
TRANSCRIPT EPISODE 146 | Sun, Venus, and Jupiter Around the Campfire! (9.26.22)
Listen and read show notes hereApril: Hello, invisible friend, April here, and the date today is September 26th, 2022. Welcome to Episode 146 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, the Sun and Venus meet with Jupiter around the campfire, Mars and Saturn work together to get things done, Venus enters her home sign of a Libra, Mercury finally turns direct, and the Capricorn First Quarter Moon calls for a little kindness. Plus, a mini lesson on planets at 0°.
Sun opposed Jupiter (Sep. 26, 2022, 12:33 pm PDT)
The week begins with the Sun’s annual opposition to Jupiter on September 26th, at 12:33 PM Pacific Time. Anytime two planets are in an opposition, they are in a position to learn from one another. Here we have the Sun, which is a symbol of how we will come to a better understanding of ourselves, and for about a month at a time, it moves through a particular sign. Right now, it’s moving through Libra. And it says we’ll learn more about ourselves through important connections with other people, in particular, a partner or a very close friend, a confidant, somebody we will go to with concerns about big decisions we might want to make. But Jupiter on the other hand is going through Aries. Jupiter is also a planet that refers to a process of growth, but it’s a growth through expanding our horizons, doing new things that we haven’t necessarily done before, taking a bit of a risk. It is moving through the sign of Aries, and it will be in Aries a lot longer than the Sun will be in Libra. So, its message kind of has the upper hand here.
Jupiter in Aries says “In order to expand my horizons, I have to be willing to take bold, possibly impulsive action without looking to anybody else for guidance or approval or even input.” So, you can hear the radical difference between these two messages. As the Sun makes the opposition to Jupiter, it’s influence is really only felt for a couple of days, let’s say September 25th through the 27th, but during that time, there will probably come a moment when you need to listen to an important person in your life as they weigh in on a decision that you’ve made, or course of action that they’re watching you take and kind of shaking their head and thinking, “Hmm, is that really the best thing for you to be doing?” It’s one of the few moments in Jupiter cycle through Aries, where it is liable to kind of listen to a little bit of feedback from those clothes to us.
I like the Sabian symbols for this combination. The Sun is at 4 Libra, A group around the campfire, and the talks of that nice camaraderie. If you’ve ever been out camping with friends or family, and at the end of the day, you’re sitting there around the campfire as night is falling and you’re telling your stories and it’s a very nice cozy sociable moment. But then, Jupiter is at 4 Aries, and it talks about Two lovers strolling through a secluded walk. I have this image of the Sun and Jupiter together kind of walking away from everybody sitting around the campfire to have their secluded walk and have this intimate conversation about what the path forward is and should be, and how they can walk it together.
Mars trine Saturn (Sep. 27, 2022, 10:48 pm PDT)
On September 27th at 10:48 PM Pacific Time, Mars in Gemini makes a trine aspect to Saturn in Aquarius. This is a very beneficial aspect that we only have a couple of times a year. Mars is the planet of action and passion and direction, what we want to get done. Now, it’s not super focused while it’s in Gemini. And in fact, the Sabian symbol for Mars at this trine is 20 Gemini, A cafeteria, so, you get that vision of walking along through a line, say at a buffet or cafeteria where you have your plate and you’re adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that. That is how Mars in Gemini likes to work. Its action and passion, during this passage through Gemini, is in gathering a lot of ideas and pulling in a lot of options that it can then do something with later on.
This is one of those moments when the direction gets a little more focused because it’s trine Saturn. Saturn is the planet with a plan and a strategy. These two came together in a conjunction back on April 4th. And this is the time in the Mars Saturn cycle, when something that you initiated – perhaps on a work level, because Mars and Saturn are both somewhat connected to the work that we do. There might have been something that you embarked on in the early spring that was just an idea at the time, but that now you have the resources, the tools, the skills, and the context in place to start to get it going, and things just kind of fall place with a trying.
But although we have all of these resources in place and all of these wonderful ideas that we want to do something with, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First of all, as the week begins, Mercury is still retrograde, and the other thing to remember is that Mars will soon turn retrograde as well in about a month from now in Gemini. So, anything that seems to really be falling into place right now, a big plan, a strategy, be aware that it’s very likely that in order to get these things done, eventually you’re going to have to make some changes. It’s not going to go exactly according to plan. So build that into your strategy, have a contingency plan or maybe even two.
Venus enters Libra (Sep. 29, 2022, 12:49 am PDT)
Venus enters Libra this week on September 29th at 12:49 AM Pacific Time. It’ll be in the sign through October 23rd. Venus is relatively short transits of about three and a half weeks. It describes what we are likely to enjoy and find pleasure in during this period. So, this is a time of enjoying being around other people, of enjoying beautiful things, things that are palatable and pleasant and non-threatening. While Venus was in Virgo, it was probably easier to find pleasure and enjoyment getting absorbed in things like hobbies or organizing your home, spending time on your own. But once Venus goes into Libra, suddenly a party sounds a lot more appealing than it did a month ago, or even just brunch with friends, celebrating the things that give life, beauty and grace, and the way in which we are creating the world in a collaboration with others, and all of the beautiful imperfection that comes with that.
Venus opposed Jupiter (Oct. 1, 2022, 11:12 am PDT)
On October 1st, Venus will make an opposition to Jupiter, joining this Sun and Jupiter around that campfire. The opposition takes place at 11:12 AM Pacific Time. Venus and Jupiter came together in a conjunction on April 30th on a beautiful Sabian symbol, 28 Pisces, A fertile garden under a Full Moon. And now we’re at the halfway point of that Venus-Jupiter cycle. We can see very clearly the state of our garden. Is it fertile and is everything growing the way we hoped that it would grow?
So, Venus is coming together with Jupiter also in Aries. And as I described earlier in this episode about that opposition, we can see there’s such a striking contrast between Libra and Aries. Libra says, “No, I need to take other people into consideration before I do the things I do. And in fact, it is much more pleasurable to do so,” but Jupiter in Aries is still determined to go its own way.
So, if we think of Venus in Libra as being the artful persuasive influence, it’s not just telling Jupiter in Aries, “No, you can’t do it that way. That’s not the way to do it. You’re being much too impulsive” – because nobody wants to listen to that. But Venus in Libra has a much more artful and persuasive way of helping us get the most from the Jupiter in Aries journey. Think of a pioneer who has gone west to make his fortune as a gold miner, and that might be the Jupiter in Aries figure. And, it is a harsh and punishing environment, there is violence, there is backbreaking work, it’s very rugged and uncivilized. But, Venus in Libra would represent that element of civilization, of pleasure, of gentility. “It is wonderful to be a pioneer and to blaze new trails, but does everything have to be so dusty all the time? Can’t we have some paint on the walls and some proper tea to drink in the afternoon?” So, that’s what Venus is bringing to Jupiter at this time. Venus says, “Trust me, this will be a much more pleasant experience if we pay just a little bit of attention to the niceties. And by the way, it can actually be very enjoyable to have a partner with you on this journey on this adventure.”
Mercury stations direct (Oct. 2, 2022, 2:07 am PDT)
Mercury turns direct this week at last on October 2nd at 2:07 AM Pacific Time, at 24°11’ Virgo. I’m not one of those to make a big fuss about Mercury being retrograde. I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I think it’s a perfectly wonderful time for introspection, for going back and reviewing old matters and figuring out how to bring them to completion. This one’s been hard for me because I have not set up my life properly for it, and I own that, I take responsibility. It means that because I have been trying to move in a very deliberate and scheduled fashion through my days, Mercury retrograde has been pushing back and saying, “No, you need to pull back. You need to relax. You need to think.” Haven’t really had time to do that. So, I’m very happy to see Mercury moving direct because that’s kind of where I’m at at the moment, that is my mindset, to be moving forward.
Mercury has been retrograde since September 9th, and now that it’s direct, it will enter Libra on October 10th, and we can put this latest Mercury retrograde to bed. “But, what have we learned during this time?” And that’s always the question. The Sabian symbol 25 Virgo, A flag at half-mast, a symbol that I talked about quite a lot a couple of episodes ago. As we finish this Mercury retrograde period, as Mercury has backed up into Virgo, it’s made some oppositions to Neptune in recent weeks, and, it’s been a time to reflect on loss. I think sometimes there’s something about the loss of who we have been in our lives. We go through different stages. There’s an amazing nostalgia that can come up when Mercury or Venus or retrograde, where we look to the past, and we think about, “Oh, the person that I was then.” It might be a song that we hear or a photograph that we come across and it brings back such a flood of memories, and we think sometimes I would like to go back in time to when I was that person. But usually what it means is we’re remembering, “Oh, that was a time when I still had my youth, my looks, my health, the members of my family” – whatever it was – but there is that yearning that comes I think during a Mercury retrograde, especially when it’s involved with Neptune as this one has been. So, time to move forward now and make new memories as Mercury turning direct.
Capricorn First Quarter Moon (Oct. 2, 2022, 5:14 pm PDT)
And now for the Moon Report for the week of September 26th. It begins with a Capricorn First Quarter Moon on October 2nd, at 5:14 PM Pacific Time, at 9°46’ Capricorn and Libra. The Sabian symbol for this First Quarter is 10 Capricorn, An albatross feeding from the hand. This Sabian symbol has been described as being about the burden of care. It’s a symbol of kindness of give and take, and it’s also a symbol about finding the balance between doing too much for others and doing too little. This is the opening tension point in the Lunar Phase Family that began at the New Moon on January 2nd, 2022 at 12°20’ Capricorn. Something that was conceived or initiated at that time, we’re now ready to take some action toward, or we meet some kind of initial crisis or obstruction related to something that we wanted to do, especially in our career – Capricorn’s career-oriented.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun in Libra at this square, 10 Libra, is, A canoe approaching safety through dangerous waters. So, we have two symbols here that talk about help. So, The albatross is being fed from the hand – an albatross is always something that we hear associated with burden, as in “an albatross around the neck.” And then The canoe is getting through dangerous waters, that’s this crisis point of the First Quarter Moon. But, we’re getting through it safely, and there is somebody standing by to help us, to give us nourishment, to help us get through these dangerous waters.
The question is really always with the Moon in Capricorn, is, will we let ourselves accept kindness? Will we let others give to us? There is a burden that can be involved with taking care of others, but Capricorn is used to that. There is a different kind of burden, which is letting others give to us and care for us. So, I think that is a little bit of a crisis many of us will be facing at this First Quarter Moon.
Void-of-Course Moon Periods
Let’s talk about the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. On September 27th, the Moon in Libra makes a square aspect to Pluto at 9:21 AM Pacific Time, it’s Void-of-course for seven hours before it enters Scorpio at 04:15 PM Pacific Time, so, this is a long Void-of-course Moon day. It’s a weekday, so many of us will be attending to our daily work. And, the Void-of-course Moon as we know is a time when we’re kind of sitting with the energy of the Moon’s last aspect in its sign, which in this case was a square to Pluto, and so it’s a day of really second guessing ourselves, especially as it relates to people close to us, the Moon in Libra, “Am I spending too much time with my work and not enough time with the people that I love?” It could be an example of this Void-of-course aspect. “Am I giving in too much to what other people want and need and not giving enough attention to my own ambitions?” That could be another thing that we find ourselves thinking about. Today brings the opportunity to examine and change those habits. The void-of-course Moon time is always good for taking a look at and rebooting our unconscious ways of reacting to the world.
On September 29th, the Moon in Scorpio makes a sextile aspect to Pluto at 2:20 PM Pacific Time, it’s void-of-course again for close to seven hours, we’re getting these long void-of-course periods this week. It enters Sagittarius at 9:03 PM. The Moon in Scorpio is akin to Pluto. Pluto is considered the modern ruler of Scorpio, which just says they have a lot of things in common. Here is a day for looking under the surface. If you’ve been needing to research something, really get down into it and figure out exactly what’s going on, and this can be in the world around you, or it can be inside of you, something that has a hold on you that is limiting your ability to feel really in control of yourself and of your life, an opportunity or a message comes your way today, so have your eyes and ears open and ready to receive it. Because, here is something that if you decide to take advantage of it can help you feel more in control, and so therefore, more free.
On October 1st, the Moon in Sagittarius makes a square aspect to Mercury at02:46 PM. Pacific Time, it’s void-of-course for just about nine hours before it enters Capricorn on October 2nd at 12:38 AM. Now Mercury, it’s important to note, at this time is still retrograde, it’s slowing down, it is stationing to turn direct. It is very powerful in its symbolism on this day. And anything that has been aggravating while Mercury’s been retrograde will be doubly so today. So, the Moon in Sagittarius square that Mercury, is not going to be a happy aspect and it sets up a void-of-course Moon that can be a bit aggravating. Because, the Moon in Sagittarius is that time of month where we are thinking big for ourselves, that we want to look at the forest, not the trees. As it is squaring that Mercury in Virgo, stationary, getting ready to turn direct, there are pesky little details that are tripping us up and keeping us from being able to leap forward in a spirit of fun and adventure and daring that the Moon and Sagittarius would prefer.
Mini-Lesson: Planets at 0 degrees
This week’s mini-lesson is about planets at 0°. In Episode 145, I responded to listener Ann’s question about planets at 29°. And because that is somewhat related to 0°, I thought I would cover those in this episode. The symbolism of 0° brings to mind, to me, that beautiful Sabian symbol that we had for the Libra New Moon last week, “The dawn of a new day, everything changed. Coming after 29° where there’s this enormous pressure to finish things up, which I talked about last week, a planet at 0° is kind of like being dropped from a plane into an empty field, you have no idea where you are, you have no context, and you begin frantically looking around to try to figure out what’s going on. You’re at the very beginning of a new sign, which symbolizes a new landscape and a new situation.
I think that when somebody’s born with a planet at 0°, it doesn’t know what it wants to be yet. It is like you came into the world a blank slate as it regards that planet. A client once described it to me so brilliantly. She said “A planet at 0° is like Little Orphan Annie’s blank, blank eyes.” And so, what will happen if you’re born with a planet at 0° in your chart, is that, you instinctively just reach out and try everything imaginable related to that planet in that sign in an effort to gain clarity and to get some sense of what you’re doing with that planet.
I was born with Jupiter at 0° Aquarius in my chart, and I think it really emphasizes my Jupiter quite a lot. And, heaven knows, Jupiter does not need a lot of help being emphasized. It makes its presence known. I am endlessly interested in everything possible related to Jupiter. When I was a little kid, I used to ride horses, I’ve done a lot of performance, I’ve written books, lots of Jupiter things, travel has always been really important to me. Education was this really zigzagging path of Jupiter at 0° of Aquarius. So, I’ve definitely felt that 0° blank slate with my Jupiter.
In your progressed chart, it’s fascinating to watch the year that a planet moves into a new sign. It moves off the 29th degree, where you have all that pressure to finish something up, and then suddenly it’s at zero. And you have the feeling that something has changed, but you don’t really know what direction it’s going to take, you don’t have the perspective yet. It reminds me a little bit, actually, of a cat we used to have, Bodhi, who longed to go outside. She would wait by the door for her opportunity to go darting out. And every now and again, she would catch us unaware and she would manage to get out, but then she would just stand there in place, having no idea where to go or what to do. To me, that 29th degree is the cat waiting eagerly at the door, so impatient, it can’t wait to get outside, and then it shoots out and it’s at 0°, and you have no idea what to do with your new found freedom.
But, once the progressed planet reaches that first degree, it’s at 0° of the sign, you begin to slowly realize what it is going to be about, what has been building, a new interest, maybe, different tastes in that area of life.
Now, in transits, 0° can bring dramatic shifts, and this is especially true with the big slow moving outer planets. When Pluto entered 0° of Capricorn, the sign of big business, back in January and then again, in November of 2008, there was of course a dramatic worldwide economic downturn, because Pluto’s job is to break things down in their current form so that they can be changed into something else. It’s not usually an easy process. In the coming two years, we’ll see Pluto enter Aquarius a number of times. It’ll toggle back and forth between Aquarius and Capricorn. Now, given the nature of Aquarius, I can imagine we’ll see some big changes, the new blank slate will have something to do probably with technology and media. I’m not really imaginative enough to figure out exactly what this is going to look like, but I know it will look new, and that’s the spirit of 0°.
If you have a burning question about astrology that you’d like me to answer on an upcoming episode, leave a voicemail of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast, or send an email to me, april@bigskyastrology.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. Thank you 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, and let others know that this is a podcast worth listening to. And I would love it if you would help me spread the word by telling an astrology loving friend about the show. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave comments or questions about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.
Thank you so much to everyone who showed your support for the podcast during the recent Podathon. Each week over the next 12 months, I’m going to be thanking some of you by name. This week, let’s give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Leslie Haynie and Linda Keane!
April: Leslie and Linda, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting the show with your donations. If you enjoy the show and you’d like to make a donation, it’s not too late. In fact, you can get my special bonus episodes for the Equinoxes and Solstices with a mere $10 donation. Just go to bigskyastropod.com and follow the link.
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