
TRANSCRIPT Ep. 168 | Virgo Full Moon and Saturn Enters Pisces: A New Job!
Listen and read show notes hereApril: Hello, invisible friend, April here, and the date today is March 6th, 2023. Welcome to Episode 168 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast.
This week, the Sun and Mercury get a wake-up call from Uranus. The Full Moon in Virgo is on the same day that Saturn enters Pisces, its opposite sign, for a two-and-a-half-year stay. And, Venus and Mars meet in a sweet aspect. Plus, the final mini-lesson in my series on Saturn in Pisces looks at Saturn in aspect to planets in your birth chart.
Sun sextile Uranus (March 6, 2023, 5:42 am PST)
The week begins with the Sun in a sextile aspect to Uranus on March 6th at 5:42 am PST, at 15°42’ Pisces and Taurus. Any time we see the Sun in aspect with Uranus, we are invited to change the way we think about ourselves. The Sun is very much a symbol of the things that give us a sense of identity. And when the Sun meets up with Uranus, that sense of self is subject to a little bit of disruption.
Now, this is a pleasant aspect. This is a sextile aspect between the Sun and Uranus, so it’s kind of a fun invitation aspect. We are invited to change, to take another look at the person that we think we are and how we might be able to let go of some of our feeling of attachment to that so that we can look at different ways of moving through the world. The Sabian symbol for the Sun is 16 Pisces, The flow of inspiration. And, this is probably about the ways we do just sort of glide along in our sense of who we are.
But then it comes together with Uranus in Taurus and it says, if you make any kind of changes at this time, they will be changes that are tangible and long lasting. And so, that’s very worthwhile. Even though Uranus in Taurus and Uranus is very changeable, I think that it’s really providing a lot of structure and ballast to that Sun in Pisces. And the kinds of changes that it suggests are more of the nature of being a little less determined to go with the flow and not have any kind of structures imposed on us, and instead, to maybe check in with other people who might have some good advice for us.
Virgo Full Moon (March 7, 2023, 4:40 am PST)
And now, for the Moon Report for the week of March 6th. And it begins with a Full Moon on March 7th at 4:40 am PST, at 16°40’ Virgo. The Full Moon is a revelation point for the Pisces New Moon on February 19th or 20th, depending on where you live. And, it’s also a revelation point in the Lunar Gestation cycle that began with the Virgo New Moon on September 6th, 2021.
So, the February 20th, let’s call it – Pisces New Moon, was just past a conjunction with Saturn on a Sabian symbol that was about A squirrel hiding out from hunters. Now, at the Full Moon, there is no hiding out for anybody, even the night sky is fully illuminated at a Full Moon. So, we’re able to see what it was that we initiated at the February 20th New Moon, something about a new way of being in our spirituality, taking care of ourselves, healing, and we’re also able to see what is coming of what we initiated back in September of 2021.
That New Moon was almost precisely trine Uranus, and in a wide conjunction with Mars. It’s now 18 months later and we can stand back and ask ourselves, have we made the changes that we pledged to make back then, especially about our work, our health, and how we can be of service?
The Sabian symbol for this Full Moon is 17 Virgo, A volcano interruption. It seems like a very good description to me of the Full Moon trine Uranus and square Mars, both of which are very volatile and combustible planets. And this is time for my periodic reminder that Virgo is an earth sign and when it loses its temper, it can blow up like a volcano. This is certainly possible at this Full Moon with the Sun and Moon square Mars.
Virgo and Gemini, of course, are both Mercury-ruled signs. And, what can happen under the influence of the square is that they can get stressed out and overwhelmed by a lot of minutiae, and that can make them a little bit grouchy. So, we have to keep our wits about us, I think a little bit at this Full Moon and use that Mars and Uranus influence in maybe a very physical way, getting more exercise than usual, moving around, cleaning things up around our homes, so, all of that tension that can build up, that nervous tension has a way to be released.
Void-of-Course Moon Periods
Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. They are all very short and they all begin with an aspect from the Moon to Pluto. But, there’s less time than usual to shift patterns of thought or behavior, which is what we often try to do at a Void-of-Course Moon. So, let’s take this to mean this week that our work with the Void-of-Course Moon in recent weeks while Pluto has been sitting in its last degrees of Capricorn, has been really good and very thorough. So, at this week’s Void-of-Course Moons, let’s quickly review our progress
On March 8th, the Moon in Virgo trines Pluto at 6:07 am, it’s void-of-course just a little over a half an hour before it enters Libra at 6:44 am. So, how have you done with using the recent Virgo Moons trine Pluto to try to rewire your mindset and behavior, especially around healthy habits and a productive mindset being of service without letting yourself be taken advantage of?
On March 10th, the Moon in Libra squares Pluto at 3:36 pm PST, it too is void-of-course for just about a half an hour, before an enters Scorpio at 4:06 pm. So, how have you done with using recent Libra Moons square Pluto to break habits of being over accommodating in your relationships with other people or maybe dwelling a little too much on interactions past the point where it’s helpful to reflect on them?
And then, on March 12th, the Moon in Scorpio is sextile Pluto at 11:58 pm PDT, it is void-of-course for only 23 minutes, before it enters Sagittarius on March 13th at 12:21 am. This one goes by so quickly that you can miss it very easily, but reflect for a moment on how well you’ve done using the recent Scorpio Moons that begin their Void-of-Course period on a sextile to Pluto. How well have you done letting go of grudges and bad feelings and moving toward Pluto’s high road potential of overcoming and transcending negative emotions?
Saturn enters Pisces (March 7, 2023, 5:35 am PST)
On March 7th at 5:35 am PST, Saturn enters Pisces. It’ll be in this sign until May 24th, 2025, and then between September 1st, 2025 and February 13th, 2026, at which point it goes permanently into Aries. Now, Saturn moving into a new sign, which it does about every two-and-a-half years, is a little bit like starting a new job. It feels so hard that first day, that first week, even that first month, because you’re trying to figure out where everything is, who all the players are, all the details of the job. So, as Saturn goes into Pisces, what is the job? Well, Saturn’s job always is to make us stronger and more self-reliant to make us a better version of ourselves. So, Pisces would be like going to work for a nonprofit agency maybe, or a spiritually related organization, something in healthcare or healing or in social work.
One of the challenges of Saturn being in Pisces is the tension between professionalism and spiritual work or altruism, selflessness. For astrologers, for example, and I know people that are in any kinds of spiritually oriented professions or helping professions, when we first begin doing this kind of work, we have to figure out for ourselves what is the reasonable balance between doing caring, healing, giving work, and earning a living. And it’s having those bases covered, those Saturn boundaries that put me in a position where I can do the kind of work that I do.
But of course, on the other side of the equation, you can’t let the love of making money get in the way of really serving people. So, it is a little bit of a tightrope act with Saturn in Pisces. But I think, and I’ve talked about Saturn in Pisces quite a lot over the last two episodes, it’s really also about the way we rise to the challenge to be adults, to be mature, to bring our individual authority to helping and healing and kindness. It’s going to be a really interesting two and a half years or so as we go down this path. And, at the end of this episode, I’ll give my final mini-lesson on Saturn going into Pisces. And it has to do with Saturn aspecting the individual planets in your birth chart.
Venus sextile Mars (March 11, 2023, 7:05 am PST)
On March 11th at 7:05 am PST, Venus makes a sextile aspect to Mars at 23°34’ Aries and Gemini. So Venus is fresh off her conjunction with Jupiter last week as she is making a sextile aspect to Mars. I think there’s an opportunity in this aspect to take some relationship to another level, and Jupiter’s influence might have been exactly what Venus needed to be ready to take that leap of optimism.
The Sabian symbol for Venus, 24 Aries, is An open window and a net curtain blowing into a cornucopia. The window is open and there is a cornucopia awaiting prosperity and richness, and all we have to do is open the window just a little bit further and back into happiness to come in.
Mercury sextile Uranus (March 11, 2023, 1:04 pm PST)
Later, on March 11th at 1:04 pm PST, Mercury sextiles Uranus at 15°54’ Pisces and Taurus. Earlier in the week when the Sun made its sextile to Uranus, there was an opportunity to change how we think about ourselves, how we’re growing, how we might want to take just that brief open door for a day or two that the Sun is in aspect to Uranus and make some little change in the way we’re doing things and how we think about ourselves. And now with Mercury sextile Uranus, here is a moment to retell the story of who we are. In the inner dialogue that we maintain with ourselves, we’re very often reinforcing the same old patterns and ideas about who we are and who we can be.
Anytime Mercury comes together with Uranus, and again, this is a very quick influence a couple of days at most, but it’s a wonderful time for inspiration, for entertaining new ideas and for taking a new direction maybe in something we’re doing or creating or thinking about creating.
The Sabian symbol for Uranus is 16 Taurus Old man attempting vainly to reveal the mysteries. Uranus has same degree as when the Sun made its sextile earlier in the week, and it’s about allowing input from people that we trust who are knowledgeable, who are experienced, but in the end, always, if we’re talking about Uranus, we have to do it our own way.
Mini-Lesson: Saturn in aspect to planets in the birth chart
In this week’s mini-lesson, I’m concluding the series on Saturn in Pisces by talking about the influence of Saturn in aspect to the planets In your birth chart. Two episodes ago, I gave a general overview about Saturn moving into the sign of Pisces and about our great work over the next two and a half years – about being gentler and kinder versions of ourselves and taking responsibility for doing our part in making the world a better place.
Last week, I took a look at Saturn moving through the houses of the birth chart to give you some idea of where this kind of meaningful work will be taking place for you over the next two and a half years.
Now, this week we are looking at Saturn in aspect to the planets of the birth chart. We begin with Saturn in aspect to the Sun, and this is always an aspect that is about character building and it is a time to become more productive, but I have to be honest, it’s not usually the most cheerful aspect. It can be one in which we feel we’re carrying a lot on our shoulders and our confidence can be kind of low. And I think the way through is to keep tackling the things that feel difficult, because under a Saturn influence, those are the things that actually will build your confidence and your strength of character. You are during this transit, building yourself into the person you need to be to do Saturn’s work. If the aspect is a difficult one, say a conjunction or square, or to some extent in opposition, this work really feels difficult. And there are often people in your life, especially authority figures, who really make you feel as if you’re not doing your best and are really pushing you in a hard way.
In the end though, it’s your choice about what you do with that, and if you let it stop you and discourage you, or if you let it make you stronger, easier aspects like a trine or a sextile are a little easier. It’s still the hard work of being your best self, but you have more resources that are helping you and making the process a little more pleasant.
Saturn in aspect to the Moon. Saturn is kind of a tough daddy and the moon is the part of us that is like the mom that is comforting us and taking care of us. So, when Saturn comes into especially a hard aspect to your Moon, it is a very tough authority who will not let you be comfortable. The Moon just wants to feel safe and comfortable, and Saturn says, no, you’re not going to grow if you keep retreating into what is safe. A good aspect between transiting Saturn and the Moon is about creating healthier boundaries and building structures that let you grow while also letting you feel safe.
Saturn in aspect to Mercury. Again, as I said earlier, Mercury is about what you tell yourself that you are. And Saturn with Mercury brings a kind of a reality check. Are you telling the truth about who you are, about your goals and about your life? This is the time to revisit and reconstruct past stories with a renewed perspective and understanding. This is actually also a wonderful transit to undertake some kind of important and difficult studies. If you are, for example, wanting to learn more about astrology, but it’s always felt really hard, this would be a terrific aspect. You could have this aspect up to three times over a one-year period at some time that Saturn is in Pisces. Find out when those dates are, and those are really wonderful times to dig deep, get into something that feels difficult.
Saturn aspecting Venus. Now, Saturn actually wants us to feel good about ourselves, but authentically good based on having set concrete goals and worked hard to achieve them. Saturn also wants us to have a financial goal and vision when we’re talking about Venus. So, no more pretending that you cannot resist bad love affairs or that you’re doomed to be poor or make bad investments. Saturn is not going to accept that. Saturn says, there is a way to achieve what you want in the areas of love, self-esteem, and money. So, this is a time to gain clarity about what will make you happy versus what you just kind of think you want.
When Saturn is aspecting Mars, the challenges to learn to really get on top of your temper, your impulsiveness, your physical drives, and also your ambitions. It’s about learning effective ways to be the authority over yourself and your life, to bring maturity to that very youthful kind of Mars spirit, pursuing the things that are really healthy for you and really good for you. It can be a very frustrating aspect, especially if it’s a conjunction, a square or an opposition. You can feel blocked and as though you’re hitting your head against a brick wall. But as always, with a hard aspect, the key is to just hang in there, keep doing the work, and on the other end of it, you’ll find you’re much stronger.
Saturn aspecting Jupiter wants to bring Jupiter’s dreams into reality, but if it’s a hard aspect, a conjunction, a square in opposition, it can really feel like Saturn is squashing your optimism, like Saturn’s a real buzzkill, because Jupiter has all these great ideas and enthusiasm, and Saturn goes, well, yes, but what about this? And how are you going to make this part of it work? And Jupiter’s just sitting there rolling his eyes.
The easy aspects between transiting Saturn and your Jupiter will make this process a lot easier. Jupiter can still get a little frustrated with Saturn, but it’s a little easier to see how these Saturn influences are working to make this process a lot easier for you.
When Saturn is aspecting your Natal Saturn, it means you’re at an important moment in the 29-year Saturn cycle. The most critical of these aspects are probably the conjunction or Saturn Return, followed roughly seven years later by the opening Saturn square where we have to act on our ambitions and our goals, seven years after that, the Saturn opposition, and seven years later the closing square. Now, each of these are aspects that refine your evolving ambition and responsibility and authority.
Trines and sextiles between transiting Saturn and Natal Saturn support the self-discipline and career achievement and reputation building that Saturn wants.
Saturn in aspect to Uranus is about finding compromise between conforming and being a non-conformist. It’s about how we fit into society. And this can be difficult if Saturn is together with Uranus, we feel sort of like we’re in jail. If it’s an easy aspect though, we may find ourselves a little more supported by those in authority as we attempt to make our way outside the mainstream. So, we have our way of fitting into society, but our way of fitting in is to question things and to upset the apple cart.
Saturn in aspect to Neptune. How to face reality without despair! When Saturn comes together with Neptune, we can feel pretty disillusioned. And once we have to face reality, which is what Saturn brings to Neptune, then, we are actually in a position to appreciate the beauty of what things truly are.
Now, this is also a very good aspect for achieving something on an artistic level. If you are an artist, a musician, a dancer, a singer, Saturn coming on the scene can be terrific in that it gets you to prioritize, to set goals and to achieve them, and also to bring your artistic gifts into a form that others can recognize so that they can enjoy your gifts.
When Saturn aspects Pluto, we have to face the little troll inside of us that tells us that we are insignificant, that we’re a deep disappointment to our family, to ourselves, to all of humanity. This can show up sometimes as a person in authority, like maybe a boss or a parent who is very discouraging, who really triggers that part of you that feels that you’re not bringing anything very valuable to the table. What’s important under this aspect is to use Saturn’s ability to just keep moving forward as a way of taking that power back.
Saturn in aspect with the Lunar Nodes. Now, this is the axis in the chart where we try to move away from the safe, default position and move in the direction of something that is a little scarier and a little more challenging, but that ultimately can bring us great satisfaction. So, if Saturn is aspecting this nodal axis, it is putting pressure on us to do just that, to move away from the easy way out and move toward what is going on be more satisfying. And if we let ourselves move toward the North Node in our charts, this is a time that can bring truly life-changing success.
When Saturn is in aspect to the Ascendant, a few things are possible. One is that you might move to a new place. Saturn reminds us that none of us lives forever, and it’s up to us to create the environment that we want to live in while we’re here. This also extends to our physical bodies. So very often, Saturn aspects the ascendant and someone goes on a kind of a self-improvement routine. Most of all, when Saturn aspects the ascendant, it’s very much like Saturn going into the 1st House that I talked about in the last episode, that we really have to be careful about the obligations that we take on because we will tend to underestimate how much work and effort is going to take to fulfill those obligations. And before you know it, we’re not really in a position to do the things that are important to us.
Saturn aspecting the Midheaven can make us feel as if all of our goals are just never going to happen or they happen, and they aren’t quite as satisfying as we’d hoped. It’s very common when Saturn is aspecting the Midheaven to feel very tired and fed up and frustrated like you’ve reached your limit. But really, by the end of this transit, you can really have learned what works for you and what is really important for you in your life, especially as it pertains to your life path, your career, your calling. You’ll have begun to learn that the more you respect yourself, the more you will attract other people who will respect you as well.
And finally, Saturn aspecting Chiron. Now, a lot of you know I don’t really work with Chiron much, but I know enough about it to know that it represents the hurt places that we keep trying to deal with and often stumble over. This transit is an opportunity to take responsibility for how we respond to these hurts. Chiron is called the wounded healer, but we fail if we get stalled about how wounded we are. Saturn says, use the healer part of this symbolism to help others who have suffered similarly.
Well, that’s it for my three-part Mini-lesson on Saturn going into Pisces. I hope it’s been somewhat helpful for you. It has been a little whistle stop tour over the real high points of all of these things. And if you want more information on Saturn transits, I would recommend my books, “Astrological Transits” and “The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology” as a couple of good resources.
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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