TRANSCRIPT Ep. 204 | Capricorn First Quarter Moon: Now with Puppies!

TRANSCRIPT Episode 204 | Capricorn First Quarter Moon: Now with Puppies!

Hello Invisible Friend, April here, and the date today is October 16th, 2023. Welcome to Episode 204 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, the Sun meets Mercury, and together they oppose the North Node and square Pluto. Venus trines Jupiter. Mercury enters Scorpio and trines Saturn, and the First Quarter Moon in Capricorn takes a look at the future. Plus, I answer a listener question about transits through the 12th house.

Sun opposes North Node (Oct. 18, 2023, 5:45 am PDT)
Mercury opposes North Node (Oct. 18, 2023, 10:34 pm PDT)

The Sun and Mercury are working as a group this week, and on October 18th, they both oppose the North Node of the Moon. The Sun opposes the North Node at 5:45 am Pacific Time, and Mercury opposes the North Node at 10:34 pm Pacific Time. Both aspects take place at 24º 52’ Libra and Aries. The Sun and Mercury are on a Sabian symbol that’s about symbol reading; it’s 25 Libra, Information in the symbol of an autumn leaf. Pay attention to the signs that are around you. And tell new stories about your relationships. New stories about who is the bad guy or who is the good guy, and why there even has to be a bad guy or a good guy.

Meanwhile, the North Node is on symbol 25 Aries, A double promise. Trust what comes your way as being right for you, as long as you don’t cling to those old stories.

Sun conjoins Mercury (Oct. 19, 2023, 10:38 pm PDT)

And the next day, on October 19, at 10:38 pm Pacific Time, the Sun and Mercury come together in a conjunction at 26º34’ Libra, on the Sabian symbol, 27 Libra, An aeroplane hovering overhead. When the Sun and Mercury come together, Mercury is in a condition called cazimi. It is the moment when it is in the heart of the Sun. As it’s coming up on this conjunction with the Sun, it’s not quite as strong because it gets lost in the rays of the Sun. But at this very moment, it’s very good for clarifying thinking and for important insights.

This particular Mercury and Sun combination is well suited to figuring out how things work and what is true and what is fair. The Sabian symbol suggests taking a wider view of things, as though we were up in the sky, in a plane, looking down, and able to get more perspective and to see all the different sides of the matter.

I often think of that Joni Mitchell song when I’m up in an airplane: “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now.” And that is a song that we can bear in mind for this conjunction.

Mercury squares Pluto (Oct. 20, 2023, 5:50 pm PDT)
Sun squares Pluto (Oct. 21, 2023, 7:09 am PDT)

Mercury and the Sun work together again on October 20th and 21st as each of them squares Pluto. Mercury squares Pluto on October 20th at 5:50 pm Pacific Time at 27º 54’ Libra and Capricorn. And the Sun squares Pluto on the next morning, October 21, at 8:09 am It’s at 27º 55’ Libra and Capricorn.

So the Sun and Mercury are making the exact squares to Pluto that were forming in the chart of that Solar Eclipse last week, on October 14. These squares highlight any residual tension, power struggles, fights for control, in particular using language to try to overpower or to manipulate others.

Anytime planets make aspects to Pluto, it is about our ability to accept change and to recognize the limits of our power. Mercury and the Sun, as they come together with Pluto, are on the Sabian symbol 28 Libra, Man in the midst of brightening influences. And, Pluto is on the Sabian symbol 28 Capricorn, A large aviary. And the way I’ve been reading that symbol lately when it’s come up, because Pluto has been sitting on this symbol for a long time, I’ve been focusing on a positive interpretation: Birds in an aviary are all in there together. And it seems to be a symbol that has been telling us to recognize the fact that what impacts one of us impacts all of us.

But in this instance, because the Sun and Mercury are in this difficult square to Pluto, which symbolizes conflict, I’m assuming that this symbol, a large aviary, is more emblematic of bondage, of being held in a cage. And as Mercury and the Sun are on that positive symbol, Man in the midst of brightening influences, I have the feeling we’re working to overcome that limiting Pluto influence. If you are surrounded by negativity around the days of these squares, try your best to be the positive influence, the man in the midst of brightening influences.

Venus trines Jupiter (Oct. 21, 2023, 9:32 pm PDT)

On October 21 at 9:32pm Pacific Time, Venus trines Jupiter at 12º06’ Virgo and Taurus. This is a good day to enjoy yourself. Venus trine Jupiter can sometimes indicate a little too much of a good thing, but Venus in Virgo is a bit more restrained and can keep the Jupiter in Taurus side of us from spending too much, eating too much, drinking too much, and just generally overdoing things.

What this aspect is good for is having some fun with your partner or with a friend. It has been a difficult couple of weeks for relationships. We had that eclipse in Libra, the relationship sign. Even this week, we’ve had the Sun and Mercury in Libra coming into difficult aspect with Pluto. So on this day, see what you can do to have some fun.

Now, as a rule, Venus in Virgo can be a little bit more of a hermit, and Jupiter and Taurus rather just maybe hang out at home being comfortable. But instead, I think it would be nice today to take any opportunities that arise to break your usual habit and routine, and maybe get out and do something a little bit different. Jupiter does like a change of scenery and get out hopefully in nature. Venus in Virgo, in particular, loves to get out, hike, see some trees and some grass, and breathes some fresh air. This is one of the nicest combination of planets in one of the most flowing and harmonious aspects. So, let’s go ahead and take advantage of it.

Capricorn First Quarter Moon (Oct. 21, 2023, 8:29 pm PDT)

And now for the Moon Report for the week of October 16th. It begins with a First Quarter Moon at 28º 28’ Capricorn, on October 21 at 8:29 PM Pacific Time. Now, the First Quarter Moon is, of course, the action point of the lunar cycle that began at the previous New Moon, and that was the Solar Eclipse on October 14th.

The First Quarter Moon takes action based on instinct, and the Sabian symbols for this particular first quarter are both really intuitive. The Moon is on the symbol 29 Capricorn, Woman reading tea leaves. And the Sun is on 29 Libra, Humanity seeking to bridge knowledge. So although Capricorn is generally very pragmatic, this particular First Quarter Moon in Capricorn reaches toward a future that is only dimly perceived.

Capricorn always likes to go forward with a very specific plan, but that isn’t really possible at this first quarter. I think what is possible, though, is to look back at any resolutions that we made back in January. This is a continuation of the Lunar Phase family that began at the New Moon on January 21st, 2023. That was at 1º32’ Aquarius, but it was very close to Pluto in late Capricorn.

So this is the First Quarter in that cycle. And a New Moon in Aquarius always asks us, not just what do we want to do today, or in this fiscal year, or this fiscal quarter, but what do we want for our future? Aquarius is the sign of the five-year plan, at least. And not only, how do we want to achieve success, but how do we want to develop a legacy that will go on after us and that will serve the many. So this is the first quarter in that particular cycle. And although the New Moon was at 1º32’ Aquarius, this First Quarter is in late Capricorn. And so also will be the Full Moon in this cycle on July 21, 2024. That’s at 29º08’ Capricorn. And then the Last Quarter returns to Aquarius on April 20th, 2025. So it’s really interesting Lunar Phase Family Cycle.

And it’s also the First Quarter in a one-month cycle that began with an important Solar Eclipse. So this is an interesting turning point, and always the dictate with a First Quarter Moon is, act. Take some kind of action.

Void-of-Course Moon periods

Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. On October 17th, the Moon in Scorpio sextiles Pluto at 8:43 am Pacific Time, is Void of Course for almost 4 hours, and then enters Sagittarius at 12:36 pm. This is a combination that we’ve been looking at for weeks now, because Pluto is sitting very close to the end of its sign, we are often seeing that the Moon in her signs makes her final aspect to Pluto. Not always, but this is one we’ve been seeing a lot. And I feel that it’s about mastering our feelings. Feelings are very strong and close to the surface when the Moon is in Scorpio. But as it’s sextile Pluto in the much cooler sign of Capricorn, there is an opportunity to learn about holding our feelings in check in order to achieve more power, and not really necessarily power over others, but power over ourselves.

On October 19th, the Moon in Sagittarius sextiles the Sun at 12:02 pm Pacific Time. It’s Void of Course for almost seven hours and enters Capricorn at 655 pm So, ask yourself during this Void period, are you keeping your relationships fresh by doing new things, by having adventures together? I think that’s the message of this Void-of-Course Moon period. Say yes. Choose something new, maybe, that your partner or a friend would like to do, or propose a new adventure for the two of you. This is a Void-of-Course Moon period about expanding our horizons and how that can help us grow personally.

Then, on October 21st, the Moon in Capricorn squares Mercury at 11 pm Pacific Time. It’s Void of Course for only six minutes. It enters Aquarius at 11:06 pm Such a short Void-of-Course Moon period, it’s hardly worth mentioning. Just six minutes.

But one thing that has been said about the Void-of-Course Moon periods is that they can be good times to initiate some action that you don’t want to come to any fruition. The classic example of this is to file your income taxes while the Moon is Void of Course because then nothing will come of it and you won’t get audited. They won’t come back with any kind of problem. That’s something my teacher used to say.

It’s also thought to be a good time to let go. And here we are, at least here in the Pacific time zone. It’s around the time a lot of us are really just starting to go to sleep. And this could be just taking a few minutes of conscious thought about a habit, a routine. Maybe some bad feelings that you’re holding towards somebody else and take a deep breath and let it out and let it go. That’s also a really good use for Void-of-Course Moon periods.

Mercury enters Scorpio (Oct. 21, 2023, 11:49 pm PDT)

Then go ahead and stay awake because on October 21st at 1149 pm Pacific Time, Mercury enters Scorpio and it will be in this sign through November 9th.

It’s actually one of my favorite signs for transiting Mercury. It’s given to penetrating insights and also it’s a great time for producing art and for writing. We’re very in touch with our feelings and able to articulate them thanks to Mercury. It’s a great time for research if you’re working on a big project or a paper or a lecture or an article. This is one of the best possible Mercury transits for digging deep and having breakthroughs in research. It’s a little bit of a secretive placement for Mercury. This would be a time when we’re not necessarily going to go rushing around and sharing our deepest secrets and feelings with the world, except as I said, perhaps through that beautiful writing or art.

It is a very decisive sign for Mercury. While Mercury was in Libra, it weighed and it balanced, and it tried to look at every side of a situation in order to be as fair as possible. But Scorpio is given to decisiveness. We move ahead intuitively, but with a great sense of certainty.

Mercury trines Saturn (Oct. 22, 2023, 9:12 am PDT)

The next morning, Mercury trines Saturn on October 22nd at 9:12 am Pacific Time at 0º 38’ Scorpio and Pisces. Here is a good day for formalizing communications. If you have drafted something, this is the time to finalize it. It is a good time for signing agreements for things that you want to last. And here is an excellent time for taking on intellectual tasks that seem kind of daunting.

Listener Question: Inner planets transiting the 12th House

In this week’s listener question, listener Elliott asks, “Hi April, this is a question about whether it is just silly to start anything big on purpose while inner planets are transiting the 12th house.

I’m about to adopt a puppy and am excited to begin that relationship, but I’m also working through several 12th house transits, Mars, Sun, and soon Mercury, that have left me feeling drained and digging through a sudden surge of buried past traumas that I want to finally move on from. The puppy will be available as soon as October 21st, when Mars is on my Ascendant, but I’ll still have Mercury, my Gemini Sun ruler, and the Sun moseying through the 12th then.

Is it better to postpone a week until October 29th when Mars and Mercury will be in my First House? And the Sun will slide over my Ascendant. The question is totally about me, sure, but it’s really about best practices for inner planet 12th house transits. When inner planets breeze through the 12th, is it better to postpone major events and new beginnings when possible? Or can new beginnings be considered healing per the 12th house brief? Thanks always for making Big Sky the best podcast of all the podcasts.”

April: Well, thank you, Elliott. That’s very kind of you. First of all, congratulations on your new puppy. It is hard to believe there could possibly be any moment other than right now to start such a wonderful relationship!

I do like your question about 12th house transits, though. Why does the 12th house have such a tough reputation? Ancients called it the House of Self-Undoing, the House of Confinement, the House of Illness. It makes sense to wonder, when planets are moving through this house, can we trust our decisions? Do we have the energy to tackle new things?

The 12th house is called the house of self-undoing for a reason. It tends to represent the ways in which we don’t necessarily see what is going on, and maybe the ways in which we find it difficult to get out of our own way. I think of the 12th house as representing those things about us that everyone else in our lives can see plain as day, but we’re kind of blind to them.

When planets move through the 12th house, we tend to work things through on an unconscious level. We sometimes feel uneasy with planets in the 12th house, like our subconscious is trying to tell us something, but it isn’t really clear what. And then it becomes more clear when the planet moves into the first house because the truth is right in front of you.

Your experience, Elliott, of fast planets moving through the 12th house sounds about right. They tend to open the portals to things that we’ve been suppressing. And that’s especially true with a planet like Mars, which really likes to get in there and dig around and turn over the soil. Once planets move from the 12th and into the 1st, we can really see what we’ve been grappling with, and we can see the way through it or out to the other side.

So, ultimately, fast planets moving through the 12th house are like a good house cleaning. They’re like that moment when you’ve dragged everything out of the closet, and now it’s all over the bedroom, and now you can sort through it all, but it also feels exhausting.

We can also think of the 12th house as representing the time before birth. And this is very much like labor, a painful struggle, kind of scary, but it’s the only way to get the baby out. So you have got this new sweet little arrival coming and you’re clearing the decks to get ready. You’re struggling with some old demons because you want to be clear and present and ready. And just as when a new baby comes on the scene, I would encourage you to clear as much emotional space for the new arrival as you can, and to give your new family member a chance to adjust to his new surroundings and caretakers and vice versa.

If things don’t go 100 percent smoothly in the first days, don’t jump to conclusions. That’s often just the nature of transitions. And in this case, Mars is arriving to help and protect and to get healthy energy moving. And I really like what you said about new beginnings in the first house being healing.

Now, I also have this follow up from Elliott, who wrote, “I ended up scheduling the pickup for October 20th, when Mars will be one degree before my Ascendant. Close enough. Geronimo!” Oh, I love that, Elliott. That is so in the spirit of Mars and the Ascendant. Just can’t wait. Close enough. Let’s take the leap already. Geronimo! Mars would be proud.

Elliott, thank you very much for your question, and I’m wishing you every happiness with your new friend.

Now, if you Invisible Friend have a question you’d like me to answer on a future episode, just leave a message of one minute or less at SpeakPipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast, or email me at April(at)BigSkyAstrology(dot)com and be sure to put podcast question in the subject line.

Well, that is everything I have on my show sheet, so I’m going to wrap this one up.

Thank you for listening to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to subscribe or follow the show in your app of choice, leave a rating or a review, and I hope you’ll spread the word by podcast. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at Big Sky Astrology.

Thanks very much to everyone who’s shown support for the podcast over the past year and during the recent pod a thon. On each episode, I’m thanking some of my financial donors by name. This week, I’m giving a Big Sky Astrology podcast shout out to new donor Lynn Workman and Sara McNeil, who has donated to every podathon!

Lynne and Sara, thank you so much for listening to the podcast, and for supporting the show with your donations. If you’d like to support the show and receive access to my upcoming bonus episodes for the Libra equinox episode, so you can still get that. Please go to BigSkyAstropod.com where you can make a one time donation in any amount. If you want to get the special episodes, be sure to donate ten dollars or more, or you can become an ongoing monthly contributor.

That is it for this episode. Join me again bright and early next Monday, and until then, keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars!