TRANSCRIPT EP 96 – Podathon Wednesday (9/22/21)
Podathon Day 3: Cosmic Camaraderie!
Jen: Welcome to the Big Sky Astrology podcast, with April Elliott Kent and me, producer and cohost Jen Braun. Hey friends, Jen here. Today is Wednesday, September 22nd. And here with me – to put the fun in fundraising – is my friend, astrologer April Elliott Kent. Hi April.
April: Huzzah for the fundraising!
April: Oh yes, it is Podathon time. It is the happiest time of the year. What is a Podathon, you might ask?
Jen: What is Podathon, April?
April: I’m glad you asked that, Jen. Instead of one 30-minute episode, which we would normally bring you every other week, this week, we are doing something a little bit different. We will bring you five mini episodes of about 15 to 20 minutes in length, one each day through Friday, September 24th. This is a format that gives us the opportunity to share somewhat different kinds of content with you, but we confess we have an ulterior motive as well.
Jen: We do indeed. As most of you know, this podcast is audience funded, and at the close of each regular episode, we love to personally thank each of you for your support over the year. We really couldn’t make this podcast without you. But of course, that also means that at least once a year, we run a larger appeal for contributions to help us cover the costs of producing the podcast. Many of you have heeded that call over the past year and we appreciate it so much.
April: Indeed we do. So, here we are again, with a fun week in store for all of us. I mean, we really can’t believe that a year has gone by already.
Jen: I know. How has it been a year?
April: Well, it’s because 2020 was a non-starter and 2021 is just speeding along. It’s crazy.
Jen: It really is.
April: So, this week, what we’re going to do is take a look at the astrology of each day, a couple of highlights. We will be laughing. Hopefully we will not be crying. And we will be answering some of your questions. Of course, we’ll also be hoping to earn your support. And in return, we have some giveaways as well as a raffle for you.
Jen: To encourage your contributions, we’re inviting donors of only $5 or more to our special episodes for the September Equinox and the December Solstice. This is no small thing. Not only do you get two two, two, two special episodes, but in the September Equinox episode, we’ve created the longest, most comprehensive three-month look ahead ever… over 45 minutes of content, looking at the upcoming eclipses as well as all of the major planetary happenings of this three-month period. The September Equinox episode drops this week and you won’t want to miss it.
April: Second. Everyone who donates $25 or more, as well as the people who make monthly ongoing contributions to the podcast, will be entered in a drawing to win one of these great prizes. Over to you, Jen.
Jen: One grand prize winner will win a 90-minute reading with April, a $225 value. Two listeners will win a 60-minute personal astrology reading with April, a $175 value.
April: One listener anywhere in the world will win a very cool astrology poster from friend of the podcast Phillip Patrick Blasa (sorry, Patrick!) of Tha Elegant Universe.
Jen: This poster is a colorful overview of many of the commonly discussed terms used in astrology. It’s super cool. You can check it out at, thaelegantuniverse.com and the is spelled “THA”.
April: Finally, one lucky winner will get a Solar Return report with text written by Astrologer, Mary Shea. We have talked about solar returns quite a lot on this show, and we thought that it would be a nice prize for one of you to get your very own Solar Return report. So, one winner will get that as well.
Jen: Indeed. And finally, of course, all contributors to the podcast get our hilarious bingo card, so you can play along as you browse our back catalog and listen to future episodes. And yes, that is Bear in the background.
April: I was going to say, we need to put “podpet makes some kind of background noise” on the new bingo card, probably.
Jen: We’ll just leave that in.
April: I think so. Well, we do want to say we know that not everyone can contribute financially, which we completely understand. We love you all just the same. There are other ways that you can help us out that don’t cost a cent. If you like the show, please give us a five-star rating in Apple Podcasts, that would be terrific. It does help others find the show. Also, you could write us a happy review either on Apple Podcasts or any of the other podcast platforms where you might listen to the show where they allow comments. Please write us comments on the episode pages of Bigskyastropod.com. And another way to show support is to hit that follow button. Or tell a friend about The Big Sky Astrology Podcast and encourage them to like the show as well.
Jen: And finally, in the spirit of full disclosure, we do want to let you know that for the time being, as we head into the end of the calendar year, we’ve decided to continue to bring you episodes every other week. We hope you continue to find value in our episodes, even though they’re slightly less frequent, but we still pack each episode with the same amount of love, friendship and astrology. We hope you’ll contribute. And April, please let folks know how they can make a contribution.
April: You can make your contribution by going to our website, bigskyastropod.com, and we will make it glaringly obvious once you get there, how to make that contribution.
Jen: And now for today’s show. How should we start, April?
April: Jen, do you know what time it is
Jen: Is it time for Moonwatch…?
April: No, I psyched you out! It’s time for Sunwatch. It’s Sunwatch…
Jen: It’s Sunwatch…
April: Because we’re talking about the Sun going into Libra today, which marks the Autumn Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Spring Equinox down, for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere. The Sun entering Libra is what marks the beginning of this season. And this begins on September 22nd at 12:21 PM Pacific Time. This is the harvest season here in the Northern hemisphere, you know, down south, it his time to till the soil and plant new seeds. It is the day of the year when we have equal parts, sunlight and darkness. It is a sign generally Libra that is about balance. And I like to remind people that Libra can be a little bit of a contrary sign – present company excepted, Jen.
Jen: Thank you.
April: But I think of Libra as being the sign that just wants everything to balance out. It gets a reputation for being unfailingly sweet and positive and upbeat at all times. And what I find actually seems to happen with Libra is that it will just take the opposite position of whatever’s presented to it because it’s idea is to balance things out and be fair. If we think about the term, ‘Playing devil’s advocate”, this is kind of a Libran position. Whether they agree with you or not, they’ll take the opposite point of view of what you’re putting forward, because it is a way of being fair and creating balance.
I don’t know. You’re a Libra. What do you think about that?
Jen: I hear a lot of astrologers talking about Libra representing… you know, you mentioned sweet and positive and upbeat, and I’m kind of glad you mentioned that it can be contrary too. Because, folks talk about Libra’s peace and harmony and beauty and puppies and unicorns and rainbows…
April: Oh, puppies. There’s nothing wrong with puppies, my friend.
Jen: Puppies! Well, and it is that. But what I found is that this interpretation misses something… because Libra is also about, and I think I said this maybe an episode or two ago, it’s also about justice and fairness. And so, there’s an inherent contradiction in these two things to me. Because, for me as someone with several planets in Libra, I want beauty and peace and harmony. Yes. I want those things. But, not at the expense of abuse of those who are vulnerable or those who can’t speak for themselves. Because people with Libra planets can be strong advocates for justice – to put up a fight when they perceive something isn’t fair. And I can only speak for myself here, but I really do see the world through a lens of equality and social justice.
April: Yes. And I see that as a common attribute with people that have a lot of Libra planets as well. Yes. I’m glad you bring that up. And it’s like sometimes to have real peace, you have to have some conflict first and Libra is not afraid to get in there and do that.
Jen: Yes.
April: In the Libra season, we’re asked to examine balance in the world from a lot of different points of view. First of all, the earth itself is speaking that message to us because we have equal parts sunlight and night time, things are balanced. The beauty of either of these seasons – if you ask people about their favorite season of the year, you will often hear either spring or fall. I mean, for me, it certainly fall.
Jen: Right, right.
April: So, this is a time of year that represents real beauty as well. It has those qualities. Libra is a sign of relationship. And relationship is not all sweetness and light and puppies either. Sometimes it’s kittens.
Jen: Violet… Toby!
April: Come here! But it means that sometimes to have an equal partnership means that you have to air your disagreements. You have to get in there and mix things up. You have to be a little bit Aries to get to the Libra sometimes. So, it is a time of year when we think about relationships, we think about how we’re relating to other people. And again, you want to have the love and the peace and the fun, but not at the expense of your values or being treated badly and those kinds of things.
We talk a lot about the Libra Equinox in our special donor only episode, which once again, you can get for just a $5 donation if you want to do that.
Jen: Yes. At bigskyastropod.com.
April: Yes. Now, do you know what time it is?
Jen: What time is it now?
April: It really is Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it!
April: Oh yes, dear friends. Today, the Moon is still in Aries. We talked quite a bit about that on yesterday’s episode. So, you might want to back up and listen to that episode as well. We have a sextile between the Moon in Aries and Jupiter in Aquarius at 04:42 PM. And we always talk about the sextile on this podcast as being an opportunity aspect, one where something is offered to you. And I would just say, be a little wary of taking what’s offered to you. Because, the Moon will then square Pluto at 05:37 PM.
So, symbolically what this is, is, yes, there’s an offer of something that looks really great – Jupiter – but underneath the surface, there’s something there that might not make you feel very comfortable. Finally, the Moon goes void-of-course at 07:04 PM. And we might talk to you a little more tomorrow about the void-of-course Moon. We have mentioned that before on the podcast.
Jen: We have. Yes. We talked about it in episode, I want to say 23, “Talking Taurus and the Void-of-Course Moon.”
April: Oh, Jen, you impress me.
Jen: I know. I impress myself!
April: The void of course Moon is a fun thing to look at, and we don’t get a chance to talk about it very often. So, now we’ll set a few minutes aside tomorrow and talk to you about that.
Jen: Don’t quote me on that episode. I will link it in the show notes. But I think it might be right.
April: Yes. I think, if we had to sum up today, we would say it’s a mixture of Aries and Libra, because, the Sun is going into Libra, the Moon is in Aries, which is the opposite sign, and we’re just asking you to consider the polarity between the two, how sometimes we have to fight to get peace or what you want personally, and then how you’re going to collaborate with someone else.
Jen: Yes. For sure.
April: Well, my friend, I think that’s everything we wanted to cover today. Have we done it?
Jen: Episode 96. We’re inching up on a hundred. That’s going to be an exciting day!
April: It really will be. In the meantime, thank you so much for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to follow us, leave a rating or a review, and we hope that you will spread the word by telling a friend about the show.
Jen: This is the third day of our Second Annual Podathon. This podcast is audience-funded and your generous donations help us keep the podcast coming to you. To donate, please go to bigskyastropod.com. Anyone who donates $5 or more will receive access to our two special episodes, including our most recent September Equinox episode. If you donate $25 or more, you’ll be automatically entered in our raffle. We are giving away a Solar Return report, an astrology poster, and three lucky winners are going to win readings from April – two will win 60-minute readings and one will win a 90-minute reading. She’s been doing this for 30 years, friends. You definitely want a reading from her.
April: Oh thank you, Jen. Well, we want to thank everyone on the air in the months to come. If you don’t want us to mention your name, if you are a shy, reclusive person, please email me, April(at)bigskyastrology.com and just let me know. You’ll also receive a donor email that will have this information as well, but we wanted to make sure we mentioned it here too. Join us again, bright and early tomorrow morning for the rest in this gala Podathon spree. And until then, 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
