Author Archives: Amanda Painter

Who’s Dancing, Who’s Watching and Who Cares

In the Monday Astrology Diary, I wrote that, sometimes, you need to dance as though nobody is watching. Other times, it’s nice to know that everyone really is watching, and that in some way they’re dancing with you. And sometimes all that matters is that, when you close your eyes and move, no matter who is or is not watching and no matter how they may or may not judge you, you let your heart guide you toward love.

“You’ve been flocked!” Part of a church youth group fundraiser at Casco Days this year. Photo by Amanda Painter.

This was the first message that came through as I looked at the chart for Friday’s Leo New Moon.

Exact at 10:53 am EDT (14:53 UTC), this is the Moon and Sun conjunct in Leo to begin a new four-week (approximately) lunar cycle.

Right in line with the Sun and Moon is retrograde Venus, about a day away from its exact conjunction with the Sun. This marks the halfway point in Venus’ retrograde.

Both planetary retrogrades and New Moons can have the sense of looking inward. Retrograde planets often also imply a review of the past in some way.

So if you’ve had any exes make contact with you in the last week or so — especially if it’s been more than one, or if you can trace a common thread or theme — this definitely counts as a manifestation of retrograde Venus (reviewing love relationships) conjunct the Sun (conscious awareness). You’ve likely noticed other themes, including getting back in touch with your inner child’s sense of playful creativity.

It’s the quality of looking inward rather than outward that suggested to me the whole ‘dance as if nobody is watching’ idea, in concert with some of the minor planets in aspect to the Leo New Moon. Closely flanking the Sun and Moon, we have the asteroid Eros (god of love), retrograde Venus (goddess of love), and the asteroid Terpsichore (the Muse of dancing) — all in Leo.

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Back from the Bay, with Jupiter, Venus and the New Moon

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Dear Friend and Reader:

As of 7:11 am EDT (11:11 UTC), Jupiter is now in Virgo. It will be there for the next year or so, which means you have some time to adjust to this new feel. To help you navigate the transition, here are the August horoscopes for Marie Claire magazine, written by Eric Francis.

Cape Split on the Bay of Fundy, where high and low tide can vary by 15 meters in one cycle. The whitewater at the top is the tide rushing into the bay. Photo by Eric Francis, with Andrew Robertson piloting his Cessna 172.

Eric returns to Planet Waves FM today (and the rest of Planet Waves this week) with some stories from his recent trip to the Bay of Fundy and Nova Scotia in eastern Canada.

Astrology covered on today’s program will cover the Leo New Moon and Jupiter leaving Leo and entering Virgo this morning, plus retrograde Venus conjunct the Sun. Filling in a bit more detail on that, this week we reach the peak (and midpoint) of Venus retrograde, as Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun.

Today is also the 14th anniversary of the Aug. 11, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief — wherein George W. Bush was warned by CIA officers about 9/11. Eric will look at that chart.

Musical selections for today’s program will be traditional Acadian music — that is, party tunes of the people who settled Nova Scotia in late 17th century and became the Creole people of New Orleans.

I’ve written more about this week’s major astrological shifts in Monday’s Astrology Diary. If your energy was feeling a little ‘odd’ or ‘edgy’ to start the week, or the waning Moon has you slowing down, you’re in tune with what’s happening. Mercury opposite Neptune offers a caution to notice what you do and do not know for sure in your dealings with others.

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The Forest and the Trees

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This week’s astrology is marked by three significant events: Jupiter leaving Leo and ingressing Virgo on Tuesday; Mercury opposing Neptune on Wednesday; and on Friday, the Leo New Moon. If you’ve already noticed a shift in the overall energy (especially your own) compared to last week, this combination of building events is likely why.

Deering Oaks Park, Portland, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Let’s start with Jupiter. Before it gets to Virgo on Tuesday at 7:11 am EDT (11:11 UTC), it’s spending about four days in the last degree of Leo. The last degree of any sign is said to be ‘anaretic’.

Anaretic degrees are usually described by astrologers as ‘edgy’ or ‘intense’, or as coming with a buildup of pressure or energy. That sounds invigorating on its surface. But if you’ve been expending a lot of energy recently and you’re nearing your limit, I could see Jupiter in the last degree of Leo as feeling a little overwhelming or fatiguing.

Your mileage may vary depending on your personal chart and whatever life’s been handing you, so try on each description and see how it feels: ‘edgy and intense’, or just ‘more than you can be bothered with’.

The approaching New Moon also contributes to any sense of ‘winding down’ you might be feeling. It might be an inconvenient way to begin the workweek if you need to get a new project started; but it’s perfect for tying up any loose ends on anything nearing completion.

As of 8:08 am EDT (12:08 UTC) today, the Moon will be in Cancer, the sign it rules. You’ll be feeling your feelings; notice if any of them are especially cyclical in nature, or if you’re particularly inclined to stick close to home and to focus on cooking, cleaning and taking care of others.

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It’s Not Hubris to Play With Crayons

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Not a Core Community or All-Access Pass member? You can purchase this week’s full members’ issue here, which includes this week’s horoscopes for all 12 signs by Len Wallick, who is filling in for Eric this week. Or try out a monthly Core Community membership here, and get Planet Waves issues delivered to your inbox each week.

Dear Friend and Reader:

You’re familiar with the idea of hubris, yes? It’s that amplified blend of blind, stubborn ego and overreaching that spelled the tragic downfall of many a character in the myths and dramas of Greek antiquity.

Art supplies out for their morning constitutional along the Eastern Prom in Portland, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

In our society, lack of self-esteem seems to be a much more common and debilitating condition than hubris.

Yet when it comes to living creatively and trusting that our gifts are worth trying out, expanding upon and even — gasp! — sharing with others, so many people live as though Zeus himself might strike them down with a lightning bolt should they dare.

You may or may not see yourself in that. At the very least, you likely know someone who shows creative promise but shies away at any suggestion of ‘doing something’ with it.

The astrology of these current weeks has focused on variations of the theme of creativity. This has included acknowledging and understanding ‘the inner critic’, and putting that voice in its place; expanding into career and creative opportunities that present themselves, yet also seeing where some restraint (possibly financial) is warranted.

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Come Out and Play With Your 2015 Midyear Reading: Astrology for Artists — The Art of Living by Eric Francis

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Art by Eric Francis with Lizanne Webb.

Dear Friend and Reader:

There is a unique place on the zodiac where pleasure, curiosity and risk-taking (experimentation) meet with service, work and healing. When you can blend the two realms, you come closer to recovering your “essential being-ness” — which is exactly what the 2015 Midyear Reading, titled The Art of Living / Astrology for Artists, aims to help you do.

The Art of Living / Astrology for Artists

Eric has published The Art of Living / Astrology for Artists, and it is already receiving rave reviews. You can order instant access to this Midyear Reading here.

Despite the titles, this 12-sign reading (plus two substantial intro audios) speaks to everyone, whether or not you consider yourself an artist of any kind. Life itself, as Eric discusses, can be a creative outlet, which cultivates happiness and sanity.

The inquisitive, creative spark all too often squashed in us as children can be regained, no matter after how long. To that end, Eric provides ideas that will help anyone, from curious new seekers who want to unlock their unique talents to advanced artists looking for a fresh perspective.

Kathi Linehan, a Planet Waves intern and a registered nurse, had this to say about the Midyear Reading:

“We are all artists. I tend to not think of myself as ‘an artist’ because I draw birds like a kindergartner — but I play bass guitar, write songs with my husband who plays guitar, make jewelry, write, love photography, etc.”

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Light Your Fire, Beautifully

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Dear Friend and Reader:

There is a lot of fire in the sky, with significant clusters of planets in Leo and Aries aspecting each other along with minor planets in Sagittarius. That’s a lot of movement and flow in the realm of spirit; it could be easy to get lost in ‘inspiration’ without taking action, but for one thing: the fire planets are making some squares to planets in other signs.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

This will help with getting some traction by giving you something to push against to make things happen in your daily life. Namely, the squares from the Leo planets to Saturn in Scorpio are setting the theme this week.

We have the Sun in mid Leo and Mercury, retrograde Venus and Jupiter clustered in late Leo. It’s those clustered planets that are forming conjunctions to each other and squares to Saturn. What this creates is a pair of dual imperatives: to expand and move forward on the one hand, and to cut back or set limits on the other.

I explored this theme in depth in yesterday’s Monday Astrology Diary. Between today and Friday, Venus and Mercury make their exact conjunctions to Jupiter and squares to Saturn, heightening the personal, tangible expressions of the astrology. For example:

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Forwards or Backwards, Take (and Give) Heart

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You’re being asked a question this week: do you expand and go forward, or do you cut back, possibly even moving backward? The astrology suggests there are areas of your life where it is desirable to expand in some way — to move forward into opportunities and to give of yourself. In fact, it is actually essential to your personal evolution.

A dragon kite takes to the skies. Photo by Amanda Painter.

At the same time, that approach will not work with everything. Sometimes restraint is called for, and the astrology points here, too.

Before I explore these themes more, the super-short version of the week’s major aspects is that Mercury, retrograde Venus and Jupiter are all conjunct in late Leo, and the three of them are square Saturn, now direct in Scorpio. If you get off on the details, here are the times for the individual aspects (feel free to skip this bit if it’s not your thing):

Monday at 6:36 am EDT (10:36 UTC), Jupiter in Leo squares Saturn in Scorpio. On Tuesday at 5:47 pm EDT (21:47 UTC), retrograde Venus conjoins Jupiter (the second of three in a series). Venus squares Saturn Wednesday at 11:08 am EDT (15:08 UTC).

Then Mercury gets into the act: Thursday it conjoins Venus (10:25 am EDT / 14:25 UTC) and squares Saturn (4:19 pm EDT / 10:19 UTC). Finally, on Friday, Mercury conjoins Jupiter at 3:08 am EDT (7:08 UTC); about 12 hours later, Mercury ingresses Virgo.

Back to our story: you’re probably aware of two kinds of limits in your life. There are internal limits that actually block you from doing what you’re capable of and what you truly desire most to do. Those are usually psychological and have roots in childhood, but aren’t doing you any favors. One form of this is ‘the inner critic’, which has gotten some attention on Planet Waves recently in relation to Venus retrograde in Virgo (Venus has since backed into Leo) and in Eric’s Astrology for Artists / Art of Living readings.

Then there are the actual, material limits related to managing your life responsibly so that you don’t, say, go deeper into financial debt than what you can handle. Or, less materially but no less tangibly, there are limits to how much emotional pain or emotional investment you’re willing to endure in an intimate sexual relationship — though many of us have learned those limits the hard way, by allowing ourselves to exceed them.

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Leo Love: Animals, Games and Strength in Surrender

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By Amanda Painter

I’ve decided to offer you a grab bag of sorts for today’s sex-and-relationships offering. After all, the Sun is in Leo along with Mercury, Jupiter and retrograde Venus, emphasizing several of this sign’s traits, including playfulness, risk-taking, courage and the animal world.

If you thought Doggy Style was 'out there', think again... Image by College Humor

If you think of Doggy Style when you’re feeling wild, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet… Image by College Humor

The traditional Strength card from tarot also comes to mind, featuring as it does a lion submitting to a maiden.

First up, bringing in the theme of animals and playfulness (and some risk, depending on the species — and depending whether you consider making babies to be a ‘risk’) is this series of GIFs by Mike Trapp at College Humor, imagining what it might look like if humans had sex like various animal species.

Since the first animated image, of praying mantis sex, is predictably…ahem…rough on the male, the link above takes you to one of the middle slides. Use the left and right arrows to the side of the image to see the others. Oh, and apologies for the hetero-normativity of the animations, done in the classic pink-and-blue line drawings of sex manuals. Technically earthworms are hermaphrodites that fertilize each other simultaneously, but the artist kept the pink and blue distinctions.

Next up, sticking with the ‘play’ and ‘risk’ themes and adding in some courage: men’s coach Mike Hrotoski’s blog post about creating a game wherein you say “Fuck [X]” about whatever you’re mad about, until you have no more fucks to give, and have opened up some space within where your now-purged anger used to be.

The risk? If you play with a partner, or in a public forum such as social media, you certainly might stir up some ‘stuff’. But if you remember that the goal is clearing, not taking on more ‘stuff’ (such as guilt), space might open in a relationship, too.

Hrotoski (whose blurb in his website’s banner may be a smidge off-putting to the very perceptive) certainly took a risk on the playful side of ‘edgy’ with the piece’s title: Fuck You Spiritual People For Using Gratitude As A Bypass To Your Anger.

Feeling feisty yet? Ready to play the game and roar out all your “Fucks!”?

If not, here’s item number three, where we get a reminder of the courage it takes to truly surrender to sexual healing and to let it unfold however it will, and of the strength present in those who hold the space for others to enter into the process. Recently Sarah Taylor posted this video clip to her Facebook page, from a documentary called The Sacred Prostitute.

In this particular clip, a sacred prostitute named Nut Tmu-Ankh Butterfly explains how, if you go to her, you are not buying a sexual experience. Rather, you are there to allow yourself to surrender to sexual healing — that no sexual healing can occur without surrender.

Expectations about what will or will not happen will not help you. It’s all about being the lion: open jaws, open heart, open vessel through which love and healing may unfold along with the orgasm’s roar, held in space and held in spirit.