Rose's Astro Academy | An Astrology Podcast

E03 Saturn-Jupiter Square, and Part 2 of the Moon Phases

August 19, 2024 • Rose Potts • Episode 3

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Can Saturn and Jupiter really help you achieve balance between your head and heart? On episode 3 of Rose's Astro Academy, we explore the rare Saturn-Jupiter square transit, with Jupiter in Gemini and Saturn in Pisces. I share how this alignment is a unique opportunity to harmonize our intellectual and emotional worlds, drawing from my own journey with cognitive behavioral therapy. We'll dig into the expansive nature of Jupiter versus the limiting force of Saturn, and how their dynamic interplay pushes us to ground our dreams with practical, actionable plans.

As we move forward, the episode shifts focus to part 2 of the fascinating phases of the moon, from the full moon to the waning crescent. Whether you're born under these phases or experiencing them in your progressed lunation cycle, we unpack the transformative energies they bring. From the wisdom-sharing desire of the waning gibbous, to the last quarter's call to release old structures, and finally, the deep surrender and renewal signaled by the waning crescent. Tune in for an enlightening exploration of these lunar phases and their profound impact on our life's transitions.

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Rose Potts:

Hello and welcome to episode 3 of Rose's Astro Academy, where I demystify the system of astrology piece by piece. Each episode, we discuss a transit for the week and then I guide you through a new layer of this fascinating system. Today is August 19th. Happy full moon in Aquarius. Many astrologers will be talking about the full moon, so I wanted to do something a little different, which is talk about the Saturn Jupiter square. This is a rare transit that only comes by every so many years, so we'll talk about that, and then we'll get into our topic for the week, which is part two of the moon phases. We'll be looking at the remaining four moon phases, so from the full moon to the waning crescent, which is right before the new moon. In last week's episode, we went over part one of the moon phases, so if you missed that, I highly recommend checking that out too. For the moon phases, we will specifically be talking about them in terms of the moon phase you were born under and in terms of the progressed lunation phase. As a reminder, the moon phase you were born under says a lot about a global theme you are working through in this life, and the progressed lunation is the moon phase you are currently in. At this time in your life, learning about the moon phases is a lot more fun when you know which moon phase you were born under. So in the show notes I've linked a free website where you can go and find that out. I've timestamped the different sections for you today, so if you're just here for the moon stuff, you're welcome to skip ahead.

Rose Potts:

I know that some of my listeners love talking about the transits too, so let's dive in. Today, jupiter and Saturn are meeting in a square. When talking about transits, we like to give priority to the hard aspects, which are the conjunction square and opposition, because they have a lot more of a felt effect or a pop than the flowing aspects, which are the sextile and the trine. This square between Jupiter and Saturn is a really big transit because the last time they met in hard aspect was a conjunction all the way back in January of 2020, in the sign of Aquarius. So the opening square we are having now is a continuation of that story or dance between the planets that began about four years ago. Because this is a big transit, its felt effects or manifestations typically occur over several weeks around the exact square Jupiter in Gemini is squaring Saturn in Pisces. So in our discussion of what this means, we will be bringing the archetypal qualities of Gemini and Pisces into the conversation.

Rose Potts:

Gemini, as a sign, is intellectual and communicative, loving the realm of ideas. Jupiter has a lot to do with philosophy and broadening one's horizons through learning. So when Jupiter goes into Gemini it can express very intellectually, maybe being a little too caught up in one's head or caught up in the realm of endless ideas. Pisces is very much about emotionality, one's feelings and what one's heart is saying. Saturn has been in Pisces for about a year and a half now and will remain in Pisces for about another year. Saturn is typically very dry and rigid, so it's an interesting archetypal combination. When dry, rigid Saturn finds itself in the watery, emotional place of Pisces, the two almost have a counterbalancing effect on one another.

Rose Potts:

I think a lot of the lessons of Saturn in Pisces is about emotional maturity. Pisces can be very idealistic, loving to get caught up in flights of fancy, swept away by beautiful music, those sorts of things. So when Saturn is moving through this sign, it's like those parts of us, those idealistic parts, go through a process of major maturation. Saturn asks those parts of us if they can hold up to reality. Sure, we may have an idealistic dream of what we want our lives to be, but Saturn asks us if this dream of ours is realistic and, if so, can we actually manifest it into reality rather than letting it remain just an ethereal dream? So we have this airy Jupiter in Gemini which is very intellectually absorbed and caught up in its head, and then we have Saturn who is learning to swim in these emotional depths, and the two are meeting in a square. So one way we can look at this transit right off the bat is by allowing it to help us find a balance between the emotional and intellectual sides of ourselves. As human beings, we are always striving and struggling to achieve this balance between our head and our heart. But as this transit is passing through, don't be surprised if this theme is getting dialed up in a big way in your life. To give a personal example, I've recently started seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist. I've been seeing her for about a month now, but our first sessions together were really about her getting to know me and what I would like to work on. Now that this transit is going exact, we are really starting to get into the real work together, I think cognitive behavioral therapy is such a great manifestation of this archetypal combination because it really is about bringing balance to one's emotions by taking a look at and working on the thought processes that led us to those states of feeling and behavior. So for me, it's such a great example of that mind-heart balance that we're working on with Saturn in Pisces and Jupiter in Gemini.

Rose Potts:

Now to speak more specifically about how Saturn and Jupiter work together. Jupiter, as an archetype, is about expansion and growth. However, it can have a tendency to move towards excess. In Gemini, this can express as spinning one's wheels, moving between many different ideas, especially after that fiery boost that Jupiter received from Mars, which I spoke about last week. Saturn is a great counterbalance for Jupiter's tendency for access. Saturn is about limitations and asking us to examine what holds up in reality. Saturn is able to come in and say okay, you have all of these ideas about what's possible, but let's narrow in and focus on what is realistic and what is doable within a specific time frame. Saturn is really good at cutting through the fluff of Jupiter, helping to narrow the scope of ideas and find discernment. Saturn in Pisces has a special connection to truth and the sense of what feels true for one's heart. So this process of narrowing and discernment is coming from both what is realistic and what feels best, from the intuitive brightness of one's heart. So these are a few expressions and manifestations that I see with this potent transit. It is going to play out very differently based on what houses, gemini and Pisces fall into in your birth chart. If you don't know that already, then that's work you can dig into with an astrologer. There's so much more I could say about this transit, but I've done my best to work with the Saturn-Jupiter energy here and prune the excess of ideas that came through and just tried to narrow the scope and get to the heart of the matter.

Rose Potts:

Now, turning to our topic for the week, we are going to look at the last four moon phases, from the full moon to the waning crescent. If you haven't looked at what moon phase you were born under, I highly suggest you do that. I've linked a free site in the show notes where you can go and find that out. In part one. Last week we went over the first four moon phases the new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter and waxing gibbous. Today we'll go over the full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent. To refresh from last week.

Rose Potts:

I really like linking each moon phase with the phase in the plant life cycle. I didn't invent this. This has been around for a long time, but it's a really great comparison to help us understand each phase. To run through each phase, the new moon is akin to the planting of a seed. The waxing crescent is when the seed becomes a seedling. The first quarter is when the plant starts to grow a strong stem, leaf and root system. The waxing gibbous is when the plant flowers and becomes ready to bear fruit. The full moon is the bearing of the fruit. The waning gibbous is when the fruit falls off the plant and is ready to be shared. The last quarter is when the plant starts to wither and die. And the waning crescent is when the plant is at the end of its life cycle and starting to break down and decay.

Rose Potts:

Another thing I want to refresh on from last week is that each of us is born under a moon phase and this represents a global theme that we work through in our life. But we are also all traveling through a progressed lunation cycle. These lunation cycles go on for about 30 years, so in our lives we will move through approximately three of them. Where we are at in the cycle now is calculated by looking at the movement of the moon after your birth. Each day of the moon's movement represents a year of the lunation cycle. So if you're currently, say, 35 years old, an astrologer would look to see what phase the moon was in 35 days after your birth and then that would be the progressed lunation phase you are currently in. So we have a global phase that we are born under and we have a progressed lunation phase that we are currently playing out.

Rose Potts:

The moon phases is one of my favorite tools when giving a reading to a new client, because it really helps shed light on their way of moving through life generally and also helps them make sense of where they are at currently sense of where they are at currently. Some of the moon phases, when moving through them in our progressed lunation, are really challenging times, and we will get into some of those today. I've often seen such a sense of understanding and relief in clients when I've helped them see the larger context of the moon phases within which these challenging times are playing out for them phases within which these challenging times are playing out for them. So let's get started with the full moon phase. We are looking at the meaning of the full moon phase for someone born under it and for someone at this point in their progressed lunation. The full moon phase is akin to the plant life cycle of the growing of the fruit.

Rose Potts:

The global theme for someone born under the full moon is an integration of opposites. At the full moon, the moon is the farthest possible from the sun. The sun and moon are opposite one another on the zodiacal wheel. There is this sense with full moon individuals that they really have to strike out on their own and differentiate themselves from their roots in a large way. These are the people, for example, who decide to move across the country from their hometown. It doesn't have to be that, but it's really about making oneself stand apart from one's roots in a big way. But just as the moon, once she has reached her furthest point from the sun, will begin her journey back towards the sun, a full moon individual will typically at some point take on the journey of returning back to their roots and integrating their past self with the new identity they have created for themselves. Their life's work is in some way learning to hold the polarity and integration of these opposites some way learning to hold the polarity and integration of these opposites where they have come from and who they have become For someone. At this stage in their progressed lunation cycle, they are going through the culmination point of what the last 15 years of this cycle has been leading up to. They are seeing the fruits or the manifestation of this cycle, for better or worse. Someone told me once that every job you have is in some way preparing you for the life's work you are meant to do, and I really see that with the full moon phase you can look back over the last 15 years and see all of the different threads of experience you've had and how all of the challenges you've endured and all of the hard work you've undertook was necessarily leading you to this place. You can now see the fruits of this journey and the meaning behind it, for better or worse.

Rose Potts:

Next up is the waning gibbous. The waning gibbous phase comes just after the full moon, when the light of the moon begins to retreat. This is akin to the plant life cycle of the harvesting of the fruit. If you've ever had a vegetable garden, you'll know this experience of these one or two weeks in the summer when all of your vegetables are ready at once and you're just overflowing with this abundance. It's too much for only you to eat, so the only thing you can do is share it with the people in your life.

Rose Potts:

For someone born under the waning gibbous, their global theme is to share To share time with, to share experiences with and to share meaning with others. They have a felt sense of completion that this life is really about enjoyment and relaxation. They are in their best flow when they have a message to convey and an audience to share it with. These are often our natural born teachers. They want to distribute and guide others with their wisdom. This doesn't have to be intellectual wisdom. It can take many different expressions.

Rose Potts:

For those going through the waning gibbous phase of their progressed lunation, the energy is very similar here. It is a time when you feel that you have gained a lot of experience and wisdom from the previous years and the mountain you have been climbing. The climb is now over and it's time to sit around the fire with friends and recount the stories and lessons from your journey. Usually, there is a strong desire to teach others what we have learned or to share and collaborate in groups. There is a desire to share in some way what we have reaped as the fruits of our labors. This is often a time when people feel inspired, perhaps to write a book, start a podcast or to create some sort of platform on which to teach and guide others. Group participation and contributing to others is very important at this time.

Rose Potts:

Moving on to the last quarter moon, this is when the moon is moving towards a new moon and appears half dark in the sky. It is akin to the plant life cycle, where the flowers and leaves begin to wither and die. The global theme for someone born under this moon phase is to embrace letting go. We cannot sustain eternal productivity or eternal progress. All plants have a cycle of death and rebirth, and in our lives we go through many of these cycles. On a smaller scale, those born under the last quarter moon are often more at peace with allowing the destruction process into their lives. There may be a pattern with these people of rebelling against or questioning the status quo. So many of us can spend years or decades clinging to structures in our lives, whether that be careers, relationships or ways of being, that are long overdue. These people help to show us what it means to allow destruction as a necessary part of regeneration, what it means to allow destruction as a necessary part of regeneration. On the other hand, those born under a last quarter moon can often have an experience later in life where they come to a crossroad of sorts, where they find that they can no longer live life the way they have been, and there is necessarily a large letting go process that must occur. This can look like leaving behind a career that one has spent decades building, leaving one's religion, marriage or even home country. There are many different possible expressions here.

Rose Potts:

For those going through this phase. In their progressed lunation, there is usually that same point of crossroads, brought on by a crisis of meaning. They feel that they are in stagnant old routines and their work or other structures they have built no longer give them a sense of meaning. At this point, they make hard decisions about what to walk away from. This is a time for questioning and discernment. When going through this phase, resist the temptation to let go of everything. Instead, dig deep and ask yourself what is worth coming with you for the next 30-year cycle. For example, is the career that you have now the one that you want to retire with? These are the hard questions asked at this phase.

Rose Potts:

At this phase, the sun and moon are in a square with one another, and you may remember if you listened to the first episode. Squares are ruled by Mars and often bring about challenge and crisis. Something happens, whether externally or internally, where we feel that we simply cannot continue as things were. There is necessary pruning that needs to take place. Finally, our last phase is the waning crescent, also called the balsamic moon. This is when the moon is a sliver in the sky, almost at a new moon. It is akin to the plant life cycle, where the plant lets go of its last remnants of life and returns to the earth.

Rose Potts:

The global theme for someone born under this cycle is to release. It can be a lot like the last quarter in this way, but there is a deeper quality of releasing with the balsamic moon. With the last quarter, the letting go is often an act based on one's own decisions. With the balsamic moon, the releasing is usually brought on by circumstances outside of our control. For those born under a balsamic moon, there can be a pattern, though not always, of suffering a loss early in life, such as losing a parent. This does not have to be the case, but there's often an early on, life-defining loss of some sort. People born under this moon have a special relationship with death and endings. For example, these can be our endings specialists, our death doulas, or those who work in hospitals or hospices caring for the terminally ill in their last days. These people carry a special understanding of the deep surrender that comes at the very end of the cycle.

Rose Potts:

For those going through a waning, crescent, progressed lunation, there is a lot of releasing that occurs. This releasing often feels deep and intense and outside of our control. It is where we go through the shedding of our old life and our old self. Looking back, when I was going through my balsamic moon phase, I was 13 and I moved from the countryside, where I had always lived and where I had been happy, to the city. It was a really hard time and I had to let go of everything I had ever known.

Rose Potts:

The releasing that occurs at the balsamic moon phase is often one that brings us to our knees and involves a deep sense of surrender. There is often a process of grieving for our old lives and our old selves. This is a time for us to wrap up this 30-year cycle, tie up loose ends and ensure the soil is fertile and ready for the seeds of the next 30-year cycle to be planted. So there we have it for our topic. Today we looked at the last four moon phases and what they mean for someone born under them and for someone at that point in their progressed lunation cycle. If you didn't catch last week's episode, we went over the first four moon phases there, so I recommend you go back and check that out if you haven't already. If I went over your moon phase today, I would love to hear if it resonated for you. Please feel free to send me an email with your thoughts to rosesastroacademy at gmailcom.

Rose Potts:

And before we close, I want to make a little announcement. We will be changing up the content slightly going forwards. Instead of combining the transit talk and the topic into one episode, I'll be releasing them in two episodes. So starting next week, there will be an episode every Monday where we talk about what's happening in the sky now and an episode every Wednesday where we dive into a topic in astrology. This is because the topic talks can really be listened to at any time and the transit talks become pretty irrelevant after a certain date. So it makes sense to give some separation between them so someone can easily go back and listen to all of the topic episodes if they choose.

Rose Potts:

I want this podcast to be a co-creative space, so if there's a topic in astrology that you would like me to talk about, please send me an email about it to rosesastroacademy at gmailcom. New episodes air every Monday and Wednesday. If you want to book a reading with me, you can find out how to do that in the show notes or on my website, rosesastroacademycom, and you can follow along on my Instagram, astrohooper, where I release fun hula hooping and astrology content. Finally, if you enjoyed this episode and you want to see this little seedling grow, you can help out by leaving a review of the podcast and sharing it with your astrology-loving friends. Well, that's all I have for you. See you next week for a new episode.