TRANSCRIPT Ep. 196 | Podathon Day Three: Mercury’s Mental and Manual Might!
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Hello, invisible friend April here, and the date today is September 6th, 2023. Welcome to episode 196 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast, and to day three of the fourth annual Podathon. If you are a relatively new listener to the podcast, you might be wondering what the heck is a Podathon? This is the week each year when I bring you five daily episodes, including all the week’s big astrological news, some lunar happenings, and a special topic or two.
Of course, this is also the week when I make my appeal for contributions, which helps me cover the costs of producing the podcast all year long. But first, I really wanna take a moment to say thank you to those of you who’ve helped the show over the past year. I really couldn’t make the podcast without you, and I truly appreciate your support.
And because this podcast is funded by the audience, I hope to continue to earn your support this year as well. In each episode, as many of you know, I shout out a few of my donors names, and if you don’t want me to call your name out, that’s okay. We have a way to get around that. But if you have contributed over the past year and didn’t hear your shout out, just email me and I’ll tell you which episode it was on.
Anyway, to encourage your contributions. Here are this year’s fantastic giveaways. First, everyone who donates $25 or more, as well as our ongoing monthly pod pal contributors will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win one of these prizes.
Two donors will receive a personalized copy of my followed by a Moon shadow eclipse report to get you ready for October’s eclipses. This report actually contains three years of eclipses following them through your birth chart, and it’s a $35 value.
Another lucky donor will win free enrollment in your choice of one of my upcoming courses, a $249 value. One lucky listener will win a 60 minute personal astrology reading with me, valued at $210 and one grand prize winner will win a 90 minute reading with me, a $269 value. But April, you ask, you should see my electric bill this month.
What if I can’t contribute that much to the podcast? Anyone who donates $10 or more will receive access to my special bonus episodes for donors only, that come out at the equinoxes and solstices.
And I also wanna say, I know that not everyone can contribute financially at all, and that is okay. Here are a few easy free ways you can help the podcast. First of all, if you like the show, please subscribe or follow the show on your app of choice.
This truly is the best way you can support the show to be discovered by other listeners. You could leave a five star rating or write a nice review either on Apple Podcasts or any of the other platforms that allow comments, these really make my day. You can join the conversation on my website and leave a comment at bigskyastropad.com.
Just click on whichever episode you want to comment on, and finally recommend the show to an astrology loving friend.
However you choose to show your support, please know that it is deeply appreciated. And now for today’s episode!
Today’s Sky
As I said at the top of the show, I will be covering the week’s big astrological news in my daily episodes. There’s actually not a whole lot happening this week, but the things that are happening will be covered on that day’s episode. I’m also taking a closer look at the Moon than I often have time for, and we’ll look at a couple of special topics as well as it happens today.
Mercury Cazimi
The Sun and Mercury make their conjunction at 4:09 AM Pacific time. Now a planet struggles a bit when it’s too close to the Sun. In the case of Mercury, these can be times when we might be a little too subjective in our thinking, not see things really clearly, but the exception is when the planet is at the moment of its exact conjunction to the Sun, in a condition called cazimi – in the heart of the Sun. It’s very powerful at that moment. This will happen a little bit early in the morning here on the west coast of the United States, but if you’re in another time zone, this could be a great time to take advantage of the power and clarity of mind and communications that are represented by this cazimi condition of Mercury.
The Moon Report
And this brings us to today’s Moon report. This strong Mercury condition is really good news for the Moon, which today is in Gemini, which is a sign ruled by Mercury, and it’s the sign of communication.
It is in its last quarter phase, exact at 3:21 PM at 14º03’ Gemini, and coincidentally, it is on the Sabian symbol 15 Gemini, Two Dutch children talking, which gives us a lovely image of conversing with others who speak our language.
Now it’s worth noting that the Moon squares Mercury at 1:45 PM Pacific Time. So what we feel won’t necessarily match up that well with what we say, but it’s a very Mercurial day.
Greetings from Listener Emily
Emily: Well, hello, invisible friend! April, I’m a huge fan of your podcast. My name is Emily, and I have taken classes from you and I’m not even sure how I first found you, but I’m pretty sure it might’ve been Instagram. Anyhow, I just wanted to say thank you so much for what you are doing. It’s just an absolute blessing and gift to the world that you’re sharing your knowledge in the way that you do, and helping so many of us learn about astrology and find ourselves throughout the process. I hope you have a magnificent Podathon, and I will look forward to hearing more in the future!
Wednesday is Mercury’s Day
In this week’s episodes, I’m also talking a little bit about which of the seven visible planets rules each day of the week, and what are the sorts of things that are favored on each planet’s day? Well, Wednesday is Mercury’s Day. Mercury is prominent in today’s transits, and it’s also the ruling planet of Wednesday, the day of the week.
The name Wednesday is to derive from Wodensday, a nod to the Norse God Odin, which was called Woden in old English. Woden was a God of wisdom and poetry, but also of war and death. The two eventually came together to refer to the same day of the week because both Woden and Mercury were associated with communication, knowledge and travel.
In the middle of the 20th century, maybe earlier than that, there were traditions of which daily household chores were suited to which day of the week. Wednesday being Mercury’s Day rules, detailed work requiring manual dexterity, so it was a day of mending clothing. Other than replacing the occasional button, there are many of us today who never do any real sewing; but communicative, quick-witted Mercury has other useful tools to share.
If you have students in your home, they might find that studying and test taking go especially smoothly on Mercury’s Day. In the office, use Wednesday to tackle research, write reports, file paperwork, interview new employees, and schedule meetings at home. Today is the day to catch up on correspondence, like letter writing, email and phone calls. To write short articles or essays to balance your checkbook and to run errands in your neighborhood.
And don’t forget to fill your gas tank today – because Mercury rules cars!
A Closer Look at the Lunar Phase Family Cycles
This week I’m taking the opportunity to talk just a little bit more about a few of the concepts that come up on nearly every episode of the podcast. Today, I want to speak a little bit about the Lunar Phase Family cycles.
Now, I’ve worked with the Moon ever since I’ve been an astrologer, and for the past couple of decades, I’ve put together a workbook at each New Moon that I send out to my subscribers to help them watch the Moon throughout the month and throughout its cycle. But my innate orientation toward astrology really is toward a bigger picture and long-range use of astrology cycles.
You can look at the New Moon sign and house of your chart that it’s falling in, and the aspects that it makes to planets in your chart to decide what your best work is in a given month. And that’s a great system for handling day-to-day affairs. But it’s always kind of bothered me that I didn’t have a way to use the Moon in more long-range planning.
But this is where the Lunar Phase Family Cycle comes in. And here I need to give a shout out, as I often do, to my good friend Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste, who was the one who first tipped me off to this very important lunar cycle. It was a cycle that was identified and introduced by Astrologer Dietrich Pessin, who’s based in the Boston area of the United States. She has a fantastic book that I can’t recommend highly enough. It’s called Lunar Shadows III: The Predictive Power of Moon Phases and Eclipses.
Let’s take a look at the Lunar Phase Family Cycle and how it works. It’s really quite simple. This is sometimes called the lunar gestation cycle because it correlates with the human gestation cycle of nine months. And what this cycle does is track each New Moon’s degree through a 36-month cycle with major lunations occurring near the same degree and sign of the New Moon, every nine months.
So for example, let’s look at this month’s New Moon in Virgo, which is on September 14th at 21º58’ Virgo. Nine months later, there’s a Virgo First Quarter Moon on June 13th, 2024 at 23º39’ Virgo. Then nine months after that, there’s a Full Moon on March 13th, 2025 at 23º56’ Virgo. And finally, another nine months later on December 11th, 2025, a Last Quarter Moon at 20º 4’ Virgo. And then that Last Quarter Moon completes about nine months later.
So presto, we have this relevant way of taking the symbolism of each New Moon and carrying it forward for a considerable period of time.
Now the Moon symbolizes many things among them, the way we make our way instinctively through the world. It’s a very changeable symbol, and every lunar cycle is a story of change or at least of alteration. At each New Moon, a story is beginning, and it is a story that shows potential for this kind of change.
And as much as we might like to make wishes and intentions and plans about the way a story will turn out, I’m not sure it always works out that way. Ask any novelist and they will say that they’ve had the experience of writing a story, and at some point they realize that in the fictional world they’ve created, the story has to go in a different direction than the one they initially conceived. And I like to think of all the lunar phase cycles as being that kind of story, a living narrative that unfolds in a way that makes sense, but that we can’t necessarily completely visualize at its outset at the New Moon.
Now, are you going to track each and every one of these stories over three years? We’re really only going to be tracking the New Moons that make critical aspects to your birth chart. So let’s say for this New Moon, 21º58’, Virgo falls very close to a conjunction in your chart with the Sun or the Moon or the Ascendant. Or maybe the New Moon is an eclipse, or you are just initiating something important around a particular New Moon. And then I think this cycle can really help you track how the critical moments in the story will unfold, and something about the timing of that.
Make Your Donation During Podathon Week!
Well, that is everything I have on my show sheet, so I’m gonna wrap this one up. Thanks for listening to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast and for joining me in this Fourth annual Podathon. This weekly podcast is audience funded, and your generous donations Help me keep the podcast coming to you without ads. To make a one-time donation in any amount or to become a regular monthly donor, just go to BigSkyAstropod.com.
Anyone who donates $10 or more will receive access to my special bonus episodes for donors only, that come out at the equinoxes and solstices. And if you donate $25 or more, you’ll automatically be entered in my raffle for a chance to win one of my Followed by a Moonshadow eclipse reports, enrollment in one of my upcoming courses, or a free 60 or 90 minute reading with me.
I will be thanking every donor on the air in the months to come. If you don’t want me to mention your name, please email me at April(at)bigskyastrology(dot)com.
Thanks very much for listening. Join me again, bright and early tomorrow morning for another episode, and until then, keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars!
© 2023 by April Elliott Kent
