TRANSCRIPT Ep. 352 | The Cancer New Moon and Tending the Nest!

TRANSCRIPT Ep. 352 | The Cancer New Moon and Tending the Nest! (7.13.26)

Hello Invisible Friends, April here, and the date today is July 13th, 2026. Welcome to Episode 352 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast.

We’re publishing on a reduced schedule this month, and this episode needs to cover a lot of territory. Two weeks’ worth, in fact, including the Cancer New Moon, the much-ballyhooed Cradle Configuration you may have been hearing about, rare aspects like Neptune’s exact sextile to Pluto and Uranus’s sextile to Neptune and trine to Pluto, the Lunar Nodes entering Aquarius and Leo, and, believe it or not, much more. So, let’s go ahead and get started.

Cancer New Moon (July 14, 2026, 2:43 am PDT)

We begin the week with the Moon Report, and as usual, we begin with the week’s major lunation, which this week is the Cancer New Moon on Tuesday, July 14th at 2:43 a.m. Pacific Time. That’s at 21 degrees 59 minutes Cancer. In the chart for this New Moon, the Sun and Moon are square Saturn, and this is a New Moon of some toil since it’s also conjunct Mercury, which is still retrograde at this time in nostalgic Cancer.

Some of this work involves unresolved issues from the past. Some of this might be practical work, tasks that you need to get done to your house, for example, maintenance, cleaning filters, a lot of things that make sense to do mid-year. But some of this work will be emotional work and may be related to family matters, possibly old baggage from the past, or your family’s resistance as you try to break out of your day-to-day life and blaze some new trail.

That’s what Saturn in Aries wants to do, and that’s sometimes at odds with the Cancer issues of home and nesting and being safe and secure. This New Moon is on the Sabian symbol 22 Cancer, A woman awaiting a sailboat. And initially the picture that we get from a symbol like this is perhaps a poignant one. Maybe she’s awaiting a husband or a lover who is coming back from being at sea. That’s the picture that came to mind for me. But then I was looking at it and thinking, well, maybe she’s waiting for a sailboat that’s going to carry her away on some adventure. And I think that that is more likely the case when we have this Sun and Moon in Cancer square the adventure-seeking, pioneering Saturn in Aries.

Lunar Phase Family Cycle

This is the New Moon in a lunar phase family cycle that will unfold and extend this New Moon’s messages over the coming three years. Movement toward this New Moon’s objectives, a breaking of stalemates, comes with the First Quarter Moon of April 13, 2027 at 23 degrees 47 minutes Cancer. The Full Moon on January 11, 2028 at 21 degrees 27 minutes Cancer reveals the full picture, the total reality of the emotional and practical work that we’re trying to get done during this New Moon. And the Third Quarter Moon on October 11, 2028 at 18 degrees 41 minutes Cancer brings a picture often of regret, as we think back to what we have done or not gotten done during this lunar phase family cycle. But it’s also a phase of resolution, of bringing matters to completion and also bringing us to a full understanding of them.

Cradle Configuration (July 15-24, 2026)

Between July 15 and 24, a rare cradle configuration will form in the skies and it involves the outer planets at four degrees of their signs: Jupiter at 4 Leo, Uranus at 4 Gemini, Neptune at 4 Aries, and Pluto at 4 Aquarius.

A cradle configuration includes one opposition, and in this one it’s Jupiter in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius; two trines, in this case Uranus and Pluto and Jupiter and Neptune; and three sextiles, Jupiter sextile Uranus, Uranus sextile Neptune, and Neptune sextile Pluto. Some astrologers are calling it Barbault’s cradle, after French astrologer Andre Barbault, because decades ago Barbault forecast that this particular period of time would bring in the most beautiful alignment of the 21st century and augur a major reset and a new global civilization.

And now me, I’m skeptical of any aspect or configuration that is touted as ushering in a period of peace and togetherness and love, mostly because in my nearly 65 years on the planet, I have never seen anything like that. But let’s consider this positively, particularly with Jupiter in a fixed sign and all of the planets in the configuration at the fourth degree, a number of stability. This configuration, I think, maybe shows the potential at least to develop inner stability and to boost our personal strengths. It’s a time to address weaknesses and to move toward purpose.

During this two-week period, look for peak events that will signal major societal shifts, especially grassroots movements and also technological advancements and questioning of the establishment. To find out where this configuration will impact you, look to the houses of your chart and planets in your chart that connect with four degrees Leo, Gemini, Aries, and Aquarius.

Uranus sextile Neptune (July 15, 2026, 1:36 pm PDT)

Uranus sextiles Neptune on Wednesday, July 15th at 1:36 p.m. Pacific Time. And that’s at four degrees, 23 minutes, Gemini and Aries. It’s the third of five of these aspects that will form between August 2025 and June 2027. This is their first major aspect, the sextile, since their conjunction in 1993. That’s when the World Wide Web became accessible outside its military and academic uses and really changed the way we communicate and connect.

And today, in the same way, skipping from pen and paper to a typewriter to a word processor and then a website changed creative expression and interpersonal connection at that epic conjunction, artificial intelligence is offering new possibilities at the sextile. AI is very controversial. Many are absolutely opposed to it in any form. Others appreciate its potential for lightening the load, making everything from drafting a piece of ad copy or writing a tactful note to a neighbor a lot easier.

But while Uranus trining Pluto in Air signs makes this technology feel inevitable, the aspects that they will make to Neptune are sextiles. And that makes it feel a little more flexible. Sure, we can abandon our creativity to the robots if we choose. But if what we want to do is share our souls rather than just shorten our workday, there really are no shortcuts.

Over the next year, Uranus sextile Neptune will be bringing new ways for us to share information and creativity and to connect with each other. That doesn’t have to be terrible. But as with all new technology, it’s up to us as humans to stay in touch with who we are, and what we have to say, and to tend to the soulful side of things.

Uranus trine Pluto (July 17, 2026, 9:43 pm PDT)

Uranus trines Pluto on Friday, July 17th at 9:43 p.m. Pacific Time at 4 degrees 29 minutes Gemini and Aquarius. Uranus and Pluto are both planets of change, but there’s change, and then there’s change. And these two planets have vastly different styles and aims. Uranus seeks to disrupt the status quo just because, and Pluto wants to change things in order to consolidate power.

This week’s trine between Uranus and Pluto is the first in a series of five powerful aspects that will form in November of this year, June of 2027, and January and May of 2028. It’s the latest chapter in a story that began around 1965 when these two formed an era-defining conjunction during the Vietnam War. Their sextile in 1996 and 97 saw the handover of Hong Kong, the cloning of Dolly the Sheep, the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, and a series of seven powerful squares in 2012 through 2015 saw disruptive political movements like Occupy and the Arab Spring, the rapid advancement of technology, and whistleblowers that exposed corruption and broken systems. This series of trines will hopefully represent the gradual re-engineering of these systems.

But a trine doesn’t necessarily mean that things turn out especially positive. Generally, it just means that there are fewer moderating forces to negotiate between the two planets involved. Uranus is a disruptor and Pluto is a controller, and it remains to be seen whether what is disrupted by Uranus provides fertile ground for those in control to seize more power.

Aspects like this one take a long while to unfold as they come within orb of exactitude, and arguably this one’s been building since Pluto entered Aquarius in March 2023 and intensified as Uranus entered Gemini in July 2025 and then again in April 2026. Don’t expect it to play itself out in its entirety this week, but let’s hope for a positive development, some bright moment of collective hope and freedom.

Jupiter trine Neptune (July 20, 2026, 12:23 am PDT)
Jupiter opposed Pluto (July 20, 2026, 7:44 am PDT)

Jupiter entered Leo about three weeks ago for a 12-month stay and it’s making a series of aspects during this podcast period to Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Now these aspects are not as rare as the ones involving those three planets with one another. Jupiter sextiles Uranus and trines Neptune every few years and it opposes Pluto at least once every six years. But they point out a positivity and a hunger that amps up this cradle configuration.

It’s important to put Jupiter in Leo in the context of the Moon’s South Node, which enters that sign at the end of this month, and we’ll talk about that towards the end of this episode. So, we need to make the effort to balance Jupiter in Leo’s ebullience and especially its desire for the spotlight against the South Node’s warning that too much Leo can just be too much.

Now on Monday, July 20th, Jupiter trines Neptune and opposes Pluto. The trine from Jupiter to Neptune is at 12:23 a.m. Pacific time at 4 degrees 22 minutes Leo and Aries and it’s a fairly pleasant aspect. The worst that it can do is amplify confusion or delusion, because Jupiter does tend to accentuate anything it comes in contact with, and those are some of the qualities of Neptune on a bad day – that it’s not seeing things real clearly. The trine aspect again generally says it’s not a terribly upsetting aspect, but it doesn’t mean it’s uniformly positive either.

So, what I would say on this day and even this week generally make sure that your hope for things to be a particular way isn’t confusing your sense of what really is going on.

Jupiter’s opposition to Pluto, which comes on July 20th at 7:44 a.m. Pacific time, and that’s at 4 degrees 26 Leo and Aquarius, is kind of the backbone of this cradle configuration. It’s the single hard aspect in the configuration.

I don’t think of oppositions as terrible. They certainly don’t tend to feel quite as difficult usually as a square. With an opposition, what’s often happening is somebody or some situation from outside us is taking a look at our Jupiter enthusiasm and putting up its palm and saying, uh-uh – don’t get carried away. This far and no further.

So, we can get some negativity sometimes coming our way and, to some extent, honestly … maybe I’m being a little bit the voice of Pluto in this whole thing because I just refuse to make this configuration a giant party where everything wonderful is going to happen. Do I wish that that would happen? Absolutely. I’ve got a Jupiter as well. But Jupiter opposed Pluto is that possibly positive force from outside that says even things that are going your way, even things that are really promising, that are very joyful, it’s Jupiter in Leo, can need a little bit of a check, and we should try to not get too carried away with our optimism, with our desire for more creativity and fun and joy.

Jupiter sextile Uranus (July 21, 2026, 4:10 am PDT)

And then on Tuesday, July 21st, Jupiter sextiles Uranus at 4:10 a.m. Pacific Time. That’s at 4 degrees 37 minutes Leo and Gemini. And it is a hopeful message because it’s Jupiter and it’s a sextile. But Uranus is a planet of disruption, so what we can hope for from an aspect like this one is that any disruption that’s coming our way can lead to positive change – but like all sextiles, the energy has to be actively chosen and used intentionally.

Sun enters Leo (July 22, 2026, 12:13 pm PDT)

The Sun enters Leo on Wednesday, July 22nd at 12:13 p.m. Pacific Time. There’s a lot of big news in the Leo part of the sky these days, including Jupiter, and Jupiter making all those aspects I just talked about and the Moon’s South Node entering this sign later in this week. These are some complicated symbols, but for now I want to really focus on the joyful side of Leo.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun is in Leo at the height of summer, and it’s a popular time for things like vacation and recreation. There are no major holidays while the Sun is in Leo, and Leo would probably say, “Well, it’s my birthday – What more do we need to celebrate!”

This is the time of year to play, whatever that looks like to you. Some enjoy a trip to the beach or getting ice cream from a truck, going to the movies. Some might enjoy catching up on their reading or working on their novel.

Sun opposed Pluto (July 26, 11:54 pm PDT)

This is the time to focus on what makes you happy and what lights you up inside, and the Sun’s generally going to be pretty happy during its Leo season this year. It’ll make good aspects to Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus. But first, it needs to get past its annual opposition to Pluto, which comes this year on Sunday, July 26th at 11:54 p.m. Pacific time, at 4 degrees 17 minutes Leo and Aquarius. And as I said before, oppositions often show up as another person or some development or situation in your life that kind of stops you in your tracks and rolls its eyes at your attempts to enjoy yourself, or might remind you in a frightening way that life is short and we don’t know what’s coming next.

This isn’t a long transit, but I would say that it makes itself felt from the time the Sun enters Leo until it reaches its conjunction with Jupiter on the 29th.

Mercury stations Direct (July 23, 2026, 3:58 pm PDT)

On Thursday, July 23rd at 3:58 p.m. Pacific Time, Mercury stations direct at 16 degrees 18 minutes Cancer. It turned retrograde on June 29th, and it’s been a relatively quiet, inward-facing retrograde period, I think. I can’t say that I found it frustrating in the least, honestly, and I think that’s because, coincidentally, I decided to mostly take July off from work to prepare for my solar return and my progressed lunar return, to relax and regroup and reflect. And that is work that Mercury retrograde is particularly well suited for. But if it’s been a little crazy for you and you’ve been counting the days until Mercury changed direction, well, here it is for you. Bear in mind there may still be a little bit of fallout over the next week or so as Mercury – and you – get your bearings.

Neptune sextile Pluto (July 24, 2026, 10:26 pm PDT)

On Friday, July 24th, Neptune sextiles Pluto at 10:26 p.m. Pacific Time at 4 degrees 20 minutes Aries and Aquarius. It’s the first exact sextile between Neptune and Pluto since May and June 1986.

I remember back in May 1986 I was driving south on 101 after a short solo vacation to Monterey and Carmel, and I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I discovered about a week earlier that someone I had been seeing was in fact involved with someone else. Not a particularly original story, but it was a pretty painful and disillusioning one, especially as this was right around the time that my sister was getting married, so I was feeling happy for her but a little bit sorry for myself. Well, this little road trip coincided with an exact sextile from Neptune, the planet of illusion, to Pluto, the planet of cold, stark reality. And Pluto by transit was in fact very close to my natal Neptune at this time, so it was a little bit of a double whammy that was insisting that I wake up and smell the proverbial coffee.

So, for nearly eight decades, the sextile of Neptune and Pluto has been present in most birth charts in various signs and within various orbs of exactitude. It was exact a number of times in 1950 through 56 and 1976 through 1986, and this week’s exact Neptune-Pluto sextile is the first in a series that will last through February 2032, at which time they will finally break out of that sextile connection.

We could be forgiven for thinking that because this aspect is so common there isn’t much to say about it, but in fact it is a chart signature that binds us together. It’s a point of commonality. Even something like a slow -moving Pluto transit in a particular sign doesn’t last as long as this sextile has.

So, what is the nature of that commonality? Here are just a few headlines from May 1986: The Soviets revealed the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Anne Frank’s complete unedited diary was published. Six and a half million people formed a human chain from New York to California for the Hands Across America charity event.

The through line of these events leads through the revelation or highlighting of something kind of ugly that had to some extent been downplayed or concealed. A nuclear meltdown. A human documentation of Nazi atrocities. Hunger in the United States.

Since the post-war baby boom, we are the generations who have confronted and deconstructed our collective dreams. We’re simply not as unquestioningly trusting as some of our predecessors.

My mother once said to me, “I feel sorry for you because you see things exactly as they are instead of the way you’d like them to be.” I don’t know that that’s a hundred percent true, but in any event it’s not just me. It’s the world I grew up in and the people I grew up with. We believe in dreams, but we don’t necessarily expect them to come true.

Saturn retrograde (July 26, 2026, 12:56 pm PDT)

Saturn turns retrograde this week on Sunday, July 26 at 12:56 p.m. Pacific Time at 14 degrees 44 minutes Aries, and it will turn direct again on December 10th.

So, Saturn’s retrograde periods are a lot longer than Mercury’s. It’s retrograde for four and a half months or so each year. Saturn retrograde in Aries does sound a bit frustrating because both Saturn and retrograde go against everything Aries stands for. Aries wants to proceed with all due haste to let nothing impede its progress, but Saturn impedes like crazy and retrograde motion urges us to slow down and recheck our work.

Saturn was very briefly retrograde in Aries roughly this time last year, but this will be its first full retrograde period in this fast-moving and rambunctious sign. And I just want to give you a heads up so that you know that things that you try to initiate during this period between now and early December can really trip you up. And it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, but you certainly shouldn’t expect it to go smoothly and easily because in trying to initiate things, especially new things, we’re kind of moving against the natural impulses of Saturn retrograde.

So, I’m going to wish you the best. Take a look at the house of your chart where 14 degrees and 44 minutes of Aries falls, and know that, particularly in the areas of life that are symbolized by that house, it might go a little more smoothly for you if you can make a big push towards something new after December 10th.

Lunar Nodes enter Aquarius and Leo (July 26, 2026, 5:46 pm PDT)

And finally, this week, the Lunar Nodes enter Aquarius and Leo on Sunday, July 26^th at 5:46 PM Pacific Time. The nodes have been in Pisces and Virgo since January 11th, 2025, and they will be in Aquarius and Leo through March 26th, 2028.

Well, let’s take a quick recap of the lunar nodes, and I am a Modern astrologer. I am not a Vedic astrologer. I am not a Hellenistic astrologer. I’m not even an Evolutionary astrologer. So, my take on the lunar nodes might vary a little bit from what you hear from other astrologers. One thing is, I tend to rely on the true node positions rather than the mean node positions, and I will include an episode link in the show notes where I talk about the difference between the mean and the true nodes. So if you are finding something that’s showing a different date, for example, of the nodes moving into a pair of signs, that’s probably why.

What I learned about the lunar nodes, as I was learning astrology years ago, is that the South Node represents our comfort zone, what we know well, what we are at ease with, and what – if we are given our druthers – we would be happy to just hang out in and be comfortable. The North Node, which is always exactly opposite the South Node by sign, by house, by degrees, represents the opposite point, the thing we’re not so comfortable with, the thing that really challenges us.

My teacher, who really specialized in the nodes, said that even if you move slightly in the direction of something you think your North Node might represent, you will be rewarded with joy, and I like to think of it that way.

What we’re looking at for the next year and a half or so that the nodes are in these signs, is that the South Node says it’s much easier to just be your own person, work on your own projects by yourself, and focus on what’s important to you. The North Node in Aquarius, on the other hand, says that there is much satisfaction to be found in collaborating with others in group projects, in societal projects. And it doesn’t mean you have to completely give up your individuality, as represented by that Leo South Node; but it does say it’s going to be put to better use if you’re using it to contribute to some kind of societal or organizational goal.

Over the weekend, I found myself on Threads, the social media platform, and somebody was talking about how they used to be a person who gave parties. They were the focal point for their friends to come around and enjoy themselves. And somewhere over time, and perhaps especially during the pandemic, they kind of have fallen out of the habit of doing that. Maybe that’s something you can relate to. And as the North Node is moving through Aquarius, it seems like a good time to risk doing more socializing with others, even if you’ve kind of fallen out of the habit of it or lost the knack a little bit. Maybe there’s some kind of club or group or organization in your area that’s related to something that’s important to you. Might even be something like astrology, and this would be a good time to pursue that, and also to think about volunteering.

I remember when I was with our local astrology group, and I was the president for a short time, and I noticed it was really hard to get volunteers. And I thought, “Gosh, was it always that way? Or is it just the fact that people are so busy now, and it’s hard for them to find room in their schedules for contributing in this way?” And that may be the case for you. It certainly was for me and everybody that worked with me on that board.

But the next 18 months is a very positive time to give your time and your energy to something larger than yourself that’s really meaningful to you. Bring all of your wonderful Leo creative and managerial qualities and contribute them to some kind of organization.

No Listener Question

Well, it was a very busy episode, and obviously there was not time for a listener question, and I’m sure there will not be in our next episode either, which is coming along on July 27th, because that one will also cover a two-week period. It won’t be quite as busy a period as this one is, but probably we won’t be able to get back to our listener questions until August. But do keep them coming. I’m setting them aside and excited to get into those.

Donor Thanks

Well, that is everything I have on my show sheet, so I’m gonna wrap this one up. Thank you so much for listening to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing here, please be sure to subscribe or follow the show in your app of choice. It makes a big difference in getting others to notice the show. Leave a rating or a review, and I hope you’ll help spread the word by telling an astrology-loving friend about the podcast. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.

Thank you so much to everyone who continues to show support for the podcast. It means the world to me, and especially thank you for contributing during last September’s Podathon. On each episode, I’m thanking some of my financial donors by name.

This week, let’s give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout-out to Charlotte Benzinger and LeiAnne Koch! LeAnne and Charlotte, 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 bonus video episodes for donors only, please go to bigskyastropod.com, where you can make a contribution of $10 or more to be informed when those episodes are available. You can make a one-time donation in any amount or become an ongoing monthly contributor.

That’s it for this episode. As I mentioned before, we’re on a limited podcasting schedule for July, but please join me again on our July 27th episode. And until then, keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars!