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TRANSCRIPT Ep. 130 | Mars enters Taurus: Slow and Steady!

Transcript Ep. 130 | Mars enters Taurus: Slow and Steady! (July 4, 2022)

Welcome to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast, with your host, Astrologer and Author, April Elliott Kent.

April: Hello invisible friend, April here. The date today is July 4th, 2022. This week, a First Quarter Moon in Libra. The Sun makes a sextile aspect to Uranus, Mercury enters Cancer and makes a square aspect to Jupiter and Mars enters Taurus.

Mars enters Taurus (July 4, 2022, 11:04 pm PDT)

On July 4th, Mars enters Taurus at 11:04 PM Pacific Time, so basically July 5th most every place else. It’ll be in Taurus through August 20th. Mars symbolizes the way we get things done, quality of our activity and physical energy. When it’s in Taurus, things move much more slowly than in Aries, but they tend to have a lot more staying power. Mars is considered in its detriment in Taurus, which means that it’s in the sign opposite the Mars ruled sign of Scorpio. So basically, Mars is being asked to do its work in an inhospitable environment, because it’s speed and decisiveness are toned down by Taurus, which is ruled by Venus and more slow moving.

Taurus, I think above all wants to be comfortable, and that is not really a high priority for Mars. Mars is about instigating things and showing courage in new situations. So, when Mars is in Taurus, it’s not likely going to be a period of time through August 20th, that we’re moving fast and starting a lot of new things and getting a lot of stuff done. But Mars being in Taurus is actually a pretty good time for doing things that take stamina and patience such as maybe working in your garden or building something around your home or starting an exercise routine that you really want to continue with, because Taurus, as one of the fixed signs really favors consistency and once we start something, to keep it going. So, during the time that Mars was in Aries, it was the time for starting new things. And now that Mars has gone into Taurus, it’s about, well, how do we support those things on a daily basis?

So, while Mars was in Aries, you decided to start a business, let’s say. Then, when Mars goes into Taurus, it says, “Okay, well, it’s great to start this business, but then what is the infrastructure that I actually need to put in place to support this new venture?” So, it can be as simple as, oh, I started a business and now I need to open a bank account and I need to get an office, maybe rent an office, or get office furniture for your home and register a DBA and do something about a website. So, this is all stuff for the Mars in Taurus season to actually lay the tracks for the locomotive that is coming our way.

Mercury enters Cancer (July 4, 2022, 11:25 pm PDT)

Also, on July 4th at 11:25 PM Pacific Time, Mercury enters Cancer, it’ll be in that sign through July 19th. The nature of Mercury is about how we take in information and then how we process it and how we then disseminate that information back into the world. When Mercury is in Cancer, this process tends to be fairly intuitive based in a kind of emotional context and somewhat protective. So, while Mercury is in Cancer, we should listen to our gut instincts. I think when Mercury is going through any of the water signs, Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces, our intuition tends to be a little stronger and a little more reliable, and we should really listen to our gut instincts about things.

Recently, I had a difficult decision I had to make, and I did the usual thing of sitting down and making the list of the pros and the cons and trying to lay it out in like a logic proof and it just didn’t work. It was not taking into account what I was feeling about this situation. And that’s the kind of information that is strong and reliable while Mercury is in Cancer. We’ll also tend to take a little more offense at things that other people say sometimes when Mercury is in Cancer, we won’t usually show that our feelings have been hurt, but we will definitely be feeling that more often probably. And the protective element of Mercury and Cancer is that we’re less apt maybe to be very straightforward about what we’re thinking and feeling, we’re much more protective about that and holding our cards a little closer to our chest. Now, the sign that Mercury is in also says what we’ll be paying most attention to, and when it’s in cancer, it’s things like our families, our home, food, security.

Libra First Quarter Moon (July 6, 2022, 7:14 pm PDT)

And now for the Moon Report for the week of July 4th. It begins with a Libra First Quarter Moon at 14°59’ Libra on July 6th at 7:14 PM Pacific Time. The Moon is on the Sabian symbol, 15 Libra, “Circular Paths”. And, the Sun is on the Sabian symbol, 15 Cancer, “A Group of People Who Have Overeaten and Enjoyed It”. And maybe that’s the state we all find ourselves in on July 6th, having overeaten at those July 4th barbecues a couple of days before. The Sabian symbol for this Quarter Moon, “Circular Paths” does talk about going around and around and deliberating about what’s fair and what’s equal, which is Libra’s forte. In the time that my progressed Sun has been in Libra, which has now been close to 12 years – I think it actually has been 12 years now. And, I’ve found that I can relate more and more to those old descriptions of Libra that you used to read in the old books, of being really indecisive and having a really hard time making decisions. I’m not saying all people who have planets in Libra are this way, it’s just something I’m noticing much more in myself. And it is a little bit of that round and around, circular paths kind of feeling. So, we might be a little bit at this place here at the Libra First Quarter Moon of going around and around.

Now, the Sun and the Moon, which are of course square each other at the First Quarter Moon, are in a T-square with Jupiter in Aries, which is kind of carrying over from our Cancer New Moon, which was also square Jupiter. And I talked on the Cancer New Moon episode on our last episode about that tendency with Jupiter to bite off a little more than we can chew. And it can also be about responding in an exaggerated way to whatever challenges come our way. And, at the First Quarter Moon, we do have challenges and they’re energizing as much as they are frustrating. But I really love that the Sabian symbol for the Sun at 15 Cancer is “A Group of People Who Have Overeaten And Enjoyed It”, because it really does speak to this Sun and Moon T-square with Jupiter, which is just taking in so much and kind of enjoying it, but getting perhaps a little bit overextended as well.

We have talked before on the podcast about how a T-square among three planets, which are usually in the same modality, in this case they’re all in Cardinal signs, the Sun is in Cancer, the Moon is in Libra and Jupiter is in Aries. And there are four signs to each modality, so the one that’s missing in this configuration is Capricorn. It doesn’t have any planets in it at around 8 to 15°, so there’s nothing there to kind of fill in the T-square. I think of this as an exit point, so that when we’re getting a little over stimulated by a T-square, if we retreat to the activities represented by that missing sign, in this case, Capricorn, it could be really grounding. And in the case of Capricorn, it’s, be productive, work, do stuff, and be very organized. Capricorn, doesn’t get really excited about things, just puts its nose to the grindstone and gets things done. So, I think that that can actually be a really useful approach for the entire coming week, which is under the influence of this First Quarter Moon.

Void-of-Course Moon periods

Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week.

The first is on July 5th when the Moon in Virgo makes a trine to Pluto at 11:03 AM Pacific Time, it’s then void of course for 4 hours and 22 minutes before it enters Libra on July 5th at 3:25 PM. All of our void-of-course Moon periods this week with Pluto. Pluto is the planet at the latest degree at this time, it’s at 27° of Capricorn. And so, very often planets as they make their last aspect are encountering Pluto on the way out the door. The Moon in Virgo trine Pluto is not a bad aspect at all, and it gives us this void-of-course Moon period from late morning to mid-afternoon here on the west coast, and the opportunity to change habits and to improve our health, Moon in Virgo. The trine to Pluto, I do find, gives will power and determination and what you begin on a void-of-course Moon in Virgo trine Pluto, is something that you will probably be pretty consistent with over the long haul. So it’s not a bad time at all to begin a new habit that you want to keep going.

On July 7th, the Moon in Libra ends on a square aspect of Pluto at 06:04 PM Pacific Time, it’s void-of-course the whole evening, about four hours entering Scorpio at 10:15 PM Pacific Time. The void-of-course Moons that begin with the square aspect to Pluto tend to be difficult ones emotionally. The Moon coming up against a square in Pluto has us often thinking about things that we’ve done and have we done them the right way. When it’s the Moon in Libra, it’s “Oh, why did I say that thing to that person in that way? I should have been nicer. I should have been kinder and more fair.” So, I would say this is a good time for introspection, but to not get carried away with it and really give yourself a hard time.

On July 9th, the Moon in Scorpio makes a sextile aspect to Pluto at 9:34 PM, and it’s void-of-course for four hours and then enters Sagittarius on July 10th at 1:34 AM Pacific Time. So, this is one of those overnight ones here on the west coast of the United States. The sextile to Pluto is sort of, when I see that combination, Moon in Scorpio sextile Pluto, I think “Hmm, the power of suggestion.” So, before you go to bed, perhaps, set yourself some suggestions, beginning it with the phrase, “What would happen if I…?” So Moon sextile Pluto could be “What might happen if I forgave somebody who had hurt me? What would happen if I gave up a habit that’s been really destructive for me? What would happen if I decided to seek some input from a counselor or somebody that can really help me untangle some of my emotional patterns?” The sextile is always kind of an invitation, so I like thinking of it this way, “What would happen if?” And just considering the possibilities.

Mercury square Jupiter (July 8, 2022, 11:14 pm PDT)

On July 8th, Mercury makes a square aspect to Jupiter at 11:14 PM Pacific Time at 8°5′ Cancer and Aries. Mercury made three sextile aspects to Jupiter recently, it made a sextile to Jupiter on April 26th, then again on May 19th and finally on June 20th. And during that time, we sort of examined that and I was thinking, sextiles are more or less optional, but when have three of them between two planets over a period of a couple of months, they’re worth looking at. That was a time to consider offers and opportunities and invitations. And now is the square, and what the square aspect does is push us toward a decision about something that presented itself to us back during those sextiles, because the square is much more decisive.

The Sabian symbol for Jupiter at this square is 9° Aries, “A Crystal Gazer”. And sometimes before we take action, we like some sense of assurance of exactly what will happen as a result of the action that we take. That might be something we’re hoping for, or even seeking before taking some kind of action. But of course, there are no guarantees in life. And sometimes we just have to take action regardless, whether or not we have any kind of assurance about how it’s going to turn out. Mercury is in Cancer, which represents an opening square to Jupiter. And the nature of an opening square is “Just do something. Just act on your instinct.” Mercury is in Cancer, which as I was talking about earlier in this episode, favors following your instincts and listening to your gut. And this is some kind of fairly big chance, something outside your comfort zone that Jupiter in Aries has been inviting you to consider and to do. It could be something challenging that you want to learn. It could be that you’re trying to work on a big writing project and this will be a really good time to take action on that or to start sending it out into the world.

Sun sextile Uranus (July 10, 2022, 1:39 am PDT)

The Sun makes a sextile aspect to Uranus on July 10th at 1:39 AM Pacific Time, that’s at 18°5′ minutes of Cancer and Taurus. The Sabian symbol for the Sun is 19 Cancer, “A Priest Performing A Marriage Ceremony.” I’m always intrigued by that symbol, because it has a little bit of that feeling of those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach. Because, a priest performing a marriage ceremony, let’s face it, a priest has probably seldom been married before, but they’re consecrating this union.

I’m reminded actually of my closest friend, he was in the seminary and had taken his initial vows, but before he could take his final vows, he decided this was not going to be the life for him and he left. The interesting part of this story was that his mother had followed a similar path. She was actually a nun, a Catholic nun before she decided to leave, and she was working at a newspaper I think, and met the man who would become her husband and went on to have eight children. So, there’s something there I think about this Sun sextile Uranus, because Uranus is the opportunity to do something new, it’s on that Sabian symbol, “A Newly Formed Continent”. Something exists that didn’t exist before. And because it now exists, we decide that that might be something we’d respond to a little more authentically, which is what the Sun wants.

Listener question: Tracking long planetary periods

And this week’s listener question… Now, I’m not sure I’m going to pronounce your name right, so I’m going to apologize in advance. It could be Maria, it could be Marya. I’m going to go with Mary-ya because it’s spelled “MARYA”. So, listener Marya writes, “I have a question for you. Astrologers often talk about opening and closing squares and of planetary combinations. How do you track that and determine the opening opposition and closing squares of long planetary periods?”

Well, Marya, the quick answer is actually the easiest way to do it is with software. I use Solar Fire on my Windows machine and Astro Gold on my Mac. Those kinds of software make it really easy to do this. But you can actually do it with an Ephemeris as well. Astro.com has a 9,000-year ephemeris, so you can track even those really long Pluto cycles of 248 years. Just Google “astro.com” plus “Ephemeris” and you’ll find it really easily.

So anyway, that is the quick answer, but of course, without getting too much in the weeds about this, I want to give you an idea of the process. It’s helpful, first of all, to have a rough idea of how planetary cycles work. This is something that I covered in detail in Episode 110, “Leo, Full Moon, Many Little Birds”. If you’re looking at transits of the fast-moving planet – so the Moon through Mars – and by transits, I mean, of course, planets that are currently in the sky… and want to find out when they will make their conjunctions, squares, and oppositions to other planets, generally you can take the cycle of the faster moving planet and that’s about how often it will make the same aspect to the same planet.

So, if you’re looking at the Moon with the Sun, and we know that the moon goes through the Zodiac in about 28 days, so what you do is you divide that by four, and that means that you will get the opening square or the First Quarter Moon in seven days, it’s a quarter of 28, then you’ll get the opposition or the Full Moon at 14 days and the closing square or the Last Quarter Moon in 21 days.

The Lunar Cycle gives us such an elegant example of this concept of the opening square, the opposition and the closing square, because that’s what’s happening at the First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter Moon phases. But let’s take something like the Sun with Uranus for example. We know that the Sun moves through the Zodiac in just about one year, 12 months. So, once every year the Sun will make a conjunction with Uranus. We know that right now, Uranus is moving through Taurus. So, the conjunction is going to take place at the time of year that the Sun is in Taurus, which is in late April through late May. Then, you would narrow it down and look for the day that the Sun is at the same degree and sign as Uranus, that was on May 5th of this year.

Then, if you want to find the squares and oppositions in that cycle, because the cycle begins with the conjunction, then you divide the cycle of the Sun into four parts. The Sun’s the faster moving , so we’re going to divide its cycle. And in this case, one year divided by four is about three months. So the Sun will make its opening square to Uranus about three months after the conjunction, in this case, while the Sun is in Leo, then it’ll make the opposition about three months after that when the Sun is in Scorpio, and the closing square about three months after that when the Sun is in Aquarius. And that’s really easy to find with any celestial calendar or ephemeris, you know, to find the exact day. So these, again, pretty easy examples.

Now, if you start looking out towards the slower moving planet to one another, you need to know their synodic cycle. That’s how often they come together in a conjunction. Consider the Jupiter and Neptune conjunction that we had in April. Jupiter has a cycle of 12 years and Neptune has a cycle of 165 years, so you’d kind of think, “Oh, Jupiter should make a conjunction to Neptune every 12 years because that’s the cycle of the faster moving planet, Jupiter.” But in fact, by the time Jupiter has gone through its entire 12-year cycle, Neptune has advanced about one sign of the Zodiac, so, Jupiter needs an extra year to catch up, because it moves at the rate of about one sign per year. So, that’s actually a cycle of 13 years. We take that, that 13-year cycle, again, we divide it into four, we come out to three and one quarter of years to find the squares and the oppositions. So, take the conjunction between them that we had on April 12th of this year and just add three years to that and we get to April of 2025, and then you have to add three months for one quarter of a year, and that takes us to about June of 2025. And I just looked it up and it’s June 18th, 2025. There is a really helpful article on these synodic cycles at Kepler College’s website, and I will link to that in the show notes.

But basically, it’s just a matter of taking the synodic cycle, the cycle between the two planets of how often they come together in a conjunction, and divide it into quarters, and then you have got the times of your opening square, your opposition, and your closing square.

I hope that that helps! And, if any of you have a burning question about astrology that you’d like me to answer, please leave a voicemail of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast, or send me an email, april@bigskyastrology.com. Be sure to put “Podcast Question” in the subject line.

Donor thanks!

That is everything on my show sheet, so I’m going to wrap this one up for now. Thanks to all of you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, I really hope that you will subscribe or follow the show in your app of choice. It is the number one best thing you can do to support the show and help get the word out. If you would like to leave a rating or review, of course, I would love that. And please do spread the word by telling a friend who loves astrology. You can read show notes in full transcripts and leave your comments about every episode at bigskyastropod.com.

Now, I want to thank everybody who has been showing financial support for the podcast over the past year, it is so deeply appreciated. Each week, I’m thanking some of you by name. This week, let’s give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Leah Shaver, Katie Cokinos, and Celeste Brookes!

April: Leah, Katie, and Celeste, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and supporting the show with your donations. I’m thinking about doing Podathon again in September. I am just giving some thoughts now to exactly what that would look like, so we can do a little fundraising for the show for the coming year.

That is it for this episode. Please 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.

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