EPISODE 91 | Virgo Season & Mercury Enters Libra: What the (Bleep)?
Listen to the episode and read the show notes hereJen: Welcome to the Big Sky Astrology podcast, with April Elliott Kent and me, producer and cohost Jen Braun. Hey friends, Jen here. Today is August 16th, 2021. And here with me – as we gear up for our second annual Podathon – is my friend, astrologer April Elliott Kent. Podathon!
April: Podathon! I’m so excited about Podathon, Jen. Do we get to use the same exciting music that we used last year?
Jen: Yes. We’re going to use the same music as last year because I love that music.
April: I do too. Yes, Podathon season is the happiest season of the year.
Jen: Tell folks about it.
April: Well, it’s going to be a little later this year. Last year, we had a big lavish Labor Day spectacular, but this year we’re going to do it the week of September 20th. So, September 20th to the 24th. And we’re still shaping up as to exactly what we’re going to offer each day, but it will be each day that week, which is a big treat because people have only been hearing from us twice month.
Jen: Daily episodes coming your way!
April: That’s right. And what we would like from all of you, dear listeners, is we would like questions, because that’s part of what we know we do want to do. We want to bring our lovely listeners and donors and have them in on this Podathon adventure with us. What we want you to do is leave an audio message for us, 60 seconds, no longer. We really have to keep these very, very short. And what you’ll do is go to www.speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast. And we will of course link that in the show notes. But it couldn’t be easier. You go to this web page, you click record, it’ll ask you to put in your name and your address. That’s just to keep any interlopers…
Jen: Email address, that is.
April: What did I say?
Jen: Well, you said address.
April: Yes. Your email address!
Jen: Back to interlopers, though!
April: Yes. Interlopers! We don’t want interlopers in our cozy little Podathon scene. So, we will ask you to do that. That’s all very private. It’s just for us. And then we will include your question, hopefully in one of the Podathon episodes,
Jen: We’re hoping to do maybe a daily question from someone. And the cool thing is that you can be anywhere in the world, and you could leave a message for us because this is a web-based application. So…
April: Absolutely.
Jen: …you don’t have to call long distance like the 1980’s.
April: No.
Jen: Oh, I worked the 1980’s into there!
April: Well done, Jen. Well done!
Jen: Or, I should have said the 1990’s, since we’re on Episode 91.
April: Maybe people would like to sing a little snippet of one of their favorite 80’s hits.
Jen: That would be fantastic. Although, do keep in mind, you have a minute.
April: That’s right. If you go longer than that, it’s going to be like one of those big hooks they used back in the vaudeville days, to pull you off stage.
Jen: Exactly.
April: So, we’re excited about that. Now, the reminder too, that we are on this lighter summer schedule, that we’re only coming to you every two weeks, which we know is a terrible disappointment, but it has given us a little extra time in our schedules to recuperate and regain our zest and composure and to get a couple of other projects done.
Jen: And to get planning for Podathon.
April: That’s right.
Jen: Yes.
April: So, we thank you for your patience and indulgence.
Jen: And for you to be thinking about teaching courses. Do tell.
April: That’s right. I have a big course that’s coming up and it’s going to open for registration on August 8th. So, by the time people are listening to this episode, it will already be open. And it’s going to be a five-week course in practical astrology. And what it’s going to cover is that awkward in-between stage where, you know the signs and the planets and the houses, but you have no idea how to put them together into a complete sentence that means anything. So, we’re going to work on that and we’ll also work on planetary aspects. There’ll be live class sessions, but they’ll also be available, recorded online if people need to join in that way. And it’s going to begin on Labor Day Monday. So, that’s what I’m doing this Labor Day, instead of Podathon, I’m teaching my first class and the other classes will be on Saturdays.
So, basically to get information about it, we’ll link the URL in the show notes and let you know how you can get in on all that.
Jen: That sounds fantastic. And I know you’ve been working your little tail off over this course stuff.
April: I have been.
Jen: So, excellent.
April: Yes. And I love to teach. I just sort of painted myself into a little bit of a logistical corner here and an aggressive schedule, because it’s how I like to do things. But I hope people really do enjoy it because I think it’s going to be a fun class.
Jen: It sounds great.
April: Yay.
Jen: Perfect.
April: Alright. Well, my friend, we have another very busy show sheet today. Where do you think we should begin for the first week of this podcast period?
Jen: For the week of August 16th, we have a couple of major themes this week. One is that Mercury and Mars are coming together in Virgo, so they’re starting a new cycle together and they’re both making harmonious handshakes to Uranus. So, this is all linking together, communication and action and innovation, or maybe excitement of some sort. The other one is that the Sun is opposing Jupiter a few days before it enters Virgo. Break this down for folks, pal. Where do you want to start with this?
April: It’s a lot. Well, let’s begin with the Mercury conjunction to Mars on August 18th at 08:28 PM Pacific Time. That is at 12°, 48 minutes of Virgo, which is on the Sabian symbol. 13 Virgo, “A Strong Hand Supplanting Political Hysteria.” If only!
Jen: I guess it could go either way. That’s either a dictator or perhaps someone nice coming along and offering a strong hand.
April: Yes.
Jen: What do you make of that?
April: Well, you know, with Mars, we just have to be a little bit wary, but I think this Sabian symbol suggests that a cool rational approach – which is symbolized by Mercury in Virgo – can overcome sort of the heated rhetoric, what the symbol calls the political hysteria, of Mars. in Virgo in this case, which is a little cooler in temperament usually. Anyway, although when Mars in Virgo gets mad, watch out, because it’s very volcanic, it’s an earth sign. And when it does blow up, it really blows. So, count to 10 before you speak, because when Mercury comes together with Mars, we can be impulsive, we can lash out, we can let our anger get away with us.
Now, this is the first of three Mercury/Mars conjunctions, because Mercury will go retrograde in Libra. And so, there’s going to be a conjunction in Libra on October 9th and a final conjunction on November 10th in Scorpio. We’ve got a little bit of a road ahead of us with learning to use our language forcefully for good things, but to sort of restrain ourselves from being impulsive or having a little bit too much of an edge to our communication, generally.
Jen: Would you say that folks have three chances to get this right?
April: Yes, because the first time is Virgo. The thing with Virgo, when you have Mercury/Mars there, is when it gets a little too stressed out or overwhelmed by a lot of small things, that’s what will make it angry or overwhelmed. Then it’ll be in Libra. That is about learning to actually assert an opinion without again, going overboard. And then in Scorpio, the final conjunction, there will be that we have gained mastery to some degree, empowerment of Mercury with Mars. That is my hope.
Jen: That’s my hope too.
April: We shall see.
Jen: Let’s watch with interest.
April: We will watch with interest. That is our byword. Our motto, if you will.
Jen: Absolutely.
April: We also, as you said, we have the Sun opposing Jupiter on August 19th at 05:28 PM, 27° and 13 minutes of the Leo and Aquarius. And I love the juxtaposition of these two Sabian symbols, Jen.
Jen: Tell us about them.
April: The one for the Sun is “Little Birds on The Limb of a Large Tree.” And the one for Jupiter is “A Tree Felled and Sawed.”
Jen: Oh boy!
April: Poor little birds.
Jen: Things looked like they were going in a good direction there for a minute.
April: It really did, but don’t get too comfortable…
Jen: Yes.
April: …up on your little tree limb. This is what we call the revelation point of the Sun/Jupiter conjunction back on January 28th, which was also the day of a Leo Full Moon. And the Sun, you know, about pride, confidence, rulers, celebrities, royal people. And Jupiter being about justice, legal action, but also excessive confidence when you put it together with the Sun and ideologies that get a little out of hand as well. We’ll see how that one plays out.
Jen: Yes. And if folks want to hear more about when the Sun and Jupiter met up in January, they can go back and re-listen to Episode 66, “Leo Full Moon: Dinner and Bingo.” I’ll link it in the show notes.
April: I think you should. It sound super festive, and it is always a good opportunity to remind donors about our bingo card.
Jen: Sure. If you make a contribution to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast at bigskyastropod.com, you get a bingo card.
April: Yes.
Jen: Maybe we have new listeners that don’t know that.
April: That it’s right, $5 or more for your donation. You get the Bingo card. You get the most recent special episode that we did for the Cancer Solstice.
Jen: Totally.
April: What’s up next, pal?
Jen: Uranus turns retrograde August 19th at 06:40 PM Pacific Time, at 14°, 47 minutes of Taurus. Uranus will be retrograde until January 18th, 2022.
April: How can it be almost 2022?
Jen: I know.
April: What happened to 2020? The first half of 2021?
Jen: I don’t know.
April: I object in the most strenuous terms!
Jen: As my dad said this past weekend, time goes faster as you age.
April: You know, it does. Doesn’t it?
Jen: Yes.
April: So, Uranus has been direct since January 13th. That’s one of those planets that’s roughly direct half the year and retrograde half the year. So, we do pay attention to the couple of days before and a couple of days after its station, which is when it is changing directions. So, this time it’s turning retrograde. It will retrograde all the way back to 10° of Taurus, which was the degree that it was at between about April 19th and May 6th of this year. I just happened to note that April 19th was the day when all of the adults in America, 16 and older became eligible for vaccinations. So this is an issue that has sort of come back to the fore and probably will be discussed quite a lot around the time of this station, I would think
Jen: Do you equate the vaccine with Uranus? Or, is it just interesting timing?
April: I think it’s interesting timing because it concerns the issue that keeps coming up around vaccination about personal liberty, which is definitely a concern of Uranus.
Jen: Oh, right.
April: Yes.
Jen: Uranus is a lot about freedom. And that makes sense.
April: Yes. So, this happens just before, just the day before Mercury trines Uranus, and then the next day, Mars trines Uranus. This could be a couple of days of innovative breakthroughs hopefully, or maybe people acting out demonstrations of some kind we sometimes see with Uranus as well. Even though they’re trines, again, with an unpredictable planet like Uranus, it doesn’t always mean the best news. So, we’ll keep an eye on that. Basically, that period between – really, that whole week, but especially between the 18th and the 21st is pretty fraught with lots of Mercury Mars, Sun Jupiter activity.
Jen: And then we have the Sun entering Virgo on August 22nd at 02:35 PM Pacific Time. So, as the Sun leaves Leo and enters Virgo, it’s a good time perhaps to take the creativity of Leo and turn it into something actionable. Virgo is a lot about that. Wouldn’t you say?
April: Yes. Quantify your creativity.
Jen: Yes. Exactly.
April: I love Virgo and I love this time of year. It’s harvest season. There is a sense of renewed devotion to what’s important to us. Devotion is a word we often forget when we’re talking about Virgo, but it is about that. It’s about the care and devotion to the things that really matter to us. It’s a sign closely, to me, associated with ritual. So, this is a good time of year to be focusing on what you hope to harvest, what you hope to bring to completion that you’ve been working on so far in the year. I like Virgo. Of course, you and I both have Virgo planets.
Jen: We sure do.
April: Yes, we get it a bit. I find Virgo a kind sign at its best. And like all earth signs at their best comforting and reliable. The Virgo people that I know, the people born with the Sun in Virgo love animals, love the outdoors and are a really good shoulder when you need advice or comfort.
Jen: Yes. The fact that Virgo rules small animals and pets… I always found that so odd when I was learning astrology. But then it made more sense to me as I thought about it in terms of, “Well, pets are a part of your daily life and Virgo is very much about your daily life.” And then I thought, “Oh yes, okay. I get that now.”
April: Well, our relationship to animals has changed of course, over the centuries. And another reason we could see it being associated with the 6th house with Virgo is, animals used to be our servants. And now, we are their servants!
Jen: Hah! Right!
April: I mean, if you still live in an agricultural area, you strap a yoke on your oxen or something and they get to work, but most of us, it’s little dog and cats buddies and birds. And we’re sort of planning our whole daily routine around taking care of them. But there’s something very helpful about that because daily routines do contribute a lot to making us healthy, especially if they’re healthy routines, but just having a routine seems to have been shown to improve people’s health. And animals do that. They do keep us on a schedule and give us something other than ourselves to be accountable for.
Jen: Love that.
April: Oh, little animals.
Jen: Violet and Toby waking you up in the morning. “Feed me, feed me!”
April: I know. And Jack and Bear and their little claws “Clickity-click-click-click” on the wood floor.
Jen: Totally.
April: Darling pod pets.
Jen: Love them. Love them all.
April: Jen, do you know what time it is?
Jen: What time is it?
April: It’s time for Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it!
April: Yes friends, Moon watch this week. Of course, we have 2 lunations in one, because we’re covering a two-week period. We begin with the Aquarius Full Moon, the second Aquarius Full Moon this month on August 22nd at 05:01 AM Pacific Time, at 29° and 37 minutes Aquarius.
Jen: Just for the beginners, there are 30 degrees in every sign. This is almost at the very end of Aquarius.
April: Yes. It is sliding into home base.
Jen: It sure is.
April: It is as I say, the second of two Aquarius Full Moons this summer. The other was on July 23rd. I love this Full Moon, Jen. I love that it’s conjunct Jupiter, which is great. And it’s on that lovely Sabian symbol, 30 Aquarius, “The Field of Ardath in Bloom.”
Jen: That’s lovely.
April: Yes. It sounds really nice. It sounds nice for if you’ve been working hard since that other Aquarius Full Moon on some kind of outcome, this seems like a nice time to see some blooms. The New Moon chart was rough. You know, we won’t lie. Just listen to our last episode. It is a pretty interesting chart. But if we did what we needed to do at that New Moon, we should already be starting to see just some tiny, nice little results at this Full Moon. So, this Full Moons connected to that August 8th New Moon also to the February 11th Aquarius New Moon, because a Full Moon is sort of the response to the call of the New Moon in that sign six months earlier. It is all so connected to the New Moon of February 23rd, 2020 at 4°, 28 minutes Pisces, because that’s what started this lunar phase family that this Full Moon’s part of.
A lunar phase family tracks roughly the degree of a New Moon over a two-and-a-half-year period. But because that New Moon in February of 2020 was so early in the sign of Pisces, this Full Moon at the very last degree of Aquarius, which is almost Pisces, is still part of that family but upsets the apple cart a little bit. Otherwise we’ve been having a Pisces kind of vibe to that whole lunar phase sequence. And now we have this little roguish, 29° Aquarius.
Jen: That’s super interesting that the Pisces flavor proceeded this week’s Full Moon. I wonder how we can put that together?
April: Waking us up. I mean, it’s been a very Uranian few weeks anyway.
Jen: It’s true.
April: A lot of aspects to Uranus. And even this week, of course, we started talking about Mercury and Mars, trine Uranus, and to Aquarius Full Moons. And, I mean, it’s an Aquarian year. We had the great nutation the Jupiter Saturn conjunction at 0° Aquarius the very end of last year. We had that train wreck of a February with about six or seven planets in Aquarius all at one time. And of course the big signature of the year aspect wise, the Saturn square Uranus.
Jen: Right.
April: So, it’s all coming up Uranus and this week really shows.
Jen: And you say that because Uranus has some relationship to Aquarius?
April: Yes, It’s considered the modern ruler of Aquarius. Although, traditionally it’s ruled by Saturn. In Aquarius, we see the tension between Saturn, which is trying to hold things in place and Uranus, which wants to make healthy unnecessary changes to old form.
Jen: I think it’s interesting that this Full Moon is the second Aquarius Full Moon that we’ve had in four weeks. And I wonder if there’s something here about: We’re getting two chances for revelation on themes related to friendships and community and long-term planning. That if there’s something maybe that you didn’t release four weeks ago, you might have another opportunity here to take care of that. What do you think of that?
April: Excellent. We might get more insight as well because of the Full Moon being that illumination point and things that maybe you thought you had seen the whole situation and resolved it and you go, “Oh, okay, there’s this last bit that we need to tidy up.” Good point, Jen.
Jen: Thanks. Let’s begin week two of the podcast, pal. What do you say to that?
April: Well, it’s August 23rd through the 30th, basically, if you want to note that in the show notes, so, if you just want to zip to this part in the episode. But of course, we have a second lunation. We have the Gemini Last Quarter Moon on August 30th, just after midnight Pacific Time, 12:13 AM, at 7° and eight minutes of Gemini and Virgo. This is technically next week. We would normally cover it in the next podcast, but then we’re going to get a little bit of a traffic jam there. So, we’re giving you a little bit of a head start on this Last Quarter Moon.
Jen: Yes. And a lot of the aspects from the second week that we’re talking about lead up to that Last Quarter Moon. And so, it just sort of made sense to throw it in here.
April: Absolutely.
Jen: Do you want to break some of those down for us?
April: Yes, because this is sort of the last action point, which is what a Last Quarter Moon is. It says “Take action based on what you’ve seen already in the cycle.” And so, it’s the last action point in that Leo New Moon cycle that began on August 8th. The Moon Venus, Saturn and the node are all working together in a grand trine, which means they’re all in the signs of the same element they’re working together in a pretty smooth fashion. The Sun is trine Uranus, Venus is square Pluto, Mars is trine Pluto, Mars as opposed Neptune. So, there’s a lot going on.
So, the Venus trine to Saturn on August 23rd at 05:48 AM Pacific Time, is a time to make relationship commitments, to improve financial stability. When I used to do wedding elections for people choosing wedding dates, it’s like, they basically didn’t want Saturn in the chart at all. And I’d always tell them, “No, you need Saturn because that represents the commitment. You’re creating a form.”
Jen: Yes. It stabilizes relationships.
April: Exactly. It shows you’re in there for the long haul, even when things get tough. So, Venus trine Saturn says, yes, that kind of commitment in relationship, but there’s also that lovely Venus reward that comes with doing the work of Saturn – with money and some kind of thing, delayed gratification, saving for a rainy day. All of these kinds of things will pay off later on.
Mercury is opposed Neptune on August 24th, the next day at 6:14 PM. So, if you lost your temper when Mercury was conjunct Mars, now is the time to kiss and make up. Also, Mercury opposite Neptune, not the very finest day for trying to initiate anything that requires new technology or intense rational focus, anything like that.
Jen: Save your spreadsheets for another time.
April: Exactly. Yes. And do some artwork or something, instead. Or play some music or whatever you want to do.
Jen: Right on.
April: Then Mercury is trine Pluto on August 26th at 07:23 AM Pacific Time. And this is your day for focus. You really only have to wait two days. If you need to analyze work and career matters, this is the time to burst out the spreadsheets and your beloved checklists and get to work.
Jen: And you say that because some Mercury is about thoughts and communication and Pluto helps you go deep with something. Is that right?
April: It does. And to focus – and to really focus on things. And a trine between the two says, it just naturally happens. So, if you sit down at your desk or your computer or whatever, you need to do, you’ll find things will probably just kind of flow on that day.
Jen: Love that.
April: And then on the 28th that we’re going to have the Sun squaring, the lunar nodes. This means that we’re halfway between eclipse seasons, which is so hard to believe. And it seems like we just had those eclipses.
Jen: It really does.
April: Yes. At the end of May and then June 10th, we had one. But we’re halfway to the next eclipse season. So, this is often a time when things that came to a crisis point back at the end of May, beginning of June are sort of triggered again, possibly because of the transiting Sun being there between the notes. But, what’s happening is you’re being encouraged as all these squares to the nodes indicate to move away from your default position of feeling like, you know, everything you need to know and in the Gemini direction of gaining more insight or knowledge, keeping an open mind.
Jen: That makes sense.
April: Jen, Mercury’s entering Libra! Your sign!
Jen: Libra is my sign.
April: Yes. On August 29th, at 10:10 PM Pacific Time.
Jen: How does Mercury do in Libra?
April: It is reasonably strong. Because Mercury likes to be in air signs. They’re both kind of about communication and interacting with people, networking, those kinds of things. This is going to be a long period of improving our skills of negotiation, conciliation, communicating with others, generally. It’s about finding a balance, finding equality. You know, Gemini, the first of the air science is really just about collecting data and information and being a focal point for introducing people to each other or whatever. Mercury and Libra which is the second of the air signs is about forging relationships, negotiating contracts, and agreements with people. And then as Mercury goes through into Aquarius, we take it on to the level of society, generally.
So, this is a very one-on-one sign. It’s actually all things being equal if you’re looking for a time to start a business or something like that, you could do much worse than to have Mercury in Libra because Libra is the sign of the marketplace of trade with others. And Mercury is traditionally the planet of business back in ancient astrology. But, that’s complicated by the fact that Mercury will be retrograde while it’s in Libra, as I said – between September 27th and October 18th.
Jen: And how far back does it go?
April: It goes all the way back to 10° Libra.
Jen: Okay.
April: It retrogrades about 25° of Libra. And then that’ll go back to 10. Just know that that’s coming up. We like to give you a heads up and let you know to plan for a Mercury retrograde season when we see one coming. And it’s in Libraaaaaa.
Jen: Libraaaa, very even, very balanced.
April: That’s it indeed.
Jen: Mercury’s in Libra through November 5th.
April: Yes. It’ll be there for a good long time because of the retrograde. So, usually, Mercury zips right through a sign in a few weeks, but we get a little more time with it this time. And I think we could all benefit from Mercury’s tutelage in balanced, harmonious Libra.
Jen: An ability to see all sides.
April: Yes. And to speak a little more kindly to one another.
April: We’ll take that out because we want to keep our clean rating…
Jen: April just swore. But I cut that out.
April: I was being contrary. Oh, Jen, we seem to have done it. We’ve made it to the end of this epic show sheet, I have to say in record time.
Jen: I’m impressed with us, I have to say.
April: People’s heads must be swimming. Fortunately, they can pause and they can listen back and all of that.
Jen: They totally can. Yes.
April: Oh, goodness. Well, thanks to all of you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to follow us, rate or review the show, and we hope that you’ll help us spread the word by telling a friend. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode at our website, bigskyastropod.com.
Jen: We’re so grateful to everyone who’s shown support throughout the year. Each week of course we think some of you by name. Who do we have this week, April?
April: This week, we have a huge shout out because we forgot that we were doing episodes every other week. So, we have to cram a bunch of people in here. So, sorry, it doesn’t mean that any one of you is any less dear to us!
Jen: We still appreciate all of you!
April: We do. Specifically, Lindsay Vieira, Wild Luna Creations, Connie Cameron, Magdalene, or Magdalena O’Boyle, Tammy Dollar, Elliott Mayer, who I love because the name is spelled like mine, E-L-L-I-O-T-T, and Elizabeth Brown.
Jen: Yay…
April: Yay… Woo…
Jen: Woo… Yay…
April: Lindsay, the folks at Wild Luna Creations, Connie, Magdalena. I’m sure I’m pronouncing that wrong. Tammy, Elliott and Elizabeth, we appreciate you. And we thank you so much for not only listening to the show, but for supporting us with your donations.
Jen: You all rock. Thank you so much.
April:
Jen: What did you say?
April: I was rocking, but I wasn’t doing a very good job.
Jen: April’s rocking out!
April: I am rocking.
Jen: If you’d like to support the podcast, you can always make a contribution at our website, bigskyastropod.com. And if you donate $5 or more, we’ll send you our most recent Cancer Solstice episode, as well as our delightful bingo card.
April: Indeed. Well, that is it for us this week. Now friends, as we have been mentioning – we are taking a little extra time off this summer and we’re not gone altogether, but we’re releasing episodes every two weeks instead of weekly. Our next episode will reach your eager and delighted ears on Monday, August 30th and by then, we will have more news about the Podathon. 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.
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© 2021 April Elliott Kent & Jen Braun
