April & Jen welcome Libra season and the equinox! Diplomatic Mercury in Libra finds trouble on its way to intense, investigative Scorpio, the First Quarter Moon connects us to last December’s Solar Eclipse, and April & Jen hear from a listener in Latvia who might hold the key to the podcast’s popularity there. Plus: Podathon winners, hanging chads, and Dark Shadows!

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00:30 – A big thank you to everyone who supported our first annual Podathon and the voodoo that we do so well! Winners, chosen by Toby and a surprisingly enthusiastic Violet, were announced to donors by email, so if you donated and didn’t receive that message let us know.

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04:09 – Mystery solved: listener Liga weighs in on one explanation for our popularity in Latvia! Liga’s dog might or might not be involved!

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06:09 – Our first special, exclusive, donors-only episode will debut tomorrow! Emails are going out on Sep. 21, 2020, to donors of $5 or more with instructions on accessing our episode about the Libra Equinox. If you donated and didn’t receive the message, please check your spam folder and, if it’s not there, email April(at)bigskyastrology.com.

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07:40 – It’s Libra season! Sun enters Libra on Sep. 22, 6:31 am PDT, marking autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

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08:56 – Much love to listeners dealing with fires on the West Coast of the United States! (And since we recorded this, our friends on the East Coast are up against some scary hurricanes, so all be well!)

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09:51 – The Libra season highlights relating. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it heralds the season when we celebrate the harvest, our ancestors, and thanksgiving. Farmer’s Almanac reminds us that the word equinox comes from the Latin for “equal” and “night.” At the equinoxes we have roughly equal day and night hours. It’s the season that emphasizes balance – equilibrium - in relationships and all matters.

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12:25 – Next episode: Jen’s solar return!!

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12:37 – Mercury enters the rocky part of its journey through Libra this week with a square to Saturn Sep. 23 at 3:38 am PDT, and tension between collaboration and top-down authority. This aspect continues a Mercury/Saturn cycle that began on Jan. 12, 2020, and is NOT, in fact, an opening square from Mercury to Saturn…

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15:31 - … as pointed out by Encyclopedia Braun, it is a closing square! Oops! But there is much worthwhile food for thought in here, anyway, so we left it all in. Look at April, growing as a person!

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15:55 – This is the first of 3 closing squares from Mercury to Saturn. The others are on November 1 (Mercury Rx) and November 6.

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16:08 – What is the difference between an opening and closing square? One urges us to simply action, the other prescribes reflection and action that’s based on experience. Look to the discussion of First Quarter and Last Quarter lunar phases in Episode 34, The 8 Lunar Phases: Have Them With a Salad, for helpful insights.

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17:43 – Mercury is now in the shadow period (September 23) of its next retrograde period (Oct. 14-Nov. 3), and Saturn is slowing to turn direct (Sep. 29) - an intractable-sounding scenario. As always, review Ep. 12: Mercury Retrograde: Where are my Pants?

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18:21 – The current cozy relationship between the Sun and Venus prompts an accidental discussion of mutual reception. Look back to Episode 4 | The Capricorn Solstice is Frequently Sunny in Minneapolis, for a protracted discussion of this condition in which two planets are in the sign ruled by the other.

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19:37 – Mercury opposes Mars (Sep 24 3:54 pm PDT), the halfway point of a cycle that began with Mercury conjoined Mars in Virgo on June 18, July 8, and Sep. 3, 2019. How are you expressing ambition, anger, assertiveness in communication? Do you find there’s a pattern in how you’re giving voice to Mars?

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22:27 - Mercury and Mars are in a t-square with Jupiter/Saturn/Pluto in Capricorn. The missing cardinal sign? Cancer, which prefers to hold its cards close to its chest. It’s always okay to pause and process your feelings before speaking.

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24:29 – Mercury enters Scorpio (Sep. 27 12:41 am PDT) marks a shift away from diplomacy and toward deeper conversations. Mercury will retrograde in this sign (Oct. 14-Nov. 3), stationing direct on the date of the U.S. presidential election, summoning memories of election day 2000 when Mercury was also stationing direct. Hanging chads, anyone?

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25:31 – In Episode 12, Mercury Retrograde: Where are My Pants?, we discussed Mercury being retrograde in water signs this year. Mercury in Scorpio has little patience for small talk – it wants real talk. While Mercury is in the sleuthing sign (through Dec. 1), dig deep.

28:21 – ** MOONWATCH ** Mercury in Scorpio brings a Dark Shadows feel to our introduction of the First Quarter Moon at 1.29 Capricorn (Sep. 23 at 6:55 pm PDT). Time to take action on something conceived at the Dec 25/26, 2019 Solar Eclipse. (See Episode 5, Unboxing Eclipses.) The Sabian symbols, “Three stained-glass windows, one damaged by bombardment”, and “The light of the 6th race transmuted to the 7th”, talk about “seeing the light,” brightening situations, and changing forms. (Shout-out to Sabian symbols specialist Blain Bovee.) We previously discussed Lunar Phase Families in Episode 41: Pisces Full Moon and the Yin to Your Yang, and Episode 45: Podathon Day 4 - A Thor’s Day Last Quarter Moon.

33:00 – As always, April and Jen appreciate you! If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe and give us a 5-star rating and/or write us a happy review! We want to offer our warm thoughts once again for everyone who donated to the podcast in our recent Podathon. This episode is brought to you by Podathon donor SANDRA MOSLEY! Thank you, Sandra, for helping us meet our Podathon goals! If you didn’t get a chance to donate during, you can donate $5 or more and we’ll send you an invitation to our upcoming special episodes for the equinoxes and solstices. Thanks, podpals!