TRANSCRIPT EPISODE 143 (9.9.22)
Episode 143 | Podathon Day #5: Moon Power! with Simone Butler
It’s Podathon week on The Big Sky Astrology Podcast! And for five big days in a row, we are bringing you special episodes that put the fun in fundraising, including the week’s planetary news, a closer look at the Moon, and five special guest Astrologers. Plus, your chance to win prizes, people, so many prizes. And now, here’s your host, Astrologer and Author, April Elliott Kent!
April: Hello, imaginary friend, April here, And the date today is September 9th, 2022. Welcome to Episode 143 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast and to the final day of The Third Annual Big Sky Astrology Podathon! Podathon is the week each year when I bring you five daily episodes, complete this year with five very special guest interviews, along with some prizes and not coincidentally, it is when I make my appeal for donations, which help me cover the costs of producing the podcast throughout the year. Some podcasts are funded by Patreon accounts, which are great, this is very similar. I just prefer to focus all my fundraising efforts on a single week of the year.
I really do want to begin by taking a moment to say thank you to those of you who have helped support this show over the past year. I absolutely couldn’t make this podcast without you, and I truly appreciate your support. Your downloads, donations, kind feedback, let me know that you find value in what I’m bringing to you each week and it’s enormously gratifying.
I also want to take a moment to thank Jen Braun, who was my co-host and producer for part of this podcast year, between the Podathon of September and then the end of the year. She and I had so much fun together and she worked so hard to make our episodes together their absolute best. So, thank you Jen.
Now, because this podcast is audience funded, I hope to continue to earn your support throughout this year. To encourage your contributions, here are this year’s fantastic giveaways. First, everyone who donates $25 or more, including my ongoing monthly Pod Pal contributors will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win one of these great prizes. One grand prize winner will win a 90-minute reading with me. That’s a $269 value. Another lucky listener will win a 60-minute personal astrology reading with me. That’s a $210 value. One lucky donor will win free registration in one of my upcoming courses, a $249 value. My Intermediate class begins on September 24th and my Advanced class on Progressions and Transits will begin again in February of 2023. And, one more donor will receive a beautiful astrology poster that was donated by Patrick Blasa of tha Elegant Universe. These beautiful posters with keywords and concepts about astrology are currently unavailable from his website, but we have an extra one that he donated last year. It is gorgeous and it is going to belong to one lucky donor.
“April…” You say, “Just going to the grocery store is about to bankrupt me. What if I can’t contribute that much?” I’m so glad you asked. I’m also inviting donors of only $10 or more to my special episodes for the Equinoxes and Solstices through the June 2023 Cancer Solstice. My episode for the September Equinox will be released on September 22nd and will give you a comprehensive look ahead at the upcoming three months.
I also want to say, I know that not everyone can contribute financially at any level, and that is completely okay. I get it. But if you love the podcast and you want to show support, here are a few easy, free ways to help me increase the visibility of the show. If you like the podcast, please subscribe or follow The Big Sky Astrology Podcast on your app of choice. This is by far the best way you could support the show and help it get noticed by other listeners. You could also leave a five-star rating or write a nice review either on Apple Podcasts or any of the other platforms that allow comments. You can join the conversation on my website, leave me a comment at bigskyastropod.com. Just click on whichever episode you want to comment on.
Got a question about astrology? Email it to me with “Podcast Question” in the subject line or in a voicemail to speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast, and I’ll try to answer it on a future episode. And finally, recommend the show to an astrology loving friend. However you choose to show your support, know that it is warmly appreciated.
And now for today’s show.
Mercury turns retrograde
The big astrological news today is that Mercury’s turning retrograde at 08:38 PM, at 8°55’ Libra, on the Sabian symbol, Three Old Masters Hanging In An Art Gallery. I love that symbol for Libra, which is so artistic. Mercury is retrograde through October 1st, it will back into Virgo on September 23rd and re-enter Libra on October 11th. So, the usual caveats apply when Mercury is retrograde. It’s not the best time for trying to follow a schedule that is very deadline driven. Mercury likes us to have that time to step back and to consider and to let our minds free float a little bit. Traditionally, these are not considered the best times to initiate new actions in matters related to Mercury, signing contracts, buying a new vehicle or appliance or computer. But Mercury is a little bit mischievous and he tends to love to back us into a corner.
So, if, while Mercury is retrograde, someone offers you a contract for a lot of money to write a book or take a job, I’m not going to necessarily tell you that you shouldn’t sign that contract. But what I will say is have it carefully reviewed, really think about what you’re getting into, and at the very least see if you can stall and wait until Mercury’s direct. Because, what’s happening and the reason we advise against doing these things when a planet is retrograde, is that we may not be seeing the whole story or the full picture, so there could be a gotcha in that contract, there could be something wrong with the vehicle that doesn’t reveal itself for a while. So, if you’re in a position where your old car is completely dying, you have no choice and you need to buy a new one, well, get the warranty and consider renting until Mercury goes direct.
So, there are different ways of handling this, but the way I’m trying to approach Mercury retrograde times these days is to organize my schedule in such a way that I have room for things to go wrong. Do, as I say, not as I do, because I’m notorious for over packing my schedule and especially in September, because I’m always doing a Podathon and launching a course, so things will go wrong, and I do have delays and it is a little bit maddening. But for the other Mercury retrograde times of the year, I really am trying to pay attention and not schedule myself too tightly.
One more thing to keep in mind about this retrograde Mercury is it rules Mars in Gemini. Mars is getting ready to also turn retrograde at the end of October, so we’re getting a little bit of a retrograde feeling maybe from both of these planets while Mercury is retrograde. So, keep your eyes open and be paying attention because you may see things in the coming few weeks that are going to be instructive as you move into that Mars retrograde period at the end of October.
Today’s Moon
Now, as longtime listeners know, Podathon is the Moon when I can really give the moon a little extra love, because there are some days of the week that not much else is happening other than the Moon sign changes and aspects and Void-of-Course periods. The days Moon sign describes the tempo and pace of the day and our way of coping with things, especially emotionally.
Today, the Moon is in Pisces. In many ways, this is like the balsamic or dark phase of the Moon. These are times for rest and healing, for meditation and repose, for spiritual inquiry. The Moon makes two major aspects today, an opposition to Venus in Virgo at 6:39 AM and a square to Mars at 4:08 PM. Now, Venus rejoices in being busy while she’s in Virgo, but as Virgo’s ruling planet is turning retrograde. It’s a good time to stop for a moment and gather our thoughts. A Pisces Moon in opposition to Venus in Virgo, I think will provide this opportunity, a little timeout for a cup of tea, maybe a short nap.
The Moon’s square to Mars in Gemini is trying to do something similar to slow us down so that we’re not too impulsive so that we can get some rest. But Mars is a little harder to slow down. The Venus and a square is a different kind of aspect than an opposition. So, the message here is that when things get so busy that we’re sort of tangled up around ourselves or Mercury ruled Mars threatens to run off the rails, step back periodically to clear your head with a dose of Pisces, maybe some music or a gentle walk around the neighborhood, a 10-minute meditation, or just flirting with the cat.
Interview with Simone Butler
April: It has been my real pleasure this week to speak with five interesting and engaging astrologers about their work with the Moon. My final guess for this Podathon week is a true Moon expert as well as being a good friend. Simone Butler is a San Diego based expert astrologer with more than 30 years of experience, helping people find their purpose and passion. She’s written for The Mountain Astrologer and Tarot.com. If you ever bought a little “Starscroll” at the grocery store checkout line, they don’t have them anymore, but when they did that was probably written by Simone. And she’s been interviewed for many podcasts as well.
Simone’s books include “Astro Feng Shui: Making Magic In Your Home And Life,” “Moon Power: Lunar Rituals For Connecting With Your Inner Goddess,” and “10 Minute Moon Rituals: Easy Tips For Working With Each Astrological Sign To Develop Your True Lunar Nature.” You can read Simone’s bimonthly blogs or book a reading at astroalchemy.com. Here is our conversation.
April: Simone Butler, welcome to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. What a pleasure to have you here.
Simone: Well, thank you April and it’s a pleasure to be here.
April: I wanted to invite you because I’m really focusing on the Moon this week during our Podathon. Normally I don’t get a chance to do too much with the Moon, because I’m focusing on all of the big transits for that week, but this is definitely a Mooncentric week and you are a Moon lady. You literally wrote the book on Moon power and lunar rituals. And, I wanted to talk to you about that today because I know a lot of us will do something, whether it’s formally or informally at the New or the Full Moon. And I wanted you to tell the listeners what you think the difference is between designing a ritual or intentions for a New Moon versus a Full Moon, and maybe some of the ways that you yourself like to celebrate these important monthly events.
Simone: Well, to me, the New Moon is more inward. If I do get together with other people at a New Moon, which happens occasionally, sometimes I do New Moon rituals here at my house, it’s more contemplative and it’s more about setting intentions than it is about any sort of big display or more external type of ritual that might happen at a Full Moon. So, the New Moon is a time when the Sun and Moon are not visible to us, they are joined behind the scenes as it were. And so, I feel like the New Moon ritual should also be something that’s a little bit more contemplative. But, it’s equally important, it starts off the whole new cycle of the waxing Moon. So, it’s as important as the Full Moon, but it’s just different in the sense that you’re just at the starting gate. Maybe you don’t even know exactly what it is that you want to manifest, let’s say at that New Moon.
One thing I always do every New Moon is I have a dear friend who comes over and we do new Moon collaging. I used to teach New Moon collaging at an expressive arts center, and it was a wonderful opportunity for people to sort of pick images and allow your subconscious mind to be the chooser of these images, because sometimes we don’t know what the heck we’re picking, but it always will speak to something the soul wants. And that’s to me what the New Moon is about, is, “What is your soul longing for?” So, this friend comes over and we make these, they’re small, they’re four by five, I think, and they’re New Moon collages based upon soul collage, which is a whole other thing. So, that happens for me every New Moon.
But otherwise, for the most part, I just set the intention myself based upon a couple of things. One being the sign that the New Moon is in, and what house that may happen to trigger for me. And then you add those two things together, meaning wise, and you get a sense of what you might be looking at as far as where you’re heading. And sometimes it’s obvious. This last New Moon in Virgo, Virgo’s all about health and I’m currently going through some procedures and tests and various things to get my health in order. I wouldn’t have had to look it up. It was anyway, right? I didn’t really choose it, but spirit chose it for me. Spirit said, “Okay, here’s a New Moon in Virgo in your 4th House.” I also have new neighbors moving in next door and it’s kind of a big deal because they live pretty much on top of me. So, that’s also a factor that I want to be setting intentions about. So, that’s the New Moon.
Now, the Full Moon is the expression two weeks later of what the New Moon intentions may have been. It’s a time to me of kind of, ‘Look at the Moon, she’s in fullest expression at that time’, and the most important thing you can do at the Full Moon is to physically go outside and commune with the Moon, even if you can’t see her, which happens to me a lot because I live within five miles of the beach and I get the marine layer all the time. And all the time I can’t see the Moon, but I know she’s there. And, even if I can just hazily see her light, I go outside and I lift my arms up and I just give thanks and I receive. Because to me, you know, you’re receiving the blessings of whatever it was you set into motion two weeks prior and you never know exactly what that’s going to look like or feel like.
It’s more of a feeling orientation to me also, now that I think about it, whereas the New Moon is slightly more mental in terms of the thinking process, to me, the Full Moon is a bit more emotional, especially this Full Moon that’s coming up. What day is it?
April: On the 10th.
Simone: Yes, the Pisces Full Moon. Did that answer your question?
April: Yes. And I wonder if you could say something about how the opposite sign from the New Moon sign helps us get a better perspective maybe on the intentions of the New Moons. It seems almost antithetical to think of it that way, but I think it probably is the case. How do you think that works?
Simone: Well, Full Moons are about relationships, which is why they say, and I don’t think you agree with this, but a lot of people say that getting married at a Full Moon is a good thing to do when the Sun and the Moon are opposite. Now, I know, I remembered that you didn’t agree with that. And yet, it’s a time-honored thing that’s been practiced for eons. And that’s because I think, not only because everybody wants to celebrate when it’s light and the Full Moon is gorgeous and you’re going to go on your honeymoon…
April: And all of that.
Simone: But because when the Sun and Moon are opposite, ideally they do balance one another. Like, at this upcoming Full Moon, the Sun is in Virgo, which is earthy and grounded and practical, the Moon is in Pisces, which is dreamy and drifty and psychic and intuitive, but on its own, can just kind of get carried off somewhere, drink too much. This is actually the Harvest Moon or what they used to call the Wine Moon. In small amounts, I think drinking spirits does bring you closer to your spirit, a nice glass of vino might certainly be in order if you wanted to celebrate this coming Full Moon. But, having your feet on the ground with the Virgo Sun will help you to realize that, “Okay, I got to get up and go to work tomorrow morning, so I better only have one glass rather than…”
April: Right.
April: Rather than the Moon in Pisces, it looks like it’s going to be pretty close to a conjunction with Neptune too…
Simone: Yes. Yes.
April: –at this Full Moon. So yes, we can tend to drift a little too far down stream.
Simone: But, it’s also trine Uranus in Taurus.
April: Nice.
Simone: Uranus in Taurus is kind a contradiction in terms though. I mean, Uranus wants to wreak havoc and Taurus is like the most stable of all the signs, right?
April: Yes.
Simone: And yet a trine from the Sun in Virgo to Uranus in Taurus at the Full Moon in Pisces, I think can be somewhat stabilizing. And I think it’s also a really good time to go out in a group. People are starting to do that again. And, for the last couple of years, we really haven’t been able to get together in groups at the Full Moon, and now we can. And so, that might be something to do at this coming Full Moon. And even if it wasn’t a Full Moon ritual per se, just to like to go out dancing or to go to an art opening, these are Piscean things.
April: Or maybe a retreat.
Simone: Oh yes.
April: Or some kind of meditation event sounds really good too. I have a friend that loves to get reflexology done.
Simone: Perfect.
April: Wouldn’t that be good? I’m just thinking.
Simone: Because Pisces rules the feet.
April: Right.
Simone: So, why you want to put your dancing shoes on?
April: Right.
Simone: –when it’s in Pisces, if that’s your thing?
April: Right. So, I always think too that the Full Moon connects in some way with the previous New Moon that we had in the same sign. Do you make that connection?
Simone: Oh sure.
April: So, the intentions we might have been setting at the Pisces New Moon back in probably March, would have been, now we’re getting a response to that. We were putting a call out to the universe and now maybe we begin to see the answer come back to us.
Simone: Yes. Call and response.
April: Yes.
Simone: I love it.
April: Yes. Now, as you know, I am a huge fan of your Astro Feng Shui system and I’m always trying to get the word out about it because I love it so much and I still use it every month. Can you just tell the listeners briefly about how this works and how they might use it?
Simone: Sure. Well, I had my house Feng Shui’d back in the summer of 2007 for the first time and it just blew me away. It worked so dramatically. I mean, I started getting results in pretty much every area of my life after moving stuff around, getting rid of old things that weren’t working, all of that. And being an astrologer, I of course started thinking “There’s got to be some correlation between Western Feng Shui which is the one that uses the Bagua map, not the Chinese compass system, but between Western Bagua and Western astrology, because the Chinese system uses Chinese astrology of course.
And I did a bunch of research and could not find a thing correlating the two Western systems, so I made one up. And it just so happened that our good friend Natori at that time had just given me a little dinette set and I had put it in my kitchen, which turned out to be the Helpful People area of the Bagua because the Bagua is an octagonal map that corresponds to your floor plan. And so, I thought, “Hmm, a helpful person gave me a gift that I put in my helpful people area, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.” And it was the New Moon, either in my 11th House or in Aquarius, I can’t remember, same energy. So, that was what got me going.
And then I did a yearlong research project. I got about a dozen people to do rituals in certain areas of their home at certain New Moons, because I felt that again, the New Moon is a good time to initiate something new. And that’s how the book relates to doing rituals at the New Moons in your gua, I then shared what results people got and they were so interesting, and in some cases, not what you would expect at all.
April: Well, how about this recent New Moon then that we had in Virgo, which gua of the Bagua would that correspond to?
Simone: Well, actually in my system, some of the signs had to do double duty because there’s nine Baguas and 12 signs. So, I actually put both Virgo and Pisces in the Health gua, which is the very center of the home and the center of the map. It would work also not just for this New Moon that happened a couple weeks ago, but also for the Pisces Full Moon. Now, it’s not heresy to do a Full Moon ritual in your Bagua for your Astro Feng Shui, I just set the book up to do it at New Moons, because I wanted it to be a system.
But, if you are having health issues or would like your health to be better in some way, whether it’s spiritual, mental, physical health, right now, look at the center of your house. For many people, there’s not even furniture there necessarily, but there might be like a really dirty heater grate or there might be a rug that hasn’t been shampooed in years, or it can be things on the surrounding, the periphery of the center of the house too. Just make sure it’s super clean and maybe add something yellow. I like to add a bowl of lemons.
April: That’s a good one.
Simone: That’s one of my favorite enhancements for the Health gua. So, yes, that’s one of the things that you can do for this Full Moon. I also just wanted to add, if you live near the ocean, of course, go to the ocean for the Pisces Full Moon. Bbut if not, take an Epsom salt bath, get that salt water, just being in the water may trigger for you some reveries. Pay attention to your dreams, but do a deviation, maybe use an Oracle deck, these are all very Piscean things to do, regardless of whether you incorporate Astro Feng Shui or whatever else you do.
April: I love the idea of the Epsom salt bath, because isn’t that meant to draw out toxins…?
Simone: Yes. Impurities.
April: And things, which feels perfect for a Full Moon because we’re entering that waning part of the cycle, and that’s the time we let go and we release things and try to purify.
Simone: Yes.
April: So that’s great. Tell people about your books and start with the Astro Feng Shui book can tell people where they can find it?
Simone: Sure. Well, “Astro Feng Shui: Making Magic In Your Home And Life” is available on amazon.com. I self-published it. And then, “Moon Power,” which came out in 2016, “Lunar Rituals For Connecting With Your Inner Goddess”, was published by Fair Winds Press and it’s also available on Amazon or at Barnes And Noble. And then, the latest iteration of it, its called “Moon Rituals: Easy Tips For Working With Each Astrological Sign To Develop Your True Lunar Nature.” This one is like kind of a condensed version of “Moon Power” with far more gorgeous illustrations and gold paper and just what I wished it had looked like in the first round, but not quite as much detail as “Moon Power” has. And again, Amazon or Barnes and Noble. And also in France, they have translated it in…
April: Oui?
Simone: Yes. Oui, oui!
April: Well, that’s wonderful.
Simone: Yes.
April: Because you haven’t been able to make your trip over there that you’ve been talking about making pre COVID, right? But your book has gotten over there. So, this is a start.
Simone: Exactly. Right.
April: It will lead the way. Well, thank you so much, Simone, for showing up here. You’re going to be our last guest of the week on our Podathon, so thank you so much. And, when I knew I was going to talk about the Moon, I couldn’t not have you.
Simone: Well, thank you so much.
End interview
April: I just love how Simone looks at the Moon. And, I really do recommend her Astro Feng Shui technique. I use it at every single New Moon, and over the years it has yielded some truly astonishing results.
That’s a wrap for the Podathon!
That’s it for today and for this week’s Podathon, so I’m going to wrap this one up. Thank you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast and for joining me for this Third Annual Podathon. This weekly podcast is audience funded and your generous donations help me keep the podcast coming your way. To make your donation, please go to bigskyastropod.com.
Anyone who donates $10 or more will receive access to my upcoming Equinox and Solstice episodes. And if you donate $25 or more, I’ll automatically enter you in my giveaway for a chance to win an exciting prize, one winner will win a beautiful astrology poster, one will get free enrollment in one of my upcoming courses, one extra-specially lucky winner will get a free 60-minute reading with me, and one extra super specially lucky winner will get a full 90-minute reading with me.
If you’re a regular listener, you know that I like to thank all of my donors on the air in the coming months. So, if you make a donation and you don’t want me to mention your name, that’s okay. Drop me an email april@bigskyastrology.com and we’ll keep it our little secret. And if any donors think that I will struggle with the pronunciation of your name, which we know is almost certain to happen at least 25% of the time, please help me out with a phonetic spelling by email, or you can just leave it at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast.
That is all for today and it’s a wrap for the Podathon. 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
