Editor’s Note: This post is the full Planet Waves members’ issue, complete with Eric’s horoscope and the Create section.

Dear Friend and Reader:

As I was preparing to write about this Sunday’s powerful Capricorn Full Moon conjunct Pluto, I happened to read a 2015 article by Asam Ahmad titled, “What Makes Call-Out Culture So Toxic.” I realized the article speaks to one possible level of experiencing this Full Moon, or one of its messages.

Last year’s Capricorn Full Moon over Casco Bay; photo by Amanda Painter.

The astrological setup is that the Sun in Cancer will oppose the Moon in Capricorn, exact just before 12:07 am EDT on July 9 (04:06:30 UTC). The Moon will be precisely one degree away from a conjunction to Pluto.

The Sun and Moon are both making their way to square Uranus and Eris in Aries, though the Moon will make its square later the same day.

Uranus and Eris in Aries are emblematic of much of the social and political chaos we’re currently living in — particularly as it is experienced via (and is shaped by) digital media.

In this Full Moon chart, Uranus-Eris represents not only our cultural environment, but the way that environment is provoking us — both consciously and unconsciously — and creating a sense of tension you may need to act on.

With the Moon-Pluto conjunction, we get an image of deep emotional transformation, particularly with regard to what has seemed previously set in stone. It also speaks of a sense of loneliness that can be inherent in such a personal, internal process.

The Cancer Sun in opposition sets up an interesting dynamic: emotional sensitivity, but of the kind that could potentially get overly concerned with what’s going on within others, or get a little defensive in reaction to what’s being mirrored. It speaks of the urge to seek safety by identifying with one’s ‘tribe’ or family in reaction to some interpersonal confrontation — such as being faced with changes that are beyond one’s control; or even the attempt to control those changes and others’ emotions anyway.

Which brings me to Ahmad’s insightful essay. One of the points he makes is regarding the way that the performance of calling people out publicly for their wrongs often feels more important than the content of the call-out. That is, it’s more about displaying one’s own correctness than it is about making empathetic contact with a person, to help them to see how they can be more considerate and more humane rather than perpetuating some sort of systemic oppression (however unconsciously). Ahmad describes the alternative of ‘calling in’: speaking privately with a person to address certain behaviors without resorting to public shaming.

I would say that ‘calling in’ speaks to both the nurturing quality of a Cancer Sun and its orientation on ‘family’: rather than casting someone out of the tribe, you gently draw them in by caring enough to make sure they feel safe enough to learn a kinder way. ‘Calling in’ is much more likely to subvert the defensiveness that can get in the way of a person’s ability to gain perspective on their actions and see the value in changing their attitude, language or behavior.

Ahmad also writes:

“But when people are reduced to their identities of privilege (as white, cisgender, male, etc.) and mocked as such, it means we’re treating each other as if our individual social locations stand in for the total systems those parts of our identities represent. Individuals become synonymous with systems of oppression, and this can turn systemic analysis into moral judgment. Too often, when it comes to being called out, narrow definitions of a person’s identity count for everything.”

Simplified chart for the Capricorn Full Moon showing the loose cardinal grand cross. Clockwise from top: Pluto and Moon in Capricorn; Jupiter in Libra; Sun and Mars in Cancer; Uranus and Eris in Aries. View glyph key here. You can view the full chart with all major bodies here.

I think there’s something in that statement that relates to the presence of the Moon and Pluto in Capricorn for this Full Moon. Capricorn is the sign of established institutions (among other things). And while Pluto symbolizes the bulldozer that’s been digging up the foundations of those institutions the last nine years, the Moon makes it personal this weekend.

There seems to be a question here about how one can take responsibility for one’s actions, and change them as necessary so as not to perpetuate oppression, without becoming a walking apology. There’s also a reminder in this Full Moon to see everyone as individuals who are operating within established institutions with varying degrees of awareness (inner and cultural), and with varying degrees of responsibility for perpetuating systems of oppression.

It’s one thing to rail against a form of institutionalized oppression in general on Facebook; it’s another thing to attack a friend of yours on social media for slipping up and using inadvertently oppressive language — as though they personally are everything that is wrong with our culture. You could probably make contact with that person in gentler, more effective ways (preferably offline).

All of that said, on a more ‘mundane’ (or ‘everyday’) and personal level, Sunday’s Capricorn Full Moon looks like it could be a deeply transformative event. Pluto’s presence indicates considerable power. The question, of course, is how will you use it?

Any Full Moon tends to be felt in interpersonal relationships. So that is the realm in which you may find yourself trying to navigate the energy. Yet no matter what kind of situation you’re dealing with, it’s good to remember that real change is always an inside job. That is, no matter what you might want to modify about someone else, no matter how much they may be at fault in some regard, no matter how intensely you feel that your happiness depends on someone else saying or doing the ‘right’ thing, all you can ever really control is you.

What can you do differently that will feed your soul and make the world a little better? How can you let your inner truth shine through, rather than papering over it with layers of superficial personality? If you’re in some kind of process of transformation, are you consciously allowing it to transpire (whether privately or publicly)? If you’re in a position of power, can you use it ethically and can you harness it in service of the highest good?

You do have power within your life, within yourself. In its highest form, it’s called love.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

Just in time for the Great American Eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, you’ll have access to a helpful, excellent video astrology reading. These will be done by sign and rising sign; each reading is about half an hour. You can pre-order now for the best price: $66 for all 12 signs. The price for all 12 will gradually increase in $11 increments over the next few weeks, capping out at $111 once we publish.

I’ve been a devoted student of eclipses since beginning astrology. Here’s some of my earlier writing, published before the grand cross and total solar eclipse of Aug. 11, 1999. These few paragraphs below will give you a feeling for just how significant eclipses are. This one is one of the most important in American history, which I’ve covered here.

Eclipses are astrology we can’t deny. If there is a conjunction between Saturn and Uranus, it’s invisible, and while many people may experience changes, only astrologers and their merry bands of readers and students know what’s happening. Yet when the Sun vanishes, you can be sure that normal activity will come to a stop.

Our busy world will pause, and everyone, from herbicide activists nestled in the hills of Oregon to rock stars in Nashville, will stand in the silent shadow of the cosmic order with the astonishment of small children coursing in their hearts.

This doesn’t happen often, and you can imagine the awesome power of so many people embraced in a kind of simultaneous, captive meditation as everything around them momentarily ceases to be normal. Call it a reality lapse, only it’s one into which the real reality can flow very easily.

In terms of their astrological meaning, eclipses of the Sun follow this image of collective awareness and radical break of continuity. Whether you can see the eclipse does not matter; part of the miracle of astrology is it works anyway. As many of us are discovering personally, eclipses are expanded moments of often uncontrollable, unpredictable change. They also bring the civilization and its communities together, usually through important collective events and the media.

Eclipses are evolutionary gateways, which is another way of saying that when they show up, we do a lot of growing in a short time. Delays are compensated. Old accounts can be wiped clean. While each is unique, eclipses often feel like being shot through a funnel of space-time, and we emerge somewhere different than where we entered. The key to making the best use of them is to move with the energy, not cling to anything or anyone too tightly, and to stay open.

Literally, breathe, communicate, feel, love, observe and receive. Remember your intentions. The sense of panic that sometimes accompanies them yields nicely to awareness and revelation, mental conditions that are more natural than we often realize.

Still Working at It

By Amanda Painter

The Independence Day festivities celebrating the Founding Fathers are over for another year. Yet one might ask: Who is really free in the U.S.? And what happens next for new immigrants in this country built by past generations of immigrants, especially given the current presidential administration?

The video for a track from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton Mixtape asks similar questions in its own stark, dramatic way. Featuring rap artists K’naan, Snow Tha Product, Riz MC and Residente, “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” offers a stylized look at many of the jobs done by immigrants in the shadows, in poor conditions and often at the mercy of raiding immigration officials.

Although The Hamilton Mixtape is described as songs from the musical Hamilton performed by various artists, “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” is not so much a rendition of one of the Broadway hit’s songs as it is inspired by two specific lines. At its heart is a line shared by Hamilton and Lafayette from the show’s number “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down),” which becomes the title and refrain; as well as Washington’s comment, “Not yet,” which Miranda has said refers to America’s pursuit of full freedom as a society.

But the meat of the song is all incisive, original content by the four featured rappers. (Full lyrics available here.)

Pluto played a central role in the astrology of the U.S. Revolutionary War, and it plays a starring role in this weekend’s Capricorn Full Moon. What role will it play in your own soul’s evolution toward freedom? What will get the job done?

This week on Planet Waves FM
Interview with Don Oscar Miro-Quesada Solevo

Dear Friend and Listener:

This week’s edition of Planet Waves FM [play episode here] features a rare interview with don Oscar Miro-Quesada Solevo, a Peruvian medicine man. My conversation with don Oscar covers three topics: the total solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017; the internet; and the nature and meaning of sex.

Don Oscar Miro-Quesada Solevo, a Peruvian medicine man, is my guest.

You may reach don Oscar on his website, Heart of the Healer.

The interview occupies the last half of the program, beginning after Simon and Garfunkel’s “America,” in case you want to skip right to it.

In the first segment of the program I talk about patriotism really being about civic involvement. We think of it as waving the flag and eating cheeseburgers; yet really it’s about taking care of our communities.

In the second segment, I look at three of the charts leading into the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse: the chart for July 4, the Full Moon on Sunday (which is conjunct Pluto), and the July 23 Leo New Moon. This eclipse is so meaningful that it is preceded by a New Moon in the same sign.

In the third segment, a reading of the chart for the Declaration of Independence becomes a live reading of that document. This, I annotate with examples of how the commentary is relevant today.

Planet Waves FM is sponsored by your contributions to Chiron Return, a nonprofit public benefit corporation. Last month we raised enough money from your contributions to pay for the program. Thank you and please continue to contribute. Donations are fully tax-deductible.

With love,

Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

We published your extended monthly horoscopes for July on Thursday, June 22. Your extended monthly horoscopes for June were published on Thursday, May 25. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Thursday after the Sun has entered a new sign.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — This week builds to its peak with the July 9 Full Moon in Capricorn, the sign that for you is associated with your professional ambitions and your reputation. Potent forces are at work: among them, the Moon is conjunct the distant and soulful planet Pluto. You’re approaching a turning point, beyond which it’s necessary to practice this elusive thing called ‘right livelihood’ with full devotion. What does that mean? I would say, doing work you’re willing to do for its own sake. It’s time to subtract yourself from situations that are purely financially motivated, and invest yourself in the ones that feed your soul, and that are designed to make the world a better place. You might think that’s not easy right now, but Pluto’s usual modus operandi is to commence with something modest, which develops into something with deeper and further reach. This is your point of departure. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — From one viewpoint, the story of your life going back many years is about you seeking to understand the relationship between the religious facets of your upbringing and your true spiritual connection to yourself and to existence. Taurus always gets intense assignments; it’s not a casual lifetime for anyone. If you love comfort and sensuality, it’s only a meek buffer between you and the profound growth work you’re called upon to do in this lifetime. This Full Moon describes you shedding part of your childhood husk. This is not your true inner child, but rather the conditioned personality level that you no longer need. Your bold, beautiful, actual inner kid is alive and well. If you feel you’re losing something, notice that you’re gaining awareness of something else. Your primary vehicle of growth is not psychology and it’s not spirituality. It’s allowing yourself to be sexually and creatively free. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — There’s one particular region of an astrology chart that represents the deepest and often most dramatic transformations. It’s called the 8th house. One enters the 8th in one form, and leaves not only in a different form but often substantially, inwardly changed. Material of the 8th house includes all that most people are the most afraid of, yet curious about, and inevitably drawn to. For example, it’s where one might explore the relationship between sex and death, which extends to all concepts of creation and destruction. You’re about to experience a Full Moon in this house, intensified by a conjunction to Pluto. The message is that you must be submissive to whatever you do with full intention, and to whomever you love with your body and soul. There is no going halfway, or living partially. To really be alive is to take the risk of offering yourself wholly and entirely to life. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Astrology can help you. In the right hands, astrology can provide you with a new perspective on your life. My readings are designed to help you consider all of your possibilities, your greatest potential, and to help you see your problems in a new light. I’m about to record the Cancer reading for you. If you order now, you’ll get the best pre-order price of $33. Shortly before publication, it’ll be $44 and then the final price will be $55. These readings condense 22 years of my counseling experience, nonstop reflection on the human condition and lots of excellent astrology. They are in plain talk, easy to follow, and paced gently. They are some of my best work; these readings are an invention. And you can have all the benefits. I plan to do this reading next week — earlier than usual, so get on board before the next two price increases. Here’s how to pre-order. If you’re seeking a private consultation, here’s that link.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Mysterious forces are at work in your world. You probably feel this, but have not given it a name yet. The effect may take several different forms, though behind them all is one process. It will be essential for you to navigate carefully, and take precautions to minimize the chance of mistakes. You’ll very likely begin this week in one phase of your life, and by Sunday, be in another phase. Between now and then, you’ll need to endure some tension, and not let it color your judgment. This will be crucial in the days late in the week leading up to the July 9 Full Moon in your opposite sign Capricorn. Take things one step at a time, and make your choices with the help of one or two trusted advisors. Do not broadcast your business. Be curious, and ask questions with the attitude of a child. Gently, the truth will unravel. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — For many weeks, you’ve been learning about a certain kind of devotion, where your own interests must stand entirely apart from something larger than you. We often see this in shadow form: people sucking up to power, or using work and projects to avoid intimacy. You are being drawn, as if by some invisible force, to offer yourself in seva, or selfless service. This is not altruism; it’s not about ‘doing good’. Rather, you’re being summoned to a soul-level calling, which is only growing deeper. This is not easy. Compelling influences are not merely calling you or guiding you, but are drawing you like a tractor beam that you cannot easily escape. The real question to ask is: why would you want to? Uncovering your true spiritual nature is not a walk in the garden; it’s about tending that garden, understanding that it’s something equal to or greater than you. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Your primary challenge in these strange days is to keep an open mind. This is not some abstract notion, or the willingness to try strawberry ice cream. It’s about embracing the struggle to see your prejudices for what they are, and being willing to change. Not change your viewpoint. Not change your opinion. Not modify your behavior or image. Rather, actually to grow, and bring your inner being into the world, through the crusty shell of the past. Face the fact that this involves a risk, perhaps many of them. Yet to the extent that would deter you, the thing at stake is facing your fears, and admitting your vulnerability. Assuming you have fears and feel vulnerable, that’s true whether you face them or not. Do you have any interest in being a smaller person than you really are? What is really at stake here? For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — If you want to succeed, temper your ambition, and focus on ethics. Focus on the integrity of your immediate community and your household. Of course, you would be doing this in a world where everyone understands why the mayor of a town would fire the ethics board. We watch people treat one another as disposable. We witness seemingly powerful people clinging to power, who are obviously an emotional mess, and who have no support at home. You get to play a different role in this lifetime, and in our times. Here’s the challenge: Ethics is not just about an idea, some concept of what is right. It’s about being emotionally integrated, so that you become your own friend rather than your own adversary. Ethics is about having the guts to confront your parents and other powerful people in your life. It means having the stones to confront the people who have hurt you. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Stand to your full stature. Over and over again, your solar chart says this is about the message you send to the world: the words that you use, the ideas you convey, and your willingness to engage in an honest dialog. Your words must come from a deep place, or you must be silent. That means when you speak or write, you say what you know to be true. This is not the current fashion: what’s in style is repeating unverified bullshit until it becomes this other kind of “true.” You will know you’re actually speaking the truth when you wrestle with your conscience; when you experience a bit of agony about what is right, and feel the impact that your words have on others, and on your whole community. People are looking to you as an example. Whether you’re correct or not on any given subject, you do not have a choice in that particular matter. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Money is too important. It has become, in our times, the meaning of life, the solution to all problems, and that which cleanses any sin. Sensitive people are getting sick of the stench. You know how much more there is to existence: you are in touch with this elusive thing called meaning. Later this week, an unusually powerful Full Moon takes place in the angle of your chart that addresses money, resources and values. You are getting the message, from both within and without, that it’s time to live for what you know to be true. That means actually having a standard of veracity and of corresponding conduct. But there is more. This unusual lunation comes with a discovery, or a breakthrough: you get to a new level of self-understanding, and of commitment. And that will give you the feeling of setting yourself free to live your life, your way. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Let others show you what you need to see. You seem to require proof; look at what they have to offer. Allow yourself to be guided out of your blind spot, which is both emotional and sensory. You want to succeed, though your current vision of success is a mirage. You need a better one, though you know that will take you through some profound changes, including giving up all the false ideas about yourself that you’ve been dragging around for lord knows how long. That will require vulnerability, which is not exactly your favorite pastime. Yet to come out of your shell, you must become that new thing born into the world. You cannot do this by projecting an image of yourself. You can only do it by bringing the substance of who you are into your environment, certain of one thing: you don’t know what will happen. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Beware the tyranny within. To do that, you must first see it for what it is, then stay one step ahead of your inner persecutor. The reason this takes guts is because you would need to take responsibility for how you feel. That would include understanding how you got to feel that way, which in turn will require you to actually understand what people did to you when you were younger. The inner persecutor is an installed device. One is not born with it. God or nature did not create it, like your eyes, heart or hands. To liberate yourself requires making the fine distinction between blame and responsibility. Blame is paralyzing; responsibility is the ability to respond. And this you have, if you maintain your inner awareness. That’s the thing. That’s the real struggle of our world right now: the fear to look within. You must be courageous. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You seem to be having a debut of some kind, an emergence into society. This is not merely a social affair, though. There’s an element of recognition, but there is more. What’s going on behind the scenes is a rearrangement of your power relationship with your community. There is such a thing. There are two levels: changes in the social structure around you; and a rearrangement of your thinking that both precipitates and adapts to these changes. So, you are both cause and result. We could sum this up in two words as confidence and maturity. You need both, and would be wise to consider them both separately and in the context of one another. Cultivating self-esteem is too vague a concept to describe what you’ve got going on. Rather, focus on its specific components. Confidence means with fidelity. Maturity means ripening. That’s enough to go by. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Developing one’s creativity is sometimes a matter of will, and sometimes it’s a matter of necessity. The urgency might include the need to express yourself in a way that requires a special mode of communication. And it might be about recovering some aspect of your child-soul.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Sex and money issues always come back to authority issues in some form. You now have a beautiful opportunity to address your relationship to people you perceive as powerful. This also includes addressing any feelings of lacking power that you may experience. First, observe and make some notes.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — The way to get to the next level — be it of your work, your creativity, your relationships, or your life in general — is to use all of your intelligence. That starts with feeling; it proceeds to hearing, then to seeing, and then to thinking. Use your whole brain. You have it for a reason.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — It’s that time of the month again: Moon conjunct the unusual, potent planet Pholus. That’s the one cautioning about alcohol, or using any substance that facilitates loss of control or puts you in a haze. Even if you stay home, be mindful and maintain your awareness. Pay attention.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You may be riding some ups and downs at the moment. You’re tapping into deep inner mojo, and you have a lot you want to express. By mid-afternoon, when the Moon enters Capricorn, you’ll cool off and be able to get some work done. Till then, go one careful step at a time.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — If certain household or family situations seem too volatile to handle, back off and let things cool off. The more you stir the brew, the more potent it will become. If you take some distance and let the situation run its course, things will be significantly more chilled by evening.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Maintain a posture of humility, difficult though it may be in these times. Be respectful, even though respect seems like something that belongs in a display in a museum. You have important work to do, and you simply must not let your ego get in the way of your talent and wisdom.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — You must be cautious and alert today and through the weekend, as potent forces are at work. They are potentially disruptive, yet can also guide you through a series of breakthroughs. But you must be gentle on yourself and on others, as an hour-to-hour yoga.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Keep your temper, and divert your energy in creative directions. You would best work alone; all the better to avoid conflict and to maintain your concentration. Check regularly that you’re on-purpose. There’s a significant difference between activity and productivity.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Refuse to let anxiety run away with you this morning. It’s most likely to come in the form of ‘there’s something that I don’t know’, a stress factor around mystery. Resolve to be patient for a few hours. At about 2 pm the Moon enters your sign, and that will come as a relief.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Best to avoid starting any of the wild social media tornadoes that’s just so popular these days. You might avoid making any public statements, or pressing ‘send’ on any important correspondence, until later in the day or, better still, tomorrow. There’s a wild psychic wind blowing.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Maintain spin control at all times, which probably means saying nothing for several hours today. You have more important things to do than chatter away, in whatever form: there’s a powerful cosmic intelligence coming through you right now, that you can harness and use productively.