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TRANSCRIPT Ep. 159 | Cancer Full Moon and a Sparkly Venus!

TRANSCRIPT EPISODE 159 | Cancer Full Moon and a Sparkly Venus (Jan. 2, 2023)

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April: Hello, invisible friend, April here. And the date today is January 2nd, 2023. Welcome to Episode 159 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast and to a brand new year.

It’s good to be back with you after recovering from a couple of nasty little bugs that sidelined me over the past couple of weeks. I’m hoping each of you had an amazing holiday season and that you’re ready to make the very most of 2023?

This week, the Sun makes an energizing trine to Uranus, Venus enters exciting Aquarius and aspects Jupiter for an extra boost, and Mercury connects with the Sun and Uranus. Plus, I answer a listener question about how to work with transits for yourself.

Venus enters Aquarius (Jan. 2, 2023, 6:09 pm PST)

The week begins with Venus entering Aquarius on January 2 at 6:09 PM Pacific Time. Venus will be in Aquarius through January 26th. Venus in a sign, again, tells us about what we are appreciating, what’s appealing to us, what we’re enjoying in a given month. Venus in Aquarius appreciates things that are different and new. It is a month that is good for enjoying friendships. You know, one of the goals that I’ve set for myself for 2023 is spending more time with my friends. When you’re a self-employed person, you can very easily fall into the habit of just working all the time and not really taking time out to appreciate the people who are important in your life. Venus in Aquarius is an excellent transit for reconnecting with the people close to you. Venus symbolizes what we will crave in relationship, and while it’s an Aquarius, we tend to favor relationships that allow us to be independent, to be ourselves.

It is a good time for making resolutions that are related to financial independence and growing our wealth. We don’t often think of Aquarius as a financial sign, but it is related to the kind of income that we make from our career specifically, and also to long-term trends and how we might think about investments from that point of view. So, that’s Venus in Aquarius, which is a really fun sign for it, I think. Now, this can be similar to an aspect between Venus and Uranus, which we’ve had really recently and can bring unexpected expenditures our way, but also some unexpected income. It’s a good time for working on any projects that have to do with reaching a mass audience. So maybe this is the year you’ve decided to start a website or a podcast or to really bump up your social media game, and Venus’s time in Aquarius is a really effective time to be doing those kinds of things.

Venus sextile Jupiter (Jan. 4, 1:08 am PST)

On January 4 at 1:08 AM, Venus is sextile Jupiter at 1°36’ Aquarius and Aries. Having any kind of aspect between Venus and Jupiter is pretty nice. They’re considered the most beneficial planets of them all. And so, when they’re in a dialogue with each other, they have an opportunity to come together and bring really nice things our way. Now, this is a sextile aspect, which is more of the nature of an opportunity rather than a flat-out gift. What I think this opportunity is, is a chance to stand out. Venus in Aquarius does have this sparkly quality that makes others take notice. And, when it’s connecting with Jupiter, it sounds like here is an opportunity to put yourself forward to maybe do something you wouldn’t normally think about doing. It might be something new that you decide to do on social media. It could be something that you’re asked to do for your work that involves getting up and making a presentation. It could just be an opportunity to host some friends for a dinner party or something like that.

So, Venus coming together with Jupiter is always something nice that if you decide to do it, will bring something good your way, maybe not immediately, but certainly it opens the door to something fun later on.

Sun trine Uranus (Jan. 5, 2023, 8:43 am PST)

On January 5 at 8:43 AM Pacific Time, the Sun makes a trine to Uranus. This is one of two trines that the Sun makes to Uranus each year, and these are times to embrace and appreciate what it is that makes us unique. This is also an aspect, interestingly enough that can help us find and connect with our people, our tribe, the people who see the world as we do, and who appreciate the same things that we do and also who just appreciate us.

Cancer Full Moon (Jan. 6, 2023, 3:08 pm PST)

And now for the Moon Report for the week of January 2. It begins with a Full Moon in Cancer on January 6 at 3:08 PM Pacific Time, at 16°21’ Cancer. And the chart for this Full Moon features the Sun and Mercury together, Mercury is retrograde, they are opposed the Moon, and all of them are an aspect to Uranus. So, the Sun and Mercury are trine Uranus, the Moon is sextile Uranus, and this is just a really bright, energized, vivacious kind of Full Moon chart. The big dreams and ideas that we were formulating at that December 23 New Moon at 1°32’ Capricorn that was square Jupiter in the chart, we are now in a position just a couple of weeks later to start to really do something with some of those big ideas.

Since the Full Moon is in Cancer, this can also be a Full Moon that is about family and family dynamics. Maybe the time that we spend together with family over the holidays or if we were not able to spend time with family over the holidays. Now, we are sort of looking at those relationships I think in a somewhat different light than we might have just a year ago.

This Full Moon is part of a Lunar Phase Family that began with the July 9, 2021 New Moon at 18°1’ Cancer. Then, at the First Quarter in this Phase Family on April 8, 2022 at 19°24’ Cancer, we were called upon to take action about something we conceived at that Cancer New Moon. And now, we’re right in the middle of that Phase, we’re at the Full Moon of this Lunar Phase Family journey, and this is the time that we can see the natural consequence of what we began in July 2021. Look to the House of your chart that has Cancer in it, and in particular, 16° 21’ minutes of Cancer, and do a little thinking. Look back to the summer of 2021, what were the big things that were happening? What was it that you were really feeling drawn toward to do something new with? Those Cancer New Moons can be really amazing.

I remember one year when there was a Cancer New Moon, I think it was conjunct Jupiter, and we went away to England and came back to this riotously overgrown garden, and we had a zucchini that I think stood about two feet tall. This is what can happen with a Cancer New Moon when it’s unchecked, there’s just this wild growth. And, now hopefully we’re at a point in this Phase Family and we could say, “Wow, look at this zucchini that I planted a year and a half ago, such abundance I didn’t expect to see at this time.”

Void-of-Course Moon periods

Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. On January 2, the Moon in Taurus makes a trine aspect to Pluto at 2:16 PM Pacific Time. It’s void-of-course then for about four and a half hours, before it enters Gemini at 6:44 PM Pacific Time. So, this is a Monday afternoon or evening here in the United States, and we’ve got this lovely Moon in Taurus, which is very stabilizing. The trine to Pluto, I think, going into the Void-of-Course Moon gives us even more strength, because we’re willing to look very deep within and to try to incorporate insights that we’ve had into why we are the way we are and feel the way that we feel.

On January 4, the Moon in Gemini makes a square to Neptune at 4:08 PM Pacific Time, and enters this extraordinarily long void-of-course period for just about 14 hours, then it enters Cancer on January 5 at 6:15 AM Pacific Time. So, the Moon in Gemini, which will have just been tangling with Mars the previous day and leads us to feel very impatient and touchy, a little bit anger prone on these days, and then makes the square to Neptune. So, we’ll spend this very long void-of-course period, looking through the fog at what’s really going on and trying to find an appropriate balance between that very mental hyperactive Moon in Gemini that’s just been together with Mars, and on the other hand, Neptune, which is very dreamy and unfocused. The two have a little bit of trouble having a dialogue with each other, but that a long void-of-course period like this, can invite us to incorporate those two sides with a little more attention and intensity than we normally would with just a transit of the Moon, which goes so quickly.

Normally, it would square Neptune and it would be onto the next thing, and it wouldn’t be that big a deal. But now, we’re sitting with this square for 14 hours. A lot of that will be overnight, but that could also be a night that we’re not sleeping terribly well because our dream state might be very active. But this can also be a time when we do some work that helps us articulate our feelings in a more effective way.

On January 7, the Moon in Cancer makes an opposition to Pluto at 2:23 PM Pacific Time. It’s void-of-course then for about four and one quarter hours before it enters Leo at 6:40 PM Pacific Time. So, here’s a fairly short Void-of-Course Moon period. It’s on a Saturday afternoon and evening here in the US. And I would say, it is a better Saturday for maybe hanging with the people that you know well and trust. It’s the Moon in Cancer, it’s fairly sensitive, and, it has just come off this opposition to Pluto, so we can feel a little bit prone and vulnerable.

Sun conjoined Mercury (Jan. 7, 2023, 4:57 am PST)

On January 7 at 4:57 AM Pacific Time, the Sun makes a conjunction with Mercury. Mercury turned retrograde on December 29, and this happens when Mercury has gotten as far ahead of the Sun as it can in its cycle. And, I always pictured as being like a little kid who is out walking with its parents and goes just a little further ahead than the parents feel comfortable with. And then, dad or mom calls out, “All right, come on back now.” And the kid comes back all excited and wants to tell his parents everything that they’re going to see up the road just a little bit. So, Mercury had gotten as far ahead of the Sun as it can, and then it turns retrograde and now it’s backed up to rejoin the Sun, to rejoin the parents. So, there’s some message that comes our way often with Mercury – there is something up the road a little bit that you’re going to want to get ready for. And then, Mercury sort of passes the Sun again and goes in the direction that it’s already been with its parents and goes back to see what it might have missed the first time, or maybe it dropped some pocket change or toy or something, and wants to run back and get it.

Then, when it turns direct again, which does on January 18, it will catch up with the parents again and say, “Oh, remember we were going to do this? We were supposed to do that?” So, this is a little bit of the way Mercury works with the Sun, because it never travels that far from the Sun. I think it’s only about 28°, but it has these times and when it’s ahead of the Sun and times when it gets really far behind the Sun, and those correspond with Mercury’s retrograde periods.

Mercury trine Uranus (Jan. 8, 2023, 3:23 pm PST)

Then, on January 8 at 3:23 PM Pacific Time, Mercury will make a trine to Uranus. So, we just had the Sun trine Uranus on the 4th. That was a transit that gave us an opportunity to appreciate our true selves in a new way and maybe to connect with some other people who are like us. Mercury now coming together with Uranus, helps us spread the word about who we are and about what it is that makes us special. So, these are fast little transits, Mercury with anything. And, in the case of Mercury with Uranus, they just sort of open a portal to inspiration. If you find that you’ve been feeling like you’re in a rut and it’s hard for you to conceive of things in a fresh new way, this is a really valuable transit for breaking out of that kind of mental rut. So really, between about January 7 and January 9, let’s say, Mercury is very strong because it’s touching together with the Sun on the 7th, it’s making this nice bright aspect to Uranus on the 8th, and there’s just a little overlap of a couple of days where the Mercury function is very strong, and it’s a great time for brainstorming and a terrific time for planning ahead to the rest of the year.

Listener Question: Interpreting Transits

In this week’s listener question, listener Robin writes, “I am learning to read my chart and was hoping you would answer a question from me about interpreting transits. If I wanted to get more information about how a transit might play out in my chart, would I look for aspects to particular planets, the houses and the rulership, and, and, and? It just seems like a lot to figure out.”

And Robin, it is a lot to figure out. So, what I like to do is encourage people to take a deep breath and to take these things one at a time. Now, if you’re like a lot of us, you’re on social media a lot, I know that’s how you and I connected, and you’re bombarded all day long with different interpretations of transits that are happening, and it can be a little bit overwhelming, especially when you start to try to apply it specifically to your own chart. So, the first thing I would say is this. First of all, determine, is this a significant transit? If it’s something that is moving really fast like the Moon aspecting something in your chart or transiting Venus, just know that that’s only going to have an impact for a few days at the most.

Now, if it’s a very slow-moving planet like Pluto or Neptune or Uranus, then, we have to look at that in an entirely different way because those kinds of transits can go on for a year or two in your chart, so we have to evaluate them a little differently.

But let’s say that you’re looking at something like Mars. You know, Mars has been retrograde for a while, it’s just turning direct next week. So, we’ve all been thinking about Mars a little more than we normally would. Mars is sort of an in-between planet. It doesn’t go quite as quickly as the Sun or Mercury or Venus, but it doesn’t go as slowly as Jupiter or Saturn or any of those outer planets. So Mars is a good one to use as an example, I think.

Well, let’s say you’re trying to figure out what this Mars in Gemini retrograde means in your chart. The first thing that I suggest doing is just look at the House or Houses of the chart where that planet is moving, because that tells us what area of life is feeling a little blocked or frustrated, which is the nature of Mars retrograde. Or, maybe you’re wishing things would move faster, so you look at an ephemeris or an astrological calendar if you have one, to identify which dates Mars will be in that House or those Houses, right away, you’ve cut out a lot of the noise. You can go, ijay, well, it’s Mars, it’s going through my 4th House, and it’s probably in the area of home or my family, the people very close to me, where there might be a little more discord than usual, or somebody in the family is going through something that has come up suddenly, which is kind of the way Mars works, and we’re all trying to cope with that.

Then, I would take a look at any aspects that Mars is making to planets in your chart. And for me, I tend to focus on the hard aspects, the conjunctions, the squares, and the oppositions. Those are going to represent the parts of your life or your personality where you’re feeling pushed or provoked by whatever it is that Mars is doing in that house of your chart that we looked at before. So, let’s say Mars is in the fourth house of your chart, is some kind of friction with somebody in your household or people coming and going, and then let’s say perhaps that Mars is making a square aspect to your Moon, say you have the Moon in Pisces and you’re having a square from Mars, and what that would say is, you’re really feeling this. It’s not just something that’s happening around you and “Oh, it’s a bummer, my sister is going through that,” or whatever – it’s something that you are very sensitive to, and it’s possibly making you feel really uncomfortable and ill at ease.

It would be good to know to identify the specific dates when you are going to be feeling that Mars with your Moon the most strongly. And so, what you do is find out what exact dates, by looking at your ephemeris, Mars is aspecting your Moon and give it a 1° orb, and those are the dates that you know you’re likely to be triggered pretty easily. It might be a good day to get out of the house and get a little time to yourself.

Then, the next thing I would do is look at the Houses that are ruled by Mars in your chart. So, those would be the houses with Aries and Scorpio on the cusp, because those are the signs ruled by Mars. Because, what’s happening is that Mars is sending out these signals, and those Houses in your chart are really well equipped to pick up on Mars signals. So, those would be areas of your life where you’d be feeling some fallout as well. It could be that you’re feeling pushed or impatient or angry in those areas of life, and sometimes without even knowing why, thinking, “Why am I so upset? I don’t even know what’s happening here!”

So, let’s say you have Aries on the 2nd House cusp, the 2nd House is one where we can feel kind of threatened, and it also symbolizes our relationship with money and whether or not we feel financially stable and secure. So, whatever is going on in the home with that Mars going through the 4th House, could be triggering some issues of self-worth, of confidence, of security, there could be some financial connection between you and the person in your home that’s having trouble.

So, I hope you can see? I actually, Robin, don’t know anything about your birth chart, but I’m just giving a hypothetical example of the way I might break this down. Because normally, again, a Mars transit would be something you might have for a couple of weeks, might not be super comfortable, but it’s not the end of the world. But because it has been retrograde and it’s been in the same areas of our charts, well, since the end of October, these are often old patterns that we have needed to get in there and get unstuck from, and that’s what Mars is trying to help us do. So, this is just a way of figuring out exactly where to look in your chart for where Mars would be influencing you.

I hope that helps? Where I find my students have often got stuck is first of all, learning to interpret the meaning of say, a planet in a sign in a House, and then in aspect to another planet, and it is a lot. And, it really is, I think a matter of, as I said, just being very systematic about it. But there are my Virgo planets! Just break it down bit by bit. And, I hope that that little checklist right there can be helpful to you. I would invite you to look at my book “Astrological Transits,” which was published by Fairwinds Press in 2015. I’m pretty fond of that book and it does give a lot of these kinds of ideas for how to look at transits. There is also some transit material in my book, “The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology”. So hopefully, that will help Robin. And hopefully, if you have found your way to my books, they can give you some extra help as well.

Well, thank you for that question. And, to those of you listening, if you have a question you would like me to answer on a future episode, please leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast or just email me at April(at)bigskyastrology(dot)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 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 I would love it if you would help spread the word about the show by telling a friend. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.

Thanks very much to all of you who’ve shown support for the podcast over the past year, including during the Podathon. Each week I’m thanking some of you by name. This week, let’s give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Sarah Wharton and Tammy Kendall.

April: Sarah and Tammy, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for showing your support with your donations. If you enjoy the show and would like to make a donation, and if you’d like to receive my recent bonus “Donors Only” episode for the Capricorn Solstice as well as the upcoming special episodes for the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice, please go to bigskyastropod.com and donate $10 or more.

That is 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!

© 2023 by April Elliott Kent

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