Author Archives: Eric Francis

Mercury Stations Direct Overnight Wednesday

Dear Planet Waves Reader:

First, in case you missed Friday’s edition because you were traveling, I posted a year in review horoscope. The January monthly horoscope, called “How to Cross an Ocean,” will be posted Friday morning. This is an extended edition, previewing Light Bridge, the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Until Light Bridge publishes in January, I’ll keep Planet Waves on a slightly slower schedule.

Planet Waves
Accretion Disk Simulation by Michael Owen, John Blondin.

As suggested, this turned out to be the weekend to avoid travel. Hopefully you’re not reading this on your iPad or Droid camped out on the floor of Heathrow. If you’re in a position to decide whether to call off making a move for a few days, or making the move immediately, I suggest you delay if you can, particularly if there are lingering questions or the possibility of additional delays. Things are likely to go smoother with Mercury direct, which is the topic of my letter today.

Mercury will station direct in Sagittarius at 2:20 am EST on Thurs., Dec. 30. In effect that means overnight Wednesday to Thursday in most of our time zones, and Thursday later in the day in Australia. Mercury has been retrograde since Dec. 10, starting in Capricorn and now stationing direct in late Sagittarius. It made a series of fancy moves, such as taking part in a weird, exact triple conjunction on Dec. 13.

If there is any cleanup work or recovery necessary from this retrograde phase, I suggest you do that incrementally until the eclipse arrives on Jan. 4. Don’t rush; work in layers and be gentle and deliberate.

The days surrounding when Mercury changes apparent directions can be a time when the retrograde effect is the most pronounced. Here are my top five hints for easing through this transition:

1. This is not a time to push, it’s a time to move with the energy. Granted, it may never really be time to push (okay sometimes!), but especially not during a Mercury station. Allow things to go at a slower pace and be conscious in your communication with others. In case of a misunderstanding, get off email and try the phone, or in person. Email has lost little of its reputation for communication snafu. If something seems unnecessarily tangled, give it a week or two.

2. It’s better not to commence activities or commitments prior to the station, as they can have a tendency to reverse themselves. If possible I suggest waiting anywhere from three days to three weeks depending on how meaningful it is to you. Remember, we are in the extreme waning phase of the Moon, headed for a solar eclipse. That will bring out additional information and start a new phase. This is a time to wrap up old business.

Planet Waves
White Dwarf Star Spiral.

3. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and if it seems broke, it may not be. Wait to fix it, because ‘solutions’ can cause more problems than they solve in the midst of Mercury stationing. If you must solve a problem, break out the scientific method — or any logical method. Take notes and test your theories carefully. Don’t let impatience get a grip. Remind Mercury you love him/her and are thankful for all these cool gadgets.

4. One interesting property of Mercury stationing is that the truth can come out, as if from behind a veil. If there are situations that are puzzling you or for which you are seeking answers, listen carefully and gently work the data and you just may get a revelation or two. As Mercury changes directions, the same information can look different from day to day; you might see things you missed the first time; you may understand something that you could not quite grasp. However, this business of ‘the truth revealed’ can be uncanny. Listen to what people say to you; listen to what you say to them.

5. Drive consciously, and leave extra time to get anyplace you’re going. If you’re flying home from a holiday, listen to those expert travel tips. Pack some food, your toothbrush and extra undies in your carry-on (always a good idea), and use the toilet before boarding a flight. I don’t suggest you depend on a digitized flight-checker app. Some of these things are disconnected from reality. Call the airline and talk to a human person.

Now as for the creative part.

Mercury is stationing direct close to the core of our galaxy, and will pass over the core on Jan. 9-10. Think of Mercury as condensing whatever is emanating from the core — the center of our spiral island in space (which is a defining feature of Sagittarius). Mercury is about ideas, but they come from somewhere, and at the moment, if you can tune in, they are being accessed from the heart of the galaxy. The core has the property of fleeting insights that we then forget. It’s as if they’re too sublime for our dimension, but if we get them into tangible form (a sticky note will do) we can have something precious and worthwhile.

This Sagittarian dimension may be less about practical solutions and more about insights into existence, which has a practicality all its own. See if you can tune in and listen, remembering as a poet once scribbled on the back of an envelope, you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you listen just right.

Lovingly,

Eric Francis

PS — Thank you Dani Voirin for this beautiful red, gray and black page design — which will be the look of the 2010 archives and of course Cosmic Confidential, the 2010 annual. Dani created the horoscope icons we’ve used this year by layering in content from horoscopes that match the sign illustrated. We were going for a look that emulated newspaper horoscopes, where I got my inspiration to learn astrology. In retrospect these are the colors of The New York Post, where I first bumped into the work of Patric Walker.

Friend to Friend: A Bit of Quaker Astrology

Dear Friend and Reader:

Today is Christmas Eve, so I thought I would do something borrowing from an old Christian tradition. I’ve only mentioned being Quaker a few times on these pages, though it’s a significant piece of my philosophical heritage. I made this discovery as a kid, after attending Friends summer camps for five years (Quaker is old-fashioned shorthand for The Religious Society of Friends).

Planet Waves
Photo by Eric Francis.

You can think of Quakerism as a form of Zen Christianity. It’s a religion without dogma, without hierarchy and with few words spoken. Each person is encouraged to develop his or her own relationship to God, the Creator or existence. There is no minister (rather, a committee, called Ministry and Counsel); each person speaks, if moved to do so, in the midst of silent meeting.

There are no set rules or doctrines, only flexible guidelines for living. We’re so used to religions telling us that this is how it’s supposed to be, and this is the law, and you have to do that or God doesn’t love you, that we may lack any concept that something else is possible. Friends’ guidelines for living include being dedicated to peace, doing business with integrity, not swearing oaths, and seeking divinity or the voice of spirit within. Quakers call this the ‘inner light’. It is considered a natural part of the human psyche, not something we have to earn.

One of the notable things about Friends is that we do not go to war, we so not advocate war, and we don’t advocate the cause of war in any form, for any reason. It is that simple. Warfare is unnecessary, immoral and stupid (besides being waged by businessmen and based entirely on deception and greed). We’re the people you come to if you don’t want to get drafted. Quakers saved the lives of a lot of young men who would have otherwise ended up in Vietnam. We know how to make the case against war on ethical grounds.

One of the modes of Quaker discourse is in the form of ‘advices and queries’. This is one of the basic models I use in writing my horoscopes, which I view as an ongoing inquiry about the nature of existence. In this last weekly horoscope of 2010, I thought I would borrow from the Quaker style and present queries based on the recent experience of astrology for each of the Sun signs. By recent, I mean going back as far as seven years for one of the signs, five years for another, and a bit less for the others.

Here is some of the language from the ‘advices and queries’ section of Faith and Practice, in a modern British edition. Notice the open-ended approach to religious concepts.

Planet Waves
Photo by Eric Francis.

“The Religious Society of Friends is rooted in Christianity and has always found inspiration in the life and teachings of Jesus. How do you interpret your faith in the light of this heritage? How does Jesus speak to you today? Are you following Jesus’ example of love in action? Are you learning from his life the reality and cost of obedience to God? How does his relationship with God challenge and inspire you?”

Note, not all Quakers use this kind of language, but it’s there for reference, in minimalist form. If you’re looking for a copy of the Bible in a meeting house you probably have to go find it in the office or up in the library, where it belongs. Most literature published by Friends is about ethics, or commenting on what it’s like to live faithfully on our weird planet. It’s more like practical advice rather than the word from on high. Here is an example:

“Are you honest and truthful in all you say and do? Do you maintain strict integrity in business transactions and in your dealings with individuals and organisations? Do you use money and information entrusted to you with discretion and responsibility? Taking oaths implies a double standard of truth; in choosing to affirm instead, be aware of the claim to integrity that you are making.”

One of the Quaker founders was a guy named George Fox, the one with his “old leather breeches and shaggy, shaggy locks.” In 1656, he suggested:

“Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one.”

In that spirit, I wish you a blessed Christmas.

Lovingly,

Eric Francis

(who never quite makes it to New Paltz Friends Meeting)

 

Planet Waves

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, December 24, 2010, #844 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries (March 20-April 19)

What is the role of technology in your relationships? Has Facebook replaced the sight of someone’s face, or texting the sound of someone’s voice? Digital devices are rapidly infiltrating the realm of human interaction, threatening to take over entirely. There is a reminder in your solar chart to check in with the influence this is having, and to look in subtle ways. Plenty else has been stirring in your interpersonal life; you seem to need a lot more space — both emotional and physical — than you have any time in recent memory. You’re finally recognizing that what does not work for you cannot be made to work. You are entering a time when the old structures of your life will feel the strain and birth contractions of your rapidly increasing self-awareness. What adjustments to your life patterns have you made to respond to these needs or desires? How have these adjustments affected your relationships? Do you crave human companionship more or less than you did one year ago?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

 

Taurus (April 19- May 20)

Pluto in Capricorn raises questions about the role that religion has played in shaping your worldview. Remember, like many things, that role could be invisible — till you look. Religion is more than ‘about itself’. Far from being a closed system, it’s about all of existence, not merely taught in a house of worship. Its effects reach into every aspect of life, most particularly, how we are supposed to feel about ourselves, and how we feel about sex. Its ideas are, to this day, defended with guns, armor and constitutional amendments. Have you investigated this topic lately, on the most personal level? Have you questioned the extent to which any of the psychological patterns you would love to change are connected to the religious beliefs and practices of your parents? In what ways are your values shaped by religious concepts, among them the supposed necessity of guilt, the ‘institution of marriage’, faux conservatism, or the notion that God is powerless or vengeful? These days you seem determined to embrace life with your own philosophy. Do you give yourself the freedom to be who you are, nd who you want to be at your best?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Gemini (May 20- June 21)

Anything giving you feedback does so in a language of some kind. The poet Adrienne Rich described relationships as the dream of a common language. If you were to consider your relationship experiences specifically in the context of the words that are spoken, what would you learn? Do you feel that the words and ideas you express in your partnerships are mutually understood? Do you and the people around you speak the same language? If not, by what means do you overcome the differences? Do you enjoy learning new words and concepts, or do you find the process frustrating? One thing to consider are the potential differences in perspective between you and those close to you. Do the people you attract tend to have a wider or narrower worldview than your own? Where are they from, geographically? How does their spiritual perspective differ from your own? Most significantly, how do you respond to these differences?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

 

Cancer (June 21- July 22)

Do you feel like the world is making room for you, or more like it’s closing in on you? And, whatever is happening, would you say you’re responding more with presenting your vulnerable side, or by thickening your skin? Your charts for 2011 suggest that you’re going to be a lot more visible, and have the potential to challenge outdated ideas of ‘success’ and ‘achievement’ with an invention or creation of your own. If you take your current relationships as an indicator, how would people respond to your having a much more prominent role in the world? There are some who say that success breeds contempt. Others say that everyone likes to bet on a winner. What is your theory? You are a deeply emotional person and some of your transits describe developing authentic emotional independence. How does that feel to you? Have you found ways to be more independent, while not isolating yourself at the same time?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)

How long does it take to get to know a cat? Mysterious as they are, you get the basics right away. The more significant question for you is, how long does it take for you to get to know the people in your life? Thee years have been a gradual process of seeing through your projections, peeling back layers, looking through the image that people project, though it seems you’ve been persistent. Your love has been steady, despite many twists and turns. So too has your process of gaining awareness of who the people you care about the most really are. Think back five or 10 years and consider your impressions of the people who have been in your life continually. What was your sense of who they were then, and what is it today? How have you changed in that time, including your philosophy of relationships? Finally, there is a group relationship angle. You have learned a lot about connecting with groups, and how to be yourself in them — but what, exactly?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)

Your sign draws much of its energy from the planet Mercury, which is retrograde three times a year. One of the properties of Mercury retrograde is how swiftly, after turning direct, it moves from going one apparent direction to coming up to full speed in the other direction. That suggests a life where you are constantly reconsidering just about everything. Yet some elements of your existence proceed on an entirely different cycle. That involves Chiron, which is in the process of changing signs. For the past five years, Chiron has been your solar 6th house, suggesting you’ve learned a lot about how to take care of your health. Aquarius, which is in that house for you, is excellent with theory and needs a little help putting things into practice. My question for you is, what have you learned, and what have you applied on the topic of taking care of your health — both mental and physical? If you had to choose one longterm goal for your wellbeing, what would that be? What about your relationships? The two are related.

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)

Most people would say that Saturn in their sign put them under pressure and slowed down the pace of their lives. I have a feeling you’re responding differently to Saturn in Libra. The influence of this planet tends to be about guiding us to mature. (In that respect, everyone is feeling it in a slightly different way.) I’m wondering what messages you’re getting, and whether Saturn seems to be working as a force for change, or a force that appears to be slowing things down. Some of the most sage words an astrologer ever said to me about Saturn near or conjunct one’s Sun (as it is for you in these couple of years) is that it represents coming to terms with yourself. That can at times represent a loss — such as a loss of what was not truly your own. As another astrologer (a Libra) once said, Saturn always gives more than he takes away. Be mindful of the exchange. Participate consciously.

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)

The year began with a series of professional or employment-related upheavals that seem to have rewritten the script you thought you were following. They also had an interesting effect of revealing what happens when you’re not really taking authority over your life; and you got some clues as to what you can do to get your grip back. How is that coming? Have you made any progress in bringing your personal identity and values closer to the work that you do? Much of what you’re experiencing involves old thought-forms, mental patterns and factors of your environment giving way to something new, as if their time has finally come. This will — of necessity — change your work patterns, how you think about yourself and how you relate to the people around you. Yet more than ever, you need to choose the direction of your life. You are in a position to choose what you think of as your destiny. And what would that be?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)

One theme I have not emphasized but which is pervasive in your astrology involves financial independence. This is a big theme nowadays, as the dog of capitalism tries to cast off the fleas of humanity. Yet at the same time, many are becoming weary of being so invested in the system, dependent on one source of income, or one concept of abundance. Pluto in Capricorn is, for you, a story about developing your personal resources in such a way that you have greater personal responsibility over your financial affairs. This includes your methods of acquiring wealth in its many forms, and how you invest them in yourself. Considering the many potential facets to this project, from developing accounting methods to recognizing the many ways that your money represents your power, how is that going? What have you learned about the relationship between standing on your feet financially and emotional independence from your parents?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)

I’ve made a number of references this year to your leadership calling. That’s a story about Saturn, the planet of Capricorn, making its way across Libra, your solar 10th house — the house connected with authority, reputation, fame and acclaim. Even if you’re not famous by the standards of People magazine, we are all ‘famous in our own worlds’, and people look up to you as an example of grounded, purposeful living. Your mission seems to far exceed that, as you may be in a position of leadership in your profession, or even pioneering a new way of doing things. How do you feel when you are called to take a prominent role in the world around you? Does the example you set live up to the theories you hold? Are there any double standards in your life that you would like to resolve? Most important, what are the top items on your agenda, in terms of what you came here to achieve?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)

Five years of Chiron in your sign has come with its share of everything from recognizing your ‘imperfections’ to embracing your talents. In these years, the things that have happened to you, and that you have initiated, had the mark of not only setting you more firmly on your life course, but also in helping you recognize and embrace who you are from the inside out. If you had to list a few of these events and how they have changed you, what would they be? How have developments in seemingly unrelated aspects of your life taught you the same thing, or revealed the same basic truth? In what ways have your ideas about life grown closer to the life you live every day? Last and certainly not least, there is something about Chiron that relates to standing out and being as different as you are. Are you any more at peace with yourself about this than you were, say, in 2005?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)

You’re about to reach the conclusion of Uranus in your birth sign. This visit, by one of the most restless, revolutionary, inventive and disruptive planets, goes back seven years, and in many ways you’re a different person today than you were then. This is a good time for a review of where you were at the beginning of that stretch, which goes back to March 2004, where you are today by contrast, and the considerable territory you’ve crossed along the way. In what ways have you experienced personal reinventions during that time? What ‘radical’ elements of yourself have you developed and brought to the forefront of your life (remembering that radical means coming from your roots)? What have you done to adapt to a condition of constant change, both inner and outer? If you view these seven years as a time of preparation, what do you think you were preparing for?

Light Bridge is the 2011 annual edition of Planet Waves. Each of the signs gets an extended reading presented in both writing and in audio. To learn more, please go to this link.

12/21: Total Eclipse of the Moon in Gemini

Dear Planet Waves Reader:

Overnight tonight we will experience a total eclipse of the Moon in Gemini. This is the Gemini Full Moon, happening with the Sun on its last day of Sagittarius, just on the eve of the solstice. So we have a rare combination of a total eclipse within hours of the change of seasons. Though it may feel a bit edgy as it approaches — especially with Mercury retrograde — this is an event with the potential for resolution, closure and transition into something new.

Planet Waves
A partial lunar eclipse in Cancer (also a blue moon) at the end of 2009. This is a composite photo taken at Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure, France, by Jean Paul Roux via APOD.

One nice thing about lunar eclipses is that they are visible wherever you can see the Moon. This one will be visible anywhere in North America that skies are clear. The exact Full Moon is at about 3:13 am EST, or 12:13 am PST, and the peak of the eclipse is listed as being about four minutes later. In some parts of Europe it will be visible just before dawn, low on the horizon.

The Sabian symbol for this degree is a pageant of bathing beauties. Dane Rudhyar says of this degree — which is right on the cusp of the Cancer solstice point — “The show is over. Now is the hour of decision.” That is a nice image of a pensive lunar event on the outer edge of Gemini, a dualistic sign associated with options and choices.

Mercury retrograde is close to the Sun, on the Galactic Core at 27 degrees of Sagittarius. That reminds us that this event is aligned closely with the core, something evocative of the 2012 phenomenon. Recall that the supposed epicenter of that is Dec. 21, 2012 — so it’s now just two years until the turnover in the Mayan calendar’s Long Count.

Note that it’s not the ‘end’ of the Mayan calendar, as is commonly misspoken, but the transition from the 13th to the 14th baktun. A baktun is 144,000 days or just over 394 years. This in turn is the last day of a longer 5,125-year cycle in the Long Count calendar. Note also, this is not a Great Cycle, as it’s often mistakenly called — rather, the Great Cycle is comprised of five 5,125-year phases (or one full precession of the equinoxes). Interesting to note that the Long Count calendar predates the Mayans and goes well past the diaspora and disappearance of their cities. Some of those cities are today hidden in jungle so dense no modern archeologist has been there. This bit about overgrown ancient cities, many of which likely remain undiscovered, was the most interesting fact I learned on a Discovery special on 2012.

Planet Waves
Gemini Full Moon synchronous with a total lunar eclipse in the last degree of Gemini takes place overnight Monday to Tuesday in U.S. time zones, and early in the morning in the U.K. and across Europe. It will be in the early evening in Australia. Note that some listings will place the peak of the eclipse approximately four minutes later than the Full Moon.

Whatever the 2012 phenomenon signifies, we are in proximity to it at this time of year, and at this time in history. If you want some clues, feel within yourself and look at a newspaper. In order to get information you may need to shift your perspective a bit and see things in a wider context that includes you.

There is no universal acceptance or even a consensus among Mayan scholars or New Age followers of the calendar about what this event might represent or predict, but we know we live in a time of enormous change. The questions seem to hover around two points — the meaning of that change, and how we and it mutually influence one another.

Based on both Western and Mayan astrology, we are well within those events and growth processes now. This sense we have that the world is changing and (perhaps) that it would be a good idea to catch up to those changes, or jump in and play, is becoming pervasive, but so too is this sense that we’re victims of whatever is going on. Since the Mayan change is an Aries Point event (happening on the change of season), the prevailing theme is how the personal and the political, or the public and private spheres of influence, affect one another. This is not a matter of theory, it’s a matter of practicality, involvement, decision and action.

Tonight’s eclipse, situated on the edge of the mutable signs, has a feeling of flux. There is a reminder to be flexible about our ideas, represented in the signs Gemini and Sagittarius. It is impressive how fixated on our old ideas we can be, even though we may have no idea what they are, or how scant of a basis they may have.

Looked at another way, while our society encourages us to emote all over the place, we do far less in the way of considering our feelings in a sensitive and reflective way. If we did, we would be far less susceptible to the emotional manipulation that makes politics, advertising and most religion what they are. There may be something particular you need to review or question, with both the Sun and Moon aspecting a meaningful point called Transpluto — which always says ‘look for the particular, but look with an open mind’. (Transpluto is very active in 2011 charts — more on that in Light Bridge.)

Planet Waves
Hello. Photo by Wolfgang Sauber.

The Sun enters Capricorn later in the day Tuesday (Wednesday in some non-U.S. time zones). This is the solstice but remember these few nights are all about the same length with the Sun (sol) standing still (stasis) along the horizon. The Sun meets the asteroid Pallas Athene in the first degree of Capricorn. Pallas is a politically interested critter, and so is the sign she is now in. We are certainly in times where the political environment has taken on an exaggerated dimension of meaning. I believe this about our neglect of politics — that is the obvious means by which the game runs out of control.

Philosophical implications aside, we are at a change of seasons, and that is exciting. This always comes with a surge of new energy and sense of adventure, and we can use it. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, even as it becomes winter, the dynamo of the cosmos reverses directions and the days get longer. It’s not so much that we’ll cash in on the extra few minutes of sunlight every day but more that the sensation of compression will be replaced by a sense of expansion.

The Full Moon going dark when the days are their shortest, just at the solstice point, marks a distinct transition, and also a reminder to ease through the events and sensations that surround our particular moment. Ease, as in easy does it. Remember that from the moment of the eclipse forward till it enters Capricorn later in the day, the Sun will be void of course. Whenever that happens, the veil between us and unusual or unlikely events can feel thin and penetrable. Often these developments can be fun or intriguing, offering an opportunity to fulfill a hope or dream; they are also good reminders to be conscious, drive carefully and make alert choices. As this eclipse is suggesting, the show is over, and now is the moment of decision.

All is sanity.

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

Simple Giving, Profound Gifts

Dear Planet Waves Reader,

Are you still searching for meaningful holiday gifts? The Planet Waves family is offering the same amazing astrology products you love and trust at a discount to ease your gift-giving this season. These are easy to shop for, inexpensive and lasting gifts — plastic-free and no batteries required!

Planet Waves
Photo by Eric, Photoshop by Sarah – Blue Studio, New York. Galaxy shown is Andreomeda, our neighbor (at 2.5 million light years) and the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way.

Here are a few special reduced-price gift suggestions from us:

Six months of Planet Waves , which includes the monthly horoscope, the weekly horoscope and articles, plus archive access for $35. Click here to order, and be sure to enter the gift recipient’s email address in the “gift” field listed on the order form.

Six months of Planet Waves Light , which includes the monthly horoscope, the weekly horoscope (longer Friday articles not included), plus archive access for $25. Click here to order, and be sure to enter the gift recipient’s email address in the “gift” field listed on the order form.

Any of the Planet Waves Audio Birthday reports for $14.95 each. These reports officially cover one solar return to the next, but Eric works ahead of the transits to create readings with staying power well beyond that. Click here to order, and be sure to enter the gift recipient’s email address in the “gift” field listed on the order form. If you’d like to order Sun and rising sign audios for someone, the price is reduced to $10 per sign when you order two or more.

All 12 Signs of Light Bridge, the 2011 Annual Edition of Planet Waves for $39.95. Due to publish in January, this year’s annual horoscope project will be a mix of audio and written segments, offering one hour per sign and a detailed written report. If you missed our special offer, here is your chance to order all 12 signs for one price — an incredible value for the amount of astrological information your gift recipient will receive. Click here to order, and be sure to enter the gift recipient’s email address in the “gift” field listed on the order form.

If you’d like to order multiple gifts, it may be easier for me to set them up personally for you. Simply email me at chelsea@planetwaves.net or call 206-567-4455, and I’ll set up all of your Planet Waves gifts in one transaction.

Eric and the rest of us at Planet Waves are glad to have you with us on this journey, and we know that we wouldn’t be here without you. In the spirit of the season, I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to you for supporting Planet Waves and taking advantage of the work that we do.

Yours,

Let’s keep an eye on this one — or better yet, both eyes

Dear Planet Waves Reader:

Normally we distribute the early-week edition on Tuesday, but there’s an intriguing astrological event that takes place starting today. This extends overnight and into tomorrow afternoon, so I’ve decided to run this edition today. It’s based on a blog post from over the weekend though please note that there are some reinterpretations of the astrology in this version. Monthly horoscopes for January will be distributed after the solstice, schedule to be announced.

Mercury stationed retrograde in Capricorn Friday morning, close to a number of other planets and points. Monday night and into Tuesday, there is an unusual triple conjunction of Mercury, Mars and Pluto, all conjunct within one arc minute (that’s 1/60th of a degree). Perhaps you have to know a little astrology to appreciate this, but imagine three moving points of this potency just happening to be aligned with the Earth at the same time, with the added spin or influence of Mercury retrograde.

Planet Waves

Chart for 11:15 pm EST on Dec. 13, 2010, set for Kingston, NY — an exact Mercury, Mars, Pluto conjunction. The other points from left to right are Vesta, Pholus, Sun, Pallas, and the North Node; then to the far right is the largest asteroid, Ceres.

In case you’re new to charts, you’re looking at the three bodies with the bold 4 next to them. That’s the degree value; the arc minutes, or fractions of a degree, are the small numbers, and look how close they are as well. Mars and Pluto are in an exact conjunction, to the arc minute. And just as that’s happening, Mercury backs over them both within a few minutes of one another. I have to say, that is laser-like precision. Just consider that these planets are millions of miles from Earth, all moving at different speeds, and there are not three bodies aligned but four of them — that precise conjunction means they align not just with one another but with the Earth.

There is a message involved; that’s the nature of Mercury. Whatever this chart is about, there is a message. In personal matters, this is a day to either stay silent or if you want to speak, to choose your words carefully. That would include listening, a skill rare enough to find. Listening would include to yourself and to others. The retrograde advises introspection, thinking before you act, and focusing on psychology and motives, especially your own. The theme of ‘motives’ comes from Pluto, the prime mover, the unstoppable force, and the scent and sensation of hormones. The ‘think carefully’ theme comes from Mercury conjunct Mars, which says thinking fast, but Mercury may not be perceiving accurately: I am not suggesting you ‘second guess’ yourself but that you not be overconfident. A little conscious humility will suffice.

Mix this up with Capricorn and, in one dimension, you get the astrological incarnation of kinky. This would be kink in the form of wordplay and power exchange. On the most basic level, it could be a moment to speak softly and slowly with intimate partners and tell the truth about sex, something we need to do if we plan to reclaim the sensation of being alive. Capricorn adds the predisposition to guilt (or an inquiry into the topic), which is a response to perceived authority. The retrograde suggests you may be able to get beyond the sensation of guilt as a restrictive force, and allow your truth to come out. Once it does, you will begin a process of working that reality through the rest of your mental field, like kneading dough.

Though it’s not shown in the chart sample above, the Moon is also in the neighborhood — by aspect. In astrology planets can be grouped by being together, or being in the same degree range. Tuesday at 2:14 am EST, the Moon enters Aries and thus crosses the Aries Point, and soon after squares its own nodes; then Tuesday at 10:57 am EST it makes a square to Mercury, then to Pluto, then to Mars in rapid succession (in about the space of one hour). This is the Moon ‘setting off’ the aspect. A square is shorthand for ‘something happens’ and there is added emphasis in that the Moon is making a 90-degree aspect to its own nodes, which are hot and vibrating in anticipation of an eclipse on the solstice. And of course we are in Aries Point country — never left, we’ve been here since Pluto first touched Capricorn in 2008, though thanks to eclipses and other planets showing up lately, we are going through a series of peaks.

While this setup has some dark shades, I suggest that there is something to be learned about the current circumstances of the world. We are seeing some unprecedented things going on, as I described last week. There are mainly two groups of people who know what is in the rest of those 250,000 cables that WikiLeaks has not yet released — the Obama administration, and the WikiLeaks crew. (So do a bunch of Bushistas.)

Has everyone heard that Anna Ardin moved to the West Bank? I got this news a bit late. It was reported by the Australian website Crikey on Thursday and republished in The Huffington Post. She was the older of the two women who claimed that something inappropriate happened between her and Assange. She has stopped cooperating with prosecutors and has headed to do missionary work in the Holy Land. That sounds like a true calling.

According to Crikey, in a recent tweet she said, “CIA agent, rabid feminist / Muslim lover, a Christian fundamentalist, frigid & fatally in love with a man, can you be all that at the same time…” Yes, this woman sounds like she knows exactly what she wants out of life. Wait — she’s admitting to being a CIA agent? She seems to be kidding, but she makes a convincing case — and disappearing to a remote corner of the world when she’s become a star in this global crisis only emphasizes the point.

That leaves the stalker/groupie in the pink jump suit. Oops, that would be jumper, a sweater in England — my fantasies were running away with me. Is she a CIA agent too? She was recently seen in a police station collaborating with one.

I just read that Assange’s first extradition hearing is scheduled for Wednesday — right in the wake of this planetary alignment. You can be sure that there will be some interesting negotiations going on during the next 48 hours.

The Swedish sex case (such as it was) is unraveling, and the Brits and Yanks are going to be falling all over one another to figure out a way to keep Assange in jail. So far, no charges have been filed by Sweden for the alleged sexual misconduct, and no charges have been filed by the United States relating to the leaked documents. The Espionage Act was considered, but apparently that didn’t work when the US government tried to prosecute Daniel Ellsberg for releasing the Pentagon Papers. Instead, Nixon went after The New York Times — and that, too, failed; the Supreme Court would have no part of banning the newspaper’s coverage of the secret Vietnam War file that Ellsberg released. Besides all of which, Assange is a direct collaborator with the news entities of the world — not the leaker with security clearance as was Ellsberg.

 

Planet Waves
Minor planets, 90-degree sort, at Mercury-Mars-Pluto conjunct. Calculations by Serennu.com.

So, back to the astrology. Let’s look at some minor planets. Here is what’s called a 90-degree sort, looking only at the early cardinal signs. That’s another way of saying this is a list of planets and points that make conjunctions, squares or oppositions to the triple conjunction of Mercury, Mars and Pluto. A few stand out.

One is Hermes, an asteroid — that is right in the conjunction with Mercury, Mars and Pluto, to the degree. The Sabian symbol for this degree is: “Indians on the warpath; while some men row a well-filled canoe, others perform a war dance. Wait, didn’t this one turn up in the WikiLeaks cables?”

Hermes tossed into the mix adds a touch of the miraculous, or pertains to some secret matter. He is a rather meaningful figure in the history of astrology and other forms of magick, alchemy and science. (In the ancient astrological literature being translated by Project Hindsight, he is referred to as one of the ‘founders’ of astrology).

Across the dial in Cancer is Cyllarus. This is a centaur (Chiron-like body) that is exactly opposite the triple (quad, if you count Hermes) conjunction. One key phrase for Cyllarus is ‘out of the blue’. That is conjunct Kronos, a very slow-moving point (not a planet) that involves authority. Think of Kronos as a super-Saturn. This is not a day to cuss out a cop or to get pissed off at an IRS operator. It does seem like a great day to make some choices and take authority over your affairs.

Asteroid Amor is square the arrangement in Aries; that can represent “the conditions on unconditional love,” in the words of Martha Wescott, and this is conjunct Pelion — a centaur planet named for a mountain in Greece — but not just any old mountain. We are climbing the mountain of unconditional love. But it’s perilous, dark and shadowy. According to Ovid, Pelion is a remnant of the original creation of the world. It is prominent in the charts of Marilyn Monroe and Hitler, seeming to have a flare for drama and revenge.

Ophelia, an asteroid, is in Libra, also square the big conjunction; she is a character from Hamlet, the one who is “‘incapable of her own distress,” a reference to her being dead. With all this Mercury-Pluto going on, let’s give a big cancel-clear on that kind of message.

So what’s this all about? I don’t know really, except that we’re in the mix of it all right now; and I know that we’re likely to see the story of the ‘man from Mars’ advance this week, one way or another. We have an extremely angry, nervous political establishment in Washington, and we have a lot of banks on the brink of making a large investment in canned sardines seem sensible.

We also have a lot to learn — about knowledge, gaining knowledge and what to do with it once we have it. Mercury conjunct Hermes certainly emphasizes that point.

So, let’s keep an eye on this one. Pay attention to what you say, what you write and what you hear, and for sure, don’t text, or for that matter sext, while you’re driving. Especially in Buffalo.

Keep an eye on the Planet Waves daily blog for realtime updates, and remember to tune into my weekly podcast on Wednesday morning.

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

 

A Homeopathic Moment: Mercury Retrograde

Dear Planet Waves Reader:

Earlier this morning, Mercury stationed retrograde in Capricorn, conjunct Pluto. Mercury will be retrograde until Dec. 30, a span of time covering an eclipse of the Moon and the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice, as well as the holiday travel season. Mercury will dip back into late Sagittarius, treading in reverse over the Galactic Core, then after stationing direct make another conjunction to the core early next year. Before I get into a few other details of this astrology and what it may say about our most personal lives, I have several points of follow up on last week’s article about WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange.

Planet Waves
Image from the video calling card of the activist group Anonymous, which has declared war “against all enemies of Julian Assange.” The group this week took out the websites of MasterCard, Visa and the Swiss bank that froze Assange’s funds. The full video is a masterpiece of zeitgeist, capturing the spirit of global chaos mingled with technology. Other videos on the YouTube channel provide a closer look at the organization’s philosophy.

The two are closely related, as I will describe in a moment, though I would state straight out that Mercury retrograde is often a tipping point when it comes to the truth of some underlying matter being revealed. If that pattern holds up, we ain’t seen a thing compared to what we’re about to discover during the next few turbocharged weeks. Though this involves certain factors that are local to this moment (eclipses and Mercury retrograde), in the biggest sense, the world as it is becoming now is in the full throes of the Uranus-Pluto square that is the centerpiece of 2012-era astrology.

For astro-historians, this is part of the same cycle that gave us the 1960s, which were sparked by the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo.*

So far as I can tell, the WikiLeaks revelations are the most significant historical event since whatever happened on Sept. 11, 2001. Though the effect is subtler (so far), what has happened the past two weeks has taken government, the media and the public over a threshold of confronting actual truth. We are seeing confirmation of things that politically alert people have known for many years — but it’s finally coming up now, being brought to much wider awareness. You might even say coming up for healing. This is a homeopathic moment for world managers and media gatekeepers, who are now being given a dose of their own medicine. The concept of homeopathy is that ‘like cures like’. WikiLeaks is delivering, in potentized form, what they have been holding onto and not letting go of. The result of a successful remedy is often a healing crisis, and this is precisely what we are seeing.

The public is discovering what our ‘leaders’ have been up to, as the media is being compelled to report stories that it has systematically ignored or obscured for decades. I cover this and related topics Wednesday in my weekly podcast, where I describe how actual documents are the only thing that ever advance an important news story.

As a result, a new kind of war has broken out on the Internet — the first ever — between entities that would seek to censor WikiLeaks and a diversity of hackers, free speech advocates and legal experts who are coming to its defense.

The Mercury connection involves its current contact with Capricorn, Mars and Pluto: could we have a more fitting image of this situation than the combination of these energies? Mars and Pluto in Capricorn are taking us to the depths of what governments and corporations are really about. We get the picture as the foreclosure crisis grows and the rich try to write themselves a check for half a trillion dollars in the form of renewed tax cuts that they plan to borrow from China. Mercury is telling us a few things, such as: there is power in knowledge; strength in awareness; community in communication. There is power in knowing some history — illustrated by the retrograde (past emphasis) in Capricorn (where we find information about the goings-on of the past, and about corporate entities). This is blended with the compelling lunar North Node (dharma, true calling, current life challenges), also in early Capricorn. This, in turn, picks up the Aries Point because it’s early in one of the cardinal signs, drawing in millions of people who are affected around the globe. Mars so closely in the mix adds passion, and we are certainly seeing some of that.

Seemingly unstoppable forces are being revealed for what they are, how they think and how they work, all with the force of Pluto that is digging into the soil of existence and turning it over — particularly in the sphere of government and corporations. Looking at this another way, we see that the personal is indeed political (Aries Point theme) as Assange, an elemental force on the global political stage, is being held prisoner in relation to subjects emanating from his most private life. I cover that subject closely in this blog comment.

Assange turned himself in to a London court Tuesday morning, was denied bail and is still in custody, pending a hearing on extradition to Sweden. He was wanted for questioning in connection with two relationships he had over the summer, and in an unusual move, a high-level Interpol warrant was issued last week.

Notably, he hasn’t been charged with a crime by any country; given that his role is political, it would be fair to call him a political prisoner. From what we can tell after analyzing many accounts of the charges, these were consensual incidents that were later recast as something else, with the two separate ‘victims’ acting in collusion with one another to ‘seek advice’ from the police. This is a maneuver in Sweden that allows someone to implicate a person without actually making a false complaint. One involves the allegation of a condom breaking or sex without a condom, in a country where in such a case the male partner can be charged with a crime. The details of these allegations are so wrought with issues — both personal and legal — as to be an embarrassment. While it seems that Assange was not a perfect gentleman, it also seems that the prosecutor is testing out some new ‘feminist’ legal theories. There is a discussion of this subject matter at this blog post on Planet Waves.

Assange will be represented by the renowned Australian/British human rights attorney Geoffrey Robertson, who will begin by helping him fight extradition to Sweden. Robertson, considered one of the brightest legal minds in the world, is said to be one of the few attorneys who is both a specialist in free speech cases in England and in extradition cases involving Scandinavian nations.

Even as it scrambles to recover from the damage caused by the leaked documents, the U.S. government has gone to war against WikiLeaks, though neither Assange nor his organization has been charged with any crimes associated with the release of the cables. WikiLeaks, under pressure from the U.S., has had its .org domain taken away, it’s been kicked off of its American servers under pressure from Sen. Joe Lieberman, and has lost access to cash flow through MasterCard, Visa and PayPal. The Swiss, who served as the central bank for the Nazis, for innumerable members of the Mafia and other notorious international outlaws, have closed Assange’s bank account there. That is remarkable in itself.

There were protests in London and Sydney on Thursday supporting Assange and WikiLeaks (plus massive demonstrations in London related to education budget cuts and increasing fees, wherein students reclaimed Parliament Square as a protest space for the first time in a generation).

About 1,000 websites around the world posted mirrors of WikiLeaks, making sure that the site is impenetrable against censorship. The collective Anonymous vowed revenge “against all enemies of Julian Assange” and its many hackers this week began in earnest, taking down the websites of MasterCard, Visa and the Swiss bank that froze WikiLeaks’ funds.

Speaking of hacking, a purported birth time for Assange has been found, or rather a few of them all close to 2:05 pm. The sources range from “a close family friend” to an informant in the bureau of records or hospital where Assange was born. The data, published by The Mountain Astrologer magazine, seems solid. The chart gives Scorpio rising and a 12th house Scorpio Moon (illustrating the ‘secret dossier’ and one who might find it) and places his powerful Chiron/Eris conjunction in the 6th house — he is a revolutionary who has aimed his arrow at the military itself. I cover this chart in my current podcast.

Meanwhile, the leaked cables are continuing to emerge, though the central issue — the content of the cables — has lost some steam in the mainstream press. The Guardian in the UK continues to be the leading voice, with the latest revelations involving the fiasco surrounding the Venezuelan oil business. And we are learning more about how the United States’ presumed closest Arab ally, the Saudis, are providing money for Iranian terrorists and promoting extremism in their children, while goading the United States to bomb Iran.

Speaking as one who has covered many scandals and has followed world events night and day for more than 20 years, here is how this feels. Time after time, we have seen world leaders, particularly Americans, act with impunity against nations and their people. Bucking the overwhelming majority of world opinion, Iraq was blamed for Sept. 11 and invaded and disastrous war was begun. By modest estimates, the war in Iraq has killed more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians (some estimates go 10 times that high; in either case it is tantamount to genocide). More than 5,000 American families have suffered the loss of a loved one in the military, and tens of thousands of vets are returning with severe brain trauma, only to find inadequate, underfunded or nonexistent support services.

Billions of dollars have been stolen from the federal treasury, from banks and from millions of people whose homes are being foreclosed. The world economy is faltering, and the wealthiest people, many of whom made their fortunes profiting from war, feel they are entitled to lavish tax breaks, with no plan to pay for them.

I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to fall, for someone or something to resist this onslaught — and for the first time, this feels like it. WikiLeaks has sparked not just an antiwar movement, but wide-scale exposure of the crimes of war — and this arrives not a moment too soon. What we are seeing is an actual consequence of the crimes that have been committed against the people and the Earth. I don’t suggest anyone look for a neat and clean ‘outcome’ to these events. Though you’re unlikely to see anyone say this on cable news, I believe that this moment of radical honesty has inaugurated a new era in world history. It’s the first real penetration of the seemingly insurmountable wall of deception that we know has characterized awareness for so long.

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn

Let’s focus in on the astrology. To sum up, this Mercury retrograde is going to do for our personal lives what WikiLeaks is doing for the world. If the government and corporations keep secrets from us, we do a fine job of keeping secrets from ourselves, and creating family systems that are based on deceit and its inevitable power dramas. This retrograde phase can be a refreshing change of pace.

To recap: Friday morning, Mercury stationed retrograde in early Capricorn, in a close conjunction to Pluto, and quite close to Mars and the North Node. This counts as an Aries Point event because everything is in the early degrees of a cardinal sign, talking directly to the first degree of Aries — the one that emphasizes the connection between what is private and what is public, going in both directions. Private matters are having an influence on global events, and the changes of the world are having a direct influence on our individual lives. This often comes with the sensation of the world crashing into the living room, or being subjected to vast forces of which we have no control.

Planet Waves

Chart sample for the moment Mercury stationed retrograde, at 7:04:26 am EST. The chart, set for New York, features yet another appearance by the Pholus-Great Attractor alignment in Sagittarius (marked by the little pink flag). The Sun is approaching the Galactic Center (not shown in chart, but close to 27 Sagg), as is the asteroid Pallas (which represents political and legal affairs that are dominating the news). Four points are shown in Capricorn: Mars, the North Node, Pluto and Mercury. Mercury will now retrograde over each of the planets shown with the exception of Pholus, before stationing direct on Dec. 30.

Consider the combination of energies: the background energy field is Capricorn (corporations, government, family and the lingering influences of religion, such as guilt). This is connected to the world stage via the Aries Point. The North Node is right there, inching its way toward 00 Capricorn, with a total lunar eclipse about to fully energize both nodes. The North Node pulls us into unfamiliar territory and has a feeling of confronting the unknown. The South Node, where the eclipse happens, grants a release point from the past and a break in continuty. Mars, meanwhile, has just arrived in Capricorn, it’s about to make a conjunction to Pluto, and Mercury is about to retrograde over the whole arrangement.

Setting aside all the mythology connected to Mercury retrograde, such as lost keys and electronic gadgets acting strangely, let’s remember that Mercury is a planet associated with messages, communication and the mind. It is a personal planet (close to the Sun), so it speaks directly to/from us; and its influence is now being combined with a variety of forces — from the very personal energy of Mars (desire, will, anger, aggression) to that of Pluto (soul energy, evolution, world karma) and the North Node (which can also be described as dharma — or acting as if to hold the world together).

Mercury is giving a voice to this diversity of themes, and it may be confusing and personally overwhelming as all this new information pours in.

That is to say, inner material is arising rapidly. With Mercury, Mars and Pluto involved, you can be sure that some of this subject matter is sexual. Indeed, you may find yourself wanting to admit to yourself or state out loud what you have never before been willing to reveal. Using the life of Julian Assange as an example, we have a window into how unresolved material in one’s personal life can create a disproportionately large effect in a public life — and we all have a public life. The message of this Mercury retrograde is: clean closets.

You may finally be willing to make inquiries on subjects you’ve avoided for decades. This may involve family secrets (a domain of Capricorn) that you’ve wondered about or dragged around for years. And, what you learn will have the power to change your life, or said another way, you can take this as power to make changes. Looking at this in the most intimately personal way, the overriding theme is the paradox of guilt and desire. Where sex is concerned, many feel ‘damned either way’, or live in some form of a no-win, double bind or paradox.

We are now heading into an eclipse of the Moon on Dec. 21 that stretches from the last degree of Gemini to the last degree of Sagittarius. It’s a total lunar eclipse that happens right on the solstice, which multiplies (rather than adds together) the effects of the Aries Point, the eclipse and all the high-voltage planets loaded there.

About two weeks ago, just prior to the WikiLeaks revelations, I commented on a New Moon in the last degrees of Taurus/Scorpio: “This sequence of events has the feeling of something coming out of the background. It’s as if the Moon-Sun opposition happens in the wings off to the side of the stage, just out of sight — then suddenly it becomes obvious what’s going on.”

Well, what happens next may not be entirely obvious to everyone — but what we are witnessing and experiencing are the birth contractions of personal and global change that are the defining theme of what we call 2012. Part of that change is the raising of awareness about what we have so blithely denied about the world, about ourselves and about the place where the two meet.

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

*This is covered in my earlier series Born in the Sixties, as well as by Richard Tarnas in his article Epochs of Revolution, posted in Cosmic Confidential.

PS: For homeopaths in the audience, if this is a homeopathic moment, what remedy is described? I have a guess. Write to me with yours (dreams@planetwaves.net) and I’ll reply.

Judith Gayle’s Political Waves will now appear Saturdays on Daily Astrology & Adventure — the Planet Waves blog. She also has her own blog, called Political Waves.

 

Planet Waves

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, December 10, 2010, #843 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries (March 20-April 19)
I suggest you call it a year on working toward any sort of professional advances or job searching, and shift the focus of your energy inward. The light is shining in your inner world and it’s rather complicated in the angles of your chart where you have to relate to society in a responsible way — so complex as to be counterproductive. Therefore with Mercury retrograde in that sector of your chart, devote your energy to closing up the business of the year and tying up any loose ends. Your inward focus will be far more productive toward anything you’re striving for than what amounts to pointless busy work. Yes, check your email and your voicemail and respond selectively to what is important. Yet the juicy fruit is in your stoking your imagination, creating your vision and nourishing your dreams. If you’re getting sick of hearing about the recession, unplug the television and turn on the Beatles.
Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

 

Taurus (April 19- May 20)
Now is the time to start a fire and burn any beliefs that you don’t want as a joyful year-end, decade-end sacrifice. By now you know what most of those beliefs are. You also know that most of the time, it seems difficult to change what seem like your fundamental ideas. It won’t be difficult now, on many accounts; what is usually hidden from view is now out in the open, for one thing. For another, you’ve seen the negative effects of believing what is not true or what doesn’t really apply to you. One problem with getting rid of old beliefs is that it really helps to have something to replace them with. Usually the new beliefs displace the old ones, though at the moment your mind is a dynamo of invention — that’s all the restless energy. In case you need guidance, here is how I would sum it up. Replace guilt with the absolute freedom to feel. Replace expectation with what you want to offer the world or those you love. Replace the concept of “God” with the reality of Self.
Taurus Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Gemini (May 20- June 21)
Keep it simple, and beware what you commit to. The usual advice of Mercury retrograde is “don’t sign, don’t buy.” With Mercury retrograde in your 8th solar house (contracts, investments, taxes) then, it would be prudent to back off from all such business until it stations direct, or preferably, after the solar eclipse in early January. You will know more then than you do now. You will know more about the people you are dealing with — which brings me to the ways that the current series of aspects may be reflected in your personal relationships. The theme translates to commitment in that zone where sexual relationships overlap with financial ones. That usually translates to marriage-like relationships. You will need to be an excellent listener through this phase, so that you really have a grasp where the people close to you are coming from. It may not be easy to avoid taking things personally, but a little detachment will go a long way.
Gemini Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Cancer (June 21- July 22)
There are times when fast communication works, and times to let discussions go on for weeks. Now would be an excellent moment for the latter approach. I suggest you make no attempt to finalize arrangements, opinions or intentions; rather, observe and deduce. Mercury retrograde is an interesting phase for people with Cancer or Cancer rising because it engages you with so much of what you’ve tucked away in the hidden corners of your mind (that’s the natural relationship between Cancer and Mercury). As you discuss anything with another person, you’re getting a window into either what you believe, or what you don’t want to believe. As the conversation evolves, move slowly, as if you’re moving underwater. Remember that you’re relating to some of your deepest material. Be gentle with everyone and you will learn a lot — and open the door to a hidden dimension of pleasure.

Cancer Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)
Put a little extra emphasis on your health. That includes getting enough movement to stay flexible, and making sure you don’t over-exert yourself, say, shoveling snow if you live in Buffalo and you don’t exercise regularly. Get enough rest. Make sure that the floor stays dry and that you not only drive with caution, but also get in and out of the car with caution. As for your mind, the thing that runs the body: any stress management, or reduction, techniques you can put to work these days would be a good idea to warm up now. Remember, you can only do so much work, and only so much work is necessary. There is a long list of things that can wait till after January 2nd, and I suggest you keep that list current. Focus on what needs attention now, and when you’re not focused on something, let your unconscious work on it quietly in the background.

Leo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)
Sexual adventures have a way of becoming something else. We know this, whether they morph into friendships, enemy-ships, love affairs, entanglements, scandals or actual loving relationships. But the thing to remember is that they tend to transform, and there is an old expression that ‘sex changes everything’. It transforms us. All of that said, I suggest you focus on observing and participating consciously in that process of transformation. Part of that is going to involve monitoring your language. Are you speaking the language of peace or of power? Are you hearing words that invite or repel? In an odd way, your reality will follow the words you choose. I suggest you choose carefully, and listen just as thoughtfully. Ultimately this is the test: are your experiences creative? If so, that is where you want to be. If not, then gradually guide yourself to a new place, remembering as Adrienne Rich suggested: words are images; words are maps.

Virgo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)
Whatever may be going on with you now, look for the emotional roots of the matter. Everything physical, spiritual or mental will — for now — come back to an emotional state that is influencing the rest of your reality. Your feelings will likely be grounded in your domestic situation, which may in turn be magnified by any encounter with your family of origin that is imminent as the holidays draw near. How does this translate, in practical terms? I suggest you spend plenty of time alone, getting a sense of your interior weather. Adjust your commitments according to how you actually feel rather than how you think you should feel. Take extra measures to take care of yourself, and follow the healer’s guide, ‘take care of yourself before you take care of anyone else’. This goes against the conditioning of our culture, especially for many women. If there is a ‘lesson’ in what you’re experiencing, this may be it.

Libra Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)
Beware of head-trips — the kind you inflict on yourself, and the kind that others inflict on you. In fact I suggest you do your best to avoid all conversations of ‘issues’ with anyone you think has issues. If it sounds like I’m saying make nice and keep things superficial, you’re correct, and it’s probably the first time you’ve ever heard me say anything to that tune. Yet with the energy you save, I suggest you carefully investigate the inner ties that are binding you to your situation. This is likely to be a matter of your mental outlook, though that has many constituents, which include believing things that were perhaps true at one time but are not true today. Or, they were true for someone else but are not true for you. Be aware that you may be feeling particularly sensitive to what others are feeling, which could qualify as empathy or which could coax you into codependency. You’re your own person — live that way.

The Scorpio Audio Report is now done. This reading includes more than an hour of astrology and 20 minutes of tarot custom created for those with Scorpio Sun, Moon or rising. Priced at $14.95, it makes a useful and economical gift. Use this link for instant access.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
Make some fast decisions to slow down your outward flow of cash, and quickly return to more creative matters. Your chart is full of mixed signals at the moment, and if you listen to them, you’ll get in the way of your ability to manifest the abundance you know is on its way. Therefore, I am suggesting you focus on something else, on something that feels good and creative and that leaves you with a sense of belonging and participation. While you’re doing this, a deep level of instincts will take care of your survival, instincts that are likely to be confused when you translate them into concepts. Mozart is said to have asked his wife to read to him while he composed music, so as to distract the ‘word’ part of his brain and leave the rest of it free to create music. In a similar way I suggest you distract yourself from facts and figures, and spend your time in the abundantly lush territory of your creative life.

Sagittarius audio coming soon!

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)
By the way, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a really interesting alignment in your chart right now. Capricorn plays by different rules, though this still may be playing a tad of havoc with your head. Yet somehow you’re in your element. You don’t need to work harder or think deeper — you’re looking for the key idea that’s going to unlock a puzzle and set your energy free. The way this is likely to work is in layers, and each layer will have its access point. Unlike most humans do these days, I suggest you remember the phases of this journey, because as you collect these revelations, they will add up to more than the sum of the parts; or said another way, you add up to more than the sum of your talents, your ideas and your good deeds. A lot more. Happy discovering that fact.

Capricorn Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
As you know, you’re not the cool, logical person that the world perceives you to be, and that you love to be when you can. Particularly lately, you’re an intricate, complex and inwardly focused critter, always preparing to leap off the next psychic cliff. What is really interesting, and exciting, is that you’re losing your intimidation about exploring your own labyrinth. You’re fully aware that there is a vast dimension to you that has no adherence to logic, no loyalty to being rational, no need to make sense all the time. What you would benefit from is clarifying your relationship to the past. It still seems more solid to you than it really is. I suggest you consider the idea that the past is an interpretation. And as you look at it differently, that interpretation will change — and as you see the past in an original way, you will create an interpretation that favors you.

Aquarius Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)
Focus on who you are — not who others think you are, or who you think others think you are. That is entirely their business. It would, of course, be a triumph in the life of a fish to not take personally what others seem to think of you personally, but it’s a huge distraction, and besides, you would be surprised how little many others think of anyone besides themselves. I say this because you’re visible at the moment — it’s that time of year. If what you do in life is designed to reach out, trust that you’re doing just that. Yet remind yourself that you’re not really reaching — you’re emanating a vibration. I suggest you focus your awareness on tuning that vibe like a guitar. Harmonize with your desire, and very quietly be who you are and nobody else. That is your point of influence and indeed of power.
Pisces Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

In the Dark of Daytime

Editor’s Note: For those following the story of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, Assange turned himself in on charges unrelated to the document leaks today in a London court. I am developing the story at this page on the Planet Waves blog. — efc

Sometimes you don’t need so much astrology to do astrology. Everyone knows that in the Northern Hemisphere we tend to have very short days around the time of the winter solstice, which is approaching in about three weeks. At the December solstice, the astrological system resets, the Sun enters the sign Capricorn.

For many people, an utterly mad three weeks these are. There’s the mix of end-of-the-year business with holiday shopping and preparing to either travel, or have guests. People are counting pennies, to do their holiday gift shopping and still pay the bills. You can be the most devout atheist
and still get caught in the madness. Then there are the all-but-inevitable encounters with family, which can involve travel and breaking all of your routines.

During these three weeks, the days get ever-shorter. Your body has the feeling that the Sun has disappeared, and the deep and primal part of your brain is wondering whether it will ever come back. For many people, this is associated with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — that is, depression that is caused by the weather effects of winter, often compounded by other forms of stress.

To keep this at bay, you have many options, though the best one — regular exercise — takes effort and focus that may seem impossible this time of year. Still, if you’re feeling frustrated or gloomy, see if a few visits to the gym don’t turn it around for you. Better yet (or in addition), try using your lunch break for a brisk 20- or 30-minute walk, since taking in direct sunlight through the eyes is known to counteract SAD.

I also suggest you do some research on vitamin D. Everyone who works inside, lives far from the equator or uses sunscreen is likely to be deficient in this substance, which isn’t really a vitamin (it’s a kind of proto-hormone). If you start reading ‘alternative’ health literature, you will see the perspective that current daily allowances are ridiculously low, and there are exceedingly few food sources of vitamin D. Keeping your vitamin D levels right, or even increasing them a little, can have a profound effect on your state of mind. The only way to get it is to supplement or to get out in the Sun. And if it’s dark much of the day that’s unlikely to happen. If you want to do some research, a great resource is a site called Mercola.com published by an osteopathic doctor in Chicago.

Meanwhile, maintaining nutrition will help, drinking plenty of water, and making sure that you take your vices in moderation.

There are other truly strange astrological effects that take place at this time of year, associated with the Sun’s passage through Sagittarius. It’s not merely the holidays and the days growing so much shorter that creates the sense of compression and veritable panic. The Sun is now going past an inter-galactic point called the Great Attractor, then by mid-month it’s passing by our own Galactic Core (the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy). These points can feel like too darned much energy all at once, which we simply cannot process through normal linear means. It’s necessary to make peace with a measure of chaos, and to prioritize what is the most important you, as well as what you feel you must do for others.

Do what you can to de-stress. I suggest you do less, spend less, travel less, and focus on what you truly want to do — to the greatest extent that you can. Some things are difficult to avoid. Others are easier and I suggest you take every vaguely reasonable option to avoid everything you don’t want to do. What we think of as being decided for us often involves decisions we make ourselves; see if you can notice when you get to one of those junctures.

The astrology through the end of the year and into the first week of the New Year is unusually complex; Mercury is retrograde through the last three weeks of December, and there are eclipses that happen on Dec. 21 (on the solstice) and Jan 4. So everything I’ve said here applies double. Therefore, your astrologer says: don’t be a robot. Be human, and take care of yourself before you try to take care of anyone else.

What we typically miss during holiday time is some of the most profoundly introspective astrology of the year. I think that if we focused inwardly, we would be a lot happier. That said, there are other factors that transcend all the static that is currently afoot — in particular two conjunctions that are opening the way to a new world. One is Chiron conjunct Neptune, which is about clarifying your vision for your life. The other is Jupiter conjunct Uranus, which is about feeding that vision with new ideas and information.

I realize that every 20 seconds, cable news is telling us how horrid it all is out there, and how things are getting worse and worse. Yet the solutions that work in your life are not going to involve any law that the Senate passes. Ultimately you will connect with the core energy source in your being that is doing its best to guide your life to exactly where you want to be. So, this holiday season, I suggest you keep the incoming influences positive, and consciously ride this once-in-a-lifetime astrology to a truly creative destination.

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

The Most Wanted Man in the World

Dear Planet Waves Reader:

When I was teaching English 101 at SUNY New Paltz, I assigned my classes a book called Reading the News. In its clear-headed approach to understanding how journalism works, its first chapter was titled, “Who Makes the News.” That’s a statement, not a question: who makes the news — before what, where, when and why. We want to know about people. We want to know what they do, and we crave a window into their psyches, perhaps in search of ourselves.

Planet Waves
Julian Assange, the most wanted man in the world. He evokes the archetype of the hero-outlaw, or a character from a graphic novel — but he’s a real person, doing real work. Photo: Agence France-Presse.

Currently, that ‘who’ would be a man named Julian Assange. In 2007, the native of Australia created an organization called WikiLeaks, an online clearinghouse for people who want to reveal injustice. Whistleblowers can upload classified or confidential documents into the WikiLeaks system from anywhere. WikiLeaks authenticates the documents, then working with news organizations, selectively makes them public. You may recall reading about WikiLeaks in this space a few months ago, when the organization published the Afghan War Diary, a collection of internal memos and field reports from the U.S. military’s database [see Clearing the Smog of War].

At the time, I described this as a manifestation of Chiron conjunct Neptune in Aquarius — a moment of clarity and revelation for a country that has been huffing the shoe polish of denial for many decades, particularly when it comes to the conduct of the military. That conjunction, which gradually started gathering steam in 2005, is now working at full strength, and it seems to be getting results.

Assange is back in the news, along with dozens of stories the media has been ignoring forever and seven Sundays. WikiLeaks this week made public 250,000 pages of memos from the United States diplomatic community. The latest revelation is that the United States is propping up a government in Afghanistan where most of the money goes to graft. To date, we have spent $371 billion in Afghanistan only to learn that Hamid Karzai, the president, is personally facilitating the drug trade. “Mr. Karzai pardoned five border police officers caught with 124 kilograms (about 273 pounds) of heroin and intervened in a drug case involving the son of a wealthy supporter,” one cable revealed, according to Friday’s New York Times. U.S. diplomats said they believe that every cabinet minister except the minister of agriculture is involved in graft and bribery. The war has now been going on for nine years and two months. We’re reading about this today?

Earlier in the week we learned from the leaked cables that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered her diplomatic corps to serve as a spy ring on the United Nations (including the secretary general) and foreign diplomats, telling them to collect everything from credit card numbers to computer passwords to DNA samples from saliva left on teacups.

“She [Clinton] should resign, if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up,” Assange said to Time magazine this week.

Planet Waves
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reads up on Iraq. As a senator, she gave an impassioned speech supporting the invasion.

The cables also reveal that the Obama administration worked to protect Cheney-Bush administration officials from their conduct interrogating detained terrorist suspects. One cable details how “the Obama administration, working with Republicans, leaned on Spain to derail this potential prosecution,” AlterNet reported Thursday. And on his program Thursday night, Dylan Ratigan discussed cables involving Saudi Arabia that reveal how the country both funds terrorism based in Iran, and was or is trying to manipulate the United States government to bomb Iran at the same time.

How does a computer hacker get himself into the position of being able to call for the secretary of state to resign — and all the major media are writing about it? How is he getting his way with those who so recently believed they had total power, secrecy and impunity? Well, with courage, conscience and talent. And timing; all year I’ve been writing about the high-impact astrology (such as the Aries Point alignment of Saturn, Uranus and Pluto) that looked, long in advance, like it would rearrange world politics. Plus we are currently under a potent alignment in Sagittarius (the sign of international relationships) focused specifically on that theme [see And What Are We Attracting?]. This alignment peaks Sunday with the Sagittarius New Moon [related article below].

It’s a plain fact that the United States has gotten away with murder for decades, manipulating governments around the world, staging coups, starting wars and lying about all of it. Now one man comes along and opens up a floodgate of evidence of what has happened, and what is happening, and he cannot be ignored. So far as I know, Assange is the first person in two generations to openly take an actual stand against the United States in actions rather than words. Nothing against Code Pink protesting the war outside George W. Bush’s ranch, but Assange is personally rearranging the chess board with nonviolent direct action.

Who makes the news. Because we have a name and a face, the mainstream media propaganda machine has to actually report on many of the international issues it loves to pretend does not exist. Anything Assange does is news — and then they mention that he happens to have proof of conspiracies and war crimes. And the more public officials such as Clinton point to Assange as the problem, the more it begs the question what his documents say.

Top-Secret Chart Reveals a Real-Life Revolutionary

Assange till now had been concealing his birthdate, and thus any information about his chart. In my last article, I used the data for WikiLeaks itself, which is available through the website’s registration information. We now have Assange’s personal data because INTERPOL posted his birthday earlier this week, listing him as one of its most wanted international criminals.

Planet Waves
Julian Assange has until now concealed his birthdate. This chart is based on the data published Monday night by INTERPOL. The blue planet on the left — shaped like an H — is Uranus, which is square the Sun — the yellow circle planet at the very top of the chart. Two features in this chart that I haven’t mentioned in the article are a complex square between Venus and Ceres (in Gemini) and Pluto in Virgo. Another interesting feature is that he has an exact conjunction between Mercury and the asteroid Psyche in the sign Cancer. This suggests that while he obviously has a powerful intellect, he does as much feeling with his mind as he does thinking; and that his thought process is guided by what may to him feel like a flaw or sense of weakness. That sensation draws in the soul quality of Psyche.

Is he being hunted for espionage, cyber-terrorism or revealing state secrets? No, they say he’s wanted for rape, in Sweden, and European authorities have launched a sweeping manhunt across the continent and into the UK to find him. In case you’re wondering whether he actually committed sex crimes, when was the last time you heard of an international dragnet for an alleged rapist? Notably, Sweden’s laws don’t require physical evidence of rape, only testimony. The case actually seems to involve whether condoms were used during consensual sex with two different women he met at a political conference. Note, he has not been charged with any crime, and a new warrant had to be issued Thursday because the old one was defective.

Since Assange had succeeded at keeping even his birthdate secret, this is something of an astrological coup, apparently first published Monday night to the astrological community by Lynn Hayes. Our chart for Assange is set for noon, because we don’t know the birth time. However, it’s a noon chart that goes straight to the point.

The first thing that catapults out of this chart is Sun square Uranus. Uranus disrupts, transforms, up-ends and blazes forward. This combination (through the influence of Uranus) brings in the revolutionary, rebellious and moreover inventive principle, expressed at full strength by the Sun. This aspect is in the DNA of Uranus — the Sun was square Uranus on the day that the planet was discovered. Many inventors and scientists have this or a similar aspect, and it contains Assange’s gift for technology. When you think of the Sun square Uranus, remember Nathan Hale: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Sun-Uranus is the full embodiment of the forward-thinking Uranian principle, which is associated with Prometheus; that’s the guy who ‘stole the fire of the gods’ — a fitting image of what Assange is doing.

Planet Waves
These are the planets and points conjunct, square or opposite Assange’s Sun in Cancer. Isis is closely conjunct Uranus; this is a gift for assembling many small parts. Minerva is opposite Chiron/Eris, which brings in the theme of politics and serves like a guardian angel. Persephone opposite the Sun is a nice image of his affinity for the underworld, and Borasisi says, ‘Something is true if we believe it’s true’. It’s how belief activates perception. Sauer, an asteroid, is named for a river in central Europe; I’ve never used it in a chart, but it’s exactly conjunct his Sun.

(Others with this aspect include Joseph Campbell, Bono, Galileo, Bill Gates, Marconi, and those visionary birds of a feather, Barbara and George Bush.)

Casting his chart for noon, Uranus is exactly rising, as if to emphasize the point, giving the aspect emphasis and an extra means of expression. Notably, this square is hanging out at about 10 degrees of the cardinal signs — close enough to the Aries Point to count, and currently aspected by the approach of transiting Pluto. (Pluto is opposing Assange’s Sun, and square his Uranus.) And it’s in line with the Uranus-Pluto square of 2012, an aspect that will last for years and is gradually turning the revolutionary power of Uranus and the evolutionary mojo of Pluto loose on the world. This will come with Assange’s Uranian opposition — which represents attaining a new intellectual peak. Let’s say he’s just getting warmed up.

So, his chart is right in line with whatever 2012 is about — and make no mistake, what he’s doing is part of the story. When we think of the kinds of social progress we might associate with 2012, and the ‘paradigm shift’ and ‘people waking up’, how exactly might that look? Part of what is keeping the world situation so intractable, and so resistant to change, is that so few people know the deeper truth about many of the things that affect them, or even have access to it.

Many who do insist on denial as a means of persisting in their ways. This is an opening. It’s like the press is playing catch-up on what we missed during decades of fixation on Madonna, Michael Jackson and Paris Hilton. When the truth is revealed, there’s a release of energy — and the effect is unpredictable. But when we wonder just how it is that one would begin to dismantle the out-of-control military and espionage machine referred to in cables as USG, it could easily begin with an event like this, that pierces the deception that it is 100% necessary to maintain a condition of nonstop war.

Eruption of Self-Awareness: Chiron and Eris

In a similar vein, we see an exact conjunction of Chiron and Eris, two relatively new planets. Chiron (the maverick, healer, bringer of awareness) was discovered in 1977 and Eris (associated with identity crisis, disruptions and the castaway feminine aspect of both men and women) was anointed in 2006 (revamping the system of planetary categorization in the process — including the ‘demotion’ of Pluto). Chiron and Eris were conjunct through the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the conjunction is exact to the degree in Assange’s chart. In past articles I’ve associated this aspect with the revolutionary nature of the ‘second wave’ feminist movement that was thriving at the time.

Planet Waves
Seventies-styled feminism may look kitsch today, and in many ways it sent a mixed signal. But it also brought a breakthrough in awareness and social progress, messy and incomplete though it was.

Chiron and Eris together in Aries (the sign of self and initiative) sparks an evolutionary impulse for self-actualization. It is about healing the fragmented sense of self that afflicts so many. There were many innovative therapy movements thriving at the time, which are all but forgotten today — gestalt, transactional analysis, primal, EST and others. The ’70s were said to be the ‘me generation’, and though this had many selfish and destructive results, there was overall a breakthrough in self-awareness and consciousness. The anti-Vietnam movement was thriving and Nixon was about to be busted for Watergate. Be Here Now was published, along with Rules for Radicals and The Anarchist Cookbook.

For those curious about the degree symbol of the conjunction, the degree is 14 Aries, and the image is, “A serpent coiling near a man and a woman.” Dane Rudhyar explains: “Identification in bipolar relationship with the impersonal rhythm of natural energy,” or in a short phrase, “ritualization of relationship.” Assange likens what he does to playing chess — a ritualized game with very few rules.

In his chart, the Sun, Chiron, Uranus and Eris are all in aspect — they are all working together, though the tension is rather incredible. It’s nothing less than you would expect in the chart of someone who would dare to take on such a massive issue, and succeed at getting noticed.

Saturn Opposite Neptune: The Shapeshifter

Assange also has Saturn opposite Neptune. Saturn contains and solidifies; Neptune dissolves. This is an illustration of tension, but it’s subtle, and it’s a picture of his quality of invisibility and ubiquitous presence. This aspect is one of his power sources as a hacker and his best camouflage as kind of hero-outlaw.

Planet Waves
Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat. He has Saturn opposite Neptune in his natal chart, and is a kind of shapeshifter.

Assange started his career as a prodigy teenage hacker. He was arrested, but the prosecutor in the case said, “There is just no evidence that there was anything other than sort of intelligent inquisitiveness and the pleasure of being able to — what’s the expression — surf through these various computers.” The charges were dropped. His hacker name was ‘Mendax’, derived from a phrase of Horace: splendide mendax, or ‘nobly untruthful’ — a fine description of Saturn-Neptune in one of its more evolved manifestations.

Let’s consider how this works. Saturn and Neptune mirror one another in his chart. Looked at one way, Assange plays the role of Neptune the dissolver, and the power structure plays the role of Saturn, whose barriers are being melted away. Or as Tracy Delaney suggested while we were brainstorming this aspect Thursday, Saturn (in Gemini) is like a cold wind blowing on the cloud of Neptune, freezing and crystallizing the pattern of deception, so we can see what it is.

Saturn-Neptune is an illustration of his shape-shifting power — Sasha Baron Cohen, the actor who created the Borat character and Ali G, has this one as well. His mind has penetrating power: he’s a mindf*cker, and we love him for it. Just as Cohen’s characters penetrate the minds of the people he’s pranking, Assange soaks through the previously impermeable walls of power. Both work with a combination of discipline and illusion. Both, in Tracy’s words, “have a kind of congenital inability to be intimidated. No point throwing rocks at a cloud.”

Notably, Assange has a centaur planet conjunct Saturn — it’s called Amycus. In some earlier research, Tracy and I deduced that this planet is prominent in people who have a knack for getting the word out — including the Yes Men.

Logos and Atlantis: The Word Abused, and Revealed

Let’s check in with one last telling detail — an aspect between two minor planets. The first is Atlantis (an asteroid discovered in 1931). Atlantis is associated with the abuse of technology and its power, and the sense of ‘imminent demise’ of civilization due to the unbridled use of that power. Then there’s Logos (a small planet right beyond Neptune’s orbit, discovered in 1997). Logos is actually a binary, with a co-planet of comparable size, called Zoe. (Technically the pair is now referred to as Logos | Zoe.) Research by Kirsti Melto indicates that Logos | Zoe is prominent in the charts of breakthroughs in computers and programming. Zoe means ‘life’. I think of Logos as the framework of technology (it means ‘the word’) and Zoe as being the spiritual content, when present — the life inside the machine.

In Julian’s chart these two are in a perfect square aspect. This is happening late in the cardinal signs, from Atlantis in Libra to Logos | Zoe in Cancer. He takes this personally; technology for Assange is a relationship, and he is personally embodying the ethical struggle suggested by Atlantis. We have all long suspected that our addiction to, and abuse of, technology has the power to take down our civilization.

Assange is aware of this, and he is a kind of personal intervention in the process of a society that is committing suicide. And I do mean personal. With that Scorpio Moon and Cancer Sun, he feels what he is doing. He is acting on a combination of instinct, intuition and intellect — but make no mistake, he is not detached from his work. This is personal; it’s a matter of heart and soul, and he is aware the influence that he can have by using technology to reveal the truth.

“To radically shift regime behavior we must think clearly and boldly, for if we have learned anything, it is that regimes do not want to be changed. We must think beyond those who have gone before us and discover technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears could not,” he once posted to his blog, explaining the WikiLeaks philosophy.

The regimes’ resistance to change is their worst weakness. They become utterly brittle, and creative activity ceases. That makes them vulnerable — as we can plainly see.

Yours & truly,

Eric Francis

Additional research: Tracy Delaney, Amanda Painter, Carol van Strum.

 

And for our next act…the Sagittarius New Moon

When you look at a conventional astrology chart, you’re only seeing a small part of the picture. This is little comfort to those who stare at the page (of a normal chart) wondering what the holy heck it all means — and if you’re trying to learn, give it time and pay attention to your experience of existence. Let’s have a go at the Sagittarius New Moon.

Planet Waves
Sagittarius New Moon set for Washington, DC. Appropriately, Pallas — the planet of politics — is the highest point in the chart.

Here is a conventional chart, okay, a little more than conventional — it has a few extra points. It’s set for Washington, DC, since that is where the action seems to be these days. And I do mean action — with the WikiLeaks revelations erupting on five different fronts, 42 members of the Senate (I won’t name their political party affiliation) signed a letter saying they won’t let anything happen till we charge the national credit card and give $700 billion more to the wealthiest Americans while the government supports a heroin trader in Afghanistan to the tune of a million dollars per soldier, per year. A new banking crisis is looming — that would be Subprime Part Two. And though nobody has mentioned it this week, despite the chilly weather in most of North America, the ice caps are still melting.

The Sagittarius New Moon is conjunct Pholus, a centaur (a little Chiron-like planet) that opens the jar and lets stuff out that’s not coming back in. My favorite key phrase is “small cause, big effect,” which I learned from my old friend and teacher in Munich, astrologer and classical guitarist Robert von Heeren. The Sun-Moon-Pholus conjunction is sitting on the Great Attractor, the biggest thing known in the universe. So it’s fitting that, this very week, every issue that has been suppressed for a decade is coming out all at once.

Meanwhile, Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, is conjunct Uranus — that’s big news all by itself; and Chiron and Neptune are in a near-perfect conjunction in Aquarius. All of this amplifies and features into the dynamic of this rather potent and unpredictable New Moon.

Yet there is much more going on behind the scenes. I present this information at a slight risk of overwhelm, but I want to show you what it’s possible to see and work with. I’ll give a couple of examples and leave you to your weekly horoscope.  This little table tells us what, from about 100 points that Tracy Delaney (the programmer) and I have tossed into the box, shows up in mid-Sagittarius. Amycus speaks of getting the word out. Icarus is about peak experiences.

Planet Waves
Points in mid-Sagittarius, at the Sagittarius New Moon.

Sun and Moon are precisely, to the degree, conjunct one of the earlier centaurs — Hylonome. This is about the cry of the poor (key phrase from Juan Revilla) and it addresses collective grief and ‘senseless’ loss. Note, of the points I routinely use, this is the only one occupying the degree of the New Moon, and it’s a potent one. Hylonome made a stunning appearance conjunct the Scorpio New Moon precisely during the funeral of Yasser Arafat in late 2004 — a jaw-dropping astrological synchronicity.

Switching methods for a moment, the degree symbol (also called Sabian Symbol) for 14 Sagittarius (anything numbered higher than 13 is occupying the 14th degree) is: The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. Dane Rudhyar interprets this as, “The enduring power of occult knowledge and of its quasi-divine Custodians, ‘seed men’ of a previous cycle of existence.” Well doesn’t that just illustrate WikiLeaks and its editor magnificently.

We see that Pholus is exactly conjunct the Great Attractor. This is a long and slow aspect and it’s precise right now; what comes out now is not going back, and it’s going to get bigger. Good Morning America — the truth is out.

This is conjunct Narcissus, who sees his own reflection in the pond. You could say he ‘falls in love’ or you could say that this is about self-awareness; and it’s about the effect of narcissism on the global political process. Close by is Ixion (anyone is capable of anything; amorality; what we do with our second chance) — we’re seeing plenty of that. Next is a really interesting pair of very different points: the first is Cupido (a hypothetical; it doesn’t exist, but it’s there to work with) which Martha Wescott delineates as: “issues in the family history; group unity or dynamics” followed by Quaoar, an actual planet beyond Pluto that says exactly the same thing. Quaoar adds the theme of our creation myth. Who are we and how did we get here? That is the mystery of The Pyramid and the Sphinx.

This New Moon is about the family of humanity. Welcome to it. The rest of the minor planets are listed here, at Serennu.com.

 

Planet Waves

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, December 3, 2010, #842 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries (March 20-April 19)
You have seen the power of negotiation, and you’ve seen what happens when you disregard certain communication protocols. Yet your quest is to be a sincere person, and you may be reviled by the notion that you have to be two-faced as a means of social lubrication. Circumstances of your life, particularly of your professional life, are calling on you to be direct and to take authority. I would suggest the following: be direct with yourself first. If you know the lay of the land, and have a sense of who is playing what game, you will feel less defensive; that means you’ll be more receptive to information. Second, you don’t actually have to say much. One technique is to ask people what they know rather than telling them what you know. You will learn something along the way, people you’re working with will have the sense that you’re listening, and then you will be in a better position to have your knowledge be your point of authority. So gather your information, assemble the pieces and make sure you use your power judiciously.
Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

 

Taurus (April 19- May 20)
Be aware of a tendency to think that your faith rules the world. It may rule your world, and that would be enough, though I suggest you back away from any possibility of being an evangelist. Faith teaches in silence, through actions and through the passage of time. Your mere awareness of something is an influence. The thoughts you think have potency beyond what you have ever imagined. This is particularly true for how they influence your own state of mind, emotions and sense of the future. Obsession is not certainty, though you may be riveted on a particular subject that you cannot let go of. That represents energy, and it may represent ideas, and an appropriate and useful response is to focus your mind in a creative and constructive way. Remember that you cannot control the future, but you can certainly influence it. One gift of the present moment is that you have enough experience to not make the same mistakes again, particularly in a relationship.
Taurus Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Gemini (May 20- June 21)
You may feel like you’re in over your head with a situation that, at the moment, seems to have total power over your life. It may be a sexual obsession, it may be a fear that you have no choice but to encounter, or it may be coming to the realization that someone has tremendous influence over you. I suggest you think of the situation in terms of an agreement or a contract. This will be a way of processing your emotions through a rational filter. What have you actually agreed to? What has someone else committed to? And how does the current situation reflect these facts? You may determine that the facts and your emotional state have no apparent relationship; that your intensity is not grounded in reality. No matter how powerful someone may seem, or a situation may appear to be, the person you need to negotiate your freedom with is yourself.
Gemini Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

 

Cancer (June 21- July 22)
You have boundless energy at your disposal, and it’s yours to direct toward healing, productivity or pleasure. The three have more in common than you may realize; anything that nourishes one of these concepts in truth feeds all three. We’re trained to think that anything meaningful has to be done in a big way; that at any moment of decision, you must ‘figure out what to do with the rest of your life’. What you do these weeks may indeed influence the rest of your life, and it may resolve something you’ve carried around for a long time. Yet the way that will happen is a supreme focus on the present moment. What you want is a state of wellbeing now, rather than something deferred to the future. That is nothing more or less than being present in your experience. It’s about recognizing that your whole life has led to this moment, and that this moment is the portal to your future. Stand in that doorway and feel the energy move through you and around you.

Cancer Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Leo (July 22- Aug. 23)
This weekend’s New Moon in your fellow fire sign Sagittarius is designed to open up your sense of what is possible, if you apply your creativity. I suggest you let your curiosity lead the way to direct experience, rather than theory. You do not need to exert much in the way of effort, or think of this as requiring anything special; curiosity is powerful and it’s inherently creative. Remember that all creative energy is connected to sexual energy. I recognize that not everyone ‘agrees’ with this, but for evidence I would merely point to existence itself. A little of this energy can go a long way; the small choices you make now have an extra potent ability to help you create your life, experimenting and experiencing and feeling your way through existence. I suggest you keep in mind what it is you want to create; hold a vision for yourself and the life that you want.

Leo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sep. 22)
Subtle adjustments you make to your emotional patterning may result in significant progress toward healing. We typically want to ‘fix everything’ about ourselves, without recognizing that patterns develop and evolve over time; the most meaningful part of the process is initiating them and gradually maintaining them into existence. This is particularly meaningful where improving your health and wellbeing are concerned. For you that comes down to courting an inner sense of safety. I recognize that we are under the constant influence to not feel safe. We are given reasons to feel threatened nearly all the time. It would help if you removed those external influences, so that this way you can tune into the ones in your mind: those messages are the ones you need to respond to specifically by wanting something else, something better; a safe place within your own thoughts.

Virgo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Libra (Sep. 22 - Oct. 23)
Consider yourself on the verge of a decision, which involves whether you will embrace yourself fully; whether you will give (to yourself) or withhold (from yourself) the love that you seek. This is the question that lurks inside the drama of what we call love. Here, the phrasing is clear and the choice is simple: and it depends on no other person. I recognize this presents a kind of metaphysical problem. If ‘how we feel about ourselves creates our experience of relationships’, does that mean we control them? Obviously not: there are other options. When we resonate with ourselves in a way that is true or loving, we create a resonance field, and we draw or repel appropriate people. The message of the current charts is simple — how you feel about yourself is the most significant metric of how you will experience existence. And you have reason to feel good; you’ve been practicing.

Libra Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 22)
Gender and sex (as in the many forms of interplay of male and female, inner and outer) are fascinating, beautiful things to explore and play with, don’t you agree? There are so many shades and hues of attraction, empathy and simpatico; so many gradations of distaste and repulsion. With Venus now back in your sign after the recent retrograde phase, you have a strong emotional magnet pulling you inward toward a mysterious other within yourself. The world is rampant with drama of ‘the other’ being an external. It has an all-consuming quality, at the same time there are a diversity of taboos on taking that whole discussion to an inner plane. There is a force of nature that exists within yourself, and it has some quality of being your polar opposite; in truth it is what you seek in others, that has so often been the source of so much drama — and that aspect of you is now making itself known.

The Scorpio Audio Report is now done. This reading includes more than an hour of astrology and 20 minutes of tarot custom created for those with Scorpio Sun, Moon or rising. Priced at $14.95, it makes a useful and economical gift. Use this link for instant access.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
It’s time to have full confidence in your talent. There comes a time when, after years of development, you take the leap into the truth of that notion. You know that what you create is fully worthy of existence in the universe. You are witness to its independent life beyond you, and I believe that deep down you are confident that it will support you economically. I would emphasize that these are recognitions now available on the emotional rather than the intellectual level — things that work better when you feel them. It is one thing to know them in your mind; it’s another to feel the truth in your body, something akin to balancing on a bicycle. Remember, on a bicycle you can go nearly anywhere, but not everywhere at once.

Sagittarius audio coming soon!

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 20)
So much of what you want seems to depend on others — and so much of your experience the past year or two has been about learning how to depend on yourself. You might think of what you’re learning as a form of autonomy. That is true, to a point; for as long as we need someone to change the oil on our car, we’re not really autonomous. But what you are acquiring is sufficient independence to explore interdependence. That is different than codependency, which is an unhealthy overreliance on the other. The associations you’re cultivating at this time will form the basis of community based on actual mutual interests and common ground. There is the potential for creating something far greater than the sum of the parts; human alchemy of the first order, for which you are a catalyst.

Capricorn Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 19)
You have plenty to celebrate. It’s true that you also have your moments of fear and doubt, and I can empathize if you feel that your shadow runs a little deeper and darker than some others you know. That means your light will shine equally bright and moreover, that you are moving steadily along the path to fully integrating the many facets of who you are. But setting your spiritual psychology aside, I can tell you this. You are in a remarkable moment for making your existence known, and for influencing your community (and that may include community of interest, circle of friends or something similar). Though I’m not sure what you do with your life, I can offer you this — you are onto something significant, and some idea that has the power to shape your world, if not the world. Speak clearly rather than loudly. Don’t worry about the ‘ultimate effect’ of what you put out. Simply trust.

Aquarius Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20)
This is a moment filled with great potential for you, in the aspect of life that some call ‘career’. I prefer to use other concepts — such as expressing your life purpose, making your way in the world, and shining in your chosen field. But let’s keep cause and effect in the right order; that’s the mission of any true seeker. It is who you are that is doing the expressing, making your way or shining your light. There is no ‘thing’ you are after, and you are existing and growing rather than careering. Existence as you are experiencing it now is a process of original invention. You are becoming something new every day and indeed moment. This is unnerving for some, who need a reference point to the past in order to feel secure. You have no need for such a pretense; this moment is offering you everything — but it’s an intense, potent and moreover rare moment. Be mindful. Be present. Be real, and gently so.
Pisces Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.