TRANSCRIPT Ep. 286 | Taurus Season: Thunderstorms in the Pasture!

TRANSCRIPT Ep. 286 (4.14.25)
Taurus Season: Thunderstorms in the Pasture!

Hello, invisible friend. April here, and the date today is April 14th, 2025. Welcome to Episode 286 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. This week, Mercury enters Aries and aspects imaginative Neptune and laser-focused Pluto. Just before an extremely intense Aquarius Last Quarter Moon, Mars enters Leo and then makes a trine to Neptune in Aries. The Sun enters the lush and tranquil pastures of Taurus, but the peace is interrupted when Mars charges into the field. And Taurus’s Venus ruler aspects Uranus. And because it is such a busy week, I’m afraid I won’t be answering a listener question this week. But I will get back to that segment next week, so if you have any questions you would like me to answer, please send an email to april@bigskyastrology.com and be sure to put “podcast question” in the subject line.

Mercury enters Aries (April 15, 2025, 11:25 pm PDT)

Mercury enters Aries on April 15th at 11:25 pm Pacific Time. It’ll be in this sign until May 10th. This is Mercury’s third and final visit to 0º Aries in 2025. The previous two were on March 3rd, and then on March 29th when Mercury was retrograde.

Mercury moving into Aries is excellent for dealing with situations that require quick decisions, decisiveness, and also the need to speak your mind – because when Mercury is in Aries, we’re a little less afraid of conflict.

It’s really not the best Mercury sign for tackling anything that requires patience or thoroughness. if you have been feeling stuck in getting just about anything started, this Mercury sign is actually really going to help.

Now, sometimes it’s easiest to get a feel for a planet in a sign by contrasting it with its opposite. Mercury in Libra, which is Aries’s opposite sign, is diplomatic in the way it expresses itself and it weighs its options carefully before acting. But Mercury in Aries, on the other hand, grasps things very quickly and it acts decisively. It is much more instinctual, and that means that Mercury in the sign is not weighing a lot of options. It has a strong instinct about which way to act immediately.

People who are born with Mercury in Aries often make good first responders, ER staff, because they’re very good in situations where life or death depends on quick reflexes and fast decisions. Mercury’s time in Aries is gonna be really helpful if there’s been anything that you’ve been procrastinating about or holding yourself back from out of fear, Mercury in Aries will tend to just jump in there and get things done, and we can deal with a fallout later.

Mercury conjoins Neptune (April 16, 2025, 9:11 pm PDT)

Mercury in Aries makes a conjunction with Neptune on April 16th at 9:11 pm Pacific Time. That’s at 0º 38’ Aries. Other than transits from the Moon, this is the first transit to Neptune from another planet since it moved into Aries on March 30th. It’s over in a day, it’s a very fast aspect, but pay close attention on this day because Mercury could be bringing some messages about what this Neptune in Aries is likely to bring about both on a large scale and also just for you individually.

Mercury-Neptune aspects are always about translating a dream or a vision into a form that others can understand and appreciate. This is basically what artists do, musicians, photographers, painters, dancers. Mercury with Neptune gives words and form to things that are usually really difficult to express in that way.

Neptune is also associated with all forms of escapism. Again, this is only a one-day aspect, but what it does is point out on this date, catch yourself as you are engaged in the kinds of things you like to do to escape reality. Evaluate for yourself whether there isn’t perhaps a healthier way to deal with your stress or dealing with things you don’t really want to deal with on this date.

Also, be mindful of the company you keep and of the content that you consume, because when Mercury is with Neptune, even in a tough-minded sign like Aries, it’s more susceptible than usual to picking up on other people’s thoughts and moods and ideas.

So It’s not a great transit for analysis or logic, but it is great for certain kinds of crafts. And it can be handled well by getting a lot of movement and getting absorbed in games and activities that are fast moving. Aries likes things to move quickly.

Mars enters Leo (April 17, 2025, 9:21 pm PDT)

After a long stay in gentle Cancer, Mars moves into glamorous Leo, on April 17th at 9:21 pm Pacific Time. Mars previously went into Leo on November 3rd, 2024, and it chugged along in Leo for a while, and then it turned retrograde on December 6th, 2024, entered Cancer on January 6th, and it’s been in Cancer ever since. Now it’s moving into Leo, and it will be in Leo all the way through June 17th when it enters Virgo.

If you have been holding yourself back from the spotlight since early this year, Mars entering Leo will make the spotlight look a little more appealing. You can promote yourself and your ideas and revisit any projects, especially creative projects that you started back in November or December.

Mars is a work planet and it describes very much the way we approach doing work and also the kinds of work we like to do. So, while Mars is in Leo, it actually is a pretty good time for setting up and managing projects, because Leo is actually a very managerial sign. We don’t always think of it that way, but all of the fixed signs are pretty good at getting things in place.

And then once Mars goes into Virgo in June, that’s when we can cross the T’s and dot the i’s to make sure everything is just so, but while Mars is in Leo is really the time to just express yourself. It’s worth noting that the Sabian symbol for the first degree of Leo is, A case of apoplexy, and it kind of cautions us to manage our enthusiasm, our fiery enthusiasm as Mars lands itself in this fire sign. And that’s especially true for moderating Leo’s sense of self-importance. Leave your crown at home.

Sun enters Taurus (April 19, 2025, 12:56 pm PDT)

The Sun enters Taurus on April 19th at 12:56 pm Pacific Time through May 20th.

I’ve visited New Zealand a good amount because my husband is from there, and you hear a lot about this sheep in New Zealand and there are plenty, but you don’t hear so much about the cows – and there are a lot of cows. They’re everywhere. Even just hanging out in grassy pastures alongside the highway.

I have often envied those cows. They look so content. They have all this delicious grass to eat under those startlingly blue New Zealand skies. They look like they live in perpetual springtime, like they don’t have a care in the world.

That’s the ideal of the Sun’s Taurus season, especially here in the Northern Hemisphere when it actually is spring during Taurus season. After the hectic pace of the Aries season, Taurus is kind of the time to plop down in the pasture and chew our cud. It is the sign of security and ease and pleasure, and there are a really remarkable number of holidays that fall during this season: Earth Day and Arbor Day, Easter and Passover – this year at least – Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day. Not to mention April 20th, which a friend informs me is one of the major moneymaking days of the year for the cannabis industry.

When the Sun is in Taurus, it’s time to count our blessings and to contemplate what we need to bring stability to our lives, and most of all, to bring pleasure and abundance into our days.

Some of that has to do with the money that we earn and the possessions that we buy, but not all of it. And I think while the Sun is in Taurus, it’s a good time to really consider what it is that we value and what we need to feel comfortable and happy and prosperous in our lives.

Mars trine Neptune (April 19, 2025, 3:53 pm PDT)

Also, on April 19th at 3:53 pm Pacific Time, Mars makes a trine aspect to Neptune. Mars in Leo making a good aspect to the Neptune in Aries presents a strong time for using energy and talents because remember, Mars in Leo is very creative, and Neptune is an artistic planet.

This is an excellent opportunity for getting or giving coaching, particularly help for those who are disadvantaged and in need of encouragement. It’s also ideal for incorporating spiritual or artistic influences into your work or your physical activities. So, this might be something like practicing meditation or yoga or doing some dance. But this energy isn’t suited for tasks that require intense focus or anything that’s just self-serving, just things that we’re doing for our own advancement.

Now is not the time to aim for those spectacular individual achievements. Perhaps the rest of Mars in Leo season will be good for that. But while Mars is interacting with Neptune, the focus needs to be on contributing in some way to the improvement of your community, your society, the planet. If you have been suffering from some kind of illness or something in your body that isn’t making you feel top notch, Mars’s interaction with Neptune can possibly be helpful and healing as well.

Venus sextile Uranus (April 20, 2025, 11:20 am PDT)

Venus, which is the planetary ruler of Taurus, sextiles Uranus on April 20th at 11:20 am Pacific Time at 25º45’ Pisces and Taurus. This is the last of three sextile aspects between Venus and Uranus, and the conclusion of a story that began on January 26th. It was repeated on April 7th, and now this is the last aspect in the conclusion of the story.

It’s a story about how in any kind of love, connection or relationship with someone, it’s important to have our own sense of freedom, our own friends, our own interests, and it’s also a story about money and our relationship with resources generally. Venus connecting with Uranus may say that situations come our way where we either have an unexpected windfall or expenditure, a big tax bill, something like that, because Uranus brings instability in these areas usually, and we really have to evaluate how important such things are to us, and also whether the time and effort we’re putting into earning money is really satisfying to us. This is one of the aspects, coming so close on the heels of the Sun moving into Taurus, which will upset that usual Taurus stability and relaxation and comfort. Because Venus rules Taurus and anytime it connects with Uranus, something a little out of the ordinary comes our way. And this can be something unusual in our social experiences, maybe with a friend or something of that nature.

But in any event, this is really about exercising your free will in all kinds of Venus situations financially, and especially in relationships.

Mercury sextile Pluto (April 20, 2:39 pm PDT)

April 20th is a very busy day because on that day at 2:39 pm Pacific Time, Mercury makes a sextile to Pluto at 3º46’ Aries and Aquarius. This is also the third in a series of Mercury-Pluto sextiles that continue this sort of transformative influence following the previous aspects that were on March 5th and March 25th. This aspect can lead to seeing situations in the most challenging light or negative light, because this is sort of the influence of Pluto.

A lot of the time when it connects with Mercury, we can find ourselves getting in a mental rut, which sometimes can be pretty destructive. Now again, this is a pretty quick aspect. It’s only really happening for a day, but it is the continuation, the conclusion of a series of these kinds of aspects.

This can also, however, be our opportunity to take control of our minds and our thoughts, and to consciously steer them in a more positive and empowering direction. Like the previous transits that we had in this series, this aspect is forcing us to confront unpleasant truths and to move through them with clarity.

But be mindful, this transit can also make it easier to fall into that kind of compulsive, addictive, negative self-talk and mindset. The key is to channel this intense mental energy into activities that are constructive and healing, and that empower us rather than making us feel as though we have no power at all.

Sun square Mars (April 20, 2025, 6:34 pm PDT)

The Sun squares Mars, also on April 20th at 6:34 pm Pacific Time at 1º12’ Taurus and Leo. This is also where the Sun in Taurus is getting a little bit more of a push and motivation than we might normally see with it. When Mars is in a square aspect to the Sun in Taurus, it really lights a fire under the desire to do Taurus things, maybe to make more money, gain a larger share of the pasture. And a little Mars motivation is not the worst thing in the world for Taurus. It’s energizing. And if Taurus has a flaw, which I am not prepared to concede, it’s that it can get a little stuck in a rut. So having a little Mars is probably a pretty good thing every now and again.

We do have to be a little careful when the Sun is square Mars, of tempers flaring, to try to not take things personally. It is really difficult. Something or someone could really kick up your fighting instincts, and often it’s because they’re being kind of arrogant or egotistical, which is something that Taurus really, really hates.

Now, Mars in Leo, being a fire sign, has a little bit of a short fuse, but the Sun in Taurus is very slow to anger. Both of them are fixed signs though, and once they get mad, they’re unlikely to back down and they can really hold a bit of a grudge. This is especially true with Mars opposing Pluto at the same time.

The Sun’s Sabian symbol at this square is 2 Taurus, An electrical storm, which always speaks to me of the individual genius of amazing insights that seem to come from nowhere. Mars’s Sabian symbol is 2 Leo, An epidemic of mumps, and it really is about the widespread implications of any event. Any individual could originate an infectious idea. Not all of them are safe or good, but they are infectious. And this gives us a little bit of a positive sense of the Sun with Mars, that the individual, the Sun, can have an impact and can motivate others.

Last Quarter Moon in Aquarius (April 20, 2025, 6:36 pm PDT)

And now it’s time for the Moon report. We begin, as always, with the week’s major lunation, which is the Last Quarter Moon in Aquarius, on – what else? – April 20^th, it’s a big day! – at 6:36 pm Pacific Time, at 1º12’ Aquarius and Taurus. This gives us two very alike Sabian symbols. The Moon is on 2 Aquarius, An unexpected thunderstorm, and the Sun is on 2 Taurus, An electrical storm.

So, in both cases we get that very electric Aquarius spirit. It’s a really highly charged and energetic Last Quarter Moon, and it’s marked by this t-square between the Moon and Pluto in Aquarius, Mars in Leo, and the Sun in Taurus. And again, when we have these t-squares, they’re highly motivating, but they can also be quite frustrating.

This also really puts into high profile that Sun-Mars square that we talked about before. When we have a t-square, which is made up of three or more planets that are usually in the same modality, cardinal, fixed, or mutable. The t-square means there is one sign in that modality that doesn’t have a planet in it. In this case, that’s Scorpio. And I call this the release point for a t-square. Because when things start getting really, really aggravating with the t-square, you can move in the direction of that missing sign. It points to a place of refuge. So with Scorpio, that would be about retreating, literally, you know, getting off by yourself a bit so that you’re not intensely connected with a lot of people and all of their energy and engaging in solitary pursuits. Taking time to examine your feelings away from other people and their impact.

Last Quarter Moons represent the moment in the lunar cycle when we’re pushing to complete the goals that we set at the previous New Moon, which in this case was that Aries Solar Eclipse on March 29th. This is the lunation that really invites us to reflect on how best to influence the world around us. And since this Last Quarter Moon is in Aquarius, which is a collective sign, this is a time we might think about how we might collaborate with like-minded people who share our views, our interests, and especially our long-term goals.

At this Last Quarter Moon, we might be craving a sense of belonging and desire, social connections that really feel significant and impactful. The Aries energy is very individualistic, and if you’ve been feeling over the last month or so while the Sun has been in Aries, while Neptune moved into Aries, and while we had that solar eclipse in Aries, you might be ready at this point to get out and connect with other people more, especially with those Sabian symbols for this Last Quarter, the unexpected thunderstorm, the electrical storm.

We are seeing a tumultuous week because this is the Last Quarter Moon in a cycle that began with a solar eclipse, which is a pretty unstable influence anyway, so anything that we set in place at that New Moon is now kind of coming home to roost, and we are gonna figure out how to bring the boat to shore safely.

Lunar Phase Family Cycle

This is the Last Quarter in a lunar phase family cycle that began with a New Moon on January 21st, 2023 at one 1º32’ Aquarius. Based on what you can remember of that timeframe in your life, or maybe notes you have or looking at your calendar, looking at the position of 1º32’ Aquarius in your birth chart, you can get some sense of what felt really important to you at that time as being a point of new beginning.

Then at the First Quarter in this lunar phase family cycle, which was on October 21st, 2023 at 28º28’, Capricorn, within just a few degrees of that New Moon point in Aquarius, that’s when there would’ve been forward motion on something that you were plotting at that New Moon. Then at the Full Moon on July 21st, 2024 at 29º08’ Capricorn, there was a fuller perspective on what it was that you put into place on the New Moon of January 21st, 2023, what it had taken you to get to that point, and a clearer sense of what you were gonna need to do to bring those plans to completion.

And now we’re at that Last Quarter point and for the next nine months, we will be seeing unfold the opportunities that exist to finish what we began at that long ago New Moon, on January 21st, 2023. And it all has to do with this collective spirit of Aquarius. What is it that we can do that suits our own long-term hopes and dreams, but also brings us into a connection with others who share more or less the same goals?

Void-of-Course Moon Periods

Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. On April 15th, the Moon in Scorpio trines Mercury in Pisces at 7:24 pm Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for just 13 minutes, and then enters Sagittarius at 7:37 pm.

The Void-of-Course Moon periods, in my opinion, kick off a period short or long – this one’s very short – where we have an opportunity to let go of a habit that isn’t working well for us and or initiate a new habit that we want to continue.

Take this very short Void-of-Course Moon period to initiate a habit of saying good things to yourself and to others. We don’t often think of the Moon in Scorpio as working that way. It’s not always bright and sunny and saying, oh, really sweet things to other people. But I always remember something a client said to me long ago. She said, “I believe in being really honest with people, and that includes being honest about the things I really admire about them.” And I think that is a good way to look at this one, even if it is just sending someone a text or an email or saying something affirming to somebody when you’re out in public. This is a great Void-of-Course Moon period for doing that.

On April 18th, the Moon in Sagittarius trines the Sun in Aries at 4:38 am Pacific time. It’s Void-of-Course for two hours, 34 minutes, and then enters Capricorn at 7:12 am. The Moon in Sagittarius is a pretty upbeat Moon sign. It tends to have a little more laid-back approach to whatever is going on. Use this Void-of-Course Moon period to get in the habit of letting yourself have fun and laugh, and especially if you’re undergoing something in your life that is very challenging, where it’s very tempting to slide into those negative ways of thinking. This Void-of-Course Moon reminds us no matter what is going on in our lives that is challenging, there is always room to let a little bit of sunlight and laughter into your heart.

On the, oh, so busy April 20th, the Moon in Capricorn sextiles Saturn at 10:21 am Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for six hours, zero minutes, and then enters Aquarius at 4:21 pm. We know the Moon in Capricorn is the time each month for laying out a strategy and pursuing it in a slow and steady fashion. So this Moon in Capricorn, especially coming off a sextile to Saturn, which is very serious, is a Void-of-Course period for getting done what we need to get done. But since the Moon then enters Aquarius, it’s also about remembering that work isn’t everything.

Donor Thanks

Well, that is everything on my show sheet and then some. So I’m gonna wrap this one up. Thank you for listening to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. And if you like the show, please be sure to subscribe or follow it in your app of choice. Leave a rating or a review and maybe help spread the word by telling an astrology loving friend about the show. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at BigSkyAstropod.com.

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