TRANSCRIPT Ep. 241 (July 1, 2024)
Cancer New Moon: Happy Overindulgence!
Hello Invisible Friend, April here, and the date today is July 1st, 2024. Welcome to Episode 241 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, Neptune stations retrograde, prompting introspection. Mercury enters Leo and aspects Neptune and Pluto. The Cancer New Moon encourages us to gather with loved ones over a satisfying meal. Venus and Mars meet with Saturn, and the Sun squares off with the lunar nodes, marking the midpoint between eclipse seasons. And I answer a listener question about Solar Arc directions.
Neptune stations retrograde (July 2, 2024, 3:40 am PDT)
Neptune stations retrograde this week, on July 2nd at 3:40 AM Pacific Time, at 29º 55 minutes. Pisces. When planets are retrograde, it marks a time to look within about matters connected with the symbolism of that planet. Neptune is a planet of spirituality and how we look for it in the world. Neptune Stationing Retrograde marks the beginning of a five-month period of increasingly looking within for spiritual guidance. There are many sources outside of ourselves that we can look to for some kind of spiritual inspiration or guidance, but when Neptune is retrograde, it’s particularly important to look within and ask ourselves at a very deep level, what is it that we believe is our spiritual purpose?
What do we believe is the most appropriate path to pursue enlightenment? Neptune turns retrograde at 29º55’ Pisces, and the Sabian symbol for this point is The great stone face. And the way it is sometimes written is, A majestic rock formation resembling a face, is idealized by a boy who takes it as his ideal of greatness, and as he grows up he begins to look like it.
I think the message here is that what we idealize as great is what we will seek to become. And while Neptune is retrograde, it is about the process of looking inside for our idea of greatness. Everything that we have been taking in from outside ourselves with messages of spirituality and self-improvement, we now, while Neptune is retrograde, need to sort through and decide what we are going to keep as a permanent part of our spiritual philosophy. Neptune is retrograde until December 7th.
Mercury trine Neptune (July 2, 2024, 4:53 am PDT)
Neptune shows up again on July 2nd at 4:53 am Pacific Time, as Mercury makes a trine aspect to Neptune. Mercury is about the ways we process information that comes into our lives. If Neptune is to a great degree about the spiritual elements of our journey, what it is that we believe about why we’re here and what happens after we’re gone? Mercury is the function of looking at that analytically. And again, this is Mercury trine Neptune that has just turned retrograde. So it is taking our own analytical capabilities, our own critical thinking, and applying that to these Neptune principles that we have absorbed and that we’re now sifting through.
This is a good aspect for creative work, for imaginative thinking and communication. Mercury is still in Cancer, barely, at this aspect, and that’s a less chatty sign for Mercury, generally speaking. But this is about communicating in ways that aren’t necessarily verbal, that have to do with touch and body language, the ways that we communicate with each other when we’re not using words.
Mercury enters Leo (July 2, 2024, 5:50 am PDT)
Mercury enters Leo later that day, July 2nd, at 5:50 am Pacific Time. It will be in Leo through July 25th. And the quality of Mercury in Leo is dramatically different than Mercury in Cancer. Mercury in Cancer is much quieter. Mercury entering Leo is the prompt to communicate with passion and color and creativity. It is much more outgoing and talkative than Mercury in Cancer.
And during this time that Mercury is in this sign, it is a good time to tackle creative projects. Leo is a very creative sign, and it’s creative in the sense of gathering different elements that it’s encountered and putting them together in a new package, in another form.
It isn’t strictly speaking about writing a song or painting a picture, things that we often think of as creative. It is simply that way that we wade out into the world and take disparate items, and then make something new from them.
If there are things that you have been wanting to express during the time that Mercury has been in Cancer, but you felt a little bit restrained from doing that, now will be the time that you can express yourself much more freely. Most of all, Leo is the sign of self-expression. And anything you’re wanting to express, whether it’s an opinion about something, a feeling about a relationship, or some conventionally creative project, Mercury in Leo’s time is a fine time to be doing all of that.
Sun square Lunar Nodes (July 2, 2024, 11:26 am PDT)
As it happens, July 2nd is an incredibly busy day in the skies. At 11:26 am Pacific time, the Sun makes a square aspect to the lunar nodes at 11º20’ Cancer and Aries and Libra. When the Sun squares the lunar nodes twice each year, it marks the midpoint between eclipse seasons. The Sun and the nodes here are close to the degree of the upcoming October 2nd solar eclipse at 10º Libra. Especially if there is something in your birth chart between about, let’s say, 6 and 14 degrees of the cardinal signs, Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, this could be a pretty influential solar eclipse.
And as the transiting Sun now is square those points, it is almost activating that eclipse point this far out. So, this week as the Sun is squaring those nodes, know that it’s a little bit of a preview of coming attractions for that October solar eclipse.
Venus trine Saturn (July 2, 2024, 6:41 am PDT)
Now, also on July 2nd, Venus is trine to Saturn at 6:41 pm Pacific Time. That’s at 19º25 minutes’ Cancer and Pisces. Venus is on the Sabian symbol 20 Cancer, Gondoliers in a serenade, and Saturn is on 20 Pisces, A table set for an evening meal. They’re both really lovely symbols, and the trine between Venus and Saturn is very sweet itself. It’s not sweet in the way you might see with Venus trine Jupiter, or even Venus trine Neptune. They have a softer quality. When Venus, the planet of relationship and affection, fun, caring, comes together with Saturn, there is a much more serious element to it. But that’s not bad in and of itself.
It could be that you have been in a relationship that has been progressing and now takes a turn to seem more serious. Perhaps we’re willing to make some kind of commitment to somebody in our life. It may not be romantic. It might be a friendship that you decide you’re a little more willing to trust this person, to rely on them, to confide in them.
Venus is also a planet connected with finances, and at the time it connects with Saturn, especially by trine, we might see ourselves taking on financial commitments. Maybe take out a mortgage on a house, maybe see a financial advisor, or just sit down and really review your financial situation and plans for the future. Saturn is a really good planet for future planning.
Mercury opposed Pluto (July 3, 2024, 12:27 am PDT)
Well, finally moving on from July 2nd. On July 3rd at 12:27 am Pacific Time, Mercury opposes Pluto at 1º19′ Leo and Aquarius. A connection between Mercury and Pluto gives a great intensity to our thinking, our focus, and our communication. I keep a notebook next to my desk where I keep notes of things that I need to do for my business, especially technologically, that are really challenging and when we have aspects like this one, Mercury with Pluto, sometimes Mercury with Saturn, I find those are really good times to dig deep, troubleshoot, research, and figure out exactly how to solve these kinds of pesky little problems.
It’s also an interesting aspect for uncovering mysteries and secrets. Pluto is on the Sabian symbol 2 Aquarius, An unexpected thunderstorm, and this means we can discover things that are a little bit troubling and unexpected. But it is better, often, to have them uncovered so that we can deal with them.
Mars sextile Saturn (July 5, 2024, 12:02 pm PDT)
Mars sextiles Saturn on July 5th at 12:02 pm Pacific Time, at 19º23’ Taurus, and Pisces. Mars is the planet of action. It is the doing planet. And when it connects with Saturn there’s an opportunity, or invitation to do important things. Because this is a sextile aspect, which says that if we take advantage of this opportunity, something really worthwhile could come about, and if we choose not to, it probably won’t be the end of the world. But this is an opportunity to do important things, things that will last. And it’s an invitation to take on additional authority or responsibility in some area of your life. We just have to be sure that we’re not taking on more burden than we’re prepared for, which is also the way Saturn can sometimes work.
The Sabian symbol for Mars at the sextile is 20 Taurus, Wind, Clouds, and Haste, and it does advise us a little bit against jumping into things too quickly, which Mars in Taurus won’t normally do, but it can happen. And the Sabian symbol for Saturn is 20 Pisces, A table set for an evening meal. So it sounds like there’s an especially nice outcome that is available if we don’t jump too impulsively into something, but we accept an invitation to get closer to people, to spend more time with them, make more of a commitment in whatever projects we’re choosing to take on.
Cancer New Moon (July 5, 2024, 3:57 pm PDT)
And now it’s time for the Moon Report. It begins with a Cancer New Moon on July 5th at 3:57 pm Pacific Time. It’s at 14º23’ Cancer, on the Sabian symbol, 15 Cancer, A group of people who have overeaten and enjoyed it. The New Moon point is in a conjunction with Venus. That speaks of the indulgence, maybe the “having overeaten.”
It is also sextile Mars and trine Saturn. So the Mars sextile to Saturn that we spoke about earlier on this day is very much a part of this New Moon chart and speaks of opportunities for productivity, for accomplishing big things through your own efforts, as well as with the help of others.
Cancer is the New Moon of home and family. This New Moon season could be the time of undertaking an important change to your home. It could mean investing in a home, adding to a home, new people could come into your family, so there could be births, there could be marriages, and also possibly in addition to that group of people that we all have, who were not born into our families, but whom we consider very dear and almost like family members.
This is the New Moon season, for overeating with others and enjoying it. And several times during this week, we have that Sabian symbol of the table set for the evening meal. So, putting together picnics and cookouts and all of the lovely summertime things we like to do here in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year.
And in the Southern Hemisphere, maybe it’s a little cozier. Maybe it’s staying inside by a fire or having a bonfire by the beach if you’re in a fairly temperate place.
Lunar Phase Family Cycle
This is the New Moon in a new lunar phase family cycle that continues over the next three months. The first critical point in this cycle is at the First Quarter Moon on April 4th, 2025. Take careful note at this New Moon of what it is that you’re hoping to accomplish that is of the nature of Cancer, home, and family. And most likely you’ll see some kind of action in that direction around the time of that First Quarter Moon on April 4th, 2025.
Then, at the Full Moon in this Lunar Phase Family Cycle on January 3rd, 2026 a bigger picture is revealed of what we were actually initiating at this New Moon. We might have had intentions to initiate a particular thing, but the bigger story might be a little bit different. And we get a closer look at that, at that Full Moon on January 3rd, 2026.
And finally, the Last Quarter phase in this lunar phase family cycle is on October 3rd, 2026. The Quarter Moons in any lunar cycle are the action points.
The First Quarter action point isn’t always a well-researched or considered action that’s taken. And sometimes it’s not even intentional. But at the Last Quarter Moon, we have had a lot more experience in the cycle, and based on what’s happened up to then, we can make a very determined action to try to bring things to a conclusion.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. All of this week’s Void-of-Course Moons are very short, and they all begin with an aspect to Neptune, which is sitting at the very end of its sign.
On July 2nd, the Moon in Taurus makes a sextile to Neptune at 8:43 am Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for just seven minutes, and then the Moon enters Gemini at 8:50 am. And again, these are very short Void-of-Course Moon periods, and it is just long enough maybe to make an intention to change a pattern in your life. And the pattern here is about creating a good, solid foundation that makes it possible to indulge your imagination and things in your life that don’t seem strictly practical, but that are very meaningful to you. We always do better in Neptune’s realm if we have a little bit of Earth influence there, like the Moon in Taurus, that grounds us and brings us down to Earth.
On July 4th, the Moon in Gemini squares Neptune at 1:44 pm Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course again for 7 minutes, and then enters Cancer at 1:51 pm. When we see the Moon in a Mercury-ruled sign like Gemini, in conflict with Neptune, the issue is between clarity and confusion. The Moon in Gemini wants to think things through and talk things through, especially, and Neptune works on a more imaginative level. This sometimes leads to some emotional confusion.
On July 6th, the Moon in Cancer trines Neptune at 8:47 pm Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for 9 minutes before it enters Leo at 8:56 pm Pacific Time. A trine aspect brings a reward or a gift, and this Moon in Cancer, which takes such beautiful care of those close to you, will see its reward from Neptune of bringing love and appreciation your way.
Listener Question: Solar Arc Directions
In this week’s listener question, listener Rebecca asks, “April, I keep hearing about Solar Arc progressions. Can you tell us about them? What are they? How do you find them? And how are they used? Thank you so much. I love the podcast!”
Well, thank you for that question, Rebecca, and I’m really happy you’re enjoying the podcast!
Solar Arc directions, they’re actually called, are a predictive system that is based on the secondary progressed Sun. They’re calculated by first determining how far the secondary progressed Sun has moved since birth. Then you add that amount of movement, or arc, to each natal planet and angle.
For example, if a child is 10 years old, the secondary progressed Sun will have moved through approximately 10º of the zodiac from the position of the Sun in their birth chart. Because in secondary progressions, one day’s movement of a planet is equal to one year.
And the Sun moves about one degree per day. So, you would add 10º, 1 degree for each year of life, to every natal planet to find the Solar Arc placement. If the child has, say, Venus at 5º Taurus, add 10º to get 15º Taurus for the Solar Arc placement at the age of 10.
So you might want to pause the podcast for just a second to let that sink in, but it’s actually pretty straightforward math.
This is all done pretty easily, even without a computer, but you can certainly calculate the Solar Arc directions using software or online at sites like Astro.com. You can also look up your Solar Arc directions, I know, on the Astro Gold app, and probably most good apps that you use for your calculations.
So that’s how you find them. How are they used? I look at it this way. Transits, which refer to the position of planets currently in the sky, symbolize what the world is bringing our way. Secondary progressions, in which the Moon shows the most movement, are more of a lunar system, and show how you’re feeling, reacting to, and assimilating those transits.
Solar Arc directions, because they’re based on the Sun, seem to be more action oriented. They will tend to show what we will do or make happen in response to transits and to our own feeling journey. Solar Arcs are useful in prediction because of this action orientation. When a Solar Arc directed planet moves over an angle of the chart, the cusps of the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses, things happen.
In Solar Arc directions, there is movement in the slow-moving planets of the birth chart, Jupiter through Pluto, which is not the case in secondary progressions, which pretty much only show a lot of movement in the inner planets, the Sun through Mars, and the angles.
You always use Solar Arcs in combination with the birth chart, not just on its own, because in Solar Arc directions, all the planets move at exactly the same rate, and so they’re maintaining their natal relationship to each other. If you have a conjunction between Mars and Saturn in your birth chart, you’ll have the same conjunction in your Solar Arc directions. But the planets change signs, and Solar Arc planets move into different houses of the birth chart than when they started out. Also, in Solar Arc directions, if you have a natal planet that’s retrograde, it moves forward in Solar Arc directions – because we’re adding the distance the secondary Sun has moved since birth to every natal planet.
In terms of what to look for in the Solar Arcs, I would look for Solar Arc directed planets moving over the angles, changing sign or house, and moving over natal planets. If you have Venus 30º behind the Sun in your birth chart, then, at approximately age 30, the Solar Arc directed Venus will make a conjunction with the natal Sun. This is considered an important combination for relationship, in particular. So this is an example of how we will look at Solar Arc planets moving on to, or in aspect to, natal planets.
You would also look for places where transits, secondary progressions, and Solar Arc directions are stacking up in the birth chart. If you have, let’s say, that Solar Arc directed Venus in a conjunction with the natal Sun, and then we see something like transiting Saturn opposite both of them, the secondary progressed Moon in a square to all of that… That is a lot of activity pointing to a couple of symbols in your chart. And when you have a setup like that, it is highly likely that something important is going on.
I learned Solar Arc directions years ago, right alongside secondary progressions and transits. And for probably the first 20 years of my practice, I used Solar Arcs in every reading. It’s not that I didn’t find them helpful, but somehow, I fell out of the habit of using them some years ago. I no longer look at them regularly, but if something big is happening in a person’s life, and they’re wondering exactly in a predictive sense, when something might happen, then I might bring in the Solar Arc directions. I do think they’re a fantastic technique, and I will point you to some resources in the show notes for this episode so you can learn more about them. I actually have a webinar that I did a couple of years ago that you can purchase from my website.
Rebecca, thank you so much for your question, and thank you so much for listening to the podcast!
And if you, Invisible Friend, have a question you’d like me to answer on a future episode of the podcast, please leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast – or email me at 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. 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, 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.
Thank you so much to everyone who’s shown support for the podcast over the years, and particularly during last September’s Podathon. On each episode, I’m thanking some of my financial donors by name.
This week, let’s give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to monthly donors, Priscilla Orta-Wenner and Shawna Hickey!
Shawna and Priscilla, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting the show with your donations.
If you would like to support the show and receive access to my recent bonus episode for The Cancer Solstice, please go to bigskyastropod.com and make a contribution of $5 or more. 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!
Writing and images © 2017-24 by April Elliott Kent
For more on this week’s planetary news, read my weekly column!
