TRANSCRIPT Ep. 343 | The Sun and Mars Meet Jupiter: Have It Your Way!

TRANSCRIPT Ep 343 | The Sun and Mars Meet Jupiter: Have It Your Way! (05.04.26)

Hello Invisible Friend, April here and the date today is May 4th, 2026. Welcome to Episode 343 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast.

This week, Mars in Aries squares an exalted Jupiter in Cancer, encouraging us to push our way through and demand to have things our way. Mercury squares Pluto, encouraging deep thought, just as the planet of transformation stations retrograde. The Aquarius Last Quarter Moon calls us to gather our friends to help us reach our New Moon goals. The Sun and Jupiter provide warm astrological weather for your Mother’s Day brunch, and I answer a listener question about the Void-of-Course Moon.

Mars square Jupiter (May 4, 2026, 7:08 pm PDT)

Mars squares Jupiter on Monday, May 4th, at 7:08 pm Pacific time. We need to be a little careful with this one. Both Mars and Jupiter are in signs where they are very strong, and both of them want their own way. Mars in Aries has so much energy and determination, and Jupiter in Cancer feels pretty strongly about things. This is a combination that can encourage us to push our way through the world and demand to have things our own way.

On the plus side, with these two planets creating a lot of extra energy, we can really make great strides toward a particular goal, especially things like physical fitness or self-improvement, trying to clean up your diet. Be careful not to push too hard, or too fast, or make drastic changes, especially to your diet, overnight. But otherwise, Mars and Jupiter can be very helpful together.

Jupiter rules the home, and Mars in Aries likes to swing a hammer, so it can be a pretty good aspect for home improvements or renovations. But it’s a challenging transit for managing anger and stress and frustration. It is fine to go after what we want, but it’s equally important to practice good sportsmanship and to be generous toward others.

Mercury square Pluto (May 5, 2026, 3:08 pm PDT)

Mercury squares Pluto on Tuesday, May 5th, at 3:08 p.m. Pacific time, at 5º30’ Taurus and Aquarius. Pluto is slowing down, because it’s going to station retrograde the next day. And as Mercury makes this square to Pluto, it feels like this influence lasts for a week, instead of just a couple of days.

Mercury symbolizes how we think and communicate, and perhaps most importantly, how we frame what happens to us. And when it’s aspecting Pluto, we can have a tendency to look at things a little bit on the dark side, the negative side, and actually get a little bit wrapped around the axle about it. Pluto does help us to face hard truths, but not everything is hard.

Look at anything that you haven’t been facing up to, and make a resolution to deal with it. But remember, Mercury in Taurus recommends that we show ourselves a little practical kindness, and not get too wound up about what we’ve done wrong, or the wrong that’s been done to us.

Pluto stations Retrograde (May 6, 2026, 8:34 am PDT)

On Wednesday, May 6th, Pluto stations retrograde at 8:34 AM Pacific Time. It turns direct on October 15th.

Pluto always ups the intensity, so we can expect this day to have some real potency, because any planet that’s stationing, either turning retrograde or direct, projects a very strong energy out into the world. So today could bring these thoughts and themes about power and control, and especially how we handle these things.

Pluto’s on the Sabian symbol 6 Aquarius, A performer of a mystery play, which is a powerful one for ritual work. Pluto, in particular, is connected with those who have passed on and powerful connections to the other side. Who are the people that you’ve lost, that you’re thinking of these days, who were important to you, and who still live in your memory? How did they help you better understand yourself?

On a more mundane note, Pluto in Aquarius is related to networks and technology. So, this could be a day when you see some drama in a group that you belong to, a work group, a social media group, something related to an interest that’s important to you. And we might see some difficult issues with technology too, especially with Mercury still within a day or so of its aspect with Pluto.

So to the extent that you can, this is a good day to focus on your own thoughts, and also to kind of get into communication with yourself, and ask yourself the challenging questions about what needs to change in your life, and what it is you want to do moving forward.

Aquarius Last Quarter Moon (May 9, 2026, 2:10 pm PDT)

And now it’s time for the Moon Report, and we begin as always with the week’s major lunation. This week, that’s the Aquarius Last Quarter Moon on Saturday, May 9th at 2:10 p.m. Pacific Time. That’s at 19º14’ Aquarius.

The Last Quarter is the final action point in the goals and intentions that you set at the April 17th Aries New Moon. This lunation marks a moment when you have examined your values, your need for personal expression, the shifting dynamics in your interpersonal relationships, and now you really know where you stand and who your true friends and allies are.

The Last Quarter Moon phase often shows where we’re having some kind of crisis of confidence, as Dane Rudhyar used to put it, and we can find ourselves doubting the things that we set into motion at the New Moon. But at the Aquarius Last Quarter, gather your true friends and allies close to you for some reassurance and some solidarity. With their help, you’ll probably be a lot more likely to achieve the goals that you set out for yourself at the Aries New Moon.

This Last Quarter Moon is in a nearly precise trine aspect to Venus in Gemini, and it echoes the Last Quarter Moon’s Sabian symbol, which is 20 Aquarius, A big white dove, a message bearer, and it’s very much a symbol that speaks of peace and harmony and cooperation with others.

Lunar Phase Family Cycle

This is the Last Quarter in a lunar phase family cycle that began with the New Moon on February 9th, 2024, at 20º40’ Aquarius. So that’s also an important New Moon to be looking back at now, and think about what you set into motion in the Aquarius house or the Aquarius sector of your chart and of your life. Were you getting involved in new friendships, new organizations, looking toward the future, and what you wanted to set into motion?

The First Quarter in this cycle, on November 8th, 2024, at 17º19’ Aquarius, would have been the moment in this lunar phase family cycle to take some kind of action to further those New Moon in Aquarius goals.

Then nine months later, the Full Moon on August 9th, 2025, at 16º59’ Aquarius would have been the peak of awareness when all was revealed, when you could really get a good picture of what it was that you set into motion at the Aquarius New Moon. And now, nine months later, we are at the Last Quarter in this lunar phase family cycle on May 9th. And what this says is this is not only concluding the objectives we put into place at the Aries New Moon on April 17th of this year, but all the way back to February 2024. And we’ve been working through these Aquarius issues and ideas and parts of our chart for the last two and a half years.

Void-of-Course Moon periods

Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. On Monday, May 4th, the Moon in Sagittarius trines Mars in Aries at 2:33 p.m. Pacific time. It’s a long Void-of-Course Moon period. It’s Void-of-Course for 21 hours and 33 minutes before it enters Capricorn on May 5th at 12:06 p.m.

The Moon in Sagittarius trine Mars in Aries sounds like a bonfire. It sounds like a really rowdy connection. And it’s true that energy will probably be off the hook. So, let’s put all of that vitality to good use by doing something that’s fun and requires a lot of physical effort. So hiking, rock climbing, any competitive sport would be a really great way to play with this energy. And if you are not the kind of person that’s going to go out and be physically active yourself, you can always go to a ball game or something of that nature that lets you be in the presence of this energy. Use this Void-of-Course Moon period to get in the habit of making physical activity a fun and sociable outlet.

Then on Thursday, May 7th, the Moon in Capricorn squares Mars in Aries at 7:19 a.m. Pacific time. Another pretty lengthy Void-of-Course period, 17 hours and 9 minutes. And then the Moon enters Aquarius on Friday, May 8th at 12:27 a.m. And this is another high-energy Void-of-Course Moon period.

But the Moon is in Capricorn, which kind of prefers solitude or likes to act or work alone, and definitely wants to be productive. This could be an excellent time to make serious progress on a project because the Moon in Capricorn is so good at plotting a strategy, making a plan to get something done. And then Mars in Aries has the energy and the courage to just move ahead with the plan. Use this Void-of-Course Moon period to get into a habit of monitoring your energy levels and using them effectively.

On Saturday, May 9th, the Moon in Aquarius sextiles Mars in Aries at 10:09 p.m. Pacific time. It’s Void-of-Course for 12 hours and 30 minutes, then enters Pisces on Sunday, May 10th at 10:39 a.m. The Moon in Aquarius is a great networker, and Mars in Aries can be connected to work, so this would be a good time to attend a work function, a happy hour, or some kind of social event that gets you connected with others in your profession. Use this Void-of-Course Moon period to be proactive and to remain open to different ways of making contacts and finding leads in your professional network.

Sun sextile Jupiter (May 10, 2026, 7:14 pm PDT)

On Sunday, May 10th at 7:14 p.m. Pacific time, the Sun in Taurus sextiles Jupiter at 20º25’ minutes. What a beautiful aspect for Mother’s Day with the Sun in Taurus, which is very stable and very pleasure-loving, and Jupiter in Cancer, which is the sign of motherhood.

The Sun always symbolizes the energy of a given day and what is commanding our attention. When the Sun is in Taurus, we can celebrate our security and stability and the things and people that make our lives beautiful. Jupiter in Cancer is perfect for a Mother’s Day brunch because Cancer is associated with mothers and with food and nurturing.

Really nice opportunities can tend to present themselves on a day like this one and especially things that you have put a little bit of effort into and you might see them finally starting to pay off. Taurus and Cancer are both associated with homes, so if you’ve been in the market for a new place to live, today could bring some really appealing possibilities. And if you’re selling your home, this is a transit that could bring the right buyer your way. So, a great day for an open house and wonderful opportunities to connect with the right people.

The Sun and Jupiter are both great for exploring your creativity and for helping you get attention. On the whole, you can expect to have more confidence, feel a little more popular, and even be a little more willing to take risks than we would normally see with signs like Taurus and Cancer.

But as always, there’s the caveat when the Sun and Jupiter come together to remember that we can be a little bit prone to eating or spending too much or taking risks that we’re not really prepared for. So think twice before you act.

Listener Question: Signing a contract during a Void-of-Course Moon

In this week’s listener question, Listener Maria writes, “We signed our house contract during a Void-of-Course Moon in Gemini. Are we doomed?”

This question came in in an email, and I’ve had a little follow-up with Listener Maria, so I know a bit about how this is playing out up to now. She and her husband have been trying to sell their house. And they entered a contract with a buyer, and she was just thinking, because it happened on a Void-of-Course Moon, is that a bad thing?

My thoughts about the Void-of-Course Moon are a little bit complicated. On one hand, in very particular situations, such as if somebody asks you a horary question, which this almost was because it’s a question that came to me, and the usual response to a horary question like this one about the Void-of-Course Moon would be, “Nothing will come of the matter.” And in this case, that was what happened. The buyer backed out the very next day and they are currently entertaining an offer from another buyer.

So, as I say, that’s the standard reply about a Void-of-Course Moon, in something like horary. What I have found in researching the Void-of-Course Moon, which I did for a lecture a few years back, is that there seems to be a little bit of a difference between something like a horary question and something that just spontaneously happens that perhaps you’re looking back to, which happened on a Void-of-Course Moon in your life. And you’re not asking a question about it, you’re seeing what unfolded.

And what often does happen in those cases is that things don’t necessarily unfold the way you expected. It’s not that the matter is dead on arrival or anything; it just means it’s going to take some interesting twists and turns. I had a couple of examples from my own life in that talk, one where I had bought a car. That was on a Void-of-Course Moon, and I drove that car for 30 years. There was also a Void-of-Course Moon when I first met my husband, who came to me for a reading, so I had the information all documented about when it happened, and it was a Void-of-Course Moon. And of course, I could not say in that situation that nothing would come of the matter because something very clearly did. A very long relationship at this point, we’ve been married for 33 years.

But that wasn’t a question. It was looking back at something that had already happened and then decoding it.

What I found also in the research I did for that talk was that astrologers like William Lilly, back in that day, had different rules for even determining when the Moon was Void-of-Course than we use today.

In modern astrology, we will say that the Moon goes Void-of-Course, meaning it does not have a course, from the time that it makes the final major aspect to another planet in its sign until it changes into the next sign. That would be the Void-of-Course period and a Void-of-Course Moon. Well, Lilly had devised a somewhat more complicated formula that you use to determine if the Moon were Void-of-Course.

And you would look, for example, even into the next sign to see if the Moon in a chart was going to make aspects to things early in the next sign. And depending on the planets that were being aspected, you could see the story and how that unfolded.

In Maria’s case, what I told her was, by email, I don’t take a completely grim view of the Void-of-Course Moon, but I can tell you pretty confidently that this probably isn’t going to go the way you expected. And in some cases, the way you hoped. And indeed, she wrote me the next day and said, ” Boy, you were right. That’s exactly what happened. They pulled out and we’re entertaining another offer.”

So that is one story about the Void-of-Course Moon. Now you can see when the Moon is Void-of-Course pretty easily if you have an astrological calendar that shows the aspects for each day. And you look for, usually, the symbol is VC for Void-of-Course when the Moon makes its last aspect in its current sign. And you know it’s Void-of-Course until it goes into the next sign.

Now, the reason on the podcast, I emphasize changing habits during a Void-of-Course Moon is because symbolically, if the Moon is not approaching any aspects in its sign, there’s nothing that is going to throw you off course.

If, for example, you’ve started a diet or you’ve decided to join a gym and you want that to go on for a good long time, symbolically, during a Void-of-Course Moon, the Moon is not going to trip you up or get you off course by making an aspect to another planet. And the same if you’re trying to break a habit, you should be able to do that with some success during the Void-of-Course period.

So, I don’t like just saying a Void-of-Course Moon is terrible and nothing will come of the matter and it’s not going to work out. I don’t think that’s necessarily always the case. And I think there is this really positive way to work with it, which is why I emphasize it in the podcast and talk about these little moments of opening and opportunity that come to us two, three, maybe four times in a typical week.

All right. I hope that listener Maria is having good luck with the sale of her home. And I hope that listeners found this an interesting way to think about the Void-of-Course Moon.

Well, that is everything I have on my show sheet, so I am going to wrap this one up. Thank you for listening to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, I hope that you will subscribe or follow the show in your app of choice.

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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!