TRANSCRIPT EPISODE 144 | Gemini Last Quarter: Half-Mast (9.12.22)
April: Hello, invisible friend, April here, and the date today is September 12th, 2022. Welcome to Episode 144 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, the Gemini Last Quarter Moon features Venus square Mars and the Sun opposing Neptune. Retrograde Mercury makes the second of three oppositions to Jupiter, the Sun trines Pluto, and I answer a listener question about the effect of another person’s planets on your birth chart.
But first, a big thank you to everyone who donated to the podcast during last week’s Third Annual Podathon! Today, September 12 at 11:59 pm pacific time is the deadline to make your donation of $25 or more to be placed in a drawing tomorrow, September 13th, for a chance to win a 90- or 60-minute reading with me, enrollment in one of my upcoming courses or a beautiful astrology poster. To make your donation, go to bigskyastropod.com and follow the link! An email will be sent out on September 14th to announce the winners. And everyone who donated at least $10, will get access to my special episodes for the Equinoxes and Solstices is beginning with the September 22nd Libra Equinox, all the way through the June, 2023 Cancer Solstice. Now, it’s not too late to get those episodes. You can donate $10 or more anytime during the next 12 months to get them. Just go to bigskyastropod.com to make your donation!
Venus square Mars (Sep. 16, 2022, 11:49 am PDT)
The first part of this week is relatively quiet, but we’re still coming off the Sun’s trine aspect to Uranus on the 11th, and we’re still adjusting to Mercury being retrograde. On September 16th at 11:49 AM Pacific Time, Venus in Virgo makes a square to Mars in Gemini. Venus is at 14°23’ Virgo, Mars is on 14°23’ Gemini. Always, when these two planets come together, there is a dynamic quality to the interaction because they’re very different planets that want very different things. Venus wants ease. Mars is oriented toward action.
So, Venus is in Virgo, which is very comfortable being on its own with its own quiet habits and rituals. Venus is on this Sabian symbol, 15 Virgo, “An Ornamental Handkerchief.” And this is a handkerchief whose value is symbolic rather than practical. Normally, we associate Virgo with something a little more down to earth, but this is not a handkerchief for blowing your nose. It is instead probably kind of a symbolic handkerchief. So, if you think of the old Arthurian legends, and you think about how the lady fair confers a beautiful handkerchief with her initials, perhaps embroidered on it to the night because he has defended her. Even in the early 20th century I think it was, handkerchiefs were often used as a signal of sexual orientation. So, we’re very much looking at a Venus in Virgo that is about symbolism and subtext.
Mars in Gemini is of course still ruled by that Mercury retrograde, and it finds us moving in many directions at once. It’s an extremely talkative Mars and some of the conversation might become a little bit heated as well. But we even see in the Sabian symbol for Mars at this square, which is 15 Gemini, “Two Dutch Children Talking.” This might be about communicating with people who speak our language, either figuratively or literally, they understand where we’re coming from. But that’s a little bit at odds with the symbol for Venus in Virgo, which is speaking through symbols. So, both Venus and Mars at the square are in signs ruled by retrograde Mercury. So I think this aspect generally talks about what’s going on inside of us rather than so much about what’s going on the outside. But this is certainly an aspect with a lot of importance for relationships generally, and I think the tension here is sometimes we get in these patterns of thinking we’re being very clear with somebody close to us, but really sometimes maybe we’re being a little too subtle and expecting them to pick up on all of the unspoken subtext. So, this is about trying to find the language like the two Dutch children in that symbol, trying to find the common language and being a little more explicit, but not unkind in our communications
Sun opposed Neptune (September 16, 2022, 3:21 pm PDT)
Later the same day on September 16th at 3:21 PM Pacific Time, the Sun makes its annual opposition to Neptune. The Sun is at 24°01’ Virgo, Neptune at 24°01’ Pisces. When the Sun is in Virgo, which is an earth sign; it’s focused on the here and now, what we can see and perceive with our senses. But Neptune, especially in Pisces, is about what is happening for us here and now, but that is invisible things that we perceive on emotional or intuitive level. This can be an opposition where we become aware of the ways that we’re using work or responsibilities often to avoid dealing with our feelings, or we become aware that daily routines can be very helpful in coping with feelings. So, it’s not that one planet or the other is completely right and the other is wrong, but they’re looking at each other and trying to understand a completely different way of being in the world.
The Sun is on the Sabian symbol, 25 Virgo, “A Flag at Half Mast.” “A Flag at Half Mast” is generally a symbol of a time of collective mourning. And the Sabian symbol for Neptune is 25 Pisces, “The Purging of The Priesthood.” It’s a symbol of letting go, of particularly faith or beliefs that no longer offer comfort. This is the midpoint in the Sun-Neptune cycle that began at the March 13th conjunction between these two planets, which came together on the Sabian symbol, 23 Pisces, “A Materializing Medium.” So again, there is that psychic connection. This aspect is also an important component in the Gemini Last Quarter Moon that takes place the next day with the Moon forming a T-square to the Sun and Neptune.
Gemini Last Quarter Moon (Sep. 12, 2022, 2:52 pm PDT)
And now for the Moon Report for the week of September 12th. It begins with a Gemini Last Quarter Moon on September 17th at 2:52 PM Pacific Time, at 24°59’ Gemini. The waning Gemini Moon is a time of reflection, of telling stories of what’s already taken place during this Lunar Cycle that began with the New Moon. In the Moon Sabian symbol, 25 Gemini, “A Man Trimming Palms,” we see a symbol of curating, of creating the best possible story. The Moon squares the Sun in Virgo and Neptune in Pisces. The stories split the difference between Virgo’s very straightforward narrative and Pisces more imaginative one. Somewhere between the unvarnished truth and a flat-out fiction – that is where this Last Quarter Moon in Gemini falls. It’s also trine Saturn in Aquarius in the Last Quarter Moon chart. In order to build community or anything else of value as we might see represented by Saturn in Aquarius, we need inspiration and we need the lore, the stories of those who came before us.
This is the final major lunation in the Lunar Phase Family that began with the Solar Eclipse on June 21st, 2020 at 0°21’ Cancer. The First Quarter Phase in this cycle was on March 21st, 2021, right at the Vernal Equinox, then the Full Moon on December 18th, 2021. So, the way you work with these Lunar Phase Families, these Gestation Cycles – and I will link in the show to a really good article on this subject. You might also want to go back to my conversation with Celeste Brooks on episode 141, where we talk about this cycle. But what you’ll do is find the house or houses of your chart that contain the degrees between 25° Gemini and 0° Cancer. And these houses symbolize the areas of life where something new has been trying to be born in your chart. That was a very powerful Eclipse. And a Solar Eclipse, since it is a New Moon, reverberates for 27 months afterwards as these different critical moments in that lunar phase family unfold.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the void-of-course Moon periods for this week. The first is on September 12th when the Moon in Aries makes a square to Pluto at 9:53 PM Pacific Time, it’s void-of-course for about six and a half hours before it enters Taurus on September 13th at 4:39 AM Pacific Time. We know that the void-of-course Moon periods that are initiated by a difficult aspect of Pluto, which is happening a lot these days, because Pluto is so late in its sign and it’s often the planet of last degree, and so, it gets the last aspect from the Moon. So, these void-of-course periods that are initiated by the difficult aspect to Pluto are openings for examining and making profound changes in our emotional habits. This is one of them that is going to happen overnight for many of us here on the west coast, certainly, and even on the east coast of the United States, it’s into the early morning. If you’re in Europe, you’re going to get this one later in the day.
So, if you are, this is a nice long void-of-course period, six and a half hours to really think about how you want to change the way you’re reacting to things emotionally, and the rituals that you have set up in your life to assist you to live a happier and healthier life. This could be a good void-of-course Moon period for trying to change the way you react emotionally to things like frustration or anger. The Moon in Aries is a little bit impulsive moves fast, wants to get things done in a hurry. And if that’s a pattern of yours that works against you, this is a really good void-of-course Moon period for working on that for trying to stop yourself when you begin to feel it’s almost a physical sensation that we get with the Moon in Aries, and that when you begin to feel that to get in the habit of noticing, taking a deep breath and consciously trying to relax.
On September 15th, the Moon in Taurus makes a trine to Pluto at 5:59 AM Pacific Time, it’s void-of-course for about seven hours, before entering Gemini at 1:16 PM Pacific Time. So this is another really excellent void-of-course Moon period for changing habits. And it will be a little bit easier because the nature of the aspect from the Moon to Pluto is trine. The Moon is really strong in Taurus, it’s exalted in this sign, and so, it brings with it enormous power. And connecting with Pluto can give it willpower as well. If you’re wanting to initiate a new exercise routine or a change in diet, a change to procrastination, or just not being able to get things done, this is a really good void-of-course period for trying to make those changes.
And finally, on September 17th, the Moon in Gemini makes a square to the Sun at 2:52 PM, that is the Last Quarter Moon phase that I was just talking about. Then it enters a long void-of-course period, about nine hours, before it enters Cancer on September 18th at 12:59 AM. Take all of the things that I discussed about the Last Quarter Moon, about the importance of finding the balance between unvarnished truth and flat-out fiction. And this is a day for making those kinds of changes, to the extent that we might have a tendency to play a little fast and loose with the truth, or to tell stories that aren’t completely factually true, but that are very entertaining. The Last Quarter Moon squaring the Sun in Virgo, will tend to sort of pull us up a little bit and say, “Hey, that’s not necessarily the best way to go about things.”
Mercury opposed Jupiter (September 18, 2022, 3:34 pm PDT)
Mercury makes the second of three oppositions to Jupiter on September 18th at 3:34 PM Pacific Time, at 4°44’ of Libra and Aries. This is the second of three oppositions. The first was on September 2nd when Mercury was at 6°39’ Libra, and then the last in this series of oppositions after Mercury has turned direct again, will be on October 12th, and that’ll be at 1°40’ of Libra. I talked about the first opposition on Episode 138, when I was saying that this combination of planets is often about taking care of the pennies so the dollars will take care of themselves and about seeing, not just the forest, but the individual trees. There is this tension when Mercury and Jupiter come together of looking very closely at minutia in details on the ground versus Jupiter, which takes the long view, and especially as it is in Aries and wanting to launch us out into grand adventures.
This second opposition falls on two Sabian symbols that relate to learning. Mercury is on 5 Libra, “A Man Teaching the True Inner Knowledge,” while Jupiter is on 5 Aries, “A Triangle with Wings,” which is a very odd little image, but it always makes me think of a Grand Trine configuration, where you have three planets that are all in the same element and they’re all trine each other. And specifically, this would be like a Grand Trine in air signs, which are very much of the nature of the mind and perceiving and thinking and learning and communicating. So, I think this particular opposition suggests backtracking a little bit, Mercury’s retrograde, and seeing what it was that we may have missed a couple of weeks ago, what kind of knowledge or information we may have overlooked and filling in those gaps.
Sun trine Pluto (September 18, 2022, 8:58 pm PDT)
Then on September 18th at 8:58 PM Pacific Time, the Sun makes trine aspect to Pluto at 26°12’ minutes of Virgo and Capricorn, respectively. The Sabian symbol for the Sun is 27 Virgo, “Grand Dames At Tea.” And the Sabian symbol for Pluto is 27 Capricorn, “A Mountain Pilgrimage.” I do think that whenever the Sun is trine Pluto specifically, because these two planets don’t have a lot in common – the Sun is that part of us that’s life affirming, that’s happy to be here, embodied, having this life journey, where Pluto is much more concerned with the collective and not the individual so it doesn’t really do a lot to support the Sun ordinarily. But when they come together by trine, I think that something about the Sun is being exalted (trine), lifted up toward power, which is Pluto. As the Sun is in Virgo, we think being exalted through diligence, through excellence. It isn’t always the case that the person who’s really good at something is recognized for it, because really often in life, it is about the social connections we make that put us in a position of power.
We see that a little bit in these privileged women in the Sabian symbol, “Grand Dames at Tea.” And, a little bit of the feeling I get from this combination is, as the old saying goes, “Nothing succeeds like success.” It’s a lot easier to advance in life – “The Mountain Pilgrimage” symbolized by Pluto’s Sabian symbol – if you’re starting out already from a position of wealth and connection and privilege. But this does seem to be one of those instances, I think with the Sun trine Pluto, that really being good at what you do, the Sun in Virgo can finally get you some acknowledgement and recognition and lift it up into the next part of your pilgrimage.
Listener Question
In this week’s listener question, listener Gerard write, “What clues about another person’s influence in your life can be gleaned from examining the houses in which the other person’s natal planets fall when projected onto or into the native’s chart? Is another person’s Venus in your Natal 1st House a good reason to contact that person for makeover services? Is the parent whose Mars falls in a child’s Natal 4th House, the parent who will go ballistic at the sight of unfolded laundry and empty pizza boxes left on the floor? Is the ‘friend’ whose Pluto falls in your Natal 5th House, the friend who should never, ever, ever be given the three-digit code on the back of the natives credit card when arranging that bachelor party weekend in Vegas?”
Well Gerard, what lively scenarios you have offered! Let’s see if I can answer your question. Although I doubt the answer will be quite as entertaining as the question.
Well, to restate it simply, “What does another person’s natal planet superimposed on your birth chart tell you about their influence in your life?” And Gerard, I wish there were a simple formula. We begin of course, with the basic meanings of the planets and the house in question. So, what does it mean for a person to bring, say, their Sun to your 11th House? It might mean that you see them as a kind of a hero or a role model, an exemplar, the Sun, in 11th House areas like community involvement or reaching for the future. This might be somebody who gets you out into the world and getting more involved or thinking more about your ambitions for the future. But it could also be that their Sun shines so brightly there, that it shows up all the things that make you feel inadequate. Maybe you’ve always felt you’re no good in a crowd, you’re not a joiner, you’re not a good networker, you have a hard time making plans for the future, but you know, a lot depends on what else is going on in your 11th House. Do you have nasty planets there? Is the planet that rules the sign on your 11th House cusp in really bad condition? Do you have difficult placements in Aquarius, which is a sign that shares certain Venn diagram overlaps with the 11th House? In other words, is that other person’s planets tramping around in a part of your life that you feel good about, or that you feel kind of bad about?
If someone’s planets are triggering your insecurities, things can go pretty badly between you, and that’s even if it’s a nice planet like Venus or Jupiter in their chart that is falling someplace in your chart. On the other hand, ideally your relationships with this person could help you heal in these areas.
Now, you might assume that another person’s heavy planets like Mars or Saturn or Pluto would always be unwelcomed guests, where they fall in your chart. But let’s say you have some nice aspects involving these planets in your birth chart, it’s not like it’s all smooth sailing with them, because that’s not how Mars or Saturn or Pluto work, but just that you’re generally in a better position to work with them and to learn their lessons.
Let’s say you have a trine aspect between Mars and Saturn in your birth chart, and you get involved with someone whose Sun squares your Saturn, they might make you aware of some of your inadequacies, but because Saturn is always a planet that describes where we are a little bit hard on ourselves, but they can also make you feel very good about your ability to get things done, which is the gift of that Mar Saturn combination. They might even rely on these qualities to help get them organized and directed and motivated.
Let’s say your Saturn is in the 2nd House and their Sun falls in your 5th House, they want to get you out of that fearful Saturn here and now of worrying about money and security and those kinds of second house things, and to focus instead on how to enjoy yourself, how to play, how to create all of those things we associate with a 5th House. So, you can see there’s tension there. And if we just went by a very basic formula of saying, one person’s planet is squaring one of your planets, and that’s tension and that’s bad… but I don’t believe that that’s true. I think tension is just an opportunity to grow. Of course, you need to have a balance. If somebody’s planets are only making difficult aspects to your planets or are falling overwhelmingly in houses of your chart, that you have a difficult experience with, then that’s going to be hard. You have to have these nice flowing interactions as well.
Well, Gerard, I hope that helps? Now, for the record, my mom’s Mars fell in my 5th House, and she was always my biggest booster in my creative efforts. Although, I’m sure she probably would’ve been happy if I hadn’t left so many pizza boxes lying around.
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Donor thanks
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That’s it for this episode. Join me again bright in early next Monday. And until then, keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars!
© 2022 by April Elliott Kent
