Note: this post is the full members’ issue, complete with your Moonshine horoscopes by Len, the Create feature, and more.

Dear Friend & Reader:

Today’s Cancer Full Moon takes place in direct contact with several major planets around the zodiac. On one level, it’s a symbolic illustration of how life feels right now: issues pushing and pulling us from all directions, each insisting on immediate action.

The challenging thing about such a situation is often deciding what takes priority.

For example: If you’re tuned in to numerous calls for social justice, plus you work a full-time job with many responsibilities, plus you actively foster a creative passion, plus you care for a family, plus you try to keep up with social media, life quickly becomes a real juggling act.

You need to decide on an order of operations. Sometimes that means doing a little of everything daily; other times, that means allotting certain days to focus on some things rather than others. Occasionally you must drop your plan and respond to an unexpected demand; but we live in a world where, increasingly, everything seemingly demands our immediate attention all the time.

That’s a little what this morning’s Full Moon chart looks like to me. The Moon in Cancer opposed the Capricorn Sun at 6:33:55 am EST (11:33:55 UTC), with both luminaries at 22+ of their respective signs.

Meanwhile, Eris is at 22+ Aries (with Uranus and Ceres within two degrees on either side). And Jupiter is at 22+ Libra.

All four cardinal signs hosting objects at the same degree makes a formation called a grand cardinal cross (the cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). It’s a brief grand cross, since the Moon moves through fairly quickly. (By the time you read this, the Moon will already be in Leo.) But it’s still a strong and striking pattern, and something you’ve likely been feeling as the Moon gradually made its way into formation over the course of yesterday.

Simplified chart for this morning’s Cancer Full Moon. Clockwise from the top: Jupiter in Libra; Moon in Cancer; Ceres, Eris and Uranus in Aries; Chiron and Mars in Pisces; the Sun and Pluto in Capricorn; Mercury, Pholus, Juno and Saturn in Sagittarius. You can view it at a larger size here; view glyph key here.

Additional planets also in (or almost in) degree 22+ of their signs include Juno and Saturn at 22+ Sagittarius, and Chiron at 21+ Pisces.

These bodies make a combination of harmonious and challenging aspects to planets on the cardinal grand cross. Broadly speaking, this adds to the sense of ‘everything, all at once’ you might be feeling — yet it also might be offering you subtle ways to work it all out. Like when you come to a blocked-off road, and then suddenly notice a small ‘detour’ sign pointing out an unexpected route.

It’s worth looking around for the equivalent of one of those signs, since this cardinal grand cross is about taking initiative. You have to start somewhere, right?

The first few degrees of the cardinal signs — called the Aries Point — are particularly powerful in their ability to signify events where personal and collective (or political) interests intersect and are magnified. Today’s Full Moon is not an Aries Point event, because it takes place too far into the cardinal signs. Yet the personal/political bells still seem to be ringing, particularly here in the U.S.

We’re in an especially charged time of transition between Presidents. Transitions can be edgy situations anyway; add a Full Moon, and the edgy factor gets amplified considerably. Place that transition in a season of tremendous polarization, uncertainty and high emotions, and it can be hard to know where and how to channel all the energy.

To deal with it, it’s essential to stay in touch with your highest priorities and your deepest guiding principles. That can take practice. Once in a while, you’ll receive an especially profound reminder: something that re-centers you, or helps you feel some greater truth that allows things of lesser importance to move to the background — at least, temporarily.

You might have experienced just such a reminder, revelation or other lesson this weekend as Mercury stationed direct in Sagittarius. Mercury has since been moving forward very, very slowly through the last two degrees of that sign.

A rising Full Moon, taken by Anthony Ayiomamitis on May 12, 2006.

Today, less than three hours after the Full Moon, Mercury re-entered Capricorn — landing in the first degree of Cap, also known as the Aries Point, at 9:03 am EST (14:03 UTC).

As Eric has mentioned, this is a suggestion to remember what you’ve just learned these last three weeks, particularly earlier this week. When you stay aware of what you’ve learned, including what you’ve realized you do not know, you’re in a better position to take action. And action is at the heart of what the current astrology is emphasizing.

If you’re not sure what to do, think for a moment about the reflective quality of a Full Moon: it shines the light of the unseen Sun back to us, illuminating the dark. With the Moon in caring Cancer today, opposing the Sun in Capricorn (with Pluto nearby), notice whether it’s shining light on the ways your personal base, foundation or framework for awareness has been shifting and evolving.

How does that understanding affect your sense of what you can or must do in service of something greater? Who do you see standing with you in that imperative toward action? If you encountered some deeply profound truth or seemingly cosmic inspiration recently, you may already feel it guiding you toward your next steps.

Yours & truly,

Amanda Painter

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Thursday evening in Kingston, New York, by Planet Waves, Inc. Core Community membership: $197/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Special Project Designer: Lizanne Webb. Finance: Jonathan McCarthy. Astrology Editor: Amanda Painter. Astrology Fact Checker: Len Wallick. Copy Editor and Fact Checker: Jessica Keet. Eric’s Assistant: Gale Jazylo. Client Services: Amy Elliott. Media Consultant: Andrew Ellis Marshall McLuhan. Music Director: Daniel Sternstein. Bass and Drums: Daniel Grimsland. Additional Research, Writing and Opinions: Amy Jacobs, Cindy Ragusa and Carol van Strum.

 

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Read All 18 Past Years’ Annuals!
A Tradition, a Feeling, and Great Readings: The Planet Waves Annual

Dear Friend and Reader:

Each year at this time, I am busy creating the Planet Waves annual edition. It’s an Internet tradition but it’s also a tradition in my life. I also consider it an invention: a way to get you a solid, detailed and authentic astrology reading, with information that makes a difference in your life — astrology that you remember and come back to — for a very modest fee.

It’s actually a rather astounding document that gives you access to 18 years of annuals so you can research your life.

This was me after finishing the 60,000 words of writing in Vision Quest at the end of December 2015.

Every year is a fresh reading with a new perspective, taking up the astrology of the moment. After many years of research and practice, I am able to use current transits and get more detail than most astrologers are able to get with a natal chart.

The Planet Waves annual is one of a kind. There is nothing else like it in the business: an alive, immediate, accessible reading of the astrology that is happening right now and in the coming few seasons. The readings work for your Sun sign and your rising sign. It’s a full-service offering.

I write and record the readings to be motivational and inspiring, as well as factually informative about the astrological influences you will actually experience. I also think of it as a kind of yearbook, recording the story of our moment, the issues that were occupying our thoughts, and the breakthroughs in astrology and astronomy. Every annual is created taking into account the newest planetary discoveries of the era when it was created.

Each annual has its own ambience, music and feeling tones that I associate with it, and memories of the place it was created. The Planet Waves annual has been a forum for developing the astonishing talent you see on our staff — a kind of learning laboratory and easy way to get involved, a place to try new ideas and, in truth, to invent the craft of astrology as we go.

Read more…

Music Made for Moonlight

By Amanda Painter

This morning we had a Full Moon in Cancer, the Moon’s ‘home sign’. As if on cue, recent news (at least in the U.S.) seems to be getting even loonier.

Take a breather from it all with composer and Theremin virtuoso Carolina Eyck’s haunting, quiet, twilight-invoking piece “Leyohmi,” the music for which she performs with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. In a video filmed at the Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, NY, choreographer/dancer Genard Ptah Blair, with firefly-like lights on his thumbs, explores a wooded wetland through fluid movements that suggest curiosity and peaceful belonging.

This Week on Planet Waves FM
David Bowie: Hot Tramp, We Love You So

Dear Friend and Listener:

It’s been one year since David Bowie departed the physical plane. This week’s edition of Planet Waves FM [play episode here] features a reading of David’s chart and some selections of his music.

David Bowie.

I take a close look at the lyrics to the song Blackstar, title track of his last album, released on David’s 69th birthday, Jan. 8, 2016. [Purchase on Amazon or iTunes.]

I begin with a look at the current astrology, stretching from Mercury stationing direct in Sagittarius on Sunday, to the Full Moon that took place this morning (6:33:55 am EST, 11:33:55 UTC).

The beauty of this Mercury direct is its conjunction to the Galactic Core and the potent centaur planet Pholus. The cosmic fire of the galaxy is passed to the idea-oriented, mentally illuminated planet Mercury. Then just after the Full Moon, Mercury returns to task-oriented Capricorn, all of which translates to “action is the fruit of knowledge.”

One of my messages about David Bowie is how he gave men permission to be something other than the rigid model of male gender that’s imposed on society. In the third segment I tell the story of an experience I had a few weeks ago wherein a professional dominatrix put me into the mind and consciousness of a woman for about an hour.

I describe the sudden and unexpected reorientation I experienced, including different rules about how to converse, my orientation in social space, and the sensation of being objectified into a thing.

In the last segment, I take a look at the chart of the inauguration of Donald Trump, coming soon to a country near you. I consider the suggestion of a reader not to worry so much about politics.

This program is presented free from commercial interruption. Our sole sponsorship comes from your memberships and product purchases. If you’re not already a member, please sign up today.

Planet Waves FM is published by the nonprofit Chiron Return, Inc., is affiliated with the Pacifica Radio Network, and is distributed by Planet Waves.

Thanks for being a fellow traveler in our mobile city of light.

With love,

Your Monthly Horoscopes — and our Publishing Schedule Notes

We published your extended monthly horoscope for January on Thursday, Dec. 22. We published your extended monthly horoscope for December on Wednesday, Nov. 23. We published your Moonshine horoscope for the Capricorn New Moon on Thursday, Dec. 29. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign.

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Love this horoscope? Read all Planet Waves horoscopes by Eric Francis. You can sign up monthly or for the full year.

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Aries (March 20-April 19) — A small aggravation in your home or emotional life could be the spark that ignites a whole new era in your public life. Of course, a lot depends on recognizing that ember for what it is. Then there is the matter of what you choose to do with it. Even though it may sound trite, a sincere desire to change yourself will be the necessary requisite for turning a glimmer of ‘what could be’ into the light of a new day. Assuming you have an aspiration to evolve beyond your current definition of self, the next step would entail how you perceive events that are merely annoying. The moment you can see opportunity in what irks you will be the instant you realize how a proactive solution will accomplish more than just take irritation away. Ultimately, just such a shift in your perception, and the subsequent revision in how you respond, will validate and multiply those who support you, while exposing any remaining critics for what they are. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The miracle of nearly instantaneous electronic communication can effectively transport your mind from where your body is to nearly anywhere in the world. It would appear that you, like many others, have at least begun to master that modern alchemy. Now, it’s time to consider the extent to which digital technology has begun to master you. For you, more than most people, the physical body is more than just an infrastructure — it is a cause, a reason, in and of itself. You know on the most fundamental level that your mind is inseparable from your tangible existence. It is time once more to be present to your heart as not just a pump, but also an independent source of wisdom. It is also time to re-acquaint yourself with how sexual pleasure is not just a biofeedback loop, but your surest and most truthful connection with both the farthest reaches of the universe and the most profound depths of your soul. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — It is possible, but not necessary, for either your possessions or your relations to be burdensome. You need not (and probably should not) take vows of poverty or chastity to live free in the material world. Freedom is not a severance from all entanglement. True independence is partially derived from consciously choosing both your personal effects and worldly affiliations to support, rather than restrain, your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Of course, once you have chosen your assets and associations, you must maintain them so as to sustain the support they provide. That’s where a possible rub comes in. To be both effective and efficient, any practice of maintenance must also be a source of joy, if not also pride. Therefore, to further the quality of your life, evaluate your possessions, and discern which relationships are ripe for renegotiating. What you’re aiming for is a balance between the effort made and benefit received (or shared). — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Some say it is the journey that is essential. Others prioritize keeping their focus on attaining a destination. What is less often addressed is what to do upon arrival. It appears you have, in some sense, recently reached a purpose following a significant passage. If you find the guidance that has gotten you this far no longer assists with what you have taken on, do not despair. Rather, imagine. Envision yourself as a gifted athlete who has mastered one sport and moved on to the challenge of another. First, you must figure out how to be confident, but also sufficiently humble. Next, you must refine your proficiency with the most elementary fundamentals of your new endeavors. Finally, divest yourself of any tools, postures, reflexes or mindsets that were salient in getting you to where you are, if they prove inappropriate for what you now need to do. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — Discipline is admirable, but it can get old and wear you down. Devotion, on the other hand, never tires and seldom expires. It could very well be that you are currently searching for an endeavor worthy of your devotion. If that is the case for you, maintaining your discipline for its own sake in the meantime will be essential. In order not to burn yourself out on the way to getting fired up again, take extra measures to sustain (and preferably improve) your physical health. Start with what touches the ground; then work your way up. When it comes to expenditures on yourself, prioritize comprehensive foot care for at least the next month, possibly longer. Once you have hit upon the combination that keeps your feet in optimum condition, do all you can to strengthen and steady your ankles, then your calves, and so on. When it finally comes time to enhance the health of your neck and throat, you will probably find that a revived devotion has already taken care of your head. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Enthusiasm is good. If anybody is put off by your passions (especially any fervor newly found or recently recovered), negotiate a little less time with those folks for both your good and theirs. Those who either support or inspire your zeal, on the other hand, deserve to see you more often — providing that’s what they want. For the time being, at least, it would not serve you to question what makes your life more enjoyable. Save any self-critical reviews for at least two more months. In all probability, you have put gratification off for long enough in the past to justify any chance you now have to live it up a little. Let yourself follow where your bliss takes you — either full time or on a regularly scheduled basis. By the time the Sun enters Aries for the next equinox, you should know whether a continuously avid pursuit of gusto aligns with your need for integrity and desire for balance. Until then, allow yourself to collect on the dues you have paid for so long. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — An appropriate response to a friendly inquiry about how you are doing will vary from one place or circumstance to the next. Over the next six months or so, you will want to be especially aware of both the cultural and situational context in which you reply. In some environments, for example, a declaration of “not bad” will be taken as an indication that your life is, at the very least, on an even keel. In other climates, the same words will be understood to say you are barely hanging on. The reason for you to be sensitive about how your most casual declarations of wellbeing are perceived has to do with the fact that you are now entering a period when it will be more possible than usual to bolster or revise your image in the world. Of course, actions ultimately carry more weight than words. Even so, it’s worth making every effort to be clear even in your most cursory salutations. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Meaningful support is at hand for you, and for some time will remain available. The specific nature of the backup you receive will matter, of course. After all, some forms of encouragement are more meaningful than others. What you should take note of, however, is where the support you do receive is coming from. If there is anything to how the most substantial objects of astrology are currently distributed, this is one of those blessed times when you will be able to tell who your friends are without first having to go through arduous hardship. Those who step up to lend a hand when things are less than onerous will most likely be those you can lean on should life somehow become more taxing. In addition, anybody who now proves themselves to be a reliable ally will most likely be among those who best understand where you are coming from, when others have no idea of where you are going. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — A rite of passage would seem to be in store for you sometime this year. Most likely you will be able to see it coming, thanks to long labors on your part to earn an acknowledgment of your accumulated efforts from others. That being said, there’s a good chance you will find yourself going through some pomp and circumstance in 2017 that you cannot now foresee. To make the most of any moments when you are either expectantly or surprisingly ushered through a threshold into a new level of being, first remember to be humble. Even if you are not invested in the primacy of ceremony, others who are important to you very well may be. Share your moment of honor by showing respect for the dignity of those who helped get you there. Perhaps more importantly, look ahead. Like a wilderness campsite, a rite of passage is always to be treasured, but is not often a place to dwell forever. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Listen to yourself before you speak to others. First, hear your own thoughts clearly. Then, read your own words carefully. Finally, put yourself in the place of anybody and everybody who might ultimately be on the receiving end of your statements, before you finally reveal the contents of your mind to the world. If anybody means to do well by others right now, it’s probably you. This, however, is a time when you might easily be misunderstood prior to taking action. More often than not, what you say before you act will foment either welcome or resistance for you, regardless of what you actually plan to do. Therefore, take as much care as you possibly can to craft your statements so that they align with, smooth the way for, and authentically reflect how you envision your good intent eventually manifesting. Some say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That’s probably not true. More likely any road to perdition has simply been laid carelessly. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Few are those who achieve only one meaningful thing in their life. Indeed, it is almost inevitable that you and nearly anybody else will accomplish a great deal of good before all is said and done. At any given moment, however, it’s often difficult to see more than just immediate objectives. Such a distortion of perspective, brought on by the focus necessary to get anything done, can understandably make you feel unequal to your aspirations. For that reason alone you would be well advised to separate yourself from your endeavors periodically, and bear compassionate witness while others strive to achieve. For some that might mean being a sports fan. For you, it could mean something entirely different, like simply watching a toddler learn how to walk. Regardless of who provides you with a break from watching yourself, you will probably note that each achievement, no matter how large or small, is but one inspirational step. Let it inspire you to demonstrate yet another step to someone else, to bestow a greater meaning on us all. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Yes, you have undoubtedly made an impression — a bigger and better one than you might now be capable of fully understanding. While your understanding catches up with your influence, however, it would not do to rest upon any anticipated laurels. With the passage of time, you’ll be less likely to stumble and undo your public image. That’s because you are almost unavoidably becoming stronger by the day — a process that will probably continue for more than a decade. Even so, it will be possible for you to do less than what amounts to your best once in a while. Most people go through an entire lifetime without ever once having the juice you now possess. For that reason alone you would be well advised to combine high expectations of yourself with a determination to eschew self-deprecation as far as reasonably possible. You don’t need to be your own taskmaster nearly as much as you need to be your own cheerleader. — By Len Wallick. For your Eric Francis horoscope this week, please see this link.