This week’s edition of Planet Waves TV covers the old-religion holiday of Beltane, one of the cross-quarter days. I also look at the double inner planet retrograde, of Mars at one end of the zodiac (in Scorpio) and Mercury at the other end (in Taurus). Please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Dear Friend and Reader:
During the 2008 presidential campaign, The Onion dropped a spoof newscast into the discussion. The headline: “No-Values Voters Looking to Support Most Evil Candidate.” [See video here.]
No-values voters demand meaner candidates. Sadly, this is one of those jokes that’s funny because it’s true. Graphic from The Onion.
For no-values voters, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain was acceptable to citizens “who believe in a complete lack of morals and are committed to carrying out unspeakable acts of evil.”
In the video, ordinary voters spoke up about their needs. “The tenor of the political debate seems focused on helping people and making positive change, and that’s very alienating for people like us,” said John Gerrity, a fictional no-values voter.
“We want to be able to look at a candidate and truly believe they have no soul,” said another.
The spokesman for a Political Action Committee called Citizens for a Bleaker America said, “We don’t want just pandering. We want the streets to run red with rivers of blood.”
This is an article introducing the Nuclear Axis chart — the chart for the beginning of the nuclear age. The chart is for the first time scientists created a self-sustaining nuclear reaction, the kind that would be necessary for the creation of atomic bombs or their incestuous first cousin, nuclear power. The article we posted earlier, Chernobyl: Witnesses Near and Far, includes the chart of the explosion at the reactor. It is what you might call a classical Nuclear Axis chart, with planets piled up across the critical degrees of Gemini and Sagittarius. There was also a lunar eclipse about two days before, during which key (bad) decisions were made. I am republishing the Nuclear Axis article for astrology students who would benefit from knowing this chart exists, and what its implications are. –efc
Nuclear Axis — the chart for the first self-sustaining atomic reaction.
While we’re on the nuclear topic, this is a good time to get the conversation going about the Nuclear Axis. For more detailed background and some chart examples, check this old article I wrote for Star IQ. The Nuclear Axis chart is the chart for the first self-sustaining atomic pile, created in a secret lab under an athletic field at the University of Chicago toward the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War II. This was part of the Manhattan project.
What we have is a chart for the Nuclear Age. It is exceedingly rare to have exact data for such a profound event in the history of humanity, particularly given that this one happened under the cloak of absolute secrecy.
The ‘axis’ part of the chart is the opposition from Gemini to Sagittarius. This is fairly easy to see: you know the glyphs for Gem and Sagg, and the planets are connected by a series of purple lines that form the axis. In Gemini we have Uranus and Saturn; in Saggitarius we have Sun, Mercury, Juno and Venus. Not shown in mid-Sagittarius is the Great Attractor, an inter-galactic point. The ominous thing about the Sagittarius alignment is that it has themes of international and death; as well as obsession, and lots of money.
Indeed, after WWII in many respects the entire economy would be based on the vast expenditures of the nuclear industry — all those bombs and airplanes and personnel and missiles that needed to be developed and countless spies and so on and on — and all the apparatus of defense that had to be erected around the nuclear arsenal: indeed the whole military industrial complex.
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Dear Friend and Reader:
It’s that time of year again. As Mars wends its way back toward Scorpio, Mercury this week also turns retrograde. The station takes place on Thursday at 1:20 pm EDT (17:19:39 UTC).
The chart for this event is remarkable, and highlights a lot of points — including Mars, which contacts Eris all but precisely in a sesquiquadrate, or 135-degree angle. Also noteworthy is Vesta, which has accompanied Mercury on its passage through Taurus and is just a degree and a half away at the moment in question. This describes many forces of nature and of psyche acting on one another simultaneously. Friction has a way of making fire.
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Don’t forget to leave yourself a little extra time.
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Each Mercury station has its own nuances, but the themes tend to be broadly similar.
We know enough about Mercury retrograde, especially the first few days before, to remind you to use your head, slow down, and be alert and aware. This will save you time and trouble. Also, make backups, perform extra checks and avoid signing contracts.
Eric also suggests you leave yourself extra time to get places. Calculate accurately, including things like parking; and then add on 15 minutes as a buffer. That’s helpful any week, though it will save you inconvenience this week; and the Taurus influence will make itself felt most pleasantly if you make sure there is some ‘you time’ factored in.
Approached with calm and caution, Mercury retrogrades can be a restful and gentle moment. This is especially the case in mellow Taurus, with the mood already set by Mars. Plan, deliberate, think before you speak or act. Then, hopefully, all you’ll need to do is relax and enjoy.
Your weekly horoscopes are below.
With love,
Amy Elliott
Planet Waves Client Services
PS — Thanks to Eric for helping me write this week’s piece and making sense of the astrology. Here is a thoroughly informative article from the PW archives on Mercury retrograde.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — Religion is the contract that you have with your existence. It’s your understanding of why you’re here and the code that you live by. Rare activity in your solar chart is describing you in a process of questioning your old agreement and striving to make a new one. To do this well, you must question all of your beliefs, including ones that you may not have known you had. Be bold and brave about this, and trust that you’re up to the task. People tend to hold on to beliefs that don’t work for them, only because they’re afraid that their life would be unstable if they did the very thing that you’re doing. Yet for you this is not an option; you’re growing and evolving far beyond what your previous beliefs could contain. Here is the thing: you’re actually going deeper than that, deeper than mere opinions or hunches about what is true. You have begun a journey that’s no less than a search for your deepest personal truth.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You have extra support right now from what we might describe as ‘unseen forces’. The way to activate that help is to extend cooperation any time you can, and to open up to receiving it every time you need it. Support is a kind of exchange; and for that to work, it’s essential both to offer and to accept. The thing is that you will have no less for offering, and others will have no less when you receive their gifts. There is an abundance of whatever you need, and it’s likely to be somewhere accessible in your environment already. This applies to the most ordinary material objects — look around your house if you need something – and to emotional support, love and friendship. The mantra ‘I have what I need’ will serve you well. Yet you can trust that this effect is percolating deep beneath what is visible and obvious. Keep your heart and your mind open, and let the good karma circulate in your world.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Listen to yourself. Listen to the words that you say, and how you say them. Sense the feeling beneath your words, which can sometimes conflict with what language alone implies. Imagine for a few days that everything you say, you are saying to yourself. Everything you write, you’re writing to yourself. Everything you perceive is some element of your own mind. When you do that, how does your approach change? Are you sterner or gentler toward others? Are you more or less sincere? It’s not a stretch to say that everything you express has you as its first and ultimate recipient; and that, in a sense, everyone else is coming along for the ride. It’s just so easy to forget this, and it can be a profound experience to remember.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You can do wonders healing your self-image by working with photos. I don’t mean contributing to the endless stream of selfies, but rather with conscious and intentional self-portraits that you study and grow with. I suggest you pay special attention to photos where you’re inclined to judge some aspect of your appearance or of your personality, and make peace with what you don’t like. This will take you deeper than the seemingly surface level of appearance and personality. There’s actual material for spiritual growth and self-acceptance right under the surface. Pay attention to whatever you have seemed to ‘always’ judge about yourself, or the thing you think you can never get over. Right behind those negative feelings is where you’ll find the healing power you seek, not hiding so much as waiting for you to reach in and make contact with yourself. Right with that is the discovery that you do indeed have the gift of self-healing.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — At present, your solar chart describes how your life is set up to accomplish some rather large goals in some unusual ways. You are under no obligation to follow convention, as long as you don’t piss off your higher-ups or people to whom you’re responsible. This leaves you plenty of room for unconventional approaches to leadership, to meeting your goals and to succeeding in some special way. Focus on the task at hand and ask yourself what you’re really trying to do. See if you can strip away any need you have for maintaining an appearance. That kind of goal will typically lead you to some pointless places. However, remember that you’re being observed by others who may hold some power and influence in your life; and you want to do things well, and maintain a policy of genuine honesty. You will save yourself precious time and effort. Better still, you will thrive on any demonstration that the truth is your greatest source of strength.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Mercury is the planet associated with your sign. Later this week, it turns to retrograde motion, which typically happens three times a year for three weeks. For you this is an introspective moment. Focus your life on your most genuine priorities. Everyone on this planet spends plenty of time pursuing goals that turn out to be meaningless, and following rules they had no part in setting. Your main task in the few weeks ahead is to ask yourself: what is really true for you? What gives your life meaning? And, perhaps most significantly, what is your long-range goal? You don’t need to answer that as much as you will benefit from extending your present life five or 10 years into the future. Imagine the work you do, the people you’re associating with, and the things that you think are important today. If you were to write a story about each of them, and extend that forward, where would each of those scenarios be? If anything seems like a dead-end, or if the story doesn’t seem to write itself naturally, you might consider other investments of your time and emotions.
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Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You may have the feeling of others not making sense to you all of a sudden — even people who made perfect sense yesterday. But who is actually changing their perspective? It would seem that you are asking some deep questions, going places philosophically where your friends and cousins rarely go. This is a sign of your advancing maturity. You are someone who cares about real ideas, to an extent that can leave other people bewildered. You probably wonder why they don’t care as much as you do; why they don’t read the books that you do, or ask the questions you do. I suggest you keep reading and keep asking; and when you have the chance, ask out loud and see who joins the conversation. You are developing a rare or even unique aspect of your intelligence, which is your ability to see through false ideas and notice the ones that have relevance. You can have plenty of fun doing this, and fill a notebook you will treasure for a lifetime.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You might pause your persistent concern about finances, and focus on the people in your life. Money is important, though it matters far less than most people imagine. Dependable friends, health and emotional contact matter more — and are more challenging to attain and to maintain. If you invest your energy into loving and sharing with people you genuinely care about, you may notice that many other concerns either disappear or find their correct place in your life. One thing about friends is that some of them know more than you about the challenges you might be facing, and will be able to offer ideas and potential solutions you might never have thought of. Remember to do as much of this as you can in person and as close to home as possible. You will have more intimate conversations in private spaces than you will in public ones — plus the food and wine are better.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — It’s necessary to have tension to create movement. The poles of a battery must oppose one another; an ordinary car engine contains the force of many explosions per second. You have energy of this kind moving in you now, though I suggest you be careful about taking out any negative feelings on yourself. You’re in a particularly sensitive and vulnerable place in your life, which is entirely necessary if you want to make full contact with your talent, your creativity or your life purpose. Just make sure you remember that vulnerability when you approach the tasks you must complete, or when you strive for discipline. You are in a phase of your personal journey when it will help to do less and to feel more; to say less, and to contemplate more. You have in fact accomplished so much that it would be wise of you to choose two or three long-term goals and focus on them exclusively for a while.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You’re someone who is accustomed to living on strong foundations. These days, however, your foundations are moving, and you need to move with them. It will not help to cling to anything old and familiar just for the sake of doing so. It will help immensely to immerse yourself in your own creative flow. That means staying awake and alert in the moment, and deciding what you need to do at any given time based on what you notice, and what you perceive your needs are. Keep updating your awareness and asking yourself what is relevant now. This will be especially true if you feel insecure or as if some long-trusted source of support seems not to be there. In many, many ways the universe is reminding you that you must be your own most dependable friend and ally. Once you tap into the strength of that position, you will never want to turn back. And one of the best benefits will be seeing how much you have available to offer others.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — The Sun is now in Taurus, and this places the emphasis of your life on your home. You might have noticed that you feel less appeal in going out, especially if you’ve been engaging in what we could politely call mindless diversion. You have important work to do at home, which is your actual base of rest, renewal and repair. Your mind has been active lately, and there are few people in your social sphere who truly understand what you’re going through. If you move your social activities into your living room, you will filter out most of the people who don’t quite get it, and you’ll be able to focus on the ones who do. I suggest you make an effort to prepare your own meals for the next few weeks, shaking off the distinctly modern habit of letting others control your source of nourishment. In this and many ways, you’re really the very best person to do that for yourself.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Your life at the moment is about mind over matter. Your imagination can get more done than any amount of effort, making it your most effective labor saving device. If you see a problem, start by reminding yourself that it has a solution. If you see a need, remind yourself you can meet any requirement you have for existence, and more. In other words, the first thing to do is not to talk yourself out of trusting your creativity and ingenuity, and the second thing to do is to affirm and most of all experiment with them. If you have an ability you don’t use, you’re not as likely to trust it, and neither will you have as easy access when you need it. This week’s alignment of the Sun in Taurus with your guiding planet Neptune will give you many opportunities to test, and stretch, what you may have thought were limitations on your ability to manifest. There is one requirement that turns the key to this process: knowing, and admitting, what you want.
Mercury stations retrograde Thursday. In this new edition of Planet Waves TV, Eric Francis considers the possibilities, and mentions other interesting bits about Venus and Mars as they are currently placed. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — No matter what you may think or feel about the progress you’re making, you are building toward an unusual breakthrough. By unusual I mean once-in-a-lifetime, though it may happen in slow motion, such that you don’t notice for a while. Astrology, however, can help align you with your moment. There is a process that’s helping you get there, which may lead you to feel as if you’re delaying or lagging behind, though that’s not true. Mars retrograde in Sagittarius is inviting, enticing or compelling you to question your deepest-held beliefs about existence, which means about yourself. The situation as I see it is that who you are becoming is bigger than your current beliefs can contain. When you cross the boundary of a belief, you can stir up conflict about ‘trying to do the impossible’, which can be self-limiting. Therefore, before you strive to exceed what you think of as your current limitations, you will need to investigate them. One relationship that you’re in the process of changing is how you coexist with time. It will help immensely if you remember the ways you’ve learned what is possible when you use time well. Part of your assignment is learning the personal discipline to do what must be done each day. Part is remaining connected to your long-term goal. When you put the two together, you are unstoppable.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Your charts come back to one theme, which is connecting: with yourself, with someone (or more than one person) that you want to be closer to and, ultimately, with your purpose. Let’s take them one at a time. Connecting with yourself means going deeper into your own mind, led by curiosity. You are at the point where you can no longer stand being such a mystery to yourself. You may see aspects of yourself dramatized in your relationships, without recognizing it at first. Look for the parallels; allow the psychology of others and how they make decisions help you figure out what you actually want and need. As you do this, you’re likely to see the parallels between your approach to life and that of someone close to you. The term ‘absolute equality’ is coming to mind: I suggest you trust no concept of superiority, which also implies you living up to your end of any agreement as a matter both of honor and of dharma. This will be an exploration that’s likely to take you ever deeper into your feelings, your motives and your understanding of life. From this journey, you’re likely to get some information about purpose. Remember that, like the theme of a novel, purpose is usually implied rather than stated overtly. It’s something that you figure out, notice and embrace in degrees, one day at a time.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Once I wrote an article called “All Dogs Need Jobs.” Dogs want nothing more than to participate, which means having an assignment of some kind. This is an approach I suggest you apply to relationships as well. While the romantic notion of relationships is that they should exist for their own sake, I think that the lack of some agreed-upon purpose is where most relationships get lost. It could be a shared commitment to mutual happiness. It could be raising a family. It could be creating a business, or being missionaries in Zimbabwe. It could be giving one another the hottest sex ever. Whatever it is, I suggest that you define that thing as a tangible, observable purpose. You can proceed from this point with a commitment to explore, in what you might think of as a discovery process. First, notice what applying the concept of purpose does to your relationship and how you think about it. If you’re not currently in a partnership to which this applies, notice how it changes your thinking, or perhaps creates some apprehension. The reason I’m making this suggestion is that all relationships have a purpose, whether you’re aware of it or not, and whether you agree with your partner or not. The name of the game, in my view, is being fully connected to, devoted to, and responsive to a reason for being.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Be conscious of how much effort you exert, and notice what energy gets what result or reward. There are two main approaches you might take for the next few weeks; one brings results with relatively little effort, and the other might lead you to work your buns off with few benefits. Since it so often happens that great effort leads to little return, you will need to pay attention, especially when something you do goes well. That is the direction in which to proceed. One distinction between easy and difficult probably involves cooperation. How you use the energy and brainpower provided by others, and made available to you, is a significant element in this story. How you feel when you try to go it alone will also be helpful. To put this simply, you would be wise to learn how to ask for assistance, to drum up some cooperation among your peers, and to offer yourself voluntarily when you notice you might be of service. Think of this as stimulating your local economy, of which you are part. Remember that little of any consequence or service to humanity was ever built or created by one person working independently. Let this be no affront to your pride, or to your sense of your self-worth. Indeed, the value you share and exchange with others is the one you can most vividly feel and relate to.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You seem ready to take your professional life more seriously; your timing is good. You will make the greatest strides by using unconventional means. These days, unconventional (verging on really weird) involves actually calling someone on the phone, or showing up somewhere that you think might have an opportunity waiting or where you will gain experience or learn something new. Any error you make, or miscommunication you encounter, might contain an opportunity. Pause and look for what that might be; for example, if you get an email from someone by mistake, or dial the wrong company. Investigate what truth might exist within a misunderstanding. Notice whom you ‘just bump into’. You might also intentionally call up some old contacts and see what they have going on. All of this is predicated, of course, on you having some idea what you want to do and why you want to do it: some actual goal. I suggest, however, that this really be a top priority, something with substance and with lasting value. It’s likely to be something you’ve wanted to do for a long time, and are just connecting or reconnecting with. It will be worth every bit of your energy right now, though I suggest you aim high: consider your most important professional goal. And remember that you might get there in a way you were not expecting.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You seem to be walking that fine line between idealistic and practical. They only conflict if they are disconnected from one another. If you align the two, you will tap some unusual alchemy. This in itself is a practical exercise. You might have something you’re dreaming of. Can you describe it in words? Can you sketch it? Can you put a price on it? How long might it take to create? If you can answer a few of those questions, you’re entering the realm of the pragmatic. You might subject any desire to that kind of test; consider that anything you cannot ground in some describable, physical coordinates merely to be wishful thinking. The sketch, the outline and the timeline mean more than you might imagine. Then of course there is the question of how you could pay for it all. Yet once you have a concrete plan that you can describe to another person, money takes second place to ingenuity and drive. It’s often said that the airplane was invented for about $1,000, though it’s more impressive if you remember that money came from the profits of a bicycle shop. As my Godmother used to say in all sincerity, where there is a will, there is a way. Yet the vital thing is the will: the focused mix of desire and intention that you consciously devote to a purpose. And yes, your friends might think that’s radical or weird.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You can negotiate a better deal, though flexibility is a must. So, too, is a kind of optimism that you may not be feeling up to these days, though believe me when I tell you there is gold in them there hills. And not just gold: there is a potential meeting of the minds, on matters of real substance. Yet you must keep a positive frame of mind, and not allow frustration to get the best of you. Find reasons to rise above it; seek the ways to get hold of your mind and put your energy to work for you. You have plenty, if only you would tap into it creatively and constructively. If you find yourself blocked, look for workarounds. Slow your thoughts down; break complex tasks into steps; pause and ask yourself why you’re doing something. Most of all, use time as an ally rather than as an enemy. If you schedule things at a pace you can handle, and really ask yourself what has to be done by when, you will find your efforts easier to manage. But there is no substitute for understanding what you want, and what others want, and identifying the common ground between you. Those shared values are the basis of any real agreement, and you have plenty in common with key people in your life. They can easily be turned to mutual profit.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — A relationship seems to be changing shapes and sizes faster than you can keep up with it; this is an illusion. Beneath the top layer there is a solid foundation of consistency and stability. Yet you cannot deny that you need to take a fresh look at things, which could start with a few new ideas, and reviving a few old ones that have been left by the wayside. It will help to take a light-hearted approach and to remind yourself that if a relationship is not fun, then what is its real purpose? There’s another thing that might be coming up, which is what to do about attractions outside your primary relationship. These things happen to everyone, and they are real. You might face the question of whether to discuss them with a partner or love interest, or to keep them quiet. I think this conceals a deeper question: do you bring all of yourself, or just part of yourself, into your relationships? Do you experience yourself in sections or fragments, or do you experience yourself as one holistic entity? What you do attests to what you believe. It’s true that you may relate to different people different ways, though that’s a natural effect of when the energy fields of two unique beings meet. Give yourself space to be who you are at any moment.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — You may be experiencing a side of yourself that you rarely admit to inwardly, much less talk about openly with others. You might, for example, be remembering desires that you left behind or forgot about long ago. You might feel drawn inward, and toward a form of self-discovery that you cannot explain to the people around you. There is no need to. You don’t have to distract yourself with the thought of what others might think. Within your own interior space, only your opinions and viewpoints count now. While you’re there, remember to be gentle. You don’t have to judge what you think, feel or want. You are free to assess and revise your most deeply held beliefs. In fact it’s the perfect time for that. Remember, though, that beliefs often serve as psychological stabilizing devices for what otherwise might be a shaky relationship to existence. You don’t have to worry about that. When you question your beliefs, you tend to build a stronger relationship to truth; that’s because what is untrue only interferes with what is true. You can, therefore, afford to be bold about this. Leave no stone unturned, no found scrap of paper unread, no door un-knocked upon. When you run into any difficulty, look for the belief that it’s not true, and notice whether what seemed to be a problem resolves, or turns to a gift.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — It’s often said that fear is misdirected creative energy — though have you ever experienced that discovery for yourself? Remember that theory is not experience, and rationalizing is not a substitute for understanding. If you want to actually prove something, you must actually experiment. What would it mean to choose something you’re afraid of, face it and dance with it? There seem to be two levels of fear operating in you right now. One you can use as an excuse. The other presents some kind of a block. It’s difficult to see the real block if you’re fixating on the excuse. So you might just pause the story-generation machine and ask yourself what it is you’re concerned might happen if you truly confront what you’re afraid of. I have an idea what that might be: you might have the fun and pleasure you want to have. You might, as in you would likely, experience the love you say you seek and so often search for. Yet if you did, you would have to rearrange your whole belief system. If you confronted one fear successfully, you would then naturally want to confront the rest of them, since you would then be certain they are a waste of precious time and energy. Now for the real question: why ever would you hesitate to do that?
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — It’s time to feather your own nest. You are doing much else besides: your chart in many ways describes what one might call public responsibilities, things that happen outside your own home and which are intended for the benefit or service of others. At the same time, you are advancing in society, or at least your chart describes that potential vividly. This comes with various ups and downs; peaks and lulls in effort; and greater or lesser results, depending on the day and the week. Make this work for you. For all its reputation as an android, the Aquarius solar chart is oriented with Taurus on your home angle, which is another way of saying solid, comfortable, and providing space for you, your friends and maybe a few critters. Living well, as you know, is the ultimate statement of your success. Planets are now gathered in Taurus, emphasizing the point. I suggest you make your home as beautiful as you feel inclined to. Invest resources there. Upgrade or replace what is worn. One large gesture in that regard (a new bed or bedding, for example) would remind you that you are, in reality, feathering your nest in the literal sense. Dig out your cupboards, clean them and replace what you don’t like with what you do like (all while praising the Goddess). The investment will come back to you manifold.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Pause and assess the progress you’ve made the past year. Slow down on your quest to take new territory, and develop what you’ve already begun, and begun well. Mars and Saturn continue to emphasize the theme of leadership, which means taking responsibility for your own life. As part of this pattern, you are doing some challenging work of integrating who you are as a person with the mission you came here to fulfill. This is integration on the level of total synthesis: there can no longer be a distinction between ‘you’ and ‘your mission’ or you and your message. Yet to do this well requires a level of self-awareness for which there are few examples to follow. This is why I’m suggesting a review phase, which would include filling in some gaps you may have left in your development process, organizing your physical space, evaluating your resources and getting a little rest. You need enough distance on your situation to get a fresh perspective or two. Remember that the thing you’re doing now is combining long-range commitment with the knack for discipline in the moment. These are two of the most essential factors for success; the third is vision, which for you means revision. Mars retrograde through late June is taking that to a deep level: connecting emotionally with your deepest commitment to your chosen purpose.
Queen Elizabeth at her coronation, Westminster Abbey, June 2, 1953.
Dear Friend and Reader:
Today is the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, who is now Great Britain’s longest serving monarch. As of today, she has served 64 years and 72 days, recently surpassing her great grandmother, Queen Victoria (1837-1901), whose reign lasted 63 years and 216 days.
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In this week’s Planet Waves TV, I describe the difference between opposite and adjoining signs. Mars will be retrograde in Sagittarius and Scorpio, which contain more “opposition energy” than opposite signs Sagittarius and Gemini. I explain this in the context of some easy ideas from Esoteric Astrology by Alice Bailey, and classical astrology as well. Play video here.
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Monday Morning Horoscope for April 18, 2016 | By Eric Francis Coppolino
Aries (March 20-April 19) — You may find yourself questioning long-held beliefs. This might shake up some people, as if the answer to the question, ‘What if that’s not true?’ would surely be scary. I suggest you take the bold approach, and figure out which ideas you’ve held perhaps for your whole life that are not serving you. This can come with a sense of liberation, and you can add things to your list of what not to worry about any more. Be especially vigilant — or perhaps just curious — looking for things you were told about yourself that have no validity at all. You now have the presence of mind to decide what really matters the most for you, and what is an honest expression of your values. This will have the effect of influencing your long-term plans. Updating your beliefs will lead you to update your goals, and your vision for yourself.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Don’t be too eager to hold close partners to their commitments. Someone close to you may be going through some twists and turns, needing to make some important decisions. If you give them the space to go through their process, they’re likely to end up closer to you and with a better self-understanding as well. The key thing is space. Take care of yourself, make as few demands as possible and resist the urge to poke and prod. Rather, a friendly hello, an offer of some food or a loving voice on the phone will do wonders. One thing to keep in mind is that you seem to be in a similar process of self-inquiry, though it may be difficult to define. It involves something about how your perception of yourself influences how you see others.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Take a light-hearted approach to any conflict that might emerge in a relationship. You might feel as if people are being obstinate for its own sake, but you’re probably misreading the situation. One of the most important things we can learn in life is not to take things personally. This is not easy, especially when it seems personal. But how many times has that happened, and then it turned out that the way someone was reacting had nothing to do with you? That’s the most likely scenario; and if you don’t take offense, you won’t create any either. If you live in the moment and focus on your own priorities, you’ll remember all those goals you have and ambitions you’ve been cultivating. I suggest you focus on the most important one, or the one you want the most, and work till you have a sense of accomplishment.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You seem ready to answer some profound life calling, and it will pay to have the courage to act on what, to others, may seem like a wild idea or long shot. It looks like a good idea, neither wild nor out of reach. Yet your faith in yourself is the single most significant factor in this equation. It doesn’t matter if you’re the only person who thinks this is a good idea. However, you will be compelling if you explain yourself to others and seek their involvement. Just make sure that anyone you work with is with you 100% and is ready for the adventure. While you must focus on the task at hand, the theme of your charts is thinking big. Therefore, consider your idea in its present form, and two or three orders of magnitude larger. If you’re doing a business plan for one amount, write up another for ten times the value.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Be patient with any career or professional plans you may have. You seem to be getting impatient, as if your current life cannot contain your ambitions. The Sun’s move into Taurus later this week will only help you, though I suggest you remember that we’re not really talking about ‘career’ or ‘profession’. We’re talking about you: your devotion to life, your experience of your existence. You will make tremendous progress if you focus on developing your talent rather than striving to succeed at something. If you accept the fact that this will take some time and effort, and make that investment, you’re likely to get a greater return than you were expecting. The key to art is managing to have fun while you’re doing the discipline thing. That means loving the process of learning and developing your talent. Keep reminding yourself: this is what it means to be human.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You could easily give yourself anxiety attacks when there are far more productive things to do with your energy. It’s actually true that worry is misdirected creative energy. Given that, all you need to do is consciously choose to invest the power of your mind and of your feelings into something constructive. If you’re feeling insecure, it would be wise to consider what it would take to have you feel like you’re actually safe and grounded. You generate a bit of stress wondering what other people think about you, when in truth it matters far less than you think. Then there’s this other thing about the anxieties of your family. Yes, many of them are extremely nervous and you are sensitive. Yet you don’t owe it to anyone to take on their anxiety for them. Any fear worth listening to will arrive with information about how to set things right.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You’re entitled to change your mind, even if you felt passionately about something that you now admit was wrong. Sometimes it seems as if the more energy you invest into an idea, the more likely it is to be wrong, or not to serve your best interests. If you feel yourself pushing something hard, that’s a sign to pause and reflect. It might help going forward to be less attached to what you believe. You’re not being indecisive if you take a more questioning approach to your philosophy of life. As the next month or so progresses, you’ll begin to connect with the emotional drive beneath your thoughts. This will help you make more sense to yourself. You might say the goal of this season in your life is to connect your beliefs to some underlying emotional reality, and then you can decide with more clarity whether they really serve you.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — There is money, and there are your values. Most people do not grasp the difference, or how important it is to live with any order or sanity in your life. Enormous emphasis is placed on the acquisition of money and material things, while relatively little emphasis is invested in sorting out what is important and why. It’s clear that you would benefit from organizing your finances more carefully. This includes having a savings plan and a more accurate accounting of your cash flow. As the great astrologer Shelley Ackerman once said to me, “money flows toward structure.” Yet on what basis will you arrange that structure? How will you decide what really matters? The basis of those ideas is called your values. They are the number one most important aspect of self-understanding that you need. Be clear about your values and you will be clear about everything.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Mars has just turned to retrograde motion in your sign, something that will last for a little over two months. While most astrologers will be describing this as frustrating, I have another idea: you have the opportunity to connect with your motivation. You know how easy it is to accomplish something when you want to do it. While I don’t suggest you abandon all the responsibilities you don’t fancy, I do suggest you tap into the elements of life that truly inspire you to take action. All in all you need to be driven less by obligation and responsibility than you are by sincere interest and passion. Then you can go through a process of exchanging things that you seemingly must do for what you want to do, one by one. Yes, it’s a process, of growth and learning, and one that will serve you brilliantly.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — There’s a fear problem on the planet right now. That’s ironic because most places, there’s far less to worry about than there was 100 years ago –- and those of us who live in Western civilization have it better than anyone else on the planet. Yet most people burn themselves up with worry, and you might be feeling that inclination. The past few years you have come a long way in your personal development, independence and maturity. You’ve overcome many obstacles, and one way to address fear is to remind yourself how much you’ve dealt with, and how much strength that reveals you to have. Yet you might consider the possibility that what you’re concerned about has nothing to do with actual situations, and is merely being created by your own mind. At first it takes courage to look fear in the face and say, ‘You are not real’. Then it’s great fun.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Aquarius is considered the most social sign, and it might pain you at times when you need to do things that don’t exactly make you more popular. It is, however, a productive exercise because you benefit from any experience of choosing not to run your life based on what other people feel or want. That doesn’t mean you need to be offensive. However, it’s clear that your long-term plan involves working yourself into the culture in a durable and dependable way. That means doing things your way, which in turn works for others, and this is the process you’re working out. There are times you will need to be abrasive. There are times you will need to be more retreating and conservative. Knowing the difference will require an ongoing social experiment, which is convenient because that’s one of the central purposes of your life.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — As I’ve been hinting for months, you’re in an extended leadership-training program. This involves planetary movement in Sagittarius, which for you is the sign of aspiration, reputation and responsibility. It’s true there is plenty else going on in the sky, but this is the undeniable focus of your life. Leadership starts with yourself: being accountable to yourself and able to meet the responsibilities you’ve taken on with both a sense of duty and with original vision. At the same time, you’re setting an example for others, and are likely to be drawing people to something about your mission that requires some collective or collaborative effort. I suggest you aspire to impeccability and be satisfied with nothing less than being real. Be strong and at the same time, be ready to meet people on mutual territory. What you learn in these weeks and months will last you for a lifetime –- so learn well.