This week, the Sun in Capricorn squares the lunar nodes and marks the critical midpoint between eclipse seasons; the second of three squares from Jupiter to Saturn, with trickster Mercury finishing its own series of aspects to both of those planets; Venus in sparkly Aquarius shakes things up with Uranus. And there is no major lunation this week, but we look at the void-of-course Moon periods and a listener question about what it means for a planet to be strong in your birth chart. Plus: Revealing the shadow, the tyranny of ownership, and conventional wisdom!

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Timestamps

[1:47] The Sun squares the Lunar Nodes (Dec. 23, 2:40 am PST). If you feel you’ll never reach the North Node’s brass ring, take heart: the Sun in Capricorn will not accept defeat. 

[4:22] Jupiter square Saturn (Dec. 24, 1:59 pm PST) at 14º01’ Gemini-Pisces. It’s the second of three squares in the series (Aug. 19, 2024 and June 15, 2025 are the others). The urge to dare and to risk conflicts with the desire to hold back and protect ourselves.

[7:14] Mercury opposes Jupiter (Dec. 26, 2:48 pm PST) at 13º46’ Sagittarius-Gemini, last in a series (Nov. 18, Dec. 4 were the first two). Don’t make assumptions based on common knowledge or how well you believe you know someone.

[9:07] Mercury square Saturn (Dec. 26, 11:29 pm PST) at 14º11’ Sagittarius-Pisces on the Sabian symbol 15 Sagittarius, A groundhog looking for its shadow. Themes are caution in revealing too much, and overcoming blockages in communication.

[11:20] Venus square Uranus (Dec. 27, 11:42 pm PST) at 23º43’ Aquarius-Taurus. This Venus wants freedom, but be careful what you wish for! But this is a strong aspect for artistic or financial breakthroughs.

[13:27] The Moon Report! No major lunation this week – the Capricorn New Moon is next Monday.

[13:40] Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon periods. On Dec. 24 (2:44 am PST), the Moon in Libra trines Venus, is VOC for a whopping 21 hours and 22 minutes (!!!), then enters Scorpio on Dec. 25 (12:06 am PST). 

[15:35] On Dec. 27 (6:24 am PST), the Moon in Scorpio trines Neptune. It's VOC for 5 hours 22 minutes before entering Sagittarius (11:46 am PST). 

[16:20] On Dec. 29 (3:34 pm PST), the Moon in Sagittarius squares Neptune. It's VOC for 5 hours 3 minutes, then enters Capricorn (8:37 pm PST). 

[17:34] Listener Jamie asks the musical question, “How can you tell if a planet is ‘strongly placed’ in your chart?”

[23:43] If you’d like to have a question answered on a future episode, leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast or email april (at) bigskyastrology (dot) com; put “Podcast Question” in the subject line. Free ways to support the podcast: Subscribe, like, review and share with a friend!

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