatch! This week we have a Last Quarter Moon on January 6th at 01:37 AM Pacific Time at 16° and 17 minutes of Libra/Capricorn. The Moon’s in Libra of course and the Sun is in Capricorn.
Jen: Okay. And what does the Last Quarter Moon tell us?
April: The Last Quarter Moon is about finishing up and looking back and learning from the past and evaluating based on past experience. At both the First and Last Quarter Moons, the Sun and Moon are square each other. And that is combustion, it’s action, it’s movement. At the First Quarter Moon however, it’s a new experience. We don’t have the benefit of hindsight and history to help us make a decision. We’re just kind of blindly going out, saying “I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to initiate some movement here.” But by the time we get to the Last Quarter Moon, we’ve gone through three quarters of the cycle, we’ve been through the Full Moon where we see much more clearly what’s going on. And at the Last Quarter Moon, it’s the time for looking back and evaluating: How could we possibly have done it a little different? How could we do it a little better next time? It’s a little bit of the nature of Capricorn to me.
Jen: Oh. How so?
April: Well, because you’re kind of learning from the past and you are using that information to inform your future trajectory. And it’s very much a part of the cycle where we still are called to act, but it’s based on a lot more information. And we say, “Well, maybe I’m not going to get exactly where I hoped to get in this cycle, but I’m still going to give it my all to the very end. I’m going to get done what I can get done. And then as I’m moving towards the next new cycle, the next New Moon, I’ll have better information and experience to guide me.”
This of course is a call back to a New Moon, if we look at the lunar phase families. You were telling me about this lunar phase family before we started to record.
Jen: I was, because I have been actually tracking this lunar phase family. Because it started in October of 2018 on the Sabian symbol for 16 Libra, “A Boat Landing Washed Away.” Which speaks to me about just beginning something new when something else is washed away or taken away. And I love that now we have the Sabian symbol for 17 Libra, which is “A Retired Sea Captain” here. That sea captain has presumably seen a few things or overcome some obstacles. Don’t you think?
April: Exactly. Exactly so. And that’s why I love it for the Last Quarter Moon. It really encompasses the spirit of the Last Quarter. It’s that he has been places, he’s seen things…
Jen: Or she…
April: Or she.
Jen: Or their!
April: Or their. And is telling their story.
April: Yes. It’s very close to the Moon in your birth chart.
Jen: That’s right.
April: Isn’t it?
Jen: Yes.
April: And how did this fit in with your lunar phase?
Jen: Without getting too much in the weeds on this, it’s just a point in my life when I was sort of ready to take something new on, because it had been a difficult few years. And so this really spoke to me. And it was on my Moon. I don’t know how that relates. You know?
April: Well, eventually it seemed to bring you into my orb…
Jen: Yes. I would say so.
April: …and us working together in astrology. So I think that’s a good thing. You have the Moon in the 11th house and a New Moon person. And yes, now you’re looking back over this journey and trajectory that we have been on together and thinking about it.
Jen: Yes. And Venus in Sagittarius would be the ruler of this, which you mentioned last week would speak to something about freedom and traveling more lightly on your path. I like that connected to this lunar phase family as well, because both of these symbols speak to me of bringing in the new. Whether you’re a retiring sea captain or whether it is a boat landing washed away.
April: Right. He’s retired. He’s not dead.
Jen: Or she.
April: Or she. Go with me here.
Jen: Or they.
April: Back in 1925 when these were intuited, it was almost certainly a man. I’m sorry.
Jen: It probably was back in 1925.
April: It probably was. Yes.
Jen: Who knows…
April: So the chart for this Last Quarter Moon has the Moon square Sun, but also Pluto and Mercury, so we still have a little clot of Capricorn planets together, the Sun, Pluto and Mercury. And the Moon is squaring those. And it is also opposing Mars, a very energetic Last Quarter Moon. A square to me creates energy. It’s like when you’re starting a fire and you have to create friction by rubbing a stick together, whatever you’re doing, and that friction is what then leads to the combustion and makes the fire and really drives the thing. So, although I’m not going to say this is going to be an easy week with a Last Quarter Moon with this many difficult aspects, it is one at least that we can hopefully see some action. It’s actually a really good phase for starting the year to say, “We have been here and we want to go there. And now we have the energy to do it.”
Jen: And I think it’s fair to say that sometimes when we have these squares, at the time it seems very difficult, but afterwards something bigger comes out of it.
April: Yes. It’s exactly like if you do a strenuous workout, you go to the gym and you work really hard and it feels exhausting. Or running a marathon, same kind of thing. You are like “I’m going to die. I’m really going to die doing this.” And afterwards you go, “Oh, I feel really good because I did that.”
After we’ve really test ourselves, after we go to the limit of our endurance and our strength afterwards, we feel stronger and we feel confident and good about ourselves. That’s what I like about this Last Quarter Moon. It has that potential. There is the Mars, just getting ready to change sign into Taurus, which we’ll talk about more in a minute. But it is here at that 29th degree, and it’s the wrapping up. This Last Quarter says “We’re not just wrapping up 30 days, we are also wrapping up this long Mars cycle that began at the end of June.” And this is the Last Quarter bringing that home. And hooray!
Jen: I think we’ll all be happy to see the end of Mars in Aries.
April: Well, let’s talk about that. Shall we?
Jen: Oh, let’s. Yes, indeed.
April: Yes. Because, it’s actually on the same day, it’s like an hour. No, it’s 13 hours later that day on January 6th at 02:27 PM. Pacific, Mars enters the sign of Taurus. Yay!
Jen: And there was much rejoicing, yay!
April: And there was much rejoicing. Because Mars has been in Aries, as I said, since June 27th. It was retrograde in that sign between September 9th and November 14th. And it’s very hard to remember a time when Mars was not in Aries.
Jen: The pre-Mars-in-Aries times are hard to remember, pal. You are right.
April: It’s hard to remember the pre-Pluto-in-Capricorn times as well. It just goes on and on. So Mars will be in Taurus through March 3rd, here, 4th, depending on where you live. And once again, sort of like when Mars was retrograde, Mars in Taurus slows down… it’s a slower moving sign and that can be frustrating. But it’s also stabilizing. And so, this is going to be a good time to get traction on new projects. I think when Mars was in Aries, we vacillated between being really energetically focused towards initiating some particular new things, but it was one step forward, two steps back because of Mars’s difficult aspects to the Capricorn planets and going retrograde and all of that. We kept getting slowed down and couldn’t really get momentum.
I think Mars in Taurus is less about momentum, but it’s much more about getting the traction. Really getting dug in and starting to slowly begin to build the things that we imagined when Mars has been in Aries. So that doesn’t sound so bad. Does it?
Jen: It doesn’t. I like the way you put all of that.
April: Yes.
Jen: Because technically Mars is in his detriment in Taurus. Right?
April: Yes.
Jen: Because it rules Scorpio. So therefore, the opposite sign, Taurus, is when it would be in its detriment.
April: You got it. So it has to work harder. It’s not a weak Mars sign, however. If you’ve ever known somebody with Mars in Taurus… Mars does make itself known, but Mars in Taurus has a very long fuse. And when it gets to the end of that fuse, it’s scary, it’s a charging bull. It doesn’t mess around. So, you don’t want to push it too far. But it is measured. Its pace is very measured and we can go the distance with things. As Mars goes through Taurus, it’s going to be making good aspects… to eventually Pluto in Capricorn. And it’ll have some assistance from Neptune in Pisces, which is sort of complimentary to it. And I think it’ll come to be sort of a nice little break from that Mars in Aries.
Jen: Although, it will meet up with Uranus at some point.
April: We’re not talking about that quite yet, Jen.
Jen: Okay.
April: I prefer to live in denial about that for a while longer.
Jen: Let’s just be in the moment, like all of the meditation teachers tell us to just be present.
April: I think of that one with Mars/Uranus. We’ll talk about it more, of course, when that time comes. But I’m picturing a cow out in the middle of a beautiful pasture and suddenly the rain comes and there’s a little bit of lightning off in the distance and maybe old Bossy, he gets a little bit skittish. He gets a little bit jittery because of that. Of course, I’m a fan of Uranus. I think it’s great because it wakes us up and that’s something Taurus can probably benefit from. I don’t know. While Uranus has been in Taurus, I don’t think any of us have been enjoying it that much. It’s a difficult combination of symbols.
Jen: Right. They represent different things. Very different things.
April: Yes. We’ll see what it’s like when Mars gets there. But you’re right to point it out. I was living in a reverie…
Jen: I’ll come back to the moment with you…
April: …in a hopeless dream.
Jen: But I mean, look, it is true: There will be this meet-up with Uranus, but there will also be very lovely moments.
April: Yes. Because it keeps us from getting too complacent, too stuck. Because Mars can get a little bit stuck in Taurus. So, Uranus will sort of give the truck a shove out of the mud and get us moving it again. So that’s Mars in Taurus.
Jen: And speaking of planets entering other signs, Venus is entering Capricorn this week, January 8th at 7:41 AM Pacific Time. What can you tell us about this?
April: On the face of it, Venus in Capricorn wouldn’t seem to have too much in common. It doesn’t have any particular dignity in Capricorn. It’s not super strong there. It’s not super weak there. It has its own characteristics. I was writing a column about this and writing about my sister who has Venus in Capricorn, and she has always loved blueprints of houses. And that really speaks to me of Venus in Capricorn…that loves the bare bones of things and the elegance of functional forums. You can go to her house to this day and you go to the bathroom, and there’s always a little bit of reading material in a bathroom. And she’s got this little book of blueprints stuffed in there. She really, really loves that. She can envision what something’s going to be.
Jen: That’s a really helpful symbol for this.
April: Yes. Utterly foreign to me with my Venus in Cancer. I mean, I don’t get that at all. Like I’m all about the nice cushions and the really soft pretty little chintz things and whatever, and the furniture and whatnot. But no, she really appreciates the actual structure of things.
Jen: And the simple elegance of it.
April: Yes. You know, my rule of thumb with Venus always is it’s designed to love something. There’s always somebody designed to love everything. And Venus-in-Capricorn people are designed to love things that may seem just very utilitarian to the rest of us, machinery and blueprints and structures and equipment. And I’ve often wondered when I walk into a place where real work happens… let’s say I’m riding on the train to Los Angeles and you go behind the main drags, you’re kind of seeing the backs of houses. Eventually you start to see all of these, like, lumber yards and places where people are creating things of metal… I’m not finding good language for it, because it’s so alien to me.
Jen: Grain elevators and things like that…
April: Right. And I’m going, “I don’t know. How do people work in this all day?”
Jen: It’s a little industrial.
April: “Industrial” is just the word I wanted!
Jen: Okay.
April: And it feels so uninviting. And yet, there are people who will love that environment: Venus in Capricorn, you know?
Jen: Yes. That makes sense.
April: They love it because things are happening there, things are being built.
Now, the other thing that I can say about my dear sister with Venus in Capricorn, is she has worked in banking, which strikes me as a fairly Venus-in-Capricorn industry.
Jen: Very much so. Yes.
April: And she also does bookkeeping. Now she is a part-time bookkeeper and likes to put things in order. She’s always been able to balance things to the penny, with that Venus in Capricorn. I would think while Venus is in Capricorn for all of us, which is for the next few weeks, it’s a good time to get clear about our financial objectives for the year.
Jen: The beginning of the year is always a good time to do that.
April: Start the year with balanced bank accounts. Start gathering your receipts, going towards tax time and have a number in mind for the end of the year. What is it that you hope to be bringing in? What are the big expenses you might possibly have going out?
Jen: Is Venus in Capricorn good to pare down?
April: Yes… it’s not a bad idea.
Jen: “Yes” with a question mark, though…
April: Well, now I look at it like this: So there’s a kind of person that needs a pair of shoes. And they go and they find the least expensive pair of shoes they can find. And that pair of shoes might last for a couple of years. Then there’s the kind of person who will go out and get really the very best quality shoe, they can because they know that shoe is going to last 10 years or more.
Jen: It’s cost-per-wear.
April: That is Venus in Capricorn. Venus in Capricorn will pay for quality, because they know in the long run, it’s a better investment. We can’t just say it’s about paring down.
Jen: Because it’s about going the distance as well.
April: Yes. So, it’s the best value for your dollar. Now, Venus will make a trine to Mars, because Mars is newly into Taurus at that point, on January 9th, 07:53 AM, Pacific Time.
Jen: Just at 1° there of Capricorn and Taurus.
April: Yes. 1°, 15 minutes.
Jen: That’s always nice. Isn’t it? Venus trine Mars?
April: There are a few moments each year which are just gangbusters for romance. And in particular, you know what I say, with Venus trine Mars in earth signs: Venus in Capricorn and Mars in Taurus is a fertile time for romance, for relationships that have that physical component because the earth signs are real sexy. They’re really physically oriented. If they’re not connecting in a relationship, a romantic relationship on that level, they’re not going to be satisfied. It’s not really working for them. It’s a good time too for just enjoying physical beauty. Back in the “before” times, we might have talked about going to a museum or botanical gardens.
Jen: Pre-2020.
April: Yes. Pre-2020. Just to give you a metaphor. If you were doing gardening, it would be more about dealing with the hardscaping. It would be about rebuilding little walls and doing some pavement and making walkways…
Jen: Or building a snow fort!
April: Yes, a snow fort! Awesome. We were watching a show this morning where this woman’s renovating this farmhouse in Kentucky and she walked outside and there were icicles on the edge of the barn. Then I was so nostalgic. It just took me back.
Jen: Aw, yeah…
April: Do you get icicles like that on your house?
Jen: Oh my gosh, yes! On the garage, especially. Yes, we sure do.
April: We used to love it when we were kids. We’d go out and we’d crack them off and you’d walk around licking them and things and getting your tongue stuck to one…
Jen: That’s what kids do…
April: It was a good time to be in the country. Being a young kid, that was great.
Jen: When you move to Minneapolis, April, you’ll be able to experience icicles on your garage and house again.
April: Perhaps. Except I’ll be keeping my home in Southern California.
Jen: Excellent.
April: My winter home here. So, Venus in Capricorn, Venus trine Mars… a nice shift to an earthier, tactile being in physical luxury, I think with that Mars in Taurus too.
Jen: Nice.
April: Sounds nice for this week.
Well, we’re going to wrap up the week with Mercury entering Aquarius. This really is a big week for planets changing signs.
Jen: Yes. It really is. Three of the planets are personal planets. Will you say what a personal planet is for folks, April?
April: Well, the personal planets, I mean, as far as I know, we call them that because there are planets that move very slowly, Jupiter through Pluto. And if you’re born on a particular day, the people born within a few months either side of your birthday are going to have those planets in roughly the same place you have them because they don’t move very fast.
Jen: The outer planets, you mean?
April: Yes. The outer planets. Jupiter, somewhat less so. But certainly Saturn through Pluto. You’re probably going to share those placements in common. But the inner planet – Sun through Mars – move pretty quickly. Those planets in your chart are a little more personal to you. Someone would have to be born within a few days, either side of you to have those in common. Does that make sense?
Jen: It sure does. Because they move faster.
April: Yes. They move faster, but it’s a little bit of a misleading term because we have this tendency to think of the slow-moving outer planets as merely generational and not personal to us. That isn’t true. Pluto in your chart is every bit as personal to you as Venus because it’s your Pluto, it’s in your chart. And you may share it in common with lots of people around you, but it’s still in your birth chart…
Jen: in a specific house…
April: …making aspects to particular planets, possibly personal planets. So that is what we will say about personal planets.
Jen: Okay.
April: Mercury, we would certainly consider a personal planet and it moves pretty darn fast. And as we see in this podcast, it’s constantly doing something. It’s always changing signs or aspecting two or three things in a week. And that’s what it’s doing this week. So Mercury going into Aquarius happens on January 8th, 03:59 AM Pacific Time. And Mercury is again, we’ll say the planet of communication and it is that, but I like to think of it as also a planet that perceives and processes information as well as communicating it. So Mercury going into Aquarius, which is a Saturn ruled sign, has some sticktuitiveness to it. It is a fixed sign and Mercury going from Capricorn – where it just wants to make its plans and initiate new things, because it’s a cardinal sign – goes into Aquarius and now it’s time to really build the infrastructure to get those ideas and plans off the ground. So again, it’s a nice placement for Mercury in this week that we have the Last Quarter Moon and our energy is oriented around movement and action.
Mercury in Aquarius is also about planning for the future, thinking about where we want to be, making the five-year plan, even making the one-year plan. And we’re still not necessarily in a place where it’s easy to make too many plans, but I think we’ve adjusted pretty well to the indeterminate nature of things. We don’t know how long the pandemic goes. We don’t know in any given week here in California, if we’re going to be locked down or not. So it’s learning to deal with all of that. But Mercury in Aquarius has perhaps a little more faith to it and says, “Well, this can’t last forever, five years from now. I plan to be doing this.” So if we find ourselves in places where it’s frustrating that we can’t make plans, maybe the future is a really good place to project ourselves because it’s a little easier to be optimistic about it and also to indulge in larger plans.
Jen: That is so true. I was just talking to someone over the weekend, a young man, and he was saying that he’s had some difficult times this past year. But he has a couple of things to look forward to now that are coming up. And he just was talking about how important it is to have things to look forward to.
April: Wow. I’m really glad you said that and that such a good concept for Aquarius: the looking forward to things. That’s something that’s been real hard in the last year for him, and for a lot of people. You always have at least some event off in the future – a trip, a wedding, a get-together with family or friends – there’s always something to look forward to. And we have kind of not had a lot of that this year.
Jen: Yes.
April: So I’m glad. I’m glad to hear that he has been able to focus in on something off into the distance.
Jen: Yes, it’s really nice for him. And it’s nice for everyone to think about that this year: What can we look forward to for our own selves too? And to be able to do that safely, considering where things are today still .
April: Yes, well, Mercury squares Mars that same day, 06:44 PM Pacific Time. Mercury is on the Sabian symbol – the big one that Jupiter and Saturn met at on the Solstice – 1° Aquarius, “An Old Adobe Mission” is the Sabian symbol for that. And the Sabian symbol for Mars is, “A clear mountain stream.”
Jen: I like that.
April: Doesn’t that sound nice?
Jen: It does sound nice.
April: Mercury at this first degree of Aquarius is filled with new ideas, a new mission, perhaps, where we’re thinking of the old adobe missions, particularly here in California… and that new sense of energy and purpose that’s been emerging since the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction on the day of the Solstice. The friction of the square comes in because Mars will be just starting to settle into Taurus, which is a little more easygoing, of a groove. Maybe this talks about pausing for a moment – this Mars in Taurus at this clear mountain stream imagery of the Sabian symbol – before moving on to the next mission, the next sense of purpose, next thing we’re going towards.
Jen: And maybe it comes with a little bit of a warning. Because I remember you talking about at one point… and I think this was when Saturn first went into Aquarius perhaps? I’ll link this episode in the show notes… but the missions were of course terrible for Native American folks. And maybe this comes with a little bit of a warning too, to make sure that the mission that you have might be well-intentioned, but just be a little careful: Is it as good for others as you think it is good for yourself?
April: That’s a good reminder and very much in keeping with – we were talking about, I think in our last episode, or maybe it was in the Solstice episode we did – about all of these planets that are going to be moving through Aquarius. And it always does sort of have that little connotation to it that we’re building a society. It no longer is about personal ambition, which is more Capricorn. Now it’s about how are we going to share in community together and what are we going to build together? But Mars in Taurus is not necessarily thinking that way. It’s more locally focused. The head down on its own work and slowly, step by step doing what it wants to do.
Jen: Methodical. Yes.
April: We’ll see. I mean, on a really day-to-day level, Mercury square Mars can also mean losing your temper behind the wheel of the car or getting in arguments with people or taking the bait on the internet if somebody starts to have an argument with you or something. So just know on the eighth, it’s easy to be triggered…
Jen: Hot-headed.
April: Yes. That’s the Aquarius part. Fortunately again, Mars is in Taurus, which is not as reactive. Unless it’s something that has been building for a while. And that’s a day that sometimes that bull can get to the end of its fuse.
Jen: Just be a little cautious. It’s good advice, pal.
April: Yes. Well also, on January 9th, we have Mercury in a conjunction with Saturn, 07:17 PM Pacific.
Jen: And they’re both in Aquarius, of course.
April: Of course, because that’s where it’s all happening these days, at 2° and 40 minutes of Aquarius. And oh, I do like the Sabian symbol for three Aquarius, “A deserter from the Navy.” I just sort of root for this little deserter, I think, “Oh good for you!”
Jen: Shout-out to my nephew in the Navy, though. Big hug to him.
April: There you go. But I like it. As I said, Mercury in Aquarius is filled with these new ideas and this new mission. And I like Mercury in a conjunction with Saturn because it’s the antithesis actually of the Sabian symbol, which is the deserter. Because Mercury conjunct Saturn will tackle things that are tedious and really stick with them, get organized, do that kind of thing. So I’m not sure exactly how we should interpret the Sabian symbol in light of all that. Mercury with Saturn, maybe it’s the feeling of wanting to cut bait and try to cut out and move on to something else. But maybe there’s the tenacity there of Mercury with Saturn.
Jen: This makes me think of last week: We were talking about Venus conjunct the South Node and what do you want to let go of? And so, here comes the deserter in the Navy symbol.
April: And there you go. We’re all wanting to run away from something, it would seem.
Jen: What do you want to bring into the New Year? Maybe that’s it.
April: Well, yes. And what is worth putting all your energy behind? Because you can’t stick with everything.
Jen: Yes, that’s true.
April: If you stick with everything, you never go on to anything new. And this speaks of possibly having to let go of some things that you went into with the best of intentions, but that have clearly proven to not be quite right for you. Because, unless you let go of those, you can’t get focused in – Mercury/Saturn – on the things that are right for you, that you have a lot to bring to.
Jen: Of course, Mercury will soon meet Jupiter… I’m guessing it’ll be a couple of days after that. Because anytime now that something starts moving through Aquarius, and we will be seeing this over the next month or six weeks, the planet will meet up with Saturn, then will meet up with Jupiter. Will also square that Mars in Taurus, and Uranus in Taurus.
April: Yes. It gets off to a little bit of a fractious start every time a planet goes into Aquarius. But further on down the road…
Jen: Clear sailing further on down the road.
April: Yes. So that is where we are at this week. I like Mercury/Saturn, especially if you’re working on a project that involves brain power, writing, organization, this kind of thing. It’s a really good aspect for that.
Jen: Thinking about the future.
April: Yes. And then starting to make it a reality.
Jen: Nice.
April: What do you think?
Jen: I think that’s fantastic. You know, I mean…
April: It’s as good as it’s going to get this week, let’s put it that way!
April: It’s what we are working with! So, let’s work with it.
Jen: Let’s work what we have!
April: It’s a big week. I like it. It’s a fun week to have lots of things changing sign. Because, when planets change sign, our focus changes as well, and our way of operating in the world gets a little freshening up. And I like that. Looks like a fun week.
Jen: Great!
April: Well, my good friend that is everything on our show sheet. Have we done it?
Jen: We’ve sprayed our air freshener and freshened things up in here! So yes, we’ve done it. Let’s close the door on this one!
April: What an evocative way of putting that!
Jen: You just said, “Freshen up.” And that’s what it made me think of…
April: I am just feeling fresher already! Well, that is it. That is Episode 63 and our first full episode of 2021.
Jen: Woo-hoo!
April: Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo, indeed. Well, thanks to all of you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like, what you’re hearing, be sure to subscribe wherever you’re listening to the podcast. Leave us a rating or a review, and we hope that you’ll help us spread the word. Tell a friend about the podcast. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at our website, bigskyastropod.com.
Jen: We’re so grateful to everyone who showed support during our Podathon. Of course, each week we will be thanking one or two of you by name. Who do we have this week, pal?
April: This week, we want to give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Elizabeth Schultz and Bobbie Galion!
Jen: Yay!
April: Yay! Elizabeth and Bobbie, we appreciate you both and we thank you so much for listening to the podcast and supporting us during our recent Podathon! And unless I’m mistaken, Jen, both of these listeners hail from very chilly climes, not terribly far from yourself. So let us send them not only thanks, but warm wishes as well.
Jen: As it is snowing here in Minneapolis right now! So, warm wishes, totally.
April: Absolutely.
Jen: And if you’re a listener who didn’t get a chance to support us during our Podathon, you can always make a donation at our website, bigskyastropod.com. If you donate $5 or more, you will gain access to our special episodes for the Equinoxes and Solstices. And it’s not too late to receive the Solstice episode that we released just a couple of weeks ago.
April: Yes. We will send it right out to you. Well, that is it for us this week. Join us again, bright and early next Monday. And until then, keep your feet on the ground…
Jen: …and your eyes on the stars.
Thank you for listening! To learn more about April Elliott Kent, please check out her website, www.BigSkyAstrology.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, read her thought-provoking weekly essays, purchase her books, sign up for a personal astrology reading, and more.
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© 2021 April Elliott Kent & Jennifer Braun
