This week, the adventuresome Sagittarius New Moon season gets off to a bit of a strained beginning as the Sun squares off with Saturn and Neptune. Relationships and values are put to the test when Venus and Saturn meet in a difficult aspect. We honor the solstice as the Sun marches into Capricorn, and April answers a listener question about being born at the New or Full Moon. Plus: A lesson of patience, built to be productive and then to rest, and no place to go but up.

Read a full transcript of this episode.

Have a question you’d like answered on the show? Email April or leave it here!

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Timestamps

[1:20] Moon Report! The Sagittarius New Moon (Dec. 19, 5:43 pm PST) at 28º24’ Sagittarius. This New Moon is on the Sabian symbol 29 Sagittarius, A fat boy mowing the lawn of his house on an elegant suburban street. Guard your energy and anticipate that any tasks or any clarity you hope to gain will be hard won and might take a little while for you to see.

[4:00] The Sun squares Saturn (Dec. 16, 8:33 pm PST) at 25°28’ Sagittarius-Pisces. Use this time to plan and prepare for things that you want to get done at the New Moon, rather than pushing hard to actually do them.

[5:04] The Sun squares Neptune (Dec. 20, 5:02 pm PST) at 29°24’ Sagittarius-Pisces. Expect to feel drained, maybe a bit confused or unclear about what you want to accomplish during this New Moon cycle. Don't be too hard on yourself if you find you just don't have the energy.

[6:25] Lunar Phase Family Cycle (LPFC). The First Quarter (first action point) in this LPFC comes on September 18, 2026, at 25º57’ Sagittarius. The Full Moon (awareness point) of this LPFC will occur on June 18, 2027, at 27º33’ Sagittarius. Then the Last Quarter Moon (final action point) in the LPFC comes on March 17, 2028, at 27º53’ Sagittarius.

[8:39] Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon periods. The Moon trines Neptune (Dec. 17, 7:24 am PST). It’s VOC for 1 hour, 14 minutes, then enters Sagittarius (8:38 am PST). Use this VOC Moon to get into the habit of connecting with the divine daily and observing the messages that come your way.

[10:07] The Moon squares Neptune (Dec. 19, 7:41 pm PST). It’s VOC for 1 hour, 11 minutes, then enters Capricorn (8:52 pm PST). Consider a quiet evening at home, doing something imaginative and restful.

[11:12] Venus square Saturn (Dec. 20, 9:09 pm PST) at 25º37’ Sagittarius-Pisces. Venus in aspect to Saturn often brings delays or disappointments, but sometimes the lesson is to have patience, and in the case of Saturn in Pisces, acceptance.

[12:47] The Sun enters Capricorn (Dec. 21, 7:03 am PST). Happy Solstice! Happy Yule! Happy Midsummer! The Capricorn and Cancer solstices are a wonderful time for standing still, which is what solstice literally means: the Sun standing still. The Capricorn Solstice is the beginning of Capricorn season (Dec. 21, 2025 -Jan. 19, 2026). The Sun is lowest in the midday sky. There's no place to go but up. What is it that we want to accomplish? What mountain is it that we want to climb?

[16:53] Listener Ivana asks about Full and New Moon natives. Check out Dana Gerhardt for more information on the lunar phases.

[23:44] 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!

[24:15] A tribute to this week’s donors! If you would like to support the show and receive access to April’s special donors-only videos, go to BigSkyAstropod.com and contribute $10 or more. You can make a one-time donation in any amount or become an ongoing monthly contributor.

This week, Venus makes a sizzling sextile to Pluto, the Gemini Full Moon is relatively quiet, but the Sun's square to the nodes tells us that we're at the midway point between eclipses. Mercury ends the week with trines to Jupiter and Saturn and shows us how to write a book. Plus, April answers a listener question about Saturn transits - why does it seem that we have the same Saturn lessons over and over again? Plus: Sipping our Tang, putting up scaffolding, changes and turning points.

Read a full transcript of this episode.

Have a question you’d like answered on the show? Email April or leave it here!

Subscribe to April’s mailing list and get a free lunar workbook at each New Moon!

Love the show? Make a donation!

Timestamps

[1:22] Venus sextiles Pluto (Dec 2, 1:07 AM PST) at 1º55’ Sagittarius-Aquarius. Contain adventuring only to the possibilities of earth and sea, or step outside earthly experiences.

[3:02] Moon Report! The Gemini Full Moon (Dec 4, 3:14 PM PST) at 13º03’ Gemini-Sagittarius. At this Full Moon, the Sun is also close to its square with the lunar nodes (Dec 5, 4:22 AM PST). This Full Moon connects to two eclipses: Sep 7, 2025 (Lunar Eclipse, 15º22’ Pisces) and March 3, 2026 (Lunar Eclipse, 12º53’ Virgo). Let go of excessive criticism, perfectionism, workaholism.

[8:29] Lunar Phase Family Cycle (LPFC). This is the Full Moon (awareness point) in an LPFC that began on June 6, 2024, with a New Moon at 16º17’ Gemini. The First Quarter Moon (first action point) of this LPFC occurred on March 6, 2025, at 16º21’ Gemini. The Last Quarter Moon (last action point) of this LPFC will occur on September 4, 2026, at 11º48’ Gemini.

[10:30] Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon periods. The Moon squares Jupiter (Dec. 1, 10:14 AM PST), is VOC for 8 hours 59 minutes, then enters Taurus (7:13 PM PST). Check in with the people close to you before acting on personal goals.

[12:01] The Moon sextiles Neptune (Dec. 3, 5:50 PM PST). It's VOC for 58 minutes, then enters Gemini (6:48 PM PST). Pisces can irrigate Taurus' soil, Taurus provides guidance for Pisces.

[13:47] The Moon squares Neptune (Dec. 5, 4:55 PST). It's VOC for 59 minutes, then enters Cancer (5:54 PM PST). Get in the habit of using words to express what’s going on inside of you.

[16:00] The Moon trines Neptune (Dec. 7, 5:45 PM PST), is VOC for one hour, then enters Leo (6:48 PM PST). Get in the habit of giving yourself some me-time to recharge your batteries.

[17:12] Mercury trines Jupiter (Dec. 6, 5:05 AM PST) at 24°08' Scorpio-Cancer. Mercury trines Saturn (Dec. 7, 8:58 AM PST) at 25°14' Scorpio-Pisces. These are the last in a series of trine aspects from Mercury to Jupiter and Saturn. The first were on Oct 24/25, the second were on Nov 22 while Mercury was retrograde. How are these aspects like writing a book?

[20:42] Listener Charlene asks about why it seems that we have the same Saturn lessons over and over again.

[26:45] 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!

[27:23] A tribute to this week’s donors! If you would like to support the show and receive access to April’s special donors-only videos, go to BigSkyAstropod.com and contribute $10 or more. You can make a one-time donation in any amount or become an ongoing monthly contributor.