TRANSCRIPT: EP. 166 | Pisces New Moon…Squirrel!
Listen and read show notes hereApril: Hello, invisible friend, April here, and the date today is February 20th, 2023. Welcome to Episode 166 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast.
This week in the relatively quiet Big Sky, we’ll have a look at the New Moon in Pisces; Mercury makes a couple of aspects to Uranus and Mars; and, I give you a mini lesson in the upcoming transit of Saturn in Pisces.
Pisces New Moon (Feb. 19, 2023, 11:06 pm PST)
We begin the week with the Moon Report and we begin with that New Moon in Pisces on February 19, 2023 at 11:06 pm PST, which of course means it’s February 20th most every place else. This New Moon is just past the conjunction with Saturn. New Moons in Pisces begin a 28-day cycle of new spiritual growth. What is it that we see when we imagine our lives as being filled with meaning and purpose? This also begins a Lunar Gestation cycle that unfolds over the next 27 months with critical points at about the same degree of the Zodiac every nine months.
It’s been a while since I explained this Lunar Gestation cycle. It’s a cycle that was introduced by astrologer Dietrich Pessin, and I’ll include a link to her article in the Mountain Astrologer magazine. It’s wonderfully helpful and shows the evolution and timing of a story that begins at each New Moon.
It was my friend Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste first tipped Jen and me off about this cycle. You can hear my interview with Celeste on this topic back on Episode 141.
The Sabian symbol for this New Moon degree, 1°22’ Pisces, is 2 Pisces, A squirrel hiding from hunters. And since the Sun and Moon are just past Saturn, this kind of feels like a little squirrel who’s already escaped from captivity – Saturn – and is still on the run. Always with Pisces, I think that its best defense is escape. It’s not like its fellow water signs who have strong exoskeletons to protect them. So, the New Moon story that will unfold throughout this lunar gestation cycle and to a lesser degree through the next 28 days of this New Moon cycle is a story about hiding out. Where are we hiding out in order to retain our freedom or to protect ourselves from danger, and to examine whether there are more effective ways of protecting ourselves than having to hide out?
In this Lunar Gestation cycle, the First Quarter Moon near this New Moon degree is on November 20, 2023. This is 9 months after the New Moon, when we’re asked to take action on something we envisioned at this February 20th New Moon. The Full Moon in this lunar gestation cycle is on August 19th, 2024, and that is when we begin to see very clearly what it was that we planted and what is coming of our intentions at this New Moon.
And then, in another nine months, the Last Quarter Moon on May 20th, 2025 is the last critical moment in that cycle to reassess what we have done, what we’ve accomplished in the spiritual area of our lives since this New Moon. Now note that these lunation degrees in the gestation cycle actually come at the end of Aquarius, they’re close enough to this 1°22’ Pisces to be considered within this family. But they are in the sign of Aquarius, and that strikes me as somewhat interesting, especially when one of the keys to the story, according to this Sabian symbol does seem to be about retaining our freedom, and that’s something of course that Aquarius is very interested in.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s take a look at the Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon periods for this week. On February 21, the Moon in Pisces makes a sextile to Pluto at 8:05 pm PST. It’s VOC for about one and one quarter hours before it enters Aries at 9:14 PM. So, here we have the little squirrel from the New Moon Sabian symbol, this gentle little Moon in Pisces forming an unlikely alliance with Pluto, which might be symbolized by something like a bigger stronger fiercer creature, let’s say a bear. When you are small, when you are defenseless, sometimes your best strength comes from uniting with a stronger force or a more influential person.
On February 23rd, the Moon in Aries squares Pluto at 11:22 pm PST, VOC for just a little over one hour, and then enters Taurus on February 24th, 12:29 am. I keep going back in my mind to that little squirrel in the Sabian symbol. And now as the Moon has been going through Aries for a couple of days, that little squirrel has begun to imagine that he’s pretty powerful and strong because he is being protected by this big fierce bear. But what happens when the Moon squares Pluto and the bear turns on him? That’s the point when we discover whether we’ve cultivated some of our own strength or whether we’re still too dependent on protection from others, because being too dependent on somebody else for anything leaves us very vulnerable.
And finally, on February 26th, the Moon in Taurus trines Pluto at 6:42 am PST, again, VOC for just about one hour before entering Gemini at 7:47 am. Now notice we’re having these very short VOC Moon periods, and it’s because Pluto is right at the very end of its sign. At the New Moon, it’s 29°15’ Capricorn, so it’s the last aspect that most planets will make in their sign, some kind of aspect to Pluto, and it’s only with an orb of that for about an hour.
So, at this VOC Moon, our little squirrel has figured out where his own strength lies and the limits of his own power to keep himself safe and secure. The trine with Pluto means that he is grateful for protection and other resources he gets from his alliance with his fierce friend, but he’s not entirely dependent on it. So it is the best of all worlds. It’s the Moon in Taurus, a sign that it’s very strong in and in an alliance with Pluto, instead of just being protected by it.
So, we end this week’s VOC Moon periods, which have all been connected with Pluto, first to sextile, then a square, and now trine. And we have had a chance to learn something through this week about power. How do we wield it and how can it sometimes turn against us as we saw with the Moon in Aries square Pluto? It’s a very powerful force that’s represented by Pluto. And, this has really been something to meditate on this week during the VOC Moon periods.
Mercury square Uranus (Feb. 21, 2023, 2:22 pm PST)
The only planet that’s really making much noise this week is Mercury. First, Mercury makes a square to Uranus on February 21st, 02:22 pm PST. Mercury square, Uranus marks a moment when there is this fine line between being brilliant and being so far out of the mainstream that nobody can relate to you. Mercury does very good work in Aquarius, it is very strong in this sign. And it does symbolize having out of the box thinking and being truly innovative. But there are times when we find that we are so far ahead of our time in our thinking that we can’t get anyone to listen to our ideas, and that can be the case when Mercury is in a hard aspect with Uranus.
So, this is nevertheless a very fleeting aspect only in orb for a day or two. So, it will often show up as a single person in your world who rejects one of your ideas as being too radical, or you might even just run across a scenario like this on a TV show or a movie.
Mercury trine Mars (Feb. 22, 2023, 12:14 pm PST)
Then when Mercury makes the trine to Mars that it makes the following day, on February 22, 12:14 pm PST, it is time to protect the ideas that came our way under the Mercury Uranus square. The Sabian symbol for Mercury is 17 Aquarius, A watchdog standing guard. And the Sabian symbol for Mars at 17 Gemini is A head of a robust youth changes into that of a mature thinker.
So, what I’m getting from this combination of symbols is, it is time to let our more innovative of radical ideas have some time to develop and to find their moment, to protect as I said, these ideas. And in the meantime, Mars wants us to act on those ideas. So, this might be time to make a prototype, write a paper, do something that helps you sort out your thinking while the rest of the world catches up to you.
Mini-Lesson: Saturn in Pisces
In today’s mini-lesson, we’ll take a look at Saturn getting ready to enter Pisces on March 7th. Saturn only changes to a new sign about every two and a half years, so it’s a really big deal when it does. I decided that over the next few episodes I’ll be including mini lessons specifically to help us prepare for the Saturn in Pisces shift. Also, later in March, Pluto is going to make its first ingress into Aquarius. This is the first time it’s entered a new sign since late 2008. So, my last three March episodes are going to include some mini lessons about that huge transition.
But today, I really just want to give a general introduction into what it might mean for all of us for Saturn to be changing sign and specifically, what we can expect it to teach us while it’s in Pisces. In next week’s Episode 167, we’ll look at Saturn in Pisces moving through the houses of the horoscope. And then in Episode 168, a quick look at Saturn in aspect to the other planets in your chart.
But first, a quick review of Saturn itself. Saturn takes about 29 years to make a complete circuit of the Zodiac and spends about two and a half years in each sign. As it enters Pisces, it is saying goodbye to Aquarius, which it entered on March 21st, 2020, a time period that you might recall. Then, it is going to be in Pisces through May 24th, 2025, spend a few months in Aries, and then retrograde back into Pisces one more time before leaving for good on February 13th, 2026.
Now, transits of Saturn described periods when we’re challenged to become more mature, more wise, more disciplined. Most of all, I think with Saturn, we’re being challenged to be the authority of our own lives and to set necessary limits and boundaries, boundaries on our own behaviors and also boundaries to protect us from transgressions by other people.
Here’s something I wrote in my book, Astrological Transits. And by the way, I will be quoting quite a lot from that book here. So, instead of constantly saying, “As I wrote in my book”, you can just kind of assume the source. So, I began by writing, “I won’t lie to you, Saturn’s transits can bring frustration, deprivation, and loneliness. However, they are the means to an end, not the end itself. Saturn has no interest in abandoning you to a pit of despair, rather, these transits teach you what you’re made of and force you to create a life that is more nurturing and supportive of the real you. Suffering through hardships doesn’t feel good, it hurts and it is supposed to hurt. There is a reason for it. Just as there is a reason the physical body feels pain to alert you that something is endangering your wellbeing, that something isn’t right, so you can avoid it or fix it.
And so, it is with your heart and your spirit. If you hurt, it’s because you are supposed to hurt when your life is moving in the wrong direction.”
What about Saturn transiting through the signs of the zodiac? Saturn doesn’t want to hear excuses, all that matters is results. So, the sign that Saturn is in is not just about a style of doing things, but also about the nature of the work that’s assigned to us. The first step in handling Saturn sojourn through any sign is not to panic, but to take stock. Figure out what structures of your life have been neglected and draft a plan for shoring them up. It doesn’t have to happen overnight. Saturn simply asks that we acknowledge responsibility, determine the ways we’re able to respond to a situation and then do what we can to improve.
And specifically, what about Saturn in Pisces, because they seem to be such different symbols? Saturn feels very earthy and a little bit hard edged, very interested in results and pragmatism. Whereas Pisces describes the way we are elevated from earthly concerns.
So, how do we bring these two together? I think it’s helpful first to understand Saturn’s transit through Aquarius in that sign, and that’s a sign that Saturn rules. It described goals that extend beyond our achievements in this lifetime and where we are building a legacy and where importantly we’re working within a societal framework. In my book I wrote, “Change is in the air when Saturn is in Aquarius, but some of it is superficial. New window dressing to disguise old ideas. To get through this transit successfully, challenge not just society’s rules, but also your own.”
Now, as we know, since the onset of the pandemic, this has been a period of profound separation from our fellow man, and not just ideologically, although that’s been very real as well, but actually and physically as well. Though, the ways in which we gather together seem to have been permanently changed by our responses to Saturn in a sign that is actually very fraternal. Each of us has had to figure out our own way to deal with the pandemic as well as the very fractured political landscape of our society, and to clarify within ourselves what we believe, what are our ideals.
I think that now as Saturn enters Pisces, we will be judged and rightly so by how we treat other people, how we engage in the work of service, kindness, and caring for one another. It begins with how we treat those who are smaller or weaker than we are. Again, we’re back to our little squirrel in the New Moon Sabian symbol. Here is the not so well-kept secret that we judge others based on our own fears and inadequacies. When we look down on others, based on their clothing, their color, their weight, their sexual identity, their car, then we’re seeking scapegoat. While Saturn is in Pisces, it intends to put an end to such a nonsense. “Grownups are kind to others”, says Saturn in Pisces, and for that matter, they know when to give themselves a break too.
Saturn was last in the sign of Pisces between May 20th and June 30th, 1993, and between January 28th, 1994 and April 7th, 1996. If you were born then, you’ll be having your first Saturn return. And, if you were born between March 23rd and September 16th, 1964, or between December 15th, 1964 and March 3rd, 1967, you will be having your second Saturn return. The Saturn return, which is when transiting Saturn returns to the exact same degree, minute and sign of Saturn at your birth, is kind of a review point for issues related to maturity, achievement, career, status. I have found that, during the first Saturn return, it’s really common to look outside ourselves, to monitor our success. We decide if our life looks the way it should. Do we have the right career? Have we bought a house? How is our income? Do we have the partner of our dreams? Have we started a family? These kinds of questions.
At the second Saturn return, we monitor success quite a bit differently by asking whether our lives feel the way they should. Are we satisfied that our lives work has paid off in the way we’d like in terms of personal satisfaction and the ability to make a real and meaningful contribution to the world? As Saturn moves into a new sign every two and a half years, we learn to step up our collective societal game and to take responsibility for a new area of society. Often, when Saturn moves into a new sign as well as a new house, the work that we need to do seems insurmountable and overwhelming, but always with Saturn, if we’re patient, take our time and pick away at the task bit by bit, we can be successful.
As we’ll see next week, Saturn in Pisces moving through your personal horoscope, will show us the area or areas of your life where you are personally called to these challenges, and Saturn in aspect to your personal planets will symbolize the parts of your personality that will be called into service.
I’ll be returning to listener questions in April. So, if you have a question you’d like me to answer on a future episode, please leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast or email me 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. Thanks 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, leave a rating or a review. And most of all, I hope you’ll spread the word by telling an astrology loving friend about the show. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.
Thank you very much to everyone who shown support for the podcast over the past year. On each episode, I’m thanking some donors by name. This week, I’m giving a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Cyprus Hippolyte and Martina Papinchak!
Two of my favorite donor names of all time! Cyprus and Martina, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting this show with your donations.
If you would like to support this show, please go to bigskyastropod.com. If you donate $7 or more, I’ll send you a link to access my bonus episode for “Donors Only” that was released just after the Capricorn Solstice. And, you’ll also get the upcoming bonus episodes for the Aries Equinox and the Cancer Solstice.
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
