Episode 267 | Mars Retrograde: The Warrior Within!
It is an exceptionally busy sky this week, with a full planetary agenda that includes Venus entering friendly Aquarius, the Sun and Mercury in aspect to Jupiter and Saturn, Mars beginning its retrograde phase, and the Pisces First Quarter Moon. With so much to cover, there’s no time for a listener question or a mini-lesson this week, but do be sure to send in your questions for future episodes! Plus: A robust youth, the dream of society, and the acme of cheerful innocence!
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Timestamps
[1:49] Venus trines Uranus (Dec. 2, 6:43 am PST) at 24°36’ Capricorn and Taurus. Venus is on the Sabian symbol 25 Capricorn, An oriental rug dealer and Uranus on 25 Taurus, A large, well-kept public park. This transit can be associated with unexpected financial windfalls and/or expenses.
[4:00] Venus sextiles Neptune (Dec. 4, 10:52 am PST) at 27°08’ Capricorn and Pisces. Look for an opportunity to get to know somebody better or to participate in an artistic, musical, or simply enjoyable pastime with others.
[5:28] Venus enters Aquarius (Dec. 6, 10:13 pm PST, until January 2, 2025). Cultivate friendships. Long-term financial planning is encouraged.
[7:19] Venus conjuncts Pluto (Dec. 7, 6:08 am PST) at 00°22’ Aquarius. Jealousy and other unlovely emotions are awakened. But for creatives, this can be an amazing aspect for going deep and experiencing important artistic breakthroughs.
[9:11] Mercury conjuncts the Sun (Dec. 5, 6:18 pm PST, 14°27’ Sagittarius). Both planets aspect Jupiter and Saturn during this conjunction. When a planet comes together in a conjunction with the Sun, we say that it is cazimi (covered in a listener question from Episode 259). But as Mercury is cazimi (between 3:27 pm – 9:07 pm PST on Dec. 5th) it gains tremendous power and insight.
[11:04] Mercury opposes Jupiter (Dec. 4, 2:16 am PST, 16°43’ Sag and Gemini. Mercury is on Sabian symbol 17 Sagittarius, An Easter Sunrise service. Jupiter is on 17 Gemini, The head of a robust youth changes into that of a mature thinker. This is the second of three Mercury/Jupiter oppositions (the first was on Nov. 18, the third is on Dec. 26) As Mercury makes these three aspects to Jupiter, what is more important, the details or the big picture?
[12:48] Sun opposes Jupiter (Dec. 7, 12:58 pm PST, 16°15’ Sag. and Gemini). We may have a particularly low tolerance for being told what to do or what to believe, and we also very much guard our image. Between Dec. 4-Dec. 7, there’s a concentrated period of renewal, of continuing a particular story that we’re telling about ourselves and about what we’re becoming.
[14:14] The Sun and Mercury also square Saturn. The Sun’s square is on Dec. 4 (8:18 am PST), and Mercury’s is on Dec. 6 (5:53 pm PST). The Sun’s Sabian symbol is 13 Sagittarius, A widow’s past is brought to light, and indicates dealing with unresolved issues. Difficult news might come our way, but if we take responsibility for our thoughts, we’ll gain a better perspective on our ambitions, maturity, and reputation.
[15:50] Mars, the warrior planet, stations retrograde (Dec. 6, 3:33 pm PST, 06º10’ Leo, until Feb. 23, 2025) on the Sabian symbol 7 Leo, The constellations in the sky. Mars is retrograde every two years and calls for us to look within for Mars traits like leadership and the ability to protect ourselves.
[19:34] Neptune stations direct (Dec. 7, 3:43 pm PST, 27°07’ Pisces). It’s been retrograde since July 2, 2024. Neptune is wrapping up its long Pisces chapter and will enter a new sign, Aries, at the end of March 2025. Neptune is about what we idealize, the dream of society. As it goes into Aries, there is the sense that might makes right and that if we’re determined enough to get what we want, then we can get it.
[21:31] Moon Report! The Pisces First Quarter Moon is on Dec. 8 (7:27 am PST) at 17º02’ Pisces. The First Quarter Moon is the time to act on intentions that you set forth at the prior New Moon (Nov. 30 Sagittarius New Moon). That New Moon was square Saturn, and it spoke of those lofty goals that Sagittarius embraces but also warned us that it would take a lot of hard work to achieve those dreams. The First Quarter is when we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work. The Pisces Moon is on Sabian symbol 18 Pisces, A gigantic tent, and the Sun is on 18 Sagittarius, Tiny children in Sunbonnets.
[23:48] Lunar Phase Family Cycle (LPFC). This is the First Quarter in the LPFC that began at the March 10, 2024 New Moon, at 20º16’ Pisces. The Full Moon in this cycle comes on Sep. 7, 2025, and the Last Quarter is on June 8, 2026.
[24:59] Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon periods for this week. On Dec. 2 (7:47 am PST), the Moon in Sagittarius squares Neptune. It’s VOC for 5 hours and 22 minutes and then enters Capricorn (1:09 pm PST). Get in the habit of delivering the truth in a funny, charismatic way that still respects people’s feelings.
[26:04] On Dec. 4 (3:34 pm PST), the Moon conjoins Venus in Capricorn. It’s VOC for 4 hours 47 minutes and then enters Aquarius (8:21 pm PST). Look for a way to add more structure to your spending, and for spending time with partners or family.
[27:27] On Dec. 6 (4:01 pm PST), the Moon makes a square to Uranus. It’s VOC for 9 hours 47 minutes (!!!) and enters Pisces on Dec. 7 (1:49 am PST). The Moon and Uranus are both in fixed signs, which typically don’t love change. But use this VOC period to liven up our usual weekend routine.
[28:45] If you’d like to have a question answered on a future episode, leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast or email april (at) bigskyastrology (dot) com; put “Podcast Question” in the subject line. Free ways to support the podcast: Subscribe, like, review and share with a friend!
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Writing and images © 2017-24 by April Elliott Kent
For more on this week’s planetary news, read my column!
