Aries (March 20-April 19) — The big break in one’s career usually comes gradually. Years of effort eventually lead somewhere, though usually the rewards are collected more like interest on an investment and less like winning the lottery. Then there are times when you must focus and push toward a specific goal, and sometimes that can result in an acceleration of results. That’s the phase you’re in now. Over the next 10 days you’re coming under the influence of an aspect that will drive your ambition. However, I suggest you convert most of that power into productivity, pragmatism and service. If you allow yourself to get into the mode of conquering or even competition, it could backfire on you. Therefore, I suggest you be extremely cautious around the issue of power, and instead, strive to make yourself useful. That can include setting specific goals, though you will succeed based on cooperation rather than on competition. That includes cooperating with people in positions of authority, whether you like them or not.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You seem to be facing a question of commitment. The thing to remember is that commitment comes from the inside. No matter what contract you might sign or promise you make, you will do what you do because you want to. You can sign a contract for a fitness club, but actually working out is a matter of your own inner drive. This applies to every facet of your life, particularly a relationship situation. You cannot be held to anything; you can only decide that it’s the right thing to do. You might feel like you need to filter out your own emotional needs in order to make room for those of someone else, but the real solution to such a puzzle is to work from a place of mutual desires, and yes, needs. You might listen to what people are saying and ask yourself quietly and carefully whether it’s true, and for whom. There is a meeting point between your interests and those of everyone in your life, no matter how special they may or may not be; that’s why they’re in your life. Your role is to find, and work with, that common ground.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You can afford to come out of your shell. In fact, it would seem to be the very thing you want to do the most, and being responsive to that will benefit you. For a couple of months it would seem that you’ve been lost in your own sauce, more concerned with a kind of inner reflection than with expressing yourself. Maybe it felt productive; maybe it was frustrating; I reckon you learned something important about yourself in any case, particularly about your insecurities. Now you get to collect the results of that work, which will come in the form of expressing yourself. That means a form of freedom you haven’t had for a while. Freedom is something you take, not something you’re given. This will require courage, and shifting out of some old patterns — though you have help, and you have incentive. Still, you’re the one who must take the seeming risk of expressing yourself, which means opening yourself up to the potentially significant rewards.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — It’s time to have a party. Your home is where the fun is. You’re a private person by nature, but that inclines you to do your socializing in your own space and on your own terms. Yet the party does not need to be any more than you — that is, celebrating your physical space, caring for it, and making sure you feel at home there. The forthcoming Aries Full Moon is suggesting some unusual and exciting developments in your career, and one of my theories of life is that work goes better when one is more grounded and comfy in one’s home environment. Home is the true foundation of achievement in the world, and it’s the thing that holds the ship upright when a good wind is blowing and the currents are moving quickly. You will almost surely be investing your time in a kind of breakthrough project as these days and weeks unfold. And as that happens, you’ll be grateful that your home is in order and supports you spiritually, emotionally and, most of all, physically.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — As the Full Moon builds to a peak, I suggest you invest your energy three ways: one is listening, another is being articulate, and the third is listening. Your solar chart describes beautiful opportunities to relate to others. You also seem to have an emotional situation where you need to tune into a domestic partner or close relative. Take special care with this situation. Someone is feeling more than they are letting on, and they may have the feeling of being muted or unable to express their needs. This is why I suggest you listen for clues and bring subjects up delicately. To some extent this may describe you and your relationship to your feelings about someone you live with. No matter how questionable your emotions, all you really need is a dialog. Get the discussion going and all paths will lead to healing.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Pay close attention to money, in any form, particularly shared finances. There’s an unusual amount of energy moving through your chart and it’s just about all focused on the financial zones. This describes potential, and it describes risk. It’s up to you to balance the two of them. The thing to remember is that from the look of your solar chart, in any partnership, you’re likely to be the one with most of the wealth. So you would be taking most of the risk, but the rewards would be split evenly (since that’s your style). The prudent thing to do would be to limit what you invest into others, or into situations involving others. Preserve most of what you have, and take sensible risks when it comes to having more. The question in any financial or business partnership is: what are the parties bringing to the table? In some rare instances ideas are enough, but there’s little risk in that; and therefore, little reason to follow up the idea with work and focused intelligence.

Just What You Need When You Need It: Your Libra Reading

Dear Friend and Reader:

Eric recently completed Part One of the 2016-17 Libra Birthday Reading: two lush segments of studio-quality audio astrology. He’ll be completing Part Two, the video tarot reading, in the near future.

We’re already getting fantastic feedback about this reading — including this email from longtime member Ginger Aarons:

Eric,

Adrestia, Greek Goddess of balance and just retribution, by Harisharamnath.

As always, your reading is spot on and validates what I am experiencing in life at this time.

The sheer acknowledgment that, as a Libra, I need balance, beauty and aesthetics in my life to make me tick on — balanced — in my day-to-day endeavors, and consequently some very huge endeavors for the year, was just what I needed to keep going.

I have been struggling for about four years now on the idea of safety and security within myself instead of in outside sources. This will be put to the test this year (as if it hasn’t already been tested!) and while I struggle to want some cohesive partnership, as most Libras do, it is elusive still. I wonder can I wait for a miracle?

The shifting of Jupiter into Libra was indeed an overnight event, and suddenly I am able to face the future full on.

I think to sum it up: the reminder that really what it gets down to is acting in integrity, and realizing that quality, respect and beauty equals wisdom to this Libra. And then perhaps we can change the world.

Soldiering on.

Thank you again, Eric. I think we are entering about 18 years of knowing each other. That’s a long time in today’s world. You’re a blessing. Thank you for your service!
— Ginger Aarons

If you know and love a Libra, you can let them know by giving them this reading. It’s ideal for those with Libra rising, too.

Note: the price will increase again when the tarot portion publishes. (Still not sure? Listen to last year’s Libra reading here, on us.)

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

Planet Waves Astrology Editor

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You’re experiencing some of the most vibrant, alive astrology in many, many moons. One thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes even the very best aspects can get mixed results. So I’m here to tell you what’s available: a whole world of possibilities is right within reach. You’re likely to be attracting interesting, exciting people. Let them shake your tree a little. You don’t need to be conservative or withholding — you have plenty to go around, and the more you share the more you’ll realize you have. As for what dark streaks might be coming through, the thing to watch for is jealousy in any form. It’s most likely to be sexual or emotional, and it’s the thing you want to address first — if you happen to be feeling it. Be generous with people by reminding them they are free to pursue their lives, their interests and their pleasure. Those who come to you as part of that quest are the people you want to share your time and space with.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — A truly unusual mixture of energies simmers down your need to speak up for yourself. You are processing some deep feelings, and if you don’t express them, you’re likely to explode. That would not be productive. Yet if you’re able to say, ‘I think’, ‘I feel’, and ‘I want’, you will be a much happier person. By ‘say’, I mean, ‘say calmly but sincerely’. The problem with most emotional communication is that it happens close to the boiling point, where there’s a sensation of needs being neglected. Where this elusive thing called needs is concerned, though, it’s essential that they be as self-met as possible, and that relationships be more the purview of voluntary fulfillment. This reverses the usual logic. There are still actual needs in relationships, and to the extent that is true, you need to learn the language of emotions, and gain enough clarity to say what you mean and mean what you say.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — This is your week to be a star, or rather to become one. You have a positively gorgeous alignment of planets in the sweet spot in your chart, which is Libra. It’s your most social angle, and also the one that describes legitimate respect for what you do in the world, and the proceeds from business enterprises. All of these things are glowing with opportunity. What will add something to the equation is your willingness to take creative risks. Smash the mold and do what you think is shocking or stunning or unusual or weird. Whatever you do for art or pleasure, do it in a new way. Challenge yourself to come out of all your safe zones and formulas and let yourself stretch, burst or explode. This is how you’ll reach into yourself and make contact with that deeply original core you contain. This is not territory for the meek, mild or timid; thankfully you have nothing to worry about there.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — At the moment, there is an unusual conjunction happening in your sign: Mars, the planet of energy, drive and desire, is meeting up with Pluto, the planet of soul and transformation. This is happening after a long buildup — something that’s been developing all year. This is a description of you coming into a new level of your existence, a new idea about who you are, and what you might think of as an increase in your personal power. Yet you must handle this with care and caution. Your words count for three times the potency as usual. Your emotions are exponentially stronger. As this develops over the next week or so, you must practice consciousness and restraint, and be selective about how to express your energy in healthy ways. No doubt some of them will be sexual, because you’re finally making contact with what you want, and are willing to admit it. But be kind to people, and try not to burn anyone as they touch your gorgeous flame, or get touched by you.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Lately I’ve been reminding you to open your mind and consider the possibilities for your life. Clearly you need and want change. There are basically two ways for that to happen: some event occurs to you and you’re compelled to deal with it. Or, in the alternate, you unfurl your imagination and expand your vision and move into it. Right now your chart is perfectly suited for doing just that. The thing about a vision is that it must exceed who and what you currently are. That presents a real challenge for many people. For example, they might wonder how they’re going to make that thing they want to happen. That’s exactly what not to worry about right now. It doesn’t matter how you’ll get there or even whether you will. What matters is getting your ideas flowing and being real about what you want to do and become. Of note, certain aspects are doing their best to help you dig out of any old ideas you might have about yourself, or that you inherited from your elders. This is demolition work, but don’t let the noise frighten you.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Pluck up every drop of your confidence and get ready to meet the world. The laid-back, ‘whatever happens’ attitude of Pisces is officially retired. You’re discovering that you’re a person of considerable determination and ambition. You’re discovering that you have ideas and plans and that it’s time to put them into action. That time is not in the future. It’s now. You must make friends with your own power, and with people you perceive to be powerful, without compromising your integrity. What that means is being a whole person, and being who you are, all the time, in every circumstance. Not everyone will like that, though it’s not actually your problem. If you cut through the fog and bullshit, which you seem to be doing brilliantly, you will connect with the people who want to work with you, who can help you and to whom you can be an asset and a resource. This is a moment of forming bonds and partnerships that can last a lifetime. Yet that comes from one quality only, which is being real.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — You are entering new territory in your professional life. If it seems like you’ve been doing the same old routines this year, Mars moving across the achievement angle of your chart will be refreshing. One thing to be mindful of is being too proud of what you’ve accomplished, such as when presenting yourself to potential employers or clients. Rather, exhibit a calm, quiet confidence. Take the attitude of “I do my best to get results.” Next, you must understand the politics of every situation you’re involved with. Who holds the power? That’s a good place to start. Know who you’re dealing with. Over the next couple of weeks you must be careful not to be seen as if you’re staging some kind of overthrow or revolt. It would be too easy to get on the wrong side of people in authority, and equally easy to work with them to get the result they want.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Old beliefs do not give way easily. The cost for that is living in the past. It’s one thing to seek information from what’s happened before, and to respect elements of wisdom gained through experience. But it’s another thing to inhabit the past, and this is often done through outdated beliefs. It’s now time for some updating. Scan your mind as you go through the day, and notice when you’re making a decision based on a belief that you have not updated recently. Now is the time to do a query, and determine what is currently true based on new information, and then respond. All of this demands that you not be lazy, which is asking a lot in the days of tap on the glass twice and sushi manifests at your door. Challenging and revising beliefs is work, but it’s only the preparatory step. The creative step is replacing them with a vision of what you want instead.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Be mindful when conducting any negotiations, particularly if they involve contracts, matters of taxation or negotiating about finances in partnerships. You appear to be motivated to get a fair outcome, but don’t move too quickly. If you feel the discussion is proceeding in a way that is unfair or in which you’re lost in the maze, ask for time to get your facts right. Use your energy on inquisitiveness rather than fighting or resisting. And remember, this is not a matter of how hard you work, or having to earn something extra by your service. This conversation is at the stage of brass tacks; it’s now far less about opinion and almost entirely about power. To keep your power, you must be armed with facts and figures and keep your presentation chilled to just above freezing. People must deal with reality. Emotions get in the way.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — The recent New Moon served as yet another invitation to take better care of yourself. By now you understand that this is not just a good idea; it’s the only idea. However, you don’t want to do that by neglecting work, which will just raise the tension. Rather, free yourself from work by being the master of your priorities and your time. This means making conscious decisions about what to focus on, and choosing to avoid the biggest time-waster of all: conflict. This would also hold true in your personal relationships. Others may be in a feisty state. It may be personal, it may not be; though you can help the situation by staying a step ahead of people on any shared responsibilities that you may have. As for the fun side of this astrology, people are likely to be more assertive about their desire. You may find yourself with one or more suitors, and with your options open.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You seem to want to get a lot of work done, but you might ask yourself what has already been accomplished — by others and by you. This will save you plenty of work, as it seems the bulk of what you’re trying to do has already been done. You might do a little research and determine the thing that nobody else can figure out how to do. There would seem to be something, which might have been considered impossible or too difficult to accomplish. You might know exactly what this is. You might need to figure it out; and once you do, you’re likely to discover that it’s not so difficult after all. Well, the passage of time, changing conditions and a new mental approach may be what’s helping the difficulty unravel. Be mindful if a task is taking too long; that will mean you need to reassess whether it’s necessary, check your method or find someone who knows more than you and get some information.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Mars has entered your fellow earth sign Capricorn, and that’s an invitation to adventure: creative, sexual, romantic or involving a business enterprise. It could be all of the above, since that’s what we want when we’re really living. All year long, Mars — the ultimate planet of self-expression — has been lingering in some of the most private corners of your chart. Moving into Capricorn, your solar 5th house, Mars is inviting you to hang loose and explore, experiment and take some chances. You might not like to admit this, but you tend to have a conservative nature; you’re more adventurous on the inside than on the outside. Now is the time to bring out those qualities and have some fun. To do this, you’ll need to go past the point of your own discomfort. That might mean coming out of your safe zone. It might mean taking the risk of being known for what you have to say. Or it might mean taking a more assertive role with someone you fancy.

Open the Door to Your Life with Your Libra Reading

Dear Friend and Reader:

How do you invoke the ‘luck factor’ of a Jupiter transit? For starters, you have to be willing to do your part. Think of it like opening the door so that a fresh breeze (or a dear friend) can come in.

The open door of the Hermitage at Omega Institute. What door will you open? Your Libra Reading will have clues. Photo by Eric Francis.

That door is the door of opportunity; something that often opens best when a person has done a little groundwork to prepare, takes the time to listen to their intuition and then acts.

Do you need some assistance seeing the doors in your life and knowing the best way to open them? Jupiter in Libra is offering you beautiful potential this year! How will you use it? Are you ready for it?

Eric will describe solid ways you can make the most of Jupiter in Libra — and much more this year — in your 2016-17 Libra Birthday Reading.

In two segments of audio and a video tarot reading, Eric will guide you through the subtle nuances, complex puzzles and in-your-face ‘big stuff’, motivating you to navigate the next 12 months with grace and chutzpah.

Best of all: if you pre-order your Libra Reading for just $19.97 today, you’ll lock in the lowest price we offer.

Note: Your birthday reading is distinctly different from BALANCE: the Midyear Reading. While that was a 12-sign project focused on paired signs, your birthday reading goes into greater, more focused depth, describing longer-term influences on the Libra experience from several directions.

You could pay $100 for a reading elsewhere and not get a fraction of the practical insight offered in Eric’s audio-video readings. So go ahead: pre-order your reading, open the door and turn your opportunities into something with lasting value.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

Planet Waves Astrology Editor

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You’re approaching an important decision. It might seem like the decision is approaching you, though this is something you’ve been thinking about for a long time. Whatever it may involve, the key is to choose from a place of strength rather than one of weakness or lack. Once you commit to this, it will be easier than you think. Your main strength involves your resiliency. A lot has changed in the past month, and you’re working with newly accessible resources, ideas that are coming to fruition, and confidence that can only come from actual trials and tests. If you’ve made it this far, you have not just passed those tests; you’ve emerged into a new phase of your life. You are a bigger person than you once were, and it’s time to step into the new scale of your existence. Remember at all times: you actually have something to offer. You possess knowledge, understanding and a sense of potential that’s about to be realized.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Mars has spent much of the year in your sign, connecting you with who you are on an emotional level. The rest of the year, Mars has been in Sagittarius, reminding you of your spiritual goals and your rather unworldly values. This has been a real test: of your integrity, of your willingness to live the truth of what you believe and, most of all, your willingness to let go of the past. Much of that has been conducted through ‘inner work’, and now that work is moving outward into your most intimate relationships, particularly with neighbors, colleagues and siblings. You simply must live the truth of who you are, rather than wish you could. You need to gain confidence that can only come from experience. To gain this experience you’re going to need to violate some protocols, and get past what you perceive as the expectations of others. You might not need to be bad, but your goal cannot be to be good; it must be to be real.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — It’s time to take action on the money thing. Once there was an astrologer named Lois Rodden, one of the best and most productive of our era. She said to me once, “Most astrologers say Mercury is the money planet. They are wrong. It’s Mars, because making money takes motivation, and that’s what Mars is about.” Mars has now entered the financial angle of your chart. This, after 10 months of retrograde and dancing around in your sign and in Scorpio, as if wondering what the next thing to do really is. Well, now the thing to do is business. You have a keen instinct for finances. You merely need to get past a kind of over-caution that’s not really befitting your swashbuckling soul. Yet you’ve been learning that the careful and reserved side of your nature — especially around money — must be balanced by boldness and imagination, and that’s the story of your life right now. Whatever it is, don’t wait for it to come to you. Go to it.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Mars ingressing your sign this week will have you feeling like your old self again, though in an entirely new way. The main message of this event is that it’s time to unplug fear as a primary force in your psyche. The fear might be there, but you have better sources of information. By fear, I mean anything from vapid anxiety to letting your idea of the worst-case scenario drive your decisions, from the insecurity that’s followed you around for so long to guilt about what you want. You’ve made some unusual choices this year; some have worked out, and others you’re still wondering about. You might count up the cost of what you’ve lost because you were afraid of something that never happened, and was not going to happen. You might seriously reconsider any decision you made based on the fear of some abstract prospect, on guilt, or on any form of denial. Here’s the plain truth: you’re bigger than all of that, not to mention better.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Your motivation comes from inside you. You know this, you forget it, then you remember, then you forget. Now I’m reminding you. Something has just shifted around this area of your life, and you seem to have a newly lit fire under your ass. Here’s the deeper message: you need to make structural changes in your life. This is less about cleaning your desk and more about moving your office to the right part of your house for maximum efficiency. It’s less about sorting your paperwork and more about inventing a file system that suits your actual needs. Less about getting more clients for your current business than it is about revising your business model or plan. Structural changes will generally relate back to physical changes to your environment; alterations to your work pattern; fully conscious decisions about how you organize your time; and in particular, seeking and removing blocks to your progress. Don’t just turn stones over. Get them out of your way.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — It’s time to make your presence known: to announce your existence and your ideas to whom it may concern or, for that matter, to whom it may not concern. You’ve certainly not been lying idle these past seasons, but you would benefit from being considerably more assertive about what you’re doing. By that I mean to the public, whatever you consider that to be: beyond your immediate circle of friends and clients. Do not be in any way daunted by naysayers, complainers or those who judge. It’s easy for you to take people’s negativity on board. That’s their problem, not yours. Assert who you are and what you do. Consciously seek out collaborators; people who helped you in the past may be available to help you again. Those who may have had less interest in the past may take an active interest now. This is one of those times in your life when it’s really worth having another try at things you wanted to do but could not quite break through.