TRANSCRIPT Episode 133 | New Moon in Leo:
An Old-Fashioned Lady and a Flapper! (July 25, 2022)
Hello invisible friend, April here, and the date today is July 25, 2022. Welcome to Episode 133 of the Big Sky Astrology podcast. This week, the Leo New Moon trine Jupiter, just as Jupiter is turning retrograde. Mercury makes aspects to Mars, Saturn and Uranus. And we reach the apex of a very rare, rather disconcerting combination of Mars, Uranus and the Moon’s North Node. Plus, a listener question about how the highlights I cover in each week’s podcast can be applied to your own birth chart.
Mercury’s Big Week
Mercury is busy this week, making three important aspects to Mars, Uranus, and Saturn. And even though they happen on different days, throughout the week, I thought I’d group them all together here at the front of the show.
Let’s first just remember what Mercury is about. We call Mercury the planet of communication, and that’s not incorrect. But I think sometimes our view of what communication is, is not quite broad enough. We think of communication as being information going out, things that we’re sharing with the world, but it’s really a multi-layered process. Mercury first gathers information, so it’s also a listening planet. Then it processes that information, and that is a more analytical function. And then it shares information verbally or through writing or other methods. So to just say “communication” always feels a little bit incomplete to me.
Mercury square Mars (July 26, 2022, 12:13 pm PDT)
Mercury’s first aspect this week is its square to Mars on July 26, at 12:13pm Pacific Time. If Mercury is about communication, and Mars is a planet of action or defense, sometimes when Mercury comes together with Mars we can be a little short tempered, we can be a little impatient, and we can speak impulsively, in a way that we might later regret. I think this is especially possible with Mercury being in Leo, which is a fire sign. All the fire signs are quite expressive, and tend to get their feelings and thoughts out in a hurry, and then just move on without a lot of thought about what the consequences are. I mean, on the plus side, a fire sign, all things being equal doesn’t necessarily hold a grudge in the same way that say a water sign might be apt to. So Mercury being in Leo just says maybe we talk before we think, and it triggers a Mars response, which can be anger, it can be conflict.
On the plus side – Mars is a very energizing planet. If there is something you’ve been needing to do, say you have some huge project or paper or something that you need to review, this would be a good week to do that, because the square to Mars would give you the motivation. If there are difficult phone calls you’ve been needing to make, say you have to call your insurance company and go over something that’s complicated, and you’ve been putting it off – here’s your aspect for doing something like that. Give Mercury and Mars a job to do together this week, which is to tackle the things related to Mercury that we’ve been putting off, because now we’re more apt to be motivated. But if we don’t give Mercury and Mars a job to do, it can be a lot more likely that the difficulties of this aspect will manifest themselves through arguments or conflict.
Mercury square Uranus (July 28, 2022, 2:16 pm PDT)
Then on July 28th, Mercury makes a square aspect to Uranus at 2:16pm Pacific time. This is a combination with potential for great inspiration and innovation. Mercury is the way we think and process information, and Uranus can bring insights that really brighten up our thinking and give us great new breakthroughs and ideas. But Uranus is also a little bit more prone to go off the rails because it doesn’t like to follow a particular sequence or schedule in doing things. Mercury square Uranus says that we will be struggling a little bit with tasks that require us to really follow a particular sequence. And this is really just around July 28. Because on July 30, Mercury opposes Saturn which is the opposite message always – Saturn and Uranus.
Mercury opposed Saturn (July 30, 2022, 11:11 am PDT)
On July 30 at 11:11am Pacific Time, we have the opposition from Mercury and Leo to Saturn in Aquarius. An opposition often swings dramatically from one planet to the other. So this is the kind of aspect that on this day, maybe a day either side, we have lots and lots that we want to say. But somehow, we can’t get the words out. It’s as if Saturn is a cork that’s been stuck in our mouths, and it makes it difficult to just get the words out.
But on the plus side, anytime we have Mercury interacting with Saturn in any way, it guides and disciplines and tempers the planet that it is in opposition with, in this case, Mercury. All of those brilliant ideas or insights that came to you on July 28, when Mercury squared Uranus. now can be actually used in a constructive way. Maybe through describing them to somebody else, you can get them a lot clearer in your mind.
This is also an aspect that kind of harkens back to that Mercury square to Mars earlier in the week, which can again, be very energetic, very lively, make us want to do things that are of the nature of Mercury, but that we can tend to get a little bit overheated and impatient. And Saturn really tones that down.
It’s kind of a sequence that unfolds throughout the week that I wanted to point out. The excitement, the impetuousness but also the impatience of Mercury with Mars. Then the ideas out of left field, the insights, the innovation of Mercury square Uranus. And then all coming together at the end of the week to be tied up in a lovely bow with Mercury opposes Saturn. That’s an opposition and it doesn’t necessarily mean that it goes real smoothly or in a straight line. But a really good use for this Mercury opposition to Saturn can just be sitting down with somebody else and talking about it. You might be the lively, excited enthusiastic Mercury in Leo individual trying to sell this idea. And it can be helpful to have another person that plays Saturn that says, Well, have you thought about this? How is this gonna work?
Leo New Moon (July 28, 2022, 10:55 am PDT)
Now it’s time for this week’s Moon report. And it begins with a lovely Leo New Moon on July 28, at 10:55am Pacific time, at 5º38’ Leo. The Sabian symbol for 6 Leo is, An old-fashioned lady and a flapper. This seems to be more of the old versus new commentary that we explored last week. And that episode, I was talking about how it’s important to keep moving forward or we get stale, and we get old before our time.
And in the symbol, we see the tension between being kind of an old-fashioned lady who was taught to do things in a particular way and that rewards would be forthcoming if you play by the rules. But then this flapper, that is a figure very outside the mainstream … and having them kind of regarding each other, and either learning something from each other or kind of looking down on each other in some way.
You know, a lot of people don’t realize it, but there is a side of Leo, that is a little bit old fashioned or a little bit conservative or a little more restrained and wants to have an order to things and to follow it. This particular New Moon point, the Sun and the Moon, are trine Jupiter – and the exact trine from the Sun to Jupiter comes at the end of the week, on the 31st at 3:36pm Pacific time. The Sun coming together with Jupiter especially in such a lovely aspect as a trine seems to say the sky is the limit. Anything we want, anything we asked for can be ours. And it’s a time for us to express who we truly are, whether it’s an old fashioned lady or a flapper and expect to have that received in a positive way or to bring us good things. But the Sun in Leo is a sign that it’s very strong in in a trine with Jupiter in Aries, which is also a sign those are very comfortable for the Sun to interact with. It’s exalted in Aries. And this combination to me says well beware because there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. We’re coming into fire season here in Southern California in the next month or so. And if there is a better picture of the Sun and Jupiter trine each other in fire signs than a huge brush fire, I don’t know what it would be. So our enthusiasms can possibly get away with us if we’re not careful.
New Lunar phase family: But this New Moon, as all New Moons, do begins a dynamic new Lunar Phase Family cycle that will expand out over the next two and a half years, with critical phases coming every nine months. And I will link to an article in the show notes that talks about this lunar phase family or gestation cycle. But it’s a really great way to look at the consequences of a New Moon, the themes of a New Moon expanding out beyond just that 28-day, New Moon cycle.
The First Quarter in this new lunar phase family will come on April 27, 2023. The Full Moon is on January 25 2024. And then the Last Quarter Moon will be October 24 2024. And all of those are near this five degree point of Leo. So that’s how this works. So what I would say is watch how things unfold this New Moon month, and especially in the Leo and Aries houses of your chart, see where you are maybe inspired to do more to want more, to be more what areas of your life are really feeling that impulse. And whether or not you might tend to overdo it just a little bit or getting just a little bit over your head. Because that is the challenge in part of the next two and a half years from this cycle.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the void-of-course Moon periods for this week. On July 25, the Moon in Gemini makes a square to Neptune at 1:14am Pacific time. It’s then void-of-course for almost 10 hours, until it enters Cancer at 10:54am Pacific time. Here on the West Coast, we will sleep through a lot of this, but it will influence the first part of our waking day, if we’re getting up and going to work or anything else that we normally do as part of our daily routine. On the East Coast, you get a few more waking hours of this. So it’s very influential to the day. But the Moon has turned void-of-course on Neptune. And we know that the quality of Neptune is one that’s a little softer and a little less focused. So if you can, on this day – and it’s a Monday, so that’s a little bit hard, we tend to want to hit the ground running or have to hit the ground running on Monday – see if you can organize your day in such a way that it’s a little less tightly scheduled, that if you don’t make it to an appointment exactly on time, it’s really not going to be too much of a problem. See if you can organize things so that you can sleep in a little bit later.
By the time the Moon enters Cancer at nearly 11am here on the West Coast, that’s about two o’clock on the East Coast, then it’s more appropriate to get into a focused direction because Cancer is a cardinal sign, it wants to initiate things.
Then on July 27, the Moon in Cancer makes an opposition aspect to Pluto at 5:54pm Pacific time. It’s void-of-course for about five and a half hours, then it enters Leo at 11:36pm. We know by now about these difficult aspects that the Moon makes to Pluto as it ends its transit through a sign. And the opposition to Pluto can speak to people close to you people around you who might be having some problems or feeling some emotional distress or feeling a little bit defeated by life. You might be the Cancerian person who is lending some support, giving a hug, writing a kind text or email. On the other hand, you might be the Pluto person who is really feeling as if, wow, no matter what I do, nothing changes. Pluto can be a really defeatist kind of planet. And with the opposition, it usually is one person showing something to the other person. Either the ability to be kind with others who are suffering or what it’s like to be going through a bad time.
Now again, this is a lunar aspect it moves really quickly. We’re talking about the influence of one day and not some larger pattern. But especially if you are currently undergoing some hard Pluto transits from late Capricorn to your Moon or something in your chart, this can be one of those little triggers that periodically comes up and makes you aware of the larger picture.
Then on July 29, the Moon in Leo opposes Saturn at 9:29pm Pacific time. This is a very long void-of-course Moon, it lasts 13 and a half hours. So basically, it’s Saturn telling all of us just go sit in the corner. And then the Moon enters Virgo on July 30, at 11:11am. And this happens because the planets that are at the latest degrees, Neptune, Pluto, these are in signs that Leo does not make a major aspect to. It does make a quincunx, and that’s not unimportant. But for the purposes of evaluating the void-of-course Moon, we just look at the conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition. So this is why we’re getting the super long void-of-course Moon periods as the Moon is in Leo.
The Moon’s opposition to Saturn is… again, oppositions are about looking outside us for messages coming from outside us, feedback we’re getting from other people. And this can be feedback that says, oh, you’re being really full of yourself – because it’s the Moon in Leo. Who are you to think you can do this, that you should be noticed or appreciated. It’s a pretty harsh combination, Saturn coming together with the Sun or with anything in Leo. On the plus side, if you have been a little overdramatic about things, this is a good day to sort of pull back on that, to be your own Saturn. It’s okay to feel exactly the way you feel. But it doesn’t have to be the focus of everybody else’s day.
Jupiter turns retrograde (July 28, 2022, 1:38 pm PDT)
Jupiter turns retrograde this week on July 28th, at 1:38pm Pacific time at 8°43’ Aries on the Sabian symbol 9 Aries, A crystal gazer. Jupiter is one of those planets that’s retrograde for a lot of the year, I think it’s about four and a half or five months. It has been direct since October 17, 2021. And when Jupiter is retrograde, we look within for guidance about what everything means. What is the meaning of life? How does the world work? And what is our place within it? I think we see a hint of that in that Sabian symbol, a crystal gazer, where we’re focusing down into our crystal ball, we’re scrying. And we are trying to see within that as a reflection of what’s inside us our own intuition. what everything means.
When a planet like Jupiter is retrograde, it can also mean that we can be a little bit too blindered about the opinions of others or the beliefs of others. We don’t necessarily take in that helpful perspective that another person can give. It is very much a time, through November 23 when Jupiter moves direct again, to engage in healthy introspection. And this again is about the big matters. What does it all mean? And what role are you playing in at all? This will also flavor that lunar phase family that unfolds over the next two and a half years because in the New Moon chart, the Sun and Moon are trine this Jupiter that’s just getting ready to turn retrograde, so it gives a little more of an introspective message
Mars, Uranus, and the North Node (July 31-Aug. 1)
On July 31 at 1:05pm Pacific Time, Uranus makes a conjunction with the Moon’s North Node at 18°41’ Taurus. And then the next day Mars will join Uranus and the North Node. Now I have to admit that when I was looking at the big planetary highlights for 2022, I overlooked this one. I think my friend Linea Van Horn – who I mentioned on the last episode, I’m gonna link to her website in the show notes because she’s good people and a wonderful astrologer. But I think she caught this. We did an event together at the beginning of the year where we both kind of gave our ideas about the big aspects in 2022. And I think she did catch this one.
It’s a really big deal, because the last time that Mars, Uranus, and the North Node came together this closely in this area of Taurus was in 324 BC. Now I am not a mundane astrologer. Mundane astrologers are the ones that really study long historical periods, and, you know, politics and world events. This is not my specialty, so I will link to a couple of good resources in the show notes. But in the articles that I’ve read, the mundane astrologers have been drawing parallels between the reign of Alexander the Great during that era, which brought about, really, a new political era entirely for Europe and Asia. And they are seeing markers that we are entering a new phase in empire and capitalism. In particular, there was a really good article I saw in Well Being Magazine, it’s an Australian magazine, and I’ll link to that for sure in the show notes.
But let’s take just a moment to consider that these conjunctions are taking place on the Sabian symbol 19 Taurus, A newly formed continent. And if you thought that the last two and a half years were unlike anything you’ve ever seen, I suspect that moving forward, we’re going to be seeing even more profound shifts. For example, I’d keep an eye on Uranus turning retrograde on this degree on August 24. And that will give us a little heads-up perhaps, on the feeling of the direction going forward.
On a more personal note, if there is something in your chart, a planet or an angle, at around 19 degrees of the fixed signs, especially Taurus, but also Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, then this combination has profound implications for you personally. And I would look at the houses that are involved, the houses that the planets are in the houses that they rule and see the areas of your life that are undergoing an enormous shift, a new continent being formed and arising. It’s gonna be exciting, but especially since we have the planets Mars and Uranus coming together, who, when they get together can cause a certain amount of mischief. It’s a little bit sobering, you want to be a little bit wary moving forward.
Mars, again, is that impatience. And I think I remember saying when Mars entered Taurus, how much it can get so entrenched in its position and get really, really, really stuck. Until suddenly, one day it just kind of explodes. This is how Mars in Taurus tends to handle anger. And when it comes together with Uranus, Uranus is that powder keg that can just make Mars explode. So it’s always an aspect that we look at with a little bit of wariness, and say, hey, you know, take necessary cautions. If you’re driving, make sure you’re keeping your speed limit where it should be, and you’re well rested. And all of these kinds of things, just as an example of a Mars activity, but anything that you’re doing, err on the side of caution.
Listener Question: Applying general forecasts to person charts
In this week’s listener question, listener Kellie writes, “Given we all have individual placements in our charts, how do we best interpret these weekly energies and how they relate to us? Or is it not about us, but about everybody?”
Well, Kellie, it’s a wonderful question. The way I present the week’s astrological highlights, both here on the podcast and on my website, is by necessity, very generalized. It’s like a weather forecast. Basically, I’m saying it’s gonna be raining this week. But not only is the area that you’re in made up of many streets and alleys and byways, where there might actually be no rain at all, but rain affects everybody differently. If it’s raining, and I have to fight rush hour traffic to get to my job, well, that’s a much more frustrating and dangerous proposition than if I work from home and I don’t have to get in my car at all.
But there are a couple of ways to make my rather general forecasts here a lot more personal to you. And they also kind of work with other kinds of forecasts and horoscopes that you read. One thing to do is what people do when they read horoscopes is place the particular planet or planets in your own birth chart and see what houses they fall in. And if they’re making any aspects to your own planets. So if we’re talking about that Mars-Uranus-North Node combination, we’re going to see where it is 19° degrees of Taurus – 18°41’ Taurus – what house is that in, in your birth chart. Just find the house that has Taurus on the house cusp. And if the number on the house cusp is later than 18°41’, then this combination is in the previous house. And if it’s after that, then it’s in the next house. So you find out the house that it’s in that says the area where this planetary energy is playing out for you. Let’s say it’s in the sixth house, and it’s taking place in the workplace. And there’s some big kerfuffle that happens it at your job.
This is kind of what astrologers are doing when they write Sun sign horoscopes in a general kind of way. What they do is pretend that your Sun sign is on the first house cusp, and then they order the rest of the houses accordingly. So if you have the Sun in Leo, that would be on the first house. And that would mean that this combination of planets in Taurus, Mars, Uranus, and the North Node would be in the 10th house relative to your Sun sign. So that would put some emphasis on not just the workplace, but your general career. Also authority figures in your life.
Now an astrologer who has access to your full birth chart would look where in your chart these individual planets that I talked about each week, are traveling that tells us where things are going to be happening. Let’s take this trine between the Sun and Jupiter as an example, an astrologer with access to your full birth chart would look where in your chart these planets are traveling. And that tells us where you will receive the lovely but somewhat exaggerated experience of the Sun with Jupiter. Maybe the Sun as it travels through Leo is mostly in the 10th house of your chart, you are wanting more recognition, perhaps in your work. And then let’s say that Jupiter in Aries then is falling in your sixth house, the house of work. And we draw a distinction between the sixth house, which is where you do your actual job, and the 10th house, which is where all that fits in the greater scheme of your life of what you would call your calling, your career. So maybe this Sun and Jupiter trine would bring you some big opportunity at work that gives you a chance to shine the Sun and Leo, and to get more recognition.
It would also be helpful to see what other planets in your birth chart are near the same degrees as those two planets which are coming together just around 9° Leo and Aries. Let’s say you have Mars at 9° Scorpio in your first house. Your drive and your desire to maintain a sense of control and also your privacy, these might trip you up a little bit in your desire to be successful, because the Sun’s moving through Leo, which very much wants to call attention to itself. So that might make it a little trickier to get the most out of this nice Sun-Jupiter aspect.
Then there is one more thing I would recommend, which is you take a look at the rulerships of the planets making the aspect. We talked about rulerships in the last episode. So let’s say you’re a Virgo, and Virgo’s ruling planet is Mercury. So this week, we have three aspects that are involving Mercury, your ruling planet. And that means that what they are doing, this Mercury is making the square to Mars and the square to Uranus and the opposition to Saturn. And all of these have a very specific and personal meaning for you as a Virgo, because Mercury is your ruling planet.
I hope that answers your question, Kellie. It is one that comes up quite a lot. And I’m glad to have had an opportunity and a reminder to point that out to people how to take the general influences that we’re talking about here and applying them to your unique personal situation.
How to submit your question
If you have a burning question about astrology that you’d like me to answer, leave a voicemail of one minute or less at Speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast. Or you can send me an email, April(at)bigskyastrology(dot) com, and be sure to put “Podcast Question” in the subject line.
Well, that is everything on my show sheet, so I’m gonna wrap this one up. Thank you for listening to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. Please subscribe or follow in your app of choice if you’re enjoying the show. Ratings and reviews are always welcome. And I would love it if you’d spread the word by sharing the show with an astrology loving friend. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave any comments you have about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.
Donor thanks
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That’s 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
