TRANSCRIPT EPISODE 71 (3/1/2021)
Read show notes and listen to the episode hereJen: Welcome to the Big Sky Astrology podcast, with April Elliott Kent and me, producer and cohost Jen Braun. Hey friends, Jen here. Hey friends, Jen here. Today is March 1st, 2021. And here to spring into Episode 71 with me is my friend, Astrologer, April Elliott Kent. Hi, April.
April: Hello Jen. It’s March!
Jen: It is March.
April: It’s almost spring!
Jen: Spring is around the corner.
April: Join me in pastoral dances! We have a new equinox episode that will be imminent for donors. We want to remind people that if you have made at least a $5 donation to us through this year, we will be sending a link out to you just before the Equinox, which is March 20th, I think, or March 21st. I don’t know offhand.
Jen: Give or take a day. Around then.
April: Yes. So we’ll be sending you a special episode for spring.
Jen: If folks would like to join us, they can go to a bigskyastropod.com kick in at least five bucks, and you will get that episode as well as the rest of the Equinox and Solstice episodes for 2021.
April: Absolutely. So you said that there were a couple of countries where we are charting, where our podcast is being listened to and doing well. What were those countries?
Jen: This week we were on the charts in Latvia, of course. So shout-out to our friends in Latvia. But also…
April: We are loved in Latvia.
Jen: We love our listeners there. But also in Portugal, we were on the charts this week, in the top charts.
April: Nice.
Jen: That’s kind of exciting.
April: Well, thank you.
Jen: So, we want to just say hi to our listeners in Portugal and that we appreciate you.
April: Yes, we really do. It sounds like such a lovely place. I’ve never been there. Have you?
Jen: I have. Yes.
April: I figured.
Jen: Been to Lisbon. I lived in Spain for a year. Took the train over. Great fun. Beautiful country.
April: Wonderful. Yes. This is what I hear. I hope to get there one day. So shouting out to you, Portugal.
Jen: Absolutely. Yay!
April: Well, my friend, as usual, we have a lot of astrological ground to cover this week. What do you say we kick it off?
Jen: Let’s kick it off with the Mercury trine the North Node on March 2nd at 11:09 AM Pacific Time. Mercury in Aquarius, 15 degrees, 28 minutes. And the North Node of the Moon is Gemini. April, what do folks need to know about this?
April: Well, this is the third of three trines from Mercury to the North Node. The previous ones were on January 20th and also on February 9th. The Sabian symbol for Mercury on January 20th was of course inauguration day here in the US. And the Sabian symbol that Mercury was on was “A Big White Dove, A Message Bearer.” And it did make me think of Lady Gaga’s dress at the inauguration.
Jen: For sure. Yes.
April: With that beautiful dove. And also that young poet, whose name I’m again, forgetting.
Jen: Amanda Gorman.
April: Thank you. Because both of those were kind of uplifting messages, and that’s what I get from this Mercury trine to the Node. I hope that this final trine between them brings positive and affirming messages and mindset. The Sabian symbol for Mercury at this trine is “A Big Businessman At His Desk.” But it’s trine the North Node on a symbol that’s quite different, “A Woman Suffragist Orating.” And what I get is when we think of a businessman or people in positions of authority or power, or maybe in government, I like the idea of possibly a little bit more of support, the Mercury going to the North Node. A little bit more support for voices that have been longing to be heard.
Jen: Folks may see some kind of connection between this trine on January 20th as well as February 9th that might be similar. Is that right?
April: Yes. I think that’s how we usually see these when we have an aspect that happens three times. That will usually happen because one of the planets has gone retrograde and then this case, of course, it was Mercury. I think the big positive takeaway for this one is expose yourself to positive messaging. Because what happens a lot of the time, I think we’ve said before, we’re real careful about what we put into our bodies to be healthy, and good nutritious clean stuff. We’re a little less careful a lot of the times about what we put into our brains, into our minds. And that’s really important. Because, if you start your day immersed in very negative news and messaging, then that’s going to frame your day to a great extent.
So this Mercury trine to the North Node says to the extent that we are able to give ourselves good thoughts, good messaging, uplifting stories and ideas, music, whatever it is. It’s then pushing us in a more positive direction of the North Node.
Jen: That’s great. And I will link in the show notes the previous two episodes that we talked about this aspect on Episode 65, “Mars, Uranus and Revisiting The US Pluto Return” as well as Episode 68, “A Pointy, Peaky Aquarius New Moon.”
April: Sounds good, pal.
Jen: Alright, what’s up next on the show sheet?
April: Next, we have Venus, at 7° and 42 minutes of Pisces in a lovely sparkly sextile aspect to Uranus at 7° 42 Taurus. This is on March 3rd at 09:09 AM Pacific Time. And I think the bringing together of Venus, which the planet of beauty and aesthetics with Uranus, which is about what is unusual, says that at this time, what is odd or unique becomes beautiful. I think that what I got from this aspect is: celebrate what makes you unique. I was writing in my column for this week about something I saw in a documentary a long time ago, where there was a casting director for movies and television who was talking about what she looked for in an actor to fill a role.
Jen: Oh, interesting.
April: Yes. She said, “There’s always something a bit odd about them. It’s like physically, some feature that’s really pronounced that makes them really unique, or just some quality of the personality, the voice, whatever it is, that’s a little bit quirky.” And she said those are usually the people that will book the job because the camera loves them. That there’s just something that will hook you in that’s unusual.
So I think it’s not a bad time to celebrate what makes us unique. Because what makes us unique is really beautiful.
Jen: Yes. For sure. Or maybe you’ll be drawn to someone with a strong Uranus signature in their chart. Could that be it as well?
April: Yes. Or get some kind of financial opportunity that comes from an unexpected place or that’s Uranian in nature.
Jen: Okay.
April: So something to do with technology, computers. Something where a friend puts you in contact, possibly, with a job, would fit with this symbolism quite a lot too. The Sabian symbol for Venus here on eight Pisces is “A Girl Blowing A Bugle.” And that’s a symbol that to me says, “Hey, toot your own horn.”
Jen: I like that.
April: Because, sometimes we have a hard time doing that. And this is kind of a good time to do that. You could get unexpected invitations, opportunities for jobs, for romance, for friendship, whatever it is. So it’s a nice little aspect to begin our week.
Jen: Awesome. Next up we have the planet of action, Mars, entering the sign of Gemini on March 3rd at 10:29 PM Pacific Time, Mars will be in Gemini until April 23rd. So April, Mars moves from Taurus, which is an earth sign focused on the physical world into Gemini, an air sign, which is more focused on communication and thoughts and ideas, from a fixed sign, which is about kind of staying the course into a mutable sign. Mutable signs like to zip around and be changeable and flexible. Will we see some of this as Mars goes into Gemini?
April: Yes. Definitely. And it just reinforces the idea that each sign is so different from the sign just before it. Every time a planet shifts signs, you notice a marked difference. And it’s just as you said, you’re going from Mars in a physical sign like Taurus, really determined and very focused, tends to just want to do one thing at a time. Going into Gemini, Mars will really dart around. He won’t be spending a lot of time on one place. It’s a very restless sign. It’s also a sign that, when Mars is there, we can get a little bit sharp-tongued, especially when we get angry. It’s a good Mars for negotiating. If you are trying to lock down a contract for any reason, Mars in Gemini is actually pretty good at that. It’s what we focus on, what we can get directed about.
I mean, sometimes these things are very literal and it’s a good idea to be a little bit careful when you’re driving.
Jen: How come?
April: Well, because Gemini rules driving and being out and around, and Mars in that sign will tend to maybe make you a little more apt to take some chances, to speed a little bit, to get into even road rage incidents, if that is something that tends to happen to you. Mars in Gemini is also better, actually, if it’s focusing on more than one thing at a time. When you’re driving, that could get you into a little bit of trouble.
Mars in Gemini is good for multitasking as well. Don’t beat yourself up too much if you’re feeling like, “Oh, I’m not really getting anything done because I keep changing from this thing to this thing.” Think of a little butterfly that’s going from plant to plant, taking in pollen and pollinating the next plant. It’s kind of the job of Gemini, to move the energy around. So it’s not the end of the world if you don’t actually complete things during this period of Mars in Gemini. So, take a little easy, don’t move too fast. If you’re quick to anger, be careful when you’re driving, don’t say things to people that you can’t take back. These are the cautions for Mars in Gemini.
Jen: That’s great. And we should point out for beginners, I mean, this is maybe obvious to a lot of you, but whenever something is in the sign of Taurus, it’s always going to enter the sign of Gemini next, unless it’s going backwards, going retrograde.
April: Right.
Jen: So, another beginner tip for folks who are just starting out in astrology, might be to memorize the order that the signs go in, starting with Aries on that first house and ending with Pisces. Because, I remember when I was first learning astrology, if I couldn’t fall asleep at night, I would literally just go through… instead of counting sheep, I would go, “Aries, ruled by Mars. Taurus, ruled by Venus. Gemini ruled by Mercury…”
April: Yes. You’re a very good student, Jen. Because, that’s exactly what I make my students do. If they’re starting from a very beginning level, that’s the first job, because you’re learning your ABCs and you have to know what order things come in. Just like in ABCDEFG, that’s exactly what I would suggest they do. Flashcards are great as well. Just write on an index card and have an order. But I make people steady that and then I make them sit down and write them in order as quickly as they can with the glyph.
Jen: Okay.
April: And hopefully the ruler. And that just reinforces it. If you’re serious about learning astrology, that should be as automatic as saying your ABC’s in order.
Jen: Yes. For sure. And do you have something on your website that we could link that shows the signs in order?
April: We can put a cheat sheet up. I know I’ve got one.
Jen: We will link it in the show notes.
April: Yes, please do. What do we have next, my friend?
Jen: Next, we have Mercury joining up with Jupiter on March 4th, 07:27 PM Pacific Time, at 17°, 32 minutes of Aquarius.
April: Yes. They’ve been here before. Again, because Mercury was retrograde. So, this is the last of three conjunctions between them and the others were January 11th and February 14th. There’s a lot that we have said about this before and some of it really connects with things that were happening in government and that sort of stuff. But just for us at the mundane level in everyday life, this can signify big ideas for the future and sometimes even too many ideas. And we were talking about that, Jen, before we started recording today and how we’re both big list makers. And I was telling you about my husband who makes lists of lists! – and that’s something you could relate to.
Jen: Yes.
April: And I think that is a function of Mercury with Jupiter. That’s a good way to symbolize it, because Mercury is the ideas, the information “I want to do this and this and this and this.” And Jupiter just amplifies that. Jupiter says, “Yes, do them all!” And we’re going, “I can’t, I’m just the one person.” But Jupiter will really encourage us when Mercury is together with it, especially. So, big ideas for the future. And we’re very inspired, but of course we have to be grounded. We have to let ourselves be grounded in some way to make something of all these big ideas. But at the very least, people can go back to January 11th Valentine’s Day and think, “Oh, was there something I was working on or some projects that I was making notes about, ideas that I had that now maybe it’s time to start focusing on just a few of them and deciding how I want to get going with that.”
Jen: Is there a Sabian symbol for this that you want to tell folks about?
April: There is a Sabian symbol. It’s “A Man Unmasked.” This can be some specific person in the news. It can be the way in which we individually are unmasked, we find out something about ourselves. Or, Mercury is not always the most discreet planet. And this can also be a time when we are held to account for things that we have said that perhaps show us unmasked, show a side of ourselves, this a little bit different than we would like the world to believe we are.
Jen: Psychologically unmasking yourself.
April: Yes. It can be a little bit of that. And it could go back to those dates. It could go back to January 11th, February 14th or thereabouts. Something that was said then that maybe you wish you could take back or maybe something you should have said, and you didn’t. And the ways in which we ourselves are unmasked, even if only to ourselves. Sometimes we say things and we go, “Wow, did I just say that?” And it tells us something about what’s going on in our minds, even that we didn’t even realize was hanging out there.
Jen: Yes. I read something Blain Bovee wrote recently about this Sabian symbol. Blain Bovee is an astrologer who has done a lot of work on the Sabian symbols. We’ll link his site in the show notes as we usually do.
April: We love him.
Jen: But he wrote about how it’s an interesting symbol considering that these days, so many people are wearing masks, and maybe to be a little cautious around people that aren’t. I thought that was an unusual and interesting take on it.
April: Yes. That’s a good point that he makes. Or also dialogue around the subject of masks, which has been contentious.
Jen: Yes.
April: People don’t always agree and they can get in arguments about it, or it can be an issue in some way. I think that this is a time when possibly that subject emerges again in a way that maybe it did during those previous States. And see if the tone of the dialogue has changed a little or can change a little. We’ll see.
Jen: Yes. That sounds fun.
April: Doesn’t just?
Jen: Alright.
April: Also this week, the Sun at 15° and 21 minutes of Pisces will be squaring the lunar nodes, the transiting lunar nodes. This happens on March 5th at 09:29 AM Pacific Time. This signifies that we are at the midpoint between the two eclipse seasons. And we had eclipses of course on November 30th and I think it was December 12th or 13th. One at 8° Gemini, one at 23° Sagittarius, roughly speaking. And we will link to that episode in the show notes where we really talked about that.
Jen: Of course.
April: Our next eclipses are actually going to be here before we know it. The first one’s on May 26th, which of course right now sounds so far from now, but look how quickly March got here. So that is going to be on May 26th, at 5° and 25 minutes of Sagittarius. And then the one on June 10th is going to be a Gemini New Moon eclipse, 19°, 47 of Gemini on Big Sky Astrology’s birthday, that eclipse!
Jen: Happy birthday!
April: Thank you. Well, I mean, eclipses on a birthday, whether it’s for a person or a business or whatever it is, can be very powerful and indicate a year where big changes take place.
Jen: Yes.
April: So, let’s hope they’re positive ones.
Jen: For sure.
April: But we are between those two eclipse seasons. So if you have planets in your chart, especially that are anywhere in the mutable signs, just take a close look and see what you were dealing with back in late November, mid-December, because you’re probably going to get a little bit of a triggering of that this week as the Sun squares the lunar nodes.
Jen: And those upcoming eclipses, we will talk more about in the equinox episode in a few weeks here. So, we do a three-month look ahead on that episode.
April: Yes.
Jen: And April, do you want to tell folks about your eclipse report that you sell?
April: Oh, that’s a really good idea. And I always forget! So let me tell them about it.
Jen: Please do.
April: Thank you very much. Yes, I do sell eclipse report is called, “Followed by a Moonshadow.” It’s a computerized report, but it’s based on your personal birth chart, your personal birth data. It’s more than 40 pages. It’s a really comprehensive report and it covers three years of eclipses and follows them in your chart. It tells you what house the eclipse is in, what planets are being aspected and tells you a little bit of description about that. And then it takes you back in time to previous years when there were eclipses at the same points. Because often the same kind of patterns will emerge because eclipses like everything in astrology are cyclical that can help you really orient yourself and figure out what maybe you did or didn’t to the last time you had eclipses at this point that you might want to take a closer look at this time.
So just go to bigskyastrology.com right there on the menu bar, there’s something that says “Eclipses”, I think. Just click on that. And the first thing on that page is the report. So, it will tell you more about it.
Jen: It is a useful report. I really like actually that it looks at the eclipses that you just came through… because you have to know where you’ve been in order to know where you’re going, I’ve always thought.
April: Yes. That’s what I think as well. And sometimes because the report will cover last year, this year and next year. And I’ve had people ask me from time to time, “Why do I even want last year in there?” And it’s, well, because you need the context. Because eclipses move in a different direction than regular transits. They moved backwards naturally. And we can forget that sometimes. So anyway, I hope people will take a look at it and if you buy it that you like it.
Jen: Yes. For sure.
April: Jen, do you have any idea what time it is?
Jen: What time is it?
April: Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it!
April: Oh, my friend. Well, this Moonwatch segment is brought to you by our new non-imaginary sponsor, Tenth House Creative.
April: Now, astrologers will tell you to look to the 10th house of your birth chart to get insight into your profession, your calling. And if you are called to caring, healing or socially aware service, perhaps as a spiritual business owner, an entrepreneurial empath, or even a small mission driven nonprofit, the very qualities that make you so wonderful at what you do, your sensitivity, your focus on others can make it a little challenging sometimes when you go to put yourself in your message out into the world.
That is where Mina Habibi comes in. Mina is the creative force behind Tenth House Creative. Her company, Tenth House Creative, creates dynamic and genuine branding, design and photography for heart-centered businesses. Mina uses her intuitive vision and strategic reflection to boost your visibility, so you can play big and shine bright. She’s an artist. She’s a Yogini. She’s a yoga instructor. She loves cats, so therefore I love her. And she is a flower junkie. When she is not creating soulful brands for people, she is working towards a dream that she has to create a flower farm with a senior feline sanctuary.
Jen: Aww, that’s so great.
April: I know.
Jen: I love that.
April: Violet and Toby endorse this entire message, I’ll tell you.
Jen: Of course they do.
April: She finds truth in nature and believes that magic resides in everything.
Jen: Tenth House Creative can help your heart-centered business with logos, website, marketing graphics, photos, you name it, they’ve created it. They help with strategy and processes and empower their clients around their brand. Regular listeners know that years ago I co-founded and co-lead a nonprofit. And I know from experience that this stuff can be really hard to figure out when you’re on your own, sort of nose to the grindstone… so focused on the day-to-day work and the programming that all of this other stuff can get kind of overwhelming
April: For sure. I mean, it’s no walk in the park for me either, pal.
Jen: Yes.
April: I mean, in my quest to build my astrology business over the years, it can be really hard to have perspective on your own business. And Mina helps with that. She has a really intuitive yet strategic way of working. So if you are a yoga or meditation teacher, a therapist, a life coach, a holistic or wellness professional, a spiritual mentor, an astrologer, any kind of esoteric entrepreneur, if you want to put the woo in woohoo or if you’re part of a grassroots nonprofit like Jen was describing, Tenth House Creative is for you.
Jen: To learn more about Mina and to find out about working with her to make your business shine, visit her website tenthhousecreative.com and follow her on Instagram @TenthHouseCreative. Now please take note, Tenth is spelled out. It’s tenthhousecreative.com.
April: It’s fantastic. And we thank Mina for sponsoring Moonwatch.
Jen: Yes. Thanks Mina.
April: So, Moonwatch for this week?
Jen: This week, we have a Last Quarter Moon on March 5th at 05:30 PM Pacific Time at 15°, 41 minutes, Sagittarius. What do we need to know? What should folks look for?
April: The Last Quarter Moon as we all know is about taking a moment during a particular lunar cycle of 28 days, looking back at where we started at the New Moon, deciding if there are any last minute shifts in trajectory that we would like to make to reach the finish line that we’re trying to reach by the end of that cycle. But we also like to look at these lunations in the context of their lunar phase family, which we’ve talked about before on the podcast. And this is the concluding chapter in a lunar phase family that began on December 6th, 2018 with a New Moon at 15° and 7 minutes of Sagittarius.
Then, the first quarter in that cycle was September 5th, 2019. And the full Moon part of the cycle was last June 5th, 2020, when there was a lunar eclipse at roughly 15° of Sagittarius. These lunar phase family cycles take about two and a half years to unfold. And about every nine months you get the next lunation in the cycle that’s close to that degree that began at a New Moon.
So each time we have a New Moon, it’s kicking off a lunar phase family that unfold for two and a half years. And this one is especially important because whatever was stirred up at that June 5th, 2020 eclipse is now reaching its conclusion. It is time to let something go. And I think this is especially relevant to relationships. This chart has Venus in a separating square to Mars. We talked about that square last week. If you’re at a point with a relationship where you’re feeling, you really need to make some decisions and on some level you already know what really needs to happen, that this is just one more final moment to review the situation, make sure you’ve really thought it through and make sure you know what direction you want to go in.
Jen: It’s probably worth pointing out that it’s also winding up the New Moon from three weeks ago,
April: Right. That was in Aquarius. And Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn are all trine the North Node and sextile the South Node at this last quarter. So it is time for a lot of us to make big steps forward. That’s what Mercury, especially Jupiter and Saturn are wanting as they’re trine in the North Node. And there is additional support for letting go of whatever is preventing that forward motion. That’s what we see with the sextile of those planets, to the South Node at this last quarter.
Letting go doesn’t mean, if you’re in a relationship you have to break up or anything like that, it just means that the pattern that you have been entrenched in, often, in a relationship needs to shift. And I think that’s a feature of this last quarter.
Jen: Yes. I like you pointing out that it can be about making big steps forward. Because, right now I also noticed that all planets are in direct motion, which is somewhat unusual. I mean, it does happen, but it’s not as common as one would think. So I like that we’re having encouragement to sort of take action on some ideas, especially with Mars in Gemini right now.
April: Yes. Getting movement on things that we have had a hard time getting traction with actually since that Mars retrograde period, the end of last year, which was just brutal. A lot of us have some pent-up energy for a lot of things we want to do. Just keeping in mind that when everything is direct in motion, it is kind of like hitting all the stop lights green as you’re on your way someplace. It feels really great. But it can also be a time when we’re not really being quite as reflective sometimes as we might be. We might tend to really get ahead of ourselves a little bit. And I think, especially with this Mars in Gemini. Mars moving into a new sign will give us a burst of energy. So I don’t mean to be a kill joy or anything. I think what you say is absolutely true. And there’s good support for forward motion again, with especially Jupiter Saturn trine the North Node. But it’s just to say, “Okay, but if you’re getting two yellow lights, don’t just push through them. It may not be a red light, but it’s also not a green light.”
Jen: I like the green light analogy because you also want to just make sure that nobody’s coming through on their red light.
April: Remember we still do have Saturn square Uranus. So we want to be a little bit careful out there, folks.
Jen: So, go through your green light, but just make sure nobody’s coming in those cross sections.
April: That’s right. Oh, good advice, my friend. Alright. Well that’s everything on the show sheet, my friend. Have we done it?
Jen: We’ve done it. We’re well into the seventies now, and we have finished Episode 71. Yes.
April: Just wait till we get to the eighties. I think with each episode that begins with an eight, we have to do a retrospective on that year, like 81, because we love our eighties as everybody knows.
Jen:
April: Okay. Well, we want to thank you all for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing here, we sure hope that you will subscribe, leave a rating or a review. And we actually have given you a little blog post now that we will link to in the show notes telling you how to do that.
Jen: Yes. Totally.
April: And you can also just spread the word, tell a friend who likes astrology and tell them, “Hey, I know this great astrology podcast.” You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at our website, bigskyastropod.com.
Jen: We are really grateful to everyone who showed support during our Podathon last fall. Each week, of course, we thank some of you by name. Who do we have this week, pal?
April: This week, we are giving a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Barbara Turcott, Barbara Walls and Martina Papinchak.
April: I like to say Papinchak. I don’t know if that’s how you’re supposed to say it.
Jen: We always want to pronounce everybody’s name correctly.
April: And we fail. I fail miserably at that I am sure. So Barbara, Barbara and Martina, we appreciate you. We want to thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for showing support during the Podathon last September.
Jen: Yes. And if you’re a listener who didn’t get a chance to support us during our Podathon, you can always make a contribution at our website, bigskyastropod.com. If you donate $5 or more, we’ll invite you to the upcoming special episode for the Equinox that’s coming up in a few weeks and you will get a year’s worth of Equinox and Solstice episodes exclusively for you.
April: And a bingo card.
Jen: And a bingo card. Yes.
April: So as you’re listening along, as you’re wading through our back catalog, you could play bingo with yourself.
Jen: As April mispronounces your name, you can check off “Mispronounces Donor Name.”
April: Absolutely.
Jen: Put a pin in that one…
April: Oh, my gosh.
Jen: …and call it good.
April: Alright, folks, 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.
Jen: 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.
That’s all for today. If you like what you’re listening to, please take a moment to rate and review this podcast and hit subscribe to stay current with new episodes.
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