
EPISODE 111 (Feb. 21, 2022)
The Return of Pluto, and a Sect-sy Question!
April: Hello friends, this is April, and the date today is February 21st, 2022. Welcome to Episode 111 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. We have a pretty light week. I am going to be talking to you about the Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius, about a few aspects involving Mercury and Venus and Mars. And, I will attempt to answer a very interesting listener question.
But first up this week, I thought I’d better at least touch lightly on the biggest astrological news of the week, if not the year, and, that is the first U.S. Pluto Return. This is when transiting Pluto, meaning Pluto up in the sky right now, reaches 27° and 33 minutes of Capricorn, the same degree minutes, and sign that it occupied at the founding of the United States. But, because Pluto moves so slowly, we give its transits a much, much wider orb, or period of influence. And that means we’ve been feeling this huge shift coming for years. In fact, I would go back to 2008 when Pluto first entered Capricorn to mark the economic and political shift that will find its peak at this conjunction. That was the year that of course brought an economic crash that took years to recover from. The exact dates of this conjunction, it’ll happen three times, are February 22nd, July 16th when Pluto is retrograde and then on December 30th.
Erratum: The dates are February 20, July 11, and December 28, 2022.
Pluto, which is the planet of control and power and profound transformation, has the longest cycle of all the planets, as we talked about last week. Its cycle to go through the entire Zodiac is 248 years. So, we know this is a planet that describes profound and lasting changes. The U.S. is a young country, so this is our very first Pluto Return. And, we don’t know exactly what it will bring, but we’ve certainly been seeing this process at work in shifts of control power, and even wealth. I would refer you to Ray Grasse’s excellent article about the U.S. Pluto Return, it’s called “Turning Point: The U.S. Pluto Return”. And it gives a really solid view of what’s happened when other empires have experienced a Pluto Return. And the short answer is, it doesn’t have to mean the end of the country or of the empire, but it does mean that something fundamentally changes.
Pluto in the U.S. chart is in the second house, so we can expect fundamental shifts in the economy and the use of our natural resources and changes related to our nation’s values. When we’ve had past critical moments in this particular Pluto cycle, what we’ve seen have been huge economic transitions and political transitions, the gold rush, the great depression, Reaganomics and the end of the cold war. Now, I think that we are unlikely to go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow in an entirely new country. We know what’s coming. We have seen and experienced the labor pains, and this year really is about giving birth to a new nation. And the only unknown really, I think, is whether we as a nation will rise to the occasion of becoming the best version of ourselves
Venus and Mars sextile Neptune
This week, Venus and Mars, both make sextile aspects to Neptune. Mars’ sextile is on February 23rd at 11:12 AM Pacific Time, and Venus makes a sextile the next day, February 24th at 08:04 AM Pacific Time. Now, both of them are headed toward a conjunction with Pluto on March 3rd, and we’ll cover that in-depth next week. But of course, Venus has already had a couple of meetings with Pluto, one, I think on December 11th and one on Christmas day. Venus was also retrograde between December 19th and January 29th. So, this is a Venus who has really been through the wringer and she needs some rest and she needs some healing, and that is the opportunity as Venus makes the sextile to Neptune, which is a planet that represents the chance for all those things.
Mars is kind of stronger in a little bit better shape. He’s very strongly placed in the sign of Capricorn and he has not yet been through the wringer with Pluto in the same way that Venus has. So, I love that, that Venus kind of has Mars to hold hands with at this moment. If we think of them as being a couple that go into a quiet empty chapel and kneel together and say a little prayer for strength for what lies ahead, because they have a big appointment coming up with Pluto right after the Pisces New Moon, which is on March 2nd. And the next day we have a lot going on with Venus and Mars, making a conjunction with Pluto and then moving into a new sign, the sign of Aquarius. But this is the quiet moment, the quiet healing time of contemplation. And I love that Venus has her lovely Mars there with her to give her a little extra strength.
This week, there is the opportunity to find understandings with those close to us so that we’re prepared for that final resolution that comes from the conjunctions with Pluto. So, take opportunities to have important conversations if they’re offered to you. And if they’re not, and you feel that things that are unresolved, go ahead and reach out. The person may decide that they don’t want to communicate with you, but it’s worth making the offer and taking the chance.
And now for the Moon report for the week of February 21st. Now, you all know who have listened to the podcast for any length of time that we used to announce the Moonwatch segment of the program with a lot of singing and giggling. And, after Jen left the show, I didn’t feel that I really wanted to continue that tradition, it didn’t seem quite right without her. But I had this delightful voicemail via speakpipe.com from listener Elliott, who was inspired to leave this tuneful message.
Elliott’s Message:
April: Oh, well done, listener Elliott! That is really quite lovely.
Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius
Well, this week we’re taking a look at the Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius. This is on February 23rd at 02:32 PM Pacific Time at 5° and 16 minutes of Sagittarius and Pisces. This is actually the review point for the Aquarius New Moon from February 1st. That was a tough chart. It had the Sun in the Moon in a conjunction with Saturn, which is very heavy and square Uranus, which means that as soon as we thought that we were on steady ground, something would come along to knock us off kilter. Have you had growing pains in the things that you conceived or initiated at the February 1st Aquarius New Moon? I definitely have been having growing pains with this new version of the podcast and a couple of other things that I’ve been trying to get going. Well, the Last Quarter is always the phase for looking at what has come of those New Moon plans so far and deciding how to fine tune them as we move ahead. This is also the Last Quarter of a lunar phase family that began at the Sagittarius New Moon on November 26th, 2019, which interestingly enough was when we launched the podcast, Jen and I.
The First Quarter in that lunar phase family came on August 25th, 2020, there was a Full Moon in this sequence on May 26th, 2021, and now here we are at the Last Quarter. So, if there’s anything significant that you initiated back in November around Thanksgiving time of 2019, you have come to a critical moment in the life cycle of that project. The Sabian symbol for 6° Sagittarius, which is the Last Quarter Moons degree is “A Game Of Cricket”. This is always a symbol that I welcome and I’m happy to see. Because, it is so sporty and outdoor, so, just like Sagittarius is, and cricket is such a civilized looking game, I think of as such a pastoral game. I’m probably romanticizing it, but it has that feeling for Sagittarius of the comraderie, the sporting life, being outdoors and enjoying a game that is actually quite languid, takes a while to unfold.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
We have a few void-of-course Moon periods this week that I thought I’d tell you about. Again, a void-of-course, Moon happens when the Moon has made its final major aspect in a sign and its void-of-course until it moves into the next sign. That is our modern understanding of the void-of-course Moon, and traditional astrology, it looks at a little bit differently.
Now, I’ll also encourage you to consider the nature of that last aspect that the Moon makes in its sign before it goes void-of-course, because it tells us the feeling we’re kind of sitting with during the void-of-course period, and what we feel we have taken away from the previous two to two-and-a-half days. So, on February 23rd, the Moon’s last aspect in the sign of Scorpio is a sextile to Pluto at 01:24 AM Pacific Time. And then, it goes into Sagittarius at 05:29 AM. So, it’s only about four hours, and the sextile is an opportunity aspect. So, we’re left with the feeling that we have had an opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of something and to possibly make real changes over the last couple of days, which isn’t normally something that we’re going to see from the Moon. But, a sextile to Pluto does say, maybe you’ve had an opportunity to change a habit for instance, in some real and lasting way.
On February 24th, the Moon’s last aspect in Sagittarius is a square to Neptune at 07:24 PM Pacific Time, and it goes into Capricorn on February 25th at 08:27 AM, so we’re about 12, 13 hours of the void period. A square to Neptune says “I’m not really clear about what happened over the last couple of days or what’s really going to happen moving forward”. So, we’re not only in a void time, we’re in a floating time, a time when it’s less important to feel we know exactly where we’re headed and how we’re going to get there.
February 27th, the Moon’s last aspect in Capricorn is the conjunction to Pluto at 06:49 AM, and then the Moon move into Aquarius at 10:35 AM. So, talk about permanent changes coming from a couple of days of the Moon being in Capricorn. The Moon is conjunct Pluto, and then we have about four hours to sit there in that conjunction in that feeling and say, “What is it that I’m going to really change about the way I’m living my life day to day?” It’s a short but powerful little lunar aspect.
Mercury square Uranus
On February 24th, Mercury the communication planet, makes a square aspect to Uranus at 06:21 PM Pacific Time. So, Mercury is the messenger and he brings us news or ideas or invitations. When he is connecting with Uranus in this way, it tends to be news or ideas or invitations that kind of come out of left field. And this is a really good aspect for brainstorming, for innovative thinking, for getting unstuck from any kind of project that involves ideas and putting together innovative solutions. Those are some of the positive things that we might look for from Mercury squaring Uranus. However, we have Mercury, which is in the sign of Aquarius, which is kind of Uranian, and in a square, which is an excitable and conflict prone aspect to Uranus, the planet of the unexpected. And the way this has worked before, when I’ve watched it, has been sort of like a little mini Mercury retrograde. Because, communications, electronics, your computer, your car, all are a little bit prone to this high energy Aquarius and Uranian quality. Expect the unexpected around February 24th. Do the usual things you would do at a Mercury retrograde, maybe in the couple of days leading up to this. Make sure you’ve backed up your computer, make sure you’ve got gas in your car and make sure you’ve checked the tires, all of those kinds of things. Run your windows updates on your computer, whatever the corollary is on an apple.
Listener question: Sect and planetary dignities
I had a very interesting and amusing email from listener “TV” who wanted to ask this question:
“To spoil the plot of the 1861 novel ‘Great Expectations’,” – spoiler alert! – “our hero receives an economic boon, not from his expected benefactor, but from someone who had threatened and terrified him as a child. This tale comes to mind when I consider the role of exalted malefics in charts. What do you say to a client coming to you for career or life direction or counsel who has a debilitated Jupiter in a day chart?” – Hang in there with me listener, I’ll explain all this. – “Venus in a night chart in-sect benefic, but has an exalted or otherwise well-placed Mars in a day chart, Saturn in a night chart out of sect malefic. What if that person doesn’t want to run an underground fight club or a super max prison?”
Well, TV, that’s a lot of concepts in a very short, very amusing question. Now, before I answer the question about career, I’m gonna break down a few concepts that some of my listeners will not be familiar with. Let’s begin with the concept of Sect, which is kind of the basis of TV’s question.
Now, Sect comes from the Hellistic astrology tradition and it refers to the idea that certain planets are thought to have particular strength in the chart based on whether somebody is born during the day or at night. For daytime birth, when the Sun is above the horizon, these planets are the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn. For a nighttime birth, in other words, when the Sun is below the horizon in the chart, the Moon, Venus and Mars are stronger. Now, Mercury is a little bit of a switch hitter. If he rises before Sun he’s in the daytime camp, and when he rises after the Sun, he’s in the nighttime sect. So, you can tell this really easily. If you look at the Sun in your chart and look clockwise, if that’s where Mercury is, then he is rising before the Sun and he’s in the day time camp. But, if you look counterclockwise from the Sun and find a Mercury there, this is when he is rising after the Sun and he’s in the nighttime sect.
The Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn do their best above the horizon in a daytime chart, or below the horizon in a nighttime chart, and they’re strengthened by being in what we call masculine signs, so the fire or air element signs. The Moon, Venus and Mars do best above the horizon in a nighttime chart or below the horizon in a daytime chart, and they’re strengthened by being in feminine signs. So, basically this idea of sect is just another way really to evaluate the strength and influence of a planet. We know Mars and Saturn are always considered to be malefic, in other words, kind of difficult by nature, and that Venus and Jupiter are considered benefic, which is generally helpful.
In this system, the malefic planets, Mars and Saturn are made either more or less kind of beastly, depending on their position in a daytime or nighttime chart. And the benefic planets can either be a little bit at a disadvantage or more lovely, depending on their situation in a day or nighttime chart. So, I don’t use most traditional methods other than the traditional rulerships of the planets, and I am by no means an expert at this. So, it’s not something I would normally be taking into account probably when counseling someone about their career. That said. If I were going to take sect into account, my instinct in this situation that TV described in this question would be to look for other planets that are in good shape according to this method, and to see how they can be helpful.
Example
My own chart is actually a pretty decent example of this. I was born during the day, so a daytime chart, so my good planets would be the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn are below the horizon, which is not optimal in a daytime chart, they’re in the second and third houses. Whereas Mars, which is not one of the good daytime planets, we call him ‘Out of sect’, he is not one of the strong planets in a daytime chart, but he’s very prominent near the Midheaven in my chart. So, all of these conditions kind of go what we say against sect and are points against my Jupiter in Saturn and give way too much fuel for that Mars fire. So far, using the system of sect, my career is in really bad shape and a career in prison security is looking more and more likely.
But, the Sun in my chart is in the sign that it rules, it’s in the ninth house, which is the house of its joy in traditional astrology, and it’s also the ruler of that house. And Saturn at least is in the sign that it rules, and it’s in a trine, a nice aspect to that horrible Mars in my 10th house, which I think, well, maybe, it cools it off a little bit. So, my recommendation to somebody with a chart like mine might go something like this, “You will have to work very, very hard – Saturn – and learn to control the more contentious side of your nature when you are provoked – Mars. But, if you lean hard into creativity, performance, education publishing, all of which are ruled by the solarized ninth house, then your hard work will be rewarded eventually. And in the meantime, look for ways to mitigate Mars by trying new things, constantly seeking challenges, getting some exercise, taking an anger management class and look for ways to bolster Jupiter who’s struggling a little bit down in the bottom part of the daytime chart right next to Saturn ruled by Saturn, and see if there is some way that I would speak to the person and say, explore different ways that Jupiter might be used, travel, learning, trying new experiences, having adventures.
My colleague, Leisa Schaim, who is a traditional astrologer and a very good one, has said that we should never shrink away from calling out what is inherently difficult in the chart. And, I completely agree with this. I always try to acknowledge the real difficulties that a client might face. But I’ve learned not to discount the positive things that can override the difficulties. And my personal experience with planetary dignities and strengths in general – and this can be something just as simple as having Venus in Scorpio, the sign of its fall – is that people will often excel in these areas of life precise because they are driven to overcome the challenges, even if it means running an underground fight club.
Well, thank you for the very interesting question TV, and it sort of gave me the opportunity to give a mini lesson as well in this idea of sect. If you have a question about astrology that you would like me to consider answering for an upcoming episode, you can either leave a voicemail message at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast, or shoot me an email April(at)bigskyastrology.com. And be sure you put “podcast question” in the subject line.
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© 2022 by April Elliott Kent.