TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE 80
Episode 80 | Mercury & Venus enter Gemini: They’re Pie-adjacent! (May 3, 2021)
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 May 3rd, 2021. And here with me to rock out on our long awaited 80th episode is my friend, Astrologer, April Elliott Kent. So exciting, April!
April: Oh my God, Jen. Rock on, rock on. We’re reliving one of our favorite years in history today, 1980.
Jen: I know some folks have heard over the weeks what we were planning to do with the next 10 episodes, but will you explain to people what the plan is?
April: Well, because Jen and I are such fans of 1980s music, we decided our episodes that fall in the 80 range, 80 through 89, that we would share with you one of our favorite… well, let’s be honest, a couple of our favorite songs….
Jen: Yes. It would be two.
April: -from each of these years. And I mean, it was the beginning of an exciting new era in my life, Jen.
Jen: What was going on with you?
April: Well, I was 19 years old, so I was out of high school. I hadn’t quite got slotted into college, but I think I had maybe started community college or something at that time. But I was playing a lot of music, because in my previous life I was a musician. So I was playing, as a sensitive singer songwriter around Los Angeles…
Jen: Nice.
April: -and listening to a ton of music. I think when you’re in your twenties is really kind of a heyday of listening to music.
Jen: Do you think so?
April: I think so. For me, I mean, I did listen to a lot of stuff up to then, but I guess it’s a soundtrack of such an exciting time of your life when you’re in your twenties.
Jen: That’s how I feel about my teens though. I think I was listening to more music in my teens than my twenties, perhaps.
April: Well, I listened to a lot of music, but I was not enjoying my life as much.
Jen: I see. Okay.
April: An exciting time really for me, and an exciting time for music, the 1980s,
Jen: Absolutely. MTV came out in the 1980s.
April: It was the most revolutionary thing. Wasn’t it?
Jen: It was, it really was. It kicked off music videos.
April: Yes. It was an exciting time in music because we were beginning to transition from the dreaded disco days to then punk, and then New Wave, which was music I liked a lot in the early 80’s. And what’s interesting is right now, Neptune in the sky is around 21° of Pisces. And as we began the year of 1980 Neptune was at about 21° of Sagittarius. So, Neptune now is in a square position to Neptune then. And Neptune – among the things that it is said to rule, is music.
Jen: Okay.
April: So, it’s kind of fun that right now we’re summoning this spirit of 1980 and talking about that.
Jen: Totally.
April: What were you up to in 1980, Jen? You were still a relatively small person.
Jen: I was a small person. When 1980 began, I was nine years old and in fourth grade, but at the end of 1989, I was 19 and in college. So, it was really some pivotal years for me.
April: Oh, quite journey.
Jen: And, I have an eclectic taste in music. I enjoy all kinds of music. But I decided in our collection of songs that will be coming up over the next 10 episodes to leave out entirely theater music and classical music.
April: Thank you.
Jen: Yes, you’re welcome. That’s not for you in particular, but it’s more about, it was too many songs to choose from.
April: Yes, I understand.
Jen: But there’s kind of two categories of songs from the 80’s that I think about now. And one is the songs that I listened to as a preteen and a teen at the time.
April: Right.
Jen: And one now is a group of songs that looking back on the 80’s as an adult, I’ve enjoyed, so my song choices are kind of from both of those categories.
April: Well, kick us off, Jen.
Jen: Really. I’m starting? Oh, wow!
April: Yes. What is the top song you’ve selected for us? And we want to let people know that we are going to be creating a playlist on YouTube, for sure, and possibly one on Spotify. We’re checking out a couple of different platforms because we will include all of our top choices and we will also be adding some that we really liked, but just didn’t quite make the top couple of slots. We will also invite all of you to visit that playlist. And in the comments, for each one, you can leave your choices as well. Now, this is on YouTube. We’re not sure about Spotify or the other options available there. I’ll put these on my channel in their own playlist.
Jen: Imaginary sponsor, YouTube.
April: Yes. Right.
April: Thank you very much.
Jen: Well, the first song is actually as an adult, a song that I look back on the 80’s with fondness now, but I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m gay and it’s been about 30 years since I’ve come out of the closet. And so, in honor of my Saturn return of my coming out, my first choice for 1980 is Diana Ross “I’m coming out.”
April: I didn’t know that was 1980! Fantastic choice, Jen.
Jen: Yes. Isn’t that a great song?
April: That’s wonderful.
Jen: And then my runner up, my sister had either the cassette tape or the 8-track of “Supertramp: Breakfast in America.”
April: Love that one.
Jen: And I just loved the song, “Take the Long Way Home.”
April: Yes.
Jen: So, that is my runner-up choice.
April: Yay!
Jen: Yes.
April: Oh, excellent choices, both.
Jen: Thank you. How about you?
April: Well, I’ll tell you a second, but my sister was such a Supertramp fan and we were constantly listening to that particular album, and that song was a big favorite.
Jen: Shout out to your sister for me.
April: Well, yes. And I applaud your choices, Jen. First I’ll tell you my number one choice.
Jen: Okay.
April: And it kind of was a hit at the time. It actually came out in 1978 in the UK, in 1979 in the States. But I remember listening to it in 1980. It’s Joe Jackson’s, “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”.
Jen: Oh, I know that song,
April: Such a snappy little tune.
Jen: Yes.
April: And I think I will include on the playlist, I might include that acapella version that he used to do live, which has wonderful.
Jen: I don’t think I’ve heard the acapella version,
April: It is such a snappy tune. And honorable mention goes to the ubiquitous, “Whip it” by Divo.
Jen: Yes.
April: It was great.
Jen: Yes.
April: So, we will be so happy to share that with our listeners. Yes, I was really getting into the New Wave vibe…
Jen: That’s great.
April: That’s really my thing. And I really love Joe Jackson’s music, and I’d forgotten how much I liked it. And in listening back to the 80’s, that one is the one that just is an ear worm for me now. It will not leave my head.
Jen: That’s great. It’s been so fun listening to 80’s songs over the last weeks, hasn’t it, as we’ve been accumulating these songs for our list?
April: It really has. So, we’d be curious. You can also leave comments on the thread for this podcast episode. Let us know where were you in 1980 and what were you listening to? We would really love to hear from you.
Jen: Leave a comment on bigskyastropod.com.
April: Yes. Well, now, lest we forget – and as Jen’s wife, Joanie very wisely reminded us – this is an astrology podcast.
Jen: Yes.
April: So…
Jen: I’ve been talking to Joanie several evenings about 80’s music, and at one point she looked at me and she said, “You know, this is an astrology podcast, isn’t it?”
April: Yes, Joanie, we know, you speak for most of the listeners in reminding us of that. So, thank you.
Jen: Yes.
April: Well, that having been said, Jen, I suppose we should tackle this very stimulating looking show sheet. Where shall we begin this week?
Jen: Let’s start off with Mercury squaring Jupiter on May 3rd at 2:33 AM Pacific Time. Mercury is in Taurus at 28°, 41 minutes. And Jupiter is at the same degree of Aquarius. What else should folks know about this, April?
April: Well, Mercury and Jupiter are kind of astrological opposites. If we think of the association of Mercury, say with Gemini, and Jupiter’s association with Sagittarius, and we know those are opposite signs. Jupiter is about the big picture, Mercury’s about the little details that make up that big picture. When they’re square each other, this has a couple of consequences. One is that our ideas are bigger than our ability to express them in words. Another thing that can happen is we take on a whole lot more than we should because Mercury is also about how we keep ourselves busy. It also has associations with business. So, in your business life, in your career life, you might be getting a little bit overextended be needing to look out for that.
In a practical sense for astrologers who practice electional astrology, which is if you choose a good date for doing something, it can be difficult to choose dates around this time because between them, Mercury and Jupiter will rule four houses in the horoscope at any given time. And it means that there is friction between these areas of life. So, Mercury as the ruler of both Gemini and Virgo and Jupiter as the ruler of Sagittarius and Pisces in traditional astrology. I used to do a lot of electional astrology and it would drive me crazy when Mercury and Jupiter were in poor aspects because it meant it was going to be really hard to find a chart. And what this means is even if you’re not doing electional astrology, is that there will be a little harder time coordinating things. And depending on where the Mercury and the Jupiter fall in your chart, we could get a little more specific, but just generally speaking.
The Sabian symbol for Mercury at this square is, “Two Cobblers Working at a Table.” And the problem is, again, it’s a difficult aspect for people coordinating and getting things going together. And so, those cobblers are, hopefully they’re working at the same table, but not trying to work on exactly the same thing, because that might be a little bit difficult.
Jen: I see.
April: Plus: cobbler, yum.
Jen:
April: That had to be said.
Jen: Blueberry cobbler.
April: Blueberry. Is there any other kind? I mean, is there any other kind? Apple cobblestone? I mean, I don’t know.
Jen: Apple? Sure.
April: So, good. Cobbler…
Jen: Rhubarb strawberry.
April: Oh man. Cobbler.
Jen: Well, you got us going.
April: Yep. Pie.
Jen: The pie cousin, cobbler.
April: It’s pie adjacent.
Jen: Pie adjacent.
April: Yay…
Jen: Excellent.
April: The Sabian symbol for 29 Aquarius where Jupiter is, is “A Butterfly Emerging from a Chrysalis.” So, it says that all this friction ends up in a good place. It means that behind the scenes, we’re struggling, we’re trying to actualize our ideas, put things in a form where they’re usable and understandable. At the end of the day, something beautiful emerges from this whole process. It can be working together with someone on something that is about to reveal its finished form, if you are trying to collaborate with someone.
Jen: There’s a movement, but there’s transformation at the end.
April: Yes. I wouldn’t get transformation from just Mercury Jupiter, but that’s why the Sabian symbols are so fun.
Jen: Yes. Throws in a different view there.
April: And they are at just about the very last degree of their signs at 28Ò 41’, which means a finishing up time and coming to a resolution.
Jen: There’s 30 degrees in every sign for folks that are beginners.
April: So, this place is the two just at the end of their signs and that we associate with a time of finishing up, completion and also a sense of suspense, where something is getting ready to change form and go on to its next logical step and incarnation.
Jen: Cool. What’s coming up next, April?
April: Next, we have the Sun square Saturn on May 3rd at 3:01 AM Pacific Time, at 13° and 11 minutes of Taurus and Aquarius respectively. May 3rd is shaping up to be quite a pivotal day. We talked about this quite a bit last week when we were talking about the Full Moon because this was a big feature of that chart. And from the time the Sun enters the sign in which it will eventually make the square to Saturn. So, in other words, when it moved into Taurus, it started to summon that square, that friction, that conflict energy with Saturn, where it’s really about trying to express ourselves, trying to feel joyful in the world, trying to do anything creative, and our will and determination is also something that I associate with the Sun.
So, what’s problematic is once it moves into the sign, you have this stretch of time between then, and then when it makes the square, which will be May 3rd, so it’s couple of weeks there of the Sun leading up to this friction with Saturn. Saturn’s a very oppressive symbol and it’s suppressive ultimately with good intention, which is to discipline us, to make us buckle down and work hard. So, it’s not enough to just say, “I’m going to create a painting” but you’ve never done any work to learn how to paint. Saturn is the guy that comes along and goes, “It’s nice that you want to do that, but you really are not a good painter because you have no skills. You haven’t put the work in, so let’s get you really going for it.” He’s not going to be this sweet parent that gives you a lollipop just for showing up. Saturn says, “Well, no, prove to me you want to do this thing.”
Jen: And paint in the lines.
April: Yes. “Paint in the line, stand up straight, eat your vegetables.” So, Saturn is kind of difficult with the Sun because the Sun is just that sunny, happy, joyful impulse to be, to create, to share our hearts with the world. And Saturn goes, “Well, that’s not really going to get it done. That’s not quite good enough.”
The Sabian symbol for Saturn at this square is 14 Aquarius, “A Train Entering a Tunnel.” And I always think of that symbol as being about the focus element. Because once you go into a tunnel it’s like being a horse with blinders on, you’re just focused on the road ahead. And I think that’s what Saturn wants from us at this square. He says, “It’s all good and well that you want to do whatever thing it is you want to do. Let’s get you doing the work that you need to do to be able to accomplish that.” But it doesn’t feel super happy.
Jen: Right. Because the Sun is about our identity and Saturn is about restrictions and obstacles and what are your commitments? And in Aquarius, it’s what are your obligations and commitments to society? Right?
April: Yes. And Saturn, if we think of it as a bit of a sculptor as well and wants to refine us into the best version of ourselves to be of service to something beyond ourselves and to be helpful. I’m not loving this one because Saturn’s opposed my Sun, and so, I’m sort of getting this one coming and going, not really looking forward to that.
Hey gang, April here. Believe it or not it’s almost eclipse season again. Eclipses are super important in astrology, but sometimes they get a scary reputation. I prefer to think of them as symbolizing important turning points in our lives. They do bring change, but change is not always such a bad thing. Right?
So, how will these changes impact you? In my upcoming webinar, “Working with Eclipses,” I’m going to walk you through the upcoming solar and lunar eclipses and show you how to find out exactly what they’ll mean for you. I’m offering this free live one-hour webinar on Saturday, May 15th at 4:00 PM Pacific Time. And then one more time on Saturday, May 22nd at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. Check the link in the show notes to find out the time and date in your area, so you can decide which webinar to attend. Then you can sign up at my website, bigskyastrology.com/eclipse-webinar. Once again, that’s bigskyastrology.com/eclipse-webinar. I sure hope you can join us. I’ll see you then.
April: Well, Jen?
Jen: April.
April: Have I got a segment for you!
Jen: What is it?
April: It is, Moonwatch…
Jen: Moonwatch…
April: Play it.
April: Oh yes our friends, it is Moonwatch. And this week for you, we have a Last Quarter Moon at 13° and 35 minutes of Aquarius again on May 3rd, the ubiquitous May 3rd, at 12:50 PM. And the Sabian symbol for the Moon at 14° Aquarius is that same, “A Train Entering a Tunnel,” which we saw earlier in the day with the square to Saturn. And then the Sabian symbol for the Sun at 14° Taurus, “A Shellfish Groping, and Children Playing,” which we talked about last week. Let’s focus on the “Children playing” part here.
Jen: Let’s. Yes.
April: Because I think it really is sort of applicable since we just had the Sun, which would be the children playing and in aspect with Saturn there.
Jen: Oh, look what you did there.
April: I don’t know. Tricky. Right?
Jen: The Sun rules Leo, Leo is about children. Nice job, April.
April: I got it. Well, this Last Quarter Moon finds the Sun in a conjunction with Uranus. It’s past it by a few days, but it’s still within what we call orb. And both of them are in square aspects to the Moon, which is conjunct Saturn and actually closely conjunct Saturn. And it just says There’s a lot of friction and conflict, but also the potential for a lot of motivation. And if you’ve been having a really hard time getting going, we have, first of all, the train entering the tunnel, which says this is a good time to focus.” And the squares of all this planet say, yes, it’ll be kind of hard. You’ve got your work cut out for you. But if you’ve been needing to get motivated, focused and disciplined, this is a really good Last Quarter Moon for it.
Jen: And it would be related to getting motivated in terms of what intentions you had at the new Moon from three weeks ago.
April: That seems reasonable. That was a really interesting, really dynamic New Moon chart because the Sun and Moon were square Pluto. That was a real big feature of that New Moon chart. I remember us talking about that at the time that it did have to do with, again, this idea of focus and almost getting obsessive about something that we decided we wanted to do. And this carries on that theme. We had the First Quarter, then we had the Full Moon in Scorpio, which has also that same kind of energy, Plutonian, focused, laser focused on something that you want to do. And now, this is the Last Quarter which invites us to take action based on what we have seen over the last few weeks and making a decision about how we want to wind up this lunar cycle before moving on.
Jen: A couple of things. I know there’s been some tough aspects the last two, three weeks. And I was thinking this morning, as I was looking over the show sheet about what might be helpful for folks. And I think I’ve mentioned this book once or twice before, but Pema Chodron wrote a book called “When Things Fall Apart.” And it’s a really good book about how can we live when life is really overwhelming when there are a lot of obstacles when there’s fear and anxiety and pain? And so, I would recommend folks check out that book if you’d like, if it sounds interesting to you. She’s a really talented writer. We’re not getting anything for suggesting the book. It’s just something that I’ve read in my past and has been helpful to me.
April: We’re getting jewels in our heavenly crowns.
Jen: I’ll take them.
April: I’m going to second your recommendation. That book helped me so much.
Jen: Yes.
April: I remember around 9/11, when so many of us were really upset about what was going on. There was a lot of uncertainty, a lot of fear. That book was extremely helpful. So, she’s a soothing. Soulful. wise presence on the planet.
Jen: Yes. She’s a Buddhist nun, actually. And she writes kind of from that Zen perspective, which I think is really interesting. And as long as we’re speaking of the Moon in general, I do want to give folks a heads up that eclipse season is arriving at the end of the month. And April didn’t know I was going to say this, but you might want to go on to bigskyastrology.com and order yourself an eclipse report. April offers eclipse reports based on your own personal birth chart. They’re super helpful. Pal, do you want to say anything else about your eclipse report?
April: Oh, thanks Jen. No, I didn’t know you were going to mention that, but thank you for the shout out.
Jen: Of course.
April: And what’s nice about the report is it covers three years worth of eclipses. So, you really get quite a lot and it is based on your chart. And there are also a lot of just free articles on my website at bigskyastrology.com, just click in the main menu. There’s a tab for eclipses. There are a lot of articles in there just generally about eclipses and how to work with them in your chart. We hope that you will all check those out.
Jen: Yes, please do.
April: So, that’s the Last Quarter Moon. And if that weren’t enough, Venus is also trine Pluto in that chart, which we’ll talk more about in a few minutes. And of course, Mercury 29° Taurus square Jupiter in this chart as well. That is that. Well, speaking of our friend, Mercury, as we so often are….
Jen: Mercury moves fast.
April: Mercury enters Gemini on this same day, May 3rd at 7:49 PM Pacific Time. Mercury going into Gemini places it in one of the signs that it rules, and so it’s very strong. We say that there are two different faces of Mercury. There was the Gemini one and there’s the Virgo one. Gemini is a lot more cognitive and Virgo is a lot more physical and has to do with manual dexterity, working with your hands, developing skills, this kind of thing. This is Mercury in his communicative face. Mercury is going to be in Gemini for an extra-long time, through July 11th, because it’s going to be retrograde while it’s in the sign. It enters it shadow period of the retrograde on May 15th. This means it hits the degree that retrograde Mercury will eventually back up to. And Mercury turns retrograde on May 29th, just three days after the eclipse on May 26th. And it will be almost 25 Gemini, then it stations direct on June 22nd, leaves that shadow on July 7th, enters Cancer on July 11th. That’s the whole sequence of events.
So, Mercury retrograde, we think, yes, it’s retrograde for three weeks, but really it expands out on either side of the actual retrograde period. And yes, there are aggravations associated. And I always think, especially when Mercury is in a sign that it’s strong in, Gemini, Virgo, Aquarius, especially, you tend to see more of the stereotypical Mercury retrograde disruptions, miscommunication, emails don’t get where they’re supposed to go, missing keys, this sort of thing.
But there is obviously a good use for retrograde periods as well. It’s really about slowing down, crossing your T’s dotting your I’s, really thinking about things. Because go through life a lot of times, having to respond in the moment to what’s going on, not having a lot of – it’s sort of like when we’re recording a podcast, Jen.
Jen: Okay.
April: When we’re recording an episode, it’s such a different process for me obviously than when I sit down and write about these things. And if people read my blog posts, the “voice” is very different than you’ll hear on the podcast because I’ve a lot of time to slow down and think about things and come up with a concept and the whole thing. Whereas in the moment, in a format like this, you’re speaking off the top of your head, you’re making quick associations and that kind of thing. So, think of Mercury in its retrograde period as being the time to sit with things, think about them, conceptualize them, instead of just having fun, chit-chatting about it as we do here.
Anything else you wanted to say about Mercury going into Gemini?
Jen: Yes. A couple of things. One is that folks might want to go back and re listen to Episode 12, “Mercury Retrograde: Where Are My Pants?”
April: Oh my gosh. Yes. Favorite title of all time.
Jen: Absolutely. The other thing that I noticed is that, Mercury actually goes out of bounds a few days later on May 7th and Mercury will be out of bounds until May 30th.
I heard Steven Forrest explain it once. He’s a fabulous astrologer. But if you take the Earth’s equator and you project it out into space, there’s a certain amount of space North and South of that imaginary equator that’s projected out into space that is considered in bounds. And everything above or below that is out of bounds.
April: Yes. This refers to the maximum declination of the Sun at the Solstices, which is, I think 23° and change, if I’m remembering correctly, North or South of the equator.
Jen: I think that’s right. It’s about 23 and a half, I think.
April: Yes. When a planet exceeds those bounds, those boundaries, they’re acting in an almost Uranian way. We feel we don’t want to be constrained. And we’re very unpredictable. So, Mercury being out of bounds means, “Wow, anything can happen.” And even before Mercury is technically retrograde, it’s already acting in this really unpredictable fashion.
And you’ll hear probably a lot, if you’re paying attention to the news and things, lots of complaints about, “Oh, I can’t say anything anymore because someone’s going to get upset by something that I say.” Or some big scandal about something that somebody has said, that’s kind of unacceptable. Because it’s rebellious. Mercury is rebelling, it doesn’t want to be within the confines of what society says is right or wrong or correct.
But what I like about the idea of bounds is that it does say these are the bounds within which the Sun operates – the organizing principle – and if you get beyond that, it means, oh, you’re an uncharted territory.
Jen: That’s a good way to put it.
April: Alright.
Jen: Well, next up, we have Venus trining Pluto on May 6th at 4:24 AM Pacific Time. Venus, as we’ve been saying is in Taurus. Now, she’s moved forward to 26°, 47’. Pluto’s been in Capricorn at this degree, just between the 26th and 27th degree forever, it seems like. What should folks know about this, April? Tell us.
April: Well, I think it’s like May 4th and 5th are conspicuous by their absence on the show. It’s just like everything happens on the third.
Jen: Yes. That’s true.
April: And then we skipped to the six. So, I guess we’re just dusting ourselves off and regaining our composure on the fourth and the fifth.
Jen: Right.
April: Venus trine Pluto is, you know, Venus is getting to the end of its sign, it’s cleaning house, it’s getting ready to move into the next sign, which is going to be Gemini. And there comes a time we find that even the possessions that we cherish the most have outlived their usefulness, Venus trine Pluto’s a good time to let them go. Have a yard sale, throw things out, recycle them, donate them, whatever you want to do. This is a really good aspect for that. Because, what we’re trying to do is lighten our load for the journey ahead.
Venus talks about the process of figuring out what’s valuable, and possessions are one way we express what’s valuable to us in tangible form. But there comes a time when our values change and the things that we possess no longer suit us. We wonder what we ever saw inn them or why they were ever important. It’s kind of a way I think periodically, when Venus comes together with Pluto, it’s always a good time to let go of things. Because it says, acknowledge the truth of what you now value and what’s useful to you and helpful to you and that you love. And if something doesn’t fall into that category, you need to let it go because you need to make room for the things that you do like, and this includes relationships. If there are people in your life that no longer really resonate with you, this is a good time to acknowledge the reality of that and let them go.
Jen: Pluto is a lot about letting go and change. Right?
April: Yes. And I always like to quote my colleague, Michelle Gould, who just said the most lovely thing about transit involving Pluto and that Pluto burns away everything that isn’t authentic to the nature of the planet that’s making the aspect. So, anything that doesn’t look like love, with Venus, has to go, and Pluto kind of burns it away. This is a fast aspect. This is a couple of days. Like a day, either side of the exact aspect, but it is a moment if you’re also having Pluto very active in your own chart right now, by transit, especially with Venus, this is a more significant moment of letting things go.
Jen: So, after the difficult start to the week, people can start cleaning house?
April: They can clean house. Yes. Well that brings us to Venus square Jupiter on May 8th at 6:38 AM Pacific Time, at 29 ° 21’ of Taurus and Aquarius. So again, this is the idea that we have everything we need and then some. We have too much. And even after doing the purging of the Venus with Pluto, I think what that one can do is help us identify all of the things that are meaningful to us. And the Venus square Jupiter is like, “Yes, I still just have like way too much stuff.” The Sabian symbol for Venus at this degree is, “A Peacock Parading on an Ancient Lawn,” which just speaks of such opulence and leisure. And then the Sabian symbol for Jupiter is “The Field of Arddath in Bloom,” which was the gardens of Babylon. So, it’s a lot. It’s just a profusion of luxury and opulence. This just says, “Hey, you know, you probably have more than you can use.” A lot of people were really stockpiling things in the beginning of the pandemic. We probably all have a lot of canned goods, toilet paper stuffed away, somewhere that we probably need to get into circulation. So, this is a time to do that because we are finishing up so that Venus can move into Gemini.
Jen: Yes. Did I ever tell you that at my parents’ cabin, there was this peacock?
April: I think you did.
Jen: It got loose from something and it would come over and sometimes drop feathers on the deck and stuff. And it was so beautiful and it was like a little gift. Like the peacock would leave a little gift of this feather, this beautiful feather. My mom would collect them.
April: They are so beautiful and they are so noisy.
Jen: Oh, yes.
April: They just make the weirdest sounds. We have them in our local San Diego Zoo. And oh my gosh, you hear them from the minute you walk in and they’re clear on the other end of the park.
Jen: Oh wow.
April: So, have everything we need and then some and so much that we’re dropping beautiful peacock feathers all over the place.
Jen: Nice. Alright. And lastly, we have Venus entering the sign of Gemini May 8th at 7:01 PM Pacific Time. Venus will be there through June 2nd. In Gemini, Venus is under governance of an out-of-bounds Mercury. So, does that give Venus a kind of a rebellious style as well, April?
April: Sure. Or it can almost be like Venus coming together with Uranus, which we talked about, I think either last week or the week before. And this is a time for very unusual relationships forming or relationships suddenly coming to an end. And the issue, the sticking point, would be the idea of freedom to be able to do the things that you want to do. Again, Venus talks about the things that we will enjoy, the way we enjoy things. And as Venus goes through Gemini, we see enjoyment of language, a time to verbalize our affections, trade words of love with people, let people know we care about them. It’s also a good time for enjoying time with siblings and neighbors, which are both kind of associated with Gemini and with Mercury. So, if you have not been in a position to spend time, especially with siblings who might be far away because of the pandemic or whatever, this might be a time when that becomes a little more of a possibility.
Of course, I have extended family. My husband’s family in Australia and New Zealand. And they opened up the two countries to each other. Before, you’d have to go into a two-week quarantine if you went from New Zealand to Australia or the other way around. And my husband’s niece who lives in Australia posted a lovely picture of, I think it was a beach near one of the airports in New Zealand. And they had spelled out, I think in rocks or some kind of signage “Welcome….” And I think maybe, it’s the Maori word for family, which I can’t remember.
Jen: Aww! That’s nice.
April: So lovely. Things like that, opening up a little bit and maybe more time to spend time with siblings and neighbors in their neighboring countries.
Jen: Good example.
April: Yes. Venus will have a pretty easy time of it in Gemini because it makes good aspects to Saturn, which we’ll talk about. I think the only square it really makes is probably the square to Neptune. Does that makes sense? Because, by the time Jupiter gets into Pisces, I think Venus will be past the point where they would square. So, enjoy Venus in Gemini. It’s a light frothy flirtatious sign for Venus. We shall all enjoy that.
Jen: A book loving sign.
April: A book loving sign.
Jen: Pick up that Pema Chodron book.
April: Oh, that’s a good idea.
Jen: Yes.
April: Well, my dear friend, we have made it to the end of the show sheet. Have we done it?
Jen: Yes, we’ve done it and we’ve rocked out.
April: Alright. Well, thanks to all of you for listening to The Big Sky Astrology Podcast. If you like, what you’re hearing, be sure to subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts. Leave us a rating or a review, and we hope that you’ll help us spread the word about the show by telling a friend. You can read show notes and full transcripts and leave your comments about each episode and be sure you leave us your favorite songs from 1980….
Jen: Yes, please.
April: …At bigskyastropod.com.
Jen: We’re so grateful to everyone who showed support during our Podathon last fall. Each week, as you know, we think some of you by name. Who is it this week, pal?
April: Oh gosh, Jen, wish me luck.
Jen: Oh, get out the bingo cards, everyone.
April: Okay, here we go. This week, we want to give a Big Sky Astrology Podcast shout out to, I think it’s Maria, but it’s Marija.
Jen: Okay.
April: Marija Sretenovic. Oh… Write us and tell us if we got it right. Also Isabella Peregrino and our friend from Latvia, Liga Sirona.
April: And I don’t know if I pronounce Liga’s last name correctly. It could be Sharona like another great… wekkm it’s not 80’s, I guess it’s late 70’s, “My Sharona.”
Jen: Oh, I remember that song.
April: By The Knack, right.
Jen: Yes.
April: Well, Marija, Isabella, and Liga, we appreciate you. And we thank you so much for listening to the podcast and for supporting us during our September Podathon.
Jen: 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. And if you donate $5 or more, we’ll invite you to our special episodes for the Equinoxes and Solstices. You’ll also get the bingo card, so when April mispronounces names, you can check that box off.
April: Indeed, you can. I just wanted to clarify, because I did have an email from someone who was having a hard time finding where to make their donation to the podcast. What you want to do is go to bigskyastropod.com. And in the right-hand sidebar, there is a little avatar of Jen and I and our Victorian garb and it says “Support your local podcasters.” And that’s where you go. You only have to make a one- time $5 contribution also. You don’t have to do it every month. If you want to, awesome. We’ll take it. But yes, on a one-time $5 donation, you get a year’s worth of these special episodes and the bingo card.
Jen: Yes.
April: Alright. That’s 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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