TRANSCRIPT Ep. 213 | The Capricorn Solstice: Demanding Recognition!

Transcript Ep. 213 | The Capricorn Solstice: Demanding Recognition!

Hello Invisible Friend, April here, and the date today is December 18th, 2023. Welcome to Episode 213 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, a Pisces First Quarter Moon, the Sun enters Capricorn marking the Capricorn Solstice, Mercury retrograde re-enters Sagittarius, and Venus opposes Uranus. And I answer a listener question about how to deal with fear and anxiety about big transits in your chart.

Mercury trine Jupiter (Dec. 18, 2023, 6:25 am PST)

The week begins with Mercury’s trine to Jupiter on December 18th at 6:28 am. Pacific Time, at 05º21’ Capricorn and Taurus. This is the second of three Mercury-Jupiter trines. The first was on December 7th, then this one, and then a final one on January 19th. And I think that these trines describe a process of sticking with something and succeeding through sheer grit and determination. Mercury and Jupiter are in Earth signs and they’re not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Mercury’s Sabian symbol is 6 Capricorn, Dark archway with ten logs at the bottom. This symbol indicates that you have the supplies that you need to get the job done. I think of those ten logs at the bottom of the archway as being extra supplies, extra wood for building. And the Sabian symbol for Jupiter is 6 Taurus, A bridge being built across a gorge. This implies to me that new pathways are opening up between us and the people who could help us. Look for the finishing point in this series around January 19th, and look especially to the houses of your birth chart that have Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces on the cusp. These are the areas of your chart and representing areas of your life where you currently can build something new that ultimately will find success.

Pisces First Quarter Moon (Dec. 19, 2023, 10:39 am PST)

Now for the Moon Report, and it begins with the Pisces First Quarter Moon on December 19th at 10:39 a.m. Pacific Time. The Moon in the First Quarter chart is in a conjunction with Neptune and they are both square the Sun. This is the action point in the lunar cycle that began at the December 12th New Moon in Sagittarius.

And in that chart, of course, the Sun and Moon were both square Neptune. So it is gonna be a feature of all of our lunations this lunar month. At the First Quarter, it’s essential to act, but we don’t need to know exactly what we’re doing, exactly what the endpoint is, and that’s fortunate, because when we have a First Quarter Moon that is connecting with Neptune, things are a little hazy.

It is important, though, to make some decision that can be refined later on. And that New Moon in Sagittarius was so much about having a big dream, something that you want to look forward to and that expands the horizons of your life. So do something at this First Quarter that is related to that. And as time goes on and closer to the Full Moon, the picture should become a little more clear.

Lunar Phase Family Cycle

This is the First Quarter Moon in a Lunar Phase Family Cycle that began at the New Moon on March 21st, 2023 at 00º49’ Aries. All of the other lunations in this Lunar Phase Family Cycle are in late Pisces. So this is the First Quarter and then the Full when things become a little more clear about something that we set in motion back at the Vernal Equinox in 2023. And that Full Moon is on Sep. 17, 2024.

Then the series ends with the Last Quarter Moon on June 18th, 2025. And then that will be followed by nine more months of working through the last quarter phase and the completion of this lunar phase family cycle. So look to the area of your chart that contains between about 25 degrees Pisces and 1 degree Aries. And that can help you pinpoint the area of your chart and the area of your life where you’re going through a bigger cycle of transformation.

Void-of-Course Moon periods

Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. The Void-of-Course Moon periods are going to be on the shorter side this week. Because Pluto is at the very end of Capricorn, so the Moon will make its aspect to that 29th degree and then it probably only takes it an hour or an hour and a half after that to move into the next sign, so that it’s no longer Void-of-Course.

On December 19th, the Moon in Pisces sextiles Pluto at 1:03 p.m. Pacific Time. It’s Void of Course for about one and three quarter hours and then enters Aries at 2:47 p.m. Sextiles always give us an opportunity. So, in this Void-of-Course Moon period comes an opportunity, kindness, networking, reaching out to others as indicated by that Moon in Pisces, manages to get us connected with those who are in power or are influential. So I suppose the work you can be doing for this brief Void-of-Course Moon period is to reach out. Reach out to someone who you’ve been wanting to get connected to, either in a business sense or in a personal sense, who you think is going to be influential and helpful to you.

On December 21st, the Moon in Aries squares Pluto at 5:11 p.m. Pacific Time. It’ll be Void-of-Course for a little over an hour and a half. It enters Taurus at 6:50 p.m. When we see a square between the Moon and another planet beginning a Void-of-Course period, we know that a conflict is coming. And the conflict here is about calling the shots for yourself.

And being courageous in moving forward in a direction that calls to you, versus Pluto and those forces that you can’t really control, that might make it difficult or challenging to move ahead in your own way. During this Void-of-Course Moon period, set a goal for yourself and commit to it.

On December 23rd, the Moon in Taurus trines Pluto at 10:40 p.m. Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for about an hour and a half, and then enters Gemini on December 24th at 12:15 a.m., just after midnight. A trine between the Moon and another planet brings a reward. And in this case, the patience and practicality of the Moon in Taurus finds its reward through recognition or help from, again, those who are important or in positions of influence.

We seem to have found our stride at this Moon trine to Pluto, and during this Void-of-Course period, which here in the United States is pretty late in the evening anyway, sleep the sleep of the righteous, go to bed noting a few items of gratitude is a good idea for the Moon in Taurus.

Venus opposed Uranus (Dec. 20, 2023, 11:04 pm PST)

On December 20th at 11:04 p.m. Pacific Time, Venus in Scorpio opposes Uranus in Taurus at 19º 39’. The Sabian symbol for Venus is 20 Scorpio, A woman drawing two dark curtains aside. And Uranus is on 20 Taurus, Wind, clouds, and haste. Well, we need to open up the curtains, don’t we? To let in the light.

To help us identify what it is that we really care about with Venus and Scorpio. And what it is that we love. And what brings us pleasure. When we open up those curtains, we look out the window and we see this Uranus: wind, clouds, and haste. Things are moving quickly. Everyone around us seems to be rushing.

And we might look at that and think, Ooh, that’s a little too much. Maybe I want to close these curtains again. But you really don’t need to move any more quickly than you are ready to move. It’s just important, I think, at this opposition, to open ourselves up to new possibilities. New ways of looking at things, and to be a little more open and daring in leaving ourselves accessible.

Mercury sextile Saturn (Dec. 21, 2023, 4:33 am PST)

On December 21st at 4:33 am Pacific Time, it’s the second of three sextiles between Mercury and Saturn. The first was on December 2nd, and the final one will be on January 18th. It’s a sextile. We know there is an opportunity. We know there’s an offer or a dialogue between these two planets. This speaks to me of being willing to listen and to understand, and that by doing that, we create movement in an emotional impasse.

So, if there is somebody in your life that you’ve been estranged from, that you have been feeling that you want to reach out to, that you haven’t been in communication and you really would like to be, this is a pretty good aspect for doing that. But know that it’s going to require listening and understanding, rather than restating your own point of view, Mercury with Saturn also speaks of using our words responsibly, of working towards projects that have to do with writing or learning, anything to do with communicating, and to also revisit any ideas from around December 2nd. When we had this first sextile.

Sun enters Capricorn (December 21, 2023, 7:27 pm PST)

The Sun enters Capricorn on December 21st at 7:27 p.m. Pacific Time. It is in this sign through January 20th, 2024. So, welcome to Capricorn Season. The Sun talks about what makes us shine. And as it is moving through Capricorn, what makes us shine is our maturity, responsibility, ethics, and leadership.

This is the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Winter is a time when we naturally contract. It’s often very cold here in the Northern Hemisphere, and we’re wanting to draw in. It’s perhaps a less sociable time than as the Sun goes into Aquarius in late January.

For now, it’s a good time to sit with ourselves, those close to us, and be thinking not in terms of resolutions, per se, for the new year. I don’t love that concept. It is like trying to make a resolution at the New Moon when everything’s dark and we’re not really sure yet what it is we want or where we’re headed.

At the Sun in Capricorn and right around the solstice, what a lovely time to sit by the fire or the stove or with some candles, some source of light. Because the solstice reminds us that this is as dark as it gets, and soon the days become incrementally longer. There’s more brightness, there is more light.

And within a few months, we’ll have a very good idea of what we want to accomplish in this year. All we can really do now during Capricorn season is investigate it, look back at 2023, see what was important to you over the past year, what worked out, what didn’t. And how you may want to refine your big goals going into 2024.

Sun and Mercury conjoined (Dec. 22, 2023, 10:54 a.m. PST)

The Sun and Mercury make a conjunction on December 22nd at 10:54 a.m. Pacific Time at 00º39’ Capricorn. This is on the Sabian symbol 1, Capricorn, Indian chief demanding recognition. And this is, of course, the Sabian symbol that the Sun is on when it enters Capricorn each year. And I like the symbolism of the Indian chief demanding recognition, because that is the soul of Capricorn, especially in our birth charts.

Where do we want to be recognized? I’m a little bit mad at this Indian chief though, because I keep wondering: Is it the same one from that symbol, Scorpio 29: Indian woman pleading to her chief for the lives of her children? Coming up against that Sabian symbol, as planets were getting to the end of Scorpio and going into Sagittarius, and I felt so sad every time I saw it. But then again, we really don’t know how that story worked out. Maybe the chief was kind and just. But however it resolved, it is the recognition now coming his way at the Sun-Mercury conjunction. We are recognized for what we are, and we see ourselves for what we are.

Sometimes we’re a positive authority, and other times we’re not at our best, and we let ruthlessness get the best of us. As the Sun comes together with Mercury, it’s the time to look at ourselves really deeply and decide, ooh, is this the story I want to tell about myself? And, is this the story I want others to recognize about me?

Mercury reenters Sagittarius (Dec. 22, 2023, 10:17 pm PST)

Mercury retrograde reenters Sagittarius on December 22nd at 10:17pm Pacific Time. Mercury was in Sag between November 9th and December 1st. Revisit your ideas from that time period. When Mercury is in Capricorn, we tend to think a little more practically, what is possible. But in Sagittarius, our view is much bigger.

The sky is the limit. Open up your idea about what is possible for you, particularly in the coming year. Think bigger for yourself. And then, when Mercury goes back into Capricorn, you can make it a reality.

Sun sextile Saturn (Dec. 24, 2023, 9:28 am PST)

The Sun sextiles Saturn on December 24th at 9:28 AM Pacific Time at 02º37’ Capricorn and Pisces. The Sabian symbol for the Sun is 3 Capricorn, A human soul receptive to growth and understanding, and Saturn is on 3 Pisces, A petrified forest. So, the opportunity in this combination is about being receptive to growth and understanding.

And by doing this, we should be able to see some, if not resolution, then at least progress in whatever we’re feeling so stuck about. And especially on a feeling level, because Saturn is in Pisces. And it’s on that intriguing symbol, A petrified forest. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen petrified wood. It’s very beautiful.

It looks like stone and it’s very, very hard to make your way through something that’s like stone. And so, once again, are there people in your life that you’ve been estranged from, emotionally having difficulty connecting with? Because this Sun sextile to Saturn provides an opportunity to make your way through some of that impasse.

Listener Question: Scary Transits

In this week’s Listener Question, Listener Veronica asked, “Hi April, I’m a Pisces, Sun sign at 4 degrees, and I can’t help but be very nervous and pessimistic about Saturn entering Pisces. My North Node is also in Pisces at 23 degrees. What are the positives about having a Saturn transit to the natal Sun?

What other advice can you offer if someone like me is nervous or fearful , about an upcoming transit?”

Well, thank you for your question, Veronica. You sent this to me all the way back in February when Saturn was just getting ready to move into Pisces. But now that it has turned direct, it is revisiting the first degrees of Pisces again.

Back in Episode 168, I took a look at Saturn in Pisces in aspect to each of the natal planets. And you might find it helpful to listen back to that one for details about Saturn with the Sun and the North Node. For now, I mostly want to address the last part of your question about how we can deal with feeling nervous or fearful about an upcoming transit or eclipse or progression or whatever else might look kind of scary in our charts.

I touched on this just a little bit in Episode 211, answering Listener Rafael’s question about the upcoming transit of Uranus in Gemini, but that was a little more of a universal question about something we’ll all be dealing with. How about transits in your own birth chart? I can tell you that many, many of my clients come to me when they’re dealing with transits from Saturn and Pluto to their birth chart. Because these are transits that tend to hurt. In the case of Saturn, we can be faced with discouraging circumstances, problems with authority figures, trouble making progress on projects that are important to us.

This is especially true in the case of the conjunction and the square. The conjunction feels like a big rock is sitting on you. The square is more like frustration, like getting an endless succession of doors slammed in your face.

As I wrote recently to my email subscribers, I don’t believe that the planets want to punish us. I believe that they are absolutely in our corner, teachers helping us to learn and grow. I wrote that more or less to reassure myself as much as anything because I’ve been going through a Saturn transit of my own that’s been kind of frustrating and discouraging.

And of course, Pluto will move back into Aquarius on January 20th. So many who have planets in those first couple of degrees of Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, or Scorpio will begin grappling with Pluto’s process of breaking us down so that we can eventually build ourselves back up. You can listen to Episode 171 for my mini-lesson about Pluto aspecting natal planets.

Because here I’m really going to focus more on Saturn, which has gone back to the beginning of Pisces. It’s natural to feel some anxiety when you’re looking at big planets transiting important parts of your birth chart. Especially the Sun, the Moon, or the Ascendant, we always assume the worst. This is especially true of Pluto transits, and anyone who’s been through a long battle with Pluto is actually really surprised when a Saturn transit hits and is really miserable, because we think, man, if I survived Pluto, I could survive anything, and of course you can.

But Saturn is hard. Saturn is like waking up one morning in boot camp. The sergeant is hollering at you. You’re forced to run or do laps or push-ups until you’re ready to throw up. Saturn pushes us to the limit, physically and mentally. But the sergeant is building you up so that you’re strong enough to defend yourself and others against whatever comes your way.

And that’s pretty much what Saturn is doing as well. If you’re trying to do something worthwhile, Saturn will throw obstacles in your path. And by overcoming those obstacles, you become stronger. And you become more certain. That this is the right thing for you to be doing, because if you’re willing to give up when things get tough, well, you’re probably not doing the thing that’s right for you.

When it comes to Saturn with the natal Sun, the question is something like this: How can you make yourself a stronger, more responsible, and mature version of yourself? This is no time for spending hours in bed. This is time for pushing yourself, starting a workout routine, especially weightlifting, cleaning your house, anything in your life that’s holding you back from being really proud of yourself is something you simply have to push back on right now.

As Saturn’s been in Pisces since March of this year, I’ve seen lots of people needing to practice being kinder and more forgiving. And that includes to themselves as well as others, and also to nurture a spiritual practice to help them weather tough times. But, being kind and forgiving to ourselves is not the same as giving up on the things that are hard.

It’s just that when we slip up, or we have that thought of giving up, give ourselves a little talking to in a gentler tone of voice than we might usually use.

Veronica, I hope this transit of Saturn has not been as difficult as you’d feared. Look back to late April and late August when Saturn was making its first two conjunctions to your Sun. What were you struggling with then? Is it easy to see a connection between those two time periods? And is now time to give something up or time to buckle down and try harder and make that final push?

The final conjunction in early January should be a little easier, because you’ve already met Saturn twice. Now, it’s just time to put that learning into practice, and the good news is, Saturn will not make another conjunction to your Sun for 29 years.

Veronica, I hope that helps. And if you, Invisible Friend, have a question you’d like me to answer on a future episode, just leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast, or you can email me at April(at)bigskyastrology(dot)com and put “Podcast Question” in the subject line.

Donor Thanks

Well 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, please be sure to subscribe or follow the show in your app of choice. Leave a rating or a 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. I want to thank everyone who’s shown such warm support for the podcast over the past year, particularly during my recent pod a thon. On each episode, I’m thanking some of my financial donors by name.

This week, I’m giving a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to Heather Hull and Karen Carothers, who has contributed to every podathon!

Heather and Karen, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting the show with your donations. If you’d like to support the show and receive access to my bonus episodes for the equinoxes and solstices, including this week’s episode for the Capricorn Solstice. Just go to BigSkyAstropod.com and make a contribution of $10 or more to get those special episodes. You can make a one-time donation in any amount or become an ongoing monthly contributor.

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!