Welcome to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast with your host, Astrologer and Author, April Elliott Kent.
April: Hello invisible friends, April here, and the date today is April 4th, 2022. Welcome to Episode 117 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast.
This week, Mars cover some of the same territory that was recently visited by Venus. And along with the First Quarter Moon, this says that we are moving forward with our Aries New Moon plans. Venus herself enters the mellow sign of Pisces this week, Mercury gets extremely busy, and I’ll close out the episode with a mini lesson about the Sabian symbols.
Mars conjunct Saturn (April 4, 2022, 6:51 pm PDT)
The week begins with Mars making a conjunction with Saturn on April 4th at 06:51 PM Pacific Time at 22° and 24 minutes of Aquarius. This is on the Sabian symbol, “A Big Bear Sitting Down Waving All Its Paws”, which is an image I find very delightful. When a bear is sitting down, and it’s actually to the point where it’s reclining a little bit so that it can wave all of its paw, it is not able to quickly run away from a predator, and it is not in a position to really attack prey. And this is very instructive for the symbolism of Mars in a conjunction with Saturn. Mars is that animal impulse that we have to go after what we want or protect what we feel is, is ours. When it comes together with Saturn, that raw anger, energy and impulsiveness is restrained. And, that for instance is why Mars is said to be exalted or especially strong in the Saturn ruled sign of Capricorn.
If you leave Mars to its own devices, things can get out of hand. But when you put it together with a little bit of Saturn, we see more restraint, more maturity, a master of those extreme passions and emotions that we associate with Mars. Mars coming together in the conjunction with Saturn is very frustrating because that Mars side of us just wants to be unrestrained and to do exactly what it wants at exactly its own pace. It is the ruling planet of Aries. And these are all qualities that I have been talking about in the last couple of episodes as planets have been moving into Aries. If you think of this as a small toddler restrained by its parent, Saturn, at about the age of two, of course, a child discovers the beauty of the word, “No” starts stomping its feet and having tantrums, Mars, and it is the job of the parent to teach them self-control, restraint, how to behave in a way where it’s first of all, not going to hurt itself, but it’s also not going to cause damage to people or things around it.
So, we can think that at this Mars-Saturn conjunction and think about the influence of this aspect, really about four days either side of the exact aspect. So, between say April 1st and April 7th or eighth, we really have this aspect making itself felt. I’m looking at the period around April 10th when the Moon is going through Leo, and triggering this Mars Saturn by opposition, that we see a bit of a defining moment in our own lives, perhaps we’ll see it in the news, of being called to account for our actions. Saturn is the responsibility and the accountability, and Mars rules are actions, the things we actually do rather than just the feeling of wanting to do something, which is also associated with Mars. So, I just love this picture of the “Big Bear Sitting Down Waving All Its Paws”, it looks very friendly and it’s not in a position to move too quickly, so we’re relatively safe around it. But it is this moment of great frustration and the feeling of, “Okay, I’m trying to be disciplined here. I’m trying restrain myself, but all the while, this frustration’s probably building a bit”. And I would again, look at that Moon around April 10th to see some of that frustration perhaps being released and spilling over.
Venus enters Pisces (April 5, 2022, 8:18 am PDT)
Venus enters the beautiful sign of Pisces this week on April 5th at 08:18 AM Pacific Time. It will remain in Pisces through May 2nd. Pisces is the sign of Venus’ exaltation, meaning it does some of its very best work in the sign. Venus in and of itself is about the pleasure of love, the feeling of physical satisfaction and pleasure that we get through love and through relationship or just that sense of I’m getting enjoyment from this one way or another. But Venus in Pisces speaks of unconditional love. It’s the love that we express, even if we’re not getting a ton of satisfaction and pleasure from the situation or from the relationship at a particular moment, but we are guided spiritually toward an unconditional regard.
Neptune is sometimes described as the higher octave of Venus. And I think that that sums up this idea pretty nicely. Venus is great, but when it’s connected with Neptune or it’s in Pisces, it is something really magical. It speaks of that spiritual connection that we can have with another person. Or, if we consider the part of Venus that’s about our values, what we own, the way we make our money, our feelings towards money, this exalts those feelings as well. Perhaps we might think while Venus is in Pisces, “How can I help the world more with the resources that I possess?” And it’s not just physical resources, it’s not just our money, making a contribution or a donation to some worthy cause, which is great, but it’s other kinds of resources as well, the time that we have that we can donate or contribute to some worthy cause for example.
So, Venus is in Pisces in the sign of its exaltation and what’s more, at the end of the month, it will come together in a conjunction with Jupiter. Venus is sometimes called the lesser benefic and Jupiter is the greater benefic. They’re considered the two most fortunate planets. So, when they come together, which actually is going to be on April 30th, the day of a solar eclipse, the benefits of each are accentuated and it will be really helpful to have together at the time of that solar eclipse, because as I’ll talk about, as we get closer to it. It is going to be kind of a hum dinger of an eclipse. So, we will touch on that in a couple of episodes from now.
Mars square the Lunar Nodes (April 5, 2022, 11:49 am PDT)
Also on April 5th, at 11:49 AM Pacific Time, Mars will square the lunar nodes from 22° and 56 minutes of Aquarius. As I described in the last episode, a planet that is square the lunar node axis is said to be at the bendings, it’s in a position to really propel us either in the direction of the North Node and further growth or the South Node where we really need to release something so that we can move on Mars at this square is north bending, which means it is moving toward the North Node. So, it is moving us toward the positive expression of the North Node. The North Node is on 23 Taurus, A Jewelry Shop”. Isn’t that a beautiful representation of the bounty that awaits us at the North Node? So, if we go back to Mars making the conjunction with Saturn on April 4th, the way we might put this together is to say, if we are able to restrain ourselves in the way that Saturn wants and to focus our actions in a reductive direction, then the great bounty and the great beauty of the North Node and all of its benefits can be ours.
Mercury’s busy week
Mercury is having an incredibly busy week. Mercury of course is the planet of communicating, of perception, of putting things together. And this week, it’s making a couple of sextile aspects and a square, and it will be changing sign. On April 7th, Mercury makes a sextile to Saturn, at 05:37 AM at 22° and 36 minutes of Aries. The nature of the sextile aspect is about putting together things, and it’s about invitations and about opportunities. Mercury connecting with Saturn is usually about tackling some kind of intellectual project that is a little bit difficult and requires a lot of hard work and a certain amount of discipline, but that in the end will be very significant and very worthwhile. It is however sextile, so we can choose to do it or not to do it, but the opportunity will be there. So, think of it this way. Maybe there is a project you’ve been working on and you have the opportunity to take a little time off from your other duties around this time, say April 6th through the 8th, so that you have time to really buckle down and get into this more significant project. But maybe you decide to prioritize it and maybe you don’t – that’s the sextile part.
The next day on April 8th at 11:19 AM Pacific Time, Mercury makes a sextile aspect to Mars at 25° and 11 minutes of Aries. If Mars is about the way we approach work, then Mercury coming together in a sextile with Mars says, let’s think of different ways to approach this work that might make it a little more effective or go a little more easily. Mercury is in Aries, so it is ruled by Mars, so it gives an extra sympathy between Mercury and Mars. And it does say, let’s figure out different approaches so that we can be more efficient and more effective. So, Mars is coming off this conjunction to Saturn earlier in the week, and we’ve buckled down and decided to exert a little bit of discipline in the area of our Mars activities, such as work, and now Mercury making a sextile there says, “Yes, I know that Saturn’s leaning on you and you need to restrain yourself so that you can build something significant. And I am going to give you some additional tools or maybe helpers or information that will make this a little easier for you”.
Then, on April 10th at 01:45 AM Pacific Time, Mercury makes a square aspect to Pluto, i’s last aspect in the sign of Aries. That happens at 01:45 AM Pacific Time at 28° and 30 minutes of Aries.
This one can go one of a couple of ways. Mercury square Pluto can say, I’m really going to sit down and focus on, say a problem that trying to solve, and I will not stop until I’m finished. There’s great tenacity to Mercury with Pluto. And it’s a good time for research and it’s a good time for untangling knotty problems. Because it’s somehow easier to get to the root of what those problems are, but it’s not an easy aspect. And sometimes what happens when a planet is connecting with Pluto is, in the area of life signified by that planet, we are working so hard, we are pushing ourselves so intensely and we feel under enormous pressure and then we can break a little and act a little bit badly if we’re not careful. So, this can mean speaking a little too sharply with those around us or focusing exclusively on one thing to the exclusion of all else. So, you might be a little difficult to live with for a couple of days if you are in this Mercury-Pluto mode. Or apt, if you have a lot of Mercury rolled planets and the signs of Gemini or Virgo, look between about April 10th and April 11th.
As Mercury is coming off the square to Pluto, it enters Taurus that evening, April 10th at 07:09 PM. So, as it moves into Taurus, it’s still carrying a little bit of this feeling of Pluto, this intensity. But Mercury going into Taurus where it will stay through about April, I think it’s April 29th, really slows down the Mercury processes. While Mercury is in Aries, we think fast, we talk fast, we drive fast, but when it moves into Taurus, things slow down. And if we were on the verge of even burning out a little bit in our mental act activities while Mercury was in Aries, Mercury in Taurus should bring a certain amount of relief. But we have to remember that Mercury in Taurus will eventually also make a conjunction aspect with Uranus and a square aspect with Saturn. So, really anything moving into the fixed signs this year, into Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius, is going to trigger those two planets that are still kind of within range of that square that they finished up last year. Mercury in Taurus is nice for downshifting and moving at a little more deliberate pace for the next few of weeks, but it’s not entirely going to be stress free because of those aspects that will be coming up with Uranus and Saturn. We’ll talk about those next week.
Cancer First Quarter Moon (April 8, 2022, 11:47 pm PDT)
Next up, the Moon report for the week of April 4th. It begins with a Cancer First Quarter Moon on April 8th, at 11:47 PM Pacific Time at 19° and 24 minutes of Cancer, with the Sun at 19° and 24 minutes of Aries. The Quarter Moon comes one week at after the New Moon is the moment in the lunar cycle when we are called upon to act. And, the First Quarter is specifically about acting on instinct. This is a First Quarter in Cancer, which is exceptionally intuitive and trusts its instincts quite often a little more easily than other signs. So, this is a First Quarter for taking some kind of action on something that you’ve been feeling called to do ever since that Aries New Moon. This might also be a First Quarter where you have been needing to do something related to home or your family because it’s in Cancer. I know a lot of people right now are thinking about the place where they’re living and deciding if they want to live someplace else, and this might be a time when people are giving serious thought to that, or even just big projects that they want to do around their home. All of these because can answer is such a home and family related sign.
It’s a high energy First Quarter Moon. The Sun and Moon of course are square each other, but they’re both connecting with Pluto as well. The Moon is opposed Pluto. The Sun is square Pluto by about 9°. So, these are significant actions that we’re thinking about taking at this First Quarter. It’s probably not just “Are we going to paint the living room? Are we going to fix the roof?” It’s something pretty significant, but taking actions towards big, important things is usually not easy and it usually requires us to step out of our comfort zone. So, when we get a First Quarter Moon like this, that has one of these big outer planets involved with it as well, this is a really good sign that we can make serious and important changes beginning at this First Quarter Moon.
This is the First Quarter point in a lunar phase family that began with a New Moon on July 9th, 2021, that was 18° and one minute of Cancer. So, you might get some insights from looking back to last summer, and particularly around that New Moon in early July, and contemplate what you might have been hoping for, dreaming of, thinking about at around that time, because this is the moment to move forward with this. It is the moment when you feel a certain amount of pressure actually to finally do something the pressure has been building, and now the time has come to act. Whenever we have a chart like this one, is what we call a T-Square, three planets in a dynamic configuration, there is what we call a retreat point. The Sun is in the Cardinal sign of Aries. The Moon is in the Cardinal sign of Cancer. Pluto is in the Cardinal sign of Capricorn. And there is one other Cardinal sign that is not represented, and that’s Libra. So, we know to a certain extent that if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed around this First Quarter Moon, the way to retreat from it and get a little bit of a chance to regroup is through Libra activities. This can be listening to music, enjoying or creating art, spending time with your partner, doing things that really bring a lot of pleasure and restore a little bit of balance to your life.
Void-of-Course Moon Periods
Let’s take a look at the void-of-course Moon periods for this week. Once again, the void-of-course Moon happens when the Moon has finished making all of its major aspects in its sign, and until it moves into the next sign. These are considered… not the best times to start new things, but important moments in the rhythm of the lunar month, where we pause for a moment and really assimilate the message of the Moon’s last aspect in that sign. It can be a great time for changing habits and specifically about taking actions that we don’t want to lead to anything. The classic example of this, and one that is really pertinent this week in the United States, is my teacher used to say – and I’ve heard this from other astrologers, so it must have been a thing that was going around at some time – that you should file your income taxes on a void-of-course Moon, because the literal meaning of avoid-of-course Moon would be, if you do something on void-of-course Moon, nothing will come of the matter. And the idea with the income taxes is, if you file on a void-of-course Moon, you won’t get audited. Now, I did not take that advice myself this year because I was at a hurry to get it done because everything was in Aries, so of course I was in a hurry. But if you haven’t done that yet, you have a few opportunities this week.
On April 4th, the Moon in Taurus makes a square to Venus at 06:53 PM, and it’s void-of-course for about one hour before it goes into Gemini at 08:04 PM Pacific Time. That might be a pretty good one for filing your taxes, because Taurus is a sign related to money and Venus is the financial planet. On April 6th, the Moon in Gemini makes trine aspect to Mars at 08:14 PM Pacific Time, and then it’s void-of-course for 12 hours. Now, most of that here in the United States, it happens overnight. Then it enters Cancer on April 7th at 08:30 AM Pacific Time, close to noon, if you’re on the east coast. And, the Moon’s last aspect being a, trine to Mars is a nice one, but it also means that we may not sleep terribly well that night because Mars is feeling very energized. And finally, on April 9th, the Moon in Cancer makes an opposition to Pluto at 06:01 PM Pacific Time. It’s void-of-course for about three hours before entering Leo at 08:59 PM Pacific Time.
As always, these last aspects of the Moon to Pluto, which is happening a lot at the moment because Pluto is often the planet at the latest degree – the Moon’s opposition or square or conjunction to Pluto, any kind of aspect really, is a really potent time to try to reinforce changes that we’re making in our habits and our behaviors, and especially, in accessing those unconscious patterns that are represented by Pluto. What I have suggested to some clients if they’re having an activity in their chart involving the Moon with Pluto, now this would more commonly be if transiting Pluto is aspecting their Moon, which takes several years rather than a few hours as we have here. Or if the progressed Moon in their charts moving into Scorpio or the eighth house. These are all very similar messages as the Moon with Pluto. And what I’ll often suggest to them is, this is a really good time for any kind of therapeutic process that helps you get to the base of your unconscious behaviors and patterns.
Now, this is a very quick little transit of the Moon with Pluto, but the opportunity it gives you that evening is to adjust things on kind of an unconscious level. I would say, be a little careful about what you take in that evening. If you’re here on the west coast, and this is prime sitting around in the evening and watching television or working on some hobby or something, especially if you’re watching television, be careful about what you watch, because you’re probably a little more susceptible to the unconscious messages that you’ll be taking in and especially anything that’s violent or really emotion really disturbing. I think it’s probably not the worst idea to watch something a little lighter and let this Moon-Pluto activity go on under the surface
Mini-Lesson: The Sabian Symbols (A Review)
In this week’s mini lesson, I want to give you a really quick overview of the Sabian symbols. The Sabian symbols are a series of 360 word pictures, one for each degree of the Zodiac. In 1925, astrologer Marc Edmund Jones sat down with a very talented psychic named Elsie Wheeler, here in my own beloved San Diego over at Balboa Park. And he took dictation as she talked about the image that came to her for each of these 360 degrees. I find them really interesting, poetic, very powerful. When I first came across them, I didn’t think much of them. And then I was fortunate enough to have Lynda Hill, who’s a bit of a Sabian symbol expert, come to stay at my home for a week or so, some years ago. And in talking with her about the symbols, I got a better sense how to use them and how to approach them. So, in a practical sense, this is how they work.
Say we have something like Mars making a square to the lunar nodes. And Mars is at 22° and 56 minutes of Aquarius, which means it’s almost 23°, you would round up to the next degree. And this is true even if Mars in this case were at 22° and one minute, as soon as it is passed the full degree and moves even one minute over, then you round up to the next degree. And this is because the Zodiac starts at zero Aries, but the Sabian symbols begin at Aries one. So, that’s why we do this rounding up process.
But Lynda Hill has a really interesting way of working with the degree before and the degree after the Sabian symbol for the particular planet or point that you’re working with. The Sabian symbol for the degree before the one you’re working with, in this case, that would be Aquarius 22, “A Rug Placed On The Floor For Children To Play On”, which we looked at last week, and that symbol represents almost a South Node kind of relationship to the main symbol that you’re working with. It describes karmic issues. So, it would show the larmic condition of the planet, a talent or an issue that needs to be resolved and let go of related to that planet. And that the degree after the one that you’re working with shows the direction that you’re moving in with that planet, in this case, it would be Aquarius 24, “A Man Turning His Back On His Passions, Teaches Deep Wisdom From His Experience”.
So, she reads all three symbols for a single planet, which is really effective. And I really don’t know of anyone else that works with them that way, but it definitely is something that she does to great effect. Now, there are a few books out there about this Sabian symbols, I’ll link to them in the show notes. I do love Lynda’s book, “360 Degrees of Wisdom”. It goes in and out of print. And I think it’s only available at the moment through her website. So, I’ll leave you a link for that. But, they’re a beautiful system, and the way I use them is really kind of a prompt to help me access these transiting aspects at a little bit of a deeper level, or to get a little more nuance from them.
Well, that is everything I have on my show sheet. So, I’m going to wrap this one up. Thank you so much for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, I sure hope you’ll subscribe or follow the show, leave a rating or a review, and please spread the word by telling an astrology loving friend. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.
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That is it for this episode. Join me again bright early next Monday. And until then, keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars.
