TRANSCRIPT Ep. 257 | Cancer Last Quarter Moon: Between Eclipses! (9.23.24)
Hello Invisible Friend, April here, and the date today is September 23rd, 2024. Welcome to Episode 257 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast.
This week, the Cancer Last Quarter Moon brings responsibility toward others, right between this fall’s two eclipses. It’s a very busy week for Mercury, which is aspecting Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the Lunar Nodes, and then moves into diplomatic Libra. The Sun opposes the Moon’s North Node and Mars and Saturn meet in a driven, productive aspect. Plus, I answer a listener question about the angles of the birth chart.
Mercury trine Uranus (Sep. 24, 2024, 10:27 am PDT)
Mercury trines Uranus on September 24th at 10:27 a.m. Pacific Time. If communication problems came up around the Virgo New Moon when Mercury was square Uranus – electronics breaking down, arguments, problems with your vehicle, this could be a good time to resolve them, because this is a flowing and also a potentially inspiring combination of planets. It can be particularly helpful with projects that are related to fixing or building things, since Mercury and Uranus are both in Earth signs – Mercury in Virgo, Uranus in Taurus.
Cancer Last Quarter Moon (Sep. 24, 2024, 11:50 am PDT)
And now for the Moon Report, and it begins with the Cancer Last Quarter Moon, on September 24th at 11:50 a.m. Pacific Time, at 2º 12’ Cancer and Libra. The Moon is at 2º 12’ Cancer. On the Sabian symbol, 3 Cancer, A man all bundled up in fur, leading a shaggy deer. The Sun is at 2º 12’ Libra on the Sabian symbol, The dawn of a new day, everything changed.
Libra symbolizes the one-on-one relationships that we form with another person. Say this would be a couple marrying, and then the Moon in Cancer describes children, or other responsibilities that they have in their families and in their communities. This Last Quarter Moon in Cancer seems to be about the responsibilities that we have to the other people in our lives, not just our one-on-one relationships, but the role that they play in society, beginning with our own families.
I remember when my husband and I had just decided to get married, and we were out on a drive somewhere, I remember him saying something like, “Now that we’re together, everything seems possible.” That’s such a beautiful reflection of the Sabian symbol for the Sun in Libra, The dawn of a new day, everything changed. And it really can feel that way when we form an alliance with another person.
But then what comes from that? What is it that we create together? For some people, it’s a physical family. For some people, it is a group of friends that are like a family to you or contributions that you make in society, maybe volunteer organizations or whatever it might be.
These are the sorts of ideas, I think, that are coming up at this Last Quarter Moon. The Last Quarter is the time of reflection, and of taking what was conceived at a particular New Moon and carrying that issue through to completion.
Lunar Phase Family Cycle
This is the Last Quarter in a lunar phase family cycle that began with the New Moon in Cancer on June 28th, 2022. The First Quarter in this cycle was on March 28th, 2023, and the Full Moon on December 26th, 2023.
The way the Lunar Phase Family Cycle works is it takes the degree and sign of a New Moon and the intentions that we make at that time, the possibilities that present themselves to us, and carries it out over about a three year period. At the First Quarter in that Lunar Phase Family Cycle, which occurs at about the same degree – in this case of that New Moon in June 2022 at 7 degrees Cancer – some kind of action is taken toward those goals or intentions.
At the Full Moon in the cycle, we see evidence of what we have planted. It would be the part in a planting cycle where you finally begin to see shoots above ground, evidence of what you planted.
Now with the Last Quarter, we take a look at how the finished product is emerging in our lives, and we can consider it and decide how, in the next nine months, we can complete this cycle of growing, of family, of contribution to society that began back in June 2022.
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week.
On September 24th, the Moon in Gemini squares Neptune at 4:59 a.m. Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for two hours, 51 minutes before it enters Cancer at 7:50 a.m. Communications tend to be a little muddled in an aspect like this. The Moon in Gemini is very specifically communication-oriented, and about how we are able to express our feelings in a clear way.
When it’s connecting with Neptune, we’re not as clear as we might ordinarily be, and usually it’s because there are emotions involved that are difficult to express. It can also be that we’re reluctant to be pinned down to a particular point of view. It’s not lying so much, but it’s about the desire of both Gemini and Pisces to leave their options open.
This is a Void-of-Course Moon that can point out the downside of taking this kind of position and point out the helpfulness of creating new habits around clarity, truth, and kindness.
On September 26th, the Moon in Cancer opposes Pluto at 29º 41’, the very end of their signs, at 3:12 pm Pacific Time. It’s a short Void-of-Course Moon period, only 35 minutes before the Moon enters Leo at 3:47 p.m. Pacific Time. This is very clearly about the balance between family and career, or family and our duties outside our home and our family, our reputation in the world. This is a very hard balance for most of us to find. We can either be very, very focused just on what’s within our four walls or really neglect that in favor of going out and trying to make our mark in the world.
But unless our mark in the world is based on something true and real and feeling inside of us, as represented by the Moon in Cancer, it doesn’t end up being satisfying in the long run. This Void-of-Course Moon period asks us to take a moment and reflect on this balance in our lives and to make any kind of intentions we might need to make to redress any imbalance.
And on September 28th, the Moon in Leo squares Uranus in Taurus at 8:36 p.m. Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for six hours and six minutes before the Moon enters Virgo on September 29th at 2:42 a.m. This is an aspect that strongly urges us to shake up our routines, and that’s the good work of the Void-of-Course Moon in any event, to let go of habits or patterns that are not really working well for us.
The Moon in Leo, however, likes to keep things as they are. And when the unexpected happens, and we’re caught off guard, it can be a little bit embarrassing. Leo is a very proud sign, and that’s why it doesn’t like a lot of change, unless it is in charge of the change.
Now this is a friend’s birthday, and she tells me that for her birthday, she’s planning on getting a day pass at a fancy spa. That’s a Taurus concept. In Germany, where she’s living, and in Germany, saunas are called spas, and most of them do not allow clothing. So she is planning on going with the norm, which is to not wear clothing, but it is very much not the norm for her. So I think that’s really a pretty good example of the energy of this Moon squared Uranus. What are the ways in our lives that we might be resisting change because we’re a little bit afraid of being embarrassed? If that is a pattern for you and one that’s getting in your way, this is a good day to look at that and try to consciously make a change to a pattern in your life.
Mercury opposed Neptune (Sep. 25, 2024, 4:04 am PDT)
As I said, Mercury is very busy this week. On September 25th, it will oppose Neptune at 4:04 a.m. Pacific Time. Mercury is at 28º23’ Virgo on the Sabian symbol 29 Virgo, A man gaining secret knowledge from a paper he is reading. And Neptune is at 28º23’ Pisces on the Sabian symbol 29 Pisces, A Prism. Here we have a combination of taking in information and in this case, “secret information from something that we’re reading.” But the aspect is an opposition. And on the other side is Neptune, which is “a prism” that disseminates information widely and in many different facets and colors and tones.
Mercury’s aspects to Neptune, sort of like that Void-of-Course Moon we had earlier… Mercury together with Neptune is about finding clarity, and there is a way with Mercury and Neptune together that we do sort of absorb information in a way that’s not very linear, which we would normally expect with Mercury in Virgo.
But when it connects with Neptune, we make great leaps of intuition, or on the negative side, maybe we jump through some of the steps in our process of analysis and come up with a faulty result. So basically, when Mercury and Neptune are in opposition with each other, we have to allow for the fact that we may not be seeing things exactly the way they truly are.
So it’s not the best aspect for signing contracts, making big decisions, accepting a job. Although it could be fine for going on a job interview.
Mercury trine Pluto (Sep. 25, 2024, 9:14 pm PDT)
Later that evening, on September 25th at 9:14 p.m. Pacific Time, Mercury in Virgo trines Pluto in Capricorn. Knowledge is power. Mercury here symbolizes what we know, the information that we have. Remember in the Sabian symbol for that earlier Mercury-Neptune aspect, Mercury was on the symbol, A man gaining secret knowledge from a paper he’s reading. So he may or may not have aptly understood that knowledge, but now as Mercury trines Pluto, we see that the knowledge gained has turned out to have real power.
And we also see Pluto still on that Sabian symbol, 30 Capricorn, A secret business conference. Secret information or information that has been brought in earlier is now used in a way to either gain or retain power.
We’re tempted, especially here in the U.S. during our election season, for our minds to just jump to all kinds of unhealthy places with this. But there is a more benign way to look at this aspect, and that is not to use information to exert power over others, but rather to use what we know, the information we have, our powerful minds, to achieve powerful ends that can be helpful to others.
If you’re a person who is interested in any kind of benign magic, this is a good day for that. Because Mercury is the magician with all different powers and skills. And connected with Pluto, that symbol of power, and again, not necessarily taking power for ourselves in an unhealthy way, but using power, harnessing power toward positive ends.
Mercury enters Libra (Sep. 26, 2024, 1:09 am PDT)
Then the next day, September 26th, at 1:09 a.m. Pacific Time, Mercury enters Libra, and it will be in this sign through October 13. Mercury is our communicating planet, the ways in which we communicate with the world, the ways in which we express ourselves, and the ways in which we understand what is communicated to us.
Mercury, when it’s in Libra, looks for ways to bring the qualities of grace, balance, diplomacy, and tact to our communications. It’s a very beneficial transit for negotiating, for persuading others to see our point of view. To the extent that very often, they end up thinking that your suggestion was all their idea.
The shadow side of Mercury in Libra can be manipulation or passive aggression.
But it is also a beautiful combination for the arts. So this is a terrific few weeks for getting involved in music or artistic projects, collaborations with others.
Sun opposed North Node (Sep. 29, 2024, 12:25 am PDT)
Mercury opposed North Node (Sep. 29, 2024, 5:19 pm PDT)
On September 29th, there are two different opposition aspects to the Moon’s North Node. One is from the Sun at 12:25 a.m. Pacific Time. The other from Mercury at 5:19 p.m. Pacific Time. The Sun and Mercury are at 6º38’ Libra, on the Sabian symbol, A woman feeding chickens and protecting them from hawks, while the North Node is at 6º38’ Aries, A man successfully expressing himself in two realms at once. Oppositions to the North Node mean that the planets making the aspects are on the Moon’s South Node. With something as important as the Sun sitting on the South Node, there’s a bit of a resistance to change, the desire to stay in a comfortable, familiar place – the better to care for all those little chickens that we see in the Sabian symbol. This could also refer to relying on social and interpersonal connections, symbolized by Mercury, in order to protect what we have or secure our position.
The upcoming eclipse on October 2nd is close to this south node as well. So this is a preview of that eclipse and the themes and messages that will be important and accentuated. Are we spending too much time trying to please others instead of being truly ourselves? And, also, instead of achieving something strictly on our own merits, to rely on who we know to get what it is that we want.
It’s not entirely negative, but what it does symbolize, I think, here, Mercury and the Sun on the South Node, is a lot of the time, the reason that we don’t want to change, or we don’t want to get out of our comfort zone, is fear of losing the connections that we have formed. And it’s not silly to fear that. Nobody wants to do that. And I don’t think we have to do that entirely. I don’t think that’s, overall, the message of the South Node that’s been going through Libra, of the Eclipse that’s coming up near this Node. I think rather, it is to take the qualities that you have developed in this South Node experience, the ability to hear other points of view, to get along with others, and especially the ability to make others a priority in your life; but not to stay there, to be willing to risk that in order to move in a direction that feels right and that feels important.
Mars trine Saturn (Sep. 29, 2024, 9:06 pm PDT)
And also on September 29th, at 9:06 pm Pacific Time, Mars in Cancer trines Saturn in Pisces. Typically, when we see Mars and Saturn getting together, there are frustrations, because Mars is a driven, impulsive, go-go-go planet, while Saturn is much more methodical and thorough, with integrity being its ultimate goal.
The trine between these two planets, however, tends to be the exception, because Mars is guided and tempered by Saturn, almost like a soldier with a very good general telling him how to use his power. It’s a pretty good combination overall. Tough part of it is that we tend to overwork like crazy. When Mars is trine Saturn, we don’t know when to stop working.
At this trine, both of the planets are in water signs, meaning that feelings, emotions, and intuition play an important role in getting the job done, in whatever we’re trying to do. And that love and family responsibilities tend to be what drive us.
Listener Question: The importance of the chart’s angles
In this week’s listener question, listener Dan writes, “Hi April, I wanted to ask a question about the polarities of the Ascendant and Descendant as well as the MC and IC. I’ve noticed that whenever an aspect of either polarity is discussed, usually one side of the polarity is mentioned and rarely the other.
For example, Neptune in Pisces was conjunct my Ascendant and therefore opposed my descendant. In all the interpretations I read, it was always regarded as a conjunction. And, not an opposition, or both for that matter. Similarly, when Neptune then rolled along to square my MC, I found no mention of the aspect to my IC.
I understand that, given the polarity, when discussing one, we’re always discussing the other. And, I’m wondering why the Descendant and IC rarely get mentioned as much as their counterparts, in aspect or otherwise. I hope my question is clear. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for all the work you put into your podcast.”
Dan, thank you for that very interesting question. I actually never thought about this before, but you’re absolutely right. There is a lot of focus on the Ascendant and the Midheaven, or MC – in particular the Ascendant. And while it’s assumed that their opposite points symbolize the opposite of these all-important angles, they often aren’t emphasized in the same way.
If I go to a meeting of my local astrology group, I’m asked to list my Sun, Moon, and Ascendant signs on my name tag, not my Sun, Moon, and Descendant!
I did a little bit of poking around, as I’m sure you’ve done as well, and I really couldn’t find a definitive answer. So, I’m gonna take my best guess. And if anyone out there can point to a more specific take, please drop me a line.
First, for anyone who’s very new to astrology and may not be familiar with these points or these terms, here’s a quick primer on the Ascendant/Descendant and the MC/IC, which are also called the angles of the birth chart. They anchor down the north, south, east, and west points of the chart. The Ascendant represents the degree, minute, and sign that is rising on the eastern point of a chart at the moment that the chart is cast for.
In a birth chart, this is one of the most important points, because it is much more specific than the placements of the Sun and Moon in terms of being specifically tied to the exact moment and location of one’s birth. The Ascendant point generally changes about every four minutes, so we need to have a very precise time of birth in order to get this point right.
We can think of the Ascendant as the front door of your birth chart, and its sign indicates the personality traits that you will readily show to the outside world. In a chart based on one of the so-called quadrant-based house systems, such as Placidus, Koch, or Porphyry, as well as in the Equal House system, the Ascendant marks the beginning of the first house of the birth chart. In the Whole Sign House system, it falls in the first house of the chart, but not necessarily at the beginning.
Its exact opposite point, called the Descendant, is at the same degree and minute, but the opposite sign from the Ascendant. It moves at exactly the same rate as the Ascendant. In those-quadrant based and (the) Equal house systems, the Descendant marks the beginning of the seventh house, the house of the other, the house of partnership. And this point represents important others in your life, the qualities and personality traits that you attract, or that you’re attracted to, in partners and close friends.
The Midheaven, often called the MC, marks the zenith point in the sky and symbolizes your reputation, authority, the career path that you follow. In the quadrant-based systems, the degree, minute, and sign of this point is on the cusp of the 10th house. In the Equal House and Whole Sign systems, it’s located generally in the 9th through 11th houses.
The opposite point, the Imum Coeli, or IC, symbolizes the deepest, private self, as well as family origins, ancestors, and one’s home. It’s the cusp of the 4th house in the quadrant-based systems, and generally in the 3rd to 5th houses in Equal House and Whole Sign charts, always exactly opposite the midheaven point.
Since astrology apparently derives from observations of the sky and nature, the Sun is arguably its most powerful symbol. And Dan, what came to mind right away in reading your question is that the Ascendant, representing the eastern horizon, the Sunrise point, and the Midheaven, symbolizing the highest point in the sky, symbolize where the Sun is at its strongest: sunrise and midday. Meanwhile, the descendant is the western Sunset point, where the Sun is at the time of day when it’s losing its strength, beginning to set below the horizon. And the IC symbolizes where the Sun is hidden from sight underneath us.
When contemplating our birth charts, I suppose we give our first thought to ourselves, the Ascendant, and how we’re regarded in the world, symbolized by the Midheaven. Of course, we’re very focused on partners and family, too, especially at times when there are changes or threats in those areas.
But it’s really hard to overstate the primal importance of the self. Our personal safety. And, popularity, how well respected and regarded we are, all of which are symbolized by the Ascendant and the Midheaven.
Anyway, that’s my best guess about why all aspects to these angles tend to reference the Ascendant and the Midheaven. And by the way, the same tends to be true of the lunar nodes, which also represent a polarity of two points that are exactly opposite each other. It’s the aspect to the North Node that tends to be referenced rather than the aspect to the South Node. And for similar reasons, really, I think, which is that the North Node is considered a positive point, a point of advancement, and therefore more important.
Dan, thank you so much for that interesting question and for your kind words. I hope that was a helpful reply. Again, it’s my best guess.
If you, Invisible Friend, would like to have your burning astrological question answered on a future episode of the podcast, please leave a voicemail of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast, or send an email to 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. 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 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.
Thanks so much to everyone who’s shown support for the podcast over the years, and in particular during my recent 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 contributors Natalie Madej and Lisa Moore!
Lisa and Natalie, 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, you can make a one-time donation in any amount or become an ongoing monthly contributor by going to BigSkyAstropod.com. And to receive access to my upcoming bonus donor only YouTube videos, be sure to contribute $10 or more, 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!
