Author Archives: Sara Victoria Emory

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope for May 9, 2019

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope for May 9, 2019 (#1245) | By Victoria Emory
Aries

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Your need to restructure something related to your public role has brought with it a focus on material security. If this has triggered frustration or irritation, try not to stress it. The truth is you’re actually freeing yourself from outgrown limitations, in order to express yourself more authentically and expansively in the world. Revelations and revolutions in your personal values, and how to manifest them, may require going back over old ground, cleaning up old business. Continue gathering information, but make every effort to focus and shut out distractions this week. You’ve got an open stretch of road ahead, with opportunities to make considerable progress toward creating the stronger foundations you need. Carpe diem.

Taurus

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Most people don’t examine the beliefs that drive them, even if they theoretically understand the creative power of thought and belief. But individuation, an ongoing process, requires a conscious engagement with what we believe about ourselves and about the world. The Great Awakener Uranus in your sign will continue prodding you to release previous restrictions to your freedom and identity. Certain beliefs or goals, perhaps plans related to travel or education, may require revision, but The Force is very much with you this week to make powerful, necessary adjustments that will serve your end game. Pay attention to intuitive promptings related to resources and values, both personal and material. Listen with your whole body to your own higher guidance.

Gemini

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — After a month of firing on all cylinders, you may notice some easing of pressure and pacing this week. Increased activity in less than fully conscious areas of your chart invites you to tune in to the ‘short wave’ for information; your intuition may be especially heightened now. Clues to resolving emotional pressures of long standing may come through the language of dreams, so pay attention. As Mars wraps up its transit through your sign, continue to assert yourself in the outer world and fight for your needs, however: your highest integrity is called for as the week begins. Steer clear of potentially underhanded opponents. Use your energy to engage the stimulating, refreshing social opportunities available, instead.

Cancer

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — For one so acutely sensitive, you’ve exemplified strength under pressure for a long time running. Responsibility and the requisite maturity to rise to the occasion remain fundamental themes for the foreseeable future, but this week some well-earned assistance is available via supportive allies. You’ll need to reconfigure elements of your relational environment over the next few months. Make every effort to communicate with friends, colleagues and members of your community in the coming days — there are moments when the right connections make all the difference, and this may be one of them. In the words of that great community leader, Winnie the Pooh: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Leo

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You’ve put in the hours and carried the weight, now it’s time to shine your light out into the world like never before. Regardless of your chosen field, own your power as a creative leader. This may require enlisting worthy helpers; take advantage of the excellent opportunities available to do exactly that, over the next ten days or so. Follow up on potential job opportunities. If you need to hone some skills to fulfill your ambitions, this week is perfect for nailing down practical avenues to get that started. Readjusting your strategies and/or daily routines ties directly in with career goals at the moment, so if you’ve put off what needs to be done, the time has come and it is now.

Virgo

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — At the heart of any quest lies a spark of inspiration, arising from that part of you that knows. You’re embarking on the quest of a lifetime, a journey to grow your soul. A Yes-To-Life homing signal is trying to lock onto your wavelength. You may have been too focused on worldly responsibilities recently to notice, but tune your dial. Make time this week to intentionally entertain the fertile interplay between the search for higher knowledge, inspiration and playful expression. Breaking up established routines in some way will help. If you’ve had creative projects on hold, this week is prime for revisiting them. Banish doubt with the power of make-believe. Your inner child will remind you how.

Libra

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — You’re more sensitive than most to your environment: the literal, physical space you occupy as well as the emotional undercurrents present. Overdue changes you’ve wanted to make in your living space, domestic situation, or with respect to lingering family issues may feel increasingly frustrating lately. Nothing is so liberating as a decision, and initiating transformations on the home front should be easier over the next several days. If concerns related to jointly held finances are a factor, just wading into that territory will help diminish psychic pressure. Clearing out old crap has to start somewhere, and it’s essential that you open up space, literal and emotional, in which to let your highest creative work take form. Your future demands it.

Scorpio

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — When you assume you know the answer, it’s harder to discover the truth. This goes double when the question involves relationships, triple when your desires, fears and the personal history behind them are less than fully conscious. You’ve entered a period of accelerated learning; your teacher(s) will be partners, intimate or professional, and your relational environment in general. Significant openings for truly meaningful communications are available over the next ten days, possibly long past due. New connections may be found through literal establishments of learning, or local networks. Take an emotional inventory of your own agendas and strive for genuine self-acceptance, to clear the path. Then follow wherever it leads.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — The quest to expand your world and explore new terrain has brought with it the need for grounded, responsible planning, in terms of material resources. You’re building on the physical as well as philosophical planes, which is exactly as it should be, but pace yourself. Maintain healthy routines as demands on the job settle in for a month of sustained effort; the two go hand in hand. Doors between work and reward swing wide open over the next ten days, so take advantage of favorable winds to revisit projects or renegotiate contracts of some kind. Make those calls. Relationship tensions should dissipate soon, but filter out distractions and channel your considerable powers toward enhancing security and self-worth.

Capricorn

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — “A person’s maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play.” Keep this Nietzschean nugget of wisdom in mind; now and in the years ahead. Long-lasting transits demand maturity and have felt so heavy that serious, burdensome concerns may have dominated your outlook. Yet you’re at a point where your evolution requires a re-awakening of creative, playful expression. You need some fun. The more you can release rigid, linear mental habits, the greater your power to seize opportunities over the next ten days for creative problem solving. Remind yourself that masterworks go through stages of creation. You are the artist; your life is the canvas. Inspired breakthroughs are possible now.

Aquarius

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Planets activating your emotional and historical foundations urge you to let yourself withdraw and turn inward for a while. Dive down; follow the taproot of your secret self and regroup. Make every effort to free up some mental bandwidth this week, and tune in to the loud and clear signals broadcasting from your deeper consciousness. Powerful insights, guidance and fuel for an important psychic re-boot are trying to get through. This will help you orient, as Uranus makes itself at home in Taurus. Your attention may be on your base of operations, family or physical living space, but remember that ‘where you live’ is infinitely more than an address. It’s who you are wherever you may be.

Pisces

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You’ve reached a stage where freedom of perception — expanding beyond old concepts and mental constructs — is necessary, to fulfill your highest potential. It’s time to start sharing your unique, personal expression; experiment, reach out! The world needs your voice. Timing is everything, and you’ve got a big, cosmic green light to connect with friends and colleagues, perhaps after falling out of touch. Communicating with members of your community will help nourish your mind and feed your confidence. Follow up on intuitive impulses to pursue avenues of learning. If writing is on your agenda, use the coming days to get thoughts on paper. You’re learning to see with new eyes. Remember that wonder is the beginning of wisdom.


Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope for April 11, 2019

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope for April 11, 2019 (#1242) | By Victoria Emory
Aries

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Graduating to a higher grade of mastery always follows a test of some kind. This week may present such an opportunity. Trust in yourself and in your goal: what your endgame means to you and why you’re fighting for it. Recognize the difference between self-importance and self-acceptance. The more you push against what’s ‘out there’, the more defensive or controlling you become, the less power you’ll have to act effectively. Compassionate self-awareness is the key to navigating the weight of past patterns, your own healing process, and how these relate to your momentous push to succeed in The World. A personal revolution in your own self-worth can yield tangible rewards; your authenticity is your strength.

Taurus

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Beliefs are thoughts empowered by emotion and imagination. Now’s the time to examine long-held assumptions you’ve mistaken for objective fact. Open up to exploring beliefs held below the threshold of consciousness: imprints from childhood, the works. Remind yourself to remember your dreams; make it a priority. The more you manage this, the more leverage you’ll build up to realize goals that may seem far-fetched to the self you’re growing out of. Breakthroughs are possible now, with the courage, patience and daring to hold space for healing wounds that impact self-esteem. Friends or colleagues may play a role in some way, if you let them. Like a seed gestating underground, this invisible work is preparation for your debut.

Gemini

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You’re in high gear and able to wrap up career-related issues that seem to have dragged on forever. This includes getting necessary help regarding financial matters; just give partners, or anyone you’re dealing with, space to make necessary adjustments. This week especially, slow down enough to check in emotionally. Psychic pressure you’ve been under for quite a while — lurking fears or burdens left from long ago — could weigh heavily at the moment and benefit from a reality check. Fortunately, it looks like powerful, caring allies are ready to lend support; a call on Sunday could be a major vibe-lift. Healing, self-worth and material resources go hand-in-hand for you now.

Cancer

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — If tensions between your public role and outside forces feel oppressive or combative this week, consider Jung’s teachings about projected shadow material: “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” To what extent have you compromised your true self, or relied on others for your identity? Unconscious resentments or fears arising from this could reflect back to you in the form of externalized conflicts. The time has come to retrieve some of the power you’ve invested in others, and engage the world from a place of greater authenticity and creativity. Fear not; your security is not in jeopardy — it’s being rebuilt on a stronger foundation.

Leo

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — A change is as good as a rest. You could use a bit of both right now. Even if wiggle-room on the job seems non-existent, find some way to break up your daily routines. If you’re fortunate enough to get away for a day or two, by all means do so; your physical wellbeing will benefit. Something’s grinding between your established regimens and your evolving world-view that deserves your attention. You’re embarking on a new era in terms of your public profile — if your aspirations require education of some kind, this is a good week to explore options. Your spirit’s calling: it wants some freedom back. Look around with fresh eyes.

Virgo

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — When it’s time to give birth, the mother’s body releases hormones that induce labor. A dramatic encounter with the Great Mystery ensues. To give form to any creative impulse is an initiation: an empowering transformation that brings something new into the world. You stand at such a crossroads now. It’s time to bring forth your own expressive gifts to the community; your evolution and healing require it. You may have felt hamstrung by scarcity consciousness, or inner-critic imprints from childhood, but those limitations are yesterday’s news and no longer serve you. Think in terms of the future. Set your sights. Allies are available to help you work through lingering fears or doubts. You’ve got this.

Libra

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — There’s a gold mine deep beneath your floorboards. Family history, elements from the past still unresolved, transformation of your actual living space or domestic situation — any or all of these may feel overwhelming, but too much of your power has been trapped there not to brave what’s necessary to retrieve it. Your growth requires claiming your place in the world; keep that vision ever in mind as you navigate this process. Relationships may require adjustments, but don’t let conflict-phobia keep you locked into patterns that are holding you back. Take advantage of open channels for guidance from creative partners or a mentor figure. You have a public role to play.

Scorpio

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You’re naturally a deep thinker. But lately your mental traffic has the intensity of all-nighters behind the wheel of a big rig on a crowded interstate. Enough, already. Work obligations or concerns may be exacerbating your mental burdens. If so, there’s likely more leeway available than you realize. Whatever the specifics may be, your habitual thought patterns — how you relate to your immediate environment and frame perceptions — seem to have become too heavy and restrictive. The next stage of your evolution involves daring to expand those boundaries to include more exotic, inspiring or educational territory. Creative endeavors and fun with friends can help you loosen up and conceive new possibilities. Sunday get-togethers look promising.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Confidence, both personal and shared, depends on trust. Open yourself to the soul-naked intimacy found in trusted confidantes to strengthen your own self-assurance. The one requisite in such a relationship is depth of understanding. Think of yourself as a warrior on the path of knowledge. In the words of don Juan, “If a warrior is to succeed in anything, the success must come gently, with a great deal of effort but with no stress or obsession.” Patience may not be an inherently Sagittarian trait, but you will fortify your confidence and minimize insecurities through honest, real sharing with someone you truly trust. Deep inner work is your path of power now.

Capricorn

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Like a snake shedding its skin, you’re in the midst of a transformation that’s both the end of an old phase and the beginning of a new cycle of growth. Take a clue from serpent wisdom: don’t fight it. Trust the process and help nature along by scraping off what no longer fits the ‘you’ that needs to emerge. This may include matters of personal history: bags you’ve carried around so long you’ve forgotten what’s even inside. And understand: you don’t have to go it alone. You’ve been there, done that. Lines are open to connect with caring souls who can help ease pressures that might feel acute around now. Reach out; the universe is offering a hand.

Aquarius

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You’ve got a lot to communicate and much business to conduct in the outer world. Your mind is as busy as the rest of you right now, but there’s also intense activity happening behind the scenes, on a different layer of awareness than what you’re consciously focused on. Pay attention to subtle clues from your inner self; dream imagery and feeling-tones that color your perspective, but might go unnoticed if you don’t deliberately slow down to check in. You’re laying the groundwork for a new cycle this year, and the more you can sync-up inner and outer facets of your psyche, the more effective your efforts will be, especially this week. Clear space and make time to tap in.

Pisces

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — “Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt, but in spite of doubt.” So sayeth Rollo May in Courage to Create, my nomination for Pisces’ Book of the Month Club. Create you must; all signs point toward that true north of your highest aspiration. Your focus may be on necessary material resources right now, but don’t let anxiety throw you off your game. Think in terms of being ‘in the world, but not of it’ for a while. That doesn’t mean rejecting genuine social responsibilities, but prioritizing your own values. Direct your power toward important personal projects. Do necessary reconnaissance work and invest in your own creative voice. Small steps matter.


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MYSTERY PLAY: The Evolutionary Potential of this Mercury Cycle

2019.01.01 TF twin magnetic chemistry_colorway 01

Image by Lanvi Nguyen.

Once upon a time, many years ago, an old, wise, white-haired master of whom I was very fond taught me something. A simple trance technique, used to contact guides and receive information from the higher planes. He called it The Absolution Pool.

He told me to create a temple, create it in the imaginal realm, to invest great care in its construction; visualizing how the light played upon detail, how it felt, how it looked and smelled and sounded. The one essential element was some piece of comfortable furnishing upon which to lie down.

I was to practice lying down within my private temple, and draw energy up from the soles of my feet through the crown of my head, and in so doing to release all worries, fears, and worldly concerns. With each pass upwards through my body he told me to let some of the energy gather within the eye that looks out from the center of my forehead.

He tapped the spot, “Now see before you the sacred pool, and enter the waters from here. The water is pure love… Do you feel it, child? Bathe there; bathe in the waters of purest love and when you are ready, dive down… Down, down. Swim down and down until you see the lights, the lights along the sides of the tunnel. Find the one that calls you, sister, and enter.”

After receiving whatever information or communion sought, I was to remember always to exit from my host’s audience by walking backwards, with respect.

In my temple there is a flame; a perpetual flame in a sacred hearth.

Mystery Play

When I realized Mercury’s retrograde concluded with ten days of conjunction to Neptune, my inner detective snapped to attention. The shadow began on my solar return, Mercury stationed retrograde opposite my ascendant, headed for a deep dive into Neptune, which has been conjunct my Moon for the better part of a year. It felt personal. The recent Pisces cycle had some dramatic astrology; ten days in the belly of the whale, that conjunction with Neptune, makes it extraordinary. Mercury is the bringer of omens: is there a message to be gleaned?

The Players

Looking at the conjunction, symbolism resonant of a kind of soul retrieval leaps out, with Mercury in his role as psychopomp: literally “guide of souls.” Mercury alone among the gods had the ability to traverse all realms: the Olympian upper realm of gods, our human sphere, and Pluto’s underworld. As a guide of souls, Mercury escorted the newly departed across the barrier between realms. He is the god of border crossings. Carl Jung framed the psychopomp archetype as a mediator between the conscious and unconscious, symbolically appearing in dreams as a wise teacher, or helpful animal.

Dreams are Neptune’s purview, all right. Western culture generally values dreaming consciousness in terms of personal psychology, and Neptune’s orbital harmony with Pluto underscores the cosmic truth in this relationship. But that’s pretty much the extent to which our worldview embraces the power of dreams.

Eric referenced the Tibetan Buddhist approach to dreams, known as dream yoga, in the context of this Mercury-Neptune conjunction. Mercury’s relationship with conscious thought, and Neptune’s relationship with the dream world, couldn’t make this more apt. Tibetan adepts train themselves to bring conscious awareness into the dream state, what we call “lucid dreaming.” The skill is thought to be invaluable practice for traversing the Bardo, the state in between incarnations (as Tibetan Buddhism frames reincarnation).

Mesoamerican esoteric tradition preserves similar teachings; for the purpose of transcending karmic patterns, like the Tibetans, as well as for transforming waking experience. When asleep and dreaming, we’re usually aware of no other reality. Likewise, while awake, concerns of the everyday world and personality are ‘reality’.

Within the Toltec worldview, first brought to the mainstream through the work of Carlos Castaneda, the reality glimpsed in dreams is causal: waking reality is created from within that vast domain. The relationship between our two, usually entirely divorced, psychic components — dreaming and waking awareness — plays into the epochal shift identified millennia ago by Mesoamerican astronomer-seers. Their legacy is most familiar in the form of the Mayan calendar, though also preserved in arguably more intact transmissions. That’s too long a story for now, but relevant to what I’ve perceived of the message and potential in this unusual Mercury-Neptune conjunction.

The transcendent, creative inspiration we see in Neptune types like Einstein and Michelangelo may astound us, but poses no threat. We readily cut certain kinds of genius some slack; it’s ok for them to be weird. However, discernment between different otherworldly Neptune functions — psychism, ecstasy, spiritual communion — and psychopathology of whatever sort, is not especially supported by our cultural perspective. Such experiences have never won friends within established orders.

Theresa of Avila, for example, whose ecstatic trances were said to result in inconvenient levitations, came perilously close to the fiery fate of Joan of Arc. Reputable scientists whose research focuses on psychic phenomena, or other Neptune subjects like reincarnation, are rarely embraced by the scientific community, regardless of the impeccability of their methods or quality of their data. Venturing beyond accepted realities, whether religious or scientific, can be a dangerous border crossing.

As a culture, we’ve been stuck in the awkward stage between the doctrinal rigidity of institutionalized religion, and the unacknowledged, yet dominant, religion of ‘scientific’ materialism. Quantum physics may prove the fundamental illusion of linear time and materiality, yet access to the consciousness compatible with that reality remains distant and elusive. Kind of like Neptune.

Contemporary biographies of outstanding mystic saints, like Theresa, often include a psychological diagnosis to explain their symptoms. This is understandable, to a point; for in true Neptunian fashion, the distinction between spiritual or psychic genius and delusional psychotic is sometimes unclear. Charlatans, from time immemorial, have exploited the profound human need for contact with what lies ‘beyond the veil’, and discernment between authentic phenomena and fraudulent illusion can likewise be tricky. Neptune’s jurisdiction is not of this world. The negative potential inherent in Mercury’s conjunction, especially when retrograde (poor judgment, clouded thinking, etc.) has been laid out in these pages for a few weeks.

But what’s the positive potential? Are we presented with an opportunity to grow in any way?

This mystery play features a third player, Vesta, goddess of the Eternal Flame. Vesta’s signature includes the capacity to hold space: sanctuary for private focus and devotion to ideals. Like Mercury’s dominion over border crossings, Vesta guards the threshold.

Vesta is the sacred fire that burns within the Earth, the fertilizing, vital spark of life. Her priestesses were virgin, in the sense of whole-unto-themselves. They prepared official sacrificial offerings, and, consistent with offerings to deities throughout antiquity, represented the ‘finest of the flock’: beautiful maiden daughters of the ruling class. This fiery asteroid (Vesta’s luminous surface composition makes it the only one visible to the naked eye) is associated with both Virgo and Scorpio, symbolic of service, dedication, wholeness and the mystery of generation.

The Astrology

Mercury’s retrograde shadow and first conjunction with Neptune (where it will end up after its backward journey) began on Feb. 19, just after the Sun entered Pisces, on the day of the Virgo Full Moon. The Sun was in the first degree of Pisces, Moon in the first degree of Virgo, with Mercury at 17 degrees Pisces and Neptune at 16 degrees Pisces, just about the middle of the sign.

The retrograde began on March 5, hours before the Pisces New Moon, with Sun, Moon, Neptune and Vesta conjunct at 16-17 degrees Pisces. Mercury stationed retrograde at 30 degrees of Pisces (also written as 29+ Pisces) the last degree of the zodiac; the ‘degree of expiation’.

The exact retrograde conjunction with Neptune on March 24 recurred at 17 degrees Pisces. Venus entered Pisces, the sign of its exaltation, on March 26.

Mercury stations direct on March 28, still conjunct Neptune. That ongoing conjunction to Neptune will be precisely exact again on April 2, at 18 degrees Pisces.

That April 2 exact conjunction between Mercury and Neptune occurs shortly after the Moon conjoins Venus in Pisces, with Vesta now at 30 degrees Pisces (on a chart this appears as 29 Pisces, and can be written as 29+ Pisces). This is exactly where Mercury was when the retrograde began, and opposite Vesta’s discovery degree, 30 degrees Virgo (also written as 29+ Virgo).

The arc highlights the entirety of the Virgo-Pisces axis, with both first and last degrees of those signs activated. The fusion of their planetary rulers, Mercury and Neptune, underscores the significance.

Higher aspirations shared by Virgo and Pisces include service and transcendence of ego identification. The astrological ‘Piscean Age’ has been associated with the rise of Christianity (however quickly and dramatically Rome’s usurpation may have altered the spirit of that movement). Piscean symbolism recurs in New Testament narratives; in the Middle Ages Virgo became associated with Mary, the virgin mother. Neptune is ‘the higher octave’ of Venus. Personal love becomes divine compassion.

The Sabian Symbol for 17 Pisces, the most recurring degree in the arc, where Neptune receives both Mercury and Vesta in conjunction is: AN EASTER PARADE. Dane Rudhyar writes of this degree, “The Image of the Resurrection spurs all men within the pale of Christendom to appear at their very best and to dynamize themselves in some kind of self-renewal in response to the Christ mythos, and to the call of nature’s springtime as well.”

Religious impulse in the broadest sense is Neptune territory: faith, belief, aspiration toward the supramundane. Toss in obedience, and orthodox traditions require little else. Yet Abrahamic religions all have mystic, esoteric schools in which adherents train, in varying ways, higher faculties; guiding the conscious mind into an exalted state from which to contact the numinous. Within gnostic (from gnosis, literally “knowledge,” implying direct cognition of metaphysical truth) Christian tradition, the historically maligned authority was Mary Magdalene, whose report of having seen the risen Christ earned her the distinction “Apostle to the Apostles.” In one heretical text, Mary obliges their request to share her special knowledge:

“I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I saw you today in a vision.’
He answered, ‘How wonderful you are for not wavering at the sight of me! For where the mind is, there is the treasure.’
I said to him, ‘Lord, does a person who sees a vision see it with the soul or with the spirit?’
The Savior answered, ‘A person does not see with the soul or with the spirit.’ Rather the mind, which exists between these two.”

Mercury traverses all realms. If Neptune is the window that opens to the extraordinary, Mercury is the part of us that looks through it.

I find it interesting, in terms of this remarkable retrograde, that the spring festivals of Passover and Easter fall quite late in the season this year. The lunar cycles that determine their timing delay observance until the third week of April. The inrushing season is, in a sense, held in check; Mercury finally clears its back-end shadow to enter Aries on April 17.

Are we to take something with us into the new season, into the new astrological year, into the future, from this exceptional conjunction — the liminal space between worlds, where human thought and The Beyond are brought into what looks like an arranged marriage? Are we to reunite with some bit of our soul, to hold space for such a journey? Can we hold ourselves at all apart from the noise, the constant distractions of ‘reality’ that hypnotize us into a trance that keeps us from the transcendent?

I think we’re being encouraged to do just that, for good reason.

Accelerating chaos in the outer world requires dedicated focus to all that strengthens our own psychic wholeness, resilience and power. We’re ever more assaulted by stressful, overwhelming data, conflict and disharmony.

We more easily access higher levels of consciousness from a positive emotional state, yet our routine thought patterns make this an increasing challenge. To intentionally release worries and habitual thought loops is a skill that can be developed with discipline and devotion (Virgo, Vesta). Neptune’s highest vibration ripples through the pure love in The Absolution Pool. From there, we can traverse worlds with our mind. These are innate talents we are wise to develop.

We all have guidance available to us. I believe we are being given a sign that it’s time to start making use of it.

“First you dream it, then you live it.” The sequence is familiar in Science of Mind and personal development teachings. Toltec dreamers practice ‘planting a dream’, often with astonishing results. One needn’t be versed in Toltec tradition to understand the power of creative visualization, however. The threshold to our psychic depths, where hypnotic suggestion meets conscious creation on the imaginal plane, is the sweet spot where Mercury dives into Neptune for a swim.

More and more, conditions in the world encourage habitual inner dialogue that reinforces what amounts to a tiny fraction or our identity. To strive past that does involve an element of humility. When we do, we serve our own healing process and that of others (Virgo/Pisces).

Structures that support outer realities as we have known them are, indeed, transforming. We’re in a pivotal time; a threshold between worlds. Time itself feels dreamlike, and events blaring in our faces seem surreal.

Transcending karma, which is mostly momentum of repetitive patterns, is necessary.

To change the dream, we must wake up within it.

That’s what lucid dreaming’s all about.

Believe it.

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope for March 7, 2019

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope for March 7, 2019 (#1239) | By Victoria Emory
Aries

Aries (March 20-April 19) — “Measure twice, cut once” is especially good advice to keep in mind this week. Those measurements are best taken internally; clues as to where to cut, what you’re actually building, and why, may arise from less than fully conscious recesses of your psyche. The project you’re engaged in must reflect your truest self and values, and is a work in process that will extend into the foreseeable future. Though the next few weeks are akin to a gestation period for you, if your actions meet these criteria you have an opportunity to take constructive steps in the next several days to lay some key foundations.

Get your full Aries INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Taurus

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Restrictions that may not have bothered you in years past are becoming increasingly unsupportable; you’ve outgrown many of the established ways you interact with the world. You probably realize this already, but sense that your freedom will entail passage through the unfamiliar and unsettling. You’ve got time to figure it out, but Think Big: goals that may have felt like impossible dreams are not. Evolutionary changes you’ve experienced, both internally and professionally, have led to this turning point. Allies who are able to assist will require your patience for a while, but tentative steps may be taken this week in your quest to venture farther than your old self ever dared.

Get your full Taurus INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Gemini

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Your intuition is your greatest ally this month. You’ll need both emotional and mental intelligence to navigate any complexities, confusion or frustrations you encounter in handling worldly responsibilities. Let your inner Zen master take the wheel, and in the midst of demands on your time, do your best to step back for an overview of just how you want to show up in the world. Subtle yet powerful forces at work in the deepest levels of your psyche may be tapped this week. Use them to inspire practical strategies for furthering goals related to shared values, including financial ones. If opportunities arise for some kind of second chance in relationship matters, bring your best self to the table.


Get your full Gemini INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Cancer

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Dreaming awake is a high art, for the most part lost in our culture. It requires bringing your waking consciousness into the dream state: a deliberate shift in awareness that’s different from passive daydreams or obsessive thought loops. Concentrated yet relaxed ‘soft focus’ is necessary; a self-induced trance entered with creative intent. The next several weeks are ripe for your own exploration of such an approach; you need a vision, one inaccessible from your routine perception. Inspiration through a co-worker or friend is available, if you’re open to receive it. A new cycle of alliances is beginning now; Keep your antennae tuned for omens and signs that will show the way.

Get your full Cancer INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Leo

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Although your focus may have been on professional achievements recently, allow yourself to dive in for a spell of psychic housecleaning. Various upheavals over the last two years may have triggered deep emotional issues that haven’t been fully processed. Gentle but courageous work in this area is necessary preparation for the revolutionary new cycle commencing now, related to your place in the world. Instinctual drives, issues related intimacy and security, fears, motivations, taboos — you’re at the point where a compassionate look into a few psychological corners is key, to fulfill your career aspirations. This process will be easier to harmonize with your public role and daily tasks than you suppose, and will support your physical wellbeing.


Get your full Leo INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Virgo

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You’re poised to enter a cycle of discovery unlike any you’ve experienced. Calcified belief systems will be tested and forced to evolve, while open minds will explore some vivifying and unusual new terrain. It appears that to commence on the journey, however, you must first rekindle, renegotiate or reconsider certain important relationships. Approach this with courage and sensitivity, trusting that an element of the sacred accompanies the process. Renewed ties will help bolster your faith in yourself; feeling supported can make every difference in the world. Honest, emotional reckoning must also be embraced. Remember that all relationships are teachers, and that you thrive on learning.


Get your full Virgo INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Libra

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Self-care is in order. Re-establishing healthy routines is essential, and will go a long way toward mitigating job-related stress you may be under. Consider the tradition of ritual baths, sanctuaries of healing and spiritual renewal. Surprising insights may arise while relaxing in a hot tub, along with revelations and release of repressed emotion and anxiety you mustn’t hold on to. Tending your own wellbeing will foster self-esteem and empower you to skillfully negotiate uncertainties or reorganization that affects you in work-related affairs. A seven-year cycle of profound psychic awakening lies ahead. Think of the next few weeks in terms of a requisite period of purification, and restoration of your physical instrument.


Get your full Libra INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Scorpio

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — A creative project that has languished wants your attention. An easy, playful attitude toward rewrites or reimagining your vision will refuel your soul. Romantic involvements might also be due for reassessment. If so, take time to clarify for yourself what you actually want, and make every effort to communicate honestly, with compassion. Authentic creativity springs from fundamental self-acceptance, and the time has come to examine your genuine emotional response to patterns in more established relationships, whether personal or professional. Your needs and motivations have evolved. Your closest relationships will increasingly mirror those changes you may not yet be consciously aware of. How you express yourself — or don’t — matters.

Get your full Scorpio INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Your process of self-discovery and liberation has reached a new stage. In the course of testing your wings and releasing old patterns, you’ve been forced to examine personal values and resources, which has fostered a new level of maturity in terms of self-reliance and self-worth. You’ve prepared the ground to submit to a higher purpose. Revolutionary changes in how you bring your work to the world may require new skills, including the ability to balance the need for freedom related to your job with patient, tenacious determination. Attention directed toward your roots, in every sense of that word — your past, your family, your inner, secret self — will help clear the path.


Get your full Sagittarius INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Capricorn

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Slow down. Intense recent mental activity and exchanges with others may have left residual frustration, confusion or agitated exhaustion. You don’t have to figure everything out right now. With sensitive, thoughtful attention you’re in a good place to re-think creative solutions and tie up loose ends. However occupied you may be with material concerns, never forget the mighty power of your intuition; it’s among your greatest gifts and inspires your finest achievements. You’re on the cusp of a new era in personal creativity. Beckon the muse by deliberately turning your focus inward as much as you can. Moments of gentle, private whimsy may lead to exciting projects that bring you much joy.

Get your full Capricorn INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Aquarius

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Examine what security and freedom really mean to you. What values take priority in each category, and what do they have in common? Allow yourself creative leeway to contemplate what you genuinely require to feel good about yourself, and what makes you feel safe — materially, emotionally, and in terms of your core identity. Guard against confusion in mundane affairs right now, clarify agreements, and don’t assume what hasn’t been specified. Your power to manifest what you desire is formidable, and inner guidance is available at the moment to help solve practical challenges. Freedom and flexibility go hand in hand. Remember this, as you’re gearing up for a personal revolution on a foundational level.


Get your full Aquarius INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Pisces

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Yesterday’s New Moon was the symbolic Pisces birthday. Celebrate your re-emergence with some deliberate, physical gesture this week. You’re in the midst of what could be an awe-inspiring personal renaissance that propels you toward fulfilling your vision of highest achievement. Nurture yourself in ways you might have neglected recently. Demonstrate genuine self-valuation and focus on what you truly desire and need. The world is awaiting your voice, and the time has come to share it. The more you invest in yourself right now, the greater your power to tap opportunities to test those waters this week. Powerful, supportive allies are available, urging you on. Your mind is set to expand to a radical degree. Honor the moment with concrete actions.

Get your full Pisces INTELLIGENCE reading by Eric here.

Planet Waves Weekly Horoscope for Jan. 24, 2019

Editor’s note: Planet Waves employee and astrology researcher Victoria Emory, inspired during Monday’s eclipse, wrote this week’s horoscopes for you. We’d love to hear what you think.
Aries

Aries (March 20-April 19) — The courage to create requires making friends with your vulnerable underbelly. If you can do that, a power surge of creative potential is available. The question is, to what extent does your confidence depend on approval from others versus from your own inner being? To quote don Juan, “The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.” Your quest for achievement in The World is furthered through a bit of vision questing over the next few days. When you’re right with your spirit, life becomes more than a commercial venture and a hell of a lot more satisfying. You’ve got a will fierce enough to work through whatever limitations you may be straining against, and those who can help you implement it are closer than you may realize. A teacher is available, perhaps internally, inviting you on an educational journey of some kind; a wise offer to accept. Breaking up your routine somehow will help that along, even if it’s a walk in the park or reading a book you’ve had in the back of your mind, but neglected. To use The Force right now, follow that trail. Get your full Aries reading by Eric here.

Taurus

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Take a look at how fear and desire factor in to your experience. If an oppressive or depressive sensation lurks in the shadows, it could relate to something you want but think you can’t have. Identifying the essence of a frustrated desire helps disentangle the symbol, the object, from what you actually seek. What’s the feeling you want, the quality? Real opportunities to attain whatever that may be exist, and you’re poised to enter a phase of your life in which limiting patterns will shake loose. Intimacy is a component here, connecting from the soul, emotionally as well as physically. Remember to remember your dreams. This is easier when you value the precious resources available through this often-neglected portal — especially true for you at the moment. It’s fair to say you’re enrolled in a master class of spiritual development, a program that will intensify over the next couple of years. The formidable power to pursue goals you’ve dreamt of is among the rewards. Get your full Taurus reading by Eric here.

Gemini

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Traffic at the intersection of Friends and Finances might have been intense recently, or that drama may have played out nearby, at the corner of Sexual and Platonic. Don’t let whatever noise resulted throw you off your game. Opportunities to make some excellent connections can be found over the next few days, so please don’t be shy. If a friend has spoken about introducing you to someone, give them a call; this pertains to both personal and professional interests. Whatever cards you’re holding along these lines, now’s the time to play them if you’ve hesitated to reach out to someone. Fertile conditions in the social sphere could help further important goals that are ripe for your attention. If writing is involved, or if travel is possible for you, dust off those ambitions. Your voice can carry further over the coming weeks, and find its way to those who want to hear it. It may be cold and gray outside, but this is not the time to shut yourself away. The warmth of your fellow creatures casts an especially empowering glow at the moment. Get your full Gemini reading by Eric here.

Cancer

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Trust has its rewards. One of them is the power to negotiate in ways that actually support your needs. ‘Strength through vulnerability’ requires trusting your primary relationship, the one you have with yourself, enough to honestly express what’s going on with you. Remember that a fortress is also a prison. If demands from all quarters have felt overwhelming, if ambitions feel somehow stymied by those to whom you’ve made commitments or who look to you for support, dare to open up about it a little. See what happens. You’re sensitive enough to know how to relate with compassion to the stress that others are struggling with. This approach will help summon what you require. If you need an assistant, or a job, or could use some guidance (who couldn’t?), the next few days are rich with opportunities in that regard. Don’t assume that wise counsel comes exclusively from those you consider higher-ups or authorities. Mentors come in surprising packages sometimes, and now might be one of them. Get your full Cancer reading by Eric here.

Leo

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — An axiom to contemplate: “Play is the answer to how anything new comes about.” Here’s another: “Distance is a great goddess.” Psychologist Jean Piaget gave us the first, the second I heard at a retreat in the Joshua Tree desert. Last weekend’s lunar eclipse concluded a stressful 18-month cycle for you in which relationship issues of one kind or another played a starring role. Demands, duties and just taking care of yourself may have felt exhausting. It’s been an intense week out of an overwhelming year and a half, but you can get a bit of your groove back over the next few days if you plug in to a high-octane recharge that’s currently available. You know who your fans are, what your party looks like, what essential nutrient your spirit needs to shine. Make a play date. Get the paints out, or the instrument, or whatever creative outlet feels right. If you can’t schedule a terrestrial journey, explore some new terrain of the educational or spiritual variety. This is soul food for you right now; get it while it’s hot. Get your full Leo reading by Eric here.

Virgo

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — It’s time to come home. Your inner sanctuary and base of operations, where your roots draw nourishment from the earth so that your branches can bear fruit — deserves an upgrade. A drive to make fundamental changes may have welled up with some urgency lately. Right now, personal transformation and your literal living space seem directly related. Despite concerns connected to the values of those close to you, perhaps in the form of hard currency, this year family may be more supportive than you think. Tread gently in matters related to mutual financial interests for a couple of weeks, knowing a window of opportunity is open for constructive steps toward creating greater security. Home is an energetic as well as physical location, and if you’ve fallen behind in the self-care department, tend to it. Last weekend’s eclipse may have felt destabilizing, but it’s important right now to re-establish healthy routines. Needs for deep intimacy or for intense, transcendent sexual experience may also have surfaced recently, and run headlong into a frustrating buzz-kill. It’s okay. Savor the power flowing through those channels and remember that desire creates. Get your full Virgo reading by Eric here.

Libra

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Say it. Write it. Deliver da letter. Indigenous lore holds that stories roam the land searching for the correct storyteller. Messages require a messenger, and right now one seems to be tapping you on the shoulder. The world wants to hear from you. You’re in a yearlong cycle in which your voice must be honored, your thoughts expressed; and at the moment that’s getting green lights all over the place. Even if no specific writing projects come to mind, this is the time to reach out to others and communicate. A vivifying surge can spark life back into relationships that have languished, leaving you inspired and energized. If you’ve wanted some advice, or have meant to get back to someone, pick up the phone or get together; both of you will be richer for it. It’s cold in the Northern Hemisphere, but there’s good medicine in getting out and about. If you do have creative ambitions in the writing department, The Force is with you. In the words of Maya Angelou, “There is no greater agony than to bear an untold story inside you.” Get your full Libra reading by Eric here.

Scorpio

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You know how to play the long game. Part of that entails pacing yourself so you don’t sacrifice health for the sake of duty, especially when the hours you’re putting in have included some pretty frustrating encounters. If that resonates, take a look at how your thought patterns may mirror recent tensions with others. Your mind’s a busy place these days — physical exertion of some kind would do wonders to calm that storm. If current efforts have been devoted toward work that isn’t as fulfilling as what you envision, if you’re feeling resentful, blow off a little steam rather than letting it simmer. Right now you’re building the base of your pyramid. Material needs are the foundation, and this year the wind is at your back, in terms of creating essential security. In fact, the next couple days are rich with potential in that regard. This is an excellent time to schedule presentations, apply for a job, or direct your formidable powers toward expanding resources. Get your full Scorpio reading by Eric here.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — “I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it / The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.” Walt Whitman is your spirit animal right now. If you need permission or inspiration to take advantage of the potentially thrilling electric current available to you at the moment, read Song of Myself. You’re in a cycle of self-discovery and liberation from outgrown concepts, with a green light to express and celebrate your unique gifts. If you’ve experienced a bit of tension recently between the need to let your freak flag fly and issues related to material security, that should be resolving. “There is a time for penance and a time for partridge,” said Teresa of Avila (your fellow fire sign and philosopher). This looks like more of a partridge moment — that is, a time for pleasure or ‘the good life’. Centaurs are known for both wisdom and lusty passions, and the sage and the beast in you can harmonize in some revitalizing ways these days. Don’t go overboard, obviously, but it’s important to savor the jewel-like moments that life offers, and I hope you’ll find a way to ride the wave that’s cresting now. Creative endeavors of all sorts, sporting activities and romantic encounters would be especially fulfilling. Get your full Sagittarius reading by Eric here.

Capricorn

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Where you live is more than a physical location. Your deepest, secret self and private past feed directly into what your energetic ‘home’ entails. Recently you may have felt some intense stirrings on a less than fully conscious level; fears and anger that might seem irrational on the surface. Frustration and annoyances related to pressures you’ve been under maybe had something to do with your actual living space, as well. That immediate storm is dissipating. You may be more inwardly focused than usual for a couple of weeks; don’t strain against it. You can recharge your psychic batteries in ways that will directly serve your quest in the world. A generous well of wisdom and support is available to you on the subtle planes this year. Draw from it. Especially right now, you have opportunities to access intuitive intelligence that can inspire strategies to obtain what you’re striving for. Lines of communication are wide open from an inner (and possibly outer) teacher and guide, and deliberate actions to quiet your mind serve as acts of power this week. Make a point of remembering your dreams. Extend the invitation. Ask and you shall receive, but that does require asking. Get your full Capricorn reading by Eric here.

Aquarius

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Your solar year started off with a bang; a dramatic conclusion of an 18-month cycle in which your identity and how it relates to that of others has been tested and forced to evolve, in some overwhelming and challenging ways. Reverberations of the recent eclipse are still intense, but a new cycle has begun and right now it’s all about you. What you value, what you want to communicate, what initiatives you want to set in motion — who you really want to be. Use this time to re-boot, re-charge and re-focus. You know how to focus; you’re an expert. Make this a priority even amidst demands on your time that might feel frantic lately. Some furious activity, mentally and physically, might be distracting, but take a look at your long-range aspirations. The next few days are an excellent time to reach out to allies who may be able to assist you in furthering goals you’ve been dreaming about. It’s the perfect re-set for your year, so take advantage of some the good juju available as we speak. You might find collaborators just when you need them. Get your full Aquarius reading by Eric here.

Pisces

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You’ve got an expansive vision for how you want to show up in the world. It’s imperative that you trust this vision and work towards it this year. Especially right now: with focused effort, the next few days may well bring evidence of some sort of reward. The recent eclipse brings to a close a cycle in which your evolutionary work has brought you face to face with matters of self-esteem, subconscious fears or wounding patterns — some of the darkest recesses of your psyche seem to have undergone a cleansing. Now you’re positioning yourself to bring your true powers to the fore, to manifest evidence of your creative genius for the world to see, in one form or another. Recent frustrations between your aspirations for the future and how you value yourself are dissipating. Let that be as dust in the wind — you know what you’re capable of. Use the next couple of days wisely; that wisdom involves disciplined effort combined with faith in yourself. This blend is a restorative brew to drink in deeply. Get your full Pisces reading by Eric here.