April: Hello, invisible friend, April here, and the date today is June 12th, 2023. Welcome to Episode 182 of The Big Sky Astrology Podcast.
This week: A Gemini New Moon with a heavy dash of Neptune. Mercury aspects Saturn, Saturn turns retrograde, and I answer a Listener Question about what to do when someone judges you based on your Sun sign.
Mercury square Saturn (June 15, 2023, 9:09 am PDT)
The week begins with Mercury making a square aspect to Saturn on June 15th at 9:09 am PDT, at 7°12’ minutes Gemini and Pisces. The Sabian symbol for Mercury at the square is 8 Gemini, An industrial strike, and the Sabian symbol for Saturn is 8 Pisces, A girl blowing a bugle.
Mercury is the planet of speaking up and of communication. When it’s in a square aspect to Saturn, we feel in some way, unable to do that or as if it’s really difficult. But, with Mercury square Saturn on these particular Sabian symbols, I think it’s a clear message to speak up, not just for yourself and not just for people like you, but for those who are unlike you as well, and in some cases, for people that you might not even like.
Mercury square Saturn is also an excellent aspect for tackling Mercury related projects that have either been difficult to get started with or to bring to completion. So, if there’s something you’ve been putting off for a long time, maybe tackling some paperwork in your office, maybe a significant writing project, these would all be excellent to tackle this week as Mercury is square Saturn.
Mercury has that wonderful facility with language and ideas, but it doesn’t necessarily always have the staying power or discipline to sit down and really do something with those ideas. Saturn brings that sticktoitiveness and makes it possible for us to sit down and really serious with some things that we’ve been needing to express or take care of
Mercury sextile Venus (June 17, 2023, 8:29 am PDT)
On June 17th at 8:29 am PDT, Mercury in Gemini sextile Venus in Leo. This is an enormously creative combination. Gemini has that wonderful facility for language, Leo has a certain dramatic flair. This is a wonderful aspect to take advantage of opportunities for expressing yourself maybe through writing, maybe you’ve wanted to start your own podcast, this is a terrific aspect for things like that. So, take advantage on this day with this aspect for fun. Look at the Sabian symbol for Venus at 11° Leo, Children on a swing in a huge oak tree. So, this is the time to have fun. It’s a very fleeting aspect between two very fast-moving planets. The sextile is not a super strong aspect, but I like the lightness of it and I like the opportunities that it opens up.
Mercury is at 10°49’ Gemini, on the Sabian symbol, 11 Gemini, A new path of realism in experience. So, while it’s a fleeting aspect, it could sort of mark a new beginning perhaps in the way you are expressing yourself. If I put this together, I’d say this is an aspect that says “Let’s walk it like we talk it, and let’s do it with a certain amount of that Leo flair.”
Saturn Stations Retrograde (June 17, 2023, 10:27 am PDT)
On June 17th, Saturn stations to turn retrograde at 10:27 am PDT, at 7°12’ Pisces, on the Sabian symbol, 8 Pisces, A girl blowing a bugle. Saturn will turn direct again on November 4th at 0°30’ minutes Pisces. So, it may seem as though Saturn’s just gone into Pisces, and it was on March 7th – that is relatively recently. But it will back up and not go completely out of Pisces, but it will go back to the very first degree of the sign.
Now, when Saturn is retrograde, I always think retrogrades give the planet that appears to be moving backward more of a quality of looking inward. So, we’re to look within for the qualities related to that planet rather than looking outside us. So, while Saturn is retrograde, we’re encouraged to look inward for our sense of authority. It’s not a time when we should be looking outside of ourselves to ask somebody else, “What the heck should I do?” Instead, it’s about the ways in which we are the author, the authority of our own story, and looking deep within ourselves for guidance.
So, while Saturn’s retrograde, we will be revisiting the period from about March 7th through June 17th, because these are the degrees that Saturn was at during this time. So, what have you been seeing as you look at those in charge, authorities, bureaucrats, teachers, parents during this period of time? What have you been seeing outside of you about the best way to be responsible, to lead and to take authority? Then, after Saturn turns direct on November 4th, we’re ready to continue and ultimately complete our Saturn in Pisces journey.
Gemini New Moon (June 17, 2023, 9:37 pm PDT, 26º43’ Gemini)
And now for the Moon Report for the week of June 12th. It begins with the Gemini New Moon on June 17th at 9:37 pm PDT, at 26°43’ Gemini. This is the New Moon that we will take through this Lunar month and through the next 36 months of its New Lunar Phase Family and it features the Sun and Moon in a close square to Neptune, and Venus and Mars close to making squares with Uranus. Anytime we’re looking at the Sun, especially coming together with Neptune – and it squares Neptune on June 18th at 8:54 pm PDT – anytime we see the Sun coming together with Neptune, the question is Who are we? How have we been kind of sleepwalking or hiding out maybe only with our own people? And, how might we be empty and depleted?
Because the Sun, as it squares Neptune on June 18th is at 28 Gemini, A man declared bankrupt. And I’ve mentioned before when we’ve talked about this Sabian symbol, it’s coming up quite a bit lately, about, how this indicates a sense of losing everything, yes, but, when we’ve lost everything, we’re ready for something new, we are really ready for a new start. This same theme, I think fits in with the Venus-Mars conjunction in Leo in the New Moon Chart, and those two planets will be approaching their square to Uranus, especially with Venus aspecting Uranus, there is this suggestion of sudden financial change. But we can also interpret this as being about financial freedom, Venus with Uranus. So again, this suggestion that when we’ve lost everything, we have many more options available to us and a greater sense of freedom.
Gemini New Moons begin a fresh cycle of learning, of gathering experiences, engaging in new dialogues. Here were a few ideas of what to put behind your intentions at this New Moon. First of all, a fresh start in the way you communicate with the people close to you. We can really get into old patterns when we think and speak about the past, especially with the people we’re very close to, our family, our partner, our closest friends. This is a time to reboot and come up with a fresh way of communicating.
Also, to think of your persona in a new way, to tell a new story about who you are. For some, it might be an appropriate time to change your title or even your name. It is the time of year a lot of people are getting married, and sometimes people do change their name at that time. If you’ve been wanting to learn a new language, and I would include astrology in that category, because it is very much a language, this would be a great time for it. And also, it is a wonderful season for getting outside more.
So, you can get started with these things in the coming month, but we can also make longer range planning for this lunation as we look at the Lunar Phase Family Cycle that begins at this New Moon. The Lunar Phase Family Cycle begins with a New Moon and reaches critical points every nine months as there is a major Lunation at the same degree and sign roughly of that New Moon.
So in this case, we have this New Moon on June 17th at 26°43’ Gemini. We’ll have the First Quarter Moon in this Lunar Phase Family on March 16th at 2024 at 27°03’ Gemini, that’ll be the time to take some action on what it is that you’ve conceived at this New Moon. The Full Moon in the Lunar Phase Family Cycle comes on December 15th, 2024 at 20°52’ Gemini. And then, the Last Quarter Moon in the cycle comes on September 14th, 2025 at 21°52’ minutes Gemini, and that initiates the final nine month period of this cycle when we work through the Last Quarter and we look back and we think, “How well have I done? And how can I bring this project to a satisfying conclusion?”
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. The first two Void-of-Course periods are very short, not as short as one that we had last week, but still pretty short and will take place during the Last Quarter Moon Phase. These will be quick looking back periods. So, on June 13th, the Moon in Aries squares Pluto at 11:27 am PDT, it’ll be Void-of-Course for only four minutes before it enters Taurus at 11:31 am. It’s pretty much on the degree of the April 20th Solar Eclipse that was at 29°50’ Aries. Here, the Moon squares Pluto from 29°57’ Aries, and Pluto of course, having backed into Capricorn last week is the very end of the sign of Capricorn.
So, this particular combination has that Aries quality of impatience and new thinking, versus the Capricorn qualities of that systematic upward climb and also what we think of as “the establishment.” So, during this Void-of-Course Moon period, it’s very brief, just four minutes, but, set a timer and put the intention out there and say, “How can I change my emotional habits so that I’m less impulsive, but also less hide bound by tradition and the way things have to be done in quotes?”
On June 15th, the Moon in Taurus trines Pluto at 6:36 pm PDT, it’s Void-of-Course for just nine minutes before it enters Gemini at 6:45 pm. And the way I’m looking at this nice little quick nine-minute reframing of things is to say, “Hey, I’ve done well” -we’re ending on a trine – “And, I am more comfortable because of my choices”. And that is the voice of Moon in Taurus, coming together in a good connection with Pluto, saying, “Because of the things that I’ve done, I’m in a better stronger position. I know my own mind a little bit better. I’m in control of my emotions.”
Then, on June 17th, during the Moon’s New Phase, the Moon in Gemini squares Neptune, at 11:24 pm PDT, it’ll be Void-of-Course for four and a half hours before it enters Cancer on June 18th at 3:58 am. Picture walking down to the beach on a Moonless night and beware of crabs wanting to bite your toes. That’s the picture of the Moon in Gemini square Neptune for me. We’re in the dark at the New Moon and we have to be guided by something very deep and very intuitive. And this is especially true as the Moon is square Neptune.
And during this Void-of-Course Moon, which will happen when a lot of us are sleeping, it might be good before you go to bed to make a little promise to yourself, make a little note in your dream journal maybe and say, “I want really pay attention tonight to what my dreams are trying to tell me”. When the Moon is in Gemini, we’re always in dialogue. And in this case, we’re in dialogue with the unconscious to a great degree. So make that little intention to yourself, that little promise and see if we can find a way, just send the message to ourselves during Void-of-Course period to thread the needle between the rational and logical mind, the verbal side of our minds, that Moon in Gemini with Neptune and with what we bring up from the unconscious and to have them working well together, because Neptune can of course really benefit from that Gemini ability to put nameless things into language, into words.
Listener Question: So You’ve Been Sun-Sign Shamed!
In this week’s Listener Question, listener Lady Vuvuzela writes, “Do people with particular Sun signs really get along better with people of other particular Sun signs, say, those of the same triplicity? Do people with the same Sun signs play well together or find themselves in competition? How does one deal with being prejudged to have undesirable traits based on one’s Sun sign?
Being turned down for a date for having a supposedly incompatible or uncouth Sun sign is a clear indication that one has dodged a bullet. But what advice would you give to customers or listeners who have been told ‘We are not going to get along well because of your Sun sign?’ by a coworker, mother-in-law, probation officer, court ordered anger management counselor or fellow drag queen reality show participant? Asking for a friend.”
April: Lady VuVuzela, that is a simple and familiar question that has been quite provocatively stated. Let’s break this down. First of all, do certain Sun signs get along better with each other? Well, the signs that belong to a particular triplicity, so fire, air, earth or water, get along well together, while signs of the same modality say, cardinal fixed or mutable, will tend to kind of grate on one another and so on. But – and I cannot state this strongly enough – signs are not people, and people are not signs.
While I tend to squeal and hug my fellow fire Sun signs and especially my fellow Leos when we meet in the wild, to be fair, I kind of do that with most people who will let me. But one suspects that a Leo like Mick Jagger would never squeal, and rarely hug – and probably just stand back with his hands on his hips and give you a head-to-toe appraisal that’s a little bit mean, but somehow a little bit warming as well.
But people are infinitely complex, which is what makes proper astrology so much fun. And plenty of people born with the Sun in a particular sign behave much, much differently than others of their cohort or the things that we have read about that particular sign. So, while signs of the Zodiac are really helpful guides to understanding our charts, our personalities, our motivations in particular areas of life, it’s a lot more complicated than just looking at the Sun’s sign.
For example, aspects from other planets to your own Sun in your birth chart and the planet that rules the sign that your Sun is in, will really modify the basic characteristics of that Sun sign and how you react to seeing those classic traits when they show up in other people. If you have the Sun in a strong aspect to a planet like Saturn or Pluto, it really will tend to cool and tamp down the characteristics of that Sun sign, and it might be a little more noticeable with a fire ruled Sun, because they tend to be very dynamic and expressive.
But the same is true if you have the Sun in a water sign, in a tough aspect with Saturn or Pluto. Other planets in your chart that are in very different signs than the Sun, and I mean, this is especially true of the Ascendant and the Moon, will have a huge impact. If you have the Sun in Sagittarius, but you have, like, six other planets in Capricorn and you’re one of those late 1980s people – how Sagittarian are you really going to be? And therefore, how likely are you going to be to cozy up with Sagittarius’ traditional fire sign allies of Leo or heaven forbid, Aries, because that sign is classically an adversary of Capricorn, and there you’re sitting with yes, the Sun in Sagittarius, but a thousand things in Capricorn.
Another influence will come from things like age and gender, birth order, upbringing and the nature of the relationship itself, which is going to be really different with your anger management counselor than your mother-in-law, we hope.
Now, as for being prejudged based on your Sun sign, it is like any prejudice and it is equally unacceptable. Let’s say, a person judging you has had their heart broken by a Pisces at some point, let’s say, and so, all subsequent Pisces, people must pay the price. Let’s say you’ve had early exposure to the oeuvre and wardrobe of Madonna, and this may have led to an assumption that all Leos are self-serving and vain glorious. I always think that a statement like, “Oh, I can’t stand Scorpios. Everyone I’ve ever met has just been evil”. A statement like that speaks volumes about the person who makes the statement and nothing of substance about Scorpios.
How do you deal with such a statement when it’s addressed to you? I honestly have never been in that position. Although, a lot of people when they learn I’m a Leo, assume that I want to talk about nothing but myself and dance on a table with a rose between my teeth.
Now, I would say, I probably enjoy these things a little more than a Taurus, but a lot less than Madonna. But if someone says such a thing to you, remember my motto. “Signs are not people.” And you tell them, “Look, the reason we’re not going to get along well has nothing to do with my Sun sign and everything to do with your attitude.”
Just remember, you are more than the sign that the Sun was in at your birth. You are more than your whole chart just as you are not defined by your gender, your race, your birth order, or even your drag queen persona.
Thank you for that great and lively question, Lady Vuvuzela!
If you, invisible friend, have a question that you would 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
That is everything 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, maybe leave a rating or review, and I hope that you’ll help spread the word by telling an astrology loving friend about the podcast. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at bigskyastropod.com.
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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!
© 2023 by April Elliott Kent
