TRANSCRIPT Episode 132 |
Hello invisible friend, April here, and the date today is July 18th, 2022. Welcome to Episode 132 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, Mercury and the Sun both oppose Pluto and enter Leo; Mercury makes a trine to Jupiter and Venus squares it; a Last Quarter Moon in Aries; and a listener question about planetary rulerships!
Mercury (July 18, 2022, 00:01 am PDT) and the Sun (July 19, 2022, 6:38 pm PDT) opposed Pluto
Beginning the week, on July 18th, Mercury opposes Pluto at one minute past midnight Pacific Time, and the Sun opposes Pluto on July 19th at 06:38 PM Pacific Time. The Sabian symbol for the Sun and Mercury is 28 Cancer, A Modern Pocahontas, and the Sabian symbol for Pluto is 28 Capricorn, A Large Aviary.
Now, planets on the degree 28° Cancer, represent a bridge between two worlds that are not alike. The story of Pocahontas, a native American princess of an important tribe who married an early settler of the Americas, is actually quite a dreadful one, it is an awful story. But that is with the benefit of our modern knowledge and sensibility. Elsie Wheeler, who intuited the Sabian symbols back in the 1920s, almost certainly knew only the version that has romanticized this marriage between a native American and a settler. So, I’m going to take this symbol at its face value as a symbol of two worlds being bridged.
James Burgess, who does wonderful work with the Sabian symbols – and I encourage you to check out his YouTube channel, I’ll link to that in the show notes – talks about how this symbol represents the tension between the pull of the past and the draw of the future. And of course the opposite Sabian symbol, A Large Aviary, is about being birds of a feather, part of a greater flock. So, as Mercury and the Sun finish up their travels through Cancer this week on this opposition to Pluto, I think the main narrative thrust is about this tension between wanting to keep things the way they are or were versus the need to move forward, to keep from getting stagnant, to keep from getting old before our time by refusing to open our minds and our experiences to other ways of thinking and being. Really, on kind of a practical level, oppositions to Pluto are not the easiest and often will bring about some kind of conflict. We work out oppositions very often with other people with the dynamic of relationship. And a little bit of the theme early in this week is probably a Plutonian one about power struggles and the desire to try to get people to be a certain way or to do certain things that we want them to do, or to prevent them from moving forward to do things we don’t want them to do, so to the extent that there is any kind of tension with the people around you this week. It could very well be about these kinds of issues.
Mercury (July 19, 2022, 5:35 am PDT) and the Sun (July 22, 2022, 1:07 pm PDT) enter Leo
Then, on July 19th and July 22nd, Mercury and the Sun enter Leo. Mercury goes first, on July 19th at 5:35 AM Pacific Time, and then the Sun enters Leo on July 22nd at 01:07 PM Pacific Time. The Leo season is when the Sun is at its fiercest here in the Northern Hemisphere. Even in California – which everybody thinks of is this incredibly sunny hot place, and it is a lot of the time – but, in San Diego at least, where I live, it’s actually very temperate in June and July, and it’s not until the Sun goes into Leo and then we have August and actually September as well that are super hot.
In Leo season, there are entire cities in Europe that are almost deserted because everybody flees the tourists and goes on a vacation of their own. Leo’s season is the time for vacation, for play, for recreation, to let ourselves lie out in the Sun and be idle, emptying out our minds until we are at last empty. And then, when we start to get a little bit bored and we can’t wait to get back to doing things, we know the Leo season has done its job. But it really is the best time of the year, if one can manage it, to take time away from home and its usual routines (represented by Cancer, the sign that comes before) and before we apply ourselves to things like our job, school, the responsibilities that are represented by the Virgo season, which comes next. So for a lot of us, we’re still working when the Sun is in Leo and we don’t necessarily have the luxury of getting away. But to the extent that you can, this is a really great time of year to find ways to have fun in your everyday life, to do things that are not goal oriented and that you do strictly out of a sense of joy and play. And if it’s something you’re interested in, it’s time to give yourself over to hobbies or to enjoying books or movies or these kinds of things.
But most of all, I’m reminded of a line from the movie “State and Maine,” which takes place in a small town where a big movie crew has come to town to make a movie. And a playwright who has been wrangled into writing the screenplay for this movie stops into the local bookstore and is talking with the clerk who, as it ends up, is involved with the town theatrical society. She is talking about the next play that they’re doing, And the playwright says, “In a small town, I guess you have to make your own fun.” And she answers, “Well, everybody makes their own fun. If you don’t make it yourself, it’s entertainment.” And I think of that line so often, and especially when I’m thinking about Leo. Leo is the sign that makes its own fun, and that can be entertaining for the rest of us to observe, but it’s not really the purest reason for Leo doing it. Leo does it out of a sense of self-expression and to take everything that’s inside it and share it with the world.
Mercury entering Leo, because it gets there a few days before the Sun… Mercury, I always think of as the press agent for the Sun. The Sun’s the celebrity. And when Mercury’s ahead of the Sun, he’s saying, “Hey, guess who’s coming to town? And, this is the kind of room he’s going to need, these are his requirements.” He’s setting the stage for the Sun in Leo. So, as Mercury goes into Leo on July 19th, it might be a time to say, “You know, I think a quick getaway might be fun and maybe we can do that for a few days,” and hastily put something together – so that on Friday when the Sun enters Leo, there’s your moment to get out of town.
Aries Last Quarter Moon (July 20, 2022, 7:19 am PDT)
And now for the Moon Report for the week of July, 18th. It begins with an Aries Last Quarter Moon, at 27°51′ on July 20th at07:19 AM Pacific Time. The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 28 Aries is A Large Disappointed Audience. And, the Sabian symbol for the Sun at 28 Cancer, again, A Modern Pocahontas. These symbols, taken together, seem to speak of the relationship between the past and future and overcoming the tendency towards sticking with old patterns and moving towards something new. And, very often, this kind of resistance comes from that implication of the “large disappointed audience” – that maybe in doing something that was really important to us (Moon in Aries), we met with disapproval or with an audience that just wasn’t on our wavelength. And by audience, I just mean anybody in a position to have witnessed what we are doing and have some comment about it. We’re tribal creatures, humans, and it is natural to want the approval of the people around us in the things that we do.
But, this Last Quarter Moon is making a square to Pluto and it is the Last Quarter, which is often the time of self review of looking at what we’ve been doing throughout the New Moon Cycle, in this case, the one that began with the Cancer New Moon, and thinking, “Oh, how could I have done it better?” A certain level of frustration, sometimes, that we haven’t achieved all that we wanted to achieve, or in the case of the Aries Last Quarter Moon, that it hasn’t happened as quickly as we wanted. So what this combination can do is keep us sort of stuck in the rut of trying to resolve something that didn’t turn out the way we wanted, and that can keep us stuck in old patterns or old situations when really the best use of this particular Last Quarter is to move ahead towards something new.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. The first begins on July 20th, when the Moon in Aries makes that square to the Sun, the Last Quarter Moon, at 7:19 AM Pacific Time. It’s then void-of-course for about four hours and enters Taurus on July 20th at 11:23 AM. So, the Last Quarter Moon is really filling this period of July 20th and giving us an opportunity to stop the clock for a minute and really give a lot of deep thought to what’s been happening in the three weeks since the New Moon, especially things related to family, to home, to tribe; how well are we doing with that? There have been a lot of tensions in the world in recent weeks, and it has caused some tension in families, among friends, and I think this Moon square the Sun speaks to that a little bit.
On July 22nd, the Moon in Taurus makes a trine aspect to Pluto at 4:45 PM Pacific Time. It’s then void-of-course for about five and a half hours and enters Gemini on July 22nd at 10:11 PM Pacific Time. Before, when I’ve spoken about the Moon ending its time in a sign of the Zodiac on a trine aspect to Pluto, I’ve emphasized what a good time it can be for reinforcing positive changes of habit. The Moon is habitual, it’s well placed in Taurus, it’s one of the stronger signs for it, and it is a sign that will take its time, go slow and steady, and as it trines Pluto, there is the sense there that we can really make some permanent changes on this day during this five and a half hour period, it’s a really good time.
Mercury trine Jupiter (July 23, 2022, 10:52 am PDT)
Mercury makes a trine aspect to Jupiter on July 23rd at 10:52 AM Pacific Time, at 8°40′ of Leo and Aries. The Sabian symbol for Mercury is 9 Leo, Glass Blowers, and the symbol for 9 Aries is A Crystal Gazer, which I think we saw in a recent episode. And I kind of think here, hey, maybe Mercury is blowing the crystal ball that Jupiter then uses to make its prognostications!
But, it’s a tension between two planets that have a very different point of view. Mercury wants to take stock of what’s actually happening in the moment to record it, to think about it, to communicate about it. But Jupiter is always looking somewhere in the future like that crystal gazer in the Sabian symbol. Having the two working together actually is very nice, because their two very different points of view are complementing each other for a change. This can be a good time if you are a writer, for instance. Of course, I always think of that because I’m a writer, so I’m always looking from that point of view, “When are the good times to write?” But a lot of my listeners and clients tend to write as well.
So, if you’re working on projects like that, it’s great, because the way you’re actually doing the work of sitting down and getting the ideas on paper, which is Mercury’s job, at that moment, you’re in a better position to channel in the bigger themes and the larger perspectives of Jupiter. It’s a quick transit; Mercury’s always are. Maybe you have some experience of it the day before on July 22nd, but really it’s pretty quick. So, it’s a time to make note of so that you can take advantage of it as it goes running by. If there is anything you’ve been needing to do of a communicative nature, this can include reaching out to people that you haven’t spoken to for a while, or especially since Mercury is in Leo, it could very well have some creative or artistic element to it.
Venus square Jupiter (July 24, 2022, 11:13 PM PDT)
Venus makes a square aspect to Jupiter on July 24th at 11:13 PM Pacific Time, so basically, July 25th every place else, but I’m going to include it in this week’s episode. Venus is on the Sabian symbol, 9° Cancer, A tiny nude miss reaching in the water for a fish, and Jupiter on 9 Aries, A Crystal Gazer. So, both of these symbols are about seeing. Venus is represented by that innocent little girl who spies a fish in the water, sees it through the clear waters and reaches in for it. Jupiter is about seeing visions of things that aren’t necessarily there, but could be. So Venus is what we want. And here in this symbol, at this aspect, we see it clearly what it is that we want, we want to reach out for it. That is the quality of Venus, and especially Venus in Cancer. Think of it with the little pinchers and reaching out saying, “I want that” and pinching at it.
Jupiter is the vision of the world, of what we believe about the way things fit together and what it all means. So here, the two are at odds, Venus square Jupiter. And, we have to ask ourselves, Is it enough to just go after Venus things? What is in front of me right now? Or do we need to be keeping our eyes on a larger vision? Always at the square, both planets have to be paid attention to and honored. It’s perfectly fine to go after something that we see clearly in the moment that we want now, but the Jupiter says, “But in the long run, how is this going to benefit you and how is it going to help you moving forward? And, are you going to enjoy it a month from now?” So, this has consequences for things like major purchases as Venus squares Jupiter. Think twice around July 24th, say July 22nd through the 26th, about buying a vehicle or putting it an offer on a house, something of that nature. Because, Venus square Jupiter says, “I want it. I’m going to take it.” Jupiter says, “I don’t know that you’re seeing the big picture here”.
Listener Question: Planetary Rulerships
In this week’s listener question, listener Lila writes, “I just wanted to see if you could explain rulerships and how they affect the functioning of different planets and also how they emphasize the importance of different houses. It’s just something that I have struggled with understanding”.
I’m happy to help you with that, Lila. I know we have looked at rulerships on a couple of previous episodes, but it has been a long time ago, so we will take a quick look today. I’ll include a link in the show notes that will let you download a little cheat sheet that will make all of these rulerships easier to study and memorize. I’ll also link to previous episodes where I know that we spoke about rulerships.
Just a note: We are on stronger ground on the subject of rulerships, when we apply them only to the Sun and the Moon and the visible planets, so Mercury through Saturn. You should know too that Hellenistic and medieval astrologers use a much more complex system of rulerships that includes triplicity, bound or term, decan, face. But, we are going to keep this pretty simple.
Generally, when modern astrologers, or when I on the podcast, talk about rulerships, we’re talking about a system in which each planet is said to have kind of an affinity with certain signs and perhaps an antipathy with others.
Planets are considered stronger in some signs. They are at their best strongest – most, what we call “dignified” – when they are in the sign that they rule, which is also called “domicile.” This would be the Sun in Leo, the Moon in Cancer, Mercury in Gemini and Virgo, Venus in Taurus and Libra, Mars in Aries and Scorpio, Jupiter in Sagittarius and Pisces, and Saturn in Capricorn and Aquarius.
They’re also very strong in the sign of their exaltation, so we say they are exalted or particularly strong in certain signs. For the Sun, it’s Aries; for the Moon, it’s Taurus; for Mercury, it’s either Virgo or Aquarius, I’ve seen, depending on what you read or whom you ask. When I was coming up, we often learned Mercury was exalted in Aquarius, and that probably just had something to do with the emphasis that my teacher had in her learning and teaching. Venus is exalted in Pisces, Mars in Capricorn, Jupiter in Cancer, and Saturn in Libra. So again, all of this will be on the cheat sheet that you can download.
Now, planets also have signs in which they are thought to struggle or be a little harder to get the most out of. A planet is in its detriment if it is in the sign opposite the sign that it rules. Since the Sun is in its rulership in Leo, we know that it is in its detriment in Leo’s opposite sign, which is Aquarius. And this makes sense, because the work of the Sun, which is about developing the individuality of the self, is more difficult to achieve in a sign like Aquarius, where one really feels like themselves in a group. The Moon is in its detriment in Capricorn. Mercury is in its detriment in Sagittarius or Pisces, Venus in Aries or Scorpio, Mars in Taurus and Libra, Jupiter in Gemini, Saturn in Cancer.
When a planet is in the sign opposite the sign of its exaltation, it said to be in its fall. So, since the Sun is exalted in Aries, meaning it just does really well in that sign, we know that it is in its fall in the opposite sign, which is Libra. And again, with the Sun, we’re talking about the development of the self, and Libra is a sign of partnership. One’s individuality has to be tempered to be successful in relationship. So, it’s not that that there’s anything wrong with the Sun in Libra, it’s that it struggles a little bit more to do the purest expression of its work there. The Moon is in its fall in Scorpio, Mercury struggles in Leo or Pisces, Venus in Virgo, Mars in Cancer, Jupiter in Capricorn and Saturn in Aries.
Here’s an analogy that I heard from a lecture by my friend, the wonderful Astrologer Linea Van Horn. And, I know that this has popped up in other places and I’m afraid I don’t know the original source of it. So, if you are, or you know who is, I’d appreciate an email. But it is so wonderfully put.
If you think of a planet in the sign that it rules as being like the owner of a home. If you own your home, you have total control and confidence and you have things just the way you like them. The colors you like are on the wall. You get to eat at the time you want, and the foods that you want, all the rest of it. So, a planet in its rulership and its domicile is just at home and comfortable.
Now, a planet in Exaltation is like an honored guest when it’s in that sign. It is given the best of everything. It’s treated with kindness. It is invited to feel at home. I think of this as staying in my favorite hotel. It’s not home, but boy, it’s fantastic. And I feel really special when I stay there. Everything’s done for me. So, it’s great, but it’s not like I can just start painting the walls if I want to.
A planet in the sign of its Detriment is like a guest in a home that is the exact opposite of their own. So, it would be staying in the city when you’re used to the country or in a place that’s very formal when you prefer things to be informal. And they have dogs, but you are used to cats. So, being there is kind of uncomfortable and it’s nobody’s fault, you just come from very different places.
And a planet that is in its Fall, the sign opposite its Exaltation, is like a guest in a home where they are really not wanted there at all. You constantly feel that you’re putting your host out and it’s really miserable. Now, sometimes a planet in Detriment or Fall, I find in looking at charts with my clients can be actually a very noticeable quality in a person. That planet comes across in a really strong way because the person’s had to work so hard to learn to work with it and express it.
Now Lila, you mentioned how the planetary rulerships might apply to the houses of the chart. The sign on a house’s cusp is ruled by a planet. For instance, a house with Aries on the cusp is ruled by Mars. So, we will look at the sign that this ruling planet is in and the house that it is placed in and its aspect to other planets, and this gives us more and more information about that house. If you have a planet that’s very strong, let’s say it’s in its Rulership or the sign of its Exaltation, look to the houses with the signs ruled by that planet on the cusp, and we would look at the house that it’s in, and we would assume that all things being equal, you might have a pretty strong interest, strength or natural ability in those areas of your life. Conversely, if you have a planet in the sign opposite the sign it rules, say Mars in Taurus, the houses that are ruled by that planet, in other words, the houses that have Aries and Scorpio on the cusp are going to need some special handling in order to produce a good result for you.
I know very often a client or student will be upset after looking at their chart and they see no planets in certain houses of their chart. But given we work with 10 planets, which includes the Sun and Moon, and there are 12 houses, I mean, mathematically, there’s going to be no way you’re gonna have a planet in every single house, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have anything happening there. So, how do we analyze that? Let’s say you have Virgo Rising and you don’t have any planets in the 7th house, which was traditionally called “The house of marriage”. Does that mean you’ll never get married? No, it doesn’t. We’d look to the planetary ruler of the sign on your 7th house cusp to find out more information about your relationships. If you have Virgo Rising, then Pisces is on the 7th house cusp. Its ruler is Jupiter, so we would find Jupiter in the chart, by sign and by house. And that would tell us so much about the story of your relationships.
So, that’s a fairly quick overview of rulerships. As I said, I have a cheat cheat there that you can download. And I sure hope that helps, Lila. Please, drop me line and let me know if you have any additional questions about that.
Well, if you have a burning question about astrology that you would like me to answer on a future episode, please leave a voicemail. Please! No one’s leaving voicemails! I would love to have voicemails of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast. Or, you can just send an email to me, april(at)bigskyastrology(dot)com, and be sure to put “Podcast Question” in the subject line.
Donor Thanks
Well, that is 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 the show in your app of choice. Ratings and reviews are always welcome. I am a Leo, I would love a wonderful review from you! And I would love it if you would help spread the word by telling a friend about the show. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.
Well, I have been lucky enough to have the financial support of many of you throughout this year, and it really does help with defraying the cost of producing the show. Each week, I’m thanking some of my donors by name. This week, I’m giving a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Marina Vasilic, Charmaine Lim, and Natori Moore!
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That is it 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
