TRANSCRIPT EP. 99 | Libra New Moon: We Need a Siesta! (Sep. 27, 2021)
Read the show notes and listen to the episode 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 Monday, September 27th, 2021. And here with me – after facing down Mercury with me this morning – is my friend, astrologer April Elliott Kent. Hi, April.
April: Hi Jen. Yes. This morning in real time, Mercury is not even quite retrograde yet, so, we’re a little worried about what is going to happen when it’s actually retrograde. Oh my goodness.
Jen: Sure.
April: Yes. Well, first things first, Jen. We have to thank our listeners, our dear listeners for their overwhelming support during last week’s Podathon.
Jen: So wonderful. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed last week. It was just so heartwarming to see the donations come in.
April: It really was. We love Podathon. We do say that is how our happiest week of the year, Mercury notwithstanding, we had a wonderful time bringing you those little mini episodes and we hope that you enjoyed them. Thanks to all of you for making it possible for us to keep producing the podcast at the level of quality that our Mars in Virgos demands.
Jen: Trine Saturn. And don’t forget trine Saturn.
April: That is right. And that we feel you deserve. So, thank you so much.
Jen: Yes. Thank you very much.
April: Well, you still have a little time to donate if you didn’t get a chance to last week. This Thursday, September 30th is the last day to make a donation of $25 or more to be entered in our drawing for one of five great prizes. One 90-minute and two 60-minute readings with me, lovely astrology poster from The Elegant Universe and a solar return report, with text by astrologer, Mary Shea, from my online store. Just go to bigskyastropod.com to donate. Winners are going to be announced by mail on October 4th and on our October 11th episode.
Jen: That’s exactly right. Should we kick off the show, April?
April: Let’s do it, Jen. What do we have first this week?
Jen: To begin week one, we start with Mercury turning retrograde on September 27th at 10:10 PM Pacific Time. That is on the 27th at 01:10 AM Eastern Time. Mercury will be retrograde in Libra through October 18th. Tell folks more about this, April.
April: Other than the fact that it feels like it’s already been retrograde for about six months?
Jen: It kind of does.
April: Yes. Oh, we know we’ve spoken many times of course about Mercury retrograde in many episodes, including most famously…
Jen: Or infamously, Episode 12, “Mercury Retrograde: Where Are My Pants?”
April: So long ago. I can’t believe that was Episode 12.
Jen: I know.
April: And I can’t believe that you actually remember the episode.
Jen: I think it is episode 12. I will put the link in the show notes as usual, but we’ll see. We’ll see if I’m right.
April: It is justifiably famous. So, when Mercury turns retrograde as it does several times each year for a few weeks at a time, it’s a good time to change our relationship with Mercury. In the society that we live in, we tend to hew to a schedule, we tend to have checklists, we tend to live in a very Mercury in Virgo or Mercury Gemini kind of way, which is to say we’re open to new information coming in. We’re trying to process it. We’re trying to deal with it.
When Mercury is retrograde, it’s a much better time to just go inward a little bit and let yourself go off the clock ever so slightly. Because, if you don’t, that’s when you start have these freaky Mercury problems when Mercury is retrograde. It’s when we are out of step with what Mercury retrograde wants from us, which is a little bit more introspective and flowing relationship with time. Not easy for those of us who have many Virgo planets.
Jen: That is so true.
April: Mercury will turn direct as Jen said, on October 18th, that is our assignment for the next few weeks is to let ourselves slow down a little bit. If you can release your hold, un-scheduling just a little bit, I know it’s not possible for everybody. And that’s why I’ve been trying to look ahead in my life to each Mercury retrograde a little bit in advance so I can adjust my scheduling accordingly. I failed absolutely miserably in this fight, Jen.
April: I doubt I’m the only one. So, that’s our Mercury retrograde.
Jen: You will have success next time I’m sure, my friend.
April: I hope so. It’s true that it’s not the best time to do things like buy a new computer, buy a new car, these kinds of things. And the main reason is we may not have all the information that we need to make a good decision. But, if you do your homework and you double, triple check everything, if you’re in a position where you have no choice, but to buy that new printer or whatever it is, you have to proceed. Just be sure that you double check everything and buy the extended warranty.
Jen: Good advice. What do we have next, pal?
April: Jen? Do you know what time it is?
Jen: What time is it?
April: We’re supposed to not be paying attention to time, but it’s time for Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it!
April: Yes, dear friends, it’s Moonwatch. And this week we have a Cancer Last Quarter Moon on September 28th at 06:57 PM Pacific Time, at 6° and eight minutes of Cancer and Libra.
Jen: What is a Last Quarter Moon, April?
April: The Last Quarter Moon is the time during each lunar cycle when we are asked to look back at what we had been doing since the New Moon, in this case, the New Moon on September 6th in Virgo. It’s our last chance to adjust. We have one more week before the next New Moon to change our approach, readjust things a little bit and get to the finish line with whatever we started at the New Moon. The Last Quarter is sometimes a little bit of an introspective phase of the Moon, where we’re looking back and we’re tempted to beat up on ourselves a little bit for things that we haven’t necessarily done as well as we might’ve hoped, but it kind of misses the point of the Last Quarter. The Last Quarter is really just to say, “How can I learn from what has gone before?” And that there is always a chance to pull out a victory in the Last Quarter.
The Sun at this Last Quarter Moon is approaching its conjunction with Mars, which we’ll talk about later in the episode. And they’re both trying Saturn and the North Node. So, the implication here is actual, we are moving in the right direction, the things that we’ve been doing up to now have been the right things. But with the Moon in Cancer in a quincunx with Saturn, which has a little bit of an uncomfortable aspect. It’s understandable that we’ll be feeling a little uncomfortable and a little nostalgic too, for whatever it is we’re leaving behind. Whenever we decide to move forward in a new direction or to pursue something really new that’s really important to us, it almost always means that we have to leave something else behind at the same time. And Cancer’s a nostalgic little sign, so we’ll probably be feeling that at this Last Quarter.
Also, building up in this Last Quarter, Moon is Venus’s trine to Neptune, which will be exact on September 29th at 09:14 AM Pacific Time. This is a lovely aspect for Venus. It’s associated with romance and music and divine escapism, I will say. It’s kind of going back to our Pisces Full Moon of last week, where the idea is to really give ourselves over to the poetic side of life, to let ourselves believe in something, let ourselves enjoy beauty and to look at life a little bit through those colored classes. It’s a very nice aspect.
Jen: That could be quite relaxing.
April: Yes, I have it in my natal chart and I like it. It’s one of the little cosmic bon bons that the universe saw fit to give me in a bird chart, otherwise ravaged by squares to Neptune.
Jen:
April: So, then the next day, on September 30th, Venus will be squared Jupiter at 04:31 PM Pacific Time, 24° and 49 minutes of Scorpio and Aquarius. And, this is a little bit about biting off more than we can chew, probably. Venus is a planet of desire, Jupiter amplifies things, Venus in Scorpio is determined to have what it wants. And this aspect says, “Well, at least for a couple of days, what we want is going to be a little bit out of comfortable reach.” And that is the Jupiter part.
In a way it’s good because Jupiter extends us out into the world and has us pursue more, which is a positive road to growth. But with Venus and Jupiter just, yes, you know, we’re kind of maybe eating two desserts and having second portions of rich foods and things like that. So, we want to be a little bit careful about those things. And maybe not a lot of risk taking with money, either during this.
Jen: Because Venus represents money?
April: Exactly.
Jen: This Last Quarter Moon is also part of a lunar phase family that began with the July 2nd, 2019 New Moon at 10° of Cancer. It’s hard to think what was going on so long ago.
April: Gosh, it does seem like a lifetime ago. Doesn’t it?
Jen: Yes. It sure does.
April: But these lunar phase families, that’s what’s so great about them. They extend out for two and a half years. So, you’ll have a lot of time to realize the message of a particular New Moon throughout that phase.
Jen: Yes. It’s not that each New Moon is only in charge of four weeks per time.
April: Right.
Jen: This Last Quarter is also connected to the First Quarter Moon of April 1st, 2020 and the Full Moon from last December 29th, of 2020. So, you can think about what was going on in your life at those points: July of 2019, April of 2020 and December of 2020. And there might be some themes that are playing out for you that are touchpoints back to that time.
April: Absolutely. Then finally, for week one, we have the Sun trine Saturn, which we talked about briefly for the Last Quarter Moon, but it becomes exact on September 29th at 03:19 PM Pacific Time, 6°, 59 Libra and Aquarius.
The Sun trine Saturn’s a good time to exert your willpower and possibly enlist help from other people in the direction of your goals for the future. Because, the Sun is in Libra, which is co-operative and Saturn is in Aquarius as it has been for a while now, which speaks to the future and also enlisting the help of whole network of like-minded people to move us forward. So, again, this is a fast little aspect. But, it does say that this is a day or two, let’s say a day, either side of September 29th, when it is a good time to make that push forward, as you like to say, Jen, that, ‘The wind is at our backs when we have a trine.’ So, if you have been trying to put together a vision of your future or plan some particular project, especially if it involves other people, this is a really good day to act.
Well, that is week one. What do we have coming up for week two, beginning, October 4th?
Jen: April, do you know how we start the week?
April: No, Jen. How do we start the week?
Jen: We start it with Moonwatch.
April: Another Moonwatch… Play it.
April: I know that we’re using up precious podcast minutes, Jen, by doing not one but two Moonwatches, but the people need it, they want it, they got to have it, especially for a New Moon. And it’s a New Moon, Jen, in Libra – your Sun sign.
Jen: It is my Sun sign. It’s also my Moon sign.
April: That’s right. And the sign of practically half your chart.
Jen: Exactly right.
April: So, it’s an important New Moon for you at least. We want to wish you a happy birthday, Jen. I mean, by the time people hear this, they could be thinking of you on October 1st, which is the big day.
Jen: Thank you very much. And thank you to anyone that thinks of me on October 1st. The thrill of Podathon had me forgetting it for a second.
April: Oh my gosh. You wondered if you were going to see another birthday there for a few days, I think! Yes. The New Moon is at 13° and 24 minutes of Libra on October 6th at 04:05 AM Pacific Time. I love the Sabian symbol for this New Moon, Jen, 14 Libra, “A Noon Siesta”.
Jen: I could use a siesta right about now.
April: Doesn’t that sound so good?
Jen: Yes, it does.
April: And yet, ironically, the Sun and Moon are conjunct Mars very closely at this New Moon.
Jen: The work planet.
April: Yes. So, nobody’s going to be taking too much of a siesta. Or perhaps, it’s just a reminder that we should never be too busy to take a little time in the middle of the day. And as I do, have a little lunch and watch a rerun of Hazel. That’s my current lunch siesta.
Jen: That works.
April: This old sitcom from the sixties.
Jen: I have never seen Hazel.
April: You’ve got to see Hazel!
Jen: But hats off to Hazel.
April: Don’t you have those antenna channels, like Antenna TV or Me TV… that show all those old sitcoms?
Jen: We have Me TV. I don’t know. I don’t watch a lot of TV. I mean, actual TV. I don’t mean something on my screen.
April: We do have to watch an awful lot of ads for life insurance and dentures, and you know, this kind of stuff.
Jen: Right.
April: So, I think that is a little bit of the message of this New Moon is all things in balance, which is Libra’s rallying cry. And Mars or no Mars, put a little bit of effort into organizing your life in such a way that you can have time for everything. You know, we’ve just come through a really intense Virgo season and we were all working pretty hard. Those Virgo planets were connecting with Uranus and Pluto, and it was just pedal to the metal. But now that things are in Libra, it’s time to just sort of back off, slow down, make time for relationships for the people in our lives and for Hazel, I have to say.
And the New Moon point is trine Saturn, so we’ll still get things done. And this is the reminder that sometimes backing off actually makes us more productive.
Jen: Yes. They say, if you take short breaks, you actually get more work done.
April: This is what they tell me.
Jen: Yes. I know.
April: I have to try that someday. What about you?
Jen: Yes. So, what else is coming up, pal?
April: Well, on that same day on October 6th, at 11:29 AM Pacific Time, Pluto will station and turn direct. It’s been retrograde since April 27th. And we know that a couple of days, either side of a big planet like Pluto stationing to change direction, we will very much hear it. If you keep your ears open, you will hear it in the conversations that you hear around you. You will read it in the news. If you watch TV, you will hear it on TV. Pluto’s very powerful. So, it’s messages about control and about power. And hopefully a message to seek empowerment rather than control of others.
It turns direct at 24° in 18 of Capricorn, which I believe is “A Mountain Pilgrimage”, that ubiquitous Sabian symbol.
Jen: Huh! That could be right. Yes.
April: Yes. And this feels a little bit like continuing the pilgrimage. It’s like when a planet goes retrograde, we meditate on it for a while, we’re called to go within, to find the meaning of the planet within ourselves. And then when it turns direct again, we take what we have learned out into the world
Jen: And you are absolutely right. That is “A Mountain Pilgrimage”. I just looked it up.
April: We’ve only talked about it for about a year. So, I guess it finally stuck.
Jen: Your pilgrimage is over.
April: Just about.
Jen: Well, next we have Venus entering the sign of Sagittarius on October 7th at 04:21 AM Pacific Time. This sounds nice, April. Doesn’t it?
April: Everything with Venus sounds nice. And I like Sagittarius. I am a big, big fan. With my Sagittarius rising…
Jen: …everything else falling down!
April: It is my motto. I’m going to have a coat of arms made and it’s going to say that on it because I’m constantly dropping things, falling over….
Jen: We should have podcasts T-shirts made that say that! And then on the back, it’ll say “The Big Sky Astrology Podcast”.
April: Oh, my gosh! Absolutely. Well, it will be in Sagittarius through November 6th and when it will go into Capricorn and we’ll have a whole other story about that. But, when Venus is in Sagittarius, I love to say, “Enjoy the outdoors.” Because Sagittarius is a very outdoorsy sign. Venus is what we enjoy and what makes us happy. So, enjoy the outdoors, enjoy something new, possibly something from a different culture that’s unfamiliar to you. Cultivate freedom and adventure, especially in your relationships. And taking some measure of financial risk is okay. Because Venus is money, Sagittarius is a little bit of a risk taker. So, taking a little bit of a risk is okay, but don’t get carried away.
Jen: Put a little Libra in your Sagittarius.
April: That’s right. That’s what the Venus is about there. And it says, “Just enjoy everything associated with Venus”.
Jen: That sounds quite nice. Tell us what’s next, pal.
April: Well, on that same day, but in the evening, the Sun will finally make that conjunction to Mars that we talked about at the New Moon, at 15° and five minutes of Libra. When the Sun is coming so close to Mars, avoid physical overexertion or too much risk-taking. You may not see the need for caution until it’s too late. And I say that because when something is conjunct the Sun, it becomes invisible, it’s drowned out by the light of the Sun. So, we say the planet is kind of acting stealthily or as a little bit invisible, as invisible as Mars ever gets. So, just know that you may not see what you’re not seeing.
The hours very close to the conjunction are actually really good for pushing yourself forward, advocating for yourself. So, maybe the next morning, if you need to do anything like that in your life, that would be a good moment to try that
Jen: Next up, we have Mercury joining up with the Sun on October 9th at 09:18 AM Pacific Time. This is the second of three conjunctions that Mercury is making with the Sun. The first one was on August 1st, this is the second one, and the third one will happen November 28th.
That same day, October 9th at 03:48 PM Pacific Time, we then have Mercury joining up with Mars. This is also the second of three. The first one was on August 18th, the second one is October 9th and the third one is November 10th.
So, we’ve talked about this on previous episodes April, but do you want to go ahead and say just a few words about them to help folks out?
April: Yes. Because it’s kind of tangled… as we were sitting here talking about it before and trying to parse it out. But, when you have a situation like this where you’ve got three different planets that are basically taking turns, making conjunctions with each other, just sort of take the meaning of the three planets. So, we got the Sun, which is about our will and our expression of self. We have Mercury, which is the story we tell about who we are and what our journey is. And then we have Mars, which is how we want to go out in the world and get things done and impose our will on the world in some way. So, just know that the three of those coming together between October 7th and October 9th, because the Sun makes the conjunction to Mars on the 7th, then we have Sun with Mercury, Mercury with Mars on the 9th, just know on these days, this week, these are the three planets that are dancing together, the Sun and Mercury and Mars.
And it says that there is something in particular that we want to do, that’s the Sun’s conjunction with Mars. And that with Mercury, there is either new information we’re going to get about it or new ideas we’re going to get or we realize there are some new skills that we need to develop in order to really get where we’re trying to go. But know, the three of them were sort of spinning together this week.
Jen: And it occurs to me that we didn’t actually say: This is all happening in Libra. So, we’re going to just give a tip of the hat to Mercury retrograde there…
April: Basically, if we don’t say otherwise, during this episode, you can pretty safely assume something’s happening in Libra. So, that’s what’s happening here.
Alright. Finally, for this week my pal, we have Saturn turning direct on October 10th at 07:17 PM Pacific Time, at 6° and 52 minutes of Aquarius on a delightful Sabian symbol, “A Child Born of an Eggshell”.
Jen: That’s so quirky.
April: I know. It’s sort of science fiction-y.
Jen: Yes. It makes me think of Aquarius.
April: Very much. Saturn turned retrograde on May 23rd at 13°, 31 minutes of Aquarius. And to me, the Sabian symbol really suggests that it’s time to explore new ideas and directions that might seem very unusual, especially related to career, which is a Saturn thing.
Jen: For sure.
April: And in keeping with the idea of a big planet turning direct after being retrograde, it says “We’ve had a little time to cogitate since late May on some particular step, we might be wanting to take in how we are structuring our lives, whether it has to do with our career, where we live, a relationship, any of that.” And now will be the time that the road begins to open up a little bit, and we start moving in that direction, especially with Sun and Mercury and Mars, all trine to Saturn in the New Moon chart.
Jen: Makes sense.
April: Oh, my friend, we have made it to the end of a rather epic show sheet. Have we done it?
Jen: We have successfully completed 99 episodes. Which means next time is Episode 100!
April: Oh man, I am so excited!
Jen: I know…
April: Well, thanks to all of you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. And if you like what you’re hearing, we sure hope you will follow the show, rate and review it. 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 and every episode at our website, bigskyastropod.com.
Jen: Thank you so much to everyone who donated during last week’s Podathon. If you didn’t get a chance, you’ve still got just a little bit of time. Contribute $25 or more by this Thursday, September 30th at 11:59 PM Pacific time, and you’ll be entered in a grand prize drawing to win one of these five cool prizes.
One listener will win a solar return report from April’s online store. One listener anywhere in the world will win an awesome astrology poster from friend of the podcast, Patrick Blasa of The Elegant Universe…
April: Oh, my gosh!
Jen: …and April, do you want to say anything else to Patrick?
April: Patrick, we feel terrible! I had you as Philip all last week on the show sheet for the Podathon!
Jen: Sorry Patrick!
April: We are so sorry! So, it’s Patrick Blasa, and it’s still an awesome poster, even if we got Patrick’s name wrong.
Jen: Yes. And we’ll link that in the show notes.
April: Yes. Thank you. As you were, Jen.
Jen: As I was, okay… two listeners, anywhere in the world will win a 60-minute personal astrology reading with April, a $175 value. And one grand prize winner will win a 90-minute reading with April, a $225 value. How cool!
April: Huzzah!
Well, we’re also inviting donors that are only $5 or more to our special episodes for the September Equinox and the December Solstice. Yes, you will get both of these bonus episodes. Our September Equinox episode just dropped on Monday. It’s about 50 minutes long and it is an extremely comprehensive look ahead at the upcoming three months.
Finally, all contributors to the podcast get our amusing bingo card. Play along as you browse our back catalog and listen to future episodes.
Our next episode will reach your happy ears on October 11th. And that will be our 100th episode!
Jen: Yay!
April: We’ll be sure to plan something special to celebrate, so be sure to join us then. 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
