050 | The Grand Cross: Wheel! Of! Fortune!

April & Jen celebrate 50 episodes together under a loud and ornery sky: A Last Quarter Moon in Cancer features a Cardinal Grand Cross, Mars takes a second swing at Pluto, Mercury faces off with Uranus, and the Sun squares Jupiter. (Venus, at least, makes a friendly trine to Uranus.) It’s a lot. But as Ted Lasso would say, “Hey, takin' on a challenge is a lot like ridin' a horse. If you're comfortable while you're doin' it, you're probably doin' it wrong.” Challenge accepted! Sign up for April's mailing list for updates, a free monthly lunar workbook, AND an email tutorial on the Lunar Phases! To read April & Jen’s essays, or to join the podcast conversation and leave a comment, go to www.BigSkyAstroPod.com. Read more about this week’s astrology at the Big Sky Astrology website! Follow Big Sky Astrology on IG, Twitter, and FB @BigSkyAstrology Read a full transcript of this episode. Episode links: 00:30 – April and Jen are celebrating gold this week as they welcome imaginary sponsor Apple TV+ and their new favorite show Ted Lasso! . 04:01 – Mercury opposes Uranus (Oct. 7) on the Sabian symbol for 8 degrees Scorpio, “The Moon shining across a lake.” The planet of disruption is on 8 Taurus, “A sleigh without snow.” This aspect encourages you to see things in a new way, and perhaps have a change in perspective. It could also indicate unexpected information that comes your way or innovative thinking! This is a continuation of a cycle that began on April 30. (To hear more about Mercury in Scorpio, listen to Episode 48, The Libra Equinox & Mercury Goes Sleuthing.) . 06:55 – Do you happen to have planets in Aries or Scorpio? Then you might feel issues of fighting for power and control when Mars, travelling backwards through Aries, fights Pluto in Capricorn (Oct. 9) in the second of three opening squares. (To hear about the first square, listen to Episode 38, Taurus Last Quarter Moon – but wait, there’s S’more!) But first… . 08:07 – …Mars will have just squared the point where Saturn and Pluto joined up in January. We’re at a pivotal moment in that cycle: There is frustration involved, and that sensitive point (22.47 Capricorn) has been asking us all year, “How are we going to break down and build up old forms, old structures?” Hint: Making progress means accepting the limits of our personal power and control. (Mars and Pluto met up on March 22/23. Listen to Episode 17, Saturn in Aquarius: All in This Together to learn more.) . 11:41 – ** MOONWATCH! ** This week brings a Last Quarter Moon (LQM) at 17.10 Cancer (Oct. 9). And welcome to the circus wheel: A Cardinal Grand Cross involving half the planets in the solar system! Take heed: Be careful how hard you push. Once that wheel starts spinning, it can be hard to stop it. . 15:20 – How do we resolve Grand Cross tension? Find planets in supportive roles. Translation: Channel the higher side of Neptune by making art, meditating, or playing music. Or, follow April’s mom’s advice (and focus on Venus in Virgo) by cleaning one drawer! . 17:38 – This LQM is a closing quarter in a phase family that began in July 2018, at 21 Cancer. That New Moon was also a solar eclipse. If you have anything in your chart between 16 – 25 of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn… well, heck. It’s getting a lot of energy right now! (Curious how to find where this falls in your chart? You know we got you, podpals!) . 19:04 – Venus in Virgo makes a lovely aspect to Uranus in Taurus (Oct. 10). Could this transit bring unexpected windfalls or exciting developments in money or relationships? It’s possible. It’s also possible that your cat will drag a neon green blanket into your general vicinity! . 22:38 – Which tends to be easiest: an opposition, a square, or a conjunction? . 23:10 – The Sun makes a closing square to Jupiter in Capricorn (Oct. 11) on the Sabian symbol for 19 Libra, “A gang of robbers in hiding.” It’s interesting to note that for the LQM, the Sun was on the symbol “Two men placed under arre