EPISODE 88 | Cancer New Moon: Cash-ing In! (July 5, 2021)
Jen: Welcome to the Big Sky Astrology Podcast with April Elliott Kent, and me, producer and co-host Jen Braun. Hey friends, Jen here. Today is July 5th, 2021. And here with me as we look forward to a lighter summer schedule, is my friend, astrologer, April Elliott Kent. Hi April.
April: Hello, Jen.
Jen: Hello…
April: Yes. I’m sort of already liking this lighter summer schedule. I don’t know about you.
Jen: Absolutely.
April: I hope our listeners are also getting a little time to frolic and relax. And of course, down under it’s not summer, but I’m imagining maybe they take some vacations down there. I don’t actually know.
Jen: We hope so. Let us know our friends in the Southern hemisphere.
April: Yes.
Jen: Won’t you write a comment to us on bigskyastropod.com and let us know?
April: I did have an email from somebody that was a comment on social media about the Solstice and something that I wrote, an essay I wrote at the solstice, which was very summer themed because that’s how I experience the Cancer Solstice. And they said, “How does this impact people in the Southern hemisphere?” Which is always a good question. And what I said is, “Well, it’s still the Solstice. It’s still about slowing down and kind of taking stock of where you’re at in the year and maybe a little downtime, a little alone time.” And whether that’s Capricorn or whether it’s Cancer, it’s a stylistic difference. If it’s the Winter Solstice, then you’re down there may be spending more time inside by the fire or reading a book, something like that, that’s kind of slower and more introspective. Maybe not at the beach.
Jen: Will you let folks know what our plan is for the summer?
April: Our plan for the summer is to release episodes every two weeks, instead of every week. We know this is devastating. We know that we have become for many of you an essential part of your Monday routine. We’re very sorry to do this to you. But, we’ve been pushing pretty hard for a long time now.
Jen: For 87 episodes, we’ve been pushing hard.
April: Exactly. And we think too, that this is just naturally a time of year when maybe people are going to be out and about more this year, certainly more so than this time last year. And this is a good time to limit the amount of content that we’re putting out. Give you guys a break from us.
Jen: And if you object, feel free to let us know on bigskyastropod.com.
April: Do let us know. That is our plan through August.
Jen: Yes.
April: Well, we are on Episode 88, Jen, so we are continuing our 80’s music project, where for each of our episodes that begins 80, we’re talking about our favorite songs from that year because Jen and I are both big music fans and the 80’s was our decade, musically.
Jen: Totally was.
April: Today, of course, we’re going to share our favorite music from 1988.
Jen: And I do believe it’s your turn to go first, April. What are your favorite songs from 1988?
April: You are going to be so happy because they’re both by women.
Jen: Regular listeners know that April has been listing all men.
April: Yes. Absolutely. And you would think I was never listening to any women when actually I was listening to a lot.
Jen: Alright, let’s have them.
April: Well, the first song, my very favorite and I was telling you, Jen, I’m almost positive it’s one you wouldn’t know. And I am positive that 99.9% of the people in our audience do not know the wonderful Marti Jones.
Jen: Okay. You’re correct. I do not
April: Fantastic singer. She sounds a little like Dusty Springfield. And this is a song from her album “Used Guitars” which came out that year and it’s called “Tourist Town.”
Jen: Okay. Cool.
April: Every time I looked at my list of songs from 1988, I thought, which was the one that was constantly going through my head at any given time. And this is the song. So, of course we will link it in the show notes. And of course it will be on our YouTube playlist for songs of 1980.
Jen: Well, I’m going to absolutely have to give that one a listen and see what I think of it.
April: Her voice is beautiful. It like buttah!
Jen: I’m guessing if you liked it, I’ll like it as well, since we do have some similar musical tastes,
April: I think you might. Yes. She’s wonderful. The other is..
Jen: Yes.
April: “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman.
Jen: That was my number one pick!
April: I knew it. I knew it.
Jen: Yes.
April: At last.
Jen: The Venn diagram continues of mine and April’s musical overlap.
April: It has. It has Intersected. It has intersected.
Jen: Totally.
April: Such a beautiful song. I just knew that one was going to be on your list.
Jen: Oh, gosh. I love that song.
April: Me too. It’s wonderful. Just thinking of it makes my heart kind of go…. (weird sound)
Jen: Yes.
April: I’m making a little wrenching motion,
Jen: Tracy Chapman. I love her.
April: Yes. Wonderful voice. Beautiful song.
Jen: She’s fantastic.
April: So, what do you have for us now that I took “Fast Car” away from you?
Jen: So, the first song I’m going to mention is a song that holds some really great memories for me. I can so clearly remember my dad singing it as he tinkered around in his workshop in the basement when I was a kid. It was originally released in 1963, but in 1988, the song made it onto an album called “Classic Cash.” And the song is “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash.
April: Oh, I love that song so much.
Jen: Johnny Cash and my dad in the basement, those two go together.
April: Well, my dad too, huge Johnny Cash fan.
Jen: Oh, really?
April: Yes. He was the man’s musician. I didn’t realize that it originally came out in 1963.
Jen: You were just a little tyke then.
April: I was a smidgen. You weren’t even on the planet.
Jen: No, I wasn’t.
April: Yes. So, that’s wonderful. I’ll look forward to listening to that and imagining your dad crooning along. In fact, I’m imagining it right now….
Jen: Do you remember playing Johnny Cash in the basement?
Dad: Of course.
Jen: I remember hearing you singing.
Jen voiceover: This is my dad. If you listen closely, you can hear him singing. About a month ago. I saw my parents for the first time since the pandemic started. Ten of my family members got together, gathered for the first time in over a year. My mom comes over.
Mom: Nobody doesn’t like Johnny Cash.
Jen: Everybody likes John Cash.
Jen voiceover: People are cooking dinner together. My mom starts singing. This moment was serendipitous because I knew I’d already picked the song for 1988, but I didn’t know someone was going to start playing it. So yes, I started taping because this is why I love this song.
April: Very festive. There was much camaraderie, such fellowship.
Jen: Nice.
Jen: Oh, it’s been way too many episodes since we’ve mentioned fellowship.
April: It has been.
Jen: So, glad you brought that in.
April: And what is your second pick?
Jen: My runner up song is a song that was recorded in 1988, but I didn’t hear it until 1990. A friend made a mix tape for me. And the song is by Kate Bush, “This Woman’s Work.”
April: Oh, that is a good one.
Jen: Yes.
April: Now, I have to tell you, I have a complicated history with Kate Bush.
Jen: Oh boy. Okay. Do tell.
April: She’s one of those voices that can really… that weathering Heights thing? That really gets on my nerves. I know a lot of people love it, but that one I really like. And I love that one she did with Peter Gabriel. “Don’t Give Up.”
Jen: Oh.
April: It was on my short list.
Jen: That is a good one.
April: But I remember that song. Good choice.
Jen: Thank you. Well, I do hope our listeners are enjoying our tribute to the 1980’s.
April: Well, we hope so. Because certainly it’s been a kick for us.
Jen: Yes.
April: And that’s all we can go by as, are we entertaining ourselves with this?
Jen: Exactly.
April: Alright. Now, we’re constantly reminded by the fair Joanie, Jen’s wife, that, this is indeed an astrology podcast. So, we imagine that you’d like to hear a little something about – now, this is… we’re covering a two-week period and we’re going to do it at a fast clip. Because our goal here is to do a half hour episode that covers two weeks. So, there’s quite a lot here. We won’t be going into great depth on every single thing we talked to you about, but we’re going to hit the highlights. I’ll remind you too, that I do write a weekly column for my website, bigskyastrology.com that often will go into a little more depth, maybe on some of the things we won’t be able to cover in these semi-monthly episodes.
Jen: Oh, I’m glad you thought to mention that.
April: Yes.
Jen: Well, what do we have coming up first, April?
April: Well, first we have the third of three Mercury Neptune squares. Do you remember the dates of those, Jen?
Jen: I do. The first square was May 22nd and we talked about it in Episode 82, “The Sun Enters Gemini.” The second one was June 5th and that was on Episode 84, “Venus Enters Cancer.” And I will link those in the show notes.
April: Wonderful. Yes, Mercury was in Gemini between May 5th through July 11th. It was there an extra long time because it had a long retrograde period between May 29th and June 22nd. So, it is finishing its journey in Gemini with a square to Neptune, which as we’ve said before, can act a little bit like Mercury retrograde, but with a Neptune twist.
Jen: Right.
April: Sometimes, refrigerators can act up and all kinds of things.
Jen: Sometimes they can. Yes.
April: Asked Jen about her refrigerator, so that’s…
Jen: Let’s not. Let’s not.
April: Well, finally on July 11th, Mercury enters Cancer, it’ll really blaze through Cancer. And this is a sign which, along with Scorpio and Pisces, is sometimes called a mute sign, probably because they’re represented by creatures that don’t make any sounds. Mercury often has a hard time speaking its mind in Cancer and being direct in its language, because it’s very protective about what it says. And it could take offense kind of easily. It’s ruled by the Moon, and so depending on the Moon sign in a given day, say it’s in a very sensitive sign like Pisces, well then yes, Mercury in Cancer is going to be doubly sensitive. That means it’s sensitive to the words that we say to each other and it’s also sensitive about the way we perceive things that are coming in. Just kind of remember I think while Mercury is in Cancer through July 27th, try not to take things too terribly personally. It enters Cancer on July 11th at 01:35 PM Pacific time.
Jen: Would you say that Mercury is at a disadvantage in all of the water signs?
April: I think it is a little bit certainly in Pisces because it’s in its detriment in Pisces.
Jen: Right. Right.
April: And on the one hand, Mercury is not just about speaking.
Jen: That’s a good point.
April: Yes. There’s all kinds of ways to communicate. So, maybe while Mercury’s in Cancer or the other water signs, it’s a good time to try to pick up on body language and to communicate through touch or by doing things for someone, but people who are less sensitive aren’t always going to pick up on that. So, just know that there is kind of a fine line there. But yes, there are all kinds of different ways to communicate. And I think Mercury in Cancer says that.
Jen: Okay.
April: Good point, Jen.
Jen: Thank you.
April: What do we have next?
Jen: Next, we have Venus making a few aspects. And the first one that she makes from the sign of Leo is that she opposes Saturn on July 6th at 7:36 PM Pacific Time. Saturn of course in Aquarius, both are at 12° and one minute of their respective signs. Then Venus will square Uranus a couple of days later on July 8th at 12:25 PM Pacific Time. Venus this time from 14°, four minutes of Leo squaring Uranus in Taurus. And just kind of setting up the stage here, last week, Mars made these same aspects to Saturn and Uranus. The Sun of course will come through in about a month and do the same thing. Mercury will then follow in the Sun’s footsteps and do the same thing. We’ve talked about how the Saturn/Uranus square’s the signature transit of 2021. So, that’s kind of the backdrop over the next couple of months.
Finally, Venus will conjunct Mars on July 13th at 6:33 AM Pacific Time, at 19°, 48 minutes of Leo. And that sounds kind of fun after the other two aspects.
April: Definitely in comparison with the other two aspects. It sounds like a good time for sure.
Jen: Tell us what we need to know for this.
April: Well, let’s back up and just figure out what does Venus represent. Venus represents relationships, money, the things that we value, a desire for ease, comfort, creature comforts. In Leo, it favors luxury, creative and artistic projects, love affairs entertaining performing. So, these aspects, the opposition to Saturn and the square to Uranus are showing obstacles. And then the conjunction to Mars is going to show at last, getting something that we want.
Jen, as you were saying, while it’s in Leo, Venus is triggering this ongoing Saturn/Uranus square. It’s the big news, the big planetary news of 2021. It was exact on February 17th, again on June 14th and then it will grace our Christmas Eve on December 24th. So, what this planetary set up is saying, there is a tension between rules and structure and freedom, if we had to distill it to just a few key words.
Now, we have Venus coming to the point where it’s interacting with that pair of planets. When Venus is in any kind of aspect of Saturn, but in particular, something like an opposition or a square, it may say that we feel unappreciated. We may feel that our affections are not reciprocated. Financially, things can feel really tight, at least in relation to the effort that’s required to get it. So, we’re having to work really hard, usually, for less money with Venus and Saturn together.
The Sabian symbol for Venus when it opposes Saturn is “An Old Sea Captain Rocking.” I’ve always loved that one.
Jen: Yes. That’s nice.
April: And it can just mean we’re like the old sea captain. Maybe we just want to stop working so hard. And we just want to sit and rock for a while and take a lighter summer schedule. So, maybe we were just feeling that coming on, Jen.
Jen: Totally.
April: And then the square to Uranus might be sudden expenses, sudden windfalls, swift changes in relationships. It can be new ones coming in. It can be old ones changing. You know, Venus always, we think, is going to bring us something nice to the table. But yes, these are hard aspects to a couple of tough planets and Venus can’t do it alone. It’s like trying to apply a little band aid to a break from the Saturn/Uranus, which has been tough. With Saturn and Uranus square each other, it’s like, there’s no in between in any given situation. It either has to be this way or it has to be that way. And ideally with a square, we’re trying to get the two planets to function together. But it’s real hard with Saturn and Uranus because they’re so different. They want such different things.
Jen: Yes. I remember you saying at least with an opposition, you can see each other more clearly, but with the square, it’s sort of like from the side there, it’s harder to see.
April: Yes, you have to fight it out. With the opposition, first, you do this planet, then you do that planet and you keep going back and forth to try to find an equilibrium. But with the square, it’s constant friction, it’s constant struggle. And then as you said, finally, Venus comes together with Mars on July 13th. And it’s like all that Mars in Leo work, Mars made the opposition to Saturn on July 1st, it made the square to Uranus on July 8th and now it’s getting a good result. You know, with the hard aspects, like to Saturn and Uranus from Mars, we’ve had to really work some things out. And this is where we get the reward for the work that we’ve done. Venus coming together, giving Mars a little kiss and saying, “Oh, let me give you a little shoulder massage after you’ve been doing all that work.”
Jen: Yes. And in Leo, it’s very expressive. That sounds really lovely.
April: Leo… Leo…
Jen: Leo…
April: I am kind of liking Leo, Venus being in Leo, as you might imagine.
Jen: I wonder why my Leo friend.
April: I know. So, many Venus aspects. Now, Jen?
Jen: Yes.
April: Do you know what time it is?
Jen: What time is it?
April: It is a heck of a Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it!
April: Well, yes, my friends, we have not one, but two big lunar happenings that we want to tell you about.
Jen: It’s a double feature.
April: It kind of is.
Jen: It’s going to be a double feature all summer.
April: It’s double your lunar pleasure. The first is the Cancer New Moon on July 9th at 6:16 PM Pacific Time at 18:01 Cancer. This is a heck of a chart. The Sun and the Moon together of course at the New Moon are making an opposition to Pluto, a trine to Neptune and a sextile to Uranus.
Jen: Okay.
April: So, this week, when any planet does anything, it does like three things. And that’s what’s going off with this New Moon.
Jen: And do you want to break those down a little bit and tell us more about them?
April: I’m dying to.
Jen: Great. Let’s do it.
April: The first aspect that the Sun Moon makes is the sextile to Uranus. That’s exact on July 5th at 12:14 PM Pacific Time. This just talks about an opportunity to take a new approach. Sextiles are always an opportunity, an invitation, a message, a piece of instruction, maybe. So, the Sun and Moon are in Cancer, Uranus in Taurus. These tend to be quieter signs. It’s a subtle invitation. Maybe it just says, “Look, you can’t keep doing things the way you’ve been doing them. You have to change it up a little bit. And if you don’t that’s okay, but you’re not going to get the same benefit as you would by changing.”
On the other hand, we might not be really willing to change right now because so much is in – Saturn and Uranus are being aspecting so much, so it’s an opportunity we don’t have to take.
Jen: And if folks want to hear more about sextiles, they can listen to, I want to say it’s Episode 16, “Let’s Talk About Sextiles.” Don’t quote me on the exact number of the episode, but I will link it in the show notes.
April: It’s a good one to listen to.
Jen: Yes.
April: Yes, we should have done those on all of the aspects now that I think about it.
Jen: There’s always the future.
April: We’re having plenty of opportunities to talk about squares, I’m sure we can get there at some point.
Jen: Yes.
April: So, the Sun comes together in a trine with Neptune on July 15th at 1:49 AM Pacific Time. And if I had to boil this down to one word, it would be escapism. When we’ve had so much really kind of bananas stuff going on around all these Venus aspects and all of Saturn, Uranus and all the rest, this says, “Hey, maybe it’s a good time to go take a bubble bath, lie on the beach, do something pleasant of a Neptunian nature. Listen to music. Do some meditation.” Escapism can sometimes not be a terrible thing. Sometimes we have to back away from a situation to get our bearings about it before we move forward. And I think Sun/Neptune aspects, give us a good opportunity to do that. What do you think?
Jen: Yes. As long as you’re not hurting yourself or someone else, go ahead and indulge in a little escapism.
April: Do it. And it’s a trine, so whether you consciously decide to do this or not, if you decid to keep plunging ahead and working really hard and trying to do all kinds of really efficient things, Neptune will probably undermine your attempts anyway, so escape a little bit,
Jen: Hey, maybe people would like to watch the new season of Ted Lasso on July 23rd from our imaginary sponsor, Apple TV plus.
April: Well, you know, we’re going to be there for it.
Jen: Totally.
April: Yes. And that is very Sun/Neptune too, because there’s a lot of heart, a lot of sweetness, a real spiritual aspect to that show.
Jen: That’s so true. Yes. I love that show.
April: We want to remind you that each New Moon begins a lunar phase family that unfolds over the coming two and a half years. The First Quarter point for this one will be April 8th, 2022. God, that sounds so far away.
Jen: Yes.
April: The Full Moon will be January 6th, 2023. The Third Quarter is October 6th, 2023. So, you don’t really have to get too locked into knowing those dates and we’re not going to give you a quiz. But I’m just wanted to point out that the intentions that you set at this New Moon, things about being true to who you really are. to having good relationships with your family, the people that share your home, even having something to do, maybe with where you live, doing something with your home, thinking about moving to a new place, these are all appropriate intentions for the Cancer New Moon. But just know, yes, go ahead and set them now and then watch them unfold. Big things can take a while. They might take two and a half years, depending on how big the intention is.
Jen: Yes. Or maybe it’s your family of choice.
April: Whatever says family to you.
Jen: Yes. So, it’s fair to say that this New Moon begins a four-week cycle, of course, as all New Moons do, but it also starts a six months cycle because six months from now, there will be the Cancer Full Moon that will be reflective of this time now. And it also begins this two-and-a-half year cycle.
April: Right. Intermediate steps. You might have some goals that are appropriate to accomplish in one month, you might have some that take six months, some that take two and a half years. Set them all. Set all those intentions.
Jen: Totally.
April: Now, because we’re only meeting with you every two weeks, we also wanted to touch lightly on the First Quarter Moon. The Libra First Quarter on July 17th at 3:10 AM Pacific Time. This is at 25° and three minutes of Libra and Cancer. So, at the First Quarter Moon, of course, the Moon and Sun are square, the Sun is exactly opposed Pluto and both of them are square the Moon in Libra. So it’s an intense First Quarter Moon. The First Quarter is always about, let’s get moving. The New Moon in Cancer was a point at which we got to think about what we actually want to do in the coming four weeks, six months, two and a half years. And at the First Quarter Moon w’re asked to take some kind of step towards making that a reality. Make a decision, just take some impulsive action, you don’t have to know exactly where you’re headed. But the Sun opposed Pluto is kind of tough. The Moon square Pluto kind of tough. This is a T-square. And we’ve spoken before about the tension of a T-square where you have two planets opposed each other, and they’re both square a third. And that leaves one sign in the modality, non-represented. So in this case, they’re all Cardinal signs. We have Libra, we have Cancer and we have Capricorn. So, the missing link is Aries.
Jen: We should have an Aries song.
April: Oh we should. Shouldn’t we?
Jen: Something bold, maybe.
April: Something very bold. I was just thinking John Philip Sousa or something.
Jen: That’s great.
April: Yes. So, tell me what you think about that missing link and Aries, Jen.
Jen: So, things that might be helpful are to do Aries related activities, that might be some kind of sport, or maybe take initiative about some project in your life. That could work, right?
April: Yes. Arm wrestling, volleyball at the beach.
Jen: No head butting, please.
April: No head butting. I do love Aries. It fits in really well with this First Quarter vibe, which is “Let’s just get moving. Let’s just do something.”
Jen: That’s so true.
April: Yes. But I like that you bring the physical in there because when you’ve got this much tension, which is created by this kind of configuration, it is really great to just get in your body and go do some stuff.
Jen: And Venus in Leo is the ruler for this First Quarter moan, which might bring a little dramatic flair to things. Wouldn’t you say?
April: I mean, of course, in the most delightful way.
Jen: Of course.
April: Well, Venus and Mars are still in their conjunction in Leo that we talked about in our earlier section of this episode. And they’re still in distant orb of that square to Uranus that they have both made recently. There is a little bit of more agitation underneath the surface, I think with the ruler of this First Quarter Moon being square Uranus. And it has some interesting implications for our relationships as well. Venus/Mars together always kind of relationship oriented and Uranus is disruptive in some way like we talked about earlier.
Jen: It’s complicated.
April: It is complicated. Well, the First Quarter Moon, this particular one is connected, again, talking about the lunar phase families – touch base back to the October 16th, 2020 New Moon, which was at almost 24° Libra. We discussed that New Moon in Episode 51, “Libra New Moon Symmetry Schmemmetry!” And that’s when we discussed Coach Ted Lasso.
Jen: Awe!
April: Yes.
Jen: It comes up again.
April: I’ve got to rewatch season one. I know you’ve been on that project. I definitely want to make time for that.
Jen: We finished season one for the second time.
April: So, wonderful. I can’t wait.
Jen: And we loved it.
April: I will be blazing through that one.
Jen: Yes.
April: Well, look at us.
Jen: Look at us.
April: We blazed right through that, Jen.
Jen: That was so easy.
April: Yes. It was everything on the show sheet. Do you think we’ve really done it?
Jen: I think we’ve done it. Do you think we’ve done it?
April: I think so. We had to give them a lot, the folks. We have to carry them over for too long agonizing, lonely weeks without us.
Jen: Try to be okay friends till we see you in two weeks.
April: Well, thanks to all of you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, please be sure to follow us, rate or review the show, and we hope that you will help us spread the word. Tell a friend. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at our website, bigskyastropod.com. Tell us about your favorite songs for 1988.
Jen: Yes, please. We’re so grateful to everyone who showed support during our Podathon last fall. Each week, as you know, we thank some of you by name. Who do we have this week, April?
April: This week we want to give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to, Tammy VanUlzen, Susan Hubbard and Jane Shantz
Jen: Yay…
April: Yay… Woo…
Jen: Woo…
April: Tammy, Susan and Jane, we really do appreciate you. We thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting us during our Podathon.
Jen: Yes. Thank you so much to you three. Now, if you’re a listener who didn’t get a chance to support us during our Podathon, you can always make a contribution at our website, bigskyastropod.com. And if you donate $5 or more, we’ll send you our recent Cancer Solstice episode. Won’t we, April?
April: Oh, and they will just eat it up with a spoon.
Jen: Yes.
April: Well, that is it for us this week. Now friends, as we mentioned at the top of this episode, we are taking a little time off this summer. We are not leaving you altogether, but we’re releasing episodes every two weeks instead of weekly. So, our next episode will reach your eager ears on Monday, July 19th. In the meantime, let’s all get a little rest and relaxation. And remember, keep your feet on the ground….
Jen: And your eyes on the stars.
Thank you for listening! To learn more about April Elliott Kent, please check out her website, www.BigSkyAstrology.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, read her thought-provoking weekly essays, purchase her books, sign up for a personal astrology reading, and more.
That’s all for today. If you like what you’re listening to, please take a moment to rate and review this podcast and hit subscribe to stay current with new episodes.
You can follow Big Sky Astrology on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: @BigSkyAstrology
To help support the Big Sky Astrology Podcast and to keep it going for as little as a dollar a month, please visit www.bigskyastropod.com.
Thanks again for joining us, and we’ll catch you next time!
© 2021 April Elliott Kent & Jen Braun