
TRANSCRIPT EP. 135 | Aquarius Full Moon: Friends and Dissociates!
Listen to the episode and read shownotes hereWelcome to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast, with your host, Astrologer and Author, April Elliott Kent.
April: Hello, invisible friend, April here, and the date today is August 8th, 2022. Welcome to Episode 135 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, Venus opposing Pluto and the Aquarius New Moon give us a clearer picture of decisions that we made at the beginning of the year. The Sun connects with Saturn, Uranus and the North Node, Venus enters Leo, Mars makes aspects to Neptune and Pluto, and I answer a listener question about out of sign planetary aspects.
Venus opposed Pluto (Aug. 8, 2022, 10:18 pm PDT)
The week begins with Venus opposing Pluto on August 8th at 10:18 PM Pacific Time. This places us halfway through the Venus-Pluto cycle that began with three conjunctions on December 11th, December 25th, and then on March 3rd. Now, I remember that as being an especially rough series of conjunctions. I spoke with lots of people who were reaching critical moments in their relationships -because Venus does symbolize our close relationships with others, and Pluto can spell an ending of things. But what it really is doing is asking for relationships to transform, to become something bigger and more important, and also to just be really honest and really clear about what’s going on. So those were some of the stories I was hearing around those three conjunctions.
And now we’re halfway through that year-long cycle. And what happens always in an opposition is, we’re able to see more clearly. We plant things at a conjunction and then at the opposition, it’s revealed to us what we actually planted. When planets are in a conjunction, it’s like the dark of a New Moon night when you can’t always see what you’re planting until you have that light at the Full Moon and everything is revealed.
So, I think at this opposition, it’s going to be a lot easier to gain perspective and maybe even some closure on those decisions and choices that we made during the conjunctions of Venus and Pluto. It can be a little bit of a difficult time for relationships, also for the economic situation when Venus and Pluto are coming together. But remember that this is really one about seeing the truth, about seeing things as they really are. Venus isn’t always so inclined to want to do that because Venus is about pleasure. If something’s giving us pleasure, we don’t necessarily want to look at what’s not working about it, or what’s going on underneath the surface
Sun square Lunar Nodes (Aug. 10, 2022, 9:27 am PDT)
This week, the Sun will be activating a couple of the planets we talked about in that conjunction last week, Uranus and the North Node. First, the Sun squares the North Node on August 10th at 9:27 AM Pacific Time, and then it makes a square to Uranus on August 11th at 5:53 AM. This places us at the midpoint of Eclipse seasons. When the Sun is square the nodal axis, we say it is at the bendings, it is at the midpoint. The Sun specifically as it squares the nodal axis is activating the Lunar Eclipse point that is coming on November 8th at 16°01’ Taurus. When the Sun is at the midpoint of the Eclipse seasons, it’s like all of the Eclipse energy that we felt the end of April mid-May and then the Eclipses we’re going to have on October, November, are all sort of trembling a little bit, feeling this Solar kick.
The Sun at this square is at what we call the South Bending, which means that it is pointing towards the South Node, and the South Node is a point of release. When the Sun is at this point, we can feel the need to let go, but we can have a really hard time expressing our Solar selves.
Sun square Uranus (Aug. 11, 2022, 5:53 am PDT)
Now, the Sun square Uranus continues the process of liberation from the sense of who we have to be, that I think began at the conjunction between these two back on May 5th at 14°47’ Taurus, on the Sabian symbol, Man Muffled Up With A Rakish Silk Hat. The ultimate goal of the Sun-Uranus cycle is about gaining confidence in who we are and transcending our role in society and basically overcoming the ways in which we can sometimes get trapped in our own persona. At this opening square, the Sabian symbol is “A Newly Formed Continent”.
So, the Sabian symbol, the Man Muffled Up With A Rakish Silk Hat, is one of gaining confidence in who we are. And now at this square between the Sun and Uranus, Newly Formed Continent, of course, which we’ve been talking about for a couple of weeks, because it’s the point of the Mars-Uranus-North Node, it says that something new is arising, and we’ve been experiencing it for a while now. So, this is one of two times each year that the Sun makes this aspect to Uranus, and because the Sun is about the sense of who we are, and Uranus is about “Liberation” and about “Freedom”, I always take these two symbols coming together as our opportunity to kind of break open our idea, not only of who we are, but who we can be.
Venus enters Leo (Aug. 11, 2022, 11:30 am)
August 11th is an exceptionally busy day. Along with the Sun square to Uranus, Venus enters Leo on August 11th at 11:30 AM. Venus will be in Leo through September 4, and the dictate while Venus is in Leo is, “Be glorious and love who you are.” Venus is about our sense of aesthetics, about what brings us pleasure, what we will like to be doing and what our eyes and other senses will naturally be drawn to. What do we love while Venus is in Leo? We love things that are colorful, that draw the eye’s attention. We love parties and other gatherings, children and pets, all forms of self-expression, doing some art, playing, is what we want to do while Venus is in Leo.
Mars sextile Neptune (Aug. 11, 2:44 pm PDT)
Also on August 11, at 2:44 PM Pacific Time, Mars makes a sextile aspect to Neptune at 24°56’ Taurus and Pisces. Mars is on the Sabian symbol, 25° Taurus, A Large Well Kept Public Park, a symbol that always speaks to me of keeping things on track, on time and tidy, at least in public. It’s not necessarily reflective of what’s going on below the surface. Now, at the same time, Neptune is on the Sabian symbol, 25 Pisces, The Purging Of The Priesthood, which is one we spoke about quite a lot a couple of months ago. And this is a symbol to me that talks about identifying and rejecting hypocrisy and working toward what’s truly meaningful instead of simply what you’re obligated to do, which is what might be suggested by that Mars degree, A Large Well Kept Public Park.
Generally, Mars coming together with Neptune brings an opportunity, an idea, an invitation or a suggestion to put our energy and vitality toward things that are personally important to us, and that’s, what’s represented by Neptune. It can sometimes be that we get a little lost along the way in trying to do that. But I think the sextile to Neptune’s a really positive one. And Mars being in the very grounded sign of Taurus, gives us a wonderful opportunity this week to put our efforts toward the big picture and something that is beautiful and meaningful to us.
Aquarius Full Moon (Aug. 11, 2022, 6:36 pm PDT)
Now, it’s time for The Moon Report for the week of August 8th. And the Aquarius Full Moon at 19°21’, is also on August 11. Like I say, it’s a very busy day, and the Full Moon is exact at 6:36 PM Pacific Time. The Sabian symbol for this Full Moon is 20 Aquarius, A Big White Dove, A Message Bearer. Like this Scorpio First Quarter Moon we talked about in our previous episode, this is a really powerful, but somewhat conflict-laden Full Moon chart. The Sun is in an opposition of course, to the Moon, and the Moon is in a conjunction with Saturn. So, we have Sun, Moon and Saturn connecting, which speaks of having to work sort of hard to overcome particular blockages, prove to ourselves that we’re doing what we want to do, and the Sun is also square Mars and Uranus and the North Node.
But I do love this Sabian symbol for this Moon. It’s a message of peace. And also, the Sun is on the Sabian symbol, 20 Leo, Zuni Sun Worshipers. Between the two, we have this message of peace and veneration of the Solar principle – the Sun as a symbol of life, and as an astrological symbol of the sovereignty of self and how important it is to be most truly and authentically ourselves.
This Full Moon is the halfway checkpoint in three different cycles. This is when the things that you initiated at the start of these three cycles is now revealed, is the result what you hoped it would be. At the New Moon, we sow seeds, as I said in the dark, and while we have intentions about what we hope to be planting, things don’t always turn out that way. So, this is the halfway point from the Leo New Moon Cycle that began on July 28th, two weeks ago. It’s also kind of a response to the Aquarius New Moon on January 31st, six months ago, and it is the revelation point in the Lunar Phase Family Cycle that began back on February 11th, 2021.
Now, that was a New Moon Chart that featured a truly astonishing six planets in Aquarius, and it’s worth noting that in that chart, Mars was at 18°25’ Taurus, and that’s where it is now. It has been on that degree during its conjunction with Uranus and the North Node. At the February, 2021 New Moon, that Mars was square the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter. So, it was a time of enormous emphasis on creating community, that is the mandate for Aquarius, but there was a lot of work and effort that was going to need to go into that, and Mars really represented that, squaring all of those planets. Mars in Taurus is more on the side of “Let’s keep things the way they are”, and Aquarius, although it’s a fixed sign, does have that vision of the future of going forward as a society, as a group, as a people. So, we’re at a really interesting point in the cycle that began then.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the void-of-course Moon periods for this week. On August 8th, the Moon in Sagittarius makes a square to Neptune at 3:30 AM Pacific Time. It’s then void-of-course for about eight hours and then enters Capricorn at 11:39 AM Pacific Time. So, this void-of-course period is characterized by both Sagittarius and Neptune. Sagittarius is a little more on the upbeat side; Neptune can tend towards a little bit of confusion or more to the point, trying to cut through the fog and figure out what’s actually going on. This actually might be a night, if you’re here on the west coast and you’re sleeping through a good deal of this, when your sleeping’s not the best, when your unconscious is sort of fighting with itself.
Then on August 10th, the Moon in Capricorn makes an opposition aspect to Venus at 9:39 AM. It’s void-of-course for just a little over two hours and then enters Aquarius at 11:45 AM. So, the character of this void-of-course Moon period is of the nature of Capricorn and Venus. Venus is sort of a nice place for the Moon to pause in its journey through a sign as it goes void-of-course. So, it’s the Moon in Capricorn, which says that for a couple of days, we will have been fairly focused on really practical matters, our work, our goals, and ambitions, and pragmatically, the things that are right in front of us. As it opposes Venus in Cancer, there is a picture given to us, I always think of the opposition as a movie that’s kind of being projected on a screen in front of us. And if you think of the Moon in Capricorn as being maybe a little bit overworked and really disconnected from what’s going on at home or with people close to us, and then the Venus in Cancer shows us something that morning and says, maybe you need to spend a little more time at home or with your family, with your loved ones, with the people who really want to connect with you emotionally.
On August 12th, the Moon in Aquarius makes a square aspect to Mars at 4:07 AM, it’ll be void-of-course for seven and a half hours – we’re getting these fairly long void-of-course Moon periods – and then it enters Pisces at 11:44 AM Pacific Time. One thing the Moon symbolizes as it goes through the entire Zodiac wheel in a month is the changing quality of not only our emotions, but how we handle our emotions and the tools that we reach for to cope with what’s going on emotionally. When the Moon is in Aquarius, a number of things we might want to do, we might want to spend time with our friends, with groups of people, especially those group situations that allow us a little bit of anonymity, where we’re not having to share a lot of our personal individual emotions and things like that.
As the Moon in Aquarius squares Mars, it’s a little bit of an emotional powder keg, because the Moon in Aquarius wants to be detached, wants to deal with things by analyzing them intellectually. And the square to Mars says that If something comes up that challenges the ability to do that, that somebody in your life or your environment probably plays out Mars in Taurus, and is really pushing for something – or is really intractable about something or just in some way challenges your detachment.
And finally, on August 14th, the Moon in Pisces makes a sextile to Pluto at 8:10 AM Pacific Time, it’s then void-of-course for about five and a half hours before entering Aries at 1:43 PM. This is one of the more benign void-of-course periods that’s characterized by the Moon with Pluto. Because the connection’s a sextile, it’s more or less optional, it’s an opportunity that comes our way or a message or an idea or an invitation, specifically about changing our emotional habits, changing our rituals, changing the way we go through daily life, and what is hopefully a more positive and intentional way for talking about Pluto. However, this is not the nature of Pisces, so the Moon being in Pisces, it’s challenged just a little bit during this period. The Moon in Pisces, we’d like to float, we would like to sit in our imagination and not really focus a whole lot on anything in particular. But the sextile to Pluto says, you know, though, you could. Here’s an opportunity to maybe sink your teeth into an artistic, creative or imaginative project, or to have a breakthrough with somebody close to you and have some important conversations. It’s a little bit of an uncharacteristic mode for Pisces, but it’s not a negative one. And there is a lot of good potential there for looking into your own habits and patterns to see if you might be able to direct them in a different way.
Sun opposed Saturn (Aug. 14, 2022, 10:10 am PDT)
On August 14th, the Sun opposes Saturn at 10:10 AM Pacific Time. This is the halfway point in the Sun-Saturn Cycle that began back on February 4th with the Sun and Saturn together at 15°56’ Aquarius. The Sun and Saturn together is the beginning of an annual cycle in which we’re asked to take responsibility for the way our life looks and pledging to remake it in our own image.
The two made their opening square to each other back on May 15th, so that was a hard point in the cycle, perhaps was some kind of struggle against rules or against somebody in authority, often a boss or a parent or something like that. But now, at the opposition, it’s as though we’ve gotten to the top of the mountain, Saturn’s mountain, and from that vantage point we can see how we got to where we are and we can see the path back down. And it’s a little bit daunting too, because we have perspective on how difficult it was to get to this point, and usually this is something specifically about your work or your career or some tangible goal you’re trying to reach. But you can see how much effort it’s taken to get to this point and how far we still have to go to reach our objective. So, it is an interesting point in the cycle. It’s not as difficult in my experience as the square, the square feels really hard because we’re pushing and Saturn doesn’t like to be pushed.
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Mars trine Pluto (Aug. 14, 2022, 2:28 pm PDT)
Also on August 14, at 2:28 PM, Mars is trine Pluto at 26°45’ Taurus and Capricorn. The combination of Mars and Pluto by trine, a nice flowing easy aspect, can mean that your efforts to get things done or to get the things that you want for yourself, which are symbolized by Mars, can be aided by larger forces, and that’s Pluto. It’s actually a pretty good time to undertake a business venture as long as you understand that you have your work cut out for you, and you’re still going to have to be willing to move fairly slowly and deliberately and incrementally. Pluto is still on that Sabian symbol, A Mountain Pilgrimage. And a mountain pilgrimage is a slow climb, not any kind of sprint.
Listener Question: Out-of-Sign Aspects
In this week’s listener question, listener, Pat writes: “Hello. I love your podcast”. Thank you, Pat! “I was curious if you have any thoughts about off sign aspects? I have Jupiter at 27° of Aries and Mercury in Scorpio at 0°. Is this still an opposition? How is it different than a normal opposition between traditionally opposing signs, so, in this case, that would be Taurus and Scorpio? Having these two placements also complicates transits too, by orb, I’m experiencing off sign aspects all the time to these two planets. For example, is Pluto at 28° of Capricorn squaring my Mercury at 0° Scorpio. When it moves into Aquarius, will it stop squaring my Jupiter in Aries at 27°?”
Well, thank you for the question, Pat. What you’re describing is usually called a “Dissociate” or “out-of-sign” aspect. These happen between planets that are within orb of making an exact aspect to each other, but they are in signs that don’t share the usual characteristics that are associated with that relationship. So, for instance, your Jupiter is in Aries, a fire sign, a Cardinal sign, but it is within orb of that opposition to Mercury because it’s only 3° away from being in Scorpio’s opposite sign, Taurus. And Scorpio is a fixed sign, a water sign. An exact opposition happens when planets are in signs of the same modality, Cardinal, Fixed or Mutable, and in complementary elements, so, fire and air, earth and water. In the case of your Mercury and Jupiter, they are not in signs of complementary element or the same modality.
The opposition is an aspect that is characterized by planets that are like two sides in a battle. An opponent mirrors us back to ourselves and helps us see our blind spots. The old saying is that the thing that bothers us about another person is a quality that we are unable to recognize in ourselves. I think the same is true of planets and of signs that are opposite each other. They are concerned with similar matters, but they approach them from opposing points of view.
Now, in the case of your Mercury and Jupiter, 3° separates them. And that’s actually a really close orb. They’re not exact, but within 3°, it’s pretty close. So, this is definitely an opposition. Mercury and Jupiter have something of an oppositional relationship to begin with. Mercury is about details, minutia, taking in facts. Whereas, Jupiter is concerned with the big picture and of finding understanding in those small details. So, any aspect between them is also an opposition, the two planets will often act as if they’re on a teeter totter. Sometimes we’re identifying more with one planet and other times we’re identifying with the other. The task of an opposition is to bring the two into balance by using the strengths of each planet to support the other.
The sign relationship is a little less important, but you know, in your case, Jupiter is in Aries and Mercury is in Scorpio, and those are signs with very different styles. Jupiter in Aries will tend to enhance, to amplify the qualities of pioneering, hardheadedness, independence, impatience. Mercury in Scorpio on the other hand is far more patient, looks more deeply and asks sometimes uncomfortable questions. These differences in style can make it a little harder to keep that teeter totter in balance. But in this case, they do share something in common. Both of these signs, Aries and Scorpio ruled by Mars. So, looking to the placement of Mars in your birth chart can hold the key to working with this opposition and with the transits to it.
Now, as far as transits go, let’s take this Pluto transit at 28°. It is currently square your natal Jupiter within 1°, a very close aspect. It is also, though, within orb, I would say of squaring Natal Mercury. The aspect is still 3° away. It won’t be exact for the first time until April of 2023. But, when you have two planets in a close aspect to each other, my experience is that the influence of a transiting planet will affect both of the planets that are in aspect to each other, beginning with its first aspect to one of the two planets. In other words, while Jupiter will always get the first aspect from a transiting planet – that is, the first aspect between Jupiter and Mercury – Mercury will also feel the influence, because Mercury and Jupiter are in a close dialogue in your chart. It’s like they’re holding hands, and when a transiting planet shoves one, the other one feels it two.
Now, the aspect from Pluto to Jupiter is much stronger right now than the one to Mercury, because the aspect’s so close, it’s only 1° of orb that’s separating the two. But Mercury, I assure you, is already feeling that square. And then, when Pluto moves into Aquarius and is making the exact aspect to Mercury, Mercury will be feeling the influence more strongly, but Jupiter still going to be feeling it too. Particularly when we’re talking about slow moving planets like Pluto, the orb or the number of degrees the aspect is from being exact, is actually pretty wide. It doesn’t really work like a light switch turning on and off. It’s much more gradual, especially because Pluto is retrograde almost half the year and it makes most aspects to natal planets more than once. So, we give it a very wide orb.
Pat, I hope that answers your question and gives you a clearer picture of your out-of-sign aspect.
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© 2022 by April Elliott Kent