TRANSCRIPT for Episode 77 (April 12, 2021)
The Crescent Moon & Getting Our Ducks in a Row
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 April 12th, 2021. And here with me is my friend, who’s kind of an open book, astrologer April Elliott Kent. Hi, April.
April: Hi, Jen. Do you allude to my book, “The Essential Guide To Practical Astrology?”
Jen: I do. I certainly do.
April: We had a review, a very nice view left for us in iTunes couple of weeks ago or something from somebody who said they really loved the podcast, but they tended to feel a little bit lost, maybe it was a little over their heads. And we don’t want to be frustrating people. We want people to feel they’re on solid ground with astrology. And we know we do sort of get off sometimes in some, a little more advanced territory, but our entire point of starting this podcast really was to make it accessible to as many listeners as possible. And I think that there actually is just kind of a learning curve when it comes to astrology and the language of astrology and the concepts.
And I am really proud of my book, “The Essential Guide To Practical Astrology.” It is an A to Z guide. You can start knowing nothing about astrology and by the end of the book, you have familiarity with all of the main concepts of beginning astrology and even into prediction. I talk a little bit about transits, a little bit about secondary progressions, so it’s quite a comprehensive book. And if you’re really interested in learning more about astrology, I do like to recommend it. And my colleagues have been very kind and recommend it to their students because they feel it’s a good textbook.
Jen: Absolutely. Also, I have seen people that have purchased the book and then they have said good things on your site, your Instagram, your Facebook, that they have really liked the book. And it’s a handy tool for learning for beginners. So tell folks where they can find it, April.
April: Really, any place you buy books. If it’s not in your local bookstore, not that there are a lot of local bookstores left, but if you have one, they can order it for you. It’s available online through Amazon. I think you can get it through Barnes & Noble. You can find out details about the book at my website. Just go to bigskyastrology.com, click on books in the menu and find out about that, one of my other books.
We just wanted to put that plug in. I know it seems a little self-serving because it’s my book. But people have to learn somewhere. Why not from me? If they like us, and they liked the podcast, they’ll probably like the book.
Jen: It is a really good book, though.
April: Thank you. It’s a very conversational. People told me it’s fun, it’s easy to read and it makes things seem a little easier and a little more accessible. So, if that is the approach you’re looking for, I think you could definitely do worse.
Jen: Absolutely.
April: Yes.
Jen: Plus, your book puts me 2° away from Oprah. So, I like that.
April: Yes. Exactly. Yes. It ended up on an Oprah list, which is pretty great.
Jen: Yes.
April: That’s a good place to begin this week and to help people plunge in just a little bit deeper to astrology. Alright, Jen. Well, we have a very full sky and a very full show sheet this week. Where should we begin?
Jen: Let’s start today with some Sun aspects and let’s kick it off with the Sun sextile Mars on April 13th at 04:09 PM, Pacific Time. 24 ° 14 minutes of Aries and Gemini. So, what should folks know about this, April?
April: Well, it’s the first of a few aspects that the Sun is going to make in pretty rapid succession. The Sun is sextile Mars on the 13th, it’s sextiles Jupiter on the 15th, it squares Pluto on the 16th. We begin our solar journey this week with opportunities, because as we’ve said before, that’s what the sextile aspect represents. And whereas Venus last week made aspects to these planets and said, “Be guided by what is pleasurable to you, what completes you, what attracts you.”
And the Sun takes us in similar directions, but is guided by a different principle. Instead of pleasure, it’s about selfhood. It’s about self-expression. It’s about letting the world see who you are, seeing your heart. The Sun is associated with the heart, both in medical astrology, and just symbolically. That is what this journey is about this week. And it takes us, as you said to a sextile to Mars and Mars is the planet of how we get things done. And the way I thought of this combination together is that Mars in this case makes the heart visible through our work. It means we have an opportunity this week that comes our way that lets us do work that really means something to us that’s in alignment with our creativity, with our individuality, and it makes us feel good and help others feel good. So that is coming as I said, on April 13th.
Then, on April 15th, the Sun makes a sextile to Jupiter at 09:58 AM Pacific Time, 25°, 56 minutes of Aries and Aquarius. The Sun is on that Sabian symbol we’ve spoken about recently, “A Man Possessed of More Gifts Than He Can Hold.” And it is the Sun with Jupiter. So it’s: Are you doing too much? As we’ve said before with this one, just because you can do a lot of things doesn’t mean you have to. So there’s an opportunity here to gauge, which is the thing that you really want to be doing, to streamline your life a little bit and say, “What is important?” And the barometer you use or the hydrometer is one of the Sabian symbols here is: What makes your heart open up? What makes you feel alive and happy when you do it? And those are the things to really focus on. Quality rather than quantity is what we’re looking for with this one.
Jen: Nice.
April: But then the Sun comes up and makes a square to Pluto on April 16th. And that is a harder aspect. It puts two planets in conflict with each other, so that both can test themselves and grow stronger. The Sun again about the self, the belief in self and Pluto is a little bit of a hard one. It’s in Capricorn here. And the Sun in Aries just wants to go full speed ahead and say, “Yes, I’m going to do what I want to do and make my individual contribution to the world.” Pluto is not so much about that. Pluto is about how we are part of the communal experience. And the personal self is only important as far as Pluto is concerned if it serves the greater good. The question that we have to ask ourselves this week is… the things that we want to do that we have deemed important in that last aspect with Jupiter is “How are they contributing to the greater good?”
And we have to really push to believe in ourselves because the Sun’s being tested by Pluto and the Sun is a sense of self. So, pushing to believe in ourselves. And this aspect was developing… we talked about it a bit last week, when we were talking about the chart for the Aries New Moon, because it was right there with Venus. And I think that the key here is: Often the best way to gain confidence in ourselves, which is what the Sun is trying to do with this aspect, is to confront difficult challenges. You know?
Jen: Sure.
April: Look at the things that are difficult. Push yourself to do what you know is really difficult. And we’ll doubt ourselves. The Sabian symbol for Pluto at this aspect is “A Mountain Pilgrimage,” which we’ve talked about many times.
Jen: Well, Pluto will be there a long time at that point, which we talked about last week.
April: Yes. As you pointed out in our last podcast, Jen, you don’t just wake up one morning and decide to climb a mountain.
Jen: Right.
April: You have to work your way up to it. And this aspect just says, “And you have to believe you can do it. You have to have confidence in yourself.” So, that is where the Sun comes into this one with the square to Pluto.
Jen: That’s really meaningful when you can bring it back to your own self and look at it that way.
April: Yes. Because what is truly meaningful for the self, we have to trust also has a contribution to make to the greater good. We, each of us, are one tiny little piece of a great whole. But without each of us, I truly believe, and the individual spirit that we can bring forth, then it’s not complete. So, very, very solar week.
Jen: Yes. This might help folks: I heard a long time ago, and I can’t remember who said it, but basically the idea was that with squares and oppositions… these are what are called “hard aspects” in astrology. Something happens in our outer world that we’re forced to respond to. And with sextiles and trines, these are what are considered “soft aspects.” We may or may not notice them. We have to choose whether or not we want to take action with them. I remember you said last week, “It’s not a mandate. It’s a suggestion…”
April: …it’s an opportunity.
Jen: Yes, it’s an opportunity.
April: Yes. A door opens, do you decide to walk through it? That’s the nature of the sextile. Yes. And the trine is easy because it just brings it right to you.
Jen: Right. So, people can always think of it that way, when we’re talking about these different aspects, which are just the different angles that the planets make to one another. You can just think, “Okay, if it’s a sextile or a trine, you sort of choose whether you want to take action or not. And if it’s an opposition or a square, then that’s something that’s happening to you and you’re forced to respond to it.”
April: I think that’s a pretty good way of looking at it, Jen. And it takes, of course, all of these aspects to make a full experience of life. We tend to set the hard aspects up as being pejorative, because we think, “Oh, hard. That can’t be good.” Well, no, it’s just, they have their place. Ideally, we see a mixture of them all in a week, in a birth chart, in a year, whatever it is. Some balance of the easy aspects, because that does make things flow a little better, makes it easier for you to get from here to there without constantly bumping into hard objects on the way. But the hard aspects… without those, it is hard to get motivated and it’s hard to get things done and we don’t really grow. They give it as a nice mix between going to the gym and hanging out and getting a spa treatment or whatever you like to do to relax.
Jen: Yes. Sure.
April: Because the spa treatment is more the nature, especially of a trine. Whereas going to the gym and really pushing yourself to get stronger and stronger is definitely very much the square and the opposition.
Jen: Cool.
April: Very good, Jen. Alright.
Jen: What’s up next, pal?
April: Well next, let’s take a look at our friend Venus who this week is entering Taurus on April 14th at 11:22 AM, Pacific Time. She’ll be in Taurus through May 8th. Venus is the pleasure principle. It is the things we are drawn to, the things we enjoy, the things we like. As Venus is moving through the different signs of the Zodiac in the sky, we may find ourselves drawn to different kinds of things that go along with the symbolism of that sign. Taurus is a relaxed grounded sign. Whereas when Venus was in Aries, we might’ve really felt good. “Oh, I really want to get out and do things.” I kept hearing that from people. Over the last few weeks, the spring fever was really getting them. They felt like getting outside and biking or walking or doing whatever they wanted to do.
Venus in Taurus is like, if you imagine you’ve gone running outside and hiked to some beautiful place. Well, Taurus represents that moment in the journey when you just sit down and you relax and you have maybe your little lunch you’ve brought with you and you’re looking at a beautiful view. And maybe little Woodland creatures are coming up to say “Hi.” It’s just a very chill vibe with Venus in Taurus.It’s about being patient about getting what we want as opposed to Venus in Aries, which is pretty much the opposite of that. “Give me what I want. Give it to me now.” It’s about magnetism. It’s about enjoying the pleasures of the good life.
Jen: And Venus rules Taurus, doesn’t she?
April: Exactly. So, she’s very happy here. She’s very comfortable here. Think of this as almost being like a trine for a planet because it’s in its natural habitat. It’s very comfortable there. There’s no problem. However, this particular Venus while in Taurus is going to make a couple of hard aspects to big planets.
Jen: So, this is the heads up then?
April: This is the heads up.
Jen: The heads-up portion of the podcast…
April: It’s not all roses. This particular Venus is, although it’s very happy being in Taurus, and that makes it actually pretty strong as well. We’ll really feel its influences. It’s going to run into some contentious aspects. And when you were talking about aspects before, I guess we probably should have talked about the conjunction, which can be either an easy or hard aspect depending on the planets involved. If you have Venus with Uranus in a conjunction, which we’re going to have on the 22nd of the month?
Jen: Yes.
April: I mean, can we really call that an easy aspect? The natures of Venus and Uranus are very different. So, even if they’re in the same sign, they’ve got some negotiation to do.
Jen: Yes. Because Venus just wants to relax and have a good time in Taurus and Uranus can be pretty disruptive.
April: Right. And even in terms of relationships, Venus just wants things to go on as they are and be really comfortable. And Uranus is the element that says “Oh, it’s getting a little boring in here.”
Jen: “A little too comfortable.”
April: Yes, a little too comfortable, and it starts to get a little bit itchy. So Venus, as it comes together with Uranus, the negotiation begins to happen in our partnerships, in our relationships. And sometimes unexpected things come up. As we know, financially, we may have unexpected expenses that come up, especially with the electrical gadgets, since it’s Uranus. And Venus will also make a square to Saturn. We’re going to talk about both these aspects more in next week’s podcast, because that’s when they happen. But Venus with Saturn, again, it’s a square to begin with, which is we know that the two planets are going to be at odds and having to work something out. And Venus with Saturn is a hard combination because Venus just, oh, wants to have what it wants to have. It wants that pleasure. It wants to have affection. It wants to have a good time.
Saturn is the thing that tends to put us back on our own resources to cope with things. It says “Well, okay, but how is this enhancing your sense of responsibility and agency over your own life?” Sometimes we have to be alone in order to know ourselves better so we can be better in relationship with other people. So, sometimes that’s the kind of thing we’ll see with Venus and Saturn. So again, we will talk more about these aspects of next week when they’re happening. But we wanted to give you a heads up because we immediately think, “Oh, Venus going into Taurus, that’s only going to be fantastic.” Yes. And well yes, there are parts of it that are very nice… but definitely with these kinds of aspects coming up, it’s about how are we being challenged in our desire for things to be easy and comfortable and centered and to have what we want. Maybe that’s not the optimal thing for our growth at this time. That’s I think what the aspects to Uranus and Saturn next week are going to be about.
Jen: Sure. And of course, this all makes me think of the Saturn/Uranus square that is the biggest theme of 2021. Will Venus coming through make Uranus and Saturn remember that, “Oh, we’re in a square all year. That’s right.”
April: Yes. I don’t think they’re forgetting. But definitely for any listeners who have planets in their chart at around 9° to 12° of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius, the fixed signs, they’re probably really feeling the pressure right now in some area of their life. And this Venus comes along and triggers that further and says, “Okay, well, how is this ongoing struggle that you’re having, how is that implicated in your relationships, in your financial situation?” That kind of thing.
Jen: I would also recommend folks listen to that first episode that we did on the Saturn/Uranus square, which I will link in the show notes. I don’t remember the number off the top of my head.
April: Excellent. Yes. That was a good discussion. So, thanks for thinking of that, Jen.
Jen: Oh, yes.
April: What do we have up next?
Jen: Next we have Mars trining Jupiter on April 16th at 10:14 PM Pacific Time. Mars is in Gemini, as we’ve been talking about over the past couple of weeks, 26° 12 minutes. Jupiter, of course, is in Aquarius. This is a nice aspect, isn’t it?
April: Yes. Mars in Gemini has been an interesting transit for it. And it’s in many ways a little bit of a challenging sign for Mars because Mars wants to be very focused and directed and Gemini likes to keep its options open and have a lot of variety and experience lots of different paths.
Jen: The sign of the twins.
April: Exactly. At least two different directions at any given time, Mars in Gemini likes to do. So, it’s maybe been a little hard to buckle down and focus and get particular things done. But as it comes into a trine with Jupiter in Aquarius, something about that approach is going to be rewarded in a significant way. Because Jupiter is always a benefic influence. And a trine, while it’s an easy aspect between them, and it says good things are flowing between them… So, we know it’s going to probably be the best expression of both Mars and Jupiter coming together.
Mars is what we want to do, how we want to proceed, how we want to get things done, how we handle conflict with other people, lots of things. And connecting with Jupiter in Aquarius just says, “Well, all the things you’ve been working with this whole time that Mars has been in Gemini over the last month or two, this is the time when somehow against all odds that approach, although it hasn’t necessarily been linear and straight forward and very focused… that in some way is being rewarded with something that will probably again pay off, especially in the future because Jupiter’s in the future-oriented sign of Aquarius.”
This will be particularly nice, I think, for our friends with lots of Aries and Scorpio planets, because they are ruled by Mars. So, their ruling planet coming together with Jupiter in such a nice way probably means something nice paying off for them as well.
Jen: Sure. That makes sense.
April: Alright. Jen, do you know what time it is?
Jen: What time is it?
April: Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it!
April: Alright. Well, we have a very interesting Moonwatch segment this week because we don’t have a major lunation. We don’t have a New, Full or Quarter Moon, but we’ve got plenty to talk to you about nevertheless, with regard to the Moon. But first, we would like to introduce you to our newest non-imaginary sponsor, Victoria Pendragon!
Jen: I understand that Victoria is an artist, April. Tell us all about her.
April: She is quite a breathtaking artist. Did you get to go to her website and look at her paintings?
Jen: Yes. Very cool stuff.
April: It is so beautiful, so vivid and colorful. I fell immediately in love with it.
Jen: Amazing.
April: So, Victoria Pendragon: Her personal natal chart paintings that she does unite the cosmic planetary influences from the moment of your birth combined with her knowledge of astrology, which is something she started studying many years ago. Back in 1964, she was a student at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Jen: That’s amazing, studying astrology there all those years ago.
April: I know.
Jen: You go, Victoria!
April: You go! And a personal natal chart painting, she says, kind of designs itself. It becomes a focus for deep meditation on a subconscious level, the body is recognizing itself in the image and it takes the meditation to an even deeper level than just stilling the mind. She has a really unique approach to the chart and it incorporates a lifetime of mystical experiences.
Jen: How does she create these paintings, pal?
April: It’s kind of interesting. Well, first of all, they take about four to six weeks to complete.
Jen: Wow.
April: Which to me, she made it sound like, “Wow, that’s a really long time.” But I thought, “That actually doesn’t sound like all that long for a personal painting of your birth chart, which is very customized.”
But one of the reasons they take as long as they do is Victoria uses this unique painting technique. She had a terrible illness back in the late eighties, early nineties, and as a result, her hands lost their flexibility to a great degree as a by-product. It’s called scleroderma, I think, is the disease she had. Very serious. And people said it should have killed her. It sidelined her for four years. So, it’s a very dramatic story. But she says, what she actually does is she lays the painting on a table and she moves it around instead of her hands and fingers. And it’s hard to even picture it.
Jen: That is so complicated and cool.
April: I know. I would never have guessed from looking at the paintings.
Jen: I wouldn’t have either.
April: Yes. It’s a really remarkable story because it’s a deadly disease and the fact that she not only survived, but she is making such extraordinary art, is really amazing.
Jen: Yes. And did you call her V? Does she like to be called V?
April: She says that is her professional name. Yes.
Jen: I love that!
April: I know you do. Our kitty Violet, you were excited because you said, “Oh, I get to call her V.”
Jen: “I can call her V.”
April: Yes. So, Victoria, you have made Jen’s day.
Jen: Yes, I think that’s great. Well, so V is currently working to set up her dedicated web page just for this specific work. But in the meantime, do visit her website, victoriapendragonpaints.com to view her paintings, including some of the astrology work, which really is cool. And if you’re interested in having her paint your astrological portrait, you can contact her via her website for details. Look for the contact link in the top right-hand corner of her website. Again, it’s victoriapendragonpaints.com. I will link that in the show notes.
April: Excellent. Yes, she has a contact form there and I think she even has a phone number.
Jen: Perfect.
April: So, check it out.
Jen: Thank you, V.
April: Thank you, V. Well, back to the Moonwatch already in progress.
Jen: So, tell us about this Crescent Moon, April.
April: The Crescent Moon is the part in the lunar cycle… like you’ve had the New Moon when the Sun and the Moon are together. So, of course you’re not seeing the Moon at all in the night sky because it sets with the Sun. The Crescent Moon begins when the Moon makes what we call a semi-square aspect to the Sun.
Jen: And a semi-square is half of a square?
April: Correct. It’s a 45° angle… a square’s, 90°. And it’s a tense angle. It’s not considered a major aspect, it’s considered, a minor aspect. But that’s the moment that actually initiate the Crescent Moon cycle. And the way I like to describe the Crescent Moon is to just imagine: If you go out in the evening, as I often do, I’m taking out the trash or something in the night, and I’m standing in the driveway for about four nights in a row from the balsamic to the new phase. You don’t see the Moon at all. And suddenly you go out one night and there’s this beautiful little sliver of Crescent Moon in the sky. And it kind of wakes you up. It’s like, you’ve been waiting to see something new in the sky, and there it is. That’s a little how the Crescent Moon works. It’s like the Moon’s gotten far enough away from the Sun that you’re getting the first inklings of objectivity. There’s a little light for me. You can begin to see what your journey is about. And in the 28-day cycle, it does mark that moment where something really captures our interest often on a Crescent Moon. You see this a lot in the progressed lunar phase as well, which moves a little slower, but it basically means that, oh, it’s just like the Crescent Moon startles us in the night sky. There’s something that appears in our life if we pay attention that wakes us up a little bit. “Oh, that’s new. That’s interesting.”
It’s often a phase that I associate with a little bit of almost an obsessive quality. It can mark a moment we get interested in something that will become a deep interest to us for a long time. Either a new subject that you discover that you want to study like astrology or whatever it is, or making sourdough bread. And the Crescent Moon is often on the scene. This particular Crescent Moon begins with the Moon in Gemini. And it’s on that Sabian symbol, “A Slave Girl Demanding Her Rights of Her Mistress,” which we explored a couple of episodes ago.
So, we know that this Crescent Moon has something to do with standing up for ourselves or appreciating other people who do, perhaps. The thing that appears in your environment that it kind of has that arresting quality of the Crescent Moon could definitely be symbolized by another person or somebody you see on television or in a TV show or hear about on a podcast that is really making a strong statement about what they deserve and what they need to have. That’ll be a little bit, I think the nature of this particular Crescent Moon.
Jen: So, to be clear then, the New Moon happens at the same degree in the same sign; the Sun and the Moon are together. And what happens then is the Moon, of course, keeps moving. The Sun keeps moving. And at the point when they’re then 45° apart, that’s when this Crescent Moon phase happens?
April: Right. And the Moon moves 12° to 13° a day, so this is usually a couple of days after the New Moon.
Jen: Okay. Got it. I would recommend folks go back and listen to Episode 34, “The Eight Lunar Phases, Have Them With A Salad.”
April: It’s one of Jen’s all-time favorites.
Jen: One of my all-time favorite titles.
April: Yes. That’s a good one, because we go through all of the lunar phases and you begin to get a sense of what each of them means within the overall cycle.
Jen: Yes. And I also want to encourage folks to sign up for your newsletter, April, because… don’t you have a Moon tutorial that you can have folks sign up for when they sign up for your newsletter? How does that work?
April: Yes. If you sign up for my mailing list, you will receive a series of three welcoming emails from me. And in the first one, there is a link that you can click on and you’ll receive a daily email for eight days… each describing a different phase of the Moon.
Jen: It’s a nice free thing that you offer.
April: Yes. It’s free. They’re brief. They’re targeted. And I think it’s just a fun little overview. So, thank you for remembering to tell people about that.
Jen: Yes. Sign up for her mailing list at bigskyastrology.com. And it’s really obvious. It’s right there at the top.
April: Yes. You kind of can’t miss that. Terrific. So, that is Moonwatch for the week.
Jen: Okay.
April: Well, I think we wanted to finish up, Jen, by talking about our friend Mercury, who is wildly busy on April 17th.
Jen: Yes. Mercury first has a sextile with Jupiter then has a sextile with Mars and then squares Pluto. So it’s all on the 17th of April. The sextile to Jupiter happens at 09:00 AM Pacific Time. The sextile to Mars happens a few hours later at 12:09 PM Pacific Time. And then the square to Pluto is a few hours after that, at 02:49 PM. And this is all at 27° of Aries, Aquarius, Gemini, and Capricorn.
April: Yes. It’s just really, if you think of taking all of the things we talked about earlier in this episode when we were talking about the Sun aspecting Mars, Jupiter and Pluto, it’s all happening with Mercury, but on a single day. Because Mercury moves more quickly. Just think, “April 17th, very busy day, Mercury doing a lot.” Part of what it’s doing is opening new doors and windows and presenting us with new opportunities or new social connections with people. That’s what Mercury likes to do.
Mercury is also the planet that helps us really tell our story. So, the Sun is about being able to express ourselves out in the world as our true selves, but Mercury is like our press agent, it’s how we tell that story about who we are. Just think of Mercury coming along and helping us piece together the overall story of the week. The square to Pluto will be probably a little more noticeable than the other two. It’s a hard one. Mercury square Pluto, sometimes you’ll be presented with some kind of problem you have to untangle that is really difficult. It can have something to do with harsh words between you and another person, especially if you use the Mercury sextile Mars to state what you want or what you think, and it doesn’t land right with somebody. That could be the story there.
I mean, Mercury is still an Aries and it doesn’t mince words. It likes to just get things out there and really tell it like it is. And that’s fine when it comes to Jupiter and Mars, but with Pluto and Capricorn, there’ll be a little bit of a pushback, I think. Pluto is also very thorough. So, if there is something you know you have to tackle this week, where you have to really focus, that’s not a bad aspect for it. So, think of the 17th in the afternoon for doing that kind of work.
Jen: It can be hard, but I like that it can be helpful too.
April: Yes. Because sometimes hard things are really rewarding.
Jen: For sure.
April: So, really hard mental tasks that you’ve been trying to get a handle on with all this Mars in Gemini and all of this… this is good moment to do that.
Jen: Perfect.
April: Did you want to tell us about the Sun’s conjunction with Mercury this week?
Jen: I will. This is something that we’ve talked about over the months. And because Mercury moves so fast, it’s going to join up with the Sun once again, on April 18th at 06:49 PM Pacific time, 29°, 14 minutes of Aries. Mercury will be in a superior conjunction with the Sun, which basically just means that Mercury is passing on the far side of the Sun from the earth. It is shifting from the morning sky into the evening sky. Of course, it’ll be invisible for the first couple of weeks.
April: But, how lovely it will be in the evening sky!
Jen: I think it’s later in the month, you can actually start seeing it in the evening sky. Just look above the horizon, about 30 minutes after the Sun sets… looking kind of to the Northwest, just over the horizon later in the month… you should see Mercury and Venus there together, actually.
April: Nice. That’ll be pretty.
Jen: It will be. Yes.
April: Well the conjunction takes place at the very last degree of Aries, 29°, 14 minutes of Aries. You know, we always give special attention to things at the very end of the sign or the very beginning of the sign, because they are said to have a particular quality at those moments. And we discussed that in a past episode as well.
Jen: Yes. So, what does 29° mean?
April: 29° is the finishing up point. It’s where we have a sense on some level that there is something we need to complete and that time is running out. We don’t think of it necessarily in a conscious or rational way, but it is a feeling that we get. The Sabian symbol for this one is 30° Aries, “A Duck Pond And Its Brood.”
Jen: I like that.
April: I do too. I think it speaks a little bit… I mean, getting our ducks in a row is one thing to think about.
Jen: Nice.
April: When the Sun and Mercury are exactly in a conjunction or within just a few minutes of orb at that April 18th, 06:49 PM Pacific Time, Mercury is said to be very strong. The condition’s called Cazimi. It means we can have brilliant breakthroughs of intellectual, mental, or conversational, communicative nature. And it is a moment where we can perhaps express exactly what we want to express in exactly the way we want to express it. So, that’s a great moment.
But for the rest of the time, Mercury so close to the Sun, we tend to feel it’s getting a little crispy. It’s a little too close to the Sun. And we’ve talked about this before, as representing a certain amount of subjectivity. That the press agent is a little too close to the celebrity that is being profiled to really be objective and tell the full truth about it. Be aware of subjectivity. Be aware of thinking, you know exactly what’s going on and not listening to anybody else. But at the same time, it is a good time for those really dazzling breakthroughs; for getting our ducks in a row.
Jen: I’ve heard you talk about that before, but for some reason it just hit me as Neptunian. Because Neptune can cloud judgment and make things kind of foggy.
April: Yes. When Mercury is at the very end of a sign, it can act a little bit retrograde-ish. And when it’s so close to the Sun… what we say about planets when they’re very close to the Sun is they’re invisible, that it’s a little hard to see what’s going on with them because they’re drowned out by the light of the Sun. So just be aware of that, that you’ll have that brief moment, that Cazimi moment where you have the brilliant flash of inspiration… but for maybe the day before and the day after, especially the day before when Mercury’s making so many aspects… I wouldn’t take it to the bank that you’re seeing everything exactly as it is.
Jen: Alright.
April: Well, we have made it to the end of an epic show sheet, Jen, do you think we’ve done it?
Jen: We’ve done it! Episode 77 sounds really lucky. Two sevens.
April: Oh, it’s only three episodes away and we start the 80s. We’re so excited!
Jen: Do you have your [80s song] list going, April?
April: I have it going, I haven’t narrowed it down there. Just too many…
Jen: So many songs!
April: …beloved favorites. I know!
Jen: I think that Libras should get two songs per year.
April: I’ve got the Moon in the seventh house! I’ve got the progressed Sun in Libra; I get two as well!
Jen: Absolutely.
April: Well, thanks to all of you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like what you’re hearing, we hope that you will subscribe or follow the podcast. Leave us a rating or a review. And we hope 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: Thank you so much 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, pal?
April: Well, everybody get out your bingo cards, because I know I am going to mangle a couple of these.
Jen: Okay, and apologies in advance to our three donors that we’re about to list…
April: …I am really going to do my best. This week, we are giving a shout out to Annie Yakutis, who I know well. I love Annie… She lives up on the central coast, and we’ve met before. But I never thought to ask her how to pronounce her last name. So sorry, Annie, but we thank you.
Jen: Yes.
April: Jacinta Armstrong and Marina Vasilic.
April: Annie, Jacinta and Marina, we really do appreciate you. We want to thank you so much for listening to the podcast and supporting us during our September Podathon.
Jen: Thank you so much to all three of you. And Marina, I know that you have been a donor for a very long time to the podcast; we really appreciate that as well.
April: We love you…
Jen: Aww…
April: Yes. Thank you very much.
Jen: And Jacinta, we don’t know you, but thank you so much.
April: Yes.
Jen: Well, 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. If you donate $5 or more, we’ll invite you to our special episodes for the Equinoxes and Solstices.
April: That, we will. Well, that is it for us this week. Join us again, bright and early next Monday. 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 by April Elliott Kent & Jennifer Braun
