TRANSCRIPT – EPISODE 125 | Gemini New Moon: Not An Eclipse!
Listen and read show notes hereWelcome to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast, with your host, Astrologer and Author, April Elliott Kent.
April: Well, hello invisible friend, April here, and the date today is May 30th, 2022. Welcome to Episode 125 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. It’s an extremely light week in The Big Sky. We will be taking a look at the Gemini New Moon ruled by Mercury, which is turning direct this week. And we’ll consider what it means for us that Saturn is turning retrograde. Now, today, my husband, Jonny and I are celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary, which I find incredibly hard to believe. That inspired this week’s extended mini-lesson: some tips for choosing a good date for a wedding.
Gemini New Moon (May 30, 2022, 4:30 am PDT)
We begin with the Moon Report for the week of May 30th, and this Gemini New Moon, which happens on May 30th at 4:30 AM Pacific Time, at 9°3’ Gemini. This chart features the Sun and Moon in a sextile with Mars and Jupiter, which are still pretty close to that conjunction they made last week. And of course, we have Mercury retrograde, which is square Saturn in the New Moon chart. It’s not really a terribly dramatic New Moon chart. I don’t know about you, I’m just glad it’s not an eclipse. I’m kind of done with eclipses for the time being!
So, let’s just go back to basics for a moment and talk about New Moons. They’re the beginning of course, of about a 28-day Lunar Cycle. And, they’re also part of a larger cycle, which is the Lunar Phase Family or Lunar Phase Gestation Cycle, it’s sometimes called, and that covers about a two-and-a-half-year period. While 28 days between New Moons doesn’t seem like a whole heck of a lot of time to do anything significant – because you know, New Moons are supposed to be about initiating new projects or conceiving new things. And, if you try to think of what you can really get done in a month, it’s somewhat limited really, but if you expand it out over two and a half years, suddenly, you can get a lot more done. So, we have this New Moon at 9° Gemini, then a First Quarter Moon at 8° Gemini on February 27th, 2023, a Full Moon at 5° Gemini on November 27th, 2023, and then finally a Last Quarter Moon at 3° Gemini, August 26th, 2024. So, you might want to make a note of those dates and know that that is really the framework for this particular Lunar Phase Gestation Cycle.
So, what that means is what you conceive of, what you initiate, what you try to imagine for yourself at this Gemini New Moon. And Gemini is generally about learning, about acquiring information and skills, things related to neighbors and siblings, travel – usually not real long-distance travel, but getting around, being a little more sociable. And if you place 9° Gemini into your birth chart, into the house where that falls, you can get quite a good idea of the area of your life that you are planting in at this particular New Moon and take a look and if you want, create a little diary about this, of what you would like to be bringing to fruition in this area of your life over the next two and a half years.
Mercury is still retrograde at this New Moon, and the New Moon’s in a sign that’s ruled by Mercury. This says to me that this is probably best for revisiting matters, ideas, relationships from the past, and trying to do something with them that is substantial reaching out into the future. The Mercury retrograde is square Saturn and Saturn is a very good influence for buckling down, getting things put together in a structure that will carry you far, because it’s Saturn in Aquarius, it’s very visionary and always looking toward the future.
Now, neither Mercury nor Gemini, particularly love Saturn’s influence because Saturn is so stern and inflexible and makes us sit down and focus on one thing and see it through to the end. Gemini is generally much happier being free to explore a lot of different ever shifting possibilities and doesn’t love sitting down and having to focus on one. And Mercury is also very attuned to variety and paying attention to everything that’s going on in the environment. And Saturn encourages us toward tunnel vision to really focus on one thing and master it.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s take a look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week.
We have the first one on May 31st. The Moon is still in Gemini and it ends on a trine aspect to Saturn at 1:10 PM Pacific Time. Then it’s Void-of-Course for 10 hours the entire afternoon and into the evening here on the west coast of the United States, before it enters Cancer at 10:49 PM Pacific Time. So, for a couple of days, this Moon in Gemini has been sensitive to its environment, collecting information, reaching out for a lot of sources of news, being a little more sociable than usual, perhaps, and it can easily make us feel a little over stimulated. So, I like that it’s pausing on this trine to Saturn, the trine is a nice, easy aspect. And, the image that I get with this one is the Moon in Gemini is like a little kid who’s been to the carnival and has spent the whole day seeing these amazing attractions and eating lots and lots of weird food, things that are a lot of deep fried things and cotton candy and hot dogs and all of that stuff that we eat when we go to the fair, and it’s got a little bit of a stomach ache, and it’s a little bit overextended by the end of its day or by early afternoon when this trying to Saturn happens.
And I get this picture of the little kid, just kind of nestling up next to mom or dad in the car as they drive home and just kind of being soothed and feeling comfortable with our parents. It’s void-of-course for 10 hours. That’s a pretty long void-of-course period until it enters Cancer at 10:49 in the evening. So, it’s a nice afternoon. If you’re in a position to do it, this is a weekday, but if you’re in a position to do it, it’s a nice afternoon to take it easy, have a nap, maybe sit out in the sun, take a bicycle, ride, something that’s not too overstimulating and to sort out all of the experiences you’ve had over the last couple of days and all the input and let your stomach settle from all that cotton candy.
Next, on June 3rd, the Moon in Cancer ends on an opposition to Pluto at 8:15 AM Pacific Time. It’s void-of-course for about three and a half hours before it enters Leo at 11:38 AM. So, this is happening at the beginning of the work day here on the west coast of the United States and of course, in the afternoon over on the east coast. The Moon is very strong in Cancer, and this comes at the end of about a two-day period of the Moon being in this sign. And it’s generally, all things being equal, a time that we maybe wanna stay home, we want to be with our family, we don’t want to push or challenge ourselves too much. We crave what’s familiar and what feels cozy and safe.
An opposition says that things are revealed and that we can see clearly something that’s going on. Pluto’s a little tough. The Moon by this time has had some bumps in the road, square to Mars square, to Jupiter, a trine to Neptune, a sextile to Venus, sextile to Uranus. It hasn’t had the very worst aspects, but ending on the opposition to Pluto tends to frame the previous two days in a pretty hard light. We might find ourselves on this day during this void-of-course time saying, “Oh, why did I do that? Why did I say that?” It’s a lot of self-recrimination that can often happen when the Moon is making an opposition to Pluto. Of course, it’s good to digest these feelings, but the problem with Pluto is we can tend to dwell over long in them. So, try to find something positive to occupy your mind during this void-of-course period, and to comfort yourself a little bit in a positive way. So, not indulging in bad habits, but instead to maybe read something that’s uplifting or immerse yourself in a work project, something that will divert your emotional energy from kind of turning back onto itself, which can happen with Pluto.
On June 5th, the Moon in Leo will square Mercury as its final aspect at 04:12 PM Pacific Time. Another sort of long void-of-course Moon period, its void-of-course for seven hours from the late afternoon, up to 11:22 PM Pacific Time when it enters Virgo. This is not a terrible last aspect. The Moon square Mercury does say maybe that we encounter information or messages that are a little bit emotionally upsetting. It can also be an accentuation of that slight instability of the moon. So, it can work a little bit like that Moon in Gemini, that’s kind of agitating in a way.
This is a void-of-course Moon period that really lends itself to something that will stabilize our thought processes and our emotions. Instead of doing a lot of multitasking in the evening, which can happen sometimes when the Moon connects with Mercury, they’re both really kind of information loving. Instead to do a little meditation, do some centering activities and try to do all the things before you go to bed that we know supposed to do, and we rarely do, put our phone away, put our iPad away. At most, pick up some restful book and read that or watch something very light and very uplifting.
Mercury stations direct (June 3, 2022, 1:00 pm PDT)
On June 3rd, Mercury turns direct at 1:00 AM Pacific Time. It turned retrograde on May 10, and it’s been a very lively Mercury retrograde season. I find that’s often true when Mercury is in a sign that it’s really strong in like Gemini or Virgo or Aquarius. After Mercury turns direct, it still needs a little time to let go of the feeling of being retrograde. We call this its “shadow period”, and it lasts until Mercury gets back to the same degree where it originally turned retrograde, and that will be on June 18th. So, we can’t really necessarily just throw our hands up in the air and say, “Hurrah, Mercury is direct. We’re completely out of that retrograde time!” Instead, it’s a little more equivalent to waking up from a nap. And you know how you don’t always just jump to attention, you need a little time to regain yourself and figure out what’s going on. So, that’s what it’s like as Mercury turns direct and is still in its shadow for a while.
Mercury turns direct at 26º5’ Taurus, and this is close to an opposition with the Lunar Eclipse on May 16th. That was a tough eclipse. I’m hearing a lot from people about this one. And I think that Mercury turning direct on this point is significant and it’s giving us an opportunity to assimilate all of the feelings and the thoughts and the sensations that came our way at that eclipse and really make sense of them. But in any event, that’s it for Mercury retrograde until September 9th, when we’ll have the next retrograde in Libra.
Saturn stations retrograde (June 4, 2022, 2:47 pm PDT)
Now, Saturn will turn retrograde the next day on June 4th at 2:47 PM Pacific Time. Saturn will be retrograde through October 22nd. It’s one of the planets with a long, drawn-out retrograde period every year. Retrogrades are good for certain things. Retrogrades are times when we look within, where we’re guided by our own wisdom and experience. So while Saturn is retrograde, it’s good for a few things. It’s a good time to look within for our own sense of authority and leadership, reinforcing our boundaries and for making our own rules. There were a few things that I’d avoid while Saturn is retrograde. It’s probably not the best symbolism for say, founding a company or embarking on some kind of project that involves heavy construction, like building an addition on your house or fixing your foundations or something like that. And also, look to the houses of your chart that are ruled by Saturn. Those are the houses that have Capricorn or Aquarius on the cusp, because the matters related to those houses are also subject to this Saturn retrograde period.
For example, if you have Saturn ruling your third house, then it feels a little bit like a Mercury retrograde when Saturn goes retrograde, because it’s not going to be the best time to buy a car or a computer or take a short trip or the kinds of things we would normally associate as being a little vexing when Mercury is retrograde. If Saturn rules the second house of your chart, it’s not the best time to make big expenditures or big decisions about your finances. Now, Saturn will get all the way back to about 18° of Aquarius, and this is the degree that it was at in late February. So, this is a significant retrograde period for going back and attending to matters that might not have been fully completed at that time.
Mini-Lesson: Tips for Choosing an Astrologically Strong Wedding Date
In this week’s mini-lesson, I wanted to talk to you about choosing a wedding date. We’re headed now into June and it’s the most popular month of the year for weddings. And since everybody starts planning their wedding a year in advance, it seems, this is about the time back when I used to choose wedding dates for people that I would start to get a ton of requests. So, for this week’s mini lesson, I’d like to run down my 10 essentials for a good wedding date.
Now, I want to begin by saying, I do not choose wedding dates for people anymore. I do offer a video and workbook product called The Wedding Date Workshop. And if you know some astrology, if you can find planetary aspects and you follow each step, you will find the exact same dates that I would recommend for you. I’ll also put a couple of resources in the show notes of astrologers I can recommend, who at the time I’m recording this, do this work. But there are a few things that can get you started and I’ll make this list available too as a downloadable PDF in the show notes, you can find that over at bigskyastropod.com.
Before I give you my list, I just want you say a couple of important things. First of all, resist the impulse to start by looking for a wedding chart that harmonizes with your birth charts in every respect, because that way lies madness. Think of the wedding chart as a house that you’re building for the two of you to live in. And the first priority is to build a really good house, a strong house. Now, it may not have all the features that you want, but you can always add on or remodel.
The second thing is the marriage begins at the moment both people have said “I do”. Up to that point, anything can happen. Someone can run down the aisle screaming, but I do is the magic moment of accepting the responsibility and commitment of marriage. So, the chart for that moment is the one that counts astrologically.
Number three, don’t be afraid of Saturn, he’s a good guy. Some of my colleagues will even put Saturn in the 7th house, the house of marriage. I don’t quite go that far, but do feel free to have Venus making an nice aspect to Saturn. Saturn represents commitment and seriousness, and that’s a big part of the marriage relationship.
And finally, the date that you get married is not going to make or break your marriage, it really isn’t. The two of you are in charge of that! So I think that this is a wonderful kind of ritual that we do to try to cooperate with the heavens and give ourselves a nice, easy path forward as much as we can, but seriously, the chart’s not going to be perfect and your marriage isn’t going to be perfect, because that’s not how marriage works.
So having said that, here is my list. Number one. Venus really must not be retrograde, period. Venus is the planet that rules marriage and it’s simply not good symbolism to have her retrograde at the time of your wedding. In 2023, that’s going to roll out July 22nd through September 3rd. And that’s a bummer, because a lot of people like to get married in the summer, that’s the summer here in the Northern hemisphere. But Venus will be retrograde and actually tack a couple of weeks before and after that for the shadow period.
Second. Avoid the Sun approaching a square aspect to Saturn. And by this, I mean from the moment the Sun enters the sign where it will make a square aspect to Saturn, we consider it already being an aspect until it finishes that aspect. So, in 2023, this rules out May 21st, which is when the Sun enters Gemini through May 28th, when it makes the exact square to the Sun. And it also rules out November 22nd and 23rd, depending on where you live, when the Sun entera Sagittarius and immediately squares Saturn. I looked at tons of charts. I did a research project on this where I looked at several hundred wedding charts and the outcome of the marriage, and that’s how this one came up. It didn’t really seem to be such a problem when the Sun was opposing Saturn or even making the conjunction, but the square is hard because the Sun is the core identity of the marriage and it’s wanting to grow. And when it’s square Saturn, it’s almost like planting a seed in clay soil, which we have here where I live and is horrible for trying to grow anything because the plant gets spread out its roots, it’s in a really hard rocky environment. So, I just really discourage that one.
Number Three. Let’s get a positive aspect between the Sun and the Moon, either a trine or a sextile. Because, the Sun and the Moon are symbols of compatibility. Venus and Mars are really sexy, but the Sun and Moon is where it’s at in terms of compatibility, so, I look for a good aspect between those. It’s really important. Now, this excludes getting married at the Full Moon when the Sun and Moon are opposite each other. And, I’m sorry, because I know it’s really romantic, the Full Moon, people like to go out to the beach and get married on a Full Moon or something and it’s pretty, but I tell you, it’s symbolism, that’s not the best for your wedding chart.
Now, number four, do yourself a favor and avoid Mercury retrograde and Mars too, if you can. Mercury retrogrades are not the end of the world, but I’ll tell you, it can be really aggravating. And, in the most dramatic case that I saw where a couple had married with Mercury retrograde, they found out years later that they weren’t legally married because the person who performed the ceremony had not filed their paperwork, which is a very Mercury retrograde situation, isn’t it? I also had a member of my family who got married when Mercury was retrograde and the bride was in tears because so many things were going wrong. And none of them were big deals, but you put enough of them together and it can really spoil what should be a beautiful day. So, I would try to avoid it if you can. And Mars is the forgotten relationship planet along with Venus. And having Mars, retrograde is not as bad as Venus retrograde, but it’s not terrific if you can avoid it.
Now, speaking of Venus, number five, let’s generally make Venus happy. Avoid Venus making big ugly aspects to negative planets. Get a nice aspect to Mars if you can, because like I said, it’s a real nice, physically exciting combination. Get Venus connecting with Jupiter and you get this optimism and generosity of spirit. Include a good aspect to Venus from the Moon or Mercury or from Venus to another planet.
If you can, avoid Venus in the signs that she struggles in, Aries, Virgo or Scorpio, unless she is very well aspected. Bonus points. If you can get Venus and Taurus, Libra or Pisces, but only if they’re well aspected. And that’s been tricky for the last few years because, Venus in Taurus connects with Uranus, which is a little dicey for a wedding chart. Venus in Libra ends up fighting with Pluto. Venus in Pisces was connecting with Neptune. Starting next year, it starts tangling up with Saturn. So, it’s always going to be something, but those are the really good signs for Venus.
Number Six. The Moon’s last aspect in its sign needs to be a positive one or at least a neutral one. By now, if you’ve been listening to the podcast for the last, I don’t know, 15 episodes or so where I’ve been including the information about the Void-of-Course Moon, you can kind of get a feel for why this is important. The Moon’s last aspect in its sign says, “This is how everything ends up feeling in the marriage. Every new decision you make, every choice, every undertaking ends up with you feeling a particular way about it. And if that aspect’s a hard one, then at the end of everything, it either feels not quite as good as you hoped it would, or it feels pretty negative”. So, I think it’s really important what that last aspect is.
Number Seven. If you can, avoid Moon in Aries, Scorpio or Capricorn. Again, these are signs that the Moon struggles in. They’re fine in a birth chart, please don’t feel that I’m saying anything against your Moon if it’s in Aries or Scorpio or Capricorn! This is strictly for the purposes of choosing a good date.
Keep sucky planets or afflicted planets out of the 7th house. Because, a planet that is making a difficult aspect to another planet, especially one of the big difficult planets is said to be afflicted for the purposes of election astrology, which is what we’re doing here.
Keep Mars or Uranus or Pluto, or even Neptune out of the 7th house. I would leave Saturn out of there. Some people disagree with me.
Number Nine. Avoid the Sun or Moon in the 6th or 12th houses. These are houses that have to do with imbalance or servitude or inequality or generally not seeing what you’re getting into. So, I definitely try to avoid those.
And finally, Number 10, get a good relationship between the planet that rules the sign on the 1st house, the ascendant and the planet, the rules the sign on the descendant. So this goes down to the time of day that you choose to get married. That axis, those two houses, represent the two people getting married, so, we want their rulers to be in harmony with each other or at least not in some terrible aspect.
So, it sounds like a lot of things. It really is a lot of things and it can get complicated pretty quickly. It’s not a bad idea to consult with an astrologer if you’re getting married, because you can be a little too close to this situation and it can be hard for you to know what you can let go by and what you really need to avoid.
If you have a burning question about astrology that you would like me to answer or an idea for a mini lesson, leave a voicemail of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast. Or you can send an email to me, april@bigskyastrology.com and be sure to put “Podcast Question” in the subject line.
Donor Thanks!
Well, that’s everything I have on my show sheet, so I’m going to wrap this one up. Thanks so much for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to subscribe or follow in your app of choice. Ratings and reviews are always welcome and I’d love it if you’d help 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.
I want to thank everyone who showed support during the September Podathon. Each week, I’m thanking some of you by name. This week, a Big Sky Astrology Podcast Shout out goes out to Rachel Fletcher, Martina Papinchack and Annette Eikerenkoetter!
April: Rachel, Martina and Annette, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting the show with your donations, it means a lot.
If you missed the Podathon and would like to support the show, please go to bigskyastropod.com and you will see exactly where you can leave your donation.
That’s all 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.
© 2022 by April Elliott Kent
