Dear Planet Waves Reader:

This weekend is the helical rise of Venus. That’s the point in the Venus retrograde cycle when Venus is far enough from the Sun that you can see her rise as the morning star. Though Venus is not yet stationing direct, the helical rise is the pivotal moment of the retrograde cycle, signifying a revelation of some kind, or of many kinds. This event is synchronous with Saturday’s Scorpio New Moon conjunct Vesta.

When Venus becomes visible in the morning sky (which will, if skies are clear, present some spectacular viewing on the predawn eastern horizon) she will be in Scorpio, which sets the tone for the next 18 months of her story. For the previous rise in early 2009, she was in Aries — a confrontational energy, often characterized by self-focus and a lack of empathy. Now she will be in Scorpio, which is deeper, more emotionally sensitive and evokes a sense of integrating relationship material in a cellular way.

Both Aries and Scorpio are signs ruled by Mars, where Venus is said to be less than happy (in the language of traditional astrology, one is her ‘detriment’ and the other is her ‘fall’). This relates to the challenges faced by a planet in a sign ruled by a seemingly opposing planet. If you have one of these placements, it’s a cause for consciousness, not worry. The ancients may have known a lot about astrology, but psychology hadn’t been invented, and many spiritual processes to which we have access today were not yet discovered.

Venus is the planet of emotional intelligence. Scorpio is one of the most emotionally driven signs, yet has a wide spectrum that reaches into the most sublime levels of soul consciousness. What the two also have in common is sex and our experience of it (sexuality), and the need for authentic empathy where this field of experience is entered. You could say that Venus retrograde in Scorpio is about embracing all that is different, all that does not seem to fit, all that makes no sense.

Many of the contradictions that we try to embody in exploring sexuality are covered beautifully by Venus retrograde in Scorpio, which I described earlier (at the suggestion of my friend Tracy) as yin penetrating itself.

What we have, I think, is an upcoming spell of more sensitive, deeper, more fully self-accepting feminine energy than the friction that Venus in Aries has offered us the past year-and-a-half. And that, I think, is good for everyone. We need depth, we need inner harmony and we need self-acceptance — and if you pause to think about it for a moment, we want these things too. They would go a long way toward solving all — and I do mean all — of our problems.

Of Witchcraft and Masturbation

Here in the States, we’ve just come through a particularly contentious election cycle that had a good few sexual overtones. All the usual social wedge issues (gayness, gay marriage, the alleged homosexual agenda to turn everyone else queer, whether gayness is or is not like alcoholism, don’t ask-don’t tell about gayness, and so on) all came up. Oh, I forgot abortion rights and why we shouldn’t have them; and the basically successful attempt at creating a generational divide on the issue of Medicare.

Yum and double yum: a younger Christine O’Donnell gazes longingly as “youth pastor” Todd Hitchcock describes how any sex outside marriage, including masturbation, is just wrong. Photo: MTV screen shot.

But this year’s Awesome Award for Making the Election Memorable goes to Miss Christine O’Donnell, the Teabag-Republican [former] candidate for U.S. Senate in Delaware. In her concession speech she said she believed that politics would never be the same in Delaware — but I think she’s accomplished a lot more than that. For the first time since the mid-1990s, masturbation — the sex that we all have in common, and the most homosexual sex of all — made its way onto the national political radar.

For this we can thank MTV, which interviewed O’Donnell for a segment called Sex in the ’90s. In a segment of that program, she espoused various theories about masturbation, such as how it promotes lust, which is de facto adultery. Then, one thing leads to another and next thing you know, your fingers go into your knickers and you come out a sex fiend. This is not an original theory (the Mormons adore it), but it was original of Christine to take it onto the relatively groovy airwaves of MTV in the midst of the AIDS crisis. Educating young people about how they can have sex with themselves, or masturbate together, could have, and still can, save a lot of misery and promote pleasure and intimacy.

But her comments were not nearly as standout then as they turned out to be today. The episode called attention to how little attention masturbation gets, except for the occasional Pee Wee Herman or Spain sending out a press release that the topic will be taught in school. Let’s rewind to the last episode of masturbation making political news in the United States, which was in 1994 when then-Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders commented on the topic. Elders, for background, was the first African-American surgeon general and the second-ever woman to hold the position. She was appointed by Pres. Bill Clinton in 1993.

Minnie Joycelyn Elders.

Speaking at a United Nations conference on AIDS, she was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in risky sex. She replied, “I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught.”

The resulting controversy was so enormous that Pres. Clinton fired her in December of that year. His chief of staff said, “There have been too many areas where the President does not agree with her views. This is just one too many.”

Skip ahead 16 years. Video — notably from early in the post-Elders era (1996) — surfaced, as these things do in the age of timeless data. In the Sex in the ’90s series, Christine was speaking on MTV about adultery and sex outside of marriage and masturbation as a moral issue — and today, everyone is laughing. In fact, laughing hysterically. She’s kidding, right? Everyone masturbates. Sex toys can now be found, um, everywhere! And she’s so adorable, talkin’ dirty like that! What a sexy young critter — describing walking with a pure heart, and telling us how selfish masturbation is, and it’s funnier than Cheech and Chong. Mostly because she’s so sincere and so authentic about it and she’s so gosh darned sweet, even if she’s totally clueless.

I asked Betty Dodson, one of the few people on the planet who has made masturbation her career, for a comment. “Christine lost her bid for Senate but she did masturbation a great service. I’ve been promoting this humble form of sexual expression for 40 years, and she managed to get the word into the public sphere that even surpassed Dr. Elders and all of my efforts. Wait until people discover that masturbation is the foundation for all of human sexuality.”

Well, some of us already have. And I think that the attempt to make masturbation a moral issue is based precisely on this fact.

Planet Waves has offered to sponsor Christine O’Donnell for a private session with Betty Dodson, the Great Grandmother of Masturbation. She is seen here holding a Book of Blue postcard. Photo by Eric Francis.

Kinkier yet, she bills herself as a secondary virgin: she’s going to abstain from sex and apparently anything that might induce orgasm until she’s married. Now that’s hot. It’s the perfect image of Venus retrograde conjunct Vesta in Scorpio.

In the midst of the O’Donnell eipside, I cast her chart and sent it to Alan Oken, and in about ten minutes he wrote back and said: “She has a 10th house Virgo Sun. She’s a professional virgin.” He noted that America loves virgins. And we love Christine. She’s nothing if not lovable. Who cares that she doesn’t understand that separation of church and state is in the Constitution?

Plus — she’s not a witch! Which was some of the best public relations for pagans and Wiccans — ever. (This particular theme emerged from a segment of the Bill Maher show where O’Donnell admitted to dabbling in witchcraft when she was a teenager. It was only slightly weird then and it’s absolutely normal now.) Guess what! Pagans and witches actually exist and have been part of society since the first time somebody needed to ask someone else how to deal with poison ivy. Her Virgoish demeanor and aura of mischief says nothing if not a green witch — the kind who works with plants and spirit animals, brews up tonics and casts the occasional spell.

My friend Jenny, who is a witch, in fact a big leader in the witch community (she successfully lobbied the Defense Department to make the pentacle available as a religious emblem for the graves of Pagan veterans, over objections from the Bush administration), was telling any colleagues who might take offense at Christine’s protestations to get over themselves. There were only a few.

And now we’re all laughing at this whole scenario. It’s nearly impossible to take it seriously, or to perceive any real threat. While you might think I’m bringing up unimportant issues at a time in politics when we have to be confronting the potential for economic apocalypse, and when the official Teabag line is that sex doesn’t exist, I offer you this. When the topics of masturbation and witchcraft come up in American society and most people respond by laughing, and by thinking with certainty that masturbation is healthy, and that she makes an awfully cute witch, that is progress.

Tales From the Dark Side

Among the many facets to Venus retrograde in Scorpio is that we caught a glimpse at the dark side of politics. Unpleasant though it is, I believe we need to pay attention. The recent 5 to 4 Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court resulted in billions of dollars in anonymous advertising pumped into many districts in an attempt to sway elections in favor of Teabaggers and Republicans. This is corporate money, supporting corporate interests. It’s shadowy and anonymous and you cannot see it — all descriptions of Venus at the time of the elections. (Margin notes: Scorpio has many associations with corporate money; Venus is about resources; the retrograde helps us glimpse the darker shades, not often spoken of.)

John Boehner, U.S. Representative from Ohio — the Tan Man — once gave out checks from tobacco lobbyists on the floor of the House of Representatives. He will replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Just think — that puts Boehner in the line of presidential succession.

We’ve caught a glimpse of the nasty artificial construct where a malcontent grassroots movement (the early Teabaggers) meets a corporatist uprising (all that money coming in from newly unleashed PACs and other organizations, supporting big big big business) — and the public gets duped in the process.

We have a whole cadre of Republican leadership that is talking openly about making no compromises and how their main goal for the next two years is going to be getting rid of Obama. The House of Representatives can now impeach him because he was, er, that’s it, he was born in Kenya. We have people proposing abolishing the minimum wage, turning Social Security over to Wall Street, and a rising tide of politicians who want to see Roe v. Wade repealed. This is dangerous for reproductive rights, and it would be dangerous for the right to privacy on which Roe is founded. And it’s one of the biggest backlashes against the progress of feminism, ever.

We face huge problems as a society. But in this moment when so much seems so uncertain, we have plenty to be grateful for. By this, I mean we have a lot to work with, and to build on, in terms of both social and political progress. (And I do believe it’s healthy to be grateful for every meal, every bill you pay and every time you turn the key to your front door.)

Canvasser from New Voters Project (active on 100 campuses around the country) converts another young person to the religion of the constitutional republic. Photo: NH Pirg.

Speaking politically, I got a hint of what might actually be going well when I read a quotation from Billy Wimsatt at Huffington Post.

He wrote, “The silver lining in yesterday’s results for Democrats is that for four national elections in a row, young voters continue to be the most progressive segment of the population — and the most progressive generation on record since exit polling began in 1972. If this trend continues, the opportunity for progressive values and leadership to shape America’s future is enormous. But progressive investment in youth organizing and youth leadership has been spotty at best. The question now is whether progressive leaders and funders will draw the right lessons from 2010, seize the opportunity, and finally get serious about investing in the rising progressive electorate.”

Okay, electorate or citizenry. Politics or civic participation. We have the chance to involve a new generation in the running of society, which we need more than we need to ‘solve problems’. We need people who are aware, who care, and who get involved.

The same could be said for people whose dominant orientation has, for many years, been self-absorbed spirituality. The point of all this growth is happier people who work together to create a better world. Many are slowly developing a stomach for politics. Civics will be more fun.

Here are a few other signs of light and life. First, the best things in life aren’t things. We are free to invite one another over for dinner, make music together, spend the night together and gym memberships are still pretty cheap most places. Plus:

Stephen Colbert, conservative spokesman for fear, in one of his many costume changes during the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Photographer unknown.

We have comedy. In the old days, daddy watched Johnny Carson and cool people watched Steve Martin and there were a few funny dudes out there (and reruns of The Flintstones and I Love Lucy). Now, comedy is taking the role of social leadership. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart brought a massive crowd to Washington to spread positive vibes. Colbert is so talented that some conservatives still think he’s a conservative. While these guys have been criticized for conflating the roles of satirist and newscaster into one, the thing is that their audiences have to be informed about the issues, or nobody would get the jokes. Meanwhile The Onion is a daily mirror into which we can gaze to see how ridiculous we are, and how absurd our society is — and laugh, not lament.

Laughing is healthy and floods the body with endorphins. It opens the way to other forms of creativity and pleasure. One of the main roles that comedy plays is to help us process shadow material. Together, comedians are eviscerating the concept of political correctness, which is like taking off a gag and handcuffs. And I wish I had the psychological study (I know it exists, but I don’t know where) that concluded that authentic laughter is evidence that fear has left. We could all stand to be less scared — we would get a LOT more done, and have tons more fun. One way to do that is to keep laughing. Now there are plenty of opportunities. Even the guy by the water cooler shows signs of genius.

Keith Olbermann ‘tosses’ to Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.

We have Rachel Maddow. Rachel, the first openly lesbian primetime news anchor, is teaching us how to think analytically. She is a geek’s geek (Rhodes scholar; military policy expert) who loves to fact check and is (if you ask me) funnier than any of the formidable talent on Comedy Central. Her viewpoint is extremely realistic. Listening to her speak, you see signs that she’s been devoted to her own therapy process, as evidenced by a mature and cultivated mind that doesn’t take itself too seriously. She’s highly pragmatic, she calls ridiculous things ridiculous, and she knows her stuff. My favorite thing about her is how balanced her left and right brain function is. Because she can integrate intuitive and intellectual process, she thinks on a higher level and is teaching us how to do so. And she’s not afraid of fear. She’s not afraid to confront people when they’re lying or spewing venom. She even mentioned Mercury retrograde on her program once, and she gave me her birth data.

We have Keith Olbermann, also on MSNBC. He is the voice of moral indignation. He is a journalist who is bigger than it all. His ‘special comments’ on the Iraq war and the Cheney-Bush administration were a vivid wake-up call. He too is brilliantly funny and sees the irony in everything, and is not put off by it. He’s another person saying deal with the facts. I view his background as a sportscaster as a plus. He supports my long-held view that sports writers have to be honest because everyone has seen the game and knows the rules. Meanwhile, Olbermann got Rachel Maddow her job, and he also brought in Lawrence O’Donnell, another primetime MSNBC guy who is genuinely pragmatic and who’s believing no lies; his new program gets better every night as he steps into his role. I recognize these programs all have some of the limitations of TV and corporate ownership — but even in the age of media conglomerates, they are doing more with television than many of us imagined possible. Obviously it is possible, and half of us have video cameras and editing software on our computers. If you have talent, this is the era in history when you can actually express it.

The economic downturn has a bright side, which is that many people feel compelled to do what is important to them as a last resort. Faced with no other choice, it’s always possible to pursue your real interests and try to make a living doing what you love. No, it’s not always easy — but it’s possible. The recession is happening at a time when we have excellent technological tools at our disposal, both to find work and to create a business. For the cost of a modest vacation, a person can outfit a home office in such a way that would have made The Wall Street Journal IT department drip with envy 20 years ago, or create an arsenal for citizen action. Yes, this requires technological literacy — just like getting a good job, starting a business or working in civics have always required ordinary literacy. Speaking of which:

The shape of the online universe, which looks a little like a slice of DNA. This image shows the hierarchical structure of the Internet, based on the connections between individual nodes (such as service providers). Three distinct regions are apparent: an inner core of highly connected nodes, an outer periphery of isolated networks, and a mantle-like mass of peer-connected nodes. The bigger the node, the more connections it has. Those nodes that are closest to the center are connected to more well-connected nodes than are those on the periphery. More info here.

We have the Internet. You can say a lot of bad things about the Internet and how vapid it is, but it’s also one of the most powerful tools in the history of communication — and nearly everyone who wants to can get on. Information is available. It is possible to research nearly any topic exhaustively, without being charged by the minute. We have someplace to publish our ideas and to experiment with art. We can communicate with people in any country, which is making the world a smaller place with more in common. We have to use this tool wisely and well; indeed, we must become very good at it, and keep using it for loving, constructive purposes.

We have separation of powers. This is a provision in the U.S. Constitution that makes it difficult for one branch of the government to get over on any other branch. If there is a Congress that has no concern for the citizens, the president can veto its legislation. It sucks that the Supreme Court is stacked with Monsanto loyalists and Neocons, and they are doing some damage — but even that won’t last forever, if we pay attention. We do need to remember what James Madison said about how when all the branches of government are controlled by the same interests, that is the definition of tyranny. Therefore the mix has to be diverse enough to have varied opinions and sufficient harmony to run the business. (What we are experiencing now is indeed a game, one that mainly conceals how sold out the government is to the corporate system. You really need to figure out what this means structurally and economically; it’s not that hard, and it’s liberating to grasp the concept. This is not merely a political slogan — the government is a tool to the corporate interests and it wants to see itself that way; that’s the concept of ‘small government’.)

The Uranus-Pluto square is coming soon. I’ve watched a thousand or so hours of cable news the past year or so, and go figure, nobody has even mentioned this. That aspect — making seven contacts between 2012 and 2015 — is the essence of what we are calling 2012. The contact between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn is a beautiful image of how personal awakening influences corporate and government reform. This is very handy in a time when we will soon discover that we have no choice but to do something, personally, rather than waiting for someone else to do it for us.

And…

The Shirt Factory, in Kingston, NY, has 6,000 panes of glass, from many different eras. Photo by Eric Francis.

What we need is a vision. Wednesday night, on her first program after the elections, Rachel Maddow began her program by asking, “So where do we go from here?” That IS the question.

Part of the problem we face is that the dominant philosophy of our culture and the current world problems perpetuate one another. And part of why that happens is that we seem to be lacking a vision of how the world can be. We’re afraid to state openly what we want — afraid of cynics and of being criticized and of having our idealism torn down.

We need to be better at moving resources into our ideas, and sticking with them for long enough so they have a chance to manifest. We need to learn the art of cooperation. Real politics among healthy people would be about creating solutions that work for everyone, or at least figuring out how to make room for everyone.

We need to build, and nourish, a vision of a world that is happy and free, inviting and welcoming wellbeing and pleasure. We need a world where those who want healing can seek and find it easily. We need a world of people who are willing to take a chance and create something original. We need a world of people who are willing to cooperate with one another. This is already happening, in large and small ways. Yes, we need problem solvers, but that only goes so far. At a certain point, solving what we think of as problems means taking them up as opportunities to create something better — not because we need to, but because we want to. This is not merely a rhetorical trick. Anyone who has ever done it knows what I am talking about. At a certain point, necessity becomes desire, and that is when the light shines through.

This weekend, Venus begins to rise as the morning star in the eastern sky. She does so in a sign that grants access to the deeper levels of the emotions. Then the next thing that happens is that she enters Libra, which is where we experience the sensation of justice, balance and equanimity — and she returns to direct motion.

We can, and we will, get it right: as long as we want to.

From the poet Robert Hunter:

Counting stars by candlelight
all are dim but one is bright:
the spiral light of Venus
rising first and shining best,
From the northwest corner
of a brand-new crescent moon
crickets and cicadas sing
a rare and different tune
Terrapin Station.

Yours & truly,

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.

Scorpio Birthday/Ascendant Report Done

Dear Scorpio Planet Waves Reader:

I’ve just finished the Scorpio report. It’s available for instant access at this link.

Not surprisingly, I’ve got a lot to say about relationships in this report, particularly the theme of integrating relationships into your psyche, with two goals: one is calling back your projections, so that you can perceive others in their true form; and the other is cultivating emotional independence from relationships, so that you’re free to make your decisions unencumbered by excessive responsibility to others.

Your quest for accomplishment is also a quest for freedom, which has mental and emotional components. Yet by the time Chiron reaches Pisces, this will take on a distinctly creative, erotic and adventurous flavor.

It will be obvious that your life is about having fun, and this sense of openness will lead into a deeper sense of a healing mission. That works out to be a combined creative/healing mission — they are the same thing for you right now — though the access point seems to be less about being on a healing table and more about being in an art studio, making a film or otherwise becoming a full-on creature of the night. You’re entering a time when it will be more fun, easier and more profitable to let your passions guide you. This is in part a message from Mars in Sagittarius, your house of resources and money.

I cover the recent movement of Vesta, Mercury and Venus in your sign, as well as your ruling planet Mars venturing into Scorpio.

This recording is four segments of astrology, with a careful look at all of the houses that are highlighted, and one segment of tarot. My focus on the houses makes this report equally applicable for Scorpio rising — the ascendant implies the houses, which I look at carefully and use with some precision.

This report is different than Light Bridge, which will take a whole new look at your astrology from several different angles, as well as consider transits going further into the future.

Once again, here is your link for instant access.

Yours & truly,

Weekly Horoscope for Friday, November 5, 2010, #838 – BY ERIC FRANCIS

Aries Confidential	What would it mean not to have power struggles in your relationships? To not wrangle over sex, money and attention? For one thing it would mean you have a lot more time and energy on your hands. You would have plenty more fun, better sex and you would worry less. You would probably have more money, too. In general the less struggle you have, the more abundance you can have. And how do you do this? In a word, flexibility. That would be flexibility about who you are; in your perception of who others are; and most of all, in your ideas about what relationships are ‘supposed to be’ and the supposed laws that govern them. Your emotions are made to flow like water. Now is the time to let it collect, so that you feel confident going deeper; because when you go deeper, you will feel better.
Aries Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Taurus Confidential	One of the most intriguing things about Taurus is that in the solar house system, the sign associated with your house of deep surrender (the 8th) is Sagittarius. This overlays the energy of profound emotional release, and interpersonal bonding, with a sense of mystical longing and cosmic quest. It would be helpful if you could identify these two groups of feelings like the individual notes in a chord or rays of light in a spectrum. They can combine to make one harmonic or frequency, and you can experience them as discrete energies. Such an experiment would be a potent way of looking into a mirror of your own consciousness. At the moment you may feel like you’re peering into the dark with respect to ‘who you really are’. You may feel there is no chance you will gain such a clear understanding anytime soon — but a revelation is at hand; a light is about to appear where you thought there was none.
Taurus Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Gemini Confidential	I’ve expressed the idea that for Gemini, sexual health is health. I would affirm this for everyone, because we’re all human with something basic and fundamental in common: though for Gemini, this idea arrives in your chart as a specific mission or special point of access. Perhaps as the first ‘human sign’ of the 12, you’re a prototype or example for the rest of us. The light is dawning in Gemini first: sexual healing resides at the core of the healing process. All true healing involves a person learning to relate to his or her creative nature; there is also the distinctly erotic dimension of relating directly to existence/nonexistence, and this in turn involves the full integration of shadow material. We often take our dark emotions for granted, as something we can never resolve. You are ready to see the light of the soul and feel the movement of your emotions.
Gemini Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Cancer Confidential	To be an artist, it helps if you direct your financial and creative resources into your creative process. To be a lover, it helps if you choose love and allow conflict and judgment to dissolve like dust. To be an adventurer, you step outside of your home. To take a risk, there’s an essential element of being willing to let go of something ‘safe’ for the mere potential of experiencing something better. There is an element of sacrifice in each of these ideas, but it’s not sacrifice the way we usually think of it. In the true sense, it’s the process of transforming what does not serve us into what does. It’s about giving up what we don’t want in exchange for what we do, and part of that is releasing our attachment to what is not actually helpful. These attachments all have stories, which are like energy roots that we can let go of — if we use full awareness, and more to the point, if we really want to.
Cancer Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Leo Confidential	This weekend’s Scorpio New Moon takes place conjunct Vesta, in your 4th house of security and home. This is your cosmic Thanksgiving, an opportunity to spend some time appreciating and caring for the physical space you occupy. On the inner plane, it’s a moment to get your emotional priorities in order. Life is easier when we have a clear sense of what is important to us, because that provides an organizing principle around which we can arrange all that other stuff we think about. Knowing what is the most meaningful is an excellent opportunity to let the less meaningful things simmer down, and to spend some time in full acknowledgement of what you want. One word for this is ‘centered’. That’s an excellent way to think of it; and the beautiful thing is that you have a center you can access; your core fire is hot and healthy, and you actually do know what is the most meaningful to you. Give those things the time and space to have a deep healing effect on your life, and remind you how good it’s possible to feel.
Leo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Virgo Confidential	You’re blessed with penetrating perception, and the ability to evaluate yourself somewhat brutally. Together they can be a dangerous combination, when that deep ability to perceive is turned on yourself. Yet the screech you hear is feedback, not music. I propose that you’re at a point in your growth when you can ease back on the evaluation bit and notice who you actually are. That person is simpler than previous estimates have defined you as being, and eminently kind. You no longer have to live up to anyone’s seeming expectations. In the words of my Virgo friend Beth, nobody is your judge and jury. It’s one thing to ‘know’ that and another to have it dawn on your mind like the Sun rising after a long night. Hold that thought. Phrase it as a question and as a statement. Note who comes to mind. One last thought — all judgment is based on comparison, and comparison is based on the past. Step into the moment — this moment — and your new perspective will come into focus.
Virgo Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Libra Confidential	The gift of this moment is your recognition of what you have and how much you’ve accomplished. They are related, though you seem to be taking the next step into the full acceptance of what this says about you as a person. Let’s make sure we get this in the right order, though: it’s not your accomplishments that create your worth, but rather your presence and sincere values that create your accomplishments. This recognition alone is enough to speed your life forward. There is the suggestion here that it’s now easier to be in harmony with yourself than it has been for many moons. Think of this harmony as a state of inner consensus. True consensus involves a group of people who have similar enough values, being able to make a decision based on those values. This now applies to any decision you make. Among the many seemingly different internal voices you hear, remember — you’re the One.
Libra Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Scorpio Confidential	This weekend’s New Moon in your birth sign comes with another revelation: the helical rise of Venus. This is the moment when retrograde Venus becomes visible as the morning star. You could say that this sets the tone of Venus for the next 18 months. Venus in Scorpio is a deeper process than the prior helical rise, which was in Aries: a confrontational, defensive energy for Venus. In Scorpio, you gain depth from fully embracing the process of integration. Gradually, what was different, alien, unfamiliar and irrational breaks down into its many components and becomes part of you. This will allow you to do something profound, which is address your various opposites as an internal factor rather than as something you need to project in order to see. You may experience the birth of what I’ll describe as deep feminine consciousness, and embrace this fully even if it’s a little off your usual radar. Venus attracts, she receives and most of all, she emanates an elegant ray of light.
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. Please see letter above horoscopes for full description or use this link for instant access.
Sagittarius Confidential	It is sometimes shocking the extent to which ‘inner space’ does not exist for many people — but lately it certainly exists for you. Indeed, your inner world may be more real than the outer one, and you may feel more content existing in your feeling body than any other. But Mars in your sign is saying that however real your inner world may seem, it’s time to take action in the three-dimensional world around you. That means pushing your agenda; it means having an effect; and that means feeling the repercussions. Normally you don’t worry about that part; but for some reason now you’re feeling more poignantly, and self consciously, the responses of others. This is a good thing, if you ask me; rather than going out and conquering the world, you need to relate to the people and space around you with full sensation. You will still have access to your volition and your single-minded ability to focus on a goal. The gift will be integrating the simple idea that ‘easy does it’.
Capricorn Confidential	Rob Hand, perhaps the preeminent astrologer of our day, once said to me that the study of the world can be divided into two categories — psychology and physics. One considers the mind, and the other how the material world works. Many recent episodes of your life have involved physics — the seemingly intractable laws of energy, motion and addressing the concept of limitation. Now your life boils down to psychology: the study of what motivates people, and of how they respond to their feelings. In particular, consider the psychology of groups: of how one person’s sensation of life, or experience of self, influences that of the people around them. Your ability to do this, and even to consider the sense of doing so, will help you significantly in a short while. Remember, people never do things for ‘no reason’. There is always a reason. You may not ‘agree’ with it, but you certainly want to be aware of what it is.
Capricorn Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Aquarius Confidential	You have some complex career goals. Yet you also have the sense of many things adding up to one, or perhaps awareness of the one essential element that unites them all. Usually you sense this element like a plant’s roots reach for water. Now you have more in common with a plant’s leaves reaching toward light. There’s something new that you want, and at the same time this honors a deep sense of mission that has always been part of your world. I’m not talking about a goal in the conventional sense, but rather honoring a sense of purpose that is palpable, real and available to your senses. What changes do you need to make in order to be free to explore this potential? As far as I can tell, you’ve already made most of them. Remember, just because you focus on one thing does not eclipse all the others. Indeed, it’s within the quality of the moment that it will feed and nourish the rest.
Aquarius Birthday Audio by Eric Francis is available. Check this link for more information.
Pisces Confidential	One distinctive Pisces quality is that of feeling your way into the future. Another is how the past, the present and the future can meld into one simultaneous experience, which can cloud your ability to know which is which. To see ahead, it’s necessary for you to apply some form of extra consciousness. At the moment, it’s as if you’re being called forward by a star. This star is saying, above all, that there is a future; there is a whole dimension of existence that you have never experienced, and that is actually available. Some factor or element of your life now is beckoning you toward this experience. You can trust this guidance, and the gesture of trust will feed your confidence. If you want to use feeling as navigation, feel for who and what you want the most — and you will place your steps and your choices in the right direction. Move without resistance, and feel your doubt disappear like mist in the light.