TRANSCRIPT Ep. 280 | The Sun Meets Mars: A Fiery Dance!

TRANSCRIPT Ep. 280 (3.3.25)
The Sun Meets Mars: A Fiery Dance!

Hello, invisible friend, April here, and the date today is March 3rd, 2025. Welcome to Episode 280 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast.

This week, think of it as the calm before the astrological storm. Mercury enters Aries and makes an aspect with Pluto. It’s also the ruler of the First Quarter Moon in Gemini. The Sun and Mars flow in a harmonious trine aspect, bringing plenty of energy and enthusiasm. And I answer a listener question about how to work the planets in fall, detriment, or mutual reception.

And while I have you, I wanted to tell you about a webinar that I’m holding this weekend, all about the eclipses of 2025. It takes place on Saturday, March 8th at 10 am Pacific Time. More information is available at BigSkyAstrology.com/learning.

Mercury enters Aries (March 3, 2025, 1:04 am PST)

Mercury enters Aries this week on March 3rd at 1:04 am Pacific Time. Now, Mercury is slowing down because it’s going to turn retrograde on March 14th, and slowing down is not a condition that any planet in Aries enjoys. In the case of Mercury, the planet of thinking, speaking, processing information, Mercury in this sign tends to make its mind up pretty quickly and it likes to get to the point.

I always say that if you’re sending an email or text to someone with Mercury in Aries in their birth chart, be sure that you put all the important information right up front in the first line because they may not have the patience to get past that!

This is going to be an excellent transit for thinking fast on your feet, defending yourself fearlessly in a confrontation.

But do your best not to move too quickly without thinking things through because once Mercury goes retrograde, that’s the time when these things are likely to catch up with you, and you really might wish that you had given it a second thought before plunging into something.

Mercury sextile Pluto (March 5, 2025, 5:13 am PST)

A couple of days later, on March 5th at 5:13 am Pacific Time, Mercury in Aries sextiles Pluto at 3º Aries and Aquarius. Now, due to the upcoming Mercury retrograde period, this is going to be the first of three sextiles that Mercury will make to Pluto. On March 25th, while Mercury is retrograde, it will make the second sextile in this series and on April 20th, after Mercury has turned direct, it will make the final sextile. So, this is the beginning of a three-part story that concludes in late April.

I think part of this story is that a lot of what we have been telling ourselves for years about ourselves, about other people, is wrong. And either these stories were wrong from the start, or they have become wrong over time.

We do tend to get people stereotyped in our minds as being a particular kind of way, and often, that does change over time. People grow, they evolve and mature. Now that Mercury and Pluto are interacting with each other, there is no hiding from the truth about who we are, about who others are, about the nature of situations.

And especially with Mercury in Aries. This particular combination can be harsh. We can be prone to speaking kind of bluntly, maybe even a little bit unkindly. The best advice I can give you here is to count to ten before speaking or before acting. And maybe try to throw yourself into some activities that will focus this somewhat compulsive energy of Mercury with Pluto into a healthy direction. Something like knitting or other handcrafts, puzzles, or just getting a lot of exercise. Aries is a very energetic sign and likes to get outside and move around.

Pluto’s Sabian symbol at this sextile is 3 Aquarius, A deserter from the Navy. And to a great extent, it is about the refusal to accept the unacceptable, refusing to comply with authority that we think is inappropriate or giving us the wrong orders. That may be a positive expression of Mercury in aspect to Pluto, saying no to things that we really don’t agree with. But it’s only positive if we manage to restrain that Mercury in Aries impulsiveness.

Gemini First Quarter Moon (March 6, 2025, 8:32 am PST)

And now it’s time for the Moon Report. It begins with the Gemini First Quarter Moon on March 6th at 8:32 am Pacific Time at 16º21’ Gemini. So, it’s time to take action on those New Moon in Pisces intentions from the New Moon on February 27th. This is the phase for action, and the conjunction in the chart for this First Quarter between the Moon and Jupiter really emphasizes the upside, the positivity of taking action.

Mars, of course, is freshly direct in Cancer after a very long and frustrating retrograde period and at the time of this First Quarter, it’s in a trine aspect with the Sun, and that gives plenty of energetic oomph to this First Quarter Moon. Let’s get things done. Let’s tell our story.

This First Quarter Moon is ruled by Mercury, which is gearing up for its retrograde period and it kind of has its hands full with Pluto. Some the usual qualities that we associate with Gemini, which would be the lightness, the small talk, socializing, new ideas, they may be a little darker than usual because of this aspect to Pluto. If we’re gossiping, it might get a little more mean-spirited than usual, and that’s the kind of thing that’s likely to come back at us when Mercury turns retrograde.

So, use Gemini’s best qualities, a love of variety, the willingness to try new adventures, but really curb the acerbic tongue or the gossipy aspect of Gemini at this First Quarter Moon.

Lunar Phase Family Cycle

This is the First Quarter in a lunar phase family cycle that began at the New Moon on June 6th, 2024, at 16º17’ Gemini. That was a pretty amazing New Moon with five planets in Gemini, and most of them were making a difficult aspect to Saturn in Pisces. The nature of that New Moon and its lunar phase cycle is about sitting on those Gemini impulses to some degree. For example, Gemini can get overextended in a lot of directions and have a hard time focusing on just one thing that it wants to pursue. And the nature of that particular New Moon, with the aspects to Saturn, said that that was a time that maybe you were choosing just one path, one interest that you wanted to follow. And the First Quarter Moon now just asks you to step back and evaluate how well are you doing with that.

The Full Moon in this cycle comes on December 4th, 2025, and that is when we will get a fuller picture of the things that we initiated at that New Moon in June 2024. And the Last Quarter in this cycle comes on September 4th, 2026. And that will give us one more opportunity to really complete this cycle and maybe one important project that we picked out for ourselves at that New Moon.

Void-of-Course Moon Periods

Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. The first is on March 5th, when the Moon in Taurus sextiles Neptune at 2:53 am Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course then for 1 hour 36 minutes, and then enters Gemini at 4:29 am. Normally, a Moon in Taurus is very steady and stable. It’s one of the nicer signs for the Moon.

But in this case, it is in a conjunction with Uranus, so insomnia may be an issue, or unsettling dreams that jolt us awake. That is the nature of the Moon and Uranus being an aspect with Neptune, the planet of dreams and the unconscious. If you find yourself awake at this time, maybe dip into a book or find one of those ambiance videos on YouTube with a crackling fire or rain noises. They have some with this lovely jazz music and a cozy bookstore setting that put me right out.

On March 7th, the Moon in Gemini squares Neptune at 6:57 am Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for 1 hour 32 minutes and enters Cancer at 8:29 am. All of the Void-of-Course Moons this week begin on aspects to Neptune because Neptune is so close to the end of its sign. And when we’re talking about Void-of-Course periods that are connected to Neptune, they are about reaching into our unconscious – why we do the things that we do or say the things we say, in the case of this Moon in Gemini.

We can be a little moody when the Moon is in Gemini, a mutable sign, and connecting with Neptune as well. But this is a Void-of-Course period that gives us a chance to pick up some sort of creative healing outlet for these emotional surges that can come up from time to time.

It would be great to get into something like a journaling practice, maybe with tarot, because it has that visual quality that Neptune really enjoys and it’s also a good way to learn about symbolism. The Moon in Gemini is very focused on language, but Neptune is connected with the visual, so tarot can help us complement our study of astrological symbolism. Although we can certainly approach astrology from a metaphysical standpoint or spiritual one, it still is coming through written symbols, which have a very different quality than that visual component of Neptune. So maybe give tarot a try. I’m playing with it a lot more these days.

And on March 9th, the Moon in Cancer trines Neptune at 2:32 pm Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for 1 hour, 27 minutes, and then enters Leo at 3:59 pm. Sounds like a great time for a Sunday brunch.

Life is stressful. And lately, there’s been a lot of talk about joy. The joy of missing out, for example, kind of a play on the fear of missing out. There can be a lot of enjoyment, and the Moon in Cancer with Neptune really speaks of this, the enjoyment that we can get from just hanging out at home, being very casual, not having to fight with the outside world.

Joy is important, and so is good food and drink to a Moon in Cancer that is trine Neptune.

Sun trine Mars (March 7, 2025, 9:13 pm PST)

The Sun trines Mars on March 7th at 9:13 pm at 17º52’ Pisces and Cancer. Around this day, we might see an uptick in energy, enthusiasm, and focus. If you like to dance, we have a couple of fun, short videos that we’ll link to in the show notes to inspire you.

Overall, this is just really good, vigorous energy for tackling especially creative projects that have been on the back burner; to perform or to entertain, especially Sabian symbol 18 Pisces, A gigantic tent. That’s a symbol that always speaks to me of doing something performative.

But we do have to watch out for bouts of temper, always, when Mars is involved. The Sun in Pisces and Mars in Cancer are in gentle signs, and the trine is a pretty easy aspect between them, but they can still lose their cool. Especially if someone disrespects your family, or a disadvantaged person, or an animal who’s suffering. Mars’ Sabian symbol is 18 Cancer, A hen scratching for her chicks, and it speaks to this Mars in Cancer desire to take on the role of caring and providing for others, both in our family and in our community. So, give your joy and your creativity to the service of the people and creatures that you love.

Listener Question: Working with planets in Detriment, Fall, and Mutual Reception

In this week’s listener question, listener Percy on the PATH Train writes, “Dear Madam Astrologer. My listener question concerns two of the perhaps most action-adventure-affirming concepts in astrology.

Planets in the signs of their fall or detriment bring to mind film classics such as The Man in the Iron Mask or Air Force One, in which a usually powerful figure finds him or herself in desperate circumstances and must make wise use of every available resource.

Planets in Mutual Reception evoke thrillers in which two characters, separated by granite walls, stargates, or time portals, each have knowledge of benefit to the other, such as the location of treasure buried centuries ago, or the stand down passphrase for the steam powered robot prowling the decaying manor in which one character regains consciousness.”

April: I must say, I love listener Percy’s way with words! They continue,

“In my own natal chart, King Jupiter finds himself trapped in Gemini – as he does currently – in the Sign’s natural house, the Third House of Communication, plaintively gazing across to Messenger Mercury, confined in Castle Sagittarius. Can I yet revise my own storyline to permit these two characters to help one another survive and thrive?”

Well, Percy on the PATH Train – and I had to look that up. I live in Southern California. We don’t have a lot of public transportation, but I do have a few thoughts for you. First of all, I’m not surprised at all that somebody who writes with such joy and cleverness – and a number of words! – has Mercury in Sagittarius oppose Jupiter in your birth chart.

My dear astrologer friend, Dana Gerhardt, is fond of observing that planets in their fall or detriment are sometimes actually stronger than usual because we’ve had to work overtime to achieve their potential. And while things didn’t end up too nicely for The Man in the Iron Mask, Harrison Ford’s character acquitted himself quite nicely in Air Force One after overcoming some fairly dire circumstances, sometimes it takes emergencies, or at least difficult circumstances, to reveal a planet’s hidden strengths, just as they do for people.

Now, as for planets in mutual reception, I’ve never completely grasped how that’s supposed to work. My teacher was fond of saying that planets in mutual reception, which means that each of them is in the sign that the other rules, could sort of switch places and behave as though they were in their rulership.

Maybe it’s a kind of Star Trek transporter situation. Or maybe Mercury in the Sagittarius Castle swings down on a vine from a nearby trellis, Tarzan style, and then Jupiter uses the same vine to climb up to the castle parapet. I don’t know exactly. I was watching this for a bit while Mercury and Jupiter were in mutual reception in the transits and wondering if I could see it at work. I’m not sure I really could put my finger on it but I will say that they tend to give each other a boost in your chart if they’re in each other’s signs.

I’ll give you an example. As I’ve mentioned before, my husband and I have been working the New York Times crossword puzzle. We’re both big word people and we’ve been really enjoying it. But it seems neither of us can really work one of these things on our own, other than maybe Monday or Tuesday. Each of us has the knowledge and details that the other lacks, and we can fill in the gaps together. Individually, we may be like those planets that are in their fall or detriment, but if we combine our strengths, we end up much stronger overall.

Suffice to say, I think that planets in the signs of their fall or detriment can actually be very strong and that in the case of planets in mutual reception, each has something that the other lacks and somehow, together, they are stronger, and they help each other out.

Anyway, Percy on the Path Train, I hope that that was helpful. Thank you for writing in, and I very much enjoyed your question.

If you have a question that you would 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 just send me an email at April (at) bigskyastrology (dot)com and be sure you put “Podcast Question” in the subject line.

Donor Thanks

That is everything 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, 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.

Thank you very much to everyone who’s shown support for the podcast, and especially during my September 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 Paula Hepner and Alex Anderson!

Alex and Paula, thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting the show with your donations. Paula included this kind message: “My mission, along with your devoted listeners, is to help you keep from having to rely on advertising to support you and your great work. Onward!”. I love that, Paula. Thank you so much. And thanks to all of you. So far, so good!

If you would like to support the show and receive access to my bonus video episodes for donors, please go to BigSkyAstropod. com and make a contribution of $10 or more. You can make a one-time donation in any amount or become an ongoing monthly contributor.

That is 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!