TRANSCRIPT Episode 193
Listen and read show notes here
Welcome to the Big Sky Astrology podcast with your host, astrologer, and author, April Elliot Kent. Hello, invisible friend. April here, and the date today is August 28th, 2023. Welcome to Episode 193 of the Big Sky Astrology Podcast.
Before we get started with this week’s episode, just a heads up that the fourth annual Podathon begins on September 4th. I’ll have a week of special episodes coming your way, and I would love to hear some of your voices on the show too. I invite everyone listening to leave a voicemail telling me how you found the show, how long you’ve been listening, anything you’d like to share about your relationship with the Big Sky Astrology Podcast. Just leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast. I would love to hear from you!
For those of you who are relatively new to the podcast, the Podathon is my opportunity each year when I ask all of you who enjoy the podcast week after week to make a donation, a contribution to help cover the expenses of producing the show. Anything is welcome, and if you donate $25 or more, you are entered into a drawing for a chance to win a free reading, free enrollment in one of my courses, or a copy of my exclusive Followed by a Moonshadow eclipse report. There are a few things that I’m going to be offering and I’ll tell you more about that next week.
The Podathon helps me keep bringing the weekly episodes to you free of any kind of advertisements. I’m a big podcast listener and I know I don’t love hearing ads during the shows that I listen to, and I would rather not have them on this podcast either. But there are some costs involved with producing the show, and I love to have an opportunity to ask those of you who find value in the show to help me defray those costs.
On each episode between Monday and Friday, I’ll be talking about the day’s astrological highlights and also a little bit of background on the things that I tend to include in each episode. Background on the Sabian symbols, the lunar phase family cycles, the Void-of-Course Moon. Anyway, I do hope that you will be joining me then a new episode every day, Monday through Friday for Labor Day Week, and I think it’ll be a lot of fun.
This week: The Pisces Full Moon Uranus turns retrograde, and Venus finally turns direct. We’ll take a look back at Venus’s retrograde period, and I answer a listener question about what it means when what you seem to be seeing in your transits doesn’t seem to be showing up in your actual life.
Pisces Full Moon (Aug. 30, 2023, 6:36 pm PDT)
The week begins with the Moon report and the Pisces Full Moon on August 30th at 6:36 PM Pacific Time at 7º25’ Pisces with the Sun at 7º25’ Virgo, this Sabian symbol for this Moon is 8 Pisces, Girl blowing a bugle. The Sabian symbol for the Sun is 8 Virgo, First dancing instruction.
Each year, the Pisces Full Moon occurs sometime during the Sun’s Virgo season, when the Sun is moving through Virgo. Our focus tends to be on the practical, the everyday of approaching our tasks and duties and responsibilities in a very diligent fashion, and that’s wonderful. That’s as it should be during this season.
But the Full Moon in Pisces is the moment in that cycle where we are reminded that there is an entire other dimension of life that can’t be quantified, put in a scheduler, where we don’t end up at the end of the day necessarily having something tangible to show for our efforts. But side of life that is no less important.
Pisces represents the mystical side of life. The side that gives meaning to the practical everyday tasks that we perform, to the work that we do. Why have we filled our lives with the particular work and tasks that we have, and how can we approach even the most mundane aspects of life with a sense of ecstatic spiritual purpose?
The chart for this Full Moon shows the Moon in Pisces in a close conjunction with Saturn, and they’re both opposed the Sun. I talked about the sun’s opposition to Saturn in last week’s episode. It can be a pretty challenging aspect that we only get once each year. It does have a sense of making us feel blocked in what it is that we’re trying to do.
The Moon in Pisces together with Saturn in Pisces, I think is sort of a nice setup. The parts of Pisces that can sometimes be problematic, which have to do with having a hard time focusing or dealing with the practicalities of everyday life. That’s diminished quite a lot by the Moon being together with Saturn.
It means that we can harness our sense of spiritual purpose, kindness, altruism, and point them in a direction that can actually be very productive. The Moon Sabian symbol, A girl blowing a bugle can be a wake-up call. A glad call to action. The Sabian symbol for Saturn at 4 Pisces, which is together with the Moon, is Heavy traffic on a narrow isthmus, and I believe that was one of the symbols for the Sun-Saturn opposition. And then the symbol for the Sun at 8 Virgo, First dancing instruction.
So the picture that I get from this combination of symbols is, this is a time to call attention to something where we have to share a crowded space with other people, and then we have to learn prescribed steps to move in harmony with one another. This is the Full Moon or the midpoint in the New Moon cycle that began on August 16th in Leo. So we are beginning to get a fuller picture of the intentions that we planted at that New Moon.
And it’s also the Full Moon in a lunar phase family cycle that began with the New Moon on March 2, 2022 at 12º06’ Pisces. The First Quarter Moon in this cycle was November 30th, 2022. And it will finish up with the Last Quarter Phase on May 30, 2024.
So we’re at the Full Moon, not only in the cycle that began with the New Moon on August 16th, but also with this other lunar phase family cycle that unfolds over a three year period. So if you’re able, take time and look back to that New Moon – the Pisces New Moon on March 2, 2022. This would’ve been a time when we tried to formulate some intentions, some ideas of what we would like to initiate in our lives with regard to things like spiritual purpose, kindness, empathy, tenderness, the arts – all would be ruled by that Pisces New Moon. So this is the time to take stock and say, how well are we doing with that? Are there some changes that we would like to make so that we finish up this particular family cycle with a sense of spiritual purpose?
Void-of-Course Moon periods
Let’s look at the Void-of-Course Moon periods for this week. The first is on August 28th when the Moon in Capricorn makes a conjunction with Pluto at 4:49 AM Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for about two-and-three-quarter hours, and then enters Aquarius at 7:32 AM.
When the Moon in Capricorn is coming together with Pluto, I think it gives a sense of how to contain our emotions in order to achieve a desired outcome. I know last week there was a Void-of-Course Moon that began with the Moon in Scorpio making a sextile aspect of Pluto, and it came with a similar message, which is containing our emotions in order to achieve our objective. And this is a similar Void-of-Course period, but the Moon in Capricorn is more naturally in control of its emotional nature.
So this is an aspect that’s uniquely well suited to our constraining our emotions in order to get what we want. The only potential downfall with an aspect like this, and A Void-of-Course Moon period is a good time to think about this, is Pluto will give us things, but there’s almost always a cost associated with it and the potential cost of the Moon coming together in a conjunction with Pluto is that it can actually set up a pattern of making it harder to access our emotions when we want to do that.
On August 29th, the Moon in Aquarius squares Uranus at 8:04 PM Pacific Time. It’s a long Void-of-Course Moon period – it will be Void-of-Course for about 11 hours and then enters Pisces on August 30th at 6:56 AM. The Moon in Aquarius tends to be a period where we’re able to get some distance from our emotions, able to analyze them a little bit and think about them a little bit instead of being so “in” them that it’s hard to really get perspective on them. The square to Uranus inclines towards making a ruckus. There is a need for independence. The need to rebel against the things that we feel are blocking us from our true self-expression.
So this is a long Void-of-Course Moon period, much of which might be when we’re sleeping, where we get to think about how to change our emotional patterns around the need to be connected with others, which is the natural expression of the Moon versus the need that we have for independence and space to do things in our own way.
On September 1st, the Moon in Pisces sextiles Pluto at 3:36 AM Pacific Time. It’s Void-of-Course for a little under two hours, and then enters Aries at 6:25 AM Pacific time. It’s interesting when I think of this Pluto in Capricorn, and I think about what it’s wanting from us at the end of its sign, there is some objective that we have been building up to probably since Pluto went into this sign back in 2008; and all of the Void-of-Course Moon periods, I think are setting us up to change habits that have been keeping us from achieving everything that we could on a worldly level.
The Moon in Pisces symbolizes a natural state of gentleness, of flow, of kind of just taking things as they come and moving in the direction of the path of least resistance. So those are the qualities at this Void-of-Course Moon period that will give us an opportunity to align ourselves with powerful forces, the forces that move us in the direction of accomplishment.
The Moon in Pisces isn’t so much interested in worldly accomplishment on that level, but Pluto in Capricorn certainly is. So the Pisces qualities are the ones that are going to move us in the direction of this Plutonian success, especially compared to last week.
Uranus stations Retrograde (Aug. 28, 2023, 7:39 pm PDT)
This is a pretty light week, astrologically speaking. One thing that is happening, is Uranus is turning retrograde on August 28th at 7:39 PM Pacific Time. Uranus has been direct since January 22 of this year, and it will be retrograde until January 26, 2024. It’s one of those planets with a long, retrograde period.
Uranus is a planet of going against the grain and wanting to do things in our own way. When it’s retrograde, if we display the outward signs of rebellion or quirkiness, these things will have a little bit of a tendency to blow back on us. Retrograde just means look within yourself for validation of your natural impulses related to this symbol. So while Uranus is retrograde, it’s time to treasure, what is different about you, the ways in which you are unusual, and especially the ways in which you’re quite different from most of the people around you. This is a time to focus on breaking out of patterns that keep you from being who you want to be and doing what it is that you want to do, and generally feeling free.
The thing about Uranus is because it is a symbol of rebellion, we can often get locked into these patterns of being a rebel without a cause, sometimes; of just because other people are doing things in a particular way, our sense of liberation depends on us doing it in the opposite way. But really when you think about it, that is not free – because our actions or attitudes are still being defined by what other people are doing.
So when Uranus is retrograde for that long period of time – each year it’s about five months – it’s the time to let your sense of self and your sense of freedom and autonomy be defined not in opposition to what the rest of the world is doing or expects from you, but rather the ways in which you feel that you have trapped yourself into particular attitudes, ways of being and beliefs about who you are and who you can be.
Venus stations Direct
On September 3rd at 6:20 PM Pacific Time, Venus stations direct at 12º12’ Leo on the Sabian symbol 13 Leo, An old sea captain rocking. Venus turned retrograde on July 22nd, and I have to say, it feels like longer ago, it feels like it’s been a very long Venus retrograde period. So what have we learned?
Over and over in my episodes during this Venus retrograde period, I have been talking about the message of Venus Retrograde being about how we love ourselves, how we approve of ourselves. This is especially true because Venus has been retrograde in Leo. I particularly like this Sabian symbol, the old Sea captain rocking. It gives me a picture of someone who is at the stage of their life where there is so much value to just sitting and looking back, enjoying the feeling of just being in the moment. It’s been hard while Venus has been retrograde, I’ve found, to be guided just by oneself for approval and for validation, and it’s also been really hard just kind of on a regular mundane level, especially related to things like the handling of money, I’ve been finding in my own life.
I wrote in one of my newsletters one week about getting a carpet installed in our bedroom right around the time that Venus turned retrograde, and it’s very much of the nature of Venus – kind of a luxury item, a very lovely plush carpeting, and it had been bothering me on an aesthetic level for a very long time, this nasty old carpet. And basically, it has not turned out that well. It’s a lovely carpet, but it has a big seam running down one side of the room, and I am still battling to get this resolved with the people that installed it.
So it’s not a big deal. It doesn’t sound like much. It’s certainly not impacting the quality of my life in any important way. But it was an expenditure and a sort of, like, a fun little treat that we were giving ourselves, which hasn’t turned out that way. It’s turned out disappointingly. So this is sometimes what we see during Venus’s retrograde periods. In any event, if you have been heeding my advice, while Venus has been retrograde and have been holding off on making big purchases or making big moves in your relationships or anything like that, well, we’re just about at the finish line where we can move ahead more or less confidently in those areas.
Listener Question
In this week’s listener question, listener Josh asks: “Themes of career opportunity are coming up very strongly for me right now in my chart. I don’t really see any of the materializing. I’m worried that there might be opportunities that I’ve missed or won’t be awake to when they present themselves. What should I be looking out for in the stars to help me hear the universe when it speaks to me?”
Thank you, Josh. What a great question and really beautifully put. Now, you didn’t say exactly what things you were seeing in your chart that spelled career opportunity for you. We do have to look at the whole chart to get the full picture, but here are a few of the things that I might look for, and they’re probably pretty similar to what you’ve been seeing.
First of all, activity in your natal 10th house, the house of career, and especially at the Midheaven. And especially involving the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the North Node. And I say those planets because since they come to that point so seldom, it’s a lot more important when they do.
We would look at important transits of Saturn in the sky, which is more or less regarded as the career planet. Is it conjoining an angle of your chart? Is it making a strong aspect to your Sun or Moon? Are you experiencing transiting Saturn in a conjunction square or opposition to natal Saturn? Because that would speak of being in a strong point in the 29-year Saturn cycle.
I would look to see if there was an important transit to natal Saturn, especially from transiting Venus or Jupiter. Those are kind of fast transits, but in combination with other bigger patterns that are going on, they might be showing an opening for something nice coming up in your career. I would look at the planet that rules the midheaven and look to see if it’s in aspect to the Sun, the Moon, or the angles.
I would look for major aspects to natal planets in the 10th house. Say you’ve got Mercury in your 10th house and then we have Pluto making a trine to that, that would be a really important indicator that you might be coming to the attention of powerful people in your career. And I would look at the progressed midheaven, especially in aspect to a natal planet or angle, or in particular if it’s changing house or sign. That can really show new developments in your career.
So if you are seeing some combination of these transits or progressions happening in your chart, and yet you’re not really seeing outward movement in your career, I think we would have to go a little deeper and consider other factors in your chart that may be pointing to delays or blockages.
Saturn’s aspects can indicate important career times, but the hard aspects from Saturn can show up as delays or obstacles that represent things you have to work to overcome. These often seem a little bit like tests to see if we’re really determined to achieve something. The trines or sextiles from transiting Saturn often bring rewards for past hard work and tenacity if we see progressed planets or angles in an aspect with natal Saturn.
That can be a similar thing where something important is happening, but it’s coming together with Saturn, which may tend to block things or slow them down. I would also look to see if there are progressed inner planets, so the Sun through Mars or angles at 29 degrees of their sign. And this is especially true if those planets are connected in some way with the 10th house of your chart, so if they are in the 10th house, if they are the ruler of the 10th house, something like that. When these progressed planets move into the next sign, opportunities will often present themselves.
Transiting Pluto, making connections with planets in the 10th house, or the Midheaven, or the Midheaven ruler, or even natal Saturn can indicate larger forces that are limiting your opportunities at the moment, or your growth. For example, sometimes I’m seeing when transiting Pluto was connected with the 10th house, the industry that you work in could be going through some important changes, maybe contracting a little bit, or changing their main focus.
Josh, thank you very much for your question. It’s a little hard to give you a more specific answer without seeing your full chart, but these give you some ideas of things to look at and especially the things that might be delaying the other opportunities you’re seeing coming up in your chart. I certainly wish you great career breakthroughs very soon.
And if you invisible friend, have a question that you’d like me to answer on a future episode, just leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast. Or email me at April(at)bigskyastrology(dot)com and put Podcast Question in the subject line.
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