TRANSCRIPT Ep. 243 (7.15.24)
Capricorn Full Moon: A Seat at the Table!
Hello Invisible Friend, April here, and the date today is July 15th, 2024. Welcome to Episode 243 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, it’s a very busy week for Mars, which makes aspects to Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and enters Gemini. The Sun and Mercury connect with Uranus, offering an opportunity to change our personal story. The Full Moon in Capricorn urges us to place ourselves in powerful positions. Venus makes a sizzling sextile to Jupiter, and the Sun takes a lovely vacation with Neptune.
Mars conjunct Uranus (July 15, 2024, 7:05 am PDT)
The week begins with Mars making a conjunction with Uranus on July 15th at 7:05 am Pacific Time. It’s the first conjunction between these two since August 1st, 2022. And to get a feel for this combination of planets, just picture a very strong fist grabbing hold of a live wire. It can be a very exciting combination, but we might get a little bit more than we were bargaining for.
When these two come together, we might expect a change of direction, especially in your work, which is ruled by Mars. It can also be, since Mars and Uranus are still in Taurus, a situation where we are fighting change, because Taurus is such an intractable fixed sign. It can be a combination of violent change. In the news, we might see rebellion, fires, high profile accidents.
If the signs of Aries and Scorpio are very prominent in your birth chart, this can be an important aspect for you. Again, we only have it every couple of years, and when it comes along, it’s a rebooting of this Mars-Uranus cycle. And your ruling planet, Mars, coming together with Uranus, is an exciting time which ultimately can lead to inspiration and to doing new and exciting things in your life.
But you do have to be a little bit cautious around the time of the exact conjunction. As I mentioned before about the strong fist grabbing hold of a live wire, our impulsive behaviors can move us into directions that bring unexpected challenges.
Sun sextile Uranus (July 18, 2024, 7:00 am PDT)
On July 18th at 7 am Pacific Time, the Sun makes a sextile aspect to Uranus. And this is another aspect of change, because it’s connected with Uranus. The energy is quite a bit different between a sextile and the conjunction that we saw with Mars. This is a time to embrace change, and particularly change within yourself.
When we are looking at the Sun, we’re looking at something that represents what is most personal, actually, about each of us – and that’s how we see ourselves in the world. Who do we perceive ourselves as being? And what are we becoming? Sometimes we have to stand apart from our expectations for ourselves, society’s expectations for us – in particular, our family’s expectations for us – because the Sun is in Cancer. And being willing to give up who we’ve always been in order to become something more is just not a decision that happens in a vacuum. It impacts the other people who are close to us as well.
Now, it is a sextile aspect, which can bring great results if we put a little bit of effort in. But no doubt, this is an aspect that says personal identity is a little bit challenged. And it’s an invitation to step outside the way we usually think of ourselves and present ourselves in the world, so that we can try something new.
Mars sextile Neptune (July 20, 2024, 8:17 am PDT)
Mars enters Gemini (July 20, 2024, 1:43 pm)
Mars trine Pluto (July 21, 2024, 8:47 pm)
Now, this is a very volatile week for Mars, as I said before. I already talked about Mars’ conjunction with Uranus, a very important aspect this week. But it also makes a sextile to Neptune on July 20th at 8:17 am Pacific Time, enters Gemini that same day at 1:43 pm through September 4th, and on July 21st Mars makes a trine to Pluto at 8:47 pm.
So Mars is completing its journey through Taurus, which is very practical and concerned with matters of the immediate physical world. And it’s completing that journey on a sextile aspect to Neptune in Pisces. And Neptune is at the very end of Pisces, giving it a special quality of intensity.
Here we have a chance for all of the practical good that we’ve done while Mars has been in Taurus, to be put to use for altruistic purposes, which is symbolized by Pisces.
Later that day, Mars enters Gemini, and it will be in Gemini through September 4th. Mars, the planet of work, will now transcend the physical, and this becomes a transit for mental work, for hard mental work. Studying for important exams, mastering a new language, learning to drive, doing some travel. All of these are things we can get very excited about while Mars is in Gemini.
Now, wherever Mars is, we have to be a little careful, because again, it’s this very impulsive planet. And it’s been restrained quite a lot while it’s been in Taurus, which is a fixed planet.
But once it goes into Gemini, the biggest danger really is we can get very distracted with Mars in Gemini. And if you’re driving, if you’re doing something out in the world with heavy machinery or something of that nature, we really do have to be a little bit careful to slow down, make sure we’re looking around us and that we know exactly what situation we’re in.
Mars is a lot less focused in Gemini than it’s been in Taurus. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Mars goes into Gemini and we get interested and curious about a lot of different things. So, it’s a great transit for exploring possibilities, and I think put a little energy into that.
Mars in Gemini does like to travel, and it generally is travel that is more of the nature of something short term and relatively local. We watch a channel on YouTube that we like a lot with a guy from San Diego who just goes around doing little adventures that he has researched and has a little bit of history about, about off the wall places, places you wouldn’t necessarily have heard of, but they’re really interesting. And that strikes me as a very Mars in Gemini kind of enterprise.
Going around and exploring your local area, or doing things. Mars is a very active planet. Maybe doing things with your close friends in the neighborhood, with your neighbors, with your siblings, even – Mars in Gemini – catching up on your reading, catching up on your writing.
Now, the day after Mars enters Gemini, it makes a trine aspect of Pluto in Aquarius. And when these two very hard-edged planets come together, even by an easy aspect, nothing can really get in the way of their causing some mischief. But I think that Mars connecting with Pluto in air signs is an opportunity to move larger groups of people with your communication, Mars in Gemini. If you have been thinking about starting a blog, starting a podcast, increasing your outreach on social media, this would actually be a very good transit for it and this day, particularly, on the 21st, when Mars makes this exact aspect of Pluto.
Capricorn Full Moon (July 21, 2024, 3:17 am PDT)
And now for the Moon Report, and it begins with the Capricorn Full Moon, which is also on July 21, at 3:17am Pacific Time. It’s at 29º08’ Capricorn, on the Sabian symbol 30 Capricorn, A secret business conference. This is a Full Moon that gains intensity from several directions. It’s a Full Moon and that’s a pretty intense phase of the Moon anyway. It shows us what’s really going on.
This Moon is also at 29º Capricorn and the Sun is at 29º Cancer and 29 is a degree that brings with it a strong sense that something is about to change. And that we have a feeling that we need to finish something up, so that we can move on to the next adventure.
And Mars, which is freshly in Gemini, is in a trine aspect to the Moon and Pluto in this Full Moon chart. Now while the Sun is going through Cancer, the emphasis is close to home. It’s on family, home, roots, the emotional life. The Full Moon in Capricorn shows how career, the outer world, and ambitions represent a necessary balance to Cancer. That it isn’t necessarily the best use of our time to be at home, only with people that we know well, all of the time. It shows how well we are doing with the Cancer experience. Maybe how we could be doing it better, with better boundaries, more effective engagement with the world outside our home.
The Moon’s Sabian symbol at this Full Moon feels a little sinister, 30 Capricorn, A secret business conference and that is the degree that Pluto will back onto on September 1st. It feels a little bit like a conspiracy of big business people who are running our lives. But I prefer to think of it as advice to conduct ourselves and our lives in such a way that gets us a seat at the conference table. In other words, to be someone with power and authority so that we can use that for the maximum number of people.
I think we often do get in a habit of complaining about people in power, about politicians and the like. I’m not saying that they don’t deserve some of our criticism. But, we also won’t necessarily ourselves run for office.
I saw that when I was the head of a local astrology group, and people had a lot of opinions about the way the board should be doing things, but none of them really wanted to step up and participate in some of those decisions.
So, I see this Full Moon as an invitation, at this very intense lunar phase, to step up, in some way, into a role of greater authority and leadership in your life.
Lunar Phase Family Cycle
This is the Full Moon in a Lunar Phase Family Cycle that began on January 21st, 2023, with the New Moon at 1º32’ Aquarius and that was also in a conjunction with Pluto. Pluto then was at 28º20’ Capricorn. That’s an important New Moon to be thinking about now. To review the circumstances of your life around that New Moon, maybe you have notes in a journal or on a calendar somewhere, or even in my New Moon Workbook, which is available to the subscribers of my mailing list at every New Moon. If you got that workbook and you looked at the very back of it, maybe you filled in the section where I talk about the Lunar Phase Family Cycle and the dates that were coming up. But it’s good to look back and think, okay, what was I ambitious about? What did I want to be doing in my life? What were my hopes and dreams, which are specifically associated with a new Moon in Aquarius? There was something that was emerging at that time, even if it wasn’t terribly obvious.
And then the First Quarter in this Lunar Phase Cycle was on October 21st, 2023, with the First Quarter Moon at 28º28’ Capricorn. That was a time when something began to happen. There was either an action maybe that we took, or the universe around us was implementing some kind of action to move that New Moon energy forward.
Now we’re at the Full Moon point, and that’s the time when we can see more clearly, with more perspective, what it is that we were trying to initiate at that New Moon.
And finally, the Last Quarter Moon in this phase comes on April 20th, 2025, at 1º12’ Aquarius. And that will be the final turning point in this three-year cycle where we look back and we know now where we started out, where we initiated action, where everything came clear. And then at that Last Quarter Moon, we make a final decision or a final choice in how we frame things and how we complete the cycle, the actions that we take.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. On July 16th, the Moon in Scorpio trines Neptune at 6:10 pm Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for about 15 minutes before it enters Sagittarius at 6:25 pm.
A Void-of-Course Moon period that begins with the Moon trine another planet suggests a gift that’s coming our way. And this combination always makes me think about how intense the Moon in Scorpio is, and how it has x-ray vision to see the things that aren’t necessarily that palatable. And the Moon in Scorpio doesn’t shy away from any of it.
Sometimes other people aren’t terribly grateful at the insight and the honesty that Moon in Scorpio brings forth. But as this Moon trines Neptune, there are a couple of different possibilities. One is that you find people around you are loving and accepting of those Scorpio qualities. And this is also a fantastic Void-of-Course Moon period for creativity, because that rich insight of Scorpio joins together with the artistry of Neptune.
On July 19th, the Moon in Sagittarius squares Neptune at 12:58 am Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for about 16 minutes, and then enters Capricorn at 1:14 am.
When a Void-of-Course Moon begins with the Moon square another planet, there is a conflict at work. The conflict here might be something about being too active to explore the quieter world of the mind. It is about resisting the urge to feel that we know everything. This is something Sagittarius is sometimes prone to doing. And instead, to have the humility to consider other points of view and the fact that there might have been things that you didn’t see that were going on.
It’s a good time to get out in nature. And Moon in Sagittarius loves us to get out and do a little hiking, get into the woods, get out into the brush, whatever there is near where you live, and that in doing that, Sagittarius is usually a lot more attuned to the spiritual world.
On July 21st, the Moon in Capricorn sextiles Neptune at 4:26 am Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for about 17 minutes, then enters Aquarius at 4:43 am. This is a pretty short Void-of-Course Moon period, as they all are this week, but I think maybe use this short period to think about how you can use your practical and pragmatic gifts of helpfulness and effectiveness on behalf of the people in your life who need your love and need your help right now.
Venus sextile Jupiter (July 21, 2024, 1:43 pm PDT)
Venus sextiles Jupiter on July 21st at 1:43 pm Pacific Time, at 12º30’ Leo and Gemini. I love the Sabian symbol for Venus, 13 Leo, An old sea captain rocking. And, yes, Venus and Leo is very creative, but I like this symbol because it describes that important factor behind creativity, which is taking the time to just sit and think or empty your mind, perhaps as we’re looking out to sea, looking out in the distance.
That’s what feeds creativity. It’s what gives real creativity. An opportunity to emerge from the quiet. There’s no question Venus in Leo is somewhat performative. It likes to get up and express itself to the world. And Jupiter in Gemini, especially on its Sabian symbol, 13 Gemini, A great musician at his piano speaks of great skill, and bringing these two together says, if you’re a creative person, maybe experiment with another, with another medium. If you’re a wonderful instrumentalist, maybe play with singing. If you’re normally musical, see if you can turn your, see if you can turn your hand to something like drawing or painting.
It’s a time to mix it up a little bit, I think, and that experimenting with different things is also going to feed that creativity. What you love and what you’re good at can be taken to the next level with this aspect of music. But I think we do possibly get there just from that experimentation with other things.
Romantic relationships, ruled by Venus, can also get a boost from this aspect. It’s not necessarily the most physically passionate combination, because it’s in fire and air. It is romantic, but not necessarily physically passionate. But this is a great aspect for wooing the object of your affections, and especially with skillful language.
Mercury square Uranus (July 21, 2024, 3:21 pm PDT)
On July 21st at 3:21pm Pacific Time, Mercury squares Uranus. Earlier in this episode, I described the Sun’s sextile with Uranus, and that might have been a time that you were able to change in some small way, the way you look at yourself and the person you really want to be, the person you’d like to become.
As Mercury squares Uranus, there is a powerful urge to tell that new story. And it means it’s a bit of a wake-up call aspect that not only gets us thinking in a new way, but also telling new stories about ourselves. If we perceive things differently – as we might, as Mercury squares Uranus – it can lead to awareness and to new opportunities.
Sun trine Neptune (July 21, 2024, 8:25 pm PDT)
Finally, on July 21st at 8:25pm Pacific Time, the Sun in Cancer trines Neptune in Pisces. Now, this is the first week of my first sabbatical in many, many years. I was born with the Sun in Leo, and Leo is ruled by the Sun, so people with important planets in Leo this week can really benefit from the restful, restorative aspect to Neptune.
The Sun is our ever-fixed mark, the symbol of what it is in us that is true and unchanging. But after that sextile from the Sun to Uranus earlier in the week, we maybe woke up and got out of our usual routine. And now, as the Sun trines Neptune, we’re in a position to slip quietly into a new way of being.
Listener Question: The Saros Cycle
In this week’s Listener Question, Listener Eclipso asks, “When I look up eclipses on Astro-seek.com, they list links to something called the Saros series. I loosely understand that these are kind of eclipsical lunar families, but don’t know how they connect to one another, or what they mean for each of us.
Are these worth tracking, or will we just drive ourselves crazy? What do they mean? They feel like big, kind of scary wormholes in an already overwhelming eclipse half-light landscape.”
Well Eclipso, that is a wonderful question. The Saros cycles are fascinating and I think they’re very interesting to watch.
Eclipses have been predicted very precisely, actually, since the Babylonians were doing it back in 700 BC. We know when they will happen. We know what their characteristics will be, whether they’ll be total or partial or annular.
Each solar eclipse is part of a larger family of eclipses called the Saros Cycle. Saros comes from the Greek word that means “to repeat.” And every 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours, an eclipse occurs at the same node of the Moon, whether the North or the South. It’s at the same distance from the Earth, at the same time of year, for the same duration, and it’s the same, roughly, in appearance.
Saros cycles usually produce about 70 to 80 eclipses over 12 to 14 centuries. These are long cycles. Each Saros family is given a number, and each eclipse in this series is referenced by the node that the Sun was at, at the first eclipse in the cycle. The first eclipse in the family happens at either the north or south pole when the Sun is just under 18 degrees from the north or south node, and it creates this tiny little partial eclipse. Eighteen years later, an eclipse occurs a half degree closer to the node, it is longer in duration, it covers more of the Earth’s surface, and it moves closer to the equator. The eclipses in the family move along every 18 years toward the opposite pole.
Astrologer Bernadette Brady has written about the Saros Cycle quite a bit in her book, Predictive Astrology, The Eagle and the Lark, she offers interpretations for each of these Saros cycles based on the chart for the first eclipse in that series.
For example, the solar eclipse that we just had on April 8th at 19 Aries was part of Saros 8 North, which began at the North Pole on May 17th, 1501, and it ends on June 23rd, 2745. The chart for that eclipse featured a close conjunction from the eclipse point to Saturn, and a nearly exact square from the eclipse point to Uranus. So we would expect eclipses in this series to evoke some of that tension between rule-following Saturn and rule-breaking Uranus.
What Brady wrote about 8 North was, “Inventiveness and flashes of genius, Intuitive leaps, insights, good ideas, visions or vivid dreams. Inspiration pulls a person away from his or her social life or relationship, causing strain in the private life. This is a time when the person needs to be free, if only for a few weeks.”
I think these interpretations are really interesting. Now, for me personally, because my work with eclipses tends to be with natal charts, I tend to pay closer attention to a cycle called the Metonic Cycle. This is a cycle of four to five eclipses separated by 19 years each. Which occur pretty much the same degree of the zodiac, so if your birthday is on April 8th, you could look back 19 years and sure enough you find a solar eclipse at the same degree within a day of your birthday. Eclipses in the Saros Cycle, however, drift about 11 to 12 degrees each time they repeat.
So that recent solar eclipse on April 8th is in the same Saros family, 8 North, as an eclipse on March 29th, 2006, but that eclipse fell at 8 degrees 35 Aries. But if you go back one more year, in accordance with the Metonic Cycle, you’ll see a solar eclipse on April 8th, 2005, at 196 Aries – which is the same degree as our recent solar eclipse, but it is part of a different Saros cycle, Saros 7 North.
I’ve worked with both of these cycles, and I can see merit in both. And since solar and lunar eclipses play out near the same areas of the chart for an 18 month period or so, the difference between 18 years of the Saros cycle and 19 years of the Metonic cycle maybe gets blurred a little bit with overlap.
But I most often work with the Metonic Cycle, because these are the ones that play off the same planet, the same configurations, in the natal chart at regular intervals. And I’m fascinated by the similarities that show up in an individual’s life during these years. But I think you can absolutely get a lot from studying the Saros Cycle, and I do highly recommend Bernadette Brady’s book, and I will link to that in the show notes. Again, it’s called Predictive Astrology, The Eagle and the Lark, which gives delineations for each one of these Saros Cycles.
And as always, I encourage you to look at it for yourself, go back and look at important times in your, in your own life, read about that Saros Cycle and see what you think.
Eclipso, thank you so much for your question!
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. 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 gonna wrap this one up. Thanks for listening to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, I encourage you to subscribe or follow the show in your app of choice. It truly does help the show get seen by other people who might like it. Leave a rating or a review, and I hope that you’ll 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!
Writing and images © 2017-24 by April Elliott Kent
For more on this week’s planetary news, read my weekly column!
