031 | Mars in Aries and the Swivel Chair of Doom

April and Jen convene their Neptune-impaired noggins for a preview of the week’s planetary news: Neptune turns backwards in Pisces, Venus turns forward in Gemini, and Mars heads into Aries for a brisk handshake with Saturn in Aquarius. Also, a First Quarter Moon in Libra invites you to pull up a chair alongside a roaring fire, and enjoy an anthropomorphic bunny parade in fellowship with friends. Plus: Retrograde planets in birth charts, childhood spinning-chair snafus, and… Wouldn’t adding a feline to the family feel fine? Order a personalized Followed by a Moonshadow eclipse report! To join the podcast conversation and leave a comment for April & Jen, go to www.BigSkyAstroPod.com. Read more about this week’s astrology at the Big Sky Astrology website, and sign up for April's mailing list! Follow Big Sky Astrology on IG, Twitter, and FB @BigSkyAstrology Read a full transcript of this episode. Episode links: 00:43 – We are between eclipses this week, rattling around like loose change between the sofa cushions. Is this in-between-land akin to purgatory? Or maybe we’ve fallen through the looking-glass? . 03:34 – Neptune joins the retrograde parade (June 22/23), lining up alongside Mercury, Venus (briefly), Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto). When Neptune is retrograde, look inward for a sense of how we’re all connected, and listen to your intuition. (April & Jen first discussed Neptune turning direct in Episode 1, Stars Over Thanksgiving. We’ve come a long way, baby!) . 10:00 – When the outer planets like Neptune and Pluto appear to stand still, does this “station period” last longer, since those planets move more slowly? Probably. But why quantify things when Neptune is involved? . 11:03 – Venus turns direct (June 24/25) on the Sabian symbol 6 Gemini, “Drilling for oil,” which speaks of accessing power. Careful, though, how you go about harnessing that oil… you don’t want to inadvertently harm anything along the way! (Venus’s retrograde period began 6 weeks ago, which was discussed on Episode 25, The Retrograde Parade!) And now that Venus is in forward motion, someone is excited to begin looking for a cat to join her family! . 15:24 – Jen’s tangential question of the week: When a personal planet is retrograde at the time of birth, how is that interpreted? April’s answer encompasses personal planets, outer planets, secondary progressions, being self-guided, and what we can offer others. Yay! . 18:41 – Everybody out of the way: Mars enters Aries, the sign of its rulership, on June 27 and stays until January 6, 2021! April discusses events that happened the last time Mars had an extended stay in Aries in 1988 (with links to daring feats, and the cousin of Olympia Dukakis). To get a preview of the squares that Mars will make to the Capricorn planets this coming fall, listen to Episode 30, Cancer Solar Eclipse: You're Buffering. And April: Please avoid swivel chairs for the next six months, just for safety’s sake. . 24:19 – If you have cardinal signs prominent in your birth chart, this Mars-in-Aries period might be strenuous at times. Take care in what to go after and what to leave alone. . 25:04 – ** Moonwatch**! The First Quarter Moon (June 28) is on the Sabian symbol for 8 Libra, “A blazing fireplace in a deserted home.” Even if no one is around, there is a hearth waiting for us to gather in fellowship. (To hear a previous discussion of this symbol, head over to Episode 12, Mercury Retrograde: Where Are My Pants?) The Sun sits on the symbol for 8 Cancer, “Rabbits dressed in clothes and on parade.” Be aware of presenting yourself in an authentic way – but there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of whimsy! First Quarter Moons always urge us to take action in the pursuit of something important to us… and since it’s in Libra, we don’t have to do it alone. Nice, hey? . 27:38 – Also on June 28, there is a sextile of Mars in Aries to Saturn in Aquarius. Perhaps we’re entering a difficult time with Mars, but this aspect suggests t